When Israel went forth out of Egypt, The house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. The sea saw it, and fled; The Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped like rams, The little hills like lambs. What aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou fleest? Thou Jordan, that thou turnest back? ye mountains, that ye skip like rams; ye little hills, like lambs? Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob, Who turned the rock into a pool of water, The flint into a fountain of waters. Psalm 114.
This is the story of the Passover—a midnight of judgment and deliverance. The rising sun found God’s people marching forth toward the land of promise singing this beautiful, poetic song of their miracle deliverance. God said to His creation, “Get out of the way, I’m bringing forth a people unto Myself. Get out of the way, mountains! Get out of the way, Red Sea! Move back, Jordan, the people are coming through!” He doesn’t say anything less to us today. He tells us, “I’ll make a way where there is no way; I’ll give you floods on dry ground. When you pass through the waters they will not overwhelm you; when you pass through the fire it will not kindle upon you. I am the Lord that bringeth you forth unto Myself—a people for My name’s sake.” Isaiah 44:3.
The nineteenth and twentieth chapters of Exodus relate a great tragedy. Exodus 19:3–6: And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. God delivered His people out of Egypt with a special purpose that He didn’t immediately reveal. God wasn’t just setting some slaves free; He had something special in mind. He was going to have a Kingdom of priests to worship and adore Him, a holy nation of people who would hear and obey His voice and keep His covenant.
These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people unto the Lord. verses 6b–8.
Moses kept running back and forth between God and the people. The order of priests and prophets in the Old Testament was quite different from what we have today. When the prophet spoke forth to the people, they could not judge the word because they did not have the Spirit within them. The prophet heard from the Lord and thundered, “Thus saith the Lord.” The priests listened to the people and then entreated the Lord with sacrifices for them. The priests were go-betweens, and the people just stood off in the distance and listened. In fact, they were not too eager to talk or listen to God themselves. They wanted to get the word second-hand. Today we are experiencing the truth of Isaiah 54:13, …And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord…
And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee. Exodus 19:9a. God didn’t want to be so remote from His people. He was actually saying, “Moses, bring the people close to the mountain. Then when you come up I will speak to you from the thick cloud, but everyone else will hear also.” God did not want His people without an ear to hear what He was saying. He wanted them to hear the word so that they would all believe forever.
And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their garments, and be ready against the third day; for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, he shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their garments. And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not near a woman.
And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai, the whole of it, smoked, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, to the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, that come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them. And Moses said unto the Lord, the people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou didst charge us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. And the Lord said unto him, Go, get thee down; and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the Lord, lest he break forth upon them. So Moses went down unto the people, and told them.
And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (This is a reminder of the Passover again). Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s. And all the people perceived the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die. Exodus 19:9–20:19.
A few days after the Passover God revealed vividly His intent and purpose to His people: He would speak to them directly. He laid His requirements upon them, but they didn’t want revelation that direct; they didn’t want to be that close to God. They said, “Moses, we won’t listen; you listen for us.” They were afraid to have a direct encounter with God that required them to listen to Him.
If you approached a mountain shaking with thunders and lightning, you might feel the same way. Many people feel that way today when they hear the living word. They draw back; they haven’t any real reason to do so except they just don’t want that much of God! They would rather listen to sermons so diluted, that they are just shallow watery expositions coming forth out of the Scriptures. To give the anointed word with its full impact is too much for them. People cannot take it. Many good pastors have been shoved out of their churches because they preached the truth. People haven’t changed since Mount Sinai. However, God is bringing forth a Remnant of people that do want to hear the word of the Lord. And they want to hear all of it!
The book of Hebrews contrasts the old covenant with the new, Sinai with Zion—“the better hope,” the better promises, the better priesthood. Hebrews tells us that we have it better than they did under the law. Hebrews 12:18–29: For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them; for they could not endure that which was enjoined, if even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned; and so fearful was the appearance, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake. This refers to the account in Exodus 19 and 20. We are not coming to that situation at Mount Sinai; we are coming to Mount Zion. …but ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect… The firstborn (or firstfruits) is that which God has taken out of all of the earth to possess for His own. (James 1:18 tells us we are called to be a kind of firstfruits of all of His creatures.) Don’t think that God is restoring Zion with just a few people in the restoration. There is a great cloud of witnesses all about us, the spirits of just men made perfect …and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better than that of Abel. What did the blood of Abel do? God said to Cain, “The blood of thy brother Abel crieth to me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). What did Abel cry for? Justice and judgment! And that’s what Sinai called for too. All the blood of the sacrifices was spilled to satisfy the demands for justice and judgment. Someone had to pay for the sin. But the blood of Christ is calling for mercy.
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. In other words, “Don’t refuse to listen.” The people of the Old Testament didn’t want to listen. Many people today don’t want to listen even though we are coming to Zion. You have to come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (not a physical city, but a heavenly city), to the innumerable hosts of angels. Do you believe that the angels are participating in your life? They are—very much.
After God gave the law on Mount Sinai, blood was sprinkled on the written law and on the people, which bound them forever to penalties if they disobeyed that covenant made with the Lord. Every time you take Communion, remember the Passover blood that was placed over the door to avert judgment. Remember the cup that Jesus took when He said, “This is a new covenant in My blood given for the remission of sins.” That precious blood does not bind you to a covenant that will bring damnation and judgment if you break it; it comes to remit your sins and cause you to stand in the presence of the Lord.
For if they escaped not when they refused him that warned them on earth, much more shall not we escape who turn away from him that warneth from heaven: whose voice then shook the earth… A voice from Mount Sinai came down and shook the earth; God spoke and the mountain trembled. …but now he hath promised, saying, yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also the heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain. Hebrews 12:25–27.
Why is the living word coming today? What is it doing in your life? Does it shake you? This is its purpose. It is like an earthquake. When God starts speaking, He shakes everything down—everything inside you and round about you. When He is finished speaking, you are a different person. You realize that habits and characteristics of your emotions and disposition, old ruts and old responses are gone. God shook them loose and He’ll keep on shaking. Yet once more am I made to tremble not the earth only, but also the heaven. And this word, yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain.
Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. You are coming to a place where everything that can be shaken will be shaken loose. Expose yourselves to it; ask the Lord to speak to you and shake you. You will soon discover it takes quite a bit of speaking sometimes, because some characteristics of the old nature have a tenacious quality. They cling like glue and require quite a lot of shaking. The living word comes and brings a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. In this walk, God is bringing forth churches that cannot be shaken. We have been shaken by God’s dealing until we’ve sometimes wondered whether the Lord was for us or against us; yet we are still standing. God is going to have a Kingdom of citizens that cannot be shaken. The Lord will continue speaking to you with a word that will shake you—and that’s good! Keep moving; get another word from the Lord and be shaken again. …let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:27–29.
When He speaks the word, we want to be listeners! We want to hear! We want to have open hearts, for we know that He puts an end to the old nature and creates Himself within us by the word He speaks to us.
THE LORD HATH OPENED THINE EARS
Behold, the word of the Lord is scarce in this hour. How many search from sea to sea throughout the land, from city to city, to find a sure word from the Lord? The Lord hath given thee a word to walk in, a word to delight in. He has made thee rich, and the words that He has spoken are more precious than fine gold. Rejoice that the Lord speaketh and He bringeth forth a people in this hour that have ears to hear.
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; for the Lord shall speak. Hath He not continually spoken, but there have not been ears to hear? Blessed are those ears that the Lord hath unstopped; Yea, they have been anointed by the Lord that they shall perceive what the Lord speaketh. For many voices are gone forth in the earth. Many come to speak and to deceive. But the Lord shall speak unto thine heart and thou shalt hear that word as you go forth in the way. As ye turn to the right hand and to the left, shall ye not hear that word behind thee saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it”? Thou shalt be directed in the way to go. Blessed are those people that have ears to hear what the Lord bringeth forth.
God is speaking to us about the way He is speaking to us, the way He has opened our hearts to hear the word. Many deep truths are taught in this place and you receive them readily. These truths could be taught in many churches to marvelous Christians, who wouldn’t listen to them at all. God has prepared your hearts to hear the word He is speaking. Many movements have failed because people who received a word were really not open to that word; they had no ear to hear it. If God tried to give them another word, it would split their church. You are eager to hear what God will speak next, so that you can try to walk in it with His grace and anointing. There is no time limit on this walk. If the Lord tarries a hundred years this walk will still be alive and vital. In order for God to prepare the people to speak the word of the Lord, He first has to give them ears to hear the word of the Lord. How can they speak as the oracles of God if they don’t have the ears to hear what God is saying?
Although the Pharisees disciplined themselves in every way to be righteous, they couldn’t achieve the amazing quality found in the early church. Jesus told His disciples, “Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” You don’t have to be a gifted person or one filled with great drive and will power—just keep open to the word. It has a remarkable cleansing and purifying effect. Keep listening; cherish it. If you despair of being able to change, or if you become discouraged, let the love of the word be predominant. Listen to what God says; read it; rehearse it.