This phrase “against all hope,” or “contrary to hope,” can be found in Romans 4:18. In this particular case we see that Abraham and his wife are well beyond the age of bearing a child. Sarah’s womb was dead, it could indeed carry no life. And so in life we oftentimes run into situations that defy hope, stand diametrically opposed to hope. All the evidence of the rational world and the finest experts opinions dash any worldly hope upon the rocks of hopelessness and despair. Yet brothers and sisters, it is a glorious thing to remember that our hope is not the hope of the world. Our hope is founded upon our God and His word, His promises. His word is not broken, His promises cannot be broken. And it is this hope that is a wellspring of joy and peace and love and a sound mind.
Abraham, the father of faith believed God and life sprang forth from death. Now from the first promise until the fulfillment it took 25 years. Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 when Issac was conceived. This defied all the evidence of the rational world. In the world Abraham would have had no hope, in the world we too would have no hope, yet praise God we may be in the world but not off it. We walk according to the Spirit of God, we stand upon the Word of God, we believe in the promises of God and we walk in the Kingdom of God. This kingdom is and always has been a place of miracles.
Dark and silent was the night
That was suddenly filled with a glorious sight
A million angels filled the sky
And my heart of stone began to cry
Oh world in darkness look with joy
Unto you is born a Baby Boy
This Child He came from heaven above
To give us hearts that are filled with Love
And as He cried in the manger born
Then so began a brand new dawn
And the angels sang with all their might
As the shepherds fell down on this holy night
Glory and majesty rained down from on high
As the heavenly angels filled the sky
They sang of the Saviour so tender and mild
They sang of the glories of the heavenly child
Oh world wont you reach out and grasp the King?
And perhaps this night you will hear them sing?
The heavenly angels come down from above
To bathe the world in His heavenly love
There is a fundamental shift taking place in our world. God is preparing His children for a paradigm shift in attitude towards them. For many generations in the west there has been a general accepting attitude of Christianity.
And He said to them, When I sent you without purse and wallet and sandals, did you lack anything? And they said, Nothing.And He said to them, But now, he who has a purse, let him take it, and likewise his wallet. And he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. Luk 22:35-36
When Jesus sent out His Disciples by twos, they encountered many blessings and walked in the miraculous. So much so that Jesus had to remind them sternly that they were not to rejoice in the fact that they had power over demons or signs and wonders but they were to rejoice in their salvation, a fact lost on many today. Salvation is always the focus of those who truly follow Jesus. Now in Luke 22 we see Jesus preparing His disciples for a sea change in attitude towards them. No longer would they find a warm and accepting attitude towards them, in fact quite the opposite.
As we approach the edge of Glory
the universe itself
it simply has an ending
but of You there is no end
As we step into Your presence
The worlds are all consumed
For you are not contained by all that there is
You’re the Revelation and The Genesis
At the edge of all there is
All the worlds, all the skies, the universe
Is to stand on the shore of Your vastness
And gaze upon a sea that never ends
It’s the beginning of all of You
Simply beyond our comprehension
Yet in an effort to be reconciled
You came to us as a helpless child
Hark the herald angels sing
Unto you this day a child is born
He is the essence of all that there is
Born to be betrayed by a single kiss
Yet a Door was opened
That no power can ever shut
It’s the Door that leads to glory
It is the gospel story
And this Door is found
In the valley with the river of tears
The Hope and the Glory of all mankind
And this Door is your destiny to find
Destiny and Glory stepped down
The finite consumed by the infinite
Now mortal can glimpse immortality
By gazing upon the One who set us free
The Door, the Door, the Door to our heart
Is open and its Glory shines forth
Step through this Door step onto the shore
Of the Sea that goes on forevermore.
THE BABE
Our Lord He came from the glories above
He came to earth with a heart full of love
And choirs of heavenly angels sang
As the bells of upper Hades rang
Oh joyous night Oh Christ divine
A star in heaven, a heavenly sign
For Christ the Lord is born today
He came to show the world the way
He came to set the prisoners free
He came that every eye might see
A light at the end of a tunnel deep
A glorious harvest ready to reap
Consider this babe so innocent and pure
He has come to make your salvation sure
Lift up this child in your heart tonight
Lift up your eyes to a glorious sight
Behold your King is born today
Fall to your knees,worship and pray
For unto you a child is born
Behold the darkness gives way to dawn
The post below by Jamal Jivangee makes some excellent points worth true consideration………….bro Frank
In today’s post, I’d like to share with you some very real temptations that can occur to folks who are attempting to meet organically outside of the traditional religious system. This is a temptation that I am experiencing right now in my current season of life, and I’d like to share my temptation with you today in the hope that my experience can be helpful to you and your relationships. Before I do that, however, I need to give you some background information about me.
Several years ago, I left the institutional religious system. This was no small feat for me as it was a system I was heavily invested in. I had been religiously trained in college, and I had been employed as a clergy member. When I decided to leave this system, many people felt I had withdrawn or abandoned them personally. On a semi-regular basis, it would be common for me to hear something like this when I would encounter a former ‘church member’ in a store when I was out and about:
“Oh hey Jamal, how are you? I haven’t seen you in a while. We’ve missed you lately. It would be great to see you soon.”
I want to rest in the arms of your love
I want to soar with the eagles above
I want to spread my wings
And fly to where the angels sing
I want to lay down in pastures green
I want to go where I’ve never been
To simply rest in the knowledge of you
Is all that I want to do
I want to go to that place of rest
A place of refuge from trial and test
To the mountaintop in the valley so low
That’s the place that I want to go
I want to be found in the depths of you
To fly in the sky above so blue
I want to walk into the Father’s heart
And from there never be apart
You brought light to the darkness in me
You touched me and set me free
Your thoughts of me are beyond measure
This knowledge is my heavenly treasure
I asked for a rose and you gave me a garden
In the depths of my sin you brought me a pardon
And you have forever set me free
And gave me eyes that can truly see.
Now I realize that this is a provocative title, I make no apologies for that. In 2 Sam 12, we find King David in a very bad situation. He has committed adultery with Bathsheba, he tried to cover his tracks when she got pregnant, but a foreign convert , Uriah the Hittite , the husband of Bathsheba was more honorable that David. Therefore David’s attempts to cover up his adultery was foiled so David had him killed.
Brothers and sisters, this is such a low state for the man after God’s own heart. And after Nathan the prophet comes to David and exposes him, God speaks. God speaks brothers and sisters, one should be very afraid when God speaks, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. And here is the charge that God levels against David, His beloved. ” You have despised me.” ( 1 Sam 12:10) Can you imagine hearing that charge against you from God? Yet that is exactly what David heard.
Since the beginning of time, there has been this question, or some form of it ” Why do bad things happen to good people?” Some philosophers have asked ” What is justice?” Now Christians are not immune to these thoughts or questions, in fact I would argue, that we will all ask that question to one degree or another at some point in our walk, maybe at many points in our walk.
Now there are certain times in our life when it is not just one bad thing that happens. Sometimes they overlap don’t they? They threaten to overwhelm us and those initial questions are simply intensified as we try to figure out what is going on and what is the purpose of it all. Many of you will readily identify with these times. They are specific times when the enemy comes in like a flood and threatens to drown us in our circumstances. We scramble in our minds to make sense of it all. We hear familiar Scriptures from our hearts reminding us that God will never leave us nor forsake us yet that is exactly how we feel, left and forsaken and then the hammer drops again.
This is a poem the Lord gave me last week. My mother, a very Godly woman, is facing a set of circumstances that are, to say the least, formidable , she used the word ” Insurmountable.” And as she said this word and as we talked about the glory of God who is well able, the Holy Spirit birthed this poem into my heart. I pray that it will bless you and remind you of the grandness and beauty and the majesty of our God and His presence before the throne.
In the time of David, at the very heart of Judah and what we now know as Jerusalem , dwelt the Jebusites in Zion. A stronghold, a seemingly impenetrable stronghold. It seems that at the heart of today’s modern Christianity, nominal Christianity, lies the Jebusites who have the stronghold of Zion. And where is the ark of God’s presence? If the enemy has a stronghold at the very center of Christendom , then surely that stronghold must be taken back if God is to have His rightful place in the hearts of His people? Within every nominal Christian lies Zion. It is either a place for God’s presence or it is a place where the Jebusites rule, where the world rules. And this place without God is a place of pride and self-dependence, a place of self-righteousness that creates a blindness to the actual condition and situation of those who dwell there.
When David was determined to take the heart of Jerusalem, the stronghold of Zion from the ungodly here is what they said to him. “You shall not come in here, except the blind and the lame will turn you away; also saying, David cannot come in here.” (2 Sam 5:6) The Jebusites were so proud and so secure in their surroundings and in their self-deception that they could never be brought down that they paraded blind and lame soldiers at the entrance to their city strong-hold to pour scorn on their enemies. It is the classic mistake of the proud who are just about to fall. The proud always insulate themselves with the comfort of their surroundings and upon the work of their own hands.
I am fragile I can be broken
Broken by the words spoken
Can’t you see your words are clawing me apart?
Can’t you see how you’re crushing my heart?
How my heart longed to hear warm words spoken
Full of beauty and light from above
Why didn’t you just reach out and touch me?
And cover me and hold me in love.
The broken child in you
Now breaks the child that you can see
Two broken children collide
Only wanting to be free
I am fragile I can be broken
Broken by the words left unspoken
And this brokenness is now a void in me
That is deeper and wider than the deepest sea
What can fix a broken heart?
And fill this vast expanse in me
What can fill an endless void?
That’s deeper than the deepest sea
So many tears, enough to fill an ocean
Shed by all the children, broken
A Saviour comes and walks upon this sea of tears
He calms the stormy sea and quells the fears
I have come to mend the broken heart
To heal the wounds where you were torn apart
I have come to set the captive free
To dry up every tear that fills the deepest sea
I hold the universe in my hand
I cause the blind to see and the lame to stand
And every star in the heavens, I know them all by name
And I will touch you and you shall never be the same
The words I speak they are life and they are love
I know every sparrow that falls from above
I created the sun and the moon and the rain
I still the stormy seas and I take away the pain
Come and bring your emptiness to me
And I will fill you with a love that’s deeper than the sea
Come all you broken and contrite
And I will heal you and set you free this night
And so I came and took my Saviour’s hand
Out of the pit on the solid Rock I stand
A broken heart replaced and reconciled
Standing whole and new, I am my Father’s child
And every word spoken, they are life to me
Your love and Your kindness, they have set me free
And by thy Spirit my eternity is sealed
And by thy love my broken heart was healed.
It is life itself to me to know the King of Kings who sits upon the throne and the train of His robe fills the temple but who also is the Shepherd who takes me in His arms and carries me when I am wearied. He never sleeps and is never wearied and I love Him. And when I wait on Him I can find the strength to run and the weariness is left below as I am caught up in the updrafts of His presence and I am carried up into His arms. Wait upon Him saints , He sees your distress, He shall come and you shall walk and not faint.
He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those with young. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and measured out the heavens with a span? And who has shut up the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
(Isa 40:11-12)
Many years ago I was walking in the suburbs of Kansas where I live. Walking through a wealthy neighborhood I saw gardens with very meticulously planted flowers. A lot of work had obviously went into them. They had a design and had undoubtedly been measured exactly, every flower planted the exact distance from each other. Each home-owner knew what they wanted and it had been achieved. There was a regimentation in these gardens and they certainly had some kind of beauty. Then I heard the Holy Spirit telling me to look across the street. There was a large playing field. At the far end of the field was an open drainage system for water run-off and a large culvert. All around this area was full of wild flowers of all kinds. No hand had placed them where they were. They were wherever the wind had blown their seed. It was truly a magnificent sight and had a beauty that could not be matched by the little regimented soldiers standing to attention, watching from across the street, now seemingly trapped and longing to breathe free.
Brothers and sisters, where are you? Did the wind of the Spirit blow in your life? Did He guide and lead you to where you are? To be where the Lord wants you to be and to be part of a garden that the Lord Himself planted is to have ridden the winds of the Holy Spirit. Breathe free today, it is your birthright. This freedom from a crushing religious system of control and man centered activity was wrought for you on the bloody battle field of Calvary. To live in anything less than that freedom is a tragedy.
God is and has called His children out of darkness into His marvelous light, the light of freedom. God’s remnant children have labored for most of their lives burdened by a heavy yoke of slavery. How tragic to find that the yoke of bondage came from the same source from which they were originally freed. Religion, is the deadliest enemy of Gods freed children. It spies out their liberty and seeks, with much patience oftentimes , to again enslave and control. In these days, God is releasing a generation to come forth and live in the freedom that He has called them too. The shackles of the old religious systems are being exposed and broken down. The strange thing is, it can be scary to begin to think for oneself and to walk into open fields of freedom having been so restrained for so long. He who the Son has set free is free indeed. Free to walk with Him, free to be taught by Him, free to hear Him, free to be directed by Him
The scene set in 1 Sam 14 is quite a desperate one and serves well to highlight the difference between the religious man and the Spiritual man. The Philistines are encamped in great numbers on the high ground in this scene. They are multitude in number as opposed to Saul’s 600. Now this is far from a Gideon story. Saul’s ranks had been whittled down but not by God. And Saul is a man who has been rebuked by the prophet Samuel and so we can see, as we watch what Saul does, how the religious, those of the flesh, operate without the direction of the Holy Spirit. Even Ichabod’s brother is in their ranks ( the presence of God has departed)
Now it is interesting that while Saul is giving instructions to his troops “Cursed is the man that eats food until evening, so that I may be avenged on my enemies. So none of the people tasted any food,” Jonathon , the man of God, is already gone. You see Saul is afraid and fretting over what he sees as his enemies and how he can be avenged, we hear nothing about God from him. The religious man takes things personally and seeks to avenge himself on his enemies and he must try to work out all the details himself since he cannot converse with God. Now Jonathon on the other hand, so full of the Holy Spirit, decides to go to the enemy. He has a simple faith in God. He is so trusting that while all the other men are listening to instructions from religious men on how to gain victory, Jonathon is on the move. He is headed towards the enemy.
The title above expresses the unspoken mantra that drives much of our Church world. The mindset is that God’s elite are those who accomplish big and visible results. This often leaves “ordinary believers” feeling as though their lives don’t really matter.
The truth is that this man-centered, superstar-driven mentality is “from the world.” We have our iconic celebrities, talented musicians, gifted writers, ingratiating media personalities just like the world does. The unspoken inference is that the important people in God’s Kingdom are those who have achieved fame and fortune. Not only does this “success-is-everything” mentality create a system that is ripe for slick-talking, ear-tickling charlatans, but it also leaves laypeople feeling as if their efforts to please the Lord don’t mean much.
A Call To The Remnant 