Presumption
from haRold Smith
"Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer" Psalm 19:12-14
"Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." 1Corinthians 13:8-12
"Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:48, Deuteronomy 18:13
Almost three years ago, the Father began to stir in my spirit to "...get rid of everything you own. You are going to Israel and you won't be coming back." How is it that, today, I am back in the USA? So sure was I in hearing His Voice, I told my three kids (all grown now) that they would never see their Daddy again unless they made plans to come to Israel. What happened? How is it that my feet are resting on American soil - and not of my choosing?
Presumption. We presume that when we hear the Voice of the Father, we know exactly what He means. In reality, we filter what is being said to us through what we know, what we have been taught, what we have experienced and what we hope will happen. We see in part as we know in part. But, when the Perfect becomes fully formed in my life (1John 2:4-6, 1John 4:12 click on highlighted verse to see scripture), then the partial shall pass and I shall know fully even as I am fully known in the Presence of the Father (1Corinthians 13:8-12)
The English word presumptuous in Psalm 19:13 is translated from the Hebrew word zad meaning, arrogant, proud, insolent but comes from a root word, zuwd, which means to boil, boil up, seethe, act proudly, act presumptuously, act rebelliously, be presumptuous, be arrogant, be rebelliously proud.. The Greek word for presumptuous is tolmetes and means to be bold or daring, to bring one's self to action.
What the Father meant when He spoke those words over me was that I would be living in Israel - not that I would never return to visit. I PRESUMED He meant I would never have opportunity to return to America again. Today, I live in Israel. My abode, my home is in Israel - but I am free to travel here or anywhere else He leads me to go. I put my kids through a lot of grief they didn't have to go through because when I heard His Voice, I PRESUMED what I heard to mean one thing when, in reality, He meant another.
While I was in Israel, two people spoke in prophecy over me, both saying I would "...not have to leave the country." Neither of these folks knew of each other and neither one knew me at the time. It sounded good to me because - hey, I did not want to leave. Here again, though, what I took to mean that I would not have to get on a plane and fly, He meant to be an assurance to me that I was going to continue to live in the country. In fact, the last thing Spirit said to me on my last day in Israel was, "...rest assured." We think we know so much and it often causes us to act presumptuously because we know we have heard His Voice and we think we know what that means. When we act on what we think Him to be saying without waiting for His understanding, we become self-willed without comprehending our actions broadcast what is in our heart (Mark 7:20-23). To be presumptuous is to be self-willed - to be self-willed is to BE, or act, presumptuously (2Peter 2:9-10).
Many of you have written to ask why it was I had to leave Jerusalem. The simple answer is - I own a business in Israel, but, in order to be able to access that business, I have to be issued a work permit by the Israeli government. All the paperwork has been submitted to the Ministry of Trade and Commerce for them to issue a letter of recommendation for the work permit which will then be taken to the Ministry of the Interior, the governmental arm from where the visa is actually issued. The T&C committee meets once a month - maybe (welcome to Israel - I have discovered that bureaucracy knows no borders). The tourist visa I had entered the country under to wait for these proceedings to be completed was up on August 9 - I had to leave. I tried to get an extension, but the Interior Ministry was frowning on that. It was recommended to not put any more obstacles before them than necessary and, technically, I have to be out of the country to receive the work permit, anyway.
So, I am here until I receive word to contact the Israeli consulate to receive permission to go home. Are there any guarantees that will happen? No - I am a guest of the Israelis and the plug on this project can be pulled at any point in the proceedings by any arm of the government - with there being no refunds on the thousands of dollars I have paid thus far should they decide to do so. Why am I placed in such a position of vulnerability (see Becoming Vulnerable)? Because the Father is calling forth forerunners of Isaiah 60, in particular verse 5, to bring economy to the Land and there is always a price to be paid to bring His Presence into this earthly realm (see Calling Forth).
Now, I could have prayed for the Father to supernaturally keep me in Israel, but that would have been despising the authority of the Israeli government. I know, many will say the "higher calling" should have precedence in this situation - but that would run contrary to the Essence and Nature of our Father as the Perfect Gentleman - He does not go where He is not invited and He does not stay where He is not welcome (Revelation 3:20). To pray in that manner also would have been an attempt to impose my will into the situation, what I would like to see happen instead of waiting upon His more Excellent Way, the Perfect, to unfold both within me and, resultantly, in the world, the circumstances surrounding me (1John 4:17). To be self-willed is the definition of rebellion.
At one time, before meeting YHVH on a dirt road in northern California (see the Power of God). I was steeped in witchcraft and sorcery. I fashioned myself after the white wizard, Gandalf, in "The Lord of the Rings" (before that book ever became as popular as it is today), not realizing until I came into the Kingdom of YHVH that it didn't make any difference what color you were, it was all still witchcraft.
In making the transition from the spirit world into the Kingdom, I was confronted with how similar operations of spiritual things were manifested in both realms and it confused me. It is not a counterfeit, as some have maintained - there is a real power in the spirit realm that is accessible from a humanistic approach. Not knowing any better at the time, I asked the Father about this seeming inconsistency. He revealed to me the difference was in the motivation of the heart. Through Ruach haKodesh, there is an impartation of the Life of Yeshua, the Essence of the Father who is Light
(1John 1:5),
into the lives of others; whereas from the dark side there is an imposition of our self on the circumstances surrounding us and of others. We impose our will upon circumstances to change them into what we would like to see happen, for whatever reason - even with what are seemingly good intentions. There are many believers who practice witchcraft today without realizing it. Praying for things to happen in the lives of others simply because we want to see something "good" happen, or think what we are witnessing to be 'not right', does not change the dynamic of what is going on the spirit. Having good intentions toward someone does not change the act of imposing our self, our will, upon the circumstances of others. We PRESUME to know what is best for them and for ourselves when the Father's plans may be quite the contrary
(see Good and Evil,
Prayer and Healing).
What, then, does it mean to be Perfect? It means to wait upon the Father to reveal Himself in every step of the pathway laid before us, regardless of the requirement upon our flesh, for as long as it takes to see what Elohim has revealed in our spirit come into completion in this earthly realm. It means to be as He is (Luke 6:40), 1John 2:4-6). Yeshua did not do anything until He first heard and saw the Father do it (John 5:19), John 5:30).
Perfect comes from the Greek teleios and means to make complete, to carry through completely, to accomplish, finish, bring to an end, full grown, mature. The Hebrew word is tamiym and means what is complete or entirely in accord with truth.
I am keenly aware that only the Father is able to accomplish His Plans for any of us, within any of us (Hebrews 12:2). It is only as we make ourselves available to Him that He is able to utilize us as His Vessels. I am also aware that He has not finished bringing all the people He desires into the completion of this venture. If you are reading this and sense the stirring of Ruach haKodesh within you to become involved in some way, stay tuned as there will be more information forthcoming in the next articles.
We serve a magnificently glorious, wondrously awesome, faithful Father (...the adventure continues).
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"For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: 'I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You'." Hebrews 2:10-12 |