I had a very interesting dream recently, about a happy puppy that picked up a large egg and carried it to his master. Wagging his tail in energetic anticipation, he dropped the egg at his masters feet. What happened next was surprising. The egg cracked open and scorpions came out, stinging the puppy!
I asked “what should he do??” I then watched in amazement as the dog curled up and went to sleep at the foot of his master, resting peacefully.
I then heard his master say “rest now until I give you a new command, then your actions will be from me and you will know it is my command by the peace that I give you.”
I knew immediately upon waking, that the dream had significance.
No doubt my horrible fear of stepping on a scorpion growing up in Arizona, where they frequently show up in desert homes crossed my mind, however I knew there was more to this dream.
While walking into my kitchen a couple of days later you will never guess what happened! Exactly… I stepped on a Scorpion!! What was really amazing is that after screaming loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear and catapulting onto my kitchen counter, it occurred to me…why wasn’t I feeling any pain of it’s sting! How was that possible?
When I looked at the place where I was stung, I realized that there was a huge callous formed where the scorpion’s stinger met my foot. This was because of numerous painful blisters I had received from new hiking boots I had broken in on some treacherous hikes.
What a strange analogy I know, but sometimes God has to go outside of the norm to get His message to sink in with me. As you can imagine this scenario really got my attention!
I couldn’t stop thinking about my dream and this strange incident that followed.
I finally came to understand that the dog in this dream represented me and the egg represented all of my good intensions in trying to handle things on my own; frequently jumping ahead of God’s plan instead of waiting for wisdom and direction. While my intentions were good, the results were never as good. “The wrong thing at the right time, is still the wrong thing” as a dear friend once told me.
Not only have these efforts not been helpful (despite my good intentions) but because of my impatience, they have ended up hurting me.
After humbly repenting for jumping ahead of God’s plan in thinking I knew better, I opened my bible, and turned to Jeremiah 6:14. “They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people, saying, peace, peace; when there is no peace.”
I then understood the meaning behind the real scorpion that I stepped on! I realized that the scars from the battles I’ve fought are there to protect me against the enemy’s sting just as the callous formed from my painful blisters protected me from the poisonous venom of the scorpion.
I have lost so many family members and friends, many in the most tragic of deaths. However the analogy came to mind where it says in scripture “death where is your sting? “
My horrific lifelong fear has not only been disempowered, but it has now been replaced with a new courage that comes from the lesson I have learned in this strange story.
I have found a new peace that only God can give.
I also realized that this dream not only applies to me but also many others, including many church leaders who have shared similar stories.
We are all going through a time of restlessness, confusion, chaos and loss. Just as I have experienced, many are seeking after God’s provision without necessarily having His direction or having experienced His peace in the process.
This is not just futile but it can be very dangerous!
I once heard my pastor say “A peace-keeper ignores his Goliath but a peace-MAKER REMOVES him!!!”
This is where we are today!!
Is it possible to engage in the battle that we are called to in this time, yet still do so with an underlying peace? That seems contradictory doesn’t it?
It’s not only possible but it’s imperative!! We can ask for His peace when there is no peace! This is how we will know we are walking by His spirit and not in our own flesh. Doing so with a responsibility to face our Goliath & REMOVE him!
We must understand that being at peace doesn’t mean being passive.
NOW is not a time of passivity!! It is time for us to lock arms and stand for what we know to be true and REMOVE our Goliath!
A shalom that truly passes all understanding in a time where chaos and fear abound, will then go before you and surround you!
So what is your Goliath today?
What is holding you back from removing your fear and stepping into a place of Shalom and removing your Goliath once and for all?
These days are certainly not for the faint of heart. We are in a battle that requires courage, perseverance and to constantly seek God’s wisdom to navigate these treacherous waters.
I pray that you will stand strong today and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, using your wounds as a protection against the enemy’s plans for destruction in your life and in our nation!
Release your faith with courage and be in peace!
Genesis 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Blessings and Shalom
Divine stream (and the prophetic timing for Africa)
Divine Stream
Genesis 2:10; And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
Revelation 22:1; And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
There is a Divine stream that flowed forth from Eden to water the garden, we will come to discover that this stream is central to the move of God in the earth, at the time of Genesis the source of this river was not mentioned and if we were to remain here in our study, we will not see that it has an eternal source from which it flowed from. Journeying to the book of the unveilings, even the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John His servant, we can see that this stream flows right from the throne of God into the earth as captured in chapter 22vs1. When you follow the stream in Genesis to its fountain head, there you will find the throne of God and of the Lamb.
This Divine stream is nothing other than the issuing forth of the Spirit from the throne of God and of the Lamb into all the earth. It is the release of the very triune God as life through the out flow of His spirit, also, it is worthy of note that in the economy of the Godhead in carrying out His purpose, the spirit is perpetually proceeding forth from the father and the son, he is the clear crystal sea that flows from the throne and yet, one with the throne. He flows in the direction of God's move in the earth to enhance its accomplishment and as of the time of Genesis 2, the move of God in the earth was concentrated in the garden which is eastward of Eden, there we find the spirit. He flows in the direction of the move of God in the earth, the temple in Isaiah, God sought a move and we find the flow of the spirit facilitating the administration of the Angels for the move of God.
Even today where ever the work of God is there, you find the release of the spirit, his torrent flows to enhance God’s work and to bring His eternal will to pass, when the activities of the spirit becomes heightened in a given space to supply fresh grace, it is an evidence of God’s move. He perpetually flows in the direction of God’s move to promote its accomplishment.
Genesis 2:10-14; And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
Revelation 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
From our scriptures above, we see that this stream having a single source, flowed into different lands yet the same stream. Even today, this single stream from the throne flows into the continents of the world from Asia to America to Africa to Europe and to Australia; we also come to discover that this stream has some strange abilities, unlike every other natural stream so much so that, to wherever it flows into, it has the divine capacity to release life, a land and even a man remains dead until he has met the with Spirit, only the Holy Spirit of God has the power to impart life to a man, he animates the work of Christ in power and grace to a people who previously walked in darkness; secondly, we also discovered that as the stream flows it reveals the treasures of the land, the precious stones of the land were buried beneath ground.These potentials remained hidden until the stream flowed into them. It is worthy of note that every people or group has a potential to be relevant in the economy of God but will remain barren until they come into the flow of the river, only within its torrent can true relevance in the light of divine ordination be discovered; thirdly, we know that common to every pure stream is its ability to quench thirst. Our current world is in great need of reality, only in the river can human thirst for reality be quenched. Instead of giving men too many principles and laws that may help but a little, it is most expedient we bring them into the flow of the stream, there can their thirst for reality be truly satisfied.
Again we see the flowing all through scriptures, the same stream in Genesis is the same that flows up into the book of Revelations, we must discern the movement in every book and chapter of the bible, so as to remain in the current of the spirit, he is the Divine stream of God's Eternal Purpose. The same stream that inspired the building of the tabernacle in the old testament, has in the new testament made us the tabernacle of God, the same that inspired the consecration of the firstborn sons and priests to God has made us now both members of the corporate son of God and priests unto Himself, the same that inspired the prophets of old hath in these last days fulfilled them, even concerning Christ, even concerning Israel, and also the nations, we must see that his speaking throughout all scriptures is one not two, scriptures testifies about scriptures that it was given by the inspiration of the divine stream even the Spirit. Many haven't seen that, though the Bible is a library of books, there is but one single string connecting them all from beginning to the end, this string, is God's eternal purpose. God is seeking to achieve one thing, just a single purpose not two, that is, to gain a household of people bearing his image and expressing his authority, this purpose is centered in Christ, this is what the spirit testifies about all through the bible. He is moving from Genesis to Revelation in the direction of God's eternal purpose to see to its accomplishments; first in the eternity past to His hovering in Genesis 1, secondly, with the fathers from Adam to Abraham, thirdly, with Israel as a nation; working through the prophets, judges and kings, fourthly, today in the church the spirit is moving, fifthly, in the millennial age where the kingdom of the heavens will be visible for a thousand years and sixthly, into the New Jerusalem. We should be able to discern the flow of the stream in the direction of God's eternal purpose in every book of the Bible, only then can we become one with the river.
Ezekiel 47:1; Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
In Ezekiel, we see that the stream flows from the temple, signifying the divine fellowship of the body.There is a fellowship we share in the body of Christ, it is the fellowship of the spirit not of flesh, the same oneness we share in God through the spirit in regeneration, should be the same oneness that is expressed in the communal fellowship of the body but sadly, this is not so today, saints neither give place to the spirit in their lives nor even to the spirit's flow in the body life. He is mostly locked out from our community. We must see that the body of Christ is something divine and mystical yet real and tangible expressed through of our community life, it is not limited to space and time, yet expressed through them.I must repeat our oneness is not of anything flesh in a pattern of dress code or an encrypted way of speaking it is of the spirit, Paul calls it the bound of the spirit connecting the believers universally together and cannot be broken. This same spirit seeks to make the believers within a community, grow into one mind. We should in all things give place to the Spirit, for when we allow flesh come in, what it would produce will be bitter water of strive, envy, immorality and accommodating false doctrines and apostles. Brethren we must allow the spirit dominate in our fellowship, only then can this pure stream increase into the temple from threshold of brotherhood and communal life, it then over flows into all the earth, bringing life and healing to the nations.
The stream in the temple signifies the divine fellowship of the body, if this divine stream of the body which is our fellowship as brethren increases, we have the more tendencies to release life to the world. The Bible says where ever the river flows, to it brings life, only in accurate fellowship can life be produced; before we say or do anything in the body, we must ask does the spirit permits it? The grounds of accurate fellowship must be secured (Ezekiel 47:9). In the land of Goshen in Egypt, we see how death was stopped through the fellowshipping together as a family, breaking bread and eating meat in the camp of the Israelites, as they took the blood from the meat of fellowship and placed on their door post, God instructed the Israelites to have a feast as families in their houses while death plagued the world around, they enjoyed life (Exo). Accurate fellowship is our defense and relevance as the Church of Jesus, we must allow the river of true brotherhood flow, it flowed in the church in Acts 13, prompting the church's sending forth of Paul and Barnabas.
Again in the book of Acts, we see the divine flow of the stream as the Spirit, in the upper room a sound came from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind. If we trace the fountain head, the source remains the throne. The experiences we enjoy in the body are not earthly, they have their source from the throne of God, if we remain in the flow of the river, we will become more one with the throne. When we go into some gatherings of the Lord's people, you feel the dryness in the atmosphere, they have locked the Lord out of their meetings, it all then ends in frustrations and shallow level experiences. We must trace the river back to the throne, we must desire the out pouring of the river of God, only when He is out poured upon us, then we can know the mind of He who sits on the throne. The seeking saints should desire the release of the spirit upon them at all times, he is the divine seal upon the Lord’s work Acts 2:2.
Dear saints we must follow the current of the stream to meet the Father and the Lamb at His throne, there he is revealed.
From Acts, we can see that the Divine stream moves in the direction of God's Divine work and purpose, where ever the present move of God's work is, there you can find the stream and it moves throughout the ages. It flowed from Jerusalem, to Antioch, it then turned to the west, it flowed to Asia, through to Macedonia (that is Europe).
Note, that there is no end to the book of Acts, this is because, that stream still flows even today. It flowed through Europe in the 1600s and stirred up the Martin Luther reformation from the degradation that occurred in the church at Rome, it flowed through Azusa street, sparking the Pentecostal revival through William Seymour.
In the twentieth century it flowed through Asia, stirring up our beloved brother Watchman nee for the Lord's recovery work in his body.
Today we see this stream in Africa, yes AFRICA, there is a concentration of the Lord's move now in this continent, there is a particular emphasis of Heaven over this continent to make her the gaze of the nation, the truth is, God remains the Governor amongst the nation and is not restricted in his move amongst them but we see a unique flow issuing forth from Africa, her treasures consistent with her prophetic heritages are now being rediscovered to bring the attraction of the nations to her, the signs are in the clouds, the divine river now seeks to flood the heart of the young once again to desire God, even the God of Jacob. A new kind of grace is now being released affecting the texture of ministry on ground, the gross economic distress is only but a pointer to reveal to us of satan’s interest to cripple a land with great natural endowment but we see a river flowing to restore our heritage of people mapped out by God, this move will we bring Africa out of obscurity and make her a spot light amongst the community of Nations.
Oh Africa awake, for the river even the spirit now flows through your lands, the once dark continent shall become the bearer of light even the Shekinah glory!
The flowing of the stream captures the current flow of the move of God. If you haven't discerned the current of the stream you are out of the flow of God's move; in your nation you must discern where the river is moving towards, because where the river is, there the move of God for his work is.
Hymn
¹ Flow forth, flow forth, even from thy throne,
Let your divine stream upon us yet pour.
That the souls of those who thirst will leap for joy,
And our obscurity from reality shall in thee drawn.
² Our fellowship is dry and brotherhood lost
Our hands are weary from work
For the labors of the fields are great
Flow forth, flow forth, even from thy throne
Let your divine stream upon us yet pour.
³ How great is your move amongst the nations,
Affecting every tongue, harvesting every race;
May we in your move be relevant,
Flow forth, flow forth, even from thy throne,
Let your divine stream upon us yet pour.
⁴ How great is your economy oh God,
You are uniquely one yet you are triune
Flowing into us for an everlasting union,
Flow forth, flow forth, even from thy throne,
Let your divine stream upon us yet pour.
Thank you!
This article is a product of the teaching ministry of
Daniel zadok, he is governed by the recovery
vision of God in His body for this age, which is for
converts to become disciples full of God and the
precise knowledge of His new testament
economy unto conformity to the image of Christ.
He believes in the Holy Apostolic Faith passed
down to us through the first Apostolic Fathers,
upon which the church should be Modelled after
and the individual maturity of the believers upon
this foundation will birth the true victorious
Church.
Contact: Ajahdaniel09@gmail.com