The Day of New Beginnings
Zion is a Relationship
The realm of Zion should be very real and dear to our hearts. There should be times our hearts could burst because of the joy and reality of her. More than anything else Zion is a relationship. It's a unique relationship with the Lord and then with one another. All the promises of God are fulfilled in Zion. All the blessings are reserved for Zion. It's a certain realm of spirit, yes, we come into the realm of Zion, but then that realm itself is a relationship. Sonship is Zion. The priesthood is Zion.
There is so much out there in Christianity that teaches, preaches, etc. about Zion. There are hundreds of books on the subject. Yet I have found they are mostly just doctrines, theoretical teachings, etc. that miss the intimacy of the relationship. Zion is a realm to be walked in and experienced. I would like to share some passages of Scripture about Zion.
Psalm 87
1 ¶ <<A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.>> His foundation is in the holy mountains.
2 The LORD loves the gates of Zion More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah.
4 ¶ "I shall mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know Me; Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia: ‘This one was born there.’"
5 But of Zion it shall be said, "This one and that one were born in her"; And the Most High Himself will establish her.
6 The LORD will count when He registers the peoples, "This one was born there." Selah.
7 Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes shall say, "All my springs of joy are in you."
The Lord loves the gates of Zion more that all the other dwelling places of Jacob. That means out of all the different levels or realms of spirit we could live and settle on, Zion is closest to God's heart. Zion is His foundation in the holy mountains. We know mountains are always indicative of a high realm of spirit. His holy mountains indicate that place of His presence being manifested.
Verses 4-6 speak of being born on various levels of spirit. We are not preached or taught into Zion, we are born into her. Or, more accurately, we are fathered into her. The living word through the fathering ministry establishes us in this Zion relationship with God and one another. That's why all of Christianity can talk about Zion, write its many books about it, but never really touch or experience it. It takes a foundational, fathering ministry to open up the realm of Zion on a practical level of experience.
And finally verse 7: All our springs of joy are in Zion. We will find more and more our greatest joy and delight will be in our relationships with one another in the realm of Zion. All of the words that have come on breaking bonds, etc. lead to this Zion relationship with God and one another. As the soul/flesh realm of relating passes away, our hearts will just ache and break with joy in knowing one another in Zion. All our relationships in Zion will be so filled with the presence of the Lord.
Jer. 50
4 "In those days and at that time," declares the LORD, "the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be the LORD their God they will seek.
5 "They will ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction; they will come that they may join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.
The hour comes in which all God's people, and I emphasize God's people, not religion, have their eyes opened to recognize His Lordship over them. Zion is the realm of Christ’s Lordship made real. They will come weeping, having seen the futility of their lives apart from His lordship over them. They will ask for the way to Zion turning their faces in its direction. They will come and join themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten. These verses are so poignant. There is something about the weeping, the brokenness of spirit, that is so akin to Zion. It’s a great paradox how Zion produces such a brokenness and weeping, yet great joy all at the same time.
Jer. 30:
17 ‘For I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the LORD, ‘Because they have called you an outcast, saying: "It is Zion; no one cares for her."‘
18 ¶ "Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob And have compassion on his dwelling places; And the city will be rebuilt on its ruin, And the palace will stand on its rightful place.
19 ‘From them will proceed thanksgiving And the voice of those who celebrate; And I will multiply them and they will not be diminished; I will also honor them and they will not be insignificant.
20 ‘Their children also will be as formerly, And their congregation shall be established before Me; And I will punish all their oppressors.
21 ‘Their leader shall be one of them, And their ruler shall come forth from their midst; And I will bring him near and he shall approach Me; For who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?’ declares the LORD.
22 ‘You shall be My people, And I will be your God.’"
For many seasons Zion has seemed to be an outcast. Very few in Christianity have recognized or appreciated her. No one has wanted to endure the reproach of the cross that brings us into Zion. But as the previous verses in Jeremiah state, the hour comes when they ask for the way to Zion. There are those who embrace the cross and are fathered into the realm of Zion.
The Lord says He will restore her health and heal her of her wounds. Those wounds were inflicted by the Lord Himself. God has dealt withZion in such a way as to make her seem a reproach. While Christianity as a whole has preached its prosperity messages and enjoyed a measure of blessing, Zion has languished under the dealings of God. Always Zionhas been under the Lord’s hand of discipline. Consequently, to the outer eye, she has seemed a reproach. But then God says He will restore her fortunes, and have compassion on her dwelling places.
19 ‘From them will proceed thanksgiving And the voice of those who celebrate; And I will multiply them and they will not be diminished; I will also honor them and they will not be insignificant
From Zion proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who celebrate. Here again is the great joy and wonder of Zion as it’s established in our hearts. The hour comes when God multiplies Zion; In other words,Zion’s fruitfulness finally comes to pass. All that God has wrought in her is revealed for all to see. This corresponds with Col. 3:3-4: “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
We must not look outward to find Zion; for she is created inwardly, in our own hearts. “How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion!”(Ps. 84:5). Zion isn’t going to be found in any theoretical teaching out there in Christianity; she will be found in the hearts of those whom God is dealing with. The purging, pruning and refining going on in our lives is constantly bringing us deeper into Zion. Zion must be lived to be understood.
One last passage of Scripture that is pertinent.
Isa. 42:16
"I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone/span>.."
We are blind in as much as we cannot fully understand how the Lord leads us and brings us into completion. God leads us by a way we do not know, and He guides us in paths we do not know. We could ask, “How in the world is this mess I’m in getting me anywhere?” Yet, God is leading us step by step into fulfillment. The darkness of not knowing gives way to the light of the Lord as we keep moving forward. The rugged, or hard places, become smooth plains. This is the way into Zion.