Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministry (EGFM)
Programme: Writing the Vision (October)
Date: Saturday, 15th October 2022
"Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. [29] And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him." (John 8:28-29). The Father taught His things (light and revelation) to the Son in the days of His flesh. He gave our Lord Jesus the judgment of everlasting life. In the above scripture, Jesus talked about how He always does things that please the Father. Pleasure is dependent on the one who is being pleased. Many things that are good and right could be done, but if it does not fit into the expectation of the one who should be pleased, then it would be a wasted effort. Therefore, the basis for pleasure are teachings the Father gives.
In recent times, light is being shared to cause us to see what everlasting life is; although more light would come, there is a demand for pleasure in this season of light. One key aspect that has come to us in recent emphasis is love. There are various degrees of love; there is love at the level of the milk of the word, love at the level of Christ, and love as touching things Eternal.
"And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. [2] And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. [3] And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. [4] And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: [5] But unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell." (Genesis 4:1-5). The character Cain expressed during the season of offering showed tendencies that were already in him, but this did not show up until that time of offering. The season of everlasting life is a season of great blessings. However, it would also be characterized by the revelation of high tendencies of the adversary that are in us, even though we are a people journeying to God. Temptations are coming. God is feasting us with light and even more light of the things of everlasting life would be shed upon us as a people – a company of people who have used the light of Christ and have prospered with it. The tendency that showed forth in Cain was not revealed until the time of bringing forth the offering. Cain never knew he could possess wrath until this season of bringing up an offering unto God.
Cain and Abel were sharing Adam’s profession in the garden of Eden. The firstborn took up the first profession of being a tiller of the ground (a farmer), while the secondborn took up the profession of watching over animals. Adam was instructed to keep the garden first and then God brought animals to him. They were everlasting men, demonstrating both outwardly and inwardly, a measure of everlastingness which God put in their father – Adam. Light had been given to such men. The thoughts of God had been given to them through their father – Adam. God through Adam, taught them. If God had not taught them, He would not have queried Cain when his countenance fell and was wrought (Gen. 4:6).
Substances had been given to Cain for him not to have been angry and for his countenance not to fall but where Cain failed was on the ground of sacrifice. If we faint in the day of adversity, our strength is little (Prov. 24:10). This was probably not the first time Cain would be falling short of God’s demand at the point of sacrifice. Whenever we fall short of the demands of God, it is a result of the build-up of transactions in the heart over time and in different seasons.
When the Lord gives us wisdom and judgment, He leads us by the Spirit and gives us an opportunity to turn through teachings of insight. For example, first works and last works, when revelation and judgment are given to us, the Lord puts demands on us to live out the revelation. For Cain and Abel, this was the last season of God’s demand on them to bring forth the peak of fruits and pleasure for Him according to what had been delivered to them.
Cain brought offering and sacrifice to God but God did not have respect for Cain’s sacrifice, because it did not measure up to His expectation of Cain. If it did not measure up to God’s expectation, it would have been unjust for God to demand from him what He had not taught him. God would not have had such expectations of Cain if he had not been taught.
Abel pleased God, and that commendation from God brought forth a tendency that was latent both in Abel and Cain. Abel had the capacity to do what Cain did likewise, but he refused to. Offering here has to do with obeying the leadings of the Spirit as it relates to the things God is doing. For some, the blessing of God upon a fellow brother could stir up tendencies one never thought were within. The prosperity of souls bearing fruit in everlasting life could call forth darkness in us, and if we do not move, turn or morph quickly in the direction of the light that is coming, we might find ourselves taking thoughts and actions we never thought we could because we have latent tendencies of the adversary in us. Hence, we must place a premium on journeying.
Sin began amongst brethren in heaven. Lucifer belonged to a class of brethren but He coveted being like God; that was a sin. Certain tendencies broke out of him because of his inordinate ambition and this seed fell into humanity. As we are hearing the things being committed to us by revelation and understanding, we must find the grace to hasten and lay hold on everlasting life in order to lay hold on God.
Temptations are coming through evil and wicked spirits. But may we find mercy not to make light of any instruction which the Lord will bring. This is because they will not only change and save us but also kill tendencies that have the capacity to collapse our progress into God. God will bless us with a heart that places a premium on things that we have been taught by God, and we will have a greater capacity to obey. We will not trifle with any offering or sacrifice that the Lord will be demanding of us in this season.
Blessings!
Summary
1. Pleasure is dependent on the one who is being pleased. It is possible to do many good and right things, but if it does not fit into the expectation of the one who should be pleased, then it would be a wasted effort. As such, the basis for giving pleasure to the Father is in the teachings He gives (John 8:29).
2. The season of everlasting life is a season of great blessings. However, it would also be characterised by the revelation of the high tendencies of the adversary that are in us. The tendency that showed forth in Cain was not revealed until the time of the bringing forth of his offering (Gen. 4:5).
3. Temptations are coming but God is feasting us with the light of everlasting life so that we would not fail in the days of adversity (Prov. 24:10)
4. As the Lord gives us wisdom and judgement, He leads us by the Spirit and gives us an opportunity to turn through teachings. These opportunities come as He places demands on us to live out the teachings we have heard.
5. Offering has to do with obeying the leadings of the Spirit, as it relates to the things that God is doing. Cain and Abel were in the season of bringing forth fruits and pleasure for God according to what had been delivered to them.
6. If we do not move in the direction of the light that is coming, we may find certain tendencies being stirred up in us by virtue of the latent tendencies of the adversary. Therefore, we must place a premium on our journey to God.
7. As we are hearing the things being committed to us by revelation and understanding, we must find grace to hasten and lay hold on everlasting life and lay hold on God.
8. We must not trifle with any offering or sacrifice that the Lord will demand of us in this season. The instructions which the Lord will bring to us will not only change and save us, but they will also kill wrong tendencies in us.