T. Austin-Sparks, wrote:
And what is true at the beginning is true all the way along. There is no end to Divine revelation; there is no end to our seeing. Oh, how little we have seen, how little we know, of the vast stores of Divine intention and thought and purpose and meaning. We stand and paddle on the shores of this vast ocean of God and of His purposes and meanings in our creation. How little we know about it! – and we are not going to know until we have deep heart exercise. But it is there, and it is there for us, and oh, we have got to come in this way – “so much the more.” (1)
In the above excerpt Sparks was using the story of blind Bartimeaus, who upon hearing that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he cried out to Him for help. The surrounding crowd tried to silence him, “but he cried the more a great deal, ‘You son of David, have mercy on me.'” His persistence was rewarded and he received his sight. God rewards those who cry out for spiritual sight, too.
Just a few days ago the Lord showed me (call it a vision or whatever) a picture of myself. I had been contemplating what Jesus said to Nathaniel about Him being the stairway to heaven upon which the angels (Grk. Angelos– messengers) were ascending and descending. Jesus later told them that He would come again in the form of His Holy Spirit who would lead them into all truth. Divine vision and insight is a gift from God, not a product of intellectual pursuit.
In this vision I was standing under a transparent pipe that was almost the size of my head that was filled with light coming down from heaven and He told me that it was mine if I would stand still under it instead of running around doing the things that were not being done by HIS leading. Honestly, I have been living the “retired life” without seeking Him each day as to what His will for me for that day and each moment is.
Many years ago, not long after I was filled with His Spirit he gave me a dream. In that dream I was on a darkened stage and all of a sudden a spotlight from the back of the auditorium came on and there was a round spot of light in front of me that was large enough for me to step into, which I did. Soon that light went out and as I waited another spot lit up on the stage not far from me so I stepped into it. This went on until I had gone most of the way around that dark stage and finally I was in the back corner. Then it shined onto a small flight of stairs that led down to an exit door and as I pushed through it was a bright sunny day outside… no more darkness!
My life has been like that. There have been times when God’s light and presence was very pronounced and seasons (more often than not) that I was groping in spiritual darkness, waiting for Him to turn the light on again. One of those dark periods was 14 years long. It was my “dark night of the soul” or “wilderness period.” God used that to tear down many of my former suppositions (the traditions of men) of what Christianity has become and replace it with the design intent of Christ and His Father. He also got to the root of a lot of pride in me that was masking itself as “spirituality.”
Putting this all together with what I shared from brother Sparks in the above quote, I can say that he is right. “Oh how little we have seen.” How little we know about the purposes of God because we often get a little insight and we settle down and camp right there. He shines His light, but are we faithful to step into it and leave our comparative spiritual darkness behind? Apostle Paul wrote,
“If any man thinks he knows something, let him know this; he knows nothing as he ought to know.”
Dear saints, may we have a “deep heart exercise” to explore the depths and the riches that are ours in Christ Jesus and grow in our personal knowledge of Him and the Father. Amen.
A Wilderness Voice 
I thank you for the blog. I agree with you and TAS. I am spiritually lazy, physically lazy also. I repent of the laziness by the power of God’s grace. Diligence is my cry.
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Thanks Pat. It is good to hear from you again. All things are ours in Christ Jesus, even the answer to our cries that He might overcome our fleshly ways. We are weak, but Paul said “When I am weak then Christ is made Perfect within me.” This weakness goes on longer than we would like. This is necessary for our ongoing transformation. When we are “at the top of our game” the flesh in us wars against the Spirit. The weaker we are the better, for it keeps us humble before God and man and He gives grace to the humble. May His grace shine down on you as He answers your prayer.
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testing 1 2 3
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Test complete 👍🏻
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Hi Mike,
speaking about the ‘heart’ I am reading in Kings about the best King of Judah ever…….. Hezekiah who totally destroyed the idols.
I had a hard time figuring out what he did wrong when he showed off the Kingdom’s riches to the Babylon well-wishers.
But this same story, (the version in Chronicles) answered my questions.
The divinely granted mega-wealth acquired from gifts to Judah from the admiring Nations after God miraculously defeated the world renown and mutually feared bully…..the King of Assyria………….was just a set-up for a divine HEART test.
Hezekiah passed the test of the outward removal of religious idols but failed the test of pride from riches, the inward idol.
God tested Hezekiah. This pride of riches caused God to then strip Judah of all of its wealth and to give it to Babylon.
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Good observation, Al. Individual Christians and their ministries are being tested in the same way. “Pride comes before a fall and a haughty spirit before destruction.”
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Amen to your prayer, Michael. Very good article! ⭐
I cannot offer anything that is really inspired, my brother, but I thought I could paste the last Scripture you quoted in context.
[This] “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. (1 Cor 8:1-3 ESV)
Isn’t it ALL about having a loving relationship with God through Christ? Or is there ANYTHING else that really matters… to HIM? 🙄
I know that I never think of God unless He reminds me of Himself. Although it seems to be quite embarrassing to admit this, didn’t Jesus tell us that we could not do ANYTHING apart from Him? 🙄
Standing still before God, whoever tried that often might know that Satan immediately shows up and tells us what to think about and what we could/should do instead. He does not cease reminding us of our obligations and our failures. He tells us to never stop worrying, ever. Also, the devil does not remind us to seek God FIRST as we walk through our everyday life. I believe we should not trust ‘this guy’ anymore!
May God help us to discern HIS leading from Satan’s insinuations better and better.
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Susanne, what a great point. Thanks for quoting the whole context of that verse in 1 Corinthians. True spiritual “knowledge” always draws us into a deeper love relationship with God and those in Christ’s body. Yes, divine knowledge and revelation is a gift from Him that only leads us into a deeper loving relationship with the Father and the Son. If the knowledge we clamor for fails to do this, it is the wrong kind of knowledge that only makes us proud and distant from them.
Part of the fruit of spiritually KNOWING our Lord is knowing HIS voice from that of the deceiver. Jesus said, If we really know someone and another person comes along and accuses them to us of something that is totally out of their character, we will question that bad report instead of receiving it. Jesus said,
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28, KJ2000)
Susanne, I know you hear Jesus’ voice and follow Him. Greater is He that is in you than the Serpent that abides in this world and its people. He will keep you, dear heart.
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Mi amado hermano Michael, como siempre Dios hablando. La mayoría de las veces las profundidades de Cristo las conocemos en momentos de mucho dolor, al igual que el conocimiento de lo que somos realmente en nuestra naturaleza.
En estos momentos estoy enfrentando otra dura prueba, esta vez con mi madre, sus exámenes de sangre no salieron bien y solo me queda descansar en Dios y entender qué es lo que el Señor me quiere enseñar nuevamente y qué desea tratar en mi corazón.
Un abrazo fraternal en el amor de Cristo.
Patricia wrote:
My beloved brother Michael, as always God is speaking. Most of the time we know the depths of Christ in moments of great pain, as well as the knowledge of what we really are in our nature.
In these moments I am facing another hard test, this time with my mother, her blood tests did not go well and I can only rest in God and understand what the Lord wants to teach me again and what he wants to treat in my heart.
A fraternal embrace in the love of Christ.
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Patricia, it is good to hear from you. You are right in that in our times of pain and suffering His light reveals to us our hearts as to what is in them and eventually what He desires for us to walk in. We have this hope,
“In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5, ESV2011)
He still shine into our lives and overcomes our darkness each day.
I am sorry to hear about you mother’s health issues. “Jesus, please shine your eternal healing light into Patricia and her mother. Amen.”
May you feel His warm embrace, dear sister.
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Amén, que así sea. Que Su luz ilumine nuestras vidas y Su abrazo calme las angustias del alma. Gracias por tu oración y tus palabras querido hermano Michael.
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Your are welcome, Patricia
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For me, the Lord has been astounding in healing the scars of abuse. Often when this takes place He reveals the extent to which those scars have impacted my life. That can be a painful process. He then untangles the knots, and lifts the scars away, as if they had never been. ❤
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Anna, thanks for sharing with us the positive outcome of your own painful healing process. I was raised by a mother that would always speak of and dwell on the negative things in her life and that of others. It has been a struggle to overcome that kind of mindset in myself. Paul wrote,
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Phil 4:8, KJ2000)
I believe that the more we experience the vast love that our Father has for us the easier it becomes to look beyond the pain.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1Cor 13:7, ESV2011)
May we find our healing as we abide in His great love.
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RIGHT ON MIKE: THE WORD THAT JUMPED OUT AT ME WAS VAST.I AM FOREVER GETTING INTO CRAZY CIRCUMSTANCES AND MY WORST FUNCTION AS A NATURAL HUMAN IS BEING ABLE TO MAKE A CHOICE.
I AM AT THIS MOMENT WAITING ON FATHER TO DIRECT ME GEOGRAPHICALLY AND BY YOUR ARTICLE I SEE THAT DAD HAS THIS VAST AMOUNT OF ABLE–NESS TO DO THE DIRECTING. I JUST NEED TO SHARPEN UP MY SEEING AND HEARING . YOUR POST WAS A GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT—–THANKS A MILLION.
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Ken, I am blessed to hear you were encouraged. Father, please open Ken’s eyes to see where you would have him go. Jesus said that He was the door to the sheepfold, not the blank wall. Most importantly He said, “By me the come in and go out and find pasture.” There is no captivity in Christ! Or as Paul put it, “It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Be not entangled again with that yoke of bondage.”
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THANKS MIKE—YOU ARE GOOD FOR YOUR WORDS AND I DO BELIEVE THAT I AM FREE TO LOOK AND LISTEN AND I LIKE IT THAT YOU HAVE TALKED TO PAPA ON MY BEHALF AND NOW I WILL EXPECT HIM TO ANSWER.
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Good post..
– and word of encouragement.
—-
In the midst of challenges, I am going through
“deep heart exercise”.
Blessings,
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“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”
Praying that Jesus overcomes in your life, Dan.
Psalm 34:18-19
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Thanks for prayers.
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