The last night that we were in Jerusalem, I woke in the night to a Light that was moving gently around the bedroom. My first thought was that it was a flashlight beam. However, rather suddenly I was made aware of a great Presence in the room.
And for some reason I could not hold back the tears. I just started crying. The Light that I was watching move around the room, the Light eventually settled on my side of the bed, and then lengthened into a Man. Like the little Light, the unfolding of a Man standing there. And I knew immediately that it was the Lord.
And I was very surprised. I’ve only seen Him like this a very few times in my life.
He was standing before me, so close. I sleep on the window side in Jerusalem. So any of you that have been in that bedroom know which side of the bed I was on. At home I sleep on the other side.
But I was sleeping on the window side of the bed. And He was standing so close to me, that I was able to make out His features. And this was something that had not happened to me.
Oddly enough, He was wearing my tallit, my prayer shawl, around His shoulders. And in natural, that prayer shawl was in the cabinet at the foot of the bed. I had just had it made. It was handmade for me on a loom, an old style loom in the City of Jerusalem. And it was something I felt like the Lord wanted me to have, although I really at that time certainly couldn’t afford to get it. I charged it on a charge card.
I knew I was supposed to have it. And it’s beautiful and special to me. And here the Lord is standing with my prayer shawl on, the one I just purchased in the old city.
He looked deeply into my eyes and asked me a heart-wrenching question. Here is what He asked. He said, “Do you trust Me? Do You trust Me?” What a question!
“My Lord, You know that I trust You with all of my heart.” And He smiled at me and asked, “Can you trust Me with all the details of your life and ministry?” Now I read this to you when I came home. (Anybody remember it?)
At that moment I answered. His question now was, “Will you? Can you trust me with all the details of your life and ministry?” But I could tell by the way He asked the question that He saw something in me that didn’t trust Him fully, even though I told Him I trusted Him with all my heart.”
And here is how I answered. “I will do my very best to trust You in ALL things.” And I emphasized “All”, because I knew there must be some thing in my life or ministry that I was not trusting the Lord with.
The tears were streaming again. And I remember weeping when I shared this with you the first time.
The tears were streaming again, and the lump was growing in my throat. In spite of my physical reaction, I was able to slowly get out the words, “Lord, I am so very worried that You will not be able to completely trust me.”
Somewhere in this visitation my mind was quickened to the reality that I had no problem… Well, I had a small problem, evidently, trusting the Lord in all things. But I am the problem, not the Lord.
And surely it will be easier for me to trust Him than it would be for Him to trust me. And so I said, “I’m so very worried that You’ll not be able to completely trust me.”
He smiled again gently and said, “Oh, but I do trust you.”
You know that, there is nothing sweeter, there is nothing more amazing. “Oh, but I do trust you, and I have come to tell you that it is time to (do what? Does anyone remember? I am not shaming you if you don’t.)
Wait till you hear. “It is time to gather and guard.” Think about it. “Just fully depend on Me,” He said, “and I will lead your every step. Walk in repentance and humility, and I will vindicate the Truth that you have preached.”
That’s a pretty powerful Word.
I was told that we could not go forward until we as leaders could lead the Body into a place of repentance.
I am ready to you what I read to you when I returned from Jerusalem.
I’m not making this up to fit life. I’m telling you, it fits life, because He’s trustworthy.
We could not go forward until we as leaders could lead the Body into a place of repentance. This can only be accomplished when the Spirit of Truth operates among us, (I’m reading now) bringing a real conviction that brings us to true repentance. We must not settle for anything less than the pure and genuine flow that brings Words of Prophecy and Words of Deliverance.
And then I was told to go to John 16.
So let’s do that tonight. Let’s go to John. We did this on the week of my return. But let’s do it again because that was several years ago.
John chapter 16, beginning in verse 6, I wrote. 6-16. John 16:6.
But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Good news. Isn’t it?
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And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
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Of sin, because they believe not on me;
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Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
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Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Listen to this.
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I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
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Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak:
This is the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit of Truth cannot testify of Himself. He can only speak what He hears spoken. The Holy Ghost.
… he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
(There is the Spirit of prophecy that accompanies the Spirit of Truth. And the Spirit of prophecy is referred to in the Book of Revelation as the Spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ.) “Isn’t that what the Scriptures said?
- He shall glorify me: (This is Jesus talking) for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, will receive from Jesus. And what He receives from Jesus, He will show us. (Pretty powerful ministry the Spirit of Truth has.)
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He shall glorify me: (Let me finish reading it again.) he shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
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All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Jesus is saying, “I share in the inheritance of My Father. And whatever is Mine will be shown to you by the Holy Spirit,) or by what Jesus identifies in these verses as the “Spirit of Truth.”
And the last paragraph that I read where He said, “We must not settle for anything less than the pure and genuine flow that brings words of prophecy and deliverance.”
I was told that we can go… I was told that “we cannot go forward until we as leaders could lead the Body into a place of repentance.” This can only be accomplished when the Spirit of Truth operates among us, bringing a real conviction that brings us to true repentance.
How many of you will agree? Will ponder this and maybe later agree, if you can agree now, that this is the work that the Spirit of Truth is desiring to do among us in this hour.
“How many of you feel, you already know that’s what He’s trying to do?” Then we are obligated to bless Him in His work, even if it hurts us, even if it pains us, even if it exposes our vulnerability,, even if it uncovers our nakedness, even if it shows our own character flaws.
You see, in all of this, my own character flaws have been exposed. No fault of my own. I didn’t do the sinning, But because the Spirit of Truth is here, everything, everything gets uncovered. And I’d rather it be that way.
If Jesus ever comes to me again this way, I want Him to be able to look at me and see that there is nothing in me that doesn’t trust Him. (Come on,) in always.
I didn’t feel any condemnation from Him, any judgment from Him. He just asked me a question, but He already knew the answer. He knew there was something in me.
I knew that this had something to do with Jerusalem, but I knew that it was so much more than this. But I did not know what it was.
But I want to talk about trust just a minute, before we go home… I want us to talk about trust just a moment.
And I found something that’s hard to read, but I’m going to read it anyway. It’s a quotation about trust. And this is part of my problem. Your too, probably.
This was written by a man named Frank Crane. And I’ll be honest, I don’t have a clue who he is. I didn’t even look to see who he was. But if he really said this, it’s a pretty good statement.
He said, “You may be deceived, if you trust too much. But you will live in torment, if you don’t trust enough.”
I think that is true. And I think we need to remember that when our trust is broken, or when our confidence becomes wounded. I think we need to remember that.
And this is another statement about trust that came across my software today, when I was doing this word search through the Scripture on Trust. This quotation came up in the helps.
“To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.” I think that’s true.
I think that refers to our relationship with one another. But somehow I also felt like, when I read it, it has something to do with our relationship with Him as well.
To be able to trust Him.