Soak and Drink from our Living Water

Soak and Drink from our Living Water - Christ Jesus Holy Spirit
By Josephine Lim Weston


Mark 1
6 John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey. 7 And he was preaching, saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to bend down and untie the straps of His sandals. 8 I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

A few weeks ago, while I was changing my second son's dirty nappy, I accidentally dropped a big cotton ball into a bowl of water. I usually will split the cotton balls into smaller pieces before dipping into the water so as not to waste a big chunk of cotton ball. So when I tried to tear the wet cotton ball into smaller pieces, it just won't budge and impossible to tear apart no matter how hard I tried. I decided I'm going to wait till it dries then I will tear it. When this occurred, God dropped the revelation in me this is exactly what happens to those who have been soaking and drinking from the Living Water: they will not be easily broken or defeated but will be strong and courageous in the face of adversity.

 

As churches shut their doors due to the pandemic we the church should't shut our mouth from praising and worshipping our Lord. The more we should listen to good anointed sermons which are readily available on several online platforms for live streaming etc. The more we need to pray for one another and most importantly just thank and fellowship with the Lord - soaking and drinking from Him and allowing Him to lift and restore our spirit.

John 7:37-39
Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

John 4:13-15
13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

It's so important that whenever we have doubts or having troubling thoughts or facing adversity, the more we need to be nourished and encouraged by the word of the Lord itself. Just by reading God's word without revelation and application is meaningless. We must stand in agreement with God's word. What it says God can do for me because of who I am in Christ Jesus is the truth on which I stand. Nothing is too difficult for my Lord.

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

2 But his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on His Law he meditates day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper.

So now whenever something bothers me, I will not allow it to keep bothering me but I will cast all my cares upon the Lord for He cares for me (1 Peter 5:7). I will just come before His presence and declare God knows what I need and He has answered my prayers so I can worship Him freely now and just focus on Him. Nothing compares to just worshiping and enjoying His presence. Just Him - nothing else is such a liberation, joy and peace.

Matthew 6:25a, 27, 32 - 34

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

As we quieten ourselves before His presence and just enjoy that knowing presence of Him and who God is toward us, we can confidently say the followings:

Psalm 23

1    The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
³     He restores my soul.

Let Him refresh us as we soak and drink of Him. Meditate on His word and let His word sinks deep in our hearts and spirits so that we will be strong and unbreakable like the cotton ball that has been soaked with water. Don't entertain negative thoughts and the only way to overcome is to tell our enemy and negative thoughts what the Bible says. Follow the example of Jesus when He was tempted by Satan after 40 days of fasting in the wilderness, His reply to Satan was "It is written". Lets use God's word to counter attack negative and discouraging thoughts and take every opportunity we have to soak in the presence of the Lord and drink from the Holy Spirit - Praying and declaring victory in every circumstance. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

Jeremiah 32

²⁷ “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too difficult for Me?”

Fast Forward (Prophetic) Vision

Fast Forward (Prophetic) Vision
Visualise The Fulfillment of Your Prayers
By Josephine Lim Weston

Proverbs 29:18

Where there is no prophetic vision the people perish, but blessed is he who keeps the law (the word of God).

Ephesians 1:16–19

“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might.”

Mark 11:24

24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. “believe that you HAVE RECEIVED, and it WILL BE yours.”

As I look back upon my life I can truly say that by visualising "light at the end of the tunnel" when I'm still in the deep tunnel helped me to rise up above the challenge that is before me. I remember when Andrew and I were looking for a house to buy at the same time planning for our two wedding banquets there appeared many doubts whether they were achievable within our budget and time frame of a few months, but we kept on believing God for breakthrough and remained true to what our house must have no matter how impossible it may seemed at that time; and when we finally found our house which is the house we own now our mortgage broker at that time said to us she was surprised that we found a house at such a good price.

When I was about to give birth to Jean-Luc, my firstborn, I was scheduled for a c-section because the baby was in a breech position. I'm really scared of jabs and of course who likes surgery? But I know regardless of how I feel I would still have to go through it either fearfully or with courage and confidence from above. I chose the latter and tried visualising myself coming out from surgery and holding a healthy bundle of joy in our arms praising the Lord. So I kept visualising this as the delivery day approaching and as I walked toward the car making our way to the hospital, changed to a surgery gown, walking toward the operating theatre then receiving all the jabs and syringes on my hand and hearing the discussions between the surgeons while they were operating on me I tried not to be afraid but trusted in the Lord and kept on believing all will be well because the Lord is with me.

The same with my second son Janick with all the concerns raised to us by the professor consultant who scanned our unborn baby at that time to until he was born being more than two months premature I kept visualising us holding Janick in our hands and seeing him healthy, well and happy and going home with us. That's what kept me going throughout those difficult months of going in and out of hospital and sitting down with the doctors hearing more health conditions they discovered on baby Janick. So after 2 months in the neonatal unit and admitted to three different hospitals he is back home with us and thriving and is a healthy bundle of joy and delight to us all. Our God is faithful. 

 

When they were babies - (L-R) Janick and Jean-Luc

 

Before Janick was conceived, we didn't think we could handle a second child given our first born Jean-Luc is a very happy active boy. He really keeps us very busy but our connect group leader at that time Gabriel prayed for Andrew that he would be father of many. I was thinking at that time "Oh dear one child is more than we can handle." But I believe God put those words in our leader's mouth and a prophetic vision was birthed in us and truly Janick through and through is a pleasant delightful baby that even Jean-Luc is so keen on him and a doting brother to him. 

 

Let us remind ourselves of all the goodness of the Lord in our lives and let's count His blessings one by one. As I look back and see the troubles I had been through and what I have right now -  fulfillment of my wishes and prayers it encourages me not to doubt God's love, goodness and faithfulness in my future and the future of my loved ones. Visualise ourselves coming out from the end of the tunnel and soon we'll see light again.

Most importantly seeing Jesus with us and loving us. 

Hebrews 12:2 

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane he was a man of sorrow but in the midst of his prayer he said yet not mine but your's (God's will) be done because He knew and foresaw (having prophetic vision) the salvation of the world through His death on the cross that brought great redemption, He found strength to undergo a tormenting death for us all and emerged victorious in resurrection conquering sin and death.

For those who are struggling right now due to the restrictions in place as a result of the pandemic which are affecting jobs and businesses, I pray and urge you to "see" yourself seeing light at the end of the tunnel coming out from lockdown and having your job and/or business back again and that God restores to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten. You will have plenty to eat, until you are satisfied. You will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you. My people will never again be put to shame (Joel 2:25a-26).

Whatever opposition and mountain that is before you right now, shout and proclaim Grace, grace to your circumstances and situations. This is the scripture to encourage you:

Zechariah 4

6 So he answered and said to me:

“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:
‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.
7 ‘Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth the capstone
With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”

Before I end this blog article I've got one more testimony to share. Toilet training can be a challenge to parents as some toddlers might require some years to stop wetting and dirtying their pants. It was hard initially but God gave me an idea that's to print out a cartoon image of a boy weeing in the toilet and another sitting on the toilet to help Jean-Luc with his toilet training. Coincidentally the cartoon character does look like Jean-Luc and even Jean-Luc himself said it's him sitting on the toilet. Jean-Luc for months now has been able to go weeing and pass motion by himself in the toilet so I shared my experience during one of the courses I attended and the facilitators said they will steal my idea of a visualising aid for their potty/toilet training course and thanked me for sharing.

The power of (prophetic) vision is undeniable and very useful especially when you are in the midst of trials. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful (Hebrew 10:23 ). 

Hebrew 11:11  

And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 

Isaiah 40:31

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.