Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el and mishpachah on this bright, sunny, warm summer's day!

This morning, as sat at my desk wondering what on earth Yahweh would have me share with you today, having already discarded part of one sermon, and having spent an hour just trying to summonse enough strength to concentrate and write, I decided to unwind one of the two creeper plants that sit at either end of the shelf above my desk and see what it looked like. It was a pitiful sight. Foot after foot of straggly, bare stem ,which had been repeatedly wrapped around the flower pot as it shed its leaves, brown and apparently on the verge of death, finally gave rise to two very luxuriant branches which had been hidden behind my desk which I had not realised were there. Nevertheless it soon became evident that this apology of a plant was in need of a good pruning. I must in all honesty say that I felt like that dishevelled plant after another very bad night indeed.

No surgery is ever pleasant and this is as true of character stripping as it is medically when you have to go into hospital. You may recall the dream Nebuchadnessar had which he shared with Daniel hoping for an interpretation. The part germaine to what I want to share this morning reads as follows:

"In the visions I saw while lying in my bed, I looked, and there before me was a messenger, a qadosh (holy, set-apart) one, coming down from heaven. He called in a loud voice: 'Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field" (Dan.4:13-15, NIV).

And, as you know, this was prophetic imagery depicting what was going to happen to the king because of his boastfulness and arrogance. The king had hoped that the dream applied to his enemies but Daniel had to disavow the king of that illusion, saying:

"...if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries" (Dan.4:19, NIV).

If only...if only...yet as we all know, it was this great Babylonian Emperor who was the one who would be stripped bare and cast out until he came to his senses. And such a stripping is not just for pagan monarchs, it is for everyone, and in particular, for those who claim to be followers of El Elyon, the Most High Sovereign of Heaven and Earth. This is not only for our own good - so we don't carry around all this dead baggage - but also that we might be productive for the Kingdom of our Elohim (God) as all those who profess to be followers wish to be.

My other creeper plant, which sits on the right-hand side of my desk, is healthy and rich in foliage. And as is so often the case, we may have two sides to our being - our life, our character, our personality - one which we are more-or-less happy with, which we would rather focus on and pretend to be wholly the 'real me', and the other we would rather not look at but rather pretend is not the 'real me' but some imposter or 'the flesh'. We so often end up trying to hide that side, though we tend not to do it too well.

Yahweh does not allow us to get away with this pretense. He demands that all of us be surrendered for pruning. And I dare say that for most, if not all, of us, this required pruning is rather drastic. Like I said, I unravelled that creeper plant this morning and laid it out, stretching it across the whole room. And though there is luxuriant foliage at the end, it has to be cut back.

For Nebuchadnezzar, the required spiritual surgery was drastic. The whole tree had to be cut down, leaving a mere stump which on the surface looked dead and yet out of which would arise a new man once he had been brought to his senses. This was a mighty monarch, the most powerful man in the Middle East in his day. The story of his restoration by Yahweh has been preserved by Yahweh to give us hope and inspiration:

"At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised El Elyon (the Most High); I honoured and glorified him who lives forever.

His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: "What have you done?"

"At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honour and splendour were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything He does is right and all His ways are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to humble" (Dan.4:34-37, NIV).

He will not let us get away with pride. He will now allow us to remain like that scraggly plant of mine but cuts us back until we have learned humility. And no amount of complaining or self-pitywill make the slightest bit of difference. What must be done shall be done until our santity is restored.

You may not think you are insane but I guarantee that there are people round about you who can see your insanity and Elohim (God) for sure sees your insanity - the insane behaviour which is born of pride which we try to dress up as being normal and praiseworthy...or sympathy-worthy if we're a tad more honest about ourselves.

In England we have a tradition of giving our houses names, something which has survived in the countryside, at least. Otherwise, as is the common practice throughout the world, and particularly in the towns and cities, houses are identified by a street name and a number, like '28 Strawberry Road'. Two of the houses I grew up in England were quaintly called 'Ashcroft' and 'Imbercroft', respectively. I always wondered how the postman knew his way around our village because he had to memorise the name of every house on every street that he delivered mail to, otherwise he would have had to go up and down that road trying to find houses whose name gave no indication as to where they lay.

I always thought there was something charming and delightful in naming a house, rather like naming a child. And though houses aren't given names in Scandinavia, that I know of, I brought my British tradition with me and gave each of my homes a name to reflect what I hoped would take place in them. The one we live in now I named 'Kadesh-biyqah', which means 'Sanctified Place in the Valley'. I gave it that name purposefully. I called it 'Kadesh' because I wished my home to be dedicated to Yahweh and to therefore be a place of sanctification, and added 'biyqah' because when Yahweh first revealed it to me in vision, it was situated in a beautiful valley with colourful lupins giving it a surreal appearance. And sure enough, when I first drove into the village, in search of a new home, there was the valley I had seen in vision. Likewise, I had seen the appearance of the house in a prophetic dream some time before. So both the house and the genetral area Yahweh had supernaturally shown me beforehand. So this place, where we live, and worship, and have our international headquarters, is called Kadesh-biyqah - the Holy Place in the Valley.

Now I mention this charming practice of my national tribe because last night Yahweh gave me the title of today's sermon but not its content. Truth told, I was too worn out to even be able to concentrate enough to prepare this for you, what with my health tumbling downhill more and more every day. I heard Him say, quite distinctly, 'Wit's End', and with those words came a picture of the signpost of an old-fashioned British home with 'Wit's End' on it, rather like 'Ashcroft' and 'Imbercroft'.

As I quickly realised this morning, while I untanglled my mangled creeper plant, we usually have to be brought to our wits' end before we will be persuaded to let go of all that dead growth in our lives, and particularly in our characters. Who likes to be brought to their wits' end? Honestly? We'd rather not, but Yahweh takes us there because He knows we will otherwise stubbornly cling on to things we ought not to - sinful behaviours, for the most part, which we are often blind to because we have become so habituated to them.

Accordingly, in order to give us some spiritual contrast, Yahweh often organises painful experiences to jolt us out of our complacency:

"The sun will be darkened.
The moon will not shine.
The stars will fall from the sky.
The heavenly bodies will be shaken" (Mt.24:29, NIRV).

This is a wonderful metaphor for the chaos which ensues during a man's or woman's spiritual stripping. And whilst I don't dispute this passage has a literal meaning too - or at least, other non-metaphorical meanings - it does illustrate admirably the sense of disorientation which strikes a soul that is being stripped. No sun, no moon, no stars - a complete shaking - all those familier, 'safe' authorities or reference points we formerly clung onto so dearly, are suddenly taken away so we wonder what on earth is going on! Elohim (God) seems nowhere to be found. Our mentors are either gone or tight-lipped. And the world falling out of the sky - represented by the stars - seems to lose all coherence. We desperately look for signposts to cling onto, familiar signs, but they're gone, leaving us with Yahweh-Elohim alone, if we will choose Him.

Never announce that you want to know Yahweh intimately unless you are prepared be stripped of all your earthly dependences. Nebuchadnezzar was mesmerised by his own power and wealth. He had to lose it to be able to know Yahweh. And that passage I quoted to you about the sun and moon being darkened and the stars falling out of the sky, which Yah'shua (Jesus) related when telling His talmidim (disciples) about the last days and all the deceptions thereof, continues with a promise, if I may take the metaphor one stage further:

"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky...They will see the Son of Man coming on tnhe clouds of the sky. He will come with power and great glory" (v.30, NIRV).

My point being that light always follows darkness for the penitent of heart, and revelation for a time of stripping and confusion. All He asks us to do is to keep our eyes focussed on Him. Indeed, a little earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, he warns us not to go searching for Him in the wrong places:

"False messiahs and false nevi'im (prophets) will appear. They will do great signs and miracles. They will try to fool Elohim's (God's) chosen people if possible. See, I have told you ahead of time" (vv.24-25. NIRV).

I want to talk more about that at Rosh Chodesh, in two days' time. What's important today is that you realise, and accept, that when you're at your wits' end, that you must focus on the Yah'shua (Jesus) of the Bible, and not one of the false messiahs or christs being preached out there. What does He warn of?

"So if anyone tells you, 'He is far out in the desert,' do not go out there'" (v.26a, NIRV).

In other words, don't listen to preaching about a Messiah or Christ who does not accuratelly line up with the One preached by the apostles. Additionally, don't head off to the hills to some false gathering, because now is not the time of final gathering.

Yah'shua (Jesus) also said:

"Or if anyone says, 'He is deep inside the house,' do not believe it" (v.26b, NIRV).

So don't head off into the desert or attend secret meetings where hidden 'wisdom' is taught because Yah'shua (Jesus) is not to be found in either. When will all this be happening on a large scale?

"There will be terrible suffering in those days. It will be worse than any other from the beginning of the world until now. And there will never be anything like it again" (v.21, NIRV).

So, in times of tribulation, in times of stripping, whether personal, national or global, whether it be through bad health, financial disaster, relationship calamity, crisis of faith in church institutions, or whatever - whenever we are brought to your wits' end, we are told to keep our eyes on the Biblical Messiah, and then, like Nebuchadnezzar, you will see, you will understand, and be filled with shalom (peace) and praise.

I'll freely admit I am currently resident in a place called 'Wits' End', and have been for a while. It's been a terrible time health-wise, financially, and in many other ways. And Yahweh has warned me in visions over the year - visions I would prefer to have been attributable to others alone - that I, like Nebuchadnezzar, would be stripped bare, and cut down to the stump. All believers have to thus be stripped if they are serious about leaving the Courtyard and remaining in the Sanctuary - if they really, truly, believe they are of the Remnant. You'll not get in through some back entrance and skip the cloeansing process.

I look forward to seeing you again at Rosh Chodesh! Enjoy the rest of your Sabbath. Amen.