(Transcription from services held in Singapore many years ago. However, the message to the Church is clear and you can see the prophetic nature as you read through the teaching.)
“And this is eternal life, to know You, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
John 17:3
You might say, why do I have to suffer as a Christian? It is so that you will find that nothing in this world can satisfy you but Him. And until you have learned that lesson, your suffering has not accomplished its goal. There is a day of coming up out of the wilderness, but when we do and because we have learned that nothing satisfies but Him, we do not come up out of the wilderness lavishingly chasing after the things of the world. Our head is not turning to and fro, looking at what we can buy or what we can have, or what we can do to make ourselves known among men. But the one who has been made into His image in the wilderness, the one who has truly found the heart of God, comes up with their head leaning on his bosom. He is everything. He is all they care about. He is all they want. He is all they see. He is all they hear. Like the beloved apostle John who leaned on the breast of Christ, the Bride, the remnant who has been purged and purified in the wilderness, leans her head on the breast of Christ.
The writer says,
“Under the apple tree I awakened you.” (Song of Solomon 8:5) The apple tree speaks of wisdom. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
You see, when you have gone out into the wilderness, you have left the world behind. When you have gone out into the wilderness, you learn the fear of God. You learn that while He is all love, there is this other side of Him, the severity of God. For although He is all love, He is still the discipliner of His Church. He will discipline you for the love of your flesh, for the lust of your eyes, and for the pride that steals you from Him. But the one who has gone into the wilderness to seek only Him loves His discipline. They have learned to fear Him.
I walk very much in the presence of the fear of God. When I am sitting here waiting to come out and speak, inside I am trembling, because the fear of God is upon me and I do not ever want to come to the pulpit and not experience that fear. Because if I do, I will touch what is not mine to touch. When I pray for His Church, I pray for the fear of God, lest I touch them in an unholy way. And as a minister I receive offerings into this ministry and I touch that money in the fear of God, lest I displease Him. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and it is wisdom that leads us into all things in God. You cannot know Him except by the gift of wisdom. Are you with me tonight?
When I walk with Him and I talk with Him and I worship Him, it is in the fear of God, because He is majesty. And I am granted the awesome privilege of standing in His presence, something we should never take lightly. My dear friends, my brothers and my sisters, today the Church is filled with sin because she does not fear her beloved. When you know the fear of God, you fear sin! You hate it! You despise it! You fear it because you know it draws your soul away from Him and offends Him and you cannot bear that. His love is so great and so pure, so wonderful that you do not ever want to offend it, but wisdom has taught you that—under the apple tree.
The Church is asleep, we are asleep. The Church throughout much of the world is asleep and she lacks the fear of God and lacks wisdom. But there is a remnant that He has awakened under the tree of wisdom and He is teaching her the fear of God. He is bringing her into places in Himself where she is finding her rest, her abode, her peace, her joy, her comfort! He said, “Under the apple tree I have awakened you.” He remembers—it was such joy.
The memories of the day that she awoke to His wisdom, to His love, when she was awakened to the call to come, rise and go deep in God brings such sweetness into His heart, and He is recalling it:
“I remember when I awakened you under the tree of wisdom and I began to teach you My ways. There your mother gave you birth, there she was in travail for you.” (Verse 5)
Paul says, “I was a fetus born late; I came in behind.” And my dear brothers and sisters, this is the entire Church of this age! We are like a fetus born late. And although we have heard the call to salvation, we have not come forth unto birth!
Isaiah said, “The baby is desiring to come to birth, but there is not strength to bring her forth!” Yet, here in verse 5 God says, “I awakened you under the tree of wisdom and the mother (the Holy Spirit who bore you on the wings of eagles) has now given you birth!” The Holy Spirit travails to give you birth, bewails to give you birth, desires with great fervency to give you birth!
You know, there is a difference between being a part of the Kingdom of God and being a part of the Kingdom of Heaven. Did you know that? When you are born again you are part of the Kingdom of God. But until you are awakened and you come to full birth and you are taken out of the world, you are not fully born into the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why you do not see heavenly things. That is why your heart is not 100% set on Christ, because you are not yet fully born into the Kingdom of Heaven. You are lacking and until you realize that you are lacking, you will not seek to fill up that which you lack.
The Lord does not desire only to show His prophets the things of the Kingdom. His heart’s desire is to give to every believer, whoever will pay the price by leaving the world behind. He will reveal Himself and the things of the Kingdom. “I awakened you and there your mother gave you birth and there she was in travail and bore you.” Then she says to Him, “Set me like a seal upon your heart, like a seal upon your arm.” Or we could reverse this and say that He says it to her,
“Set me as a seal upon your heart and as a seal upon your arm, for love is as strong as death, jealousy as hard and as cruel as Sheol.” (Verse 6)
We were set as a seal upon our Lord’s heart when a sword entered into His heart. And as a seal upon His arms when He took the piercings of His arms to give us birth. But how many in the Church have accepted the piercing of the soul or of their own heart, that their heart might become one with His? How many in the Church have received the piercing of their own arms that their flesh might become one with His? He wants to be set as a seal upon our heart. He wants the brand of heaven to enter deep into our soul until it hits the very heart of who we are. He wants us to be branded for Christ.
God does not want you to look like the world. He does not want you to act like the world. He does not want you to like the things of the world, or love the things of the world. He does not want you to sit down and watch the gaudy kind of programs you see on television and then come to church with a defiled heart. He cannot touch you there! He cannot reach deep down inside your heart and reveal Himself to you in all of that defilement. He wants your heart branded for Him! He is saying come out! Come out! Come out of her, My people!
To be continued next week…
In Him,
Nita Johnson
