Jubal -- Streams of Intimacy, Communion, Revelation and Freedom

There is a Bible law of interpretation called the law of first mention -- when something is mentioned for the first time in the Bible, there is a special significance. 

Let's take a look at a Bible character called Jubal and the special significance his name has. Jubal (or Yubal) is a character mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in Genesis 4:21 Jubal was a descendant of Cain, the son of Lamech and Adah, and the brother of Jabal, and half-brother of Tubal-cain and Naamah.

Jubal is mentioned the first time musical instruments are mentioned. In his name we see the true purpose for music and instruments -- to create, bring, conduct, and to lead or induce a river or watercourse.

Jubal is described as the "ancestor of all who played the lyre and pipe."(1) Jubal literally means ‘river’ or ‘stream. The root is (yabal 835) generally meaning bring, carry, lead, conduct.(2)

So the major purpose of musical instruments is to induce the believer to begin to release the river of God's presence out from His heart!

We read in the Bible that Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as a river in a believer's life

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:38-39 NASV

I became a believer in 1986. I remember how amazing it was to realize that all my sins had been forgiven. It was however only after I was filled with the Holy Spirit that I felt a new dimension of His presence in my life. God wants us all to experience not only His indwelling presence, but also His manifested presence. I realized that as I allowed that 'river' of His presence to flow out of my heart, that river began to find expression -- spontaneous songs began to flow, and songs in tongues began to emerge. My personal time with the Lord throughout the day was never the same again.

A few years ago the Lord showed me in His Word something I had known for some time -- how we can experience a whole new depth of His presence as we worship together corporately when believers come together.

There is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. Psalm 46:4 KJV

The word ‘river’ in Hebrew here in Psalm 46:4 literally means a flood! The Bible records that the Holy Spirit came on Jesus without measure. However, we all have the Spirit of God in a measure. But when we come together in corporate worship and begin to release that river that's in our hearts, we can experience a flood of God's presence!

Another interesting thing to note is that the word ‘tabernacles’ in Psalm 46:4 – ‘mishkan’ in Hebrew -- means ‘dwelling place, habitation, tabernacle, and tent’. God wants to dwell with us in our times of worship where we flow in His river -- the river of His Spirit.

OK, let's go back to the word 'Jubal'
The Hebrew word for 'Jubal' is written in the Hebrew, 'yod, vav, bet, lamed.' So in the word 'Jubal,' we see the following pictures: Yod - Vav - Bet - Lamed (Hand - Nail - House - Shepherds Staff).

So what does this mean?

• In the stream of the Holy Spirit when instruments are played. . .they magnify the hand and the nail. . .the love of Jesus on the cross and what he has done for us 
• It’s for the house of God: it's an experience of communion. . .where we pitch our tent with God (the letter 'lamed' looks like a tent) 
• There we will experience the shepherd's heart of God . . .His care. . .His leading. . .His provision 
• Worship is meant as a time for communion not for performance 
• When we perform people applaud and watch. When we worship people flow 
• Worship is about brokenness and being real -- and not performance. That’s the difference between a concert and worship – worship is communion. 
• The purpose of music is to flow with the stream of His presence. 
• God misses His people like a bridegroom misses His bride – the love of His life. He gave His life so that He could be intimate with her 
• Worship is like intercourse – He sings to us and we sing to Him. His song of love courses through us and our songs of love course through Him. 
• When God is able to dance and flow freely in our midst, unique manifestations of His gifts will be experienced 
• What are we offering this generation? Are we giving them the chance to experience His manifest presence? 
• God wants a worshipping PEOPLE. As a worship leader -- are the people actually singing with you or listening to you? 
• Worship leaders are to be a catalyst, a launching pad for the people of God to jump in -- if all they do is listen to us sing, we've failed 
• If all we do is concentrate on singing song after song of a prepared song-list then how different is it from a sing-song session?

It’s time to draw near once more in intimacy with the Lord and flow with His presence – and Psalm 84 just captures my longing for Him right now.

Psalm 84
For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. [a]

1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. [b]

7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. Selah

9 Look upon our shield, [c] O God; look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

12 O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.


Footnotes
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubal_(Bible)
2. http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Jabal.html

The Power of Simplicity

Lately I have felt a nudging in my heart about how powerful being simple before God can be in adjusting our perception of life -- in showing us what is important and what is not.

Here are some good examples:

1) Worshiping Jesus is important -- impressing people with your singing is not. But when you do flow with Him and you're called to minister in worship, He'll still equip you. In the end, people sitting under your ministry won't see a talented personality -- they'll experience someone touched by the Lord touching others with His love. I really want to sing from my heart to the Lord, without worrying about what the latest songs are -- where my primary concern is what the heartbeat of Jesus is for my life, for His church, for my friends and for the world. I want to really know Him. He doesn't need me to put on a show for Him in ministry -- He wants me to be a channel instead of His love.

2) Really helping people when they need it is important -- sitting around with others and discussing other people's problems is not. People in need need us to 'do life' with them. Our 'revelations' ring very hollow indeed when we see someone in need and don't lift a finger to help. When you meet a need you demonstrate God's love more than a million words of exhortation. Let's love others with a love that really counts -- where those who have financial needs are helped, where those who need an understanding ear are heard, where those who fail in life are told that it's OK -- God still loves them.

3) Being real is important -- saying all the right things to appear spiritual isn't. I really want to keep my life real before others -- a life that is not perfect, but one that depends on an unfailing love that comes from a Throne of Grace. I think the only thing worse than a spiritual flake is a spiritual fake.

A New Move of Intimacy with Jesus is Coming

When our singing becomes secondary and communing with Jesus becomes primary during worship, we will rediscover our true purpose as believers -- to be loved by Jesus and to love Him in return. In that place we don't have to sing the coolest songs. That's the least of our concerns. You may very well be led to sing a song from Sunday School! In fact God may ask you to peel away all that sophistication and just come . . .as a child -- vulnerable, unpretentious, real. In that place of childlike simplicity we discover the anointing where the river of the Spirit begins to carry you in His glorious flow. The Lord is coming back soon for His bride, but before that, there will be a powerful move of the Spirit where He will remove all the obstacles that keep us from experiencing true intimacy with Him. This will be a move where in anticipation of His wonderful wedding with His bride The Church, He will unleash the wine of His Spirit where the joy of the Lord will be felt, heard and seen. Let's begin to listen to the wooing of the Spirit and draw close to Jesus.

Things Are Not What They Seem

Have you ever had a bad day or a bad week where everything just seems to go wrong?

Or you feel like God has abandoned you in the midst of your troubles.

I have good news for you. Things are not what they appear to be.

The troublemaker in our lives is not the Lord--it is the enemy of our souls, the devil. One of his principal weapons in life is accusation. He accuses you that you're not good enough to merit God's blessings and he accuses God that He doesn't care about you. Actually that's what Satan means in Hebrew--the Accuser.

So just how do we deal with these 'evil days'? Well the answer is found in God's Word. Let's take a look at Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)

What can we learn from this passage of scripture? Here's what I'm beginning to see and what I'm meditating on right now:

A) Verse 10: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
At the onset we are told whose strength sees us through this--it's not ours, it's HIS mighty power that makes us strong.

B) Verse 11: Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
God's strategy for us is to put on or take up elements that He has already provided for us--the full armor of God--to stand against devil's strategies.

C) Verse 12: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
The enemy uses people to attack us--but they are not the source. The real source behind our attacks is spiritual.

D) Verse 13: Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
We are to stand our ground in who we are--righteous, loved children of the Father--and not believe the lies of the Accuser who tries to persuade us otherwise through his attacks.

E) Verse 14: Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
The TRUTH of God's word holds the armor together (it's characterized as a belt), while our hearts are kept from being disappointed or discouraged by realizing that we are righteous by grace and that things happening around us are not 'God's way of punishing us'.

F) Verse 15: and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Readiness to face the day of evil somes when we realize that our standing with God--or our peace with God (c.f. Romans 5:1)--comes from the good news that God holds nothing against us because of the cross. The bad things that are happening are not God's ways of punishing us!

G) Verse 16: In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
I like the KJV better for this verse--it says 'above all' instead of 'in addition'. When we take-up the shield of faith--or take God at His word--all the lies of the enemy are snuffed out and his weapons come to nothing! So the Bible doesn't say there won't be fiery arrows--but they will come to nothing!

H) Verse 17: Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
We are to dwell and meditate on what Jesus has accomplished for us in His great work of deliverance on the cross--that's our helmet of salvation! Meditation in the Bible also includes speaking God's Word out loud. When you speak out loud what God is saying to you specifically in your situation, it cuts away the lies of the enemy!

I) Verse 18: And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
God doesn't want us to keep quiet in the evil day--begin to pray as the Spirit leads you! Prayer is always a spiritual posture for receiving--let's receive God's answers for our situations!