Psalm 19

The first introduction for us about heavens is in
Genesis 1:6-8
6 Then God said, “Let there be a [c]firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.

The Expanse is called Heaven.

The heavens are important part of creation.

Gods throne is in heaven
“Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?


Levels of heaven

There are many levels of heaven. Some preachers talk about seven levels of heaven.
But in the scripture it was given at least mentioned about 3rd heaven

2 Corinthians 12:2

2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 

In this third heaven there is paradise.

The first is the place where clouds reside, jets fly, birds fly. the hot balloons fly.
the second is where the stars , galaxies are hanging.
the third is what Paul was talking about.

For us, what is naturally seen with our eyes.

God partners with His Creation when He does the covenant.

When God makes a covenant He uses heaven and earth as witness.
Deuteronomy 4:26
26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day,

We are in world of gadgets,we hardly rejoice in the creation. we hardly go out and see the trees or skies
even if you goto a mountian, or beach , people are still with , their necks are bend to their phones.
we are in a very dangerous times.


V2,3 - They speak not with the words of men, but they speak silently.
Raj taguht me a game where he would put the headphones with loud music, i have to guess what the other person was speaking to me. I wont be hearing what they are saying, but will have to watch their lips and tell it out.

Romans 1:20 says

20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and [g]Godhead, so that they are without excuse

Night reveals knowledge.  Day utters wisdom.
Every place, every land, the day and night tells about the Glory of God even if you are living in a forest.

Out of all Gods creation , Sun is the most significant one.
Heat, Light- Nothing is hidden from its heat.

Even Sun reveals the Wisdom of God.
The Bible says there is nothing hidden from the Word of God.
Hebrews 4 says
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

V7,8,9

Law of the Lord is perfect - Converts or restores the soul
Testimony of the Lord is sure - making wise the simple ( Rahab)
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;

The response is the below
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;


Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

We talk lot about sins.
But do we know God because of sin or do we know God because of God.
Gods conscious or sin conscious

V 12-13 - 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my [h]strength and my Redeemer.

Life in Most Holy Place

There 
Psal 1

The whole bible is two foundation Truths.

1) Tree of Life

2) Tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:8 - Two trees

8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The Tree of Life - reprsents God.

Tree of knowledge of good and evil - represents the satan.

Why do you think God has put the trees?
If there was ever just a tree  that is Tree of Life, Life would have been great.

But what I realized over all these 40 years, God test what is in mans heart even from the beginning.

The  greatest command is You shall Love your God with all your heart soul and mind.

This is first commandment in law.

But in Genesis, 

The first commandment God gave for man is

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you[f] shall surely die.”

The whole course of mankind is based on these 2 trees.

God said you can eat of every tree freely, you don't have to earn , but you can freely. Freely He has given life.

Adam and Eve chose to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the rest is history.

If Adam has chosen to eat from tree of life, the life would have been peace, but he chose to ear tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Today we see man has grown leaps and bounds in technology, innovations.

so many things. Man can fly to space, sending rockets to Mars.

but if you see he cannot solve the conflicts in middle east.

After man ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, their eyes were opened, they did not receive life . death entered in them.

Self Conscious:
The moment they ate they realized something about themselves.
Till then they dont know what it means to be naked?

They are not thinking about themselves.
They are not about themselves, they know only about God and his creation. 

Too many of us are conscious about ourselves, what other people think about me, what happens if take stand for God. This is all knowledge of good and evil.

I am not getting importance in the Church, nobody is recognizing me.

What you eat Matters.

if you eat from tree of life, you will receive life.

if you eat from tree of knowledge of good and evil, there is death.

After they ate , God drove them away, so that they might live forever with the sin that already with them. 

If they had eaten, then the sin would have been permanent.

When God rebukes us in our time of disobedience, say thank you Lord for this rebuke, otherwise we will continue in that disobedience.

Genesis 3:22-24

22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”

24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life

The life in the Most Holy Place is about eating from this Tree of Life.

What is this Tree of Life.

Lord Jesus says in John 6:54

53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is[k]food indeed, and My blood is [l]drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

Eating is important.

What you eat matters.

This Tree of Life has healing.

Revelation 22:2

2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 

After the Tree of Life is secured, the bible says for those who overcomes, the Tree of Life

Revelation 2:7

7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’


Eating from Tree of Life means - Complete dependence on God. Life in partnership with God
John 5:29,30
9 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.

Adam chose to live a life of independence.

But In Christ , we can do all things.

Abundant Life

John 10:10

10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

This life that comes from Jesus, is abundant.

Abundance - we always relate to material things, more food, big house, more money.  Today we see so many people following the ways of the world. they want to dress up like others. They want to speak like the world. They want to post their best pictures in the face book to get likes.

Thats all carnal thinking.

Romans 8 : 5-8

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be [b]carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the [c]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Spritual minded - Life , Carnal mind - death

Jesus does not have any of these things in the world.
In fact when disciples have asked where do you live, Jesus says fox has dens ,birds has nest but Son of man has no place to lay his head.

But still he has abundant life.

Many of us cry that we don't have houses or not enough big houses, rarely we cry for the abundant life.


Jesus does not have big money making job, he was just a carpenter. Carpenter has to work hard to meet his daily needs. 
But still he was able to pay the taxes when all other multimillionaires might be evading tax. 

Abundant Life is Life With God. Your vision , provision , everything is from God.

 Hebrews 11:38 of whom the world was not worthy.

When someone looks at you and says WOW. You are like this you are like that, the world is worthy of you.

But when someone rejects you or hate you because you took a stand to obey God, then you are declaring that this world is not worthy of you.



Psalms 84:10  

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather [g]be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.


If you spend one day in Gods house is better than almost 3 years outside.
Why?

you spent years outside, where there was no life.
But now you are coming to Church and recognized how did I waste my time.
I still think I should have known God when i was Samuel,  
I should have known God at the age of Josiah
I should have known God at the age of Daniel, Esther,Mary.

I tell you the years we spent outside, a single day is better than outside because there is Life in the presence of God.

It is about how you put the value:

If your value is your valet, then your heart is also there. 

Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.




The choices you make matters.


Deutoronomy 30:11

11 “For this commandment which I command you today is [c]not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.

Man shall not live by bread alone.

 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

Man shall not live by bread alone. but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

When we take food, it gives energy. If a person does not eat food, then his body becomes weak. but if he eats he gets strengthened.

Jesus says, it is not just the food that gives you life, the food keeps the body running. but it is not the only thing.

what is the first food given to us.

1) Genesis 1: 29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 

God gave every plant that has food.

2)Genesis 9: 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. 

This is about food.

Now Lord Jesus says not by bread alone, but by every word of God.

There is a comparison between food and Word of God

Manna.

Exodus 16:5

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather [a]a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. 5 And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”

What is the meaning of Manna.

why did God allowed Israelites hungry?

Deutoronomy 8:3

3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. 

This food nobody knew , even their fathers dont know.

Man shall not live by bread alone. The manifestation of Gods Word is manna.

Exodus 16:4

35 And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 

How to eat this manna that man should  live.

Manna characteristics:

1) Need

Exodus 16:16

16 This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, 

First , you need to realize the need of the hunger for God.

You give a person who just ate biryani , some delicious food, he wont eat, because now there is no need for him.

But give it to a hungry man, he will eat it.

Gather the manna according to each mans need.

2) Do not use yesterdays  food.

Exodus 16: 19 And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning

 3) Donot complain - There is nothing except this manna.

Numbers 11: 6 but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”

How to eat this food:

Numbers 11:7-9

7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. 8 The people went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil.

In Exodus it was mentioned as Wafers made with honey

Exodus 16: 31 And the house of Israel called its name [c]Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

And here, it is called Pastry prepared with oil.

Ground it on millstone or beat it in the mortar

Do you eat the rice just like that, do you eat wheat grains just like that.

No.

the First thing that needs to be done is Ground it, beat it

Goto the secret place - Meditate on it.

Psalmist says Blessed is the man 

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the [a]ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

2 
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he [b]meditates day and night.

Groudn it - Seek God in prayer for revelation.

Cook in the pans

Cooking involves fire- The Word that is gathered and the Word that is grounded ,  will be tested in the fire.

Where there is a test there is testimony.

Made cakes of it.

When the manna was grounded, word was tested in fire then we can give the cake to others.

It will be like Pastry prepared with Oil. Why does it says it is like pastry prepared with Oil,  Oil represents HolySpirit.

When you spend time in secret place, when the Word is gathered, grounded, beaten in mortar and heated up in pans and then given, then you know the Taste of the Word is like Pastry with Oil.

You know when you heart it , when the congregation hears it, was it the Word just prepared for the sake of giving message or was it grounded, expereienced, prayed and made cakes with it..

--How do we know that a person is living.