Isa 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Imagine, if you will, brothers and sisters, a new heaven and a new earth. Behold all things are new. The old things are remembered no more. A new heavenly Jerusalem from above descends and takes its place in this new world that the Lord has promised. We, the saints, are citizens in training. We shall pass on from this world to the next and and we shall be glad and rejoice. The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard. Before we even ask, the Lord will answer us. He shall be ever before us and there will be no hunger or thirst for He, the Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all things. We know now, in part. We prophesy in part. Yet in the fulfillment of all things that which has been in part shall be done away with.
Then, brothers and sisters, we shall know as we are known. To walk in the fullness of the knowledge of God is to stand with Him face to face. Faith will be made whole and hope shall be fulfilled and we shall dwell forever in the magnificent love of God. We were made new so that we would be able to walk in this world. Every trial, every tribulation, every beat of our broken hearts has a purpose. We are being prepared. This world is our training ground. Do not wonder that you suffer so much dear saint, only know that God is the one preparing you for a world that is so beyond our imaginations that it has not even entered into our minds. Not a single tear you have ever shed has been wasted. When you have been hated for His namesake and loved nevertheless, this is Kingdom training. When you have been despised for following hard after the Lord, this is Kingdom training.
Seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness is the actions of one from another world, a world that was and is and is to come. Trusting in the Lord that He will meet your needs is the actions of citizens of the new world. I will admit that it is hard to walk through a world that you do not belong to. Your heart knows that you do not belong here but the reality of this world that presses upon your five senses is hard to ignore. Train yourself to see the Kingdom reality here and now and walk in it. You are in fact walking in the Kingdom now. The difficulty is that it is so far removed from this world that it seems utterly beyond our ability to truly grasp, yet it is all around us. It is a world that we cannot see but is more real than the one that we can see. The spiritual reality of God is far beyond our physical sight. Yet in this true reality the savagery of this world is tamed in us. The lion indeed lies down with the Lamb. We are the lion tamed.
Isa 64:1 Oh that You would rend the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might shake at thy presence,
This is the cry of the broken hearted. This cry is not made from some comfortable place, it comes from a place of desperation, a place where there is no where left to turn. Disaster is all around and unless God literally splits the skies and shakes the mountains and turns them into rivers of fire then we are done. David knew this desperation. The children of Israel knew this desperation with their backs to the sea and an army that was about to massacre them. This places exists in time and space, it is not from the vain imaginations of men but comes into view when men suddenly realize that without God then all is lost. Oh that Christendom would cry out in such a fashion! Imagine a church on its knees not willing to get up because to get up is to walk on into certain death. We use this Scripture as some kind of beautiful adornment and yet it describes a place of utter desperation and hopelessness.
His presence opens up the skies. It splits them down the middle and brilliants shafts of light come forth and fall upon earth in the fashion of falling lava. The mountains crumble and fall into the sea when God comes forth. The dead spring to life and valleys of dry dead bones rise up and form an army that marches forth. Suddenly with life, suddenly with strength in their bones and suddenly with the breath of God in their lungs. We have fallen in the valley and we are not desperate enough to cry out to God. We have withered away and our dry bleached bones shine in a macabre scene that testifies to our death. Are you desperate church? Are you really? Can you see your own state? God forgive our complacency as the world all around us slips away into an eternal darkness and we are too busy slapping each other on our backs. Religion looks and is quite satisfied with what it sees and will tell you of their works. The broken-hearted saint will cry out ………Oh that the whole world would shake at your presence Lord. That mountains would fall into the sea and those very seas would boil at your glory. Oh that the heavens above would spill open and mighty rivers of Your power would come forth and lift up the hungry and the desperate, and sweep away all Godlessness in Your magnificent justice.
The more we are broken, and by broken I mean having the hardness of our hearts exercised by God Himself, the more we have eyes to see the glory. Many men know about the concept of brokenness in their heads and they often, by their head knowledge, try to break themselves. This is the worse kind of religious man. The man or woman who has glimpsed the perfection of God, like the prophet Isaiah, is crushed by His own unworthiness yet simultaneously swallowed whole by the glory of the Perfect God. It is two sides to the one coin, the unholiness of man and the perfection of God that touches man as by fire. God’s man “sees,” something, the religious man has never seen. We see our own imperfections in the light of His glory and it crushes us. We must be crushed. For what emerges is true fellowship. If it was just dying, many of us would do OK. I’ve never really had any particular desire to live in this world after being saved. I thought these thoughts on dying were virtuous, but in the plain reality of heaven versus earth, it’s only common sense. Yet, “the death of the cross,” is something entirely different. To be scourged and then to kiss the rod. To be beaten and then to bless the hand from whom the injury came.To kiss the hand that wounds us is to kiss the hand of God. To be so totally dismantled that everything you thought about yourself evaporates. He scourges, He breaks, He dismantles. He remakes us so that we can sit down with Him and the lowly and the contrite in high and lofty places. This is the narrow walk and few there are that find it.
Isa 63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted.
In all of your afflictions the Lord God stands with you in the midst of them. He is not some high and remote God that cares not for His children, quite the opposite. The Lord our God knows every single hair upon your head. We know that the Lord is aware of every sparrow that falls, wherever it falls around the world, He knows. He knows your sorrows brothers and sisters , He knows. He sees it all and He was a man of sorrows Himself, so well acquainted with them. He has suffered more than we ever shall. He was despised and afflicted and He was rejected by His own. He suffered indignities and He was crushed and broken. And now His presence stands with us in the depths of our heart. The Holy Spirit is a flaming sword that is not wielded in vain. He stands by our side.
If you are caught up in the depths of afflictions today, remember brothers and sisters, who walked this road before you. He is the perfect High Priest because He walked the darkest valley and scaled the highest peaks. He can keep you in the depths and He can hold you when it seems that you may fall. His hand holds back the waters that would engulf you and He stands with you in the fire that you may not be consumed. If you are broken, know that He was broken. If you are suffering greatly remember how He suffered more than any man. He humbles Himself to come to us where we are. He whispers and it is heard above the storm. He holds you and you are held in the great shakings of your life. He does all that and more because He is “afflicted in our afflictions.” He sees the afflictions of His people. It was love that brought forth the Lord from eternity for our sake’s, an it is love that stands with you now, and it is love that will lead you home.
Isa 63:3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
There comes a time in all our lives when there was no one in all the earth to help us. We are entirely alone and unless the hand of God moves in our favor then there is no hope to be found. Yet Christ alone is mighty in battle. The enemies that surrounded you, the enemies that surround you even now must reckon on the fact that your are His. He alone will deal with all of your enemies. Your ancient enemies in your own life may be anger or hatred and bitterness, long ago passed down from generation to generation. A family and a history of a family raised in chains and kept by cruel taskmasters. Yet Jesus hears the cries of the afflicted. He saw your affliction and He was mighty in battle to help those who will acknowledge their need of Him and who can see their own state.
There is coming a day soon enough when all of the Lord’s enemies shall be dealt with though it may seem that over the centuries they have been forgotten. God brings all things to justice in the end. He is a God of order and of righteousness. He is indeed long suffering with those who despise Him and mock and ridicule Him. It is entirely a blessing that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts. Yet despite all of that, there is a wine-press and the people of this world are indeed the grapes of wrath. Shall we find ourselves trodden underfoot by the King of Kings, or shall we be found at His side in that day? According to the multitude of His loving-kindnesses He should be praised. And of His mercies they are without number. Yet the world has abandoned You and hardened their hearts to Your ways.
Lord look down from heaven and see from Your holy habitation. See now the afflictions of your people and see their heart toward you. They cry out day and night for the day of your return. They long with all of their hearts to see Justice take its rightful place. Their hearts are indeed vexed like righteous Lot as he lived among a vile and unrepentant people. A people who even when blinded by the Angels of the Lord, still attempted to carry out their ever evil thoughts and desires. Are we not like Sodom Lord, are we not worse than Gomorrah? Truth lays trampled in our streets and righteousness has been banished to the alleyways and hidden places. Pride now marches down the main streets of our town and cities with their banners flying high, so proud of their utter rejection of You. Come Lord Jesus come we pray that your name may be lifted up and that all men may know that your are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and you alone deserve all the glory and praise of men’s hearts.
Isa 62:6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, they shall never hold their peace day or night: you that make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent.
God has set among us watchmen. Sentinels if you like. They see what you cannot see. They stand above the city on the rampart. They see the enemy a longs way of and they sound the alarm. They must be men or woman not given to much sleep, a watchmen who would fall asleep on his watch is no good no anybody. A watchman who who refuses to sound the alarm has only two excuses and neither of them are acceptable. He could not see the enemy coming or he was not willing to wake the people. Where have all the watchmen gone? As the greatest darkness the world has ever known approaches the gates of the city, what has become of those who were called to keep watch? The primary duty of any shepherd is to protect the flock. If the wolves are circling then drastic action must be taken.
Oh what useless men who see nothing and say nothing. Men who do not want to be disturbed. Men who want everything to be as it always was and have no spiritual discernment. No one would ever put a hireling on the wall. The men on the wall must have the greatest love for the people within its confines. Imagine the enemy has infiltrated the watchmen on the wall and they who get to keep their position must pay with their silence. What rogues, what scoundrels what utterly useless men are these? Can I put it to you brothers and sisters that in the midst of the great falling away we have been infiltrated. Men and women of God have been instructed to “not keep silent.” We are to give God no rest until the He establishes that what He means to achieve. Is your shepherd a watchman on the wall or a hireling just looking to keep his position?
Those who stand in the evil day may fall in this world but they shall arise in the next. They shall enter through his gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. For they have prepared the way for the people and they have built them up. They have built up the highway of holiness and lifted up a banner for all the world to see. And they are called His Holy people, the redeemed of the Lord and they have lost their former title of forsaken and now they are the sought out ones. Brothers and sisters, we are not ashamed of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation. We shall not keep silent. We will never be ashamed. The righteousness of Christ is revealed in the His chosen vessels, His anointed, His excellent ones. We are that people my fellow saints. Men may try and suppress the truth in unrighteousness yet the wrath of God shall be revealed from heaven and His watchmen shall shout it from highest rampart where flies the banner of Christ, it flutters in the wind of the Holy Spirit.
Isa 62:1………….I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns.
The genuine saint cannot keep silent, they can never rest, day and night the fire of the Lord and His brightness burns inside the depths of him. In Jeremiah 20:9 we hear the prophet cry out “then I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name……………but His Word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones, I was weary of holding it back and I could not.” In another place the Apostle Paul says “For if I preach the gospel I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me, yes woe is me if I do not preach the gospel……..it would be better for me to die!” Can you see what passion drives these men who are filled with the Holy Spirit? There is a fire in their bones that flows from the furnace that is their broken hearts. Brothers and sisters, do we burn with such intensity? Do we have such a grand obsession that drives us and awakes us with the morning light, and yet still burns long after the sun has gone down?
Brothers and sisters were we not forsaken? Were we not lost and dead in our sins? Yet that which was forsaken is no longer forsaken. The hand of God holds the crown that He shall put upon our heads. We are a royal diadem in the hand of our God. And as the Bridegroom rejoices over the bride so does us our God rejoice over us. He has covered our nakedness with His righteousness, He has surrounded us with His glory and it fills our heart to overflowing, like a mighty waterfall of fire. Fire in the land and glory in the heavens. The earth is covered in His glory like the waters cover the sea. What ocean could contain Him? Is not just one chamber of His heart greater than the whole universe. Just one tear from His eye deeper than the deepest sea?
He heals our wounds, He tenderly touches our weary hearts. He feeds the deepest parts of us and sustains us for the journey. He restores the brokenhearted and gives strength to the weary. He gives us hope when there seems to be no hope. He gives us joy when there is nothing at all to be joyful about. He gives us a garment of praise and takes away a heavy spirit. He bids us to lift up our eyes and see the celestial city, from where our help comes from. Stay the course brothers and sisters. Stand fast in the time of our vexation. Our Lord is coming soon and our journey will be at an end.
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
This glorious Scripture was fulfilled when Christ stood in the temple and expounded this verse and told the world, that this Scripture was fulfilled in their hearing. The Spirit of the Lord God was upon Jesus. It is He who is anointed to preach the good news to the poor. He may speak through us, but by the power of the Holy Spirit it is Christ Himself that speaks to the poor. Only Jesus can heal the brokenhearted. Only Jesus can proclaim liberty to the captives, and only Jesus can free those captives from their chains and He would do it all through us, the priests of the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. The dove descended upon the Lord Jesus and we must be immersed in the same Holy Spirit. We rise up in that power. We are a royal priesthood, a Holy Generation. We are the chosen ones of the Lord, royal priests in a royal priesthood.
When they see us brothers and sisters, they must see Jesus. We are a manifestation of Jesus to the world by and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Everything is done in the name of Jesus because there is no other name under heaven whereby a man can be saved. There is no other name under heaven whereby a man can be freed from His bonds. There is no other name under heaven whereby a man can be healed. There is no other name under heaven whereby the blind eyes are opened and the crushed heart is restored. We saints are clothed in the garments of salvation. We are covered by the robes of righteousness just as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Just as a garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so to the Lord our God causes righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. We are a living demonstration of His righteousness and we can do nothing more than praise Him from the depths of the inexhaustible wells of our salvation. Never forget who you are in HIm brothers and sisters.
Daniel said to me today “I miss you dad.” I knew what he meant. What he meant to say is that “I’m gonna miss you.” You see we are going out of town next week and this is one of the ways that Daniel conveys to you that he loves you. And so when he said that, I put the cups song on in which one of the lines goes “I’m gonna miss you when your gone.” We danced. He twirled, I twirled, we interlocked arms and danced in a circle in a Scottish fashion. And when the dancing was over we hugged. As I walked into the backyard afterwards, with the sun shining warmly thought the Locusts trees, and the birds watching me from their various perches,wondering if I was about to fill their feeder ( I was) my heart warmed to the thoughts of what a privilege it was for me to have Daniel. When we need someone to look after something that is very precious to us, we pick someone we know and love and trust. And as I was thanking God for entrusting me with something that was very precious to Him……I realized that my heart was full.
Daniel is my youngest son who is 29 and has Down Syndrome.
There is so much noise in the average persons life, noise and activity and business. Yet, at the beating heart of who we are, is the still small voice of Jesus, the lover of our soul. I dearly wish that a great hush would fall over the church. That all the noise would simply be replaced by a holy quietness. The musicians would put down their instruments, the talkers would stop talking and there we would remain until the Lord came upon us.
The cry of our hearts should be audible in the congregation. The longing seeking heart should replace the noisy professionals. Just one cry, crying out the name of Jesus with all the longing of a desperate heart would surely bring heaven down to earth. Rain would fall on a dry and dusty land. Our hands would be open to heaven like a chick’s open mouth in anticipation of being fed.
Oh God in heaven come down. We are dying here without your burning love consuming us. We were reborn to be passionate, we were reborn to be lovers, we were reborn with a zeal for you that knows no bounds. We were reborn in your image Lord and we are designed to praise you. Oh that we would have eyes only for you. That we would put aside everything that vies for our attention and love you and come to you and be moved by you and anointed by you and inspired by you and revived by you and refreshed by you and forgiven by you. That we would know the heights of heaven and take some of that glory down into the valley of this world.
Lord help us this day to come to you with an open heart so that we may stand with you under an open heaven. When we close our door to this world and all of its distractions then behold, another door opens. After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven…….and immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne……… and there this cry was heard…..Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. He stands at the door and knocks.
Isa 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
Imagine the overwhelming feelings of liberty and glory the Jewish people felt when they were released from captivity from Babylon to return home after seventy long years. Arise and shine for the light of liberty has risen above you and is calling you home. And the glory of God rests upon you. Now imagine if you will, a people not held captive for seventy years, but the whole world held captive from the day that Adam bit the apple. Thousands of years have past. Heaven itself closed, the way is barred. And onto this stage, from the glories of Heaven, steps Jesus. The light has come!!! The glory of God walks the earth. He proclaims liberty to those held captive all of their lives. The chains that held them are broken. The door that was locked is wide open. The grave has been rendered powerless.
We are that people brothers and sisters. We must arise and shine for the light has come into our lives and has set us free! We must arise and shine for all the world to see. Those who dwell in darkness and in prison, must now see that the glory of the Living God has risen. There may be a great darkness that has settled over this world but the Lord will arise over you and His glory shall be seen upon you. God has glorified the house of His Glory, we are that house. The gates of heaven are continually open to you, they shall not shut day or night. God has made you an eternal excellence, never forget that brothers and sisters, you are His excellent ones despite what that old liar may whisper in your ear. The walls of His temple are salvation and the gates of the temple are praise. We neither need the sun by day nor the moon by night, for He is an everlasting light to us. We walk by the light of the eternal sun. And the power of darkness is eternally undone. Now rise and shine brothers and sisters, for the glory of the Lord s risen and it has risen over you.
Isa 59:19 When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
What a tremendous promise from the Lord in His Word. Now there are two different ways this can be read given that there was no punctuation in Hebrew. It could read “When the enemy shall come in…….like a flood the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” We often ask the Lord to flood our hearts or flood our lands will revival glory. Let the heavens be rent and pour down your mercy upon us. It’s a lovely thought, but it really does not fit the context of Isa chapter 59. The enemy has indeed come in like a flood and the saints have to raise up a standard. They face overwhelming odds and all seems lost. God will deliver His own. The Lord Jesus Christ will come again. The standard represents a flag. Every battalion has its colors, has its flags, and they flutter over every battle. Every tribe of Israel had a flag that represented who they were (Num 1:52) We the saints have our own flag and the emblem upon it is the cross. God lifted up His very own Standard, He lifted up the Lord Jesus on the cross for the deliverance of men’s souls.
The Standard separates men. It draws its own and they rally under it. The wicked reject this Standard.Their iniquities have separated them from god. His face is hidden from them because of their sin. They search for light but they find only darkness. They stumble at noonday as if it is dusk and the shades of grey overtake their minds as they grope along the wall headed towards a ditch. They have turned their backs on God, and righteousness stand afar off. For them, truth has fallen in the street. They are determined to hunt down everyone who has departed from evil and who have rallied under the Standard, the flag that represents Calvary. And when there is found no one to stand for God’s people, God comes. He pours out His Spirit upon us and He puts His words in our mouths. And the Spirit of the Living God shall not depart from us even as we march through the valley of the shadow of death. For the Lord our God walked this very path before we ever did. He broke the chains of hell and death and destroyed the power of sin. We stand eternally under the cross of Calvary where our Lord defeated all of hell’s fury. Stand today brothers and sisters, this is our call to arms.
Does the Lord dwell within a building or does He dwell within our hearts? A heart beats, it has chambers, it has blood that pumps through veins and travels to every part of the body bringing life sustaining oxygen. The Body, while complex and made up of many parts, is totally dependent upon the heart. To meet in the name of Jesus is to meet with saints who are identified by the character and the nature of Jesus. Every genuine saint has his or her place already set within the heart, within the body. The Lord Jesus Himself is building this body. Only that which belongs can enter into the system that the Lord is building. Our own natural bodies have an immune system that deals with anything that should not be there. To have a cohesive body, each part must belong there, must be placed there. There is an architect of this Body, this Temple, and His name is Jesus. Only He builds.
Many burning embers together create the potential for a great fire. Throw a log on one ember and it may catch fire after a while, throw a log onto many burning embers and it will catch fire right away. One fire, many embers greater light, greater heat. Now, gather a bunch of branches together with no fire and you will just have a bunch of branches. It could not call itself a fire for it clearly is without fire. Just because you call yourself a Christian and gather in the name of Jesus means nothing if you are not actually Christians. A bunch of dead wood is a bunch of dead wood. And for those who have built fires, they know that a fire can be smothered by piling a lot of material on top of it. The oxygen is choked out. If one hundred people gather and only ten are genuinely saved then the other 90 will not catch on fire, but the fire itself shall be smothered by the green wood.
This scripture where two or three are gathered in my name, is far more important than we know. To gather in the name of Jesus is a deeply spiritual thing for those who have been born again according to His Spirit, His character and His nature. The enemy has done his level best to dilute that to the point where any fire that existed would be smothered.Being a Christ follower means to bear the life of Christ in us. So, when two or three genuine Christ followers come together for the sole purpose of spirit being drawn unto spirit then there is a magnification that takes place. Like a magnifying glass that captures the light of the sun and turns it into something very potent, then the Holy Spirit takes the light that is within us, the two or the three or the however many and turns it into something very powerful. Darkness is the mere absence of light. It cannot be magnified. Take a thousand dark souls and gather them together and what do you have? Darkness. Take the light from two or three or one hundred or a thousand genuine saints , undiluted by the darkness of unbelievers and down comes the power of God in a unique way.
In these last days there is a purging going on. The genuine saints are being purged out of the gatherings by the Lord where the majority are not saved or are lukewarm. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. What fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion has light with darkness? Are you not the temple of the Living God? Therefore come out from among them says God. Be separate and touch not the unclean thing. In Revelations chapter two we see that the church in Ephesus hated the deeds of the Nicolations as did God. Not much is known about this group but it estimated that they were a group that took on the customs of the Romans in order to avoid persecution. The genuine saint resists the ways of the world, they do not embrace them. Yes it is costly and yes there is great loss involved. Yet what is any amount of loss amount to if we are found in Him?
We must gather together in ways that are ordered of God. We must walk according to the rhythm of Gods heart. We cannot walk to the beat of this world. Ember must find ember. There is fire in the heart of the saints. As the world closes in, we cannot yield simply because the congregation that we have always belonged to has yielded. This is everything being tested by God. In the end, where does your loyalties lie? Jesus is the Word is He not.? If you were invited to a get together somewhere but they said to you, do not bring your son, he is not welcome. Would you go? Would your heart not break for the rejection of your son? You certainly would not go where your child was not welcome. Should we go where Christ is not welcome? He is the Word. He is the way and the truth and the life. He must be the honored guest and the preeminent one at all of our gatherings. Whether two or two hundred. God is opening up a chasm. As the chasm widens, one must choose what side of the chasm we are committed to. Soon it becomes too wide. If you try and straddle both sides you will plummet into the chasm. Choose wisely who you gather with.
You have to establish a non petitioning heart before you can truly petition the Lord. What do I mean by that? Does your prayer life consist mostly of petitions, meaning, is it just about you asking for things? Take a moment and reflect upon your prayers. I want to give you some examples. In Acts 16 we see Paul and Silas in a terrible situation. They were hungry and thirsty. They were seriously injured. They were held captive. They could well be killed. And here is what we know about their communications with God. ” At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.” There is nothing to indicate they were praying for their personal needs, no, rather they were praising God in the midnight hour. That very same hour, the jailer, after crying out “what must I do to be saved,” got saved, his family got saved, Paul and Silas were delivered from their bonds, the stripes upon their backs were tended to and food was set before them.
In Acts chapter seven we see Stephen in a terrible situation. He had just spoken mightily by the power of the Holy Spirit and the crowd were riled up and they had murder in their heart. Did Stephen cry out for deliverance? Did He petition God to shield him in that moment? Here is what happened “He, being full of the Holy Spirit gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God…..then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this sin. That day a young man called Saul witnessed what had happened and the seeds of his own salvation was planted.
Brothers and sisters, there is much power in not giving heed to the situation you find yourself in. The Kingdom of God transcends all situations, if only we had eyes to see the glory of God through the darkest nights, the good news is that we do. Every night is like the noonday sun to those with eyes fixed upon Jesus. Now, is it right and proper to petition the Lord? Yes, of course. Yet, we all know someone who only ever talks to us when they want something, is that not right? How do you feel when you see that person approach? Does your heart not sink? Does it not sink even deeper when they pretend to be nice to you? We have names for people like that. Hypocrites? Fair weather fans? People who only come around to get what they want or to be part of a success.
First and fore-most in our lives we have been called to glorify God. No matter what our situations are, no matter what chaos the enemy might have caused, we need to stand in the power that comes from glorifying God in our prayers. We need to lift up the name of Jesus. We need to glorify the Lord our God. We need to see Him high and lifted up and then we need to lift up our eyes to that vision of Him. He is with us and He is preeminent not just in our hearts but in every aspect of our lives. Glorifying God and praising His holy name causes the foundations of our captivity to begin to shake. God is not in the business of building prisons, He is in the business of tearing them down. He does not throw people behind prison cells, He throws open the doors. He breaks the bars of captivity. He is worthy to be praised and He has given us the way. Establish the proper order. Love Him, praise Him, give Him honor and glory. Let the principalities and powers know that no matter what, The Lord Jesus Christ will be praised, before any mention of our needs.
Philippians 4:6 Tells us “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” We see a very similar text in Matt 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than clothes? And so we see the two sets of instructions from Jesus, be anxious for nothing, or the almost identical phrase “take no thought for your life.” What might be the primary petitions of the saint? And how are these petitions to be framed? Well we see from Phil 4:6 that they are to be framed by, or bathed in, thankfulness. It is the thankful heart that breaks through to the throne-room. And with this thankful heart we pray, we glorify God, and into this heart He pours in His desires. And His greatest desire is that we would be like His Son.
And therefore, having put the cares of this life aside we stand devoid of distractions. We cry out to God that He would help our unbelief. That He would give us wisdom, that He would glorify Himself in whatever situation we find ourselves in. Whether in the depths of a dungeon or kneeling before an angry mob who is about to kill us. Whether we face bankruptcy or the grievous loss of a loved one, how shall we glorify you in this Lord? Job’s prayer was to praise God and acknowledge that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Brothers and sisters, there is a tremendous power at our disposal if we would only lay down the distractions of this world and lift Jesus us in our minds and hearts and spirits. There are walls to be shaken. There are captives to be set free. Yet we must be free ourselves from the distractions of this world in order to be used in setting at liberty others. Is it possible to live an anxious free life and walk in the power of God? Yes it is. Is it possible to “take no though for your life?” Yes it is. Jesus commanded that we do it and we must decide to do it. It is our decision.
Isa 58:8 Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your health shall spring forth speedily: and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward.
These are the promises of God to those who walk according to His Spirit and in accordance with His will. We shall loose the bonds of wickedness and undo the heavy burdens of our fellow man. This means that we shall aid and comfort those who find themselves afflicted by the ravages of this life and give comfort and aid to the poor in as far as we are able. This is truly the fast that God would have us do. When you walk in such light to those who dwell in darkness then your light shall surely break through like the morning sun rising over a a world in darkness. The healing balm of Gilead will be ours and it shall go forth from us as unto the nations. Our righteousness in Christ shall go before us and the glory of the Lord shall be our rear guard. When you cry out to the Lord He will answer and say “Here I am.” What greater reward is there? He has called us to lift up our voices with great intensity, like a trumpet, and speak for Him to those who have wandered far.
He will guide us continually as we continue in Him and He will water our thirsty souls whether in springtime rains or summertime drought. You shall be like a well watered garden, like an eternal spring that does nor fail. You shall build the waste place and a highway of Holiness shall be found in you. Even in old age your bones shall be strengthened, for those who wait upon the Lord. And from these waters that flow from you, there shall be established the beginnings of many generations who will rise up and call His name Holy. Jesus will be exalted through the flesh of your flesh long after you return home. God has called the holy ones, the excellent one, the Royal priesthood to be the Repairers of the breach. What the enemy tears down, God rebuilds from the ashes and the ravages of this life. You have seen it in your life, and in the lives of others and it shall be seen in the lives to come for those who fear the Lord and call Him Holy. These are the great and mighty promises of Almighty to God to His own. To you brother, and to you sister. Be encouraged today. God sees it all and your life is bigger than you think.
Isa 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
The Lord not only dwells in the highest of heavens, He humbles Himself to dwell in the hearts of the lowliest of saints. In fact, He takes a particular delight in the contrite and the humble heart. Those who are caught up in vanity, those who have sought relief in the things of this world must then go to the world for help. For those who call themselves after the name of the Lord and seek after other lovers, the strong wind of the Lord will cast these lovers away in a bleak sea of uncertainty and there they shall go down. They will be seen to go down. What use is a sunken ship to anyone now cast adrift in a sea of unfaithfulness? Yet the Lord raises up His own above the the most troubled seas. With their eyes fixed upon Him they are taken above the storm. There they find peace where there should be no peace. There their hearts are revived even when the world has written them of.
The faithful, the broken and the contrite, the spotless bride of Christ, they find grace and favor in the eyes of the Lord.Their hearts and their spirits are revived in the intimate presence of the Lord. And because of this, they are full of thankfulness and they offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, the fruit of their lips giving thanks to His name forever. God says “I create the fruit of the lips.” (Isa 58:19) From the praises of His faithful people, the Lord cultivates the good fruit in the form of a peaceful heart and out of the abundance of that heart He is praised. Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near says the Lord and I will heal him. Brothers and sisters, there is healing to be found in the Lord. There is restoration and reviving of our hearts in the Lord. These are the promises of God to the humble and the contrite. Yet the wicked are like a roiling sea, troubled, with no rest, and drowning with their lovers.
I would like to discuss a word that is not used very often. It is the word Godliness. It is rather a mysterious word really. What is Godliness? Are you Godly? Who decides? Can it be measured or quantified? In 2 Pet 1:3 we see that the Divine power of Jesus has given us all things that “pertain” to life and Godliness through the knowledge of Him. Now, that word pertain means to bring us close to, or nearness to. And so we could say that the power of God, through knowing Him in an intimate way, directs us to life and this thing called Godliness. It is the tightest and most succinct three words in all of Scripture that alludes to our calling, “life and Godliness.” No life, no Godliness, one must be born again in order to have the life that will enable Godliness.
I would argue that Godliness is an awareness of God in our everyday life. A constant awareness of God. Now this is not to be confused with the manifest presence of God. The manifest presence of God is the awareness of Gods actual presence. It is always dramatic, no matter how it comes. The manifest presence of God cannot be conjured up. No one controls God. It is not normative in the Christian life but it is vital that we have “encountered God,” at some point or many points along the way. Yet Godliness can be pursued. We are told in 1 Tim 4:7 that we have to train ourselves in the way of Godliness. It is up to us to constantly bring to mind the things of God in our daily lives. The Godly man has an attitude towards God that forms the core of who he is and it can be visibly seen in every aspect of his life.
We see in 2 Pet 1:5-9 that in the pursuit of a Godly life we must be diligent to add to our trust in God, excellence in everything we do for His name sake. We must be just men and women. And to that we must exercise the knowledge that we have been given and have experienced through God. We must exercise patience in everything that we do and continue on no matter what comes our way. We are those who persevere through trial and flood. Out of that comes our Godliness. We are exercised in the ways of God. His honor and His glory will be the most important thing in our lives and when we walk in this fashion then we shall be known for our love for one another. If we walk in the awareness of God then we shall never be barren, indeed we shall be fruitful all the days of our lives no matter the circumstances. In fact the circumstances will only prove the genuineness of our Godliness.
Those who walk in the awareness of God do so out of devotion to Him. What do we mean by that? We all know someone or maybe many people who are devoted to their wives or husbands. We hear the phrase “he is so devoted to his wife.” It carries all the more weight when the wife is bedridden or dying. The husband in this case spends every waking hour attending to her needs. Even although he himself maybe very tired, no matter, he is bound and determined to serve his wife to the best of his abilities with everything he has. Brothers and sisters, this is Godliness. Are you bound and determined to serve God with a love and devotion greater than we could ever have for another human being? Is He at the center of all of your thoughts? Are you constantly aware of His presence in your life day by day, hour by hour? This is Godliness and out of of this Godliness, this devotion, flows rivers of life. You must train yourself in these matters brothers and sisters. It takes diligence and a dogged desire to walk with God.
Walking with God is our daily life. Its our interactions with everyone we come into contact with. Its our first thoughts in the morning. Its our drive to work, its our grocery shopping. It is our lunch with a friend. It is everything and when He is everything to us, and in everything that we do, then we know that we are truly “walking with Jesus.” There is a great power that comes from this walk called Godliness. The power to love, the power to forgive, the power to never take up the offense. This is no mere fantasy brothers and sisters, this is our calling. When we desire to live in Godliness then everything that is in our lives that is not Godly has to go. I think this is why so few of us walk in Godliness. Godliness is to continually pray if you like. A constant awareness of His nearness that will transform your life. It is not for the lazy Christian. You wont get it by going forward in a service. No charlatan will lay his hands on you and suddenly you are Godly. No, it belongs to the diligent, the genuine devotee of God, and it will show. You cannot measure it yourself, it is something that is seen in you by others. Yet brothers and sisters, when you walk in Godliness you will realize the goal of “being anxious for nothing.” The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will rest upon your life.
It is a sad commentary on the established church that so little prayer, if any, takes place in their gatherings. If one were able to take the vitals of any gathering, the way the doctor takes our blood pressure and pulse, then prayer in an individuals life or a gathering would be the pulse. The heartbeat is at the center of our being and prayer is at the center of who we are in Christ. If your “pulse,” were to be taken today, would it show a healthy heart? A healthy prayer life?
When the doctor checks your pulse, he understands each pulse represents a heartbeat. There is the force behind the pulse and the regularity of the pulse. He wants to see a strong pulse because that indicates a good flow of blood to the extremities. The regularity of the pulse indicates that the heart is beating regularly. An irregular heartbeat is a dangerous thing that has to be treated. Now blood pressure measures the force of blood flowing against the walls of your arteries. Too high and there will undoubtedly be undue pressure on your arteries which will make them more elastic which in the end will decrease the flow of blood and oxygen to your heart. Too low and your bodies vital organs do not get enough oxygen and nutrients.
Prayer is the heartbeat of your personal walk with the Lord. Prayer is the heartbeat of any gathering. If it beats low we are quite ineffective. If it beats high and irregular then we setting ourselves up for failure. If our hearts stop beating we die. If there was a spiritual doctor who could take the pulse of your congregation would he find it healthy? Would He find life at all? If He ran the same check on you, how healthy would He pronounce you? Prayer is the strong and steady and vital beat of the heart of our walk with Jesus. The rhythm of the heart of God must be our rhythm. We align our hearts with His. We become one with His heart. We are strong in the Lord and the power of His might only in as much as we pray according to His heart. This is true not only of our personal walk but also of our corporate gatherings. No prayer, no life, no exceptions.
Isa 56:8 The Lord GOD who gathers the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.
What a fantastic promise the Lord makes here. He will gather the outcasts, He will gather the remnant, He will gather men and woman from every tribe and every tongue and every nation. Spartacus, a slave, a gladiator, rose up and with his slave army and took the might of the Roman army to the brink of destruction. Yet we are no slave army led by a slave. We are the army of the Lord and Jesus is our leader. He gathers around Himself the outcasts, the rejected, the overlooked. The weakest men from the weakest clans are His army. He raises up paupers to walk with Kings. He takes men and women from the ash heaps of life and He makes something very beautiful out of them. In Psalm 147:2-4 we see that “The Lord builds up Jerusalem, He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds and counts the number of the stars, He calls them all by name.” The number of His outcast army is innumerable but He knows them all by name. Great is the Lord and mighty in power. His understanding is infinite and He raises up the humble.
This outcast army, this royal priesthood, this holy nation, this special people as unto the Lord, are brought to His Holy mountain and they are made joyful in His house of prayer. A house of prayer brothers and sisters, His house shall be known as a house of prayer. And His glory shall cover it. His glory rises in the restored hearts of the outcasts, the rejected, the humbled, the remnant saints. And whether they are Jews or Greeks, whether they are slaves or free, they all have been made to drink into one Spirit and by this one Spirit they are baptized into one Body. One Body rises up. One unity comes forth. The one and only Christ is lifted up as a banner that flutters in the wind of the Spirit over the battle-field that is called life. Only one side can prevail. Only one side will prevail. What side shall we align ourselves with in this the great battle of eternity? Shall we stand under the banner of Christ and align ourselves with His outcast army? Or shall we align ourselves with the world, so sophisticated and enlightened in their own minds, mockers and ridiculers of the saints? There is one battle. One Christ. One army. One Truth. All else is but shades of gray walking in a darkened mist created by the world’s own vain imagination.
A Call To The Remnant 