Wade E Taylor
“Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that hears these sayings of Mine, and does them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:24- 27
Our personal relationship with the Lord must be established and maintained upon a firm foundation and be in agreement with the written Word of God. The Lord responds in a higher level of relationship to those who are standing on the bedrock of the full redemption that He has accomplished in their behalf, and are trusting in His faithfulness, alone.
This requires of us a breaking out of the mold of past insecurities (our house built upon the sand), and an entering into the security of being seated with Jesus in His Throne, at the right hand of all power and authority (our house built upon a rock).
Here, as we rest in the victory that Jesus gained for us upon the cross, our Heavenly Father, who brought Jesus forth into resurrection life from a grave that appeared to be a total defeat, will also lift us from our place of discouragement and vacillation into an overcoming victory in His presence.
Each of us desires to be wanted, appreciated, and understood, as this is built within our makeup. We were created in His likeness; therefore, this desire is also in the One who created us. Thus, the Lord desires that we come to Him in trust and appreciation for His redemption in our behalf.
If you have noticed that others are being used by the Lord in some special way, have you ever felt that “this” is for everyone, except me? If we will hold the potential that rests within us before the Lord in simple child-like trust and wait upon Him in anticipation, we will be released from the limitations that we have placed upon ourselves so we also can enter into all that the Lord has made available for us. Now, we can walk in confidence with Him.
“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.” Ephesians 1:18-19
There are times in which the Lord lifts us into His presence and the “eyes of our understanding are enlightened.” During these times, no matter how short they may be, we become aware that there is a far greater potential within us than we had realized. The Lord greatly desires to open this buried treasure and fill it with Himself.
Thus, “Deep calls to deep,” as there is a higher dimension of communion with our Lord that He seeks to bring us into.
“Deep calls to deep. At the noise of Your waterspouts: all Your waves and Your billows are gone over me.” Psalm 42:7
“All Your waves and Your billows are gone over me.” The Lord not only deals with our sin nature, but also with our willingness to settle for less – the seemingly “good things” that can rob us of the highest to which He is calling us.
There are three areas in which we are to move into spiritual stability.
“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death.” Philippians 3:8 -10
First, “That I might know Him.”
This speaks of information about the Lord, but beyond this, it speaks of an intimate “knowing” the Lord as a person. We must move beyond being satisfied with information about the Lord, into an active personal relationship with Him.
We are to experientially enter into the recognition, not only of His presence and power, but also of His person and feelings, and respond to Him accordingly. Through regeneration we are made a member in “particular” of the Body of Christ, so we can relate and respond to all that is in the Head (our Lord Jesus Christ).
Second, that we might experience the “power of His resurrection.”
We cannot experience resurrection unless we first have died to our self-life. This entails a process of testing and proving. Those who have a proven testimony, in which there is a demonstration of the life and power of the Lord, have had a deep personal experience with Him. They have gone through severe testings and have personally experienced deliverance through the power of God. These have paid a price for what they have.
God is not a respecter of persons. If He were to arbitrarily hand out power ministries, then He would of necessity have to give these to all who came and asked. These ministries are reserved for those who have paid a high price in their identification with Him.
Third, are those who enter into the “Fellowship of His sufferings.”
This is not the fellowship of our sufferings, but our fellowship with Jesus in His sufferings. The Lord suffers over our spiritual dullness or lack of spiritual desire. He has so much to give, and so few who are willing and sensitive enough to receive.
There is a longing in the heart of the Lord for those who will relate to Him in each of these areas. There is a “deep” within the Lord that is crying out to a “deep” within us, that He might find the satisfaction which He anticipated when He created us.
As we rest in the Lord’s presence and allow Him to bring us into this deeper identification with Him, He will lead us through experiences which previously would have thrown us into fear and confusion. As we see Jesus alone and enter into the experience of union with Him, we are established on the rock bed of His full redemption and can walk in confidence with Him through all that we face in life.
And, He will say to us in confidence, knowing that we will respond:
“Come, My beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give you My loves.” Song of Solomon 7:11 – 12