Bowls of Mixed Wine and The Now God by Rich Novek

Bowls of "MIXED" Wine
Friday, 30 July 2010 at 22:51Facebook
“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample BOWLS OF MIXED WINE.” (Proverbs 23:29-30)

Traditional church teaching has in the past led me to believe this passage is only about one thing, the effects of earthly drunkenness. And I am not here to dispute that fact. In fact I have experienced this firsthand, and countless times, and in more than one season in my life, and I am here to tell anybody who has any doubts, the above laundry list of “symptoms” is exactly what you get when you experience earthly intoxication.

So with that being said, the purpose of this blog is to move out of elementary school INTO the DEEPEST RECESSES of God’s HEART and MIND! Over the years, God has opened my eyes to the parallels involved in our Life in Him. Meaning, if there is something happening in this kingdom of appearances, than there is a parrallel happening in the Kingdom of His Dear Son!

Is it possible that in this stage of maturity the focus in this passage goes beyond just looking at the effects of earthly drunkenness? Hopefully at this level we are no longer focusing on Christian behavior, but have in fact moved beyond that. We have, haven’t we? Is it possible this passage is not only about the effects of drunkenness, but also about something we have never considered? What if the whole focus in this passage is really about the sampling of “Bowls of “MIXED” Wine?”

Who has woe, who has sorrow, who has strife? This to me sounds like a lot of believers who, not knowing or understanding their ordained place of REST, (Hebrews 3:7-4:11) are still TRYING to…“DO”……“FOR”….God! Sincere brothers and sisters "IN" Christ who still see their life as being their own, and their purpose as working FOR God! Jesus said “I only do what I see my Father doing!” (John 5:19) Who was the ONE doing, more importantly WHO IS the ONE doing "IN" CHRIST? My Bible says He (The Spirit) is the ONE who is at work, both WILLING and DOING of His GOOD pleasure! (Philippians 2:13)

The lie of all lies is that we live a separated existence apart from God! It is the ORIGINAL LIE found in Genesis! Look it up! The serpent said……… “IF you DO, you WILL become…………like God!” Instead of becoming God, what humanity got was the ability, like God to SEE both good and evil! We got a departure from the PURE UNADULTERATED WINE, which is “SEEING GOD ONLY” in exchange for a "settling for" of the hellish BOWLS OF MIXED WINE! The same Mixed Bowls which also cause us to experience the above laundry list of symptoms! And we get this because we still believe and cling to the ORIGINAL LIE! And not only have we believed it, but we have also adopted it, and in adopting it we have made a graven image out of it! And today in most churches we serve and worship it, this philosophy of a life apart from Him, and we still call IT God!

Is it any wonder why the prophet proclaimed “they have forsaken the fountain of LIVING WATER, and made for themselves cisterns that hold no water!

Has a nation ever changed its gods?
(Yet they are not gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their Glory
for worthless idols.

Be appalled at this, O heavens,
and shudder with great horror,”
declares the LORD.

”My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATER,
and have dug (by their own strength, in their “doing” FOR GOD) THEIR OWN CISTERNS,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water. (Jeremiah 2:11-13)

They may not hold the FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATER, which by the way is the same as the LIVING WATER which flows into us and through us by His grace. But they do hold something. In fact they hold the BOWLS OF “MIXED” WINE! They hold to a false belief that we are here to work FOR God! They hold to a conditional performance based religion that is as far removed from who God TRULY IS…….. as East is from West!

Come on church, it is time to stop TRYING to be good (why callest me thou good?) and stop trying to be godly, and stop trying to be “LIKE” CHRIST!" There is ONLY ONE who can be LIKE CHRIST, just as there is only ONE who can live the Christian Life, and that is Christ Himself!

I am here by His doing (as are you) to proclaim ONLY ONE message, GOD ONLY, GOD NOW! I am here (rather Christ “IN” Me is here) to open the eyes of the blind, and lead them to the God who loves with no strings attached! I am here to proclaim THE ETERNAL SABBATH DAY OF REST FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD………. what Paul describes as "the mystery kept hidden from ages and past generations" (Col 1:26), and Moses called "the manna that neither we or our fathers (in the faith) have known" (Deut 8:16)………….which is CHRIST “IN” YOU!

“IN” HIM…… there is No MIXTURE OF ANY KIND, there is no separation, deviation, division, denomination, or condemnation! He is our ONLY HOPE OF GLORY! GOD ONLY

The Now God
6th August 2010 at 18:13 Facebook
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” (James 1:2, New Living Translation)

We have had some pretty intense stuff going on lately, so my wife Linda and I set aside some one-on-one time with the Lord the other day. I started out simply praising and thanking Him, and then I said “Lord, I know we don’t serve a “God up there” I also know there is no “God of the past!” And I will never find Him when I turn to either the right or to the left! “I THANK YOU... THE “NOW” GOD... IS THE ONLY GOD WE SERVE!”

Then right after that, my wife Linda started praying, and as she was looking up towards the ceiling, she said, “LOOKING UP” is looking for a God who lives in the FUTURE.” What came out of my mouth next took me by surprise! “Then “LOOKING DOWN” must be looking for a God who lives in the PAST, and in order for us to SEE what’s BEHIND us we have to first TURN, EITHER TO THE RIGHT OR THE LEFT!”

Whether you TURN TO THE RIGHT OR TO THE LEFT, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This (He) is the way; walk “IN” it (Him)." (Isaiah 30:21)

But Jesus told him, "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then LOOKS BACK is NOT FIT for the Kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62 New Living Translation) The whole problem with this; every act of taking that backward glance begins with either a turning to the right or to the left!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from (the Spirit) above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither SHADOW OF TURNING. (James 1:17)

“Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the TOP and on BOTH SIDES of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, HE WILL SEE THE BLOOD ON THE TOP AND SIDES of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and He will not permit the destroyer to enter your house(s) and strike you down.” (Exodus 12:23-24)

If you can grasp what this is about you will see proof positive that OUR God does not operate anywhere else…. but in the HERE and “NOW!”

He is in this present moment, and has forever been “The “NOW” God! His name is I AM, it’s not I WAS, or I WILL BE! (Exodus 3:14) He is called THE EVER PRESENT HELP in time of trouble! (Psalm 46:1) He is the ETERNAL GOD! (Deuteronomy 33:27) He is Not the God who lives in the illusionary boundaries of TIME! There is NO TIME IN HIM! (II Peter 3:8)

As Linda and I were praying, God said to Linda, our looking up is a symbolism of looking for the “God up there”, for the God who is separated from us who lives in the FUTURE!

"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here LOOKING INTO THE SKY? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in THE SAME WAY you have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11)

How have we interpreted this passage in modern times? This SAME JESUS will come back again in the SAME WAY! This Jesus, who only does what He sees His Father doing, will ALWAYS manifest himself in the exact SAME WAY! Since He is the SAME Yesterday, Today, and Forever, and the Author and Finisher of our faith, HE will ALWAYS show up THE SAME WAY, loving us without condition, and without guilt or condemnation! He will ALWAYS welcome us with open arms as His beloved! So let’s move onto maturity and SEE HIM AS HE IS! He will ALWAYS be the SAME, with NO variableness or shadow of turning! He will ALWAYS be blazing Glory, casting no shadow! And because He ALWAYS SEES ONLY THE FATHER IN ALL THINGS, He will NEVER have a reason to turn to right or to the left!

People say a lot of things about Peter, but at least Peter got out of the boat! He fixed His gaze on Christ, and for a moment he experienced “AS HE IS SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD!” (I John 4:17) But then Peter began to FEEL the wind stirring up the lapping waves, and he TURNED to the right, and then he TURNED to the left, and He started sinking! And then Jesus looked at him with total disgust and let him drown, right? No, Jesus saved him, as HE will ALWAYS save those who call on HIM! There is no shadow of turning “IN” HIM! (Mathew 14:28-31)

The lamb was cut and the blood was poured into a basin at the foot of the doorway. The hyssop was taken from the basin on the threshold (looking down) of the doorway, dipped in the lambs blood and applied to the top of the doorway (looking up) and then both sides (the turning to the right and the left!) of the doorway!

This Passover is not only about the blood that protects from the death angel, as we have been taught, but is also a pointing to of the POWER OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST (His one time sacrifice for all mankind) which makes this “FIXED” life not only possible, but “NOW” fully expected! This is where we see ONLY GOD, ONLY NOW! The blood has washed away the past and the future, and any inclination we might have for looking to the right or the left! There is no past or future “IN” Him! And if there is no past or future “IN” Him, then why would there be any need for us to turn? Christ is OUR ALL! He is our past, present, and future!

We “NOW” enter in through the entry way by THE NEW AND LIVING WAY! (Hebrews 10:20) The same way that we once believed to be a set of rules, or a philosophy, or traditions of men! The way that had us bound in chains to a past that doesn’t even exist “IN” Him, has “NOW” become the ONLY NEW AND LIVING WAY! And the NEW AND LIVING WAY ONLY EXISTS IN THE “Now” of the NEW AND LIVING "TODAY!" (Hebrews 4:7)

Christ has become our food and drink, the DAILY Manna which we have not known, nor have our fathers! (Deuteronomy 8:3) He is the “Mystery” hidden from ages and past generations. (Colossians 1:26) The lamb’s blood which at one time only covered, is ”NOW” THE BLOOD that thoroughly cleanses! Cleanses from ALL SIN! And by SIN, I don’t mean the individual acts we commit by certain so called UN-Christian behaviors we may exhibit. Behaviors we focus on that cause us to be obsessed with trying to change our UN-Christian Behavior into Christian behavior! So we can TRY to become Christ Like! There is ONLY ONE WHO IS CHRIST LIKE, that is CHRIST Himself! God is not a behaviorist, He is in fact a Love-ist! And we no longer pray to a separated God “up there” or “down the road!” But for some reason, many in the modern day church can’t seem to move past the false belief of a God that exists separate from them! The God “up there”, “down the road”, or the one they have to keep looking to their right or their left to try and find!

The ONLY TRUE SIN FOR THE BELIEVER IS IN SEEING MORE THAN GOD! It’s what James called being double minded, Paul called a wicked unbelieving heart, and Jesus himself called evil!

“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is NOT UP IN heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" NOR IS IT BEYOND the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" NO! THE (LIVING) WORD IS VERY NEAR YOU, IT IS “IN” (present tense) YOUR MOUTH AND “IN” (present tense) YOUR HEART SO YOU MAY OBEY IT (HIM)! (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)

I love the quote from Renee Zellweger in the movie, “New in Town!” This lady is driving her to her new house from the airport. Renee is some top executive of a company in Miami, now all of the sudden she is transferred to a small town in Minnesota in the dead of winter! They are in the car when the lady asks, “have you found Jesus?” Her answer and it is classic, “I didn’t know He was missing!”

But it seems He is missing in most places! Ichabod, the Glory has departed is becoming more and more the norm today! (I Samuel 4:21) And God is missing for sure if you still believe for one second the prevailing lie that says we are separated from Him! He is living “IN” us willing and doing of His good pleasure! (Phil 2:13) It pleased the Father to reveal his Son “IN” me. (Galatians 1:16) “IN” Him we live and move and have our being! (Acts 17:28) The separated god IS the god of this world! He is not …… The God who was nailed to the cross………The ONLY TRUE GOD who is also The “NOW” God!

“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written; "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in ALL these things we are more than conquerors THROUGH Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the FUTURE (because there is no future in Him), nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able TO SEPARATE US from the love of God that is “IN” Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-38)

God saw us, struggling with a divided heart, the same heart today many see as normal Christianity! When the blood was applied to the doorway of our life, God did so to show us the key to victorious living “IN” Him. He purposely placed the blood at the places in our lives we are prone to have our focus. He did this to show us His unconditional love towards us, “IN” us, and through us.

“The Blood Cross”, dipping the blood in the basin at the bottom (our past) of the doorway, reaching up and applying it to the top (our future), and then reaching to the right and to the left and
applying it to that part of us which causes us to keep turning to take that backward glance! The same backward glance that stopped Lot’s wife “dead” in her tracks! Looking backwards always produces some kind of “Spiritual Paralysis!”

When we physically go through those motions, just as I stated, we literally draw out a cross, our personal entry way to Him, which allows us to see ourselves “IN” Him! Do you see it?

“Now”, let’s take the hyssop branch from where we are standing and reach down into the basin, where HIS BLOOD has already been applied to our PAST! Next, let’s dip the hyssop in the blood and reach up, “NOW” applying the blood to our FUTURE! Finally, let’s take the hyssop and reach to the right and the left, applying the blood there, the place where we are in danger of turning to the right or the left. “NOW” there is no longer a need to look to the right or the left, because “IN” HIM there can be no backward glance. All of that stuff in our past, “what was or what might have been!” You know, all of the shoulda’s, woulda’s, and coulda’s of our life! Now all of it permanently washed away by His precious Blood!

The BLOOD that forever washes away the worries of tomorrow, the guilt of yesterday, and the FEAR which causes us to turn and take that deadly backward glance!

The “NOW” God…… IS THE ONLY TRUE GOD!

So God set another time for entering HIS REST, and that time is TODAY. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted:

"Today (“Now”) when you hear His voice, don't harden your hearts." (Hebrews 4:7, New Living Translation)