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Ha Nevi ' im  Ministries
( The Prophets Ministry)
 
presents
The Watchman
The deep calls to the deep.
 
 
Ps 42:7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
 
Is 39:1 At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered.
Is 39:2 And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.
Is 39:3 Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon.
Is 39:4 Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.
Is 39:5 Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord of hosts:
Is 39:6 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord.
 
Mark 4:5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
Mark 4:6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
 
2 Co 12:1 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
2 Co 12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
2 Co 12:3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
2 Co 12:4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Ac 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
Ac 5:2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
Ac 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Ac 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
Ac 5:5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
 
     Psalm 42:7 says, "Deep calls unto deep." Only a call from the
depths can provoke a response from the depths.
Nothing shallow can ever
touch the depths, nor can anything superficial touch the inward
parts. Only the deep will responded to the deep. Anything that does
 not issue from the depths can not touch the depths. Others can respond deep within to only what issues from deep within us.
When we go to a certain place and listen to a message, the only
thing that touches us is something that has issued from the depths
of others. If nothing comes from the depths,  the help we receive
is just superficial. We have to see the importance of the depths.
Anything that is not from the depths will never reach the depths of others. If we have never received help or benefit in our depths, we
will never have anything issue from our depths. If we want to
render spiritual help to others, something must issue from our depths. If we do not dig deep, we can never help others. Unless our utterance is from the depths, we will not touch the depths in others, even
though we gain their emotions and thoughts and make them cry or
 be happy or excited for awhile. Only deep calls unto dep. Superficial expressions will not touch the depths of others.
 
Deep Roots
 One principle in our preaching is found in the Lord's parable
 of the sower. While the sower sowed seed, some seeds fell beside
the way, some on the rocky place, some into thorns, and some into
the good earth. This shows us four different ways man can receive the Word. The Lord Jesus tells us that among these different
conditions one is the rocks. When the seed falls into this kind of ground, it springs up quickly, but as soon as the sun comes out , it withers because of the lack of root.
    What is root ? It is the growth that occurs beneath the soil. What
are the leaves ? They are growth that occurs above the soil. In
other words, roots are the hidden life, whereas leaves are the
manifest life. The trouble with many believers is that, while there
is much apparent life, there is very little secret life. In others words,
there is a lack of hidden life. How much of your life is hidden from view ? How much is unknown to others ? You stress out ward works. Yes, good works are important ; but apart from that manifest
expression of your life, how much of your life remains hidden ?
If all your spiritual life is exposed, you do not have any root.
Are all your virtues before God manifested before man, or is there
something more that is unknown to man? If all your experiences
are manifested, then all your growth is upward; there is no
downward growth. If this is the case, you are a person who has only leaves without root, and you are on shallow ground.
    In our life as a Believer it is necessary that we learn the meaning
of the Body Of Christ; we must learn to have a life of the Body. On
the other hand, we must learn that the life given to each member of His Body by the Lord is distinctly individual. The measure that has
been given to you personally by Him needs to be guarded; otherwise,
it will lose its specific character and will be of no particular use to
God. If that which has been specially committed to you is exposed, it will wither. The discourse of the Lord Jesus on he Mount was most remarkable. On the one hand He said, " You are the light of the
world. It is impossible for a city situated upon a mountain to be hidden "(Matt. 5:14) It is open. On the other hand He said,
" When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your
right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret;....when you pray, enter into your private room, and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret " (Matt. 6:3-4,6) On one hand if you
are a Believer, you must come right out into the open and make a public profession; on the other hand, there are Believer virtues
which you should preserve from public gaze. The Believer who parades all his virtues before men and who does not have
anything in the depth of his being, has no root; he will not be able
to stand in the day of trail and temptation.
Deep Experiences
Writing to the Corinthians, Paul said, " To boast is necessary,
though indeed not expedient " (2 Cor. 12:1). He admitted that it
was "not profitable" (in Gk.)  for himself to write what he wrote
in 2 Corinthians 12. But for the sake of others he had to do it;
he was obliged to speak of "visions and revelations of the Lord."
 This should be our attitude also. Many of us cannot stand the test
of visions and revelations; as soon as we have a little experience, we blow the trumpet, and everyone knows about it. Paul know that it was no profit to himself to mention the Lord's visions and revelations.
Why then did he mention them ? He was forced to do so because some doubted his Apostleship, and there were problems concerning the
foundation of the Faith.
Did Paul disclose all his revelations ? Far from it. He wrote,
"I know a man [who is himself ] in Christ, fourteen years ago
(whether in the body I do not know, or outside the body I do not
know; God knows) such a one was caught up into the third Heaven"
(vr. 2). He did not divulge the experience until fourteen years later.
Some people would be inclined to say, "Paul, let us hear all about
that experience of yours fourteen years ago. Tell us about your experience in the third Heaven. It would be most helpful for us to know the whole story. " But he said, " I know such a man (whether
in the body or outside I do not know; God knows), that he was caught away into Paradise and heard unspeakable word, which it is not
allowed for a man to speak " (vr. 3-4). To this present day this experience of Paul's has not been uprooted; still no one knows
about that experience.
Brothers and Sisters, This matter of root is a matter of extreme
importance. If you want to have Paul's work, then you need to have Paul's "root"; if you want to have Paul's outward conduct, then you
need to have Paul's inner life; if you want to have Paul's manifest power, then you need to have Paul's secret experience.
The trouble with Believers today is that they cannot keep any spiritual thing or any special experience undisclosed. As soon as
they have a little experience, they have to tell it abroad. They live
their lives before men; nothing is hidden with them. They do not have any root. May God show us Paul's experience. and may He lead us into having depth !
 
Superficial Living
 In Isaiah 39 we are told that when the news of Hezekiah's sickness and recovery reached the Babylonian court, messengers were dispatched with letters and a present for Hezekiah. Hezekiah had
been a recipient of the Grace of God, but he was unable to stand the test of Grace. God's Word says, "And Hezekiah was glad for them and showed them his treasury, the silver and the gold, and the spices
and the precious oil, and his whole armory and everything which
was found  among his treasures" (vr. 2). Hezekiah could not overcome the temptation to display everything. He had just been
wonderfully healed of his sickness and no doubt felt self-important
and thought there were few people in the world who had had such a remarkable experience as he. After all, how many had been given
such a marvelous sign at the time of their healing as the shadow on
the dial of Ahazgoing back ten degrees (Isa. 38:8) ? In his elation
Hezekiah displayed all his treasures. This means that he had not
passed through the dealings of the Cross. His natural life was not
dealt with. It was apparent that all his roots were exposed.
Whatever Hezekiah knew and whatever he had, were known to
the Babylonians. Because of this exposure, Isaiah said to him,
"Hear the Word of the Jehovah of Hosts; Behold, the days are coming when everything which is in your house and which is your fathers
have laid up as a treasure unto this day will be carried away to
Babylon; nothing will be left, says Jehovah " (Isa 39:5-6) .
 
The measure in which we display things to others will be the measure of our own loss. The measure in our life that exhibit before others will be the measure we give up in ourselves. This is a solemn matter,
and demands our attention. Alas, so many people cannot forbear disclosing their experiences ! They have to speak to their hearts delight. This is like Hezekiah opening up his treasures to others.
A brother once said, " Many of the Brothers fall sick, and when they recover, they give their testimonies. I wish I could develop some sickness---but not a fatal one---and God would heal me; then I would have something to say at the next testimony meeting."
This Brother's motives for healing was to be able to give a testimony. He sought an experience in order to have something to talk about.
Oh ! This superficial kind of living brings grave loss to us; it rules
out the possibility of spiritual progress.
Testifying Without Exhibiting
Then should we not bear testimony ? Yes, we should. Paul did so, and multitudes of God's children from generation to generation have doe so too. But bearing testimony is one thing; delighting in exhibiting one's experience is quite another. What is our object in testifying ?
Is it that others may profit or that we may have the pleasure of
talking ? The love of hearing one's own voice and the desire to be
helpful to others are two totally different things. We testify because there is a problem, and we have to speak about it. A testimony is
not an after meal conversation piece. Many times while we gossip ,
spiritual riches leak away. When the Lord so leads, we should
testify because we want to render help to others. Paul testified in
2 Cor 12, but he did not lightly disclose his experience fourteen
years earlier. He hid his experience for fourteen years, and no one
knew about it. Even when he talked about this experience, he did
not disclose everything. He only mentioned the fact that he received
a revelation and heard unspeakable words. He did not tell others the words that he heard. Even today, the third Heaven is still a mystery, and we still do not  know what it is like.
Brother and Sisters, what are our treasures ? What are our gold, silver, spices, precious ointments, and precious things ?
What is our armory ? We have to remember that everything gold is
of God and silver is anything that is related to the redemption of
the cross. Spices are the results of our wounds, precious things are things that relate to the Kingdom, and armory is the Lord's work
that we have received from God and from the Lord.
All these are not doctrine, biblical teachings, or theology. These are
 the things we have acquired through our fellowship with the Lord.
When we fellowship with God, communicate with Him, and are
dealt with by Him, we pick up many things. It is wrong to speak about them loosely. This does not mean  that we should not testify. But we
must realize that many experiences need to be hidden. This is a
crucial matter in the Believers life. Many spiritual experiences need
to be hidden away and should not be exposed.
The Lord Jesus sometimes gave HIs testimony, but He never was
talkative. It is one thing to give a testimony and another to be talkative. The Lord healed the sick and insisted that the story of
the healing be kept secret. This charge is repeated again and again
in the Gospel of Mark. Once the Lord told a certain person, "Go to your house, to your own people, and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you "
(Mark 5:19). We may speak of the great things the Lord has done for us, but we must not publish these things abroad as items of news;
this only exposes ourselves as being without any root. To be without
root is to be without any treasure; it is to be without any hidden life or hidden experiences. It is essential that some of our experiences
remain covered; to uncover everything is to loss everything.
Let us also remember that if we display all our treasure, captivity cannot be averted. Death and exposure go together, and spiritual dryness and exposure also go together. Even if we have to give a testimony, we must be like Paul, who boasted out of necessity "though indeed not expedient " ( 2 Cor 12:1). Satan's attack often comes when man is exposed. Any kind of exposure opens us up to loss. Many people are healed of their sickness and they testify for the Glory of God. But many testimonies of healing  are not for the Glory of God but for the glory of one's own faith. As a result, the sickness comes back.
After these ones give their testimony once, they are attacked by the
same thing again. This shows us that God covers those who cover their roots, and God does not protect those who disclose their roots;
they will be exposed to attacks. If God wants us to testify, we still have to do it. But there are things that ought to be hidden away.
God protects what we hide before Him, and we enjoy it.
The same applies to our work. By His Grace and Mercy God has accomplished something through us, but remember that what He has
accomplished is not a matter for advertisement or material for
propaganda. If we expose the work of God, we will find that the touch of death comes upon it immediately; and the loss will correspond to the extent to which we expose ourselves. As soon as David
numbered the children of Israel, death set in (2 Sam 24 ). May God
deliver us from this kind of exposure.
Whatever secrets we have with the Lord must be preserved. We can only move according to God's instruction within us. Only if He moves
within us to reveal something, dare we reveal it. If He wants us to share some experience with a brother, we dare not withhold it, for that would be violating a law of the members of the Body of Christ. One law of the members of the Body of Christ is fellowship. Once we
suppress this law, the flow stops. We must be positive, not negative,
and minister life to others. But if we are engrossed all day with ourselves and with our own things, this talkativeness and exposure
opens us up to assault from the enemy. I trust we shall learn what
the Body of Christ is and what the flow of life among the members is; but I trust we shall also learn the need for safeguarding the hidden part we have before the Lord, the experiences which are not known to others. No root should be exposed...
As we extend ourselves deeper and take root downward, we will
discover that " deep calls to the deep." When we can bring forth riches from our inner life, we will find that other lives will be deeply
affected. The minute our inner being is touched, others will receive
help and be enlightened. They will know that there is something
beyond their knowledge. When deep touches deep, deep will respond to deep. If our lives have no depth, our superficial work will only affect
other lives superficially. I repeat yet again-----ONLY---"Deep
calls to Deep..."
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