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August 28, 2005
FROM THE DESK OF
STEVE SHULTZ:
We just completed our ELIJAH LIST conference
in Speyer, Germany. I really have a godly love for Reinhard Rehberg, the pastor
of the church who hosted our conference.
In fact, since he reminds me of my favorite uncle, I call him "Uncle Reinhard."
And, since you and I (all of us) are family, I guess that means YOU can call him
"Uncle Reinhard" too! He is an awesome man of God and a true gift to Germany, the
land of my origins (obviously, by the last name of Shultz).
Read this word from Reinhard and be inspired, prophetically. In the days of old,
churches were adorned with biblical paintings because the Gospel needed to be told
to the illiterate masses of the day . . . in pictures.
Today, God still speaks in pictures. It's part of God's prophetic arsenal. We need
more pictures from the Lord.
Below, are more ways God speaks in pictures.
Listen to (as you read) Uncle Reinhard tell his story.
Blessings,
Steve Shultz
THE ELIJAH LIST
 THE
PROPHETIC: THE BRIDE'S DRESS,
A PROFOUND MYSTERY
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother
and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh." Genesis 2:24
At first, this Scripture simply seems to be a description of God's divine order
of things. But, in Ephesians, Paul actually views this verse from Genesis as a prophecy.
Ephesians 5:31, 32 reads:
"For this reason a man
will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become
one flesh. This is a profound mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the
Church."
I believe the Church today is living out the
fulfillment of this prophecy.
A PERSONAL JOURNEY
In our own personal history at Speyer Vineyard, this fulfillment of Scripture manifested
in this manner:
Around 1989, we found ourselves starting a church plant here in Speyer. Within time,
we became a "Vineyard" church, and one of the central things that was at the core
of who we were, as a fellowship, was healing. We didn't seek that type of distinction;
it just started to happen. As a result, we spent years talking and teaching about
healing -- up and down, here and there, and inside out.
Then I realized that all my sermons began hitting some resistance. Subsequently,
about two years ago, the leadership and elder-team of our church started to think
and pray about how we could refresh ourselves and grow further. Seeking that refreshing,
we flew to the U.S. and went to the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Albany, Oregon,
for the first time. As we were traveling there, God began to speak to us. His answer
was very short, actually. He said, "Become prophetic."
THE RESTORATION OF "PICTURES"
The Bible often speaks in "pictures." Here in Europe, in the Middle Ages, theology
utilized the use of pictures very much. Pictures were used in abundance, and everyone
looking at biblical pictures interpreted them according to their own understanding.
In so doing, it was natural that abuses occurred and, eventually, measures were
taken to curb those abuses. Unfortunately, the result was a general "demystification"
and, ultimately, the pictures in the Bible just didn't mean anything anymore.
I believe that God is now bringing "pictures" back to us, because pictures are powerful
tools of communication from God, often impacting us far more than words. A picture
can say a thousand words.
TEN BIBLICAL PICTURES OF THE CHURCH
There are 10 different pictures that I believe demonstrate how Paul portrayed the
Church:
The Bride
The Flock of Sheep
The Temple
The Body
The Vineyard
The Family
The Field
The Arch
The Army
The Lampstand
I could expound on each picture and how each one vividly describes what God has
in mind for His Church, but it is the image of the Bride that I will focus on today.
ROOTS OF THE BRIDE
In the Old Testament (Ezekiel 16: 6-8; Ezekiel 23; Psalm 45; Isaiah 62 and Jeremiah
13), God speaks about Israel, Samaria, and Jerusalem, alternately, as His Bride.
In the New Testament, the picture of the Bride appears again. Most importantly,
Jesus Himself taught about it. Jewish marriage customs being what they were, Jesus
actually employed this metaphor his whole life.
Look at the first miracle He worked: it was at a wedding feast (John 2). Notice
what John the Baptist said in John 3:29: Upon seeing Jesus, he pointed to him and,
addressing his own disciples, he said, "The bride belongs
to the bridegroom and I am the friend of the bridegroom and my joy has been fulfilled
because I am allowed to see it."
Do you realize that at this point in Jesus' life nothing had yet happened for John
the Baptist to possibly make that connection? Remember that, according to Jesus,
John the Baptist was the greatest prophet -- in the order of Old Testament prophets
-- and here we see this greatest of prophets seeing Jesus for who He is. John could
see that Jesus had left his Father in Heaven to come to earth to get His bride.
All the other people, with the exception of John the Baptist, saw only a carpenter
from Nazareth . . . nothing else.
DRESSED FOR A WEDDING; LISTENING FOR THE KNOCK
In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus likens the Kingdom of God to a king who is planning a
wedding feast for his son. In this parable, Jesus says one of the guests is not
wearing a wedding dress (proper attire) and is therefore kicked out. In Jesus' day,
it was customary for guests -- as they came through the door -- to be given a new
dress to wear at the wedding. Jesus refers to Himself as The Door and, essentially,
says that those who do not enter through The Door will not receive a "new dress."
In Luke 12:36 Jesus warns His disciples to be ready -- listening for the "knock"
of the Bridegroom when He comes to the door for His Bride. A parallel is found in
Song of Songs 5:2, in which we see the bridegroom knocking at the door, but the
bride is not ready to open it.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BRIDEGROOM'S HOME AND
ITS READINESS
In John 14:2, Jesus says, "I go to prepare a
place for you."
Another Jewish wedding tradition required that the bridegroom would go to the house
of his fiancée, to talk to the father, and give him the customary two camels and
50 silver pieces before he was allowed to smile at the bride and perform the symbolic
act of putting the hem of his garment over her head. After that act, he had to return
home and, once back home, it was his job to build a house for himself and his wife.
The only one who was allowed to decide when the house was ready was the father
of the bridegroom. This is why Jesus said in Mark 13:32,
"I don't even know the time nor the hour, it is the
Father alone who does."
So, Jesus is very properly following the tradition of His Jewish counterparts when
He says, "I go and prepare a place for you in Heaven, and the only one who
knows when it will be ready, is the Father." Think about it. Jesus is one
with the Father and knows everything the Father wants to do, but it is the Father's
place to make certain decisions. It is obvious that Jesus wants to make sure that
we understand this.
Consider the parable of the ten virgins. When, at midnight, the father tells his
son that the house is ready, the bridegroom gathers his friends and goes to his
bride, blowing the trumpets, which signified the beginning of the wedding feast.
Of course, we know that, according to that Scripture, five of the virgins were not
ready.
FIVE SCROLLS, FIVE FEASTS
In Israel, five different scrolls were read at five different feasts. These scrolls
were called "megilot." The first one was the book of Esther, which was read at the
feast of Purim. The Song of Songs was read at Shabbat before Passover. At Schawuot
(Pentecost), the book of Ruth was read; and Ecclesiastes was read at Sukkot (Feast
of Tabernacles). Finally, Lamentations was read when the temple was destroyed.
We know that Song of Songs is the description of the beauty of the bride and the
love between the bride and the bridegroom. The book of Ruth deals with a woman who
has no right to inherit anything in Israel, but, regardless, not only becomes part
of the people of God, she also becomes the great-grandmother of King David. On Good
Friday, the Friday before Passover, the Bridegroom paid the price for His Bride
at the cross of Calvary and, not coincidentally, at this very same time, the Jews
read in the synagogue the scroll of the Song of Songs, describing the beauty of
the bride.
Pentecost is at the beginning of the wheat harvest, during which the book of Ruth
was read in the synagogue. In this story, we see Ruth telling Boaz -- who is a picture
of Jesus -- that he should cover her with the hem of his garment. (Likewise, in
Hebrews, we see Jesus telling His disciples to go back to Jerusalem and to wait
"until I cover you with the hem of my garment"
-- meaning wait until his power comes down on them.) How interesting that at Pentecost
the Jews are reading about Ruth, who has no right to be one of God's people, yet
she becomes one with them. Ruth is being supplied and empowered by her bridegroom,
and it happened in Jerusalem at Pentecost! This is what happened to the apostles
on Pentecost.
Jesus, personally, lived out this picture -- lived it for us -- and that is prophetic!
Why? Because Jesus said "You -- the Church -- you are My Bride!"
THE SECOND EVE
Paul refers to Jesus as the second Adam. But who is the second Eve? The Church!
We read about this fulfillment in Revelation 19:7-9:
"Let us rejoice and be
glad and give him glory, for the wedding of the Lamb has come and His Bride has
made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear, and fine
linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints. And the angel said to me, 'Write:
blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.'"
There is the fulfillment. We are the second Eve.
When the bride was ready, she was given a new dress. In this biblical "picture,"
we know that the dress is the righteous acts of the saints. All the things we do
as a Church, such as when we take care of the poor or when we pray for the sick
and cast out demons, is helping people to heal inwardly. All of these acts, which
are righteous in the sight of God, are what "clothes" us.
NAKEDNESS
What then does it mean to be naked? Nakedness is churches living only for themselves
and not doing the things of the Kingdom. When a bride receives her dress, she also
receives the "acts" or the ability to do what must be done. The bride cannot do
that on her own. She receives it from her groom, as demonstrated in Ephesians 5:27
-- which tells us that Jesus Himself will prepare His bride -- and Ephesians 2:10,
which proclaims that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do the good
works that He prepares in advance for us to do.
Let me share a personal example. Last summer, a friend of mine was here from Oklahoma
City, and he led a wonderful seminar about Power Ministry. During the last session,
one of the speakers prayed for a woman who stood crying with her arms outstretched.
The man praying for her motioned for me to come over. Amazingly, although her hands
were filled with a liquid, the liquid was not pouring over. I tested the liquid
by placing the tip of my finger into her hands. It looked and smelled like fine
oil.
After that seminar, we went on a missions trip to Romania an, on this trip, we saw
God open the eyes of a blind woman. We also saw three lame people walk again and
a woman healed of breast cancer. After forty healings, we stopped counting them.
More than forty people got saved.
While in Romania, one of the team members, when we were praying, saw a picture of
a house with people in it. The people in the house were also praying, but had nothing
to eat. This team member acted on this picture and called a taxi, and then described
what this house looked like to the taxi driver. He knew exactly the house from the
description given to him! It was a type of nursing home. The prayer team went to
this house, stood in front of it, and prayed. At that moment, a Russian orthodox
priest came out of the house and asked them to come in.
Guess what?
They didn't had anything to eat there. The prayer
team collected some money and bought things to eat. The priest asked them to come
back the next day, so the next day a whole group of us returned. It was in this
house that the eyes of a blind woman were opened. I didn't plan that, and it wasn't
a good work of our own. As a matter of fact, I almost made a decision not to pursue
this vision when it was told to me. It was something God prepared in advance for
us to do -- a "work" that came to us. In a way, we stumbled onto it.
GOD SPEAKS IN MYRIAD WAYS
We know that God talks to us in all different kinds of ways. Some people see pictures
or have impressions or words of knowledge. Some people hear God very well in an
audible voice.
My experience, however, was totally different. I was always upset with God, because
I couldn't hear him. I just had funny feelings. At a seminar one day, I listened
to a teaching about how God can talk to us through our feelings, as well. I began
to reflect on the times that I knew God was talking, and what feelings I experienced
when I knew He was doing so. I realized that one of the times I heard Him speak
to me was when I was wondering. Strange, isn't it? Soon, I began to accept the other
feelings that I experienced when God spoke to me and, on His part, God started to
reinforce or confirm those realizations. For example, when I began to feel burning
inside, I knew that my hands had the power to heal the sick.
I know that some scientists believe that Jesus was nailed on the cross through His
wrists, but I feel His nails in my hands. I really feel them especially powerfully
when I pray for people. Gradually, I learned how it feels when the anointing comes
upon me and how it feels when God wants me to minister to someone I'm with.
THE PROPHETIC, IN ACTS AND ANOINTING, IS THE BRIDE'S
DRESS
Remember when Jesus sent out the twelve disciples, and the seventy-two, and He gave
them power to heal the sick and the power came on them? They knew this feeling that
I feel. I can see Peter and John walking to the temple -- as they had done hundreds
of times before -- and the crippled man sitting at the gate called Beautiful --
as he had done hundreds of times before -- and, suddenly, Peter and John felt something.
They felt the anointing. They had felt it before when they were together with Jesus.
It is the anointing that Peter is referring to when he tells the crippled man:
"Silver and gold have I none, but what I have, I give
to you."
Peter knew, without a doubt, that God was with him. He knew that the anointing was
on him. He knew that God wanted to heal the man that day -- at that moment. So the
story makes sense. It makes sense to us, doesn't it? When we are together with people,
and the prophetic just starts to work like that in us, and God talks to us in a
way that we are able to comprehend, then we stumble into His works by the way. This
is what clothes the Bride.
by Pastor Reinhard Rehberg
Speyer Germany Vineyard
www.vineyard-speyer.de
Elijah-List Conference, July 1, 2005, Speyer,
Germany
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