THE PROMISED HONEY - AUDIO
About a week ago Father have been
bringing the subject of honey to my attention. My
daughter, being the typical teenager, asked me whether it is good to drink
milk, because according to “others” it is not.
I told her that if milk was bad for us (the hormone free ones), then why
would God have said to the Israelites that He is giving them the land of milk
and honey? Not long after that I burned
my finger, and she asked me why don’t I put some honey on
it? Then during the week there were 3
other occasions when honey came up as a subject again. By now I knew Father was saying something,
but still no clue. On Sunday I woke up
from a nap, and as I woke, I heard the words “The promised honey”. This reminded me of a dream I had about 8
months ago. In my dreams, 99% of the
time, Jesus is represented by my husband.
In this dream I asked my husband to buy me honey. When I opened my fridge, to my surprise, I saw
two white containers. One filled with
milk and one filled with honey. Last
night I had this craving for milk before I went to bed, and thought I would
like some honey with it for a change…and finally I knew what He was saying.
We know that milk and honey is synonymous
with Canaan. But what does Canaan stand
for? There are various ways of looking
at it. When we leave Egypt, the system
of this world, we have to go through our wilderness period like the Israelites where we learn to take up our cross.
We go through the Red Sea to find entrance into this wilderness. The Red Sea being symbolic of our dying in
Christ, our identification with Him as the one whom we follow, as His presence
goes with us on this journey through this rough terrain. In His
faithfulness He breaks us down in this wilderness, removing the Egyptian way of
thinking and in the process renewing our minds, exposing the idols we have picked up along the
way and then He starts to build us. Constantly
breaking and building the whole time, as we are His workmanship and are changed
from prostitutes of this world to priests of the Most High God. And then we reach the Jordan. A new crossing. The setting changes slightly. The Red Sea is a sea, whereas the Jordan is a
river. By itself it is saying that many
are called, but few are chosen. Chosen
to go into the Promised Land of milk and honey. This crossing over to the Promised Land can also be seen as
heaven, where we will find our eternal rest in the Lord, which is soon to take
place. This will be the resurrection of
those who are alive in Christ, the Bride who has made herself ready. But I want to talk about another resurrection,
one that Father has laid on my heart. I
was reluctant to write this post, simply thinking that there is so little time left,
but it was on His heart.
This Jordan River is not only
different to the Red Sea in size, but also in what it stands for. Where the Red Sea is the identification with
His death, the Jordan is the entering into His death. A real felt death in all your
categories. Where, like Lazarus, only
the Resurrection and the Life can raise you up.
In His time. Canaan is also
synonymous with rest. When we go to
Hebrews 4 we read that the Israelites could not enter due to their
unbelief. Faith and rest goes together
like a hand in a glove. But what is this
rest? What does it look like? We read the following in Hebrews that
explains it nicely.
Hebrews 4: 10 – 11
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath
ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest
any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
The reality is that only He can bring
us to this Jordan where we are to cross by faith and enter into His rest. Our focus has been so much on ceasing from
our works that we have lost focus on the why He wants us to cease from our
works.
This is the reality of the incarnate
Christ in you, the Spirit of God having full control over your life to the
extent that you no longer live from the life source you have always lived off, which is self, but only from Him.
As David said, Lord, all my springs are shut up in you. Where He wants to be the life in you, Christ
living through you. The reality of
it. True rest, now. This is why the Lord told them to circle
Jericho and with a shout of victory the walls came down, not lifting one
finger. They were in His rest, where
they obey, but He does.
Twelve spies were sent into Canaan to
go check out the land. As you know only two of the twelve had a good
report. The other ten were just not up
to the task, seeing themselves as grasshoppers to the likes of the inhabitants
of the land. Two had the faith and
courage to take the land, whilst the majority was just not up to it. Father asked me a question. Do you believe? He took me back to where this fast started,
right back to Lazarus. We read how
Martha came running to Jesus and cried, saying that if only He was there her
brother would still be alive. Jesus
tells her the following…
JOHN 11: 22 - 26
22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of
God, God will give it thee
23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again
in the resurrection at the last day.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the
life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never
die. Believest thou this?
In these few verses Jesus confronts Mary with what she believes. At that time there was the belief amongst
some that there would be a resurrection at the end of the age. Jesus knew that this is what Mary believed. So He was not confronting her whether she
actually believed in the resurrection, that which is future. He was confronting her with whether she
believed it now. This is why He told her
even after she said that He will cause all the dead to rise in the end, with
the words…I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.
Present tense. If you read
carefully you will find two categories mentioned by Jesus in his
statement. He refers to the dead and He
refers to those who are alive.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the
life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth
and believeth in me shall never die.
He was confronting her with the fact that she believed the one,
but not the other. Asking, “Believest
thou this?” And this is what He is
confronting us with today. Because we
believe that He is about to take us out of here. This is good and we should be prepared as the
Bride by now. And if you are not, I
suggest you get your house in order. However, I want to refer this back to the Jordan and
Canaan, which speaks of living from the life of God in us. The dead are raised,
and those who are alive shall never die…life!
I have said this so many times, you cannot have a resurrection unless there
is death, and the life that you live having been raised is that eternal life,
not longevity only, but quality life…resurrection life. Believest thou this? This is that milk and honey. No longer the manna. We read that once they entered Canaan, the
manna stopped, and they lived off the fruit of the land and the milk and
honey. This fruit is the fruit of the
Tree of life…Christ in us. To live off
Him. The milk speaks of the Word of God
and the honey is revelation. We read how
Saul called for a fast and how Jonathan ate honey.
1 Samuel 14: 24 - 27
24 And
the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people,
saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening that I may be
avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.
25 And
all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground.
26 And
when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man
put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath.
27 But
Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore
he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in a
honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.
Honey is used for medicinal purposes, and not just to sweeten our
tea. It also speaks of strength and
wisdom. David said the following of the
Word of God, comparing it to honey.
Psalm
119:103
103 How sweet are thy words unto my
taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
I
call honey “Liquid Gold”. Just by these
few examples, one can see that it is a precious commodity. It is universally known that if you do not
eat, you do not get to live. We all need
to eat. Or what about, “You are what you
eat”? In this case, eating from the Tree
of life’s fruit, drinking milk from the Word, and sticky lips from the pure
honey of the wisdom and revelation of God, which is completely different than living
from manna. Never looking down on the
manna, because He knows that we cannot enjoy the one, without having eaten
first of the other. This is an example
of the resurrection life of Christ in us.
Not for future, but now.
Resurrection life now!
Galatians 2: 20
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Paul, having completely died to self, has been risen from the
dead, his Jordan River, having been buried with Christ, not in theory, but
reality, into new life, which is that Resurrection life. I have to ask at this point, knowing that
Lazarus eventually died, “With what life did Lazarus go on living when he was
risen from the dead?” A good example to
us to know that even before we leave this earth, He desires to make this a
reality to us. He wants us to know that
He is I AM. Even now He will resurrect
you like Paul, like Lazarus. He will
remove your grave clothes of white linen and clothe you with His glorious life,
with His righteousness and He will do it by being that very life in you. We already have this life in us. It is the Word, the incorruptible seed that
will never return void, having grown all along during the wilderness. And to the degree that you still eat of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that self, to which the ax has not been
laid to the root, is the degree that you will walk in His rest, in this
Resurrection Life. He has not just come
to take us out of here. He has come to
lay the ax to the root. And this is why
He is confronting us with “Do thou believest this?” Do you believe that I can give you
resurrection life now? You may ask me, “Why is this important Pietra?”
We read the shortest verse of the whole Bible in John 11, the
account of Lazarus’ resurrection.
35. Jesus wept.
The people around Him thought that He was crying over
Lazarus, but right before He and His disciples went to Lazarus grave, He told
them that Lazarus would live again. He
even began His prayer with “Thank you Father, I know you always hear my prayer”. So why was Jesus weeping. I submit to you that He is still
weeping. He is weeping because of
unbelief. The very crux of this chapter
is not the resurrection of Lazarus, but who Jesus IS and what we believe. Do we believe, really believe that He wants
to give us this resurrection life now?
Because your whole journey through the wilderness is in preparation of
this reality. To bring you to this point
where you will live from Him, the Tree of Life, with His promised honey. Some believers believes Him for a future
resurrection. This is good. We should believe that He will take us out of
here. But He is still weeping over those
who do not believe in the resurrection life that He wants to give now. They pay lip service to it. They say they are raised with Christ, that
they have died in the baptism water and are a new creature. This is all true. We are all that. But we are that by degrees to the extent that
we have actually died. He is not asking
us whether we believe He can change our circumstances.
He is asking us, “Do you believe I AM in you? Do you believe that I want to live through
you? Do you understand why you have to
die? Because like Paul, there cannot be
two. We have to become one. All of you for all of Me. This is why I came. Not just to save this world from the coming
destruction, but to be the Patterned Son for you to emulate. For you to live, like I did, from the life of
the Father, which is Resurrection Life.
For I only spoke what He told me to speak and the works that I did, He
did through Me. This is why I say, “When
you see Me, you have seen the Father”.
For we are one. In the same way, My
desire is to be one with you as I was and is one with the Father. I AM the Resurrection and the Life and I have
been preparing you for exactly that.
That I may live through you as the Father lived through Me. Believest thou this?”
This we also read in John 17, His High Priestly prayer. His purpose has always been that we are to experience
resurrection life now. We all groan
together with creation for the adoption of the sons of God, to be
resurrected. But there are two
resurrections. The one of the body in
the future and the one of the spirit now.
God knows how I long for both equally.
How I long to be one with Him, even now on this earth.
Does He know this about you?
Do you long more for the rapture, than you long for union with Him? Do you long more to be taken out of this
world, which is not wrong in itself? How
much do you yearn for His resurrection life now? Or are you waiting it out, not really
pursuing His purpose in this regard? We
look to ourselves and there is no hope.
Nothing. We cannot do it and
without knowing it, we try our best, and really hope for the resurrection of
the body at best. Jesus wept. Two resurrections…that of the future, even if
it is a close future, and that of the spirit to live now from His life. Are we not to believe both and trust for
both? Paul says the following in
Philippians 3.
Philippians
3: 7 - 16
7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss
for Christ.
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
9 And be found in him, not having mine own
righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
10 That I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto
his death;
11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead.
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were
already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which
also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but
this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching
forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus
minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this
unto you.
16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us
walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
Paul
is wanting to apprehend that for which also he was apprehended for of Christ
Jesus. He is saying, my eye, my focus,
is on why He saved me, which is to know Him, the power of His resurrection, the
fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death. This speaks of a process, a goal, a
purpose. Why He came to save us…which is
that He may fully live through us.
We are in a race against time. Time is up so to speak. However, the question remains, “Do thou
believest this?" If anything, I
guess this is where the prize comes in.
To run this race with endurance and long suffering. Not so that we can make it and somehow be
lucky enough to be accounted worthy as Luke 21 says, but running this race by
Him and through Him. His life in
us. To still strive to be like Him in
this race, right up and until He comes
and takes us out of here. Though we look
forward to the future resurrection, may we today believe for it now, that we
who live may have eternal life now. Yes,
we enter into Canaan by faith. But there
is a reason why we first have to go through the wilderness to reach the Jordan
and there to die. So that the faith that
we live by, even that faith, is not our own.
We read this in Paul’s statement, showing us that there is a time that He
brings us to not live by our faith, but by His.
Galatians 2: 20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave himself for me.
When
He becomes our all in all, it is not a statement of how we have died to
everything as much as it is a statement of how He is now our life. There is a promise made to us. A promise of an inheritance for those who
have died, risen by His life, to no longer live in the wilderness, but to enter into His rest and live from the
Land of milk and honey.
Let
us therefore labour to enter into the rest of God, and eat honey!
I am adding this after I did my audio recording, thinking that I would look up the meaning of the Strong's Concordance number, 2227, which is the length of the audio. It is self-explanatory... God is faithful!
zóopoieó: to make alive
Original Word: ζῳοποιέω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: zóopoieó
Phonetic Spelling: (dzo-op-oy-eh'-o)
Definition: to make alive
Usage: I make that which was dead to live, cause to live, quicken.
HELPS Word-studies
2227 zōopoiéō (from 2221 /zōgréō, "alive" and 4160 /poiéō, "make") – properly, make alive (zōos); i.e. "quicken," vivify ("animate"); (figuratively) cause what is dead (inoperative) to have life; empower with divine life.
2227 /zōopoiéō ("make alive, enliven") is particularly used of God infusing His life in the believer. The Lord infuses eternal life (zōē) into us each time we receive (obey) faith from Him. This enables living with God – not just for Him (cf. Gal 2:20; Ro 8:28-30; 1 Jn 5:4). His self-existent, all-powerful life overcomes all the deadly effects of sin.
(1 Cor 15:36,38) seed, come to life – The resurrection-body of the believer will be characterized by continuity with diversity – i.e. reflecting the physical-spiritual life we lived here on earth in a supra-physical fashion (Phil 3:11-21). Both of these aspects of glorification are illustrated in 1 Cor 15 by the metaphor of seeds.
