That My Joy might Remain in You

John 15:11 “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

Joy and Peace are the criteria of spirituality, for the Christian.

As long as you maintain them, you are strong in the faith.
When you lose them, you grow weak, often unable to stand as you should, against the wiles of the Devil.

They are both given you by Christ Jesus, through the Holy Spirit; but are to be maintained by our diligent effort.

Joy is not happiness. Joy is from the Lord. It is the bubbling up of His life and Presence within us, and can come even in bad circumstances.(Often does, to help us)

Happiness is centered a round ourselves, or someone or something we love; and the good things that come.

Peace is the calm of heart and mind, even in the storms of life; because again, it comes from God, not circumstances.

Joy is usually lost first. We let something come between the Lord and us; or hesitate to follow Him into what is next; and we feel the Holy Spirit being quenched; so joy is lost.
We can not feel joy without His Presence; for again, joy is the Presence of God in my life. So we begin to lose the feelings of His Presence, and we are weakened.

This is where the Adversary, the devil, would attack with a “why?” Or a “How come?”. (Remember, the Devil got Eve and Adam to disobey God in the first place, when he gave the suggestion that they did not need to be dependent on God. They could be “like” God, if they just took of the fruit which God told them not to eat.)
So the Devil comes to us, and suggests that we were right in questioning the Lord; and if we listen, it will lead us further from the Lord, and disturb our peace.

When our peace is shaken, our belief starts to break down. It is not that we do not believe the Lord or His Word in general; but we begin to doubt it, where we are concerned.
“Perhaps the Lord will not do what He said to us; after all, He has not done it yet.”

When our peace is gone; we have two choices:
1). Keep listening to the fear and mistrust that has come into our hearts.

2). Confess our doubts, hesitation, and listening to the Adversary to the Lord, and get it cleansed from our hearts.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Then we can be restored in peace, and have the joy of the Lord restored to us. It is all about doing His commandments, and abiding in His love; there is our joy.

John 15:10-11 “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

We are full of joy, as we keep His commandments, and abide in His love.
And that is what Christ Jesus wants for us, here and now.

What has taken your joy away?
What has shaken your peace?

Don’t let it continue; seek His forgiveness, and be restored.
“…That my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

 

 

 

Can two walk together except they be agreed?

Amos 3:3 “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”
This is God speaking to his prophet about Israel; His own people.

Can He say the same about us? Are we trying to walk with God, without bringing ourselves into that “agreement” with Him.
Maybe, in general, you agree with God. But do you agree with the way He is bringing His will to pass in your life?
Do you agree with the circumstances you are having to pass through?

If not, and you wonder why. You have tried, but you know it is nowhere near an “agreement” between you and the Lord, then hear this, and see if this does not answer the “Why?”

Romans 10:3 “For they, being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God”
“Have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”
Paul is speaking here of the Israelites, God’s chosen people, having a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge….being brought face to face with God in Christ, rejected that knowledge and God.
Christ was not what they expected; they wanted a different kind of Messiah. So, they rejected the knowledge of His coming to them.
(Notice they even rejected the power to heal them: Luke 5:17 “And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.” But not one of them were healed; only a palsied man whose friends brought him.)

Don’t we at times reject the way God wants us to go? And then being brought face to face with God’s will, that way; we, in some way, refuse it.

We want God’s will. But just not that way, or with these people, or at this time.
Can two walk together except they be agreed?

Well, if this describes you; even sometimes, then hear what Paul says:
Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

The term “reasonable service” should give us a clue: for we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. And when you do, you will prove that the will of God is good, and acceptable, and perfect for you.

You begin this by presenting your bodies to God, the Holy Spirit.
He indwells every Christian. But you do this is a special way, for you’re giving Him control in your life.
As much as Christ gave over control to God in the garden, for the sacrifice He was going to make. So we do the same. We give the Holy Spirit control: “Not my will, but Thine be done.”

Then we are to stay away from conformity to the world’s system. That is stated in:
1 John 1:16 “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

Lust here is desire. What we desire in our flesh….perhaps to lose our double chin or have that large burger with a half pound of bacon. These are desires that would please our flesh.
That would not add honor to God, but would just please ourselves.

What we desire with our eyes. Eve started this with a look a the Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. It looked so good.
So does the newest movie star, or that car, or that job.

And what we desire to make us a “Someone”. Whether by ability, fame, wealth, or notoriety. (Pride is the sin which caused Lucifer to become the Devil. Isaiah 14:12-15)
We are to stay away from these things, for they are of the world.

We are to renew our mind: Col.3:9-10, Eph.4:22-24, Titus 3:5 All talk of putting off the old man, and by the Holy Spirit, being renewed, by putting on the new man.

The new man is the “Christ in you, the hope of glory”. (Col. 1:27)
That means we are to use the faith given us, and in the power of the Holy Spirit within us, and to live as Christ did:
Loving our Heavenly Father, and doing His will;
Loving the brethren and seeking their good.
Telling the world of God’s will and way.

We can walk with Christ, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit and His Word, everyday.
Will we “agree” with Him?

 

Diligence
Diligence means to eagerly, earnestly see the business done.

2 Peter 1:5 “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;”

We think of effortless Christianity, which it is not. We are to keep our hearts with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”)

And we are to diligently “make sure” of our calling and election:
2 Peter 1:10 “Wherefore the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things ye shall never fall:”

Our example is Joash, king of Israel.

2 Kings 13:14 “Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my Father, my Father! The chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.”

Here, in this example, the king of Israel is in need. The Syrians were coming against them, and he needed guidance, and victory over them.
He knew if that was to happen, he would have to go and see God’s Prophet, Elisha.
But Elisha was sick, so sick he would die; and in bed.
Still the king was diligent and came into him; weeping over him concerning Israel’s need.

He was in the right place for a blessing, and seeing the right person. If there was any help for Israel, here it was, in the person of this dieing Old Man.

2 Kings 13:15-17 “And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.
And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the kings hands.
And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.”

The king was told what to do for the deliverance he sought, and had Elisha’s hands on his hands to do it. And the deliverance was promised.
(And a promise is only a promise; until it is obtained)

The king is doing what he is told, so far so good. After all, this was a kingly thing to do. Open the window and shoot an arrow eastward; quite kingly.
Maybe he even thought of a Syrian out there, that he was shooting at.

He was receiving the answer he wanted! Victory was promised!

But now the kings diligence, without Elisha, is tested. After all, the battles were still to be fought; would the king continue in diligence?

2 Kings 13:18-19 “And he said, Take arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice and stayed.
And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: Whereas now thou wilt smite Syria thrice.”

Elisha tells the king to take arrows and hit the ground. Now this was not a very kingly thing to do. But the king, just going along with Elisha; for he thought he had the deliverance he came for; just hits the ground three times.
No diligence there.
His arm had already shot the arrow of deliverance (surely he could take credit for it); why did he need to do this beating the ground? Oh well, he would do it to please the old man, and get on with the Victory.

But the man of God was very angry. Why? Because a promise is just a promise, till we have obtained, or gotten it from God by the means He chooses to use.
And often those means are humbling to us, so that we will not get the idea that the Victory He gives, came by us.
It came to us, by His power, and means; but not by us.

The king came, seeking deliverance from Elisha and God; and got it. But when he had to show diligence toward God’s Word, himself; he failed. He also lost part of the promise; the part he refused to be diligent in obeying.

We are often the same. We are very enthusiastic for a while; especially when we can take part of the credit; but fail when we are called upon to diligently use means which we find humbling, or not to our liking.

Diligence is eagerly, earnestly, seeing the job done. God wants to deliver, wants to supply our needs, wants to place His hands on ours for the work; but will we diligently follow through, just because He says so?

If we will, we will be blessed with the full promises of God.

If we don’t, we will lose a part of the promises God wants to bless us with.

Diligence is eagerly, earnestly, seeing the job done. And I might add, our promises will be fulfilled completely, when we do all for Jesus sake.

Awake thou that Sleepest
Ephesians 5:14 “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”

When we are asleep, spiritually, our senses are dull. We don’t hear clearly. Our eyes are closed, not seeing what is going on.
That is why Paul, here, exhorts the Ephesians to “walk as children of light.”
(Ephesians 5:8)
Light is a great benefit for those who are growing sleepy in their walk as Christians.
It is like opening the curtain to let the sunshine come in, in the morning.
It makes you want to get up and get busy!

Darkness, on the other hand, tends to make us sleepy.
So with the darkness which comes to us spiritually. We are lulled to sleep. We begin to talk a great deal about “rest”, becoming discontent with the work we have been given for the Lord.
We look for ways to do God’s will quickly, or for a more “easier way” of walking with the Lord; for we do not want to take the action required to come to the light….for then our slothful sin will be seen.

So Paul calls on every Christian to “Awake”.
Awake, and arise; and Christ shall give you light.
Light to see what you need to do to get out of the darkness.
Light to see the world, as it is.
Light to see that Christ is worth the loss of everything.

Then Paul writes:
Ephesians 5:15 “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.”
Circumspectly means there will be light for the path, we are to keep our eyes on the path, that we don’t get tripped up.

Awake, and walk wisely. For Christ shall give us light.

Sure, but…Christians

Matthew 21:28-32 “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard.
And he answered and said, I will not; but afterward he repented, and went.
And he came to the second, and said likewise. He answered and said, I go, sir, and went not.

Whither them twain did the will of his Father? They say unto him, the first. Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.”
We call this “Sure, but…Christians”, because we are often as these sons in the story, (and I might add, as the chief priests and elders were to Jesus; who demanded of Him, but refused His demands. Matthew 21:23-27)

We say one thing, and do another.
We love or praise God much with our mouths, but not so much with our obediences; which is the way the Lord said we really love Him.

John 14:21 “He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.”

The Father in the story had two sons. Now they are both sons, both belonging to the household of the Father.
But one, rebellious at first; recognized his wrong attitude, and repented, and was obedient to the Father’s Will.
The other, said the right things in front of the Father; but never followed through. Never fulfilled the Father’s Will.

Which one really loved the Father? Which one did the will of the Father?
Of course, we would say, the one who did what the Father wanted.
Then why do we hesitate to do our Heavenly Father’s Will?
Or why won’t we repent of our rebellious attitude, and go to the work?
As our Heavenly Father, God has the right to command us to do His Will. We all agree to that.
But the real value to God in our doing, is the love shown Him by our willing obedience.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (love), I am become as sounding brass, or tinkling cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophesy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity (love), I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity (love), it profiteth me nothing.”

Love to Christ Jesus, shows the power of the Holy Spirit within, as nothing else does.

And this requires us to repent. Both sons should have repented. One for the rebellious attitude.
The other for disobedience.

To repent is to change our minds about the subject, our affections for it, and our actions toward it.
As sons to our Heavenly Father, we should recognize our own personal need for repentance, and do it.
Then we will fulfill our Father’s Will.
“..and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.”

The True Vine, and the Husbandman

John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.”

Here is a beautiful picture of the care of our Heavenly Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, for us.
He becomes the fruitful vine nurturing the branches; while His Father prunes and cares for these branches, that they might bring forth fruit, and more fruit, and much fruit.

John 15:2 “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”

How does the branch bear fruit?
Simply by yielding to the life giving flow from the Vine. It yields, and does not resist it.
It rests in the place the Vine has put it, more sun, less sun; higher on the fence, or lower does not matter. It rests in the place it is put, and yields.

Our Heavenly Father may come along and purge us. This simply means “to cleanse”.
It is the pruning of excess from us, so that all the flow from the Vine will go into fruit bearing, not merely leaves, which are of no value in the harvest to come.

And how does He “clean” us?

John 15:3 “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”

Jesus had said a lot to His disciples, and had promised that the Holy Spirit, when given, would bring it back to mind to them, to help guide them.

John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

It is the same to us: His Word is ready to be availed of. When we read it, the Holy Spirit teaches us, and as with His disciples, will bring it back to mind when we need it.
Again, it is a matter of yielding to this life giving flow, which comes from Christ, through His Word, and is applied by the Holy Spirit.

John 15:4 “Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch can not bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”

We abide in Him, when we do not resist His Will in anything in our lives.
This is not sinless perfection, but rather our wills, willing after His Will.

You may say: “I want His will, but not that way”
Let me explain about resisting His Will:
Resisting is:
Putting it off because you don’t want to do it.
Arguing that you have a better plan.
Complaining because of the people you are forced to work with or around.
Silently giving place to the resentment of: Why me, and not them?

If you do any of these, you are resisting the Lord’s Will for you.
These are natural reactions. But we are not to be “natural” or under the charge of our “old man” any more.
We are to place our wills, and hearts, and minds squarely at the Lord’s disposal; and deny ourselves, and yield to the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

That power is there, but we must yield to it.
Sometimes that seems harder than others, depending on how much we “want” something else; but the way of fruit, is the way of yielding. Yielding, and counting on the Holy Spirit to help us.
This is abiding.
This Jesus Christ calls His branches to do: to yield and bear fruit.
John 15:5 “I am true vine; ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.”

He is giving us His life, by the Holy Spirit in power:
What will we do?

John 15:6 “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”

Notice it is our abiding, which tells our end, because that is where the power for real life is.
We abide, and yield, and live; or we do not abide, and die, and are gathered to be burned.
We can never fulfill the Purpose of God for which we are called, without abiding in Him as the branches.
With His life flowing through us, we bring forth fruit: in us by growing in grace; and through us as His servants.

John 15:7 “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

Here is the fruit: Abiding brings yielding to His Word;
Which brings the prayers we should pray for;
Which brings the answers being done “unto you”.

How much the Lord Jesus would do unto us to help us, cheer us, strengthen us, empower us; if we would simply abide in Him.

Again, what will we do?

Every Man in his Place

Judges 7:21″ And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.”

Here was a great Victory over their enemies, which were many:
Judges 7:12 “And the Midianites and the Amalekites, and the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seaside for multitude.”

These had come into the land to plunder the goods that the Israelites had harvested.
They were a vast number of them which had banded together to go through Israel and take all they wanted.

But God was ready to intervene, and spoke to a man, Gideon, about the saving of Israel from them.

In case you think Gideon was godly; he wasn’t. He, and much of Israel had taken up with the gods of the people they dwelt among.
This was the reason that God permitted the bands of these nations to come and take their harvests, year after year.
But finally, God appeared to Gideon and called him to the work of saving Israel.

Judges 6:14-16 “And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
And he said unto him, O my Lord wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.”

There was an exchange between the Lord and Gideon; a lot of doubt and unbelief to overcome; but finally, the Lord sent him to tear down the altar of Baal, which his family and the men of the city worshipped. He was then to build an altar to the Lord and offer a bullock on it.

When done, the city came against him; but his father stepped up and said:
Judges 6:31 “And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? Will ye save him? He that will plead for him, let him put to death whilst it is still morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.”

Gideon the blew a trumpet to call men to battle against the Midianites. They. Came by the thousands.
But the Lord ways are not our ways. (Isaiah 55:8-9).
The Lord wanted Israel to know Him: He can save with few or many.

Judges 7:2 “And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the MIdianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand has saved me.”

He knew the pride of man’s heart, and knew if many fought against many, and won; they would say it was numbers, not the Lord that saved them.

So the Lord told Gideon to tell all who were fearful to go home. Twenty two thousand left.
But there were ten thousand still.

The Lord said, there were still too many. So He made a test.
Bring all the men down to the water, those that picked up the water into his hand and lapped like a dog, was to be set aside.
Those that bowed down and drank from the water, were to be let go.

There were three hundred men that lapped the water.
Judges 7:7 “And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thy hand: and let all the other people go, every man into his place.”

Now, all along, the Lord has encouraged Gideon to do what He has told him to do.
From His first appearance, to his father standing with him, to the miracle of the fleece; once wet, and the ground dry; the other time the fleece dry, and the ground wet.
Now after sending all but three hundred men away, the Lord encourages him again.
(Notice how God is in charge over every one; the Midianite and his dream, as well as the Israelites)

Judges 7:9, 11, 13-14
“And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down into the host for I have delivered it into thy hand.
And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shalt thine hands be strengthened to go down into the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.
And when Gideon was come, Behold, there was a man who told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.
And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.”

Wow! God spoke directly through the enemy!

After hearing this, Gideon worshipped. Worship is counting God worthy of our all: praise, and obedience.
Judges 7:15 “And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.”

He divides his men into three companies; giving each man a trumpet, and empty pitchers with lamps in the pitchers.

He told them: Look on me and do what I do. When we come to the outside of the camp, when I blow the trumpet, so should you blow your trumpets; and say the sword of the Lord and of Gideon.

So they came around the camp:
Judges 7:19-22a “So Gideon, and the three hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in there hands.
And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held their lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.
And they stood every man in their place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow:”

Coming in the middle of the night, when the watches were just changed: new men coming and going in the camp. Men entering into their tents for sleep; when suddenly, trumpets were blowing, lights were flashing, and men were shouting about the sword of the Lord and of Gideon!

What a scene of sudden chaos! Who would know whether the man entering the tent was friend or foe. Best not to take any chances, and strike him down!

Fear came upon the Midianites, and they ran; running into and fighting there own men, not sure what was happening.

This was a great Victory for the Lord.
And it was accomplished by one man, standing with God in the calling he was given; and leading the rest to stand “every man in their place.”

What of us? Has God called us to a work? A prayer time? To witness for Him?
Then surely He will encourage us, in the work; however the encouragement comes.

And we should stand in our place, looking to Him for guidance, and doing as He directs us.
He has given us voices, and lights; let us use them under His guidance.

Go down to the Potter’s House.
Jeremiah 18:1-2 “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there will I cause thee to hear my words.”

Jeremiah was God’s Prophet. He spoke to Judah for God. But when callled to go to the potter’s house, he did not refuse, because God spoke to him; but rather went, without question, to hear what God would say through the potter.
He didn’t say. “Hey, Lord, I am your prophet. I don’t need to go to a potter’s house. You know he only makes pots, but I give your message to priests, the king, and the people.”
No, Jeremiah wanted to hear the Lord’s Word, no matter how it came.

Jeremiah 18:3-4 “Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel as seemed good to the potter to make it.”

Now the potter uses clay and water, lots of water, to make the clay very pliable in his hands.
The two are mixed together, and when the clay seems soft enough; the shaping takes place.
The potter starts the wheel and puts the clay on; and begins to shape the vessel he wants to make.
But the vessel was marred, because the clay had a hard spot. The water had not been absorbed into that part of the clay, so when the potter’s hand was trying to form it, it refused to bend, and so it destroyed the pattern, marring the vessel.

Often we are the same way. The Holy Spirit has spoken to us, (in scripture water is a picture of the Holy Spirit working through the Word; Ephesians 5:26) trying to work the water of the Lord’s Word in us, and we just refuse to hear. It becomes a dry, hard spot in our life. Then when the Lord is forming us after His Will, we become marred, and unable to be molded into what He wants.

“so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”
So what does the potter do? What did He do with Israel? And what does God do with us?
Does He give up on us? No:
He takes the hard clay out , and then adds more water till the clay is completely pliable, so that the rest of the clay is reusable: to be able to be made into what the Lord wants.

The hard spots in us, are those things the Lord has told us to do, and we have put off.
We know what the Lord is telling us. We know what we should do; but we think we have a better plan.
We even come to believe that the Lord will not care…it is such a small thing.
But it becomes a hard place, and ruins the work of God in our lives, until it is removed.

But once it is removed, the Holy Spirit can add the water of the Word to us, making us pliable in His hands; so he can form us into a Vessel unto honor, meet for the Master’s use.
2 Timothy 2:19-21 “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that Name the the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor and some of dishonor.
If an man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”

Mark 4:39. “And He arose and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, “Peace be still” and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm”

We know this story:
Jesus had bee so tired, HE had been asleep in the boat–even thru the storm.
But his disciples, had become scared (even tho He told them “let us go across to the other side)
Did they think He would take them out into the sea to drown?

But notice…He rebuked the wind. Like a father to a child which acting bad.

He said unto the sea; Also like a father; comforting a child which had been teased by another. Peace be still.

He Who created them at the first, keeps them; rebukes and speaks to them.

So He does to us. Sometimes we are like the boat in the wind, and sea. There is a great storm going on and we are getting tossed about.
Whether in our heads, or our emotions.
Life is sometimes storms.
How much we need Jesus Christ to speak to the storm and calm it.

Like the disciples, we are at a loss to do anything. I have been in a panic that rose and rose and seemed as if it was going to take over my reasonable thoughts. I did not know how to stop it.
But I knew Jesus could.
So I started to pray….”Lord I am in desperate need.. Please help me…Tell me what to do or just stop it yourself…. “. And so on I prayed covering everything.
What it was about.
What had just happened.
How I felt.
What I felt I should feel.
All the attitudes toward these things, and what I really wanted to do.

First, He rebuked me. Panic comes form the Adversary, the Devil. If I had gotten that far, there had been a time when I had been spoken to about this situation, and neglected to receive His Word.
Then, He began speaking to me about all the things I had talked to Him about.

We crossed that Sea, storm and all, and we made it safely to the other side, because Jesus heard my cry for help and arose to help me.
Sometimes the help we need is the rebuke of:
Mark 4:40 “And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?”

He will do the same to you. If you are out in a Sea of emotion, or in a wind of indecision; cry to Him. Get honest with Him. And He will get you to the other side.

The Fountain of Life Springing up within You

Psalm 36:9 “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.”

John 7:37-38 “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

In this feast, the celebration of God’s Salvation is looked at by water.
The priests and Levites would gather certain vessels, and in procession take them out the water gate to the wells outside the city.
They would be filled and carried back to the sanctuary; where they would be poured on the floor between the Brazen Altar, where the sacrifices were given; and the Holy Place where only the priests could enter.
In the temple there were steps behind the Altar, which lead to the Holy Place.

As they poured the water onto the floor they would be quoting:
Isaiah 12:2-6 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation.
Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the well of salvation.
And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.
Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.
Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”

On the last day, the great day of the feast, they would pour no water; but quote this passage: looking up to God to supply the Salvation in the Holy One for them.

This time, Jesus stepped to the stairs behind them and in fulfillment of prophesy, He cried:
“If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

Here was exactly what they were quoting about. Here was the Messiah, the Savior.

What would they do with Him?
John 7:40-43 “Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.
Others said, This is the Christ. Some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?
Hath not the scriptures said, that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
So there was a division among the people because of him.”

They talked about Him, but none made the decision that He had offered.

He gave them Light to see that He was indeed the Savior, who had been promised.
He spoke plainly to them and gave them the offer of Life; real, flowing, powerful life; like the water.

This He would supply by His Holy Spirit, within His believers.
John 7:39 “But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.”

They saw light, and knew the power of His Word, and life; but refused to yield to that truth.
John 7:45-46 “Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees: and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?
The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.”

God’s Light has been shown to you; He is indeed the Savior, Christ Jesus.
What will you do with the Life He has offered you?

Will you come to Him, and receive it; receive Him?
John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”