Elijah was deep in the cave when he heard the sound of four tremendous manifestations of Gods’ presence.  God passed by just like Elijah had hoped, as he thought about when Moses met with God. Then came a wind with nuclear like energy. The greatest wind that has ever swept the earth. This wind parted rocks and split granite with its power. It was frightening!  Then there was an earthquake, followed by fire falling from heaven which blackened and melted the rocks with heat, but Gods voice was not in these things.

Although all of those manifestations of Gods power could break things, shake thing and burn things, they could not build things or restore prophets. The most powerful of all of God manifestations is His voice, the Word of the God.  By His voice He creates worlds, brings forth hail, raises up governments and hospitals and causes small babies and churches to be birthed. Only the Word of God can bring health, hope and purpose.

Friends, are you in a cave hoping for a wildly visible and noisy manifestation, but have heard nothing? Of course God wants to bring you His rushing wind, and the fire and shake the place you are in, but no one shouts when they are seeking intimacy with another. A whisper is all we need.  He whispers so we have to draw closer. Can you hear His still small voice? Let the wind and the fire do its work but when you hear His voice, it will build you up, heal your heart, and give you a fresh commision to leave the cave with purpose.

Years ago our family visited the Fragonard perfume factory, in Grasse France, and we learnt that perfume was invented there. One of the first users were leather workers to hide the smell of tanning animal hides. The men would rub it on themselves before they went home! But centuries ago perfume was also used in India. The bride of the Maharajahs would clothe themselves with a tent like dress, then light a perfumed incense candle under the big dress, till the smoldering fragrance, got into every pore of her body. In the Bible, Esther was chosen by the King, but before she went in to the see the King, she underwent special fragrant treatments, to make her smell nice. She needed to smell just right for the King. It seems both ordinarily people and kings like the smell of perfume. Even the King of Kings!

The priests of Israel had to anoint themselves with the holy anointing oil, to cover the smell of their natural flesh, as they came into Gods presence. The flesh has a fragrance of its own; it is the smell of man, without God. A great theme in the Bible is that husband and wife should be equally yoked to each other. They should have the same “fragrance” about their life. In the Song of Songs, we find the bride groom and the bride have the same perfume. The fragrance is a picture of the fragrant anointing of God Spirit upon our lives.

Friend, God has chosen us and provided us with the fresh, clean and holy garments of righteousness and they smell great to the King. The fragrance of the Holy Spirit upon you, smells just like Him too. Draw near he’s approving and waiting on you!

Jesus led the disciples from the upper room, down to an old established garden at the bottom to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26).  The Garden of Gethsemane was a good place to be quiet and a place where He could wrestle with difficult decisions.  He found Himself having to say the same prayer repeatedly. Gethsemane means the Olive press. It was a beautiful but painful place. Even the old olive trees seemed distorted with stress.  In the garden among the old olives there were two invisible trees: the tree of Life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  His choice was clear but the struggle was still real. The tree of Life looked a lot like a cross and the other, caused the Son of God to shudder. Jesus had left the nine disciples behind and took his three friends into the garden to pray. Then leaving the three, He went even further to pray alone. He struggled with things the Father wanted that He didn’t want for Himself. He hoped His friends could strengthen him in His time of pain and returned to them a few times that afternoon. Each time they were asleep and could give Him nothing.  

In the Olive press we can feel separated from others and it seems that the only one going through this “garden” is us. Sometimes we go back to find people asleep and then God says, “If this Gethsemane does not change, My grace will be sufficient. Eventually Jesus was able to say to those from whom he looked to find help and support, “Let’s go” because He heard again the promise from his Father, “On the other side of the cross is resurrection life.”

Friend, if we keep going back and talking to Father in your garden we will receive grace for our “cross,” strength and power from the Tree of Life, and favor from the One who never slumbers nor sleeps.

David sat with a group of his leaders looking at the food spread on the mat before them. He felt like God had prepared a table for him in the presence of his enemies. We all have enemies, be they devils, strongholds, circumstances, our own thoughts, even people but they all oppose God's will being done in our life. We are at war but God has prepared His table long before the enemy of our soul shows up and everything we need to win, is on the table. This table is symbolic of relationship and every powerful blessing God has provided in Christ Jesus. This is the way God does it. We don’t fight the battle then enjoy the celebration.  God says to enjoy the victory feast that He has prepared and then join the battle.

After David’s kingdom was established, he asked if there were any of Jonathan’s relatives still alive. David had promised Jonathon, he would be kind to his descendants. He was told of one lame youth called Mephibosheth.  Mephibosheth was called to the palace and told of the kindness he was about to receive. He could now live in the palace as one of David’s royal sons and sit at the kings table every day. The table meant acceptance protection and kind provision. The gospel of Salvation is that God has provided for man, a table of forgiveness and mercy, at which we lame people, are invited to sit and feast with our royal king Jesus.  While Mephibosheth was seated at the table of the king, no one knew he was lame, and when we sit the kings table with Jesus, we look full of grace and unbeatable to the devil. But if we move away and stop feeding at the table of fellowship, we appear as we are in truth when independent; both lame and weak.

Friend, don’t enter your daily fight, skinny in the Spirit – go full and strong.  Too many saints turn up to the battle hopeful but famished.  Most of our struggles in life, are not because the enemies are too big, but because our time at the table is too small.

Jesus headed out of Jerusalem and walked toward a small town called Bethany. It was one of His favourite places and we went there often to be with His friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus. It was a place where He could receive refreshing and support from friends.

Both women sat down to listen, but Martha left to create a wheat snack for the One who created a world. Martha listened but Mary listened longer! When Martha complained to Jesus that Mary was not helping, Jesus said, “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen the best part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42)

Every day there are tasks to complete and people to see, but they will never be the best they could be, until we have done the best part which is to sit and listen. Without the best part Martha lost perspective, put value on the wrong things and even tells God that He didn’t see things clearly! Mary’s problem was that she was “too useful”! Being passive is not a virtue in the world or even in the kingdom of God but it is obvious wisdom, in the presence of Jesus. Your importance and what you can do, is zero compared with the importance of sitting with Jesus.

Mary on the other hand chose this best part. Another time she seemed to be wasteful in her worship. The ointment she poured on Jesus' feet was expensive and wiping His feet with her hair was shocking. Worship is not measurable by time or actions and may be costly to our pride. Worship that isn’t wasteful, probably isn’t really worship.

Friend, Jesus is still looking for Bethany types of places. Let us create a Bethany and sit at His feet. We often cannot control the things that happen in our lives each day, but we can create and enjoy the best part of every day.

It had already been a night to remember but it was going to end with a bombshell, about betrayal and denial.  When Jesus spoke of His betrayer, the disciples wondering who it could be, asked John to find out. “Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved…Then, leaning back on Jesus' breast, he said to Him, "Lord, who is it?“ (John 13:23-25).

The disciples were all invited to the dinner, but one disciple chose to sit the closest to Jesus.  John leaned upon the chest of Jesus as He reclined at the table and could ask Jesus questions that others dared not ask. We wonder what made John feel so comfortable that he could lie on the chest of another man and what freed John from being self-consciousness, so he could follow his heart.

This incident tells us so much about John and even more about Jesus.

Of course, Jesus loved all His disciples, but it was said that Jesus loved John more than the others, because John was the one able to receive the most love from Jesus.  Of all the disciples, John understood Jesus the best. He knew how Jesus wanted to love and to be loved. John knew to get up close and lean on Jesus as the fitting response to the love of the Creator. 

What does it tell us about Jesus? Jesus wants us to trust Him and to be comfortable and unselfconscious in His presence. It tells us that Jesus is affectionate. It tells us that He is fatherly and that He wants us to come very close to Him. It shows us that Jesus was consistent in His love, because John was in no doubt he would be received with joy.

Friend, the confidence that John had to do what others didn’t do, came from knowing Jesus’ love in a way that others didn’t know. Today get up close to Jesus, lean back on him and enjoy his love. The closer you get, the more  you’ll hear.

Arrested for preaching by religious leaders and badly treated, the two apostles still sung loudly in the darkness of the prison. It seemed like bravado, but it was a response to revelation.  They understood how to worship God and attract His powerful presence. (Acts 16.26) They knew that God dwells in our praise and joy and that His presence and joy go together. (Ps 16.11)

Joy is the atmosphere where God delights to dwell. That is a familiar environment for Him.  That is how you would prepare to be hospitable to God. He chooses to live in the atmosphere of joyous praise.

Many years before King David also knew that if he could reproduce the atmosphere of heaven, in his newly erected tabernacle on Zion, that God would dwell there and be enthroned there.  (2 Sam 6.17) He understood that if God was enthroned as king there, God would rule in the midst of His enemies and David’s enemies!

Friend, if we want to attract Gods presence around our life, in a fresh way we need to rejoice, because that is the atmosphere, he loves to live in. Surround yourself with joy and God will turn up in your circumstances.

The people had been to the edge of the Promised Land before but the failed to enter in. Now they were back and Joshua their new leader, was to bring them into something new. But how?

“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?" So, He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come” (Joshua 5:13).

They faced new challenges and new strongholds at Jericho.  Every year of our lives must have its challenges. We will meet situations that we have never met before. If we don’t, we aren’t entering into anything new but are just going in circles and repeating what we did yesterday in the wilderness.

Joshua didn’t recognise the Man in front of Him. He had never seen God like this before. God came to Joshua in a way he had never known before because he was going into a situation he had never faced before. God has a revelation for every new situation. We may already know He can make bread to feed 5000 but that doesn’t help us when we are stepping out on the water from the boat. This was a new situation; they needed to see Jesus walk on water. Every time the disciples were challenged by a situation they had not been in before, they needed to know God in a new way. We never get to know God as the “Rock higher than I” until you’re in water up to your neck.

Joshua was entering into a new situation and that meant he needed to meet God in a new way. If our future is going to be new, then what we need from God will be new and how you need God to appear to you, will be new too. What Joshua knew of God to this point wasn’t enough, for his next fight. The way we got to the Jordan is not sufficient to get into Jericho! If we don’t see and meet the Man in front of us, we will repeat last year.

Friends, more of Gods inheritance for us, is really just more of God. We need to see the Man in front of us. He’s not behind us or to the side of us, nor is he a long way off. He is in front of you, so lift up your eyes. Can you see Him this morning? Just encountering Him will be enough to prepare you for your future. He has come to Lead you into your new day on the other side of your next battle.