Bitter and Sweet

(Rev. 1:9, 10:10,11,  Ex. 15:23-25)

On Patmos, John had what we might say is the greatest revelation of the glorified Christ recorded.  As this progressed he was given a little book to eat.  It was sweet in his mouth and bitter in his belly.  When Moses led Israel through the wilderness, they were thirsty and found water at Mara.  It was bitter.  Moses turned to the Lord and was directed to a tree that turned the water to a sweet drink to quench the thirst of those on the journey.  We know the tree represents the cross that Jesus bore.  Symbols of the cross show up again and again through the wilderness.

At the cross, Jesus gave us the answer to bitterness.  He bore the pain by spitting out the medicine that would cover it up.  He did not allow the pain inflicted to be diminished by bitterness.  It is a test for us, a lesson learned, to not allow bitterness to fester.  We each have a little book, a journey of our lives.  That book is given to us by God.  It is like the journey of God’s people through the wilderness.  We may come to an experience that we hope will satisfy, only to find it bitter.  If we see that God has a way out, a solution, so that we can receive what we need, the bitter can be made sweet.  His solutions include letting go.  Who wants to drink bitterness?  We have heard it in different ways that it will make you sick and may even kill you.

If we consider Jesus, we see the pain He took on Himself.  It is a part of His carrying our bad stuff, our sin.  As we pass through our wilderness times, we see it is all a part of this world.  If we hear Jesus call and take up our cross becoming a true disciple, we begin to share in His sufferings.  We know something of the pain He bore and we develop grace and true kindness for others.  This was John’s experience.  His writing after Patmos is of a different perspective than others.

I noticed that John’s experience was reverse of Israel’s.  John first knew the sweetness and then the bitterness.  Is it not so with the cross?  When we first know what Christ has done, the joy, the sweetness is wonderful.  Then it’s work within reveals the bitter places.  He searches us and knows us and the work of the cross within sets us free.  When we let it work, sweet water will flow out to others.  If we do not recognize the Spirit’s working, bitter water may come out.  As James writes can a fountain bring out both sweet and bitter water?  It should not be so.  If we see it happen, we know to seek that change called repentance.  At such moments, I find myself asking the Lord, “What is my problem?”  I know the answer.

Both Israel and John were on journeys.  Both provide examples for us.  One is well before the revelation of the Son of God.  The other is after.  To whom should we pay more attention?  We might say neither.  And that last thought is important.  We need to pay heed to the daystar, the morning star, arising in our hearts.  That phrase is wonderfully creative.  Peter, a fisherman, wrote that.  When he wrote that, he had moved into his task of feeding Jesus’s sheep.  But that was Peter.  What about you?  What about today?  Are you knowing the leading of the Spirit?  Are you hearing His voice?  Are you growing in grace, in truth, in love for the Lord our God, and for those around you?

Following the Lord brings growth.  It brings change.  Along the way we will know the bitter and the sweet.  Remember Paul’s words to the Philippians, I press on to know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.  Life and death.  Death and life.  Simultaneous, synchronized working of the Spirit in us from the inner man out until we receive the redemption of our bodies.

Baptisms

(Eph. 5:18, Matt. 20:22-23, Luke 12:49-53, Rom. 6:4, Eph. 4:5, Ezek. 47:1-12)

Among the Greeks, the word baptism was applied to the sinking of a ship.  Most of us would understand that the Lord’s intention in baptism is that we would be fully immersed.  While the outward act is important and was specifically directed by Jesus, our experience of being totally immersed in Christ is most important.  That is a process and not a onetime event.  Nevertheless, the act of baptism is an essential beginning.

It comes to mind that Paul wrote, of God are you in Christ Jesus.  Without faith in the working of God through all that He accomplished in Christ, we would pursue outward acts to grow.  That will never yield a lasting result.  God works something in us and we respond in and by faith toward Him.  We have the example of Jesus, that at the beginning of His exposure to the masse, He was baptized by John.  Jesus called it an act of righteousness.  It represents our dying to our old life and being raised to a new one in Christ.  Today practices and timing vary but the original idea of being immersed is important.  And it is progressive.

In the passages in Matthew and Luke, Jesus refers to a baptism He is moving toward.  While the same word is used, this is another type of baptism.  He is pressing in to fulfill the will of God, the purpose of God, for His life.  If we follow Him as the 12 did, we will find ourselves moving toward this baptism also.  He refers to it in the context of fire.  It is a passionate pursuit.  He is straightened, distressed for it to be done.  This is the thought expressed.  Are we in the process of being immersed into a passionate pursuit of God’s purpose?  Ultimately it is a refinement of being conformed to the image of His Son.  It is the process of letting go so that the life of Christ would be expressed in our lives.

The picture which we have through Ezekiel is different.  Do you see the progression\?  Some mature saints I met years ago expressed the thought of letting go the shoreline.  With Ezekiel, he was led into the river until it could not be crossed.  A full baptism leads you into the currents of God and you no longer want to exert the effort to leave.  You are “free” to leave but you know that every twist, turn, and all the dangers are worth the seeming risks.  In God, our end is sure and always good.  Jesus arrived at the point where He pressed into it.  He knew His entry into Jerusalem on the foal of a colt was not the victory it appeared to be.  The victory would come when He finished His work.  And it would be revealed when He was raised.  Was there ever such an intensity of spiritual activity within such a short time?  I think even the final day and hour will not compare.

We hear much of the prophetic.  Many have dreams and visions.  Some are clear and full and their results confirm they are from the Spirit of God.  I sense others are mixed, our own desires mingling with God’s.  I see this among the prophetic when we are seeking to know God’s next move.  We miss it.  I cannot submit myself to the dreams, visions, and prophecies of others.  However, we know of the times where someone confirms what we are already hearing.  And sometimes, the words from one are confirmed later in another way.  Recently however, I have sensed whole groups of prophetic people missing it collectively.  Are we listening to one another and missing the Lord’s voice?

I am increasingly aware of our wrapping the history of earthly kingdoms with His purpose in the earth as if we know the future.  More than that we ascribe too much significance to earthly kingdoms.  The prophet Daniel confirmed that Nebuchadnezzar’s dream revealed the passing away as dust all the earthly kingdoms.  We do not seek for destruction but a complete displacement is coming.  It will be total.  Christ is not coming to establish an earthly kingdom.  He is coming so that the heavenly kingdom will fill the earth.  We keep seeking for Him to fix the old creation.  That is not what we read nor what we should expect.  He is bringing a new creation.  Christ Jesus is the firstborn from the dead.  He is the firstborn of a new creation.  All things will be summed up in Him.  One baptism.  To be immersed in and filled with Christ.  Will you allow the Lord to sink you like a ship?  You need to lose your anchors and let go of the shore and safety of the harbor.  All those are temporary anyway.