by Alan Taylor | May 26, 2013
In Exodus 19:20 God came down on Mount Sinai and then in Exodus 31:18 He wrote the Law on two tablets of stone with his finger.
In John chapter 8 Jesus came into the temple and wrote on the stone floor with His finger. This is the passage where the Pharisees bring before Jesus a woman caught in adultery and test Him on His response to the clear instruction in the Law to stone her. Jesus replies with the now classic phrase “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her”.
My paraphrase of Exodus 31:18 – God stooped down and wrote on the stone with His finger
My paraphrase of John 8:6 – Jesus stooped down and wrote on the stone with His finger
I’ve heard the question asked about Jesus in John 8 “what was He writing?” Wrong question – the question is “why was He writing on the stone floor with His finger”. And the answer is – because He is the same God who did it with Moses so long ago.
The lesson that Jesus was giving was:“You want to use the law? I wrote that law! You’re just as guilty as she is and you’ve missed that it’s all about relationship with me.”
This is repeated in James 2:10-13 which basically says “you want to uphold the law? If you accuse someone of adultery and you commit murder you’re just as guilty. Mercy triumphs over judgement.”
The law was a fence to keep people on the path so they would find their way to God. All the Pharisees could see was the fence. Jesus turns up as the end of the pathway and the Pharisees are still studying the thickness of the wire and the gap in the mesh.
by Alan Taylor | May 25, 2013
Right at the start when God opened His heart
He spoke to the night and said “Let there be light”
He could have just thought and the world would appear
But He chose to use words so the lesson was clear
From His power and His glory He spoke from above
To create His own family to share in His love
Now He’s passed on to us the power to declare
That Jesus is king and His presence is near
God’s word is the tool that allows us to rule
We agree and decree, we address and confess
We declare and establish and He lights up our way
We remove all the mountains with the words that we say
When we turn on the tongue then the reach of our speech will turn night into light, death into breath.
Give voice to His word and let it be heard
Preach it and teach it – let it out with a shout
The works of our Father are what we’re about
We believe and we speak and we say our “Amen”
Knowing what He has done He will do it again
The angels are waiting for our activating
When we issue the command they’ll be there on demand
Speak His word as a fact and His messengers will act
His winds and his fire will accomplish His desire
Don’t leave the word on the page but let it engage
With those that surround us, declaring heaven has found us.
With the word as our sword we say Jesus is Lord
The words of our story will bring forth His glory
Heaven and earth will not last but His word will hold fast
He’s entrusted to us the word of His power
To make known His kingdom in this glorious hour.
by Alan Taylor | Apr 11, 2013
Psalm 112:3 says that for the person who fears the Lord “wealth and riches are in his house”. God doesn’t say that this supply is outside, elsewhere or distant. No, the abundant supply is already in the house. Whatever we need is close, available, at hand.
When Moses was questioning God about his call God said to him “What’s that in your hand?” referring to his staff or rod. (Ex 4:2). When Elisha encountered a widow with a problem he questioned her saying “What do you have in the house?” (2 Kings 4:2). She replied “Just a jar of oil”. She could have said “a broken toaster” and the resources of heaven would still have been available to her to meet her need.
God’s solution is close – it just needs to be revealed. God is actually clever enough to have foreseen our situation and to have made a provision (probably several!) to meet that need. When we thank God for the resources that are already “in our house” then we set in motion the spiritual mechanism to release those resources to us.
“Thankyou Lord that you have given me everything I need. Your provision is already in my house. Your solution is there waiting. Open my eyes to see my part so that I can release your hand.”
by Alan Taylor | Apr 11, 2013
Many years ago I was excited to learn about the armour of God (Ephesians 6) and how I could make declarations to put on each piece. I could dramatise each action with words and appropriate body movements. This was a great routine and helped drill home to me how Paul had used the imagery of the Roman soldier, who was probably nearby as he wrote these letters from prison, and also drew from similar references in Isaiah (11:5, 59:17, 52:7).
However I realise now that each piece of the armour is more than just a declaration – they are character traits, attitudes, and actions that draw from the resurrection life of Jesus within us.
Take the belt of truth for example (Ephesians 6:14). A morning declaration in our quiet time “I put on the belt of truth!” is worthless when we arrange to meet our friend at 10am but aren’t there on time because we didn’t value the truth of our word. We actually put on the belt of truth by living a lifestyle where our words agree with our actions. When we don’t do what we say we will do our belt is loosened, our trousers slip to our ankles, and we fall over.
If you’re finding the Christian walk is more like a stumble, maybe you are not always truthful in what you say and that’s why you’re tripping up. In Hebrews 12:1 the writer encourages us to lay aside the sin which so easily entangles us and to run the race set before us. This is exactly why we must “gird up our loins” or “tighten up the belt to pull in the loose clothing” (my paraphrases of Ephesians 6:14).
Here are some examples of belt-loosening, trouser-dropping, entangling sins.
- “Yes we’ll get together sometime”. But you never follow through. Here’s a tip: don’t say it unless you mean it.
- “I’d love you to give a testimony in an evening service”. Three months later you still haven’t followed through and arranged it.
- “I forgot”. Let’s re-phrase that: “You weren’t important enough for me to remember”.
- Your timesheet says that you worked 40 hours for the week, but you were either late, talking too much, or doing private jobs and your actual working hours were much less.
- “I’ll be there Wednesday” says the plumber. By late afternoon on Wednesday you’re still waiting and you know the plumber is not a man of his word.
All of the above are examples where we communicate one thing but our actions say a different thing. Whether we realise it or not this type of lifestyle totally loosens our belt of truth. When we live a lifestyle of truth we can have confidence that our spirit belt is buckled tight, our loose clothing is out of the way, and we are ready to do God’s bidding and run the race of life unhindered.
Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6). If our belt of truth is tight then we let Him loose in our lives. But if our belt of truth is loose, then we’ve tightened up Jesus so He’s restricted in us.
by Alan Taylor | Mar 20, 2013
In the context of giving a prophecy – a “word from God” – one of the most common reasons I hear for not bringing a word is “I don’t know if it’s God or me”. And of course the implication is, “it’s me and not God so I won’t bring it.”
Let me say up front the substance of this article – it’s probably God.
Now I’ll tell you why I say that.
God’s voice is abundant
Psalm 119 says that God’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (v105). Well that’s encouraging – whichever way we’re heading God can give us direction and light the way. And directionally, that means that God’s word is in front of us. Now Isaiah says that our ears will hear a word behind us saying “this is the way, walk in it” whenever we turn to the right or to the left (Isaiah 30:21). Now that’s even more encouraging! God’s word is not only in front of us but it’s also behind us. That’s divine inspiration in stereo!
But wait, there’s more. 1 Corinthians 2:16 promises that we have the mind of Christ – that’s God’s voice from within. And 1 Samuel chapter 3 tells the story of young Samuel who heard the audible voice of God and mistook it for the voice of Eli. That’s God’s voice from outside.
So God’s voice is in front of us, behind us, within and without. That’s not just stereo – that’s full surround quadraphonic sound!
Interestingly enough, Moslems have to get directional in their prayers – they have to face Mecca. The God of the heavens and the earth, of all time past, present and future, of this realm and all others is not limited to the points of the compass!
Because of the abundance of God’s voice, if you’re submitted to God and wanting to hear his voice, particularly in terms of prophecy when the object is to bless someone, it’s probably God’s voice that you’re hearing. Just accept that and run with it and the person you’re prophesying to will no doubt get blessed.
But is it God or me?
We live in a world of choices – BBQ sauce or mayonnaise, the blue shirt or the brown one, trim or full fat. But that can condition our outlook on hearing the voice of God to think that we’re limited to the option of a thought being either God or me (or maybe even the devil as another option!). But as Christians we have Christ in us – a new creation. He made us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:5). It’s no longer I that live but Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2:20). So is that thought God or me? Neither! It’s God in me.
Prophetic words can come from the heart and God gave us a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19). And prophetic words can also come from the mind and we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). So whether you feel it with your heart or think it with your mind – it’s probably God. And the breastplate of righteousness guards what’s in our heart while the helmet of salvation watches over what’s in our mind.
Jesus said that his sheep hear his voice and know his voice (John 10:27,4).
So believe that God wants to speak through you and the thoughts you have are from Him
Take a risk
Read the story of Jonathan and his armour bearer in 1 Samuel 14. Knowing the general will of god (the Philistines are the bad guys and God is against them) Jonathan took the initiative and came up with a plan to attack them. His trust was in God – “perhaps the Lord will work for us for the Lord is not restrained to save by many or by few” v6. With God’s help Jonathan’s plan worked and the Philistines were defeated. My point is this – because it’s the general will of God that all may prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:31), ask God to give you something encouraging for that person who so desperately needs it, thank God for his inspiration, take a risk, and then pass on what comes into your mind. It’s probably the voice of God you’re hearing.
Follow the guidelines
Prophecy is for edification, exhortation and encouragement (1 Corinthians 14:3). If you have in your heart the thought “how can I bring the love of God to this person in what I will say to them” then it’s really hard to get it wrong. Don’t overstep your experience in this area but only step out according to the proportion of your faith (Romans 12:6). Sharpen those skills – training your senses with practice (Hebrews 5:14) and you’ll find your confidence and accuracy will improve.
People desperately want to hear from God. Sometimes they don’t realize it that way so they read their horoscope in the trash print from the bookshops. Or they visit a psychic because they know there’s something else to this world. Whether people are Christian or not, the world is parched for a life giving word from God. Don’t withhold that life giving water when it can do so much good. Ask God for inspiration. Put yourself in a place where you can speak an encouraging word. Believe that you can hear from God and then prophesy. You’ll change the world – maybe not by much – but it’ll seem like it to the person on the other end of your prophecy.
