Joel Levi - The Fountain of Life - Sunday, March 29, 2026

You know this place.

There's something about the place.

Last night I after we finished everything, I went and I I thought I'll have I'll go and spend some time with the Lord.

There's no better place than to spend some time with the Lord.

There is no better place.

No better place.

And I was so tired.

And I was like, well, it's better to go into his presence than to go and lie down.

Honestly.

He can revive you more than what we can achieve in our own self.

So I went and I was there for a few hours.

And the Lord said, now go and lie down.

And I had, I was enjoying the time.

I went and lie down.

Got up this morning.

And the Lord's been forming this theme in my heart.

And the one thing that I had, even last night, as I entered into that space, into that room at home, as I entered into that moment, all I had was lift you higher.

I lift you higher.

I lift you higher.

And then I had forgotten about it until it came out again during the worship session.

It came out, lift you higher.

So there is something about exalting Jesus, and that lifting him higher is not a physical height, but it's his image that is forming in us, in our hearts, inside of us.

That image forming inside of us is giving him an heightened measure in our lives.

It's forming an image of him in our hearts that we can see him just a little bit better.

That's the lifting of higher that I'm talking about.

We see him, we see his deity, we see his true nature, we see his true place with the Father, we see his true identity, we see his glory, and as we continue to see that, it continues to lift him higher in our lives.

And that's the higher that I'm talking about.

We can definitely praise him higher in words, we can praise him higher with actions, how we live, but there is a place I feel like the Lord wants to take us where we see him in his glory, in all his majesty, and he will be lifted higher in us in that place.

Psalms 27.

I feel like it's it's it sort of themes the cry of our hearts, the cry of my heart, the cry of my heart for this place.

Psalms 27.

And it says, The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Whom shall I fear?

So there is nothing that I'm afraid of, there is nothing that bothers me.

The Lord is my light.

What happens in light?

We see in light.

If you turn the lights off and all the lights are off, you can't see.

But when we turn the lights on, we can see.

So the Lord is my light and my salvation.

Whom shall I fear?

That means I am now standing in a place where I'm aware of my surroundings.

Nothing can surprise me.

Nothing can pounce on me suddenly.

Everything is exposed, everything is visible.

I'm standing in his light.

I'm not in the shadows anymore.

I'm standing in his light.

The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked come against me to eat up my flesh.

When things of life come against us, when situation happens, sickness and disease, they stumble and fall.

Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.

Though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident.

So there is a place of confidence that David is leading us into.

There is a place of strength, there is a place of power, there is a place of assurance, there is a place of freedom, there is a place of no fear.

In this I will be confident.

And what is it?

One thing I have desired of the Lord that I will seek.

Desire and seeking go hand in hand.

We desire and we seek.

We desire and we seek.

And in between desire and seek, there are a few things that happen.

Desire attracts God.

Desire is the place, if we can just get into a place of desire, desiring Jesus, desiring more of his word, desiring his presence, it attracts God, and he will do amazing things in our lives that take us into an experience.

And that experience creates this another level of hunger, another level of seeking out.

And when we seek out, it takes us into a greater place of desire, which again attracts God, does incredible things that takes us into an experience, into a greater place of seeking.

It's a circular movement, but it takes us deeper and deeper and deeper into the things of God.

And that's what the psalmist says here.

That one thing I have desired, that will I seek.

Desiring and seeking.

And what is it?

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord, to inquire in his holy temple.

What does it mean to inquire in his holy temple?

In simple terms, when you go to somebody's house and they're good friends with you, you go into the house, you want to see the house.

Show me your place.

Most of the times, give me a tour.

This is inquiring in his holy temple.

Take me, Lord.

Take me to places, take me into experiences.

And I'm telling you, when we make our way into heaven, when we make our way into those places of dwelling, in those places of presence, places of glory, there is so much to see.

And the Spirit of God will lead you into places.

See this, see that.

What about this?

What about that?

It's like coming to a friend's house and wanting to look around, wanting to see.

And they will take you around, around the verandahs, into the rooms, into the this and that, kitchen, whatever.

Inquiring in his holy temple, going looking for amazing things.

What's over here?

What's in that place?

What's in this side?

That's all of this exists in the person of the Father.

One thing I have desired that will I seek.

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

Dwelling is what takes us there.

Dwelling is what positions us so we can behold his beauty, so we can inquire in his holy temple.

In Matthew chapter 17, something really amazing happens.

Matthew 17 · chapter mention

Three of the Gospels, by the way, record this incident.

And it depends where they are in their moments with Jesus.

They were all walking with Jesus.

Luke wasn't, but Matthew and Mark were.

And as they were journeying with the Lord, where they were, they sort of give a certain amount of time frame.

Matthew chapter 17, verse 1 onwards, it says, now after six days.

Matthew 17:1

And I think Luke or Mark, one of those Gospels says, now after eight days.

So after six days or eight days, something along those lines, in those few days, Peter, James, and John.

Now after six days, this is I'm reading from Matthew chapter 17, verse 1 onwards.

Matthew 17:1

Now after six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves.

So just us the three with Jesus.

And he was transfigured before them, his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him.

Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here.

It is good for us to be here.

You have to imagine what's happening in this place.

There's Jesus, there is Peter, there's James, and there is John.

And before their eyes, before their eyes, Jesus transfigured.

He physically changed as they are seeing him.

As they are looking at him.

His face shone like the sun.

Can you imagine that?

Physically being around somebody and they change.

Where their face starts to shine like the sun and their clothes become as white as the light.

And not only this, heavens opened.

And behold, when the Bible says, and behold, it means and look and see.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with Jesus.

So he's standing there.

Peter, James, and John are there too, and Jesus is there, and he's physically changed.

His face is shining like the sun, his clothes are glowing white as light.

And Moses and Elijah have come and they're talking with Jesus.

And Peter says, Lord, it is good for us to be here.

If you wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

There are many thoughts around this, why he said that.

And I had many thoughts about this, why he said that as well in the past.

But off late, I've noticed that when someone said something wrong to Jesus, he would often point it out.

Particularly Peter.

Peter said a few things, Lord, it shall be far away from me that you shall die.

And Jesus rebuked him.

So when he would say something wrong, Jesus would correct.

But he doesn't do that here.

He just continues with the moment and then he says, Come on, let's go.

That tells me that this desire that Peter had was not a wrong desire.

Lord, it is good for us to be here.

It is good for us to be here.

It is good to be around Jesus when he's displaying his true nature and character.

It is good to be around Jesus when he's displaying his true person.

It is good to be around Jesus when he's showing himself, when he's revealing himself.

The other amazing place where he revealed himself was at the well in Samaria.

When he says, if you knew who it is who speaks with you, you would have asked him.

And he would have given you the water of life.

And the Bible says, and in doing so, he revealed himself.

There are moments of revelation, there are moments of divine display, there are moments of extreme exposure when heaven goes into this extreme exposure to display the Godhead, the Father, the Son, the Spirit.

And it is good to be in places like that because I'm telling you, there are certain experiences, there are certain wisdoms, there are certain amounts of strength that we desire.

As David says in Psalms 27, there are certain types of vigor that is not possible to achieve anywhere else apart from in those moments, in those places of presence and divine display of splendor and majesty and glory.

It is good for us to be here.

And while he was still speaking, this is Peter.

Because it's it's when the Bible wants to differentiate who's speaking, when it's just pronouns, it'll capitalize the first letter.

And it's a small H here.

When he was still speaking, I wish the Bible had recorded what Peter was saying.

What did he say after this?

But I think it's enough there to cause a desire.

But while he was still talking, I don't know what he was saying.

Behold, which means look again.

A bright cloud overshadowed them, and suddenly a voice came out of heaven, came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

Hear him.

Listen to him.

Hearken to his words.

Suddenly it's drawing our attention to something amazing that we have right now with us.

Listen to him.

And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.

I mean, they were having a real moment there.

I don't know if we can imagine this.

I don't know if we can actually.

We have to engage our hearts.

We have to open our spirits to actually engage with the gravity of what's going on here.

These three with Jesus climbed up this mountain, the high mountain.

I don't know how many days it took them to get there.

And through this journey, they get up to this place, and you know, when you when you've just done a big walk or something, most people open up their sacks and put out some kind of morning tea or afternoon tea or something to eat and drink.

So you know that there's a measure of exhaustion, and they've got there.

And Jesus changes, physically transformed.

And not only that, Moses and Elijah, now, this is the thing about spiritual experiences is you may when people get into a spiritual experience, most of the a lot of the times they just know things for no apparent reason.

They just know.

And for some reason, Peter, James, and John knew that this is Moses and this is Elijah.

And they're talking to Jesus, and Peter is still saying something.

I mean, the Bible records that he said, Should I build some shelters here?

He's referring to, it is, it is, it's thought that he's referring to the tabernacle of meetings or the temporary places of meeting that Moses set up during the Exodus.

And he's referring to that, those places where we can meet, where the presence of God can dwell.

And it's not a wrong place.

I mean, it's valid today.

We are to create those places in our lives, we are to create those moments in our lives, those spaces where we can go regularly go.

He who dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

So that is the lifestyle that we are to pursue.

So Peter is not saying something wrong.

He's saying, should I build some shelters here that we can dwell in?

And I don't know what else he's maybe he's planning the design of these shelters.

Maybe he's planning how many rooms he's going to have, or whatever.

The Bible, you know, leaves all that out.

The writer Matthew leaves all that out, but then he goes, while he was still speaking, this cloud came and overshadowed them, and this voice from heaven again identifying his son, in whom he is well pleased.

Listen to him.

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

That's what Peter is trying to establish.

It's a good place.

It's a place of transformation.

It's the place where we see the transformed Christ.

It's a place where we experience his power, his majesty, his glory.

There is no point being in a place where we if we don't experience his power and his glory.

It is a good place.

Psalms 84 is again incredibly voiced in a similar way.

It's not a psalm of David, it's the sons of Korah.

But Psalms 84, verse 5, it says, Blessed is the man whose strength is in you.

Psalms 84:5

To be in that place.

David says in Psalms 27, the Lord is the strength of my life.

And Psalms 84 says, Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, whose heart is set on pilgrimage.

Pilgrimage is a journey.

And these places are designed for us to encounter as we journey into the Lord, as we journey into the Father, as we journey towards glory.

But we cannot be on this journey.

We cannot be on this pilgrimage unless our hearts are set.

This is what I want.

Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, whose heart is set on pilgrimage.

And as they pass through the valleys of Baka, they make it a spring, they change it, they transform it.

Those hard places, those desert places, those difficult moments, those situations and circumstances that we encounter.

If we're carrying the life of Jesus, if our hearts are set, this is where I'm going.

I'm telling you, our mere presence will change those places.

Our mere presence will make the whatever the the conversation was in the room moments before you turned up, will be different.

Whatever what the diagnosis was, we can't do anything.

You turn up, and you're carrying the life of Jesus, it's not true anymore.

You're changing the valleys of bitterness, the deserts, into places of life.

And they pass through the valleys of Baka and make it a spring.

The rain also covers it with pools, and they go from strength to strength.

Notice the fact that in Matthew 17 that we read before, before this description of this experience with Jesus that the disciples had, just before that, the previous chapter ends with Jesus saying, talking about the cross.

We're just gonna have a look quickly.

From verses chapter 16, verses 24 onwards, Jesus is talking about his death, his cross.

We cannot get to these places of him displaying his brightness, his glory without this journey, without this pilgrimage, without this going through hard places, going through tough times, in simple terms.

But the pleasure that we have as we go through these places is as they pass through the valley of Baka, they make it a spring.

Everything is different.

People who are called to transform lives, people who are called to transform and impact cities, people who are called to transform and impact nations, this is their walk.

People who are called to transform the lives of their friends, people who are called to transform the lives of every person that they meet.

There were so many people.

This is Jesus, and we beheld his glory.

The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

At the time when Jesus transfigured and changed, his clothes started to shine like the light.

The Father's voice was heard.

The same voice that was there at the time of his baptism when John baptized him, saying pretty much the same sentence.

This is my son, in whom I am well pleased.

Listen to him.

To spend time in the word.

If it doesn't change us, if it doesn't, if it doesn't do anything, we read two chapters, read two more.

If it still doesn't do anything, read two more.

And read two more.

Continue the reading.

I do that all the time.

Until something moves my heart.

And then I know that I've touched, I've touched a water hole.

I can drink from there.

Then I will read that portion over and over and over again.

Because this is that word that became flesh and dwelt among us.

And we beheld his glory.

When John was writing this, he wasn't writing just as a poetic term.

He actually was there on the mount and saw him transformed and changed.

He's writing from that experience that we beheld his glory.

Second Corinthians chapter three, verse fourteen onwards.

It says, But their minds were blinded, for until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.

But even to this day, Moses, and anyways, you can keep reading.

The point is, there is a way to be able to see the glory of the sun.

There is a way to experience his majesty.

And for the most part, there is a veil that comes over the hearts of men, the hearts of people.

The thing to remember is it's not one of those places that the Lord will just take whoever.

But if we pursue him, if we seek it, if we desire it, he will take us into those places, and the veil is lifted.

And we see Christ in his glory and his majesty.

And we need to see him.

We need to see him in his glory.

We need to see his majesty to transform the world around us.

We need to see his beauty.

We need to inquire in his holy temple.

We need his power to see and experience breakthrough in our lives.

Now the Lord is the Spirit.

And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.

See, the psalmists wrote that.

And here the Apostle Paul mirrors that same language.

But he gives us gives us a gives us a clue of how do we get to that place of transformative power.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

There's freedom for us to open our hearts to him.

There's freedom for us to engage with Jesus.

There is freedom to be hungry for him.

There is a freedom to open our spirits for him.

There is a freedom to seek him out.

But we all with unveiled faces, so the veil is not there anymore.

Beholding, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord being transformed into the same image.

What image?

I dare to say that it is possible for us to experience the same power, the same capacity to release light and power that Jesus displayed on the Mount of Transfiguration.

He wouldn't show something to his friends that was never possible for them to attain.

It's a big thing.

I know it's a big thing.

It's a huge thing for us to imagine.

It's a huge thing for us to, and maybe it will look different.

Maybe we won't just start shining like the sun.

However, there was a man who did change like that.

And the Bible talks about him.

And he used to come and talk to the nation of Israel.

He had to put a veil over his face because they couldn't see him.

But he had that fellowship.

The Bible says that he would speak to the Lord as if a man would speak to his friend.

That's what's needed.

That's the desire.

That's the seeking out that I want to be your friend.

And I'm telling you, it is possible to be transformed and changed into the image of Jesus.

And not just the image.

This is not me saying, this is the apostle Paul saying here.

Being transformed into the same image.

Same image from glory to glory.

It's a process, it's a journey that we've got to have.

But I'm telling you, five people.

If they put their hearts to it, if they put their minds to set their hearts, this is what I'm going after.

Five people can transform cities.

And it is possible.

Simple steps.

How do we do it?

Daily beholding Jesus.

Daily spending time with the Father.

Daily time in his presence.

Walking with the Spirit, yielding to his presence moment by moment.

Creating a space where Christ is present.

Because he is the word.

We've got to listen from him.

That is the condition of the Father.

Listen to Him.

Praying with an expressive heart.

Crying out to Jesus, give me more, Lord.

I want to see your majesty.

Draw me into a place of your presence and change me and transform me.

Asking the Holy Spirit to making me more aware of his presence.

Asking the Holy Spirit to to dwell, create the sense of the indwelling presence of the Father.

Throughout the day.

To serve, to suffer and to love.

These things are there.

But I tell you what, we don't go alone.

The presence goes with us.

The glory that these disciples even glimpsed, it went with them.

Jasper did this communion, the story of blind Baramaeus from Mark chapter 10.

Mark 10 · chapter mention

The Bible says that when he started to shout, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me, people said, Hey, shh, be quiet, be quiet.

The Bible says, but he cried out all the more.

And I feel like that's the key somehow.

Because when we set our hearts, said when we set our faces on this journey to be transformed and changed into his image, things will come to smother that voice down, to strangle that cry out.

But this is what we got to do.

We cry all the more.

We go after even more.

We press in even harder.

And Jesus will come.

What is it that you want me to do for you?

And him saying back, Master, that I may see.

Lord, I want to see.

We want to see.

In this moment, in this space, Lord, we want to see.

We want to see.

Open our eyes, Jesus, for we want to see.

Come, Holy Spirit, minister to us.

Heal our blindness.

For we want to see.

We want to see your glory.

For there is a promise that I could be changed and transformed in the same image.

Let's pray.

Father, we come before you right now.

We bring our hearts before you.

Shining.

I believe when people came and took little pieces of Paul's clothing, that's an image of him, his clothes, shining like a light.

Father, I pray that you, that you allow us, Lord, to on this journey, that you move over our hearts, Jesus.

Move over our hearts, Lord.

Get us into that place, Lord.

Place that you've prepared for us for this season, for this moment, right now.

This day.

Allowing us, strengthening us, giving us the capacity to open our hearts to you, Jesus.

Come in us, Lord Jesus.

Come and change us.

Come and transform us.

Help us to carry the reality of Jesus.

Help us to carry a measure of your kingdom that brings transformation and change.

Oh Jesus.

Every person that's here today, Lord.

That you release this capacity over us to engage with you, that you release new capacity to hear your voice.

New capacity, Lord.

To give ourselves to you in such a way.

That you're free to do all that you want in our lives.

That you're free to do all that you desire.

That you're free to change us and transform us.

And make us look like you.

We love you, Lord.

We love you.

We give you praise.

We give you praise.

We give you praise.

Take the veil from over our hearts, Lord.

That we may see.

We may see into your glory, that we may see into that place that you prepared for us.

Because, as we said before, as I said before, there are certain things that we would never experience outside of certain places.

And this is one of those places there's a measure of transformation and change that is available to be flowing out of our lives.

Which cannot be experienced.

Anywhere else except by being touched by the transformed Jesus, by being touched by His glory, by being touched by that light, and it changes us.

Lord, we love you, we honor you, we give you all thanks and praise.

We worship you, Jesus, we worship you.

Thank you for all that you're doing in each and every one of our lives.

Thank you for all that you're preparing before us.

Hallelujah to your name, Lord.

Hallelujah to your name, Jesus.

Hallelujah to your name.

Hallelujah to your name.

You know the word hallelujah means the highest praise.

Hallelujah to you, Jesus.

Hallelujah to you, Lord.

We love you, Jesus.

We bless your name.

Amen.

If you need prayer for anything, you can come forward and we'll pray for you.

Have a great week.