Who is this man?

The man Joshua meets introduces himself as “Commander of the army of the Lord…” I believe it to be Jesus.

I don’t know what Joshua was thinking fully but we do know as he confronted the man with the sword he asked one question, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”

Joshua had conquest on his mind. The directive of the Lord to take the land of Canaan was working in him and driving him forward. However, there was one thing that Joshua needed even for himself – a Captain. A Superior to bow to. He after all was just a man.

Joshua was about to go beyond his own ability. Joshua was about to engage battle in places he did not know with a people he did not know. He had seen the cities and the people, had faith but needed something beyond himself.

He was a man of strength but Canaan would not be taken on his strength or wisdom alone. He needed to know that as the supreme leader of the people he himself was not the supreme leader. He was but flesh and the job would not be done by flesh.

Did you know that every man was meant to bow? It is in the heart of every man to bow down to a supreme commander? Even if he bows to himself in narcissism, he is still bowing. Even if he worships himself, he is still bowing in idolatry.

Man was meant to bow.

I believe Jesus (Commander of the armies of heaven) knew this and had a plan for his people. He knew even the best of his people, even the strongest, even those with the most faith – could bow to the wrong thing – could surrender to the wrong thing.

So…he establishes an encounter for Joshua that calls him to surrender to God in the form of Jesus first. Bow before Jesus and you’re bowing – you’re surrendering to the right person and setting your life on the right foundations.

I believe the conquest of Canaan was won at that moment. That encounter with the Commander set Joshua under the leadership of God and in so doing lifted all the “pressure” of having to make victory happen.

Victory was assured when Joshua surrendered. What a concept. Victory is found on your face in surrender before the Captain of the Hosts.

Novel idea. I think I’m going to try it.

Gordon is calling men out. ‘Stop finding your source of life from the woman or other things that don’t satisfy.’ He tells of the common myth in this last generation that it’s up to the woman to tell man how he should act.

We need to get in touch with a more tender heart and spirit, men are told. Gordon calls men to submit their wounds, anger, and brokenness to the cross of Christ in order to obtain freedom.

Restoring the Roar of the Lion (my paraphrase)…calls all men to re-engage in the battle called life. To re-engage with our families. To re-engage as prayer warriors. To have something to say when the devil messes with our wife or kids (Gen. 3 – she gave to the man standing there doing nothing, saying nothing…) To name our kids and call them into their future. To set a course of life for our families that lead them to the Lord Jesus for his higher purposes.

What would it look like for men to see the yoke of shame destroyed? How could a redeemed man change the course of history? What if we called women out in the beauty in which they stand instead of using them as objects of worship?

What if we actually lived into our gender? Standing for truth and willing to die on the line in the sand drawn with our swords of truth. Living for God and dying in His arms. What would it do to the next generation if we lived for their future and prepared them for it?

you can buy the book on-line at Amazon and yes, you can get an e-book for your iPad or Kindle.

notes on fasting … from the IHOP-KC community

A.                We must cooperate with the Spirit so that we may walk in the intimacy and power that the Scripture promises. One way to do this is to fast weekly. Fasting is, by definition, abstaining from food. See The Rewards of Fasting by Mike Bickle and Dana Candler for more on this.

B.                 Jesus said, “When you fast,” implying that fasting occurs regularly in a disciple’s life.

¹⁷When you fast… ¹⁸your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. (Mt. 6:17-18)

C.                 Jesus promised that the Father rewards fasting. This proclamation alone makes fasting important. Some of the rewards are external, as our circumstances are touched by God’s power. Some of the rewards are internal, as our hearts encounter Him in new depth. The idea that fasting changes us internally is new to some. It tenderizes our hearts. God gives grace to fast to any who ask.

D.                At IHOP-KC we urge people to fast at least one day a week. Two days a week is better. It is a false notion that fasting is extreme Christianity and is optional. Fasting is basic to the Christian life. There are exceptions: those pregnant or who have health problems should consult a doctor before fasting.

II.                Seven Types of Fasts in Scripture

A.                We fast to experience more of God’s power in our ministry. When the disciples could not set a demonized boy free, Jesus told them that that kind of demon could not go out except by prayer and fasting (Mt. 17:21). Many who led revivals fasted regularly, e.g. John Wesley, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, and Charles Finney. John G. Lake (1870–1935) sought God with much prayer and fasting. God released powerful miracles through him. In South Africa, within a five-year period, he witnessed 500,000 healings and led many thousands to Jesus.

B.                 We fast for prophetic revelation of the end times. Daniel sought God with fasting and prayer and received prophetic insight into God’s end-time plan (Dan. 9:1-3, 20-23; 10:1-3, 12-14).

C.                 We fast for the fulfillment of God’s promises to our family, city, or nation. The Lord has plans and promises for each family, city, and nation. We contend in prayer and fasting for their fulfillment as Daniel did for the fulfillment of God’s promise for Jerusalem (Dan. 9:1-3; 10:1-4).

D.                We fast to stop a crisis (individual/national). Mordecai and Esther called a fast to cry out to God to reverse a national crisis—the imminent destruction of the Jewish people (Esth. 4:1-3; 16).

E.                 We fast for protection. Before Ezra led a group back to Israel to help rebuild their nation, he fasted and prayed to God for protection on the journey because of the danger (Ezra 8:21-23).

F.                  We fast for direction. Throughout the NT, the church fasted for supernatural wisdom and direction. Paul and others fasted and prayed for direction for their ministry (Acts 13:1-2).

G.                We fast to grow in intimacy with Jesus (we refer to this as the Bridegroom fast, Mt. 9:15). Jesus said that after His death the apostles would mourn His absence and would fast out of desire for Him. This fast is motivated by the desire to encounter Jesus, rather than for power in ministry.

H.                Fasting is always voluntary. The level at which a person fasts from food should be determined according to age and with regard to various physical limitations. Those with an illness or with any history of an eating disorder should not fast except in consultation with their doctor. Minors are discouraged from fasting food. Minors who desire to fast are encouraged to consider non-food abstentions, such as TV, movies, internet surfing, video games, and other entertainment.

Holiness to me is understanding the dignity of being called out as a human being made in the image of God to display the knowledge of God. Holiness to me is seeing God for who he is and living in the overflow of fascination left imprinted on the heart.

The following are an excerpt from a teaching done by Mike Bickle regarding living holy before God. Enjoy!

A.                Holiness equips us to enjoy life together with God. We must not approach it in a negative way. The call to holiness is a call to the superior pleasures of being fascinated by the revelation of Jesus. I present two foundational truths and three practical principles in our pursuit of holiness.

B.                 Foundational truth #1: Being preoccupied with the superior pleasures of the gospel. God is the author of pleasure. He created us to enjoy physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual pleasures. The greatest pleasure we can know is the spiritual pleasure of God revealing God to our spirit.

C.                 God’s personality is filled with joy and pleasure. His throne is the epicenter of joy and pleasure for the universe. Our God is a happy God with happy holiness.

¹¹In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forever. (Ps. 16:11)

1.                  God created us with a longing for the pleasure of being fascinated, of being filled with marvel and wonder. Our longing for pleasure is part of our created design and must be satisfied; it will not go away. We will either satisfy it in God or in darkness. The Devil tempts us with “counterfeit” pleasures that are outside God’s will.

2.                  We are liberated from the inferior pleasures of sin by experiencing the superior pleasures of the beauty of Jesus. Without having a sense of awe in our relationship with God, we will live spiritually bored, and will be more vulnerable to Satan’s tactics.

D.                Foundational truth #2: Setting our heart on 100-fold obedience releases a dynamic in our spiritual life that enables us to have a vibrant heart. The pursuit of 98% obedience has a limited blessing. The last 2% is what positions us to live with a vibrant heart.

1.                  There is a “spark” of the Spirit in our heart when we seek to live in 100-fold obedience. God created us with a desire to be wholehearted for Him. It is necessary for our emotional health and satisfaction. Our heart does not function properly without this. Without something to die for, we have nothing to live for.

II.                victory over sin: 3 practical principles (Rom. 6:11-13)

A.                Principle #1 Knowing Principle (Rom. 6:11): We must know who we are in Christ and what we have received in Him as well as the truth about God’s heart as a Father and Bridegroom. We reckon or see ourselves as alive to God—that is, to see that we are enjoyed by God, indwelt by the Spirit, empowered to use the name of Jesus, and commissioned with a divine assignment

¹¹Reckon [see] yourselves to be…alive to God in Christ… (Rom. 6:11)

B.                 Principle #2 Resisting Principle (Rom. 6:12-13a): We resist sin, Satan, and sin-provoking circumstances. We resist the inward prompting of sin and the schemes of Satan. Paul’s emphasized self-denial. God chose the denial of our lustful desires as the arena in which we express our love to Him (Jn. 14:15, 21-23). We refuse circumstances that inflame sinful desires. We do not go to places, buy items, or look at or talk about that which stirs up sinful passions.

¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. ¹³And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin… (Rom. 6:12-13a)

C.                 Principle #3 Pursuing Principle (Rom. 6:13b): We serve and relate to God and people in love. We present ourselves to God, and our bodies as His instruments that He may use to bless others. Our first call is to love God with all our heart as worshipers of Jesus. We are to cultivate His presence in our life (intimacy with God). This includes fellowship with the indwelling Spirit and being preoccupied with the superior pleasures of the knowledge of God. We express love to people by offering our bodies as vessels for the Spirit to use to bless them.

¹³But present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (Rom. 6:13b)

D.                Summary: We must know truth, resist darkness, and pursue God and people. None of these principles can be omitted. We love God and people as we resist sin, Satan, and sin-provoking circumstances while knowing who we are in Christ and God’s heart as a Father and Bridegroom. Some pursue God at prayer meetings without knowing who they are in Christ or resisting sin.

Honey from the comb is absolutely amazing! What is greater is the honey from the word of God which is like the comb. Tasting the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, changes the soul and renews the mind.

Three times a day, I take a spoonful of honey and quote Prov. 24:13-14. I want the wisdom of the knowledge of God under my tongue, soothing my soul and leading is righteous paths.

We need to touch the truths of the knowledge of God on the earth to ground our souls to the reality of God…’on earth as it is in heaven.’

I am being grounded to the living reality that the goodness of God is a vital truth that changes our experience and the word that come off our tongue. I am being grounded to the truth that God is very good. My heart is ever appreciative and thankful for the grace to see, with gratitude, the glory of God found in every day life.

The goodness and faithfulness of God that the bee hive in my back yard faithfully produced as it should in the ways it was created to. One move of God’s hand and the whole hive would be lost in chaos.

Do you know that you and I were created by God’s design to follow the pattern set by us not only as creatures of instinct but with thoughts, emotions and desires that should all be centered on the One to whom all created order belongs?

All the mountains speak of His majestic splendor, the trees and vegetation display the knowledge of his beauty in full color; all creation worships him! But there was only one of his creation called out to love him in the way he loves. Humans! We were made with the capacity to receive love from God and love him back with the love he gives us. Yes, we are limited and weak but he knows that. He gave us a great calling. Would we love him?

My friends…what a transcendent, most powerful calling. We have been chosen, selected, to display the knowledge of the love of God as he gives it to us we give it back to him and to others. Many say yes, most say no – nonetheless, he continues to love.

I think we need to eat some honey…change some taste buds and perhaps the way we view life…

As a beginning bee keeper, I have often marveled at the bee as one of God’s creatures. 

Let me pick just one attribute of the bee. When a new bee is hatched, shortly after it takes its first flight. It comes out of the comb, is cleaned by other bees, and comes out on the ‘front porch’ of the hive. Then the bee turns a couple of times and sticks his back end up in the air. Sometimes you can see the electro-magnetic vibration taking place as the bees body vibrates. At that moment in time, the internal GPS of the bee is receiving the homing signal for the hive. No matter how far he flies from that moment on, his signal from that point will always bring him back to that point and the home hive. 

A bee always knows where home is.

It reminds me of the story in Luke 15 of the lost son who knew where home was. He was lost, had gone his own way. All his wealth was gone. BUT…he knew how to get home and to the arms of his father. I believe the story is more about the nature of the father but one thing is clear. The son knew where his home was. He knew the place that brought him forth and raised him, cared for him, feed him, clothed him – loved him. He knew where to go.

Do You!

Do you know where home is? Are you safely in the arms of the Father. Have you found your way home from the long journey away from the grace of a father who loves deeply and truthfully?

Maybe it’s time to come home.