Take time to rest, because the time to act will soon come!

The Lord gave me a vision of the word 'rest' and as I sought the Lord further, this is what He said, 

"Take time to 'rest' because the time to act will soon come. There is no benefit in restlessness. 'Rest' in My presence so that you will know exactly and specifically what to do when it is your time to take action!"

What is the definition of 'rest' to you? Let us look into the Bible the 'rest' that God wants you to have. 

Hebrews 4:1-3a (GNT): Now, God has offered us the promise that we may receive that rest He spoke about. Let us take care, then, that none of you will be found to have failed to receive that promised rest. For we have heard the Good News, just as they did. They heard the message, but it did them no good, because when they heard it, they did not accept it with faith. We who believe, then, do receive that rest which God promised. 

You see, God wants you to receive and enter His rest, just as He had rested on the 7th day after creating the world, and to rest in the finished work of His Son, Jesus on the cross. This is so that you will be able to walk in His calling and His will for you, by His grace. A similar message was told to the Israelites during Moses' time. But they disobeyed because they did not believe that they will receive any good or benefit by entering into the rest of God. Only those who believe that God is real, powerful and that He can respond to them will experience the true rest He wants to give them.

Hebrews 4:6-7 (GNT): Those who first heard the Good News did not receive that rest, because they did not believe. There are, then, others who are allowed to receive it. This is shown by the fact that God sets another day, which is called "Today." Many years later He spoke of it through David in the scripture already quoted: "If you hear God's voice today, do not be stubborn."

Do you know what that means? Hebrews 4:6-7 says that as long as you believe, you can enter His rest today, or any day! God was angry with the Israelites during Moses' time because of their unbelief. So, He spoke through King David later on and changed the 7th day (Sabbath) to enter His rest to 'Today'. You can cross-refer to Psalm 95. Whether you enter God's rest as an individual or assemble together to worship Him as a church (as stated in Hebrews 10:25), no specific day is required of you. Any day is your Sabbath when you receive and enter God's rest!

If you have not been spending time with God, condemn yourself no more. There's no point spending time blaming yourself. Today is the day to enter His rest! Now is your time!

Hebrews 4:10 (GNT): For those who receive that rest which God promised will rest from their own work, just as God rested from His.

Do you realize the significance of 'God resting from His work' after He had finished creating the world? 

God rested when He had completed His work perfectly and satisfied with the outcomes. So, by entering God's rest, you too will have satisfactory outcomes, and you can be at peace and be at rest! It means when you turn away from all the activities or matters that occupy your mind and start spending time with Him, you are entering God's rest! You are receiving the grace of God to get the solutions to solve your problems, and the wisdom of God to get your work done in the best and most innovative way!

The reason the Israelites had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years was because they failed to see the benefit of entering God's rest. They had no faith in God and they only knew how to complain whenever they did not get what they wanted. So, if you have friends who need to stop the vicious cycle of spinning around with their problems, teach them to enter into God's rest today!

Hebrews 4:11-13 (NKJV): Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

When you enter God's rest and spend time with Him, His Spirit will start working inside you, speaking the word of God to you. He will correct you of any wrong mindset or wrong actions. Allow Him! You can't hide your flaws and weaknesses from Him anyway, because everything is transparent before Him. Understand that He will not condemn you, because there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (as stated in Romans 8:1). 

But this is also the area many Christians fail. They are reluctant to allow the Spirit of God to work in their lives and change them. Hence, many are still struggling with their sins and weaknesses. It takes humility and a heart of repentance to let Him change you. But know this, those who humble before the Lord will suffer no shame. 

So, let the Holy Spirit realign you with God's will and values. When your mind is aligned with His, you will have a clear idea of the next step, or the next action you are supposed to take. Your problem will appear to be so small before you. All my life I have witnessed this: Nothing can stumble those who have rested in the presence of God!

Hebrews 4:14-16 (GNT): Let us, then, hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we have a great High Priest who has gone into the very presence of God - Jesus, the Son of God. Our High Priest is not one who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have a High Priest who was tempted in every way that we are, but did not sin. Let us have confidence, then, and approach God's throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.

There is nothing that Jesus cannot understand when it comes to your problems, sufferings, sins, weaknesses, anxieties, etc. He knows you as who you are. So, knowing that He knows you inside-out, come before Him and enter His rest without reservation. Receive His mercy and His grace. Let Him help you. He knows what's best for you. Resting in His presence, no problem can be too big for you. Amen!

But then, you might ask, "How do I enter into God's rest?" 

Since Psalm 95 is quoted in Hebrews chapter 4, you can learn from King David how he entered God's rest. King David praised God, he sang to God, he gave thanks to God, and he worshiped God by surrendering his life totally to God. He learnt to trust God for protection and provision since young. He was never bothered about his image as a king (as someone in high position) when he sang and danced before God. He humbled himself and repented when he was rebuked by Prophet Nathan for the sin he committed. He lived a lifestyle of worship and total surrender to God. He didn't fight back even when his own son (Absalom) took over his throne, because he knew his life and his future was in God's hand. And he lived a life of blessing and honor from God. A simple faith and trust in God! That's how King David entered God's rest. And that's what we can learn from him.

You can also learn from Apostle Paul, the way he received and entered God's rest just as he had written in Romans 8:26-27 and in 1 Corinthians 14:15. Apostle Paul encouraged others to pray and sing with their mind (i.e. with the languages they understand) and also to pray and sing with their spirit (i.e. to pray and sing in spiritual tongues given by the Spirit of God). Apostle Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 14:18 that he thanked God that he pray in the spirit more than the others. That's one way how he entered God's rest and received the revelation for many of his written epistles in the New Testament.

Another person you can learn from is Timothy (Apostle Paul's advice to Timothy as stated in 1 Timothy 4:14-15). When you meditate on the words that the Lord has spoken to you specifically, whether it's through prophecy, visions or dreams, He will empower you. When you enter into God's rest by meditating on His specific words for you, you are tapping into His anointing and power in His presence. So, think and talk often about the specific words that God has spoken to you. Practice those gifts and talents that He has imparted to you. And you will see good success. Amen!

Listen to the whole message in TiC YouTube channel. Click watch.

Worship for your breakthrough

The Lord spoke 3 times that this is a very crucial time for His people to worship Him:

1st: A vision of a river with rushing water pushed open a door. The Lord said, “Worship Me, and out of you will flow the rivers of living water to push open the door of breakthrough for you.”

2nd: Then, the Lord said, “Worship Me. I will cause the crooked way to be straightened and gates with iron bars to be opened for you.”

3rd: Again, the Lord said, “Worship Me from your heart. I will cause you to see the direction of My wind, where it will come from and where it will go to.

I believe the Lord meant your personal worship to Him. Our God is not crazy for fans to worship Him as an idol. When He asks for your worship, it is always for your benefit. In this case, it is for your breakthroughs in life, be it in relationship, finance, career, studies, etc.

God can teach you to get breakthrough
1st: A vision of a river with rushing water pushed open a door. The Lord said, “Worship Me, and out of you will flow the rivers of living water to push open the door of breakthrough for you.”

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NKJV)
Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

In your time of worship, you will reach a moment when you feel your burden being lifted up. You will feel lightened and happier. That is because you allow the rivers of God (Holy Spirit) to move in your life through your worship. Rivers is ‘nᵉhar’ in Hebrew with the root word ‘nâhar’, meaning ‘to sparkle, to be cheerful, to be lightened’. In the presence of God, your heaviness is lightened and your sadness is exchanged with His joy.

But don’t stop worshiping after you feel your burden is lifted up. Many worshipers of God stop worshiping right after they feel the presence of God. God wants you to worship Him not just to enjoy His presence. He wants you to come to Him so that He can teach you something in His presence. 

John 7:37-38 (NKJV)
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Drink is ‘pinō’ in Greek which means ‘imbibe’. Other meanings of ‘imbibe’ are ‘assimilate, absorb, learn, acquire, grasp’. The Lord invites you to come to Him and worship Him so that you can assimilate your mind with His, and so that you can absorb, learn, acquire, and grasp ideas or spiritual gifts from Him. After seeking and receiving from Him, out of your heart and your life will flow with His ideas or spiritual gifts that can change circumstances and transform lives.

To worship God is to seek His face and His way. As you worship God, your burden will be exchanged with His joy. In His presence, you will be taught with His knowledge, understanding and wisdom to get breakthrough for difficult situations. 

God can raise people to help you get breakthrough
2nd: Then, the Lord said, “Worship Me. I will cause the crooked way to be straightened and gates with iron bars to be opened for you.”

Isaiah 45:1-4 (NKJV) 
Thus says the LORD to His anointed, 
To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held – to subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings. To open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut; I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, who call you by name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant’s sake, and Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.

Prophet Isaiah prophesied about King Cyrus 150 years before this king of Persia was born. Though he was a pagan king, the Lord protected him, empowered him and used him to destroy the Babylonian’s kingdom. Through his victory over Babylon, God’s people were freed from 70 years of captivity and slavery in the foreign land. After conquering Babylon, the Lord moved the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put in writing that he was called by the LORD God of heaven to help His people rebuild His temple in Jerusalem (see Ezra 1:4).  

Ezra 1:5 (NKJV) 
Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem. 

Philippians (NKJV)
For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Soon after, the Lord also stirred up in His people the zeal to rebuild the temple and the wall of Jerusalem. The first batch of Jews who went back and settled at Judea was of King David’s linage. And that’s where the Savior Jesus was born, in Bethlehem, which is in the southern region of Judea. Subsequently, the city of Jerusalem and the temple in Jerusalem were rebuilt. These had enabled the fulfillment of the prophecy where the Messiah, Christ Jesus would die on the cross outside of the city of Jerusalem and the veil in the temple would be torn. The Lord had planned everything perfectly, one thing after another through centuries apart, making His redemption for the Jews and the whole world a reality until now. 

You see, God can use anyone to fulfill His plan on earth. When God’s people turned away from idol worship and cried out to Him during their captivity, He sent a King Cyrus to save them. If you would choose to worship Him instead of allowing yourself to be drowned by the overwhelming situation around you, He can raise up people (whether they are people in authority or common men) to lend you a hand.

To worship God is to admit your frailty and that you need the Almighty God. It signifies you taking your hands off to let His hand intervene. As you worship God, His Holy Spirit will stir up the hearts of people to give you favor and to help you, be it the non-believers, brethren in Christ, or even yourself (God can stir your heart to do things His way so that eventually you are helping yourself). 

God wants to share His secret with you
3rd: Again, the Lord said, “Worship Me from your heart. I will cause you to see the direction of My wind, where it will come from and where it will go to.”

Ecclesiastes 11:5 (NKJV)
As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything.

Wind is ‘rûwach’ in Hebrew which also means ‘breath’ or ‘spirit’. The above scripture is saying that no one could understand the mind or the heart of God. 

John 15:15(NKJV)
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 

Jesus has promised that He will make those who believe in Him (and walk in His ways) His friends, and they will also know His thoughts (see 1 Corinthians 2:16). By the way, the word ‘friends’ in John 15:15 is ‘philos’ in Greek, which actually means ‘dear, fond of (as in a friend)’. In other words, Jesus calls you His dearly beloved, someone whom He is fond of (as in a friend).

1 Corinthians 2:9-12
But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man know the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

 God allows you to know His thoughts by filling His Spirit in those who believe in Him.

To worship God is to fellowship with Him who is your closest confidant. As you worship and fellowship with God, He will tell you what He is doing in your life or in the world currently. He will also reveal to you things to come (see John 16:13). You will always be ready for any issue that may come in the future. As a result, you will have breakthrough after breakthrough and prosper in everything you do.

People of God, always plan time to have personal worship and fellowship with God. Know that He wants you to have an abundant and triumphant life on this earth. Nonetheless, worship Him simply because you know that He loves you.

He responds to your worship

You Are Special

As a believer, whether you are a child, a parent, a student, a worker, a manager, or a business owner, you’ll want to know God personally and what He has specifically for you, besides all the promises in the Bible in general.

If you have a ministry calling, a 2-way communication with Him is the ‘pre-requisite’ because in this case, your Father God is also the ‘Big Boss’! Otherwise, how else would you be so sure that you are ‘called’, how else would you know your ‘job-description’, and how else would you know what ministry direction/decision you should take from time to time? You can’t always go around chasing after the prophets of God for prophecies, as they aren’t prophetic vending machines! Also, if you do not have a direct communication with God, it’ll eventually be very frustrating if you try to ‘copy’ other established ministers’ ways/methods of ministry.

You are especially made by God to be ‘you’! There is no other ‘you’ on this earth! And He has a special purpose, way, and plan just for ‘you’!

Relationship In Worship

When it comes to relationship with God, it has to do with one’s worship life. Jesus said in John 4:23-24, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Most ministers of God would teach ‘to worship God’ is ‘to prostrate before God with reverence and adoration’.  No doubt, you are to worship God with reverence and adoration in your heart. But the Lord wants me to write about ‘worship’ from its Greek’s root word, prǒskuněō. ‘Pros’ means ‘to go forward or to go near’, while ‘Kuněō’ comes from the root word ‘Kuōn’ which means ‘dog’! Interestingly, to worship or to ‘prǒskuněō’ means ‘to kiss, like a dog licking the master’s hand’.

Have you ever seen how a dog welcomes the master at the door? The dog won’t bow down like a knight and lick the master’s hand with dignity! The dog would wiggle its tail, bark happily, and then playfully jump on the master while licking the master’s hands and face without second thought! And the master who is so delighted would give an affirming and adoring pat on its head, or a warm hug and a friendly rub around its neck, or even a loving peck!

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you are like dogs, but the above is to illustrate your worship life, i.e. your ‘responsiveness’ to God, and His ‘responsiveness’ to you, being ‘just as you are’ to Him, without hesitation and reservation. You see, God wants you to know that He always responds to you when you go near to Him, whether through your singing, praying, etc. When you worship without hesitation and reservation, a 2-way communication starts to happen. This is also written in James 4:8a, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Yes, as a believer, you can draw near to God without hesitation and reservation, worshiping Him in spirit and truth!

Worship God In Truth

Whenever we preach or minister, my husband and I will always point the people to Jesus and His perfect work on the cross, because Jesus is ‘truth and grace of God personified’. Truth and grace comes through Jesus Christ alone (see John 1:14-17).

It is written in Matthew 27:50-51, “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom…”

The veil in the temple those days separated the people from the Holy of Holies (where the presence of God is). Once every year, only the high priest would be able to enter the Holy of Holies, seeking God and making atonement on behalf of the people. But when the veil of the temple was torn the moment Jesus died on the cross, the way has been opened for you to have a direct communication with God. Jesus has therefore become the perfect mediator between God the Father and you.

God knows you can’t reach Him by your own self-effort. Big sins or small sins, all are equally sinful to the Holy God. The Bible says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23). That’s why He sent His only begotten Son Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, i.e. the perfect sacrifice, to take your place on the cross!

The word ‘truth’ in John 1:14-17, “… truth and grace comes through Jesus Christ alone” and John 4:24, “… worship in spirit and truth” is from the same Greek word ‘aletheia’ which means ‘truly, truth, verity’. Therefore, by knowing Jesus’ perfect work on the cross for you, you know the ‘truth’! When you understand and embrace this truth, you know nothing can stop you from going near to God, and nothing will be able to stop Him from coming close to you, not even your sins and imperfection. When God the Father sees you, He sees Jesus (and His perfect sacrifice) in you. You can therefore come boldly before His ‘throne of grace’ to worship Him. This is the truth in Jesus Christ, a simple truth that expresses God’s total acceptance of you and God’s perfect love for you, no matter what you have done or gone through in life.

To worship God in truth is to worship God in Jesus!

Worship God In Spirit

Jesus has also promised the Holy Spirit for you in John 14:16-17, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” The Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of truth dwells with you and is in you!

Jesus has made you righteous (i.e. in right standing) before God by taking your sins on Him (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). He has chosen to die on the cross for you. He has also conquered the consequence of sins which is death, for you. He has made you holy so that you can become ‘the temple of the Holy Spirit’ (see 1 Corinthians 6:19). For through Him (Jesus) we have access by one Spirit to the Father (Ephesians 2:18). By knowing the truth in Christ, every time you worship God in your spirit, you’re connected to God’s Spirit, and you get into the ‘right frequency’ with God. A 2-way communication with God is therefore always open for you!

When you worship in spirit and in truth, you are walking in the Holy Spirit. As you walk in the Spirit, there will be evidences of ‘the fruit of the Spirit’ which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (see Galatians 5:16-25). Godliness cannot be achieved by imposing religious discipline on oneself, but it is by worshiping in spirit and in truth, hence walking in the Holy Spirit. As a Christian, know that Jesus has already carried away your sins and therefore you are made righteous through Him, while the Holy Spirit in you continues to help you overcome the temptation to sin in this world. 

Therefore, in spite of all your imperfections, God will still respond to you when you worship Him in spirit and truth!

Interesting Life

Your life will be very interesting when you worship God in spirit and truth. Paul quoted the book of Joel in Acts 2:16-18, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.

Unlike the Old Covenant, every believer in the New Covenant can now ‘hear’ from God because you ‘house’ the Holy Spirit in you. He is ready to guide you, give you direction, warn you of danger/pitfalls, give confirmation, and provide solution in your daily life. Most of the time, you get His response when you worship Him in singing, in playing musical instruments, in conversational prayer, in praying in the spirit/tongue, in reading His Word, etc. God responds to you by bearing witness in your spirit (the ‘peace-go-ahead’ or ‘no-peace-stop-there’ signals in your heart), by dropping thoughts/words in your mind, and sometimes by speaking to you with audible voice, or through visions and dreams. Because the Holy Spirit is in you, He speaks your language and in the way you can understand Him. Even in dreams and visions, don’t be too quick to refer to other sources for interpretation as the Holy Spirit will reveal with symbols/objects or people that you can identify with according to your personal background. As different symbols carry different meaning to different people, the best interpreter you can have is the Holy Spirit Himself!

So, it’s not true that God only speaks to you once in a very long while, or when you are struggling in a ‘life and death situation’. He responds whenever you worship/go near to Him in spirit and truth, anytime and anywhere!