Father had my attention on the number 23. One of the meanings of the number 23 is “Death.” (Dr. Stephen E. Jones: <https://godskingdom.org/studies/books/the-biblical-meaning-of-numbers>). I asked Father, “What are you saying to me about “death”?
John
12:23-26
But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. (NKJV)
During the event of the Wedding Feast in Cana, the wine had completely run out. The jars were empty.
1 Corinthians 3:9-15
For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it But each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Father had been taking me through an audit about a month ago:-
What are my relationships with people built on?
What is my relationship with God built on?
Are the relationships with others and with God based on what I can get from that relationship?
Am I telling God what I want Him to do our what I want from Him?
OR
Do I lay my life down, my wants and desires to see the purposes of God brought forth?
Am I laying my life down to see His will come to pass in the through me?
A young man in our church worship service shared what he experienced during the service a few years ago. He described how he could feel himself being lifted up into the air, but at the same time his feet were stuck to the floor. He asked Father, “What is this? What is going on?”
He heard by his spirit, “My people want to soar high in the spirit, but the things of this world are holding them down, keeping their feet on the Earth and preventing them being lifted up into the Spirit”.
I saw that we have to let go of a lot of things because the fire is coming.
Then I saw, in my spirit, a very large ship on the ocean in the middle of the night. There were many little boats around this large ship. Then I saw that some of the little boats were attached to the large ship with ropes and there were little boats that were not attached to the large ship at all.
Then I saw the large ship beginning to sink and as this very large ship sank into the deep ocean, every little boat that was attached by ropes were pulled down into the water by the large ship as it sank.
I saw that the things that we are holding onto in this Earth realm are going to pull us down. These things that we build our lives on, those relationships that have a wrong foundation, where we put our trust and our dependence on/in people, denominations, organisations, etc., instead of Jesus Christ Himself, will prevent us experiencing the fullness of what Father has destined for us.
These things that we are holding onto need to be dealt with, before God, in humility and repentance and be released.
Everything in our lives will be tested by fire.
Regarding relationships, are we trying to get what we want instead of laying what we want down? We need to be in a place where we know that our Father will supply all our wants and desires far greater than any person, denomination, or organisation. We need to be serving one another in love and humility.
This love is sacrificial. It means putting someone else’s needs above our own. Unless we die we will remain as a seed, holding onto our life and losing it or lay our life down, death to self, so that the harvest will be released.
We need to be empty vessels so that we can be filled with the new vintage.