Old Dog III
The Mountain Top
Bob Neumann
This week had been a nonstop series of struggles and testings. To say that I had fared poorly on the scales of man is an understatement. The seeds of fear and doubt rooted and blossomed over night as my spirit lost all peace and balance. My wife did her part and took the same position as Job’s fair bride and told me to just curse GOD and die.
In response to my household’s response it seemed that life was indeed over, and I had nothing to show for it. This morning I met with a number of the ”gray-haired men”, our typical Saturday morning breakfast. Each time I tried to join the conversation I was cut off. For two hours it continued. Something we try not to do to each other. Curious that when not allowed to speak, we have two choices. We can wait and listen, or we can be angry and stop listening all together. It seems Job listened to all the commentary that circled him. Had to frustrate the hell out of him, it did me today. But like ol’ Job I heard many bits of truth today, all wrong for one reason or other. Yet all are the prevailing opinions, doctrines, and agendas of the AMERICAN CHURCH, today.
As I have pondered Job all day and the issue of “GOD, what’s happening?” kept coming up. The only scripture that kept coming back was:
Judges 17:6
6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (KJV)
I have prayed over this passage over the years as THE MOST HOLY SPIRIT keeps bringing back this reality. The church has no central government in America. Yes, we talk, pray, sing about King Jesus but do not bend our knees, listen to HIS COMMANDS, and just obey.
Instead all do what ”is right in their own eyes”.
To confirm this bitter drink I am struggling with I was given another ”witness”….
Judges 21:25
25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Never knew there were two repeats of this verse in Judges. Call it another ”verily, verily”.
So I tried to pray and got nowhere. So I tried to intercede and was once again rebuked. Instead I wondered, “LORD, why are they no longer your people?”. It was no prayer, just a short bit of meditation, and not deep at all. But I got an answer.
Matthew 6:1-22
1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. (KJV)
Matthew 6:23-32
23 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.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. (KJV)
Matthew 6:33-34
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
As I wept seeing my own errors I found myself in a different place climbing a steep narrow trail. to find myself in the VALLEY OF VISION did not surprise me, but the bleakness of the terrain filled my inner man. As I approached the summit all trees, grass, and life in general vanished. all around me was ice, snow and bare rock. When I reached the top all that was there was a small outcropping of rock amidst the ice and blowing snow. Why, I do not know I felt the urge to “touch the ROCK”…and when I did so I was suddenly naked. the brightness of the SUN and the reflection from the snow blinded me. For the first time I felt and heard the wind howl. In sudden awareness that I was completely blind and deaf because of the over stimulation of my fleshly senses I held on to the ”rock” in desperation.
As I tried to speak, to pray, to cry out I was aware that the wind was drowning me in it’s maelstrom. for some reason all that could come to mind was the verse I see almost everyday sent by a sister…..
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8
And for the first time I “heard” the WIND and “saw” the LIGHT. All I could do was hold on as the cold pierced me and all sensation stopped as my fingers lost their ”feel” my thinking became dull. for the first time I really understood how it felt to actually ”die”. There was no pain or fear. Just a dullness and a fade into nothingness. No second thoughts….no real awareness until I ”heard” the voices. I LISTENED AND NOTHING MADE ANY SENSE FOR A WHILE. THEN HE SAID, ”I TOLD YOU I WOULD BE WITH
YOU, WHY DID YOU WORRY?”. Then I felt hands in my hands holding tight to me. As
I felt my MASTER’S HANDS I felt ABBA’S ARMS around me once again. And HIS WORDS….EVERYTHING’S GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT. IT WAS MEANT TO BE THIS WAY. as HIS PEACE AND PRESENCE filled me warmth spread through me as I heard that gentle sweet VOICE deep INSIDE me. BE STILL AND LISTEN….BE STILL AND KNOW.
Slowly with faltering steps I learned to walk again with ABBA holding my right hand and THE KING OF GLORY my left.
WELL, OLD DOG, NOW YOU KNOW WHERE I WENT EARLY IN THE MORNING ALONE TO SPEAK WITH MY FATHER. THERE IS NOTHING HERE ON THE
MOUNTAIN OF GOD THAT CAN DISTRACT YOU. THIS IS WHERE ALL SHOULD
COME TO PRAY. TO SEEK MY FACE AND MY KINGDOM. REGRETTABLY MY FRIEND THERE WAS NO LONG LINE AHEAD OF YOU TO SLOW YOUR JOURNEY. FEW TRULY SEEK ME FIRST. BUT YOU HAVE KNOWN THAT. YOU HAVE LIVED WITH THAT REALITY.
With this the KING was silent as ABBA SPOKE….TO SEE WITH MY EYES YOU CAN
NO LONGER SEE WITH YOUR OWN, SO TO THE WORLD YOU, MY SERVANT, ARE BLIND. TO HEAR WITH MY EARS REQUIRES YOU TO BE DEAF TO THE NOISES OF THE WORLD, THEY WILL SAY YOU NO LONGER CHOOSE TO LISTEN TO “THEIR REASONS”. TO FEEL AND TO TOUCH OTHERS AS I TOUCH THEM YOUR
SENSATIONS MUST STOP AS THAT WHICH WAS YOU CAN DIE, SO YOU MAY LIVE
IN RESURRECTION POWER. TELL MY SERVANT BILL THAT ON THE THIRD DAY THAT IT IS COMPLETE. YOU AND HE AND ALL MY SERVANTS HAVE BEEN TORN FOR TWO DAYS AND NOW I WILL BIND AND RESTORE.
MY SERVANTS ARE BLIND AND DEAF AND DEAD, JUST AS IS MY ”SALVATION” IN WHOSE MOLD I SHAPED THEM IN.
With that ABBA held me for the longest time, wiping away my tears and speaking to my heart. as HE prepared to ”leave” HE added. ”CHILD, FOR A LONG TIME YOU HAVE HAD MY HEART. JUST BECAUSE TO THE WORLD YOU SEEM DEAD AND
COLD THEY WILL BE UNAWARE OF IT’S CONTINUED BREAKING ON THEIR BEHALF. MY GRIEF I WILL NOT TAKE FROM YOU, NOR WILL IT BE DIMINISHED,
BUT HEIGHTENED AND MADE MORE SENSITIVE. YES, YOU MUST SOW IN TEARS TO REAP THE LIMITS OF MY JOY.”
And HE turned and ”walked” away.
Even in HIS turning I felt a grief as we ”parted” even though we are not apart. I stood quietly with my MASTER’S HAND firmly on my shoulder. FOR THE FIRST TIME I REALIZED I WAS ”SEEING”. Or should I say I was completely aware of everything around me in all directions. As I pondered that gentle sweet VOICE EXPLAINED, “SEEING IN THE SPIRIT IS JUST DISCERNMENT IN FULLNESS. IT IS NOT
DEPENDANT ON DIRECTION OR IMPEDED BY TIME OR DISTANCE. YOU MAY
EVEN ENJOY IT AT TIMES SHEMUEL, AND WHEN YOU DO SAVOR OUR GIFT FOR INDEED IN THE TIMES YOU FACE THEY WILL BE FEW INDEED. THE GIFTS ARE
GIVEN WITHOUT REMORSE AND ARE TO BE USED FREELY FOR THE KINGDOM.” This was a caveat…I WILL STRIVE TO REMEMBER, LORD….
With this I heard a familiar laughter as those WORDS by THE MOST HOLY SPIRIT sunk in….
WELL, OLD DOG, THERE IS STILL A JOB TO DO, AND I AM SENDING YOU AGAIN.
THIS TIME IT IS NOT SOMETHING YOU HAVE REALLY DEALT WITH. SKIRTED
MANY TIMES, BUT NEVER CROSSED SWORDS OR WITS WITH. BEWARE OF FLATTERING LIPS FOR THEY ARE AS DEADLY AS SLANDEROUS TONGUES. as HE
SAID this I was once again aware of wearing HIS ARMOR, UNDER THE BROWN ROBE. as HE ”tied” the robe around my neck and pulled the hood over my head.
“KEEP YOUR ARMOR ON, DEAR FRIEND”, HE WHISPERED WITH A GENTLENESS I HAD NEVER HEARD BEFORE. “IT CAN NOT COME OFF UNLESS YOU TAKE IT OFF. THEN ALONE WILL YOU TRULY BE VULNERABLE. OH, YOU WILL HURT AS WE
HURT FOR THIS IS ABBA’S GIFT TO YOU.”
With that we embraced and I turned and began ”walking away”. I had gone only a few steps when I heard….”YO! DOG!” As I turned HE THREW SOMETHING TOWARD ME. AS I CAUGHT THE ROD OF IRON I again heard the JOY OF HIS LAUGHTER…”YOU CAN’T GO WITHOUT THAT…..AND I EXPECT YOU TO USE IT OFTEN AND WELL….I STILL KNOW WHERE IT IS!!!”.
And I was back, again.
And in my spirit there is something new…but different than anything before…and a verse from the MAGILLAH
Esther 8:5
5 And said, If it please the king, and if I have favour in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king’s provinces: (KJV)
Let me say on behalf of the KING OF GLORY…..
DAUGHTER OF ZION, INDEED IT PLEASES THE KING AND YOUR FAVOR IS ESTABLISHED. HAMAN AND ALL HIS SEED SHALL BE DESTROYED IN HIS
SEASON. TWO DAYS YOU MUST PRAY. TWO DAYS YOU MUST FAST. LET THOSE ATTENDANTS WHO MARK YOUR WORDS JOIN YOU, IN YOUR ”CLOSET” AND THEY WILL ACCOMPANY YOU TO THE BANQUET.
SELAH
old dog