A place called ‘There’
From the Pastor’s heart A place called ‘There’
Yahweh Shammah: “The Lord is there.”
Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
When the Lord is ‘There’, we need to understand that there are two things that will operate out of His presence. One is His name and the power of His name and the other is we will be changed. It is often preached that His name Yahweh Shammah is the last name of God because He is seated upon the throne. The list of God’s names below all carry meaning of power.
Yahweh Jireh (Yireh):“The Lord will provide.” Stresses God’s provision for His people (Gen. 22:14). Yahweh Nissi:“The Lord is my Banner.” Stresses that God is our rallying point and our means of victory; the one who fights for His people (Ex. 17:15). Yahweh Shalom:“The Lord is Peace.” Points to the Lord as the means of our peace and rest (Jud. 6:24). Yahweh Sabbaoth:“The Lord of Hosts. ” A military figure portraying the Lord as the commander of the armies of heaven (1 Sam. 1:3; 17:45). Yahweh Maccaddeshcem: “The Lord your Sanctifier.” Portrays the Lord as our means of sanctification or as the one who sets believers apart for His purposes (Ex. 31:13). YahwehRo’i: “The Lord my Shepherd.” Portrays the Lord as the Shepherd who cares for His people as a shepherd cares for the sheep of his pasture (Ps. 23:1). Yahweh Tsidkenu: “The Lord our Righteousness.” Portrays the Lord as the means of our righteousness (Jer. 23:6). Yahweh Shammah: “The Lord is there.” Portrays the Lord’s personal presence in the millennial kingdom (Ezek. 48:35). Yahweh Elohim Israel: “The Lord, the God of Israel.” Identifies Yahweh as the God of Israel in contrast to the false gods of the nations (Jud. 5:3.; Isa. 17:6).
While keeping our focus on the Lord is ‘There’, we have to understand several entries in the Bible that speak of this truth. Joh 14:3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. Mat_18:20For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
When God gave me this revelation, I was sitting in a conference listening to two prophets. One spoke on a place called ‘ The I am’ and the other spoke on ‘A place called there’. When the second prophet spoke, God opened my eyes to John 12.26 and I could see into the spirit realm. As I turned to look at the audience, I saw strands of interconnected thick strings, opaque (milky cloudy) in colour, all over the audience. The strands were going from one person to another and connecting them. I asked the Holy Spirit what this was and the reply was; ‘I am creating unity’. Wow! That day, I received a revelation of this place called ‘There’. It was the person of Christ Himself. That the final place for us to go would be ‘There’, where Christ is seated upon His throne. It was then that the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about that place being made available to us now through Christ and that we did not have to wait to die and go to heaven to be ‘There’.
God is seeking people to come into His inner sanctum. The inner sanctum is the cleft of the rock who is Jesus. When Moses wanted to see the glory of God, God hid Moses in the cleft of the rock so that he would not die in the process of seeing God. It is the same with us. The glory of God is revealed in Jesus so that we do not die who believes in Jesus. He is the cleft of the rock. If we go the place where He is, we will find our release, victory, blessings and fulfilment. That is what is needed in this hour for the world; to find this place called ‘There’ in Christ. There is no need to sorrow and carry on about our lives in a negative way when Christ is ‘There’. ‘There’ means where He is. Where He is means, in our hearts and in the places where He wants us to find Him. He was walking on the sea during a storm when Peter and the disciples were being thrown about in the boat by the storm. Jesus came walking on water in His own atmosphere. He was not in the storm even though it looked that way. He was not being affected by the storm. He was in total peace and control of the situation. It was then that Peter asked Jesus if he could come to where Jesus is. Peter understood that the safest place was where Jesus was. However, Peter did not have the faith to make it.
My friends, the safest place is Jesus in the midst of our storms in life. There is nothing that this world or the devil can throw at us that will separate us from the love of Jesus, only we can do that. It should be in our will and faith to make the effort to go to Him. It is not always in life that He will come to you. Though He does that often, He also says in; Mat 11:28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. So, we have to go to Him where He is. That is the place called ‘There’. When we go there, we will find what we are looking for. We do this by praying, trusting Him and letting go.
God is calling out to a people who will understand His love for them and want to be with Him. Many are afraid of this love and think it has to do with giving up worldly pleasures. While it does mean exactly that in many instances, it does not mean that He alienates our relationship with Him because of the flesh. When I go into the inner sanctum of Christ, I discover that the flesh has no part in this place. That worldly desires and cravings come to a rest in His presence and instead the craving for Him increases. We have to stop touching the surface of our relationship with God and get into that inner sanctum where He is. The Bible says that He is seated in heavenly places next to God. We are pre-positioned ‘There’. We have to go there to get our total comfort and peace. We rule and reign with Him from heavenly places where He is. All our battles are won from this position. The more we find this place called ‘There’ in Christ, the more we will be able to follow Him. Jesus said in John 12.26; ‘he who serves me must follow me’. Following Christ means going where He goes. Sometimes, He goes ahead and waits for us to catch up. This is what He told us in John 14.3. ‘I go to prepare a place for you’. After that, He is coming back to take us to this place where He is which is His Father’s house. Imagine that. We are welcome in the Father’s house not as guests but permanent residents with Christ where He is.
One has to make the effort to find these places where Christ is. He often speaks of paces where He is that we do not go to because of fear. There is no fear in love. When we love, God will make the way for us to go where He goes without fear. Mat 25:34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: Mat 25:35For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Mat 25:36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Mat 25:37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? Mat 25:38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Mat 25:39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? Mat 25:40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. When we do what we can for a dying world in its ravished humanity, we touch the heart of God. He lives amongst us and often time we miss that. He is still with us, not only as the Holy Spirit in us but as another person whom He died for, like what He has said above in the verses in Matthew. Even though this person is not saved or is in trouble, He feels for them. He feels what they feel. When Jesus was on Earth, He went among the poor and needy and helped them but now He is going amongst all people in the Spirit of Christ. We find Him ‘there’ when we go to the people in need. The days are upon us when we have to come to the understanding of the needs of people like never before.
Exclusivity and independence in the Christian faith from each other is not God’s way. He is seeking unity in the body of Christ so that He can dwell in the midst of His people. There, we will find Him, in His body. This too is a place called ‘There’. Many are shunning Church and calling it a bad place where many have received hurt rather than blessings. However, because of the few, the many are labelled as bad. What people are criticising is in fact the body of Christ not what they think is called the Church. They do not know how to differentiate between the true and false Church. It has taken people ages to work out that God brings people together in His body not denominations. The body is His dwelling place and where He chooses to reside. Let us understand this and work out our fears and criticisms based on what God is saying about this place called ‘There”. When we do come to this place in the person of Christ, we realise our own shortcomings and weaknesses and find that we are not as sinless as we thought. In this place, nothing is hidden or secret. Everything is exposed and we will know ourselves even as we are known by Him.
God asked Moses to come to this place called ‘There’. It was the inner most sanctum of God. God said that He would meet Moses there. I want to go this place called ‘There’ and find my rest and comfort, power and answers to be able to be blessed to be a blessing. Choose to follow Him and go where He goes
Lots of love
Pastor Noble
17/07/2016