Save Now And Send

Save Now and Send...

The Water-Libation Ceremony Of The Feast Of Tabernacles

During the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) the intense anticipation of rain has come to part of the modern services of rabbis. Rain is a type of the Holy Spirit and a picture of the church's greatest need in these last hours. We must die in Christ in order to live. Revival will never come with intellectual agreement with biblical doctrine or historical facts. Revival comes when we recognize our utter and total need for Jesus and our hearts embrace His Cross. The Lord overcame death by dying and we do the same. That is true life and as we enter it we can overcome the power death has over us. Once we die, then we will see the release of resurrection life and power. Our cry is "save us now Lord, and SEND RAIN!" That is the message of Sukkot and the message of the true church of Jesus.

By Chris McDonald

TEXT: Psalm 118:25 - Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

Isaiah 12:3 - Therefore with Joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

The church is in such great need for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The words, "save now and send," echo in my heart over and over as I sit down and write this journal in the fall of 2004. We are less than 30 days away from one of this nation's most important elections between Sen. Kerry and our current President, George W. Bush. The soul of America is at stake in many arenas. More importantly though the soul of the American CHURCH is at stake as well. We need revival, plain and simple. Only the Holy Spirit can bring us this revival. All of the church's slick talk and Hollywood-type gimmicks have done NOTHING to change society. If anything it has brought this society to a perilous position in its relation with a Holy God. Hear what I say to you friend. The church cannot save a world that it is in bed with! I want to say that again. We will NEVER save a world lost in sin and darkness that we are in the same ditch with. The way out of the ditch is for us to admit we are lost without HIM and cry out for Him to "save now and send!" Those were the words of Sukkot, known as the Feast of Booths, the Feast of Lights, the Feast of Tabernacles. They were taken from the Ascent Psalms (113-118), written by the Holy Spirit, birthed in the heart of David, the great song-writer of Israel. Our text of Psalms 118:25 is one of the main ones the Priests would recite as they poured out the water upon the altar.

It is interesting to note that the 118th Psalm was the last of the Hebrew Hallel, the closing refrain of a great sacred chant the Hebrews proclaimed at their great festivals, and it is most probable the very hymn Christ sang as He went from the upper chamber to the Mount of Olives. This Psalm contains a summary of the whole work of our redemption and the conflict and victory of Christ. Its Messianic character is established by the Lord Himself and is indeed a picture of His inner life in the sufferings and conflicts of Calvary.

This was the Psalm that was quoted during Simchat Beit HaShoevah, the name of the ceremony on Sukkot. Three groups of people are summoned to praise the Lord in this Psalm:

The whole house of Israel
the house of Aaron
the whole company of them that fear the Lord

The phrase taken from this 25th verse, "save now and send prosperity," literally means "Hosanna!" This was the cry which became so familiar in the streets of Jerusalem, that the very children took it up and rang it out on the air as their little prayer to Jesus, in defiance of the hate of scribes and Pharisees. In its place in the psalm it describes the salvation of the gospel as it follows in its natural order the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Holy Spirit has birthed that in every single born again child of God. It is the cry that ALL HUMANITY must make or face eternal damnation and separation from God. It is called the Penitent's prayer. More on that in a minute.

Simchat Beit HaShoevah, which means the rejoicing in the house of the water pouring, is a ceremony included in the temple (Beit HaMikdash) services not mentioned in the Torah, but given in the Mishnah (Succah 5). The water pouring became a focus of the joy that the Torah commands for Sukkot. One of the most intriguing during this season was the intense anticipation of rain that was reflected in the temple services. Each morning of Tabernacles, a water libation (sacrificial pouring out of a liquid) was offered to the Lord as a visual prayer for rain. Shortly after dawn each morning, while the many sacrifices were being prepared, the high priest was accompanied by a joyous procession of music and worshipers down to the Pool of Siloam. The high priest carried a golden pitcher capable of holding a little more than a quart of water. He carefully dipped the pitcher into the pool and brought it back to the Temple Mount.

At the same time, another procession went down to a nearby location south of Jerusalem known as Motza where willows of the brook grew in great abundance. There they gathered the long, thin willows and brought them back to the temple. At the Temple, the willows were placed on the sides of the altar so that their tops formed a canopy of drooping branches over the altar. Meanwhile the high priest with the water from the Pool of Siloam had reached the southern gate of the Temple. It was known as the WATER GATE because of this ceremony. As he entered, three blasts of the silver trumpets sounded outside the Temple, and the priests with one voice repeated the words of Isaiah:

Isaiah 12:3 - Therefore with JOY you will draw water from the WELLS OF SALVATION

On no other festival were the people commanded to be joyful, and as a result Sukkot (Tabernacles) became known as "the season of our joy," just as Passover (Pesach) is "the season of our freedom" and Shavuot (Pentecost) is "the season of the giving of the Torah." We Must Draw Out of the Wells of Salvation The Water of the Holy Spirit!

When Jesus addressed the people in the Temple on the last day of the feast, He alluded to the same fact. He said, "He who believes on Me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38). This was the purest water, the most valued water, and water that would never dry up. Ancient Jewish theology connected the water-drawing ceremony with the Holy Spirit. "Why do they call it, 'the house of drawing'? Because they draw the Holy Spirit" (Gen. Rab. 70:1) And again, "Why is the name of it called, the drawing out of water" Because of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit according to what is said: 'With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation'" (Ruth Rab. 4:7 They believed the Holy Spirit came upon them and manifested Himself through great JOY! Jesus' reference to water was used with the exact same connotation and connection. "But this spoke concerning the SPIRIT, whom those believing in Him would receive." (John 7:39) The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is relation to salvation was a much-repeated theme of the Old Testament prophets:

Ezekiel 11:19 - And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
Ezekiel 36:27 - And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Ezekiel 37:14 - And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.

And the outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the believer was also a much-repeated theme of the Old Testament:

Isaiah 28:11-13 - For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. [12] To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. [13] But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Joel 2:28-29 - And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: [29] And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

Peter quoted Joel's passage on the Day of Pentecost. When you embrace the Holy Spirit, you are with JOY DRAWING OUT of the wells of salvation. You cannot receive the Holy Spirit without being saved. The Holy Spirit is but a blessing of salvation. He is not an 'it' or a 'force' or an abstract theological idea. He is GOD. When you get saved, He comes into your heart to LIVE within you every day, convicting of sin, convincing of righteousness and judging the enemy within you to make a living VESSEL FOR GOD, a TABERNACLE if you would. When He comes, He brings JESUS WITH HIM! The life of Jesus is produced in your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit, the anointing of the Spirit, the grace of the Holy Spirit, the communion of the Holy Spirit - all of these come as a direct result of the CROSS and the finished work of CHRIST through His Blood. True faith is faith that is placed in the CROSS of CHRIST and nothing else. It's not "faith" in our "faith" that causes the Holy Spirit to come. He comes as we place our faith in CHRIST. His job is to actually point us TO CHRIST. He does this for the believer because the Holy Spirit knows that it is ONLY on the grounds of the legal commitment the cross met can the Spirit of God do His work within our lives.

After you are saved however, you need the Holy Spirit baptism in the spiritual, just as we need water in the natural. Water is absolutely essential to physical life and the baptism in the Holy Spirit is essential to one's spiritual life. No man, woman, boy or girl, can survive in the natural without water, and the same can be said about surviving without the Holy Spirit in the spiritual. And when you get saved, if you will believe, Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and that WELL within you will become RIVERS OF LIVING WATER! Glory of God. And it is a river of life! We used to sing a little chorus not too long back that went "I got a river of life flowing out of me, makes the lame to walk and the blind to see, opens prison doors, sets the captives FREE, I've got a river of life flowing out of me." GLORY. That river is the same water they poured out on the Feast of Tabernacles. That is why they called it the Rejoicing of the House of Water Drawing cause when they drew it out - THEY WORSHIPPED!

Some argue we get the Holy Spirit at conversion and that is all there is to the depths of the Spirit. In one minute sense they are right. When one comes to believing faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells the believer. There is no argument on that. But there is a DIFFERENCE between being "born of the Spirit," and being "baptized in the Holy Ghost" with the evidence of speaking with other tongues.

John 4:14
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

John 7:37-39
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. [38] He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. [39] (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

I know the term "baptized," trips many people up because Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12 that we are "all baptized into one body by the Spirit of God." That is the work of the Holy Spirit at conversion. HE (the Holy Spirit) brings us to Christ by conviction and when He sees our faith being placed in the Cross, He baptizes us "into Christ." Once into the Body of Christ, the Lord Jesus then upon our faith in HIM and asking for power, "baptizes in the Holy Ghost and fire."

Luke 24:49
And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Luke 3:16
John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: He (Jesus) shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

1 Cor. 12:13-25
For by one Spirit (the HOLY SPIRIT) are we all baptized into one body (CHRIST), whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. [14] For the body is not one member, but many.

As the high priest poured out the water libation before the Lord, a drink offering of wine was simultaneously poured into the other basin. Three blasts of the silver trumpets immediately followed the pouring and signaled the start of the Temple music. The people listened as a choir of Levites sang the Hallel (i.e. the praise Psalms 113-118). At the proper time, the congregation waved their palm branches toward the altar and joined in singing: "Save now, I pray, Oh Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity" (Psalms 118:25). At the same time the priests, with palm branches in hand, marched once toward the altar.

Psalm 118 was viewed as a messianic psalm and as such gave the feast a messianic emphasis. This is why Jesus was greeted by the crowds shouting Hosanna (Hebrew for "SAVE NOW" in 118:25) and waving palm branches on His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:8-9; Luke 19:38; John 12:13). They viewed Him as the Messiah King, come to deliver ("save now" Israel in fulfillment of Psalm 118.)

Psalm 118:25 - Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
Matthew 21:8-9 - And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. [9] And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
Luke 19:38 - Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
John 12:13 - Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.

They hailed Him with the messianic imagery of palm branches from the Feast of Tabernacles. This same imagery is in view in Revelation 7:9-10 where redeemed saints worship, with palm branches in hand, around the throne of God and of the Lamb:

Rev. 7:9-10 - After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; [10] And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

This custom of carrying branches and singing psalms during the Feast of Tabernacles is of ancient origin. It dates back at least to the time of the Maccabees, some 165 years before Christ (cf. Mac. 10:6-7).

The Holy Spirit is a Worshipper In You - A Picture Of Poured-Out Water

People who are full of the Holy Ghost are people who WORSHIP. They may be people who SING. They may people who DANCE. They may people who TALK IN TONGUES. They may people who are not afraid to CRY and lay out before God and moan, and groan in the Spirit and mourn over the lost and hurting. But above ALL things, people who are full of the Holy Ghost, are people who worship JESUS and JESUS alone. The Holy Spirit has come to form CHRIST within us so we can know the will of God for our lives. It's God's predestined plan for the believer once he uses true faith to take hold of eternal life through Christ:

Romans 8:26-28
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. [28] And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

            Holy Ghost filled people who people who are not afraid to RUN, LEAP, SHOUT and glorify the name of the Lord. I know being a Christian is not about emotion, but honey when you get full of God you won't be able to contain yourself! You won't be able to keep sitting on that cold pew every Sunday listening to that cold sermon from that dead, cold preacher who is probably telling you all of this is foolish and probably of the devil. OH GLORY TO GOD. Honey, when you draw out of the wells of salvation, you worry any longer about what Susie is wearing at church, or what car Jim drove to church, or who is up there doing the leading in worship. You'll be so caught up in the LORD you won't have time for all that mess. You'll want to find every possible opportunity you can find to WORSHIP!!!!!!!!!! the LORD!!!!!!!!!!

        Why? Because the Holy Ghost in you is a WORSHIPPER! And He is wanting to flow through you to a lost and dying world and to those in the Body of Christ who need to taste of the living waters. When you taste these waters, you will rejoice. It will be a time of rejoicing of the house of water drawing. It will be a time of shouting. It will be a time of praise. It will be a time of freedom!

John 4:20-24 - Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

        If you are not a worshipper you are not in tune with the Holy Spirit. God is a SPIRIT and He is only touched when we worship him by our spirits, which if we are saved, indwelt by the HOLY SPIRIT. The Holy Spirit is actively worshipping the LORD through US! When you are praying in tongues, you are worshipping the Lord IN THE SPIRIT. This does not mean we all will act alike and it does not mean that every worship experience is the same. There is tremendous truth in the fact that some of the most intimate times with God are not times with lots of noise and hoopla. Some of the most powerful moves of the Spirit of God come when we are quiet before Him and just rest in His presence. God wants us to "shut up" sort to speak and LISTEN to what the SPIRIT IS SAYING TO THE CHURCH. We are so arrogant, smug and proud in our churches today we don't feel the need to listen to what God is saying. We say we do, but our arrogance reveals something else.

The Holy Spirit is looking for worshippers that He can pour out through in this last hour. He wants to send water onto a dry, parched and spiritually dying WORLD that is so thirsty for God. The drunk may not understand that God is what He ultimately needs but God is the only source of satisfaction he/she will find. The drug addict may never understand God is all they need, but ultimately God is the only source of salvation they will find. SAVE NOW and SEND RAIN, Lord. SAVE NOW AND SEND RAIN!

My Lord, someone needs to shout. I hear the Spirit crying this right now in my own spirit - "SAVE NOW AND SEND!" "SAVE NOW AND SEND!" Send what? Send salvation. Send blessing. Send deliverance. Send glory. Send honor. Send JESUS to us through revelation and prophetic utterances. SEND PROPHECY to testify of the CHRIST who has died for us and set man free from the shackles and chains of sin. SEND a shaking to the nation of America that will transform us into a nation of righteousness once again. SAVE NOW Lord and SEND! Save NOW LORD and SEND!

Psalm 118:25 - Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

The Promise of Rain

The other aspect of this great celebration was the anticipation of RAIN. This expectation was at its annual high during the "Rejoicing of the House of Water Drawing." Jewish tradition held that it was on this day that God declared whether there would be rain for the coming year's crops. The Feast of Tabernacles occurs at Israel's change of seasons and marks the beginning of the winter rainy season. Jerusalem's rainfall occurs between November and March only.

        These refreshing rains bring necessary moisture for working the soil and the sprouting of new crops. If for some reason the weather patterns are such that several weeks of rainfall are missed, a dire water shortage can quickly develop for the coming year's crops. Because the Feast of Tabernacles is observed at this important junction when the anticipation of rain is at its highest, the two have become inseparably connected. Even today, the prayers of rain remain an important part of Tabernacles' observance. Consequently, on this final day of the feast, the Temple water-pouring ritual took on great importance. Water was the foremost thought on every one's mind.

        On the other six days of this feast, the silver trumpets gave THREE blasts. On this day of the pouring out of water, the trumpets gave THREE SETS OF SEVEN (21)blasts. On the other six days, the priests made but ONE circuit around the altar. On this day of the outpouring of water, the priests made SEVEN. As they marched around the altar, they sang the Hosanna verse (Psalm 118:25) and the people waved palm branches. For these reasons, the day was known as Hoshanah Rabbah, or "Great Hosanna". As we have stated throughout this journal, thoughts of rain for the coming year and messianic fervor (Psalms118) were at their highest pitch Just as they waited for rain during the Feast of Tabernacles, I believe the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is awaiting a true RAIN of the Spirit of God.

James 5:7-9 - Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

        We have seen sprinkles here and there and maybe even a shower from time to time, but we have YET to see the prophetic outpouring of God's Spirit foretold by Joel, like we are about to see. Believe what I say to you. What you are witnessing around the world right now is but a mere preview of what is ahead. Not only are the rains coming to the BODY corporately, but I believe each one of us will experience the rains individually as well. When we embrace the living waters the next step in our blessing are the RAINS of the Holy Spirit! The only things that hinder this celebration in our lives are unbelief and a religious spirit. You need the illumination of the Light of Jesus and the life-giving power of the living waters of the Holy Spirit. You need to be praying in tongues every day, every minute, every second you can. You need to let the Holy Spirit flow all over you, in you, through you, underneath you, over you and out of you to a world waiting for a drink.

        James predicts that the Lord will send us the former (spring) and the latter (FALL) rains. Yet in his address he warns us not to grumble against each other or we will be judged. We are seeing a drought right now in many areas of the church, especially in the Western Church, of the true move of God's Spirit. Activity does not mean there is life there. Huge buildings and lots of money does not necessarily mean that all is well. And that is how we view success in our churches. But how many souls are being saved, how many people are being healed, how many people are being baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues, how many people are getting delivered??? We see God heal on national television and many in the church mock the move of God or the man of God through whom God is working and using. We hear about someone speaking in other tongues and many in the church spurn it and call it of Satan. We hear about a deliverance and many in the church want PROOF because they seek to justify their unbelief in the supernatural of God. There is a drought because our unbelief and it has stopped the RAINS from coming.

    We need to REPENT as the church and do what Peter told us to do in Acts - RETURN TO GOD. For when we REPENT and TURN TO GOD we will see the rains come and the TIMES OF REFRESHING from the Lord! We need those rains. We must have those rains. We can't live without those rains. We need the Holy Spirit! We need Him to show us Jesus and show us our condition without HIM. We need to rend our hearts and see heaven open. We need to repent of our division and complaining and murmuring like Israel in the wilderness. We need to repent of our selfishness and covetousness. It's alright to be covetous of the things of God, but the spirit of covetousness in the church today is not for God, it's for the power, prestige and recognition of the WORLD. We need to repent of who we ARE, because who we are is the biggest hindrance to what God is trying to do in the earth. When we get out of the way and allow the Lord Jesus to live it and produce it through us - THEN WE SEE THE REJOICING OF THE HOUSE OF WATER DRAWING. It is coming back to the Body of Christ. We are going to see the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 3:19-21 - Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
20 and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you-- even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.

The Rains And The Offerings

During the seven days of the Festival of Sukkot, in addition to the water being poured on the altar as a libation accompanying the daily morning sacrifice, there were also burnt offerings and peace offerings sacrificed on the altar as well. The burnt offering and peace offerings were accompanied by a flour offering and by the pouring of a prescribed amount of wine on the altar. This typified once again that the Holy Spirit works ONLY through the prescribed order of sacrifice. God's prescribed order of sacrifice is the CROSS of Christ. Peace offerings typifying that only when we experience the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives can true peace come to our hearts. Christ has made peace between sinful man and a thrice-holy God. Wine was a type of the JOY that accompanies these experiences. We may not be happy every single day of our lives, but we can have JOY. It's a joy the world does not give to us and it's a JOY the world cannot take away!

Sukkot was the only festival of the three major feasts of Israel where JOY was actually commanded. No reference to joy is made in the verses that speak about the Festival of Pesach; when speaking about Shavuot, the Torah refers to the concept of joy only once. When speaking about Sukkot, however, the Torah uses the word joy three times:

Leviticus 23:40
And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.

Deut. 15:14
Thou shall furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shall give unto him. And thou shall remember that thou was a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.

At the foothills of Mount Moriah, down below in the City of David, flows a natural spring called Shiloach. This spring is ancient, and as it is located literally in the shadow of the Holy Temple, it has always had spiritual significance for Israel. It is the original source of Jerusalem's water. It is a type of CHRIST - the original source of water for us as well.

True Biblical Prosperity - Spiritual Water Instead of Natural Water

Jeremiah 2:13
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Psalm 118:25 - Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

Man has always had a tendency to concentrate on the natural water that refreshes the body while ignoring the spiritual water that gives life to the soul. When Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman, she was wanting natural water; Jesus wanted her to receive spiritual water. Natural water may satisfy temporarily, but spiritual water satisfies for eternity. One is for the flesh, one for the soul.

It is in type the difference between false prosperity and true Bible prosperity. The Psalm of Sukkot asks the Lord to "Save now and send prosperity." Many stumble over this issue on both sides not understanding the heart of God. Let me be the first to tell you - I don't know or have all the answers either. I do know the Lord wants to bless His people. I know the Lord is not glorified or pleased when we are in poverty, can't pay our bills in a timely fashion, in need and want all the time and never having enough to carry out His purposes and plans for our lives. If there is lack in one's finances, it's not a lack of faith, but more than likely either ignorance, unbelief or (and I don't say this as a blanket answer) unconfessed sin in one's life. God does not want to keep blessings from His people. If there is a block in the communication lines it's always on our end, not God's.

Having said that I will also say this. Just because we're NOT in abundance in the sense of material blessings and finances does not mean we're out of the will of God no more than having riches in that vein means that we are. People get the two confused, myself included, many times. Jesus told the rich young ruler that true prosperity was more eternal than temporal. We tend to think it's temporal now a days instead of eternal. I remember reading a revivalists statement not too long ago that said, "its better for the church to poor and be saved, than to be rich and be lost!" That's powerful! I know some read that and say, "well brother, we don't need to walk around with a poverty mentality in the church because we have a right to have these things." It's the "THINGS" that's keeping the spiritual presence of God away. Some of the most affluent churches in America are some of the most deadest. The more affluent the church is the more self-righteous it tends to be. Not because money or affluence is evil in itself, it's because man puts his security in those things thinking it's a sign of God's favor if we have all the trinkets and bobbles the world and this life can afford.

Abraham's prosperity went far deeper than just having a few extra camels on the side. He was blessed because he had put his faith in the coming LAMB and received justification from God. I had lunch just the other day with a lady who runs a homeless ministry in the city we live in. She told me that her greatest obstacle in ministering to those in need was not having enough funds. She had went to church after church after church seeking help only to be told by most all their money was tied up in building projects. Friend, let me tell you. Stone and mortar will pass away one day but the eternal matters of the heart, soul and spirit will never! A tornado can remove our temporal "idols" in one second. A fire can burn down our 20-foot ceilings in one second. But the soul of man never dies. Our funds need not be sunk in projects that will ultimately glorify man but our money needs to be given to ministries feeding the hungry, the poor, the destitute, and reaching out with the gospel of Christ all over this world. SAVE NOW Lord and send prosperity! We need to be saved first, then ask for prosperity.

3 John 1:2
Beloved, I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

Notice the verse says, "as your soul prospers." Many worry about prospering in the natural without worrying about the spiritual. We had better worry about the spiritual FIRST then let God do what He wants to in the natural. When we die friend, there won't be a U-Haul trailer behind us. When we die friend, our investment banker won't be along side to tell us what to do with our money. Mammon will send your soul to hell. You cannot serve both God AND money. And no amount of twisting the scriptures to justify our backslidden, selfish, self-righteous and ignorant hearts will change that. Our false doctrines are cisterns that hold no water. We offer people a gospel today that offers no deliverance, no salvation, no rest, no refreshing. Yet we arrogantly refuse to admit our need and absence of God's truth in our hearts.

God help us in this hour when men's souls are teetering off into hell by the second that we seek to make our foolishness even more deep instead of repenting. Man needs to repent. Religious man needs to repent. The church needs to REPENT. America needs to REPENT. We don't need more money to solve our problems. We don't need more riches to make us more influential in the world. The first church understood what true riches were and because of that it had power unknown to any generation in history prior to ours. ANY doctrine that does not LIFTS UP CHRIST and CHRIST CRUCIFIED is a broken cistern and it will not hold water friend. All of our efforts will never refresh those in need of refreshment but will only cause men to be more frustrated in his search for peace.

If we lose the harvest it will be because we have allowed our prosperity to take us away from intimacy with Jesus. Remember this, and I've said this many times. When Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus, He told that story to make two things abundantly clear: the rich man did not die and go to hell because he was rich and two, Lazarus didn't die and go to heaven because he was poor. The rich man went to hell because he did not allow his riches to thrust him towards the TRUE SOURCE of all riches - GOD. In contrast, Lazarus did not allow his poverty to thrust him AWAY from the same source. If our eye be evil, when our whole body will be full of darkness. If the LIGHT that is in us is darkness, how great is that darkness? When we twist and wrestle the scriptures, which are light, to justify our selfish motives, we are embracing the darkness, not the light and it will destroy us friend.

Matthew 6:23-24; 33
But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! [24] No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. [32] (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. [33] But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

"The Time Of Our Joy" And The Drawing Down the Spirit of Prophecy

Rev. 19:10
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

David's cry for God to "save now and send prosperity," means more than just blessing. It is the utter realization of man's need of connection to God and life filled with the heart of Jesus. Jesus is our purpose and goal - nothing else. When we are connected to Him, HE will direct us and show us HIS WILL for us. Thus, the true secret to happiness is not temporal trinkets which the modern church has defined as the measure of prosperity today, but a spiritual prosperity that rests in Christ and His finished work. Our SOULS are more important than how much money we have in our checking account. And again, I'm not saying the child of God will not be blessed. God enjoys blessing His children and He will bless, make no mistake. But never make the mistake of blessing in terms of temporal things with God's favor and His will. It's not that simple. We had better make our calling and election sure! We need to be sure we're born again!

As we close this journal, let me take a few moments and talk about the prophetic significance of this ceremony and prayer that is prayed every Sukkot in synagogues all over the world.

As stated, Sukkot, which means "the time of our joy," is the season for great rejoicing-and its climax is at this pouring out of water. Many believe that is SUKKOT when the Lord Jesus was actually born. That is because of several reasons. One, it's in the fall of the year. Shepherds would not have been in the fields in December, the month when most 'celebrate' the birth of Christ. I put celebrate in quotes because most don't even do that really. December would have been too cold and rainy in Israel for the shepherds to be out in the fields the night the angel made the announcement. Another reason for believing Christ was born during this season was the holiday means "The Feast of Tabernacles," and we know that Christ came to "tabernacle" among us. He LIVES inside us today. That union of HIS SPIRIT and ours is a picture and fulfillment of the Old Covenant Tabernacle and Temple. We are the "TEMPLE," of God, the "tabernacle" of His presence, thanks to the blood of Christ.

1 Cor. 6:19-20 - What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? [20] For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

When Gabriel announced Christ's birth to Mary he told her that Jesus was coming to save us from our sins. It's the same word, "SAVE" that is found in the 118th Psalm are writing about in this journal.

Matthew 1:21
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Psalm 118:25
Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

There is no salvation anywhere else friend!! There is no salvation in the church. There is no salvation in all our efforts. There is no salvation in a "decision," or the filling out of a membership card to some church. There is ONLY ONE SOURCE OF SALVATION and REVIVAL and that is the LORD JESUS CHRIST. JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, JESUS!!

Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] The same was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:10-12 - He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. [11] He came unto his own, and his own received him not. [12] But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

John 1:13-15
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. [14] And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
[15] John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

You were not saved friend by coming down an aisle and shaking some preacher's hand. The SPIRIT HAD TO DRAW YOU. You had to be "BORN AGAIN," just like Jesus said. He had to come "TABERNACLE" inside you. He LIVES INSIDE you today if you've truly met Him. That's the prayer of Sukkot, the true meaning of this high holiday of Israel. Israel missed Him because they were looking for a King that would bring political change. This KING came not to just bring political change, but a SPIRITUAL CHANGE. Revival is the equivalent of spiritual change.

The anticipation of rain, as it is in Sukkot services all over the world today, is also the church's greatest need in these last hours. Rain comes through our union with Christ. We must die in Christ in order to live. Revival will never come with intellectual agreement with biblical doctrine or historical facts. Revival comes when we recognize our utter and total need for Jesus and our hearts embrace His Cross. The Lord overcame death by dying and we do the same. That is true life and as we enter it we can overcome the power death has over us. Once we die, then we will see the release of resurrection life and power. Our cry is "save us now Lord, and SEND RAIN!" That is the message of Sukkot and the message of the true church of Jesus.

I was talking with a friend earlier today before I sat down to complete this journal. We talked for several minutes on how we both felt something very bad was about to take place in America this month. (I'm writing this in October 2004, a few weeks prior to the November elections) She has received email after email from prophetic people warning that they had felt a shift in the spirit world the last few weeks and felt the need to warn God's people to pray. Some will read this and say, "this is melodrama," and everything will be ok. Others will take it to heart and know that God has always sent warning to His people FIRST prior to impending judgment. I believe that something is about to happen as well. On a practical note, I believe we need to pray for President Bush's safety unlike we ever have. The man loves God yet he fights against a hatred in this nation that I don't think any of us has ever experienced before. He needs our prayers.

Secondly, the nation needs our prayers. America's soul is at stake in these coming elections. Mr. Kerry needs God. He has a soul just like me and he needs salvation. His policies are those that will take America down a dangerous path to destruction friend. I don't care if your family has voted Democratic going back 1000 years, you had better take a pause and know that God does not care what party you belong to. He wants you to vote AS HE WOULD VOTE and He always votes for LIFE. Mr. Kerry supports abortion and will stop the Bush policy of not-funding international abortion clinics with taxpayer money. Kerry also supports gay-rights and has said even though he don't believe gays should marry he would not do anything to stop it. That is as good as saying "I'm for it." I don't care if you don't like domestic decisions made by the president, our hearts and souls are more important than our wallets. And that is really the thesis and basis for this journal as we come to the end of the Sukkot season.

We need to be SAVED friend. We need JESUS to SAVE US today and SEND. We need Him to SEND grace upon our country and a revival that will shake our foundations coast to coast. I believe the prophetic implications of this season are upon us. We are standing at a crossroads in this election that will possibly determine America's future for years to come. No, it's not the final election in the sense of the calendar years but friend our choices NOW may determine freedoms later that would possibly mean the END of our rights as American citizens. And to the preachers out there who think they don't need to "get involved with politics" behind your pulpit. YOU BETTER START GETTING INVOLVED IN POLITICS OR YOU WON'T HAVE A PULPIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't say that strong enough or in more clear terms. It's getting late friend, it's getting late.

Some of you reading this today may have stumbled upon this site, yet you've never experienced the joys of the waters of salvation that only Jesus can bring. He wants to DRAW you to Himself today. You can't be saved by the will of man or by your own effort. We are born again by the SPIRIT OF GOD and only HE can draw you to Christ today. Neighbor, it's getting late. Don't spurn His call today. You never know whether the tug at your heart may be the last you feel. No one ever knows that. NO ONE. There are some who want to feel it again but who can't. Accept CHRIST today, put your faith in HIS CROSS today and be baptized into HIS DEATH so you can live today. He loves you. He loves you. SAVE NOW AND SEND LORD. SAVE NOW AND SEND. It's the cry of the Holy Spirit and it should be our cry today. Praise God.

Lord Jesus, SAVE NOW and SEND, we pray today. Send a revival to this nation before it is eternally too late. Lord send salvation to those who are LOST today and don' t know You. Send salvation to the backslider. Send conviction to those out in sin who need to come home and come home quickly. The day is far spent, the night is at hand, we must AWAKEN out of sleep. SEND that revelation today. Help us in this festive season of joy to recognize the fact that you have come to TABERNACLE IN US, THROUGH US and WITH US so we can be a light to a world that sits in darkness. Help us be a lighthouse in the time of storm to others. In your name we pray, AMEN.

This image is from "PSALMS AND SEASONS VOLUME ONE"

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