I was made to see, that if ever I would suffer rightly, I must first pass a sentence of death upon everything that can be properly called a thing in this life, even to reckon myself, my wife, my children, my health, my enjoyment, and all, as dead to me and myself as dead to them. The second was to live upon God who is invisible as Paul said in another place the way not to faint is to “look not upon the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen, for the things that are seen seen are temporal, but the things which are seen are eternal (John Bunyon)
Our brother John discovered the great depths of what it means to serve God with all of your heart. He knew he was going to suffer, and suffer indeed he did for the cause of Jesus. And yet, to “suffer rightly,’ he must count all things as loss. All the things of this world must be dead to him and he must be alive to God. This in no way meant that he did not love his family, clearly from his writings the opposite was true. Consider his agonies of knowing that his wife and family suffered greatly, especially his young blind daughter, because of his stand for Jesus. It tore him to pieces…….
“The parting with my wife and poor children hath often been to me in this place (prison) as the pulling of the flesh from my bones……I should have often often brought to mind the many hardships, miseries and wants that my poor family was like to meet should I be taken from them, especially my poor blind child, who lay nearer to my heart than all I had besides; Oh the thoughts of the hardship I thought my blind one might go under, would break my heart to pieces.”
You see brothers and sisters. Bunyon’s faith that led him to prison and his knowing that he must die to everything of this world, including his family, was not the actions of a cold, religious stoic man, quite the opposite. Amazingly, John could have spared himself the 12 years in prison and all the suffering he undertook and that of his family by simply recanting his faith. He could have walked out of prison at any time. How cruel the enemy is. Yet here is what he said in that regard ….
“If nothing will do unless I make my conscience a continual butchery and a slaughtershop, unless putting out my own eyes, I commit me to the blind to lead me, as I doubt not is desired by some, I have determined, the Almighty God being my help and shield , yet to suffer, if frail life might continue so long, even till the moss shall grow on mine eyebrows, rather than to violate my faith and principles.”
John would suffer the loss off al things rather than to violate his conscience in regard to preaching the Word of God. It did not come easy, it was in fact an agony, yet his great desire was to “suffer rightly.’ How then brothers and sisters, should we live in such a dark age as ours? Should we not also desire to “suffer rightly,” for the cause of Christ? Should we not love the Lord out God with all of hearts and all of our minds and bodies? Should we not love Him above all other things, even the most dearest things to our hearts? We should. God bless you and help you as you follow hard after God.
When all the world has lost its appeal to you When you find yourself wandering in the wasteland dunes of anxiety and emptiness and disappointments, know that God is near. You must know it for you will not feel it. Keep walking saint, this is the desert place known as despair. No man or woman can help you. This is simply between you and God and the refiners fire. You will be tested in this. God is looking for a people who seek to worship Him with their whole hearts.
And if you think that all of your troubles are without purpose then you are wrong saint. There is a purpose in every trial, in every trouble, in every disappointment. There is a purpose in every step you take through the desert of despair and loneliness.
You must pass through these places in order to continue the journey home on the narrow path. there are no short-cuts, no way around these difficult places of death. The enemy will whisper in your ear when you seem to be surrounded by darkness and defeat ” what was it all about?” He will ask you to consider the possibility that your life has been for nothing and that there has been no purpose in any of your suffering. Liar! Brothers and sisters, he is a liar and I know I speak to someone who needs to hear that today.
Psa 84:6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
The Valley of Baca, the valley of weeping, the valley of tears. The road to the altar, traverses many valleys. Some are narrow some are deep . There is no avoiding them. You will shed tears in these valleys. You will often times feel abandoned in these valleys. What should you do as you travel through them? Dig deeper. Dig holes in these valleys brothers and sisters. These valleys are without rain and it would seem to many that they will surely die as they go through them. You will not die. So why should you stop and dig holes in this valley? Why not rush through as quickly as possible? The truth is this valley cannot be rushed. No matter how much you run you still have to go through the valley. Even if you run with everything that is in you, the valley will last exactly how long it is supposed to last. So when you stop in the midst of it, when you resist the urge to panic, when you embrace the fact that this valley has to be gone through, these “dark nights of the soul,” will become an oasis and a place of refreshment to those who have faith and continue to trust in the Lord.
You will not be tempted more than you are able. The Lord has not abandoned you. He will minister to you. When you dig deeper, you are emptying yourself in preparation to receive the Lords presence. He will come to you on your journey, on your pilgrimage , in your deepest valleys. And to those who dig, their holes will be filled abundantly when the flood of His rain comes. The steeper the valley, the bigger the flood. The holes ensure that when the flood ends, their will be pools of water left over that will not only minister to you, but will comfort and encourage those who will come along after you, for remember, there is only one path, the narrow one, and all must traverse it. Let your tears fall saints, your tears shall remain. They shall refresh another. Stand fast brothers and sisters. You keep on walking no matter how dark it has become. You are surrounded by troubles on every side and inwardly there are fears? You are not alone, this is the path and you are where you should be and it shall not overcome you.
Inside of you lies the treasures of God, inside your earthen vessel. You have been called to comfort those with the comfort you yourself have been comforted with along the way. When you pass through this place of death and you are not overcome, you will testify of it and comfort others and glorify God. Remember saints, we are always bearing about in the body, the dying of the Lord Jesus, the life of the cross, the way of sacrifice, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our lives. The greater the trial the closer our God. You say ” but this trial is such that I cannot feel Him, I cannot sense His presence.” Saints, one of the greatest trials of all is trust. Our foundation is built upon faith. The enemy will try to pull you down and destroy you by coming against the very foundation of your life, your faith. Your life in the Spirit stands upon faith in Jesus. Stand today brother, stand today sister.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Wait upon the Lord and He will come to you. Wait, wait, keep waiting, keep trusting, keep abiding, keep praying, keep trusting, keep praising, keep reading His word. You will not faint, you will not fall in this desert. When the rain comes and it will come, you will walk and you will run and you will mount up with wings as eagles and you will revel in the presence of God. One day, one moment in His presence is better than a thousand elsewhere. In one moment, in one word, in one breath of the Holy Spirit there is life and eternity and hope and joy. One more thing brothers and sisters, and never doubt this. Your Father loves you. He sees you. He has not forgotten you. His love for you is an everlasting love. His thoughts towards you cannot be numbered, they are greater than the sands of the seashore. Stand fast in this and know that you are known. Let your tears fill the valleys, none are lost.
Eze 47:3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
There is a river that flows from heaven itself. It flows through our hearts and beckons us to come deeper. This river is spoken of in many places in Scriptures. It is the presence of God and it brings us deeper into the heart of the Almighty. There are trees on either side of this river and their roots are directly connected to the river and they are perpetually green, evergreen trees for the healing of the people and the nations. The river itself brings healing everywhere it goes. To be walking in the Spirit is to be swimming in the river of life.
As we see in Ezekiel 47, the Lord brings us to through the waters. Always the Lord, compelling His children to come deeper into Him. Not ankle deep, not knee deep or even waist deep but fully immersed in a river so vast that it cannot be crossed, it can only be swum in. We must give ourselves to the river, let go and give way to the current of the Holy Spirit. Whether you are ankle deep, knee deep or even waist deep, you are still standing on your own two feet. In many respects you are still in charge. Yet to give ourselves completely to the river we are no longer standing.
When we are fully given to our Lord. When we are yielded to the depths and the power of this vast river, the power of the Holy Spirit, only then can we truly be led. All resistance is gone in its depths. It is carrying you towards the sea, the vastness of God Himself. Ever closer, ever deeper into the Father’s heart. And the Lord says to to you “come, I will bring you through the waters into the deep.” “Seek me with your whole heart and I shall be found and you shall be rewarded for your diligence, I am your exceeding great reward.”
How to rule the emotions? It is imperative in the life of the saint, to rule the emotions. They have to be taken captive, much like the thoughts. Emotions and thoughts are not in and of themselves bad of course, they are a vital part of our humanity, they are what makes us human. Yet, if we allow ourselves to be ruled by our emotions and we do not take into captivity our thoughts, we shall be like waves tossed upon the sea by strong winds. This can develop into hurricane force winds which then become highly destructive to everything it breaks upon.
Emotions serve us well. They are most often delightful and cause us to laugh and to cry, to be angry and to be sad. These are all safety valves for us in our human experience. Yet, when they master us, when we serve them rather than they serving us, we fall into a world of trouble. The vast majority of people I have ever met have been ruled by their emotions, for the most part. So, what brings the emotions into line? The will. And for the saints it is the will empowered by the Spirit of God. And where does the will take its cue from? The Word of God and the still small voice of God.
When the will is yielded to the obedience of God, the emotions are kept in check. We walk in a broad place in this situation. When the will gives way to the emotions then we have opened ourselves up to great danger. In the middle of a storm, the ship has her hatches battened down. This stops the mighty waves that crash over her from pouring into her holds, flooding the interior, and potentially sinking the ship. This action is carried out by the will. When the emotions are in charge then the hatches have been thrown open. Every wave that assaults us can now possibly sink us.
The Spirit empowered and yielded will is the sentinel that stands guard over the doorway of our hearts and minds. It follows the directions of God and is anxious for nothing. It yields itself to Jesus and His word and It stops us from getting on the rollercoasters of every situation we face. It keeps us walking in a sure and broad place. Get on that rollercoaster and there will be huge ups and downs and turns and twists. There will be fear and screaming and all manner of noise as we are tossed about by the situations we face.
To be ruled by the emotions is to walk according to the flesh. To exercise our wills in the way that we have been directed by God is to walk according to the Spirit. No disobedient servant can walk according to the Spirit. How then do you walk saint? Are you storm tossed by the circumstances of life? Does your life consist of highs and lows and twists and turns that leave you exhausted in mind and body? Do you find yourself forever on the rollercoaster of life and circumstances? The key to life in the Spirit is to yield to God and to be obedient to His word. You will undoubtedly suffer loss in your pursuit of following hard after the Lord. Yet, what is loss in this world is gain in the next. Surrender today saints and walk in the peace that surpasses all understanding.
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
I will open rivers in the desert heights
I will illuminate the darkness on the darkest nights
I will be a cloud to you in the heat of the day
Follow me my child I will show you the way
I will make the wilderness like a pool of water
I will strengthen you though ye be like lambs to the slaughter
When they hang you high I will raise you higher
You will praise My name in the midst of the fire
When they put you in the dungeon and throw away the key
You will sing songs of glory for I have set you free
There are no chains that can ever hold you down
For I have robed you in glory and placed upon your head a crown
Streams of heavenly glory flow down to you oh man
I saw you born again, I saw when it all began
No child of mine shall beg nor ever sell his own birthright
Rather stand he in the battle, he will stand and fight
We do not fight with flesh and blood, rather principalities and powers
We pull down every stronghold and demolish demonic towers
The Lord has called us to righteousness and He will hold our hand
And by the power of His glory, we shall forever stand.
How I long to look with optimistic eyes at the landscape of Christianity all across the world. And yet the sands of time gather around our feet in the depths of the bottom of the hour glass. For so long now we have desired to walk in unbroken sunshine not knowing that unbroken sunshine leads to deserts. And now we look out upon the landscape of our time and everything beautiful has dried up in the sun that we demanded. Century after century the desert has encroached upon the green fields and mountains and valleys, slowly consuming everything. If it were not for rivers in the desert then we would have died of thirst already. The rivers in the desert are Gods remnant saints.
If it were not for desert blooms then the all the color of life would be gone. There are precious few saints left who embrace the storm, who stand in the flood, who walk through the fire, who walk upon the water. Who are not delivered from the fire but by the fire and in the fire. Jesus weeps as He surveys the desert sands and the leanness of our souls. We have rejected the good deep soil of His sufferings and embraced the desires of our own hearts leaving behind something shallow,something lean that is without deep roots and something easily dried up by the sun, which we demanded.
And then this shallow thing turns to dust and is blown away by the wind, nothing grows and the desert comes. At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse (Jer 4:11) This ill wind that blows upon Christendom is not to fan nor to cleanse but to judge. A strong unstoppable wind that does not blow in a cool refreshing rain but rather a strong hot wind that dries up everything and turns it into desert wilderness. The shallow thing turns to dust and is blown away.
In front of our very eyes the shallow things are turning to dust. That which has no root is drying up. Those whose hearts were only ever for the cares of this world are being choked by the weeds and the thorns. Not so slowly now the good seed is being revealed that lies in the depths of good soil. Those who were planted in the depths by the waters of life shall bloom even as the desert consumes the whole world. The roots are firmly established and are held unmovable by Truth. Wisdom flows down into the very heart of them and nourishes them.
The world is a barren wasteland. There is something in the atmosphere and the world is willingly breathing it in. More insidious than any virus. They breathe it in to their very souls to their eternal damnation. Their hearts are poisoned and their spirits are totally corrupted in preparation for the terrible day of the Lord. They are only ever wicked and their thoughts are continuously for evil. As it was in the days of Noah, so is our day just as the Lord prophesied it would be.
Our sufferings is our nourishment saints. Our infirmities is His glory. Our dying to this world is the last vestiges of life. This life that comes from death is the eternal life of Christ in us, the hope and the glory. For out of the great desert, out of the gross darkness, God has commanded light to shine forth as a witness to the whole world. We are that light. As the whole world falls, we have been called to stand. As the whole world is consumed into the sinking sands of death and sin, we have been called to stand upon the solid Rock of life and Holiness. Stand fast saints, the Lord is at the door.
In Romans 1:28 we see that men are given over to a reprobate mind. There comes a time when men are given over to this mindset. The word reprobate means to be cast away, rejected, something that no longer has a value. It is a truly frightening word. I would like to argue that the world in general has been given over to a reprobate mindset. It is the final dispensation. Not to be confused with Dispensationalism. I am no dispenastionalist. When I use the word dispensation I use it in its plain simple meaning. A set order that is replaced by a paradigm shift.
I would like to put it to you that we are in the midst of a paradigm shift that is written about in Romans 1:28. It started with that which is known as the church, the great religious institutions of the world called after the name of Jesus Christ, Christians in Christendom. It has fallen, it fell first. Judgement began there. And then the world. Now the argument would be that the world was already fallen. I agree with that. It was fallen right from the beginning. It was why Jesus came. No, the paradigm shift is that men, with full knowledge, completely and utterly reject God and all that is holy. They are, in a sense, without excuse.
Right has become wrong. That which lurked in the alleyways and the shadows, now parades itself down Main St. The saints have been forcibly removed into the alleyways. Night has become day. Darkness now presents itself as light and has been embraced. The children are being slaughtered by the millions in the womb and those who are not slaughtered are corrupted by the institutions of men with the aid of willing parents. Justice has been totally corrupted and taken over by the reprobates and is now a wing of the armed all out rebellion against Truth.
There have been many “evil days,” in the history of our world. Yet there is a day written about in the Scriptures. The weapons of our warfare are such that we can stand in “that evil day.” There is a culmination of “evil days,’ and we are living in them. It is when hell spews forth its contents and drowns all the world in its vomit. It is the time of gross darkness. The kind of darkness that covered the earth when Jesus hung on the cross. It is the greatest of all darknesses and it comes before the greatest of all lights. Dawn comes in the morning but we as saints must stand in the darkest night.
We who are alive and remain today have been called for such a time as this. God equips those that He calls and He makes no mistakes. When He calls Gideon a mighty man of valor it is because that is exactly what God saw in him, even although Gideon complained that he was the weakest man from the weakest clan. It did not matter what Gideon thought, it only mattered what God stated and that God would bring to pass that which He said would come to pass. You, saint, are God’s mighty men and women of valor and you have been called to stand in such a time as this. You are a child of the living God and you have His molten Truth running through your veins. This Truth that has so captivated you will not be wrestled from you.
In this Truth is the way and the life. Your very life, your eternal life. You are so taken by it that you love not your life unto death. You stand by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of your testimony. Your testimony, your witness, is your changed life by the power of God and your all consuming love for the Truth. They may beat us down but they shall not extinguish the light. All day long they can slaughter us like lambs but our Blood cries out still and God hears.
A chosen people, a Holy generation, a royal priesthood called for such a day as this. In this final dispensation we shall see the fulfillment of the great call from Jesus in John 17 that we would be one as He and His Father are one and that we shall be where the glory is. We shall see the fulfillment of Matthew 24 that he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.(Mat 24:13-14)
The time has come to endure until the end and the world will see the Gospel of the Kingdom preached as a witness. The martyrs are called as witnesses against the reprobates. And then the end shall come.
And the remnant… shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. (Isaiah 37:31)
In the very depths of winter, spring can seem like a long ways away isn’t that right? This is also very true for our spiritual seasons for all of us will go through dark winters of our souls. Perhaps you are there right now? I would like you to consider the tree in winter. It loses all of its foliage. It stands stark and naked and bare against the cold winter sky. There seems to be no life in it at all. Yet there it stands.
All activity seems to be suspended yet the root system continues to grow as the ground temperature just a few feet below the surface is warmer. In the depths of winter, the roots grow deeper. This is the season of the remnant. We are in the midst of a long winter which will only end with the return of Jesus. This long winter is by design. God is establishing a people who cannot be moved. He is allowing everything to be stripped away. All the foliage, all the pretty adornments that we have added over countless centuries are simply being stripped away.
The traditions of men appeal to the world, it compensates for a lack of reality. Yet God has a remnant who simply must have Him. A people who, no matter what happens, will follow God and stand upon His Word. Stand firm brothers and sisters, be encouraged. You are not alone. Your trials, your tribulations and your feelings of isolation are by design. God must have an end time people who will follow Him no matter how fierce the storm. His people must have deep roots and these roots must be developed.
Yes we are surrounded by a hard freeze and all things that have no depth is perishing, but be of good cheer brothers and sisters, you have depth. That depth is the Lord Jesus Himself and He gives and sustains life even in the harshest conditions. When winter finally breaks we discover the tree has grown taller because the root system with its life-giving sap has been able to focus on that which remains. Branches and leaves, the circumstances and situations of our lives come and go but the root, the very depth of who we are remains forever and it alone is our strength.
Jesus was a man acquainted with sorrows. It is not something that we like to dwell on too often but there it is. When we are physically attacked, at the very least, we throw up our hands to protect ourselves. Yet when our heart is open, as it must be to walk with and serve the Lord, then it is utterly vulnerable to attack. It is like a city without a wall. It is so tempting to allow our hearts to begin to close down, to construct a moat around our hearts and make it difficult for people to ” come in.” I have cried out to the Lord many times to fill my heart with love even when I had not the slightest desire to. This is the Word of God doing it’s work, when our own love fails, when we come to the end of our emotions, when anger and bitterness and melancholy seek to drown us or perhaps apathy sweeps down like an avalanche and smothers everything, then we cry out to God for what we know is right and we wait.
We are told to wait upon the Lord, to believe that He is a rewarder of those diligently seek Him. If you are tired and weary, cry out to God and wait. Cry out for what you know to be right no matter what your heart or your emotions tell you. Then suddenly the presence of God will lift you and carry you beyond and above, high above the cares and pain of this world. He will make you lie down for a while in green pastures, He will lead and guide you and comfort you.He will do it. He feeds our hearts and waters our thirsty souls.
He prepares a table before us right there in the midst of our circumstances and we are strengthened to carry on. Every time we walk through the fire or the flood and walk out the other side there is a growing realization that surely goodness and mercy has followed us and will follow us all the days of our lives. This is the joy of knowing Him on this all to often painful journey. We persevere and overcome because our hand is outstretched to His and that outstretched hand reaches high into the heavens and touches His outstretched hand and we find ourselves before the throne of mercy and grace.
Is it just me or do we not sing songs of victory any more? There is so much joy in declaring the victory of Jesus. I think it will be hard for you to read the hymns below and not touch some of the glory of God. There was a time when the people of Israel were in a bad place and their enemies taunted them……
There we sat down by the rivers of Babylon; also, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our lyres on the willows in its midst. For there our captors demanded a song from us; and our plunderers demanded gladness, saying, Sing us oneof the songs of Zion. (psa 137:1-3) Oh the power that we now have through our Lord Jesus Christ, to turn right around to the enemy and begin to sing the glories of the living God in the very midst of our circumstances. We will not hang our harps upon the willow trees, meaning that we lay down the means by which we praise God. With the high praises of God in our mouths we shall march onward unto cannan land, whether that march leads us down the narrow path or the darkest valley, we shall fear no evil!
“In these last days, God is doing a work that will impact the world. He is training a holy remnant that will be solely dedicated to God and His work during these last days. God is raising up a people who are committed to him and his cause who are a holy remnant, and who are steadfast and sure of their God. Eli was judged soft on sin and allowed wickedness in the tabernacle at Shiloh; even his own sons. Today, the church world is a laughing stock because of wickedness in the house of God, there is no power or spiritual authority, no presence of the Lord in many churches. But there is an unseen remnant of people, who would surprise you, because they are not prominent, or well known, but they are shut in with and hearing a word from God. And the word is prepare, for judgment is coming” Read the rest of this entry »
Here is a recording from our prayer meeting on Tuesday, the 6th of October. My good friend and brother, Pastor Brian Long led out with a message that is powerful and profound. This is truly a message to God’s Remnant people. Brian will be speaking at the Sermonindex revival conference in Dallas which is coming up on the 19-21st October.The Land is is ruins, weep all ye people! You can go to about minute 7 and bypass the music and opening prayer and go straight to the message.
You must become temporary residents or travelers in this world.
We have put our roots down in a world that we are only passing
through, to the point that the culture has overtaken faith. 1 Peter 2:11.
Peter tells us to be aliens to this world and to abstain from fleshly
desires that war against us. What are these things that war against
us? The very culture of self that we live in today – from sexual
perversion to self-centered greed, to the attitude that we deserve
anything we want. This culture has brought down basic values and
destroyed the family in this nation. Just like Lot in Sodom, we have
grown so comfortable with the life it provides us we don’t even care
about the sin around us. We have adjusted our religion to fit the
culture. We are at a point where nothing shocks us anymore, but
as long as we can keep our comforts it’s OK. We love this world
and the things it affords us so much, we have missed the narrow
path and are trying to turn a deaf ear to the warnings of God for us to repent.
Saints, the Spirit of the Lord has departed from the Established church. It now has a distressing spirit from the Lord. It is run through with many fears, it staggers to and fro. It runs to the left and to the right. It has run to a prosperity Gospel, a Gospel of health and wealth, name it and claim , word of faith movement, in a desperate attempt to move in faith and the things of God. It has also run to the politicians, to Washington, to the halls of earthly power because it has no heavenly power. They have also run to legalism and the confines of the Law and it has brought them to a place of self-loathing. They seek to gain peace for their souls, but it cannot be found, they are distressed.
In this post there are several articles grouped together in regard to the Remnant and the coming Reformation. I hope it will be a valuable resource. It can be a very lonely and confusing walk right now for Gods people, but it is very comforting to know that there are countless tens of thousands of Christians around the world who are walking the exact same narrow path that leads through this current desert. I believe that the “river is rising,” and that there is a depth of feeling that the drought and the famine could be coming to and end, for Gods sake and for His glory. There is a critical mass of His people who are now in this stage “As the deep panteth for the waterbrooks so my soul longeth after thee.”
In the new move of God, when He pours out His new wine into new wineskins, it will be important to know how to build a church. Below you will find an article that lays out a very basic concept, yet it merely follows the pattern laid down by Scripture. When the dust clears and the old structures are gone then the building can begin. No one can tell how long it will be until the persecution starts, but one can never go wrong by following the Biblical model.
The Lord gave me this “prayer,” many years ago. It came shortly after a life changing vision. As the Spirit spoke, my fingers could barely keep up with the computer keys, it was almost like I playing the piano. Pray this prayer saints………….
A Prayer for the Remant
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid because I know that your Spirit goes ahead. A fire by night and a cloud by day. This fire that burns at the center of my soul, consumes the all consuming darkness and lights the way in the blackness of my many deserts. It warms me against the night cold that would sap me of my strength. And your cloud oh Lord covers me from the searing heat of my many trials and afflictions that would drain me oh Lord and cause me to stumble and fall. You are the very essence of my life. You are the wellspring of life itself. You are my Jesus. Its at the name of Jesus that the demons flee. Its at the name of Jesus that the world shakes. The thunder roars and the lightning flashes at the name of Jesus. Mountains fall down at the name of Jesus, the birds themselves sing of your fame. Even the very darkness is light to you my King.
Even if I make my bed in hell, even there the name of Jesus is high and lifted up and all bow their knees. Where could I go oh Lord, where could I flee from your Spirit? In the darkest moments of my life, when my downcast soul cried out, all seemed lost and gone and suddenly, suddenly, suddenly you are there in all your glory. The seas that roared and the winds that blew, they bowed their knee to you and all was calm. Even when I lay bloodied and defeated in the battle-field of life, it was you Jesus, who rode on a mighty stallion through the debris and the fire and the destruction and plucked me from the jaws of total defeat and Calvary’s victory won the day. When I had fallen to the bottom of the bottomless pit and cried out with all that was left within me, you came for me, right where I was , the gates of hell itself, and you picked me up and you lifted me out of the darkness of hell and you put me down and made my feet to stand in a sure place.
As the deer panteth for the waterbrooks so my soul longeth after thee of Lord and my soul cries out in a dry and thirsty land. Revive me oh Lord, refresh my soul that hungers after heavens food, my spirit longs for waters that flow from heavens throne. I have tasted this food, I have drank of this water. I am ruined for all of life’s food and all other waters are foul tasting to my spirit. Lord Jesus, you are beautiful beyond description, to marvelous indeed for words. The moments I have spent in your sanctuary, rob me of all of my words and render them all meaningless. I feel heavenly words in all of me, not just in my brain and in my mouth, but in my very essence. Who and what you are is in my very DNA in your presence, and every particle of me glows with who you are in your presence , and I know that I cannot dwell there for I would that I would never leave that place. And so that I can go on living I must only dwell there for a moment, but oh what a glorious moment, these moments are my very life.
It is these moments that allow me to endure all things for I know that there will come a day where suddenly it will be moments no longer. And it makes me tremble all the more when I realize that this place of eternity, this uninterrupted unadulterated presence of the living God has not even entered into the hearts of man. No eye has seen nor ear heard nor spirit experienced the full measure of our God. It is above and beyond human description or even imagination. I come to the end of myself and it thrills my soul to know that at the very end of everything that ever was, everything that has ever been or ever will be experienced by man is the very beginning of you, the very beginning of you. My souls journey into eternity renders all mere trials as momentary and light, I shall count them all as rubbish for the goal that is set before me. Oh the glorious wonder of a world that cannot be imagined. You tell me oh Lord that it has not even entered into the hearts of man and I compare it with the moments I have spent in your presence and based on this alone my mind is staggered to a point that I cannot even comprehend the beginning of what you have said.
You speak the word Lord Jesus and my soul knows well that it is true and will be as you say. I need to pray for a heart that will want to stay here and serve you Jesus for my spirit longs to be away with you to the place that you have spoken. Come Lord Jesus, come as we move towards the door and answer the knocking. Come Lord Jesus and bring us our moments, moments that transport us from where we are to where you are, moments that take us to the throne-room itself to a place of awe and majesty and grace, to a place that prepares us for that which has not entered into the hearts of man. Lord in the desert you asked your people to prepare themselves three days and then you manifested your presence, and the mountains shook, and the thunder roared and the lightning flashed across the sky and then the heavenly trumpet blew and the people cried out, and they would surely die at even this limited revelation. They cried out and Moses , your servant veiled his face for the very face glowed, it glowed, it was lit up, it had , in a very limited way, saw the king of glory. Your prophet cried out “My eyes have seen the king,” and you oh Lord sat upon your throne and the train of your robe filled the temple.
You were high and lifted up and the prophet thought that he would surely die in your presence , he thought that your glory would destroy his flesh yet you sustained him and allowed him to testify of your glory. Praise you king of glory, praise you Lord almighty, for the earth is yours and the fullness of it, all the world and those who dwell in it. Let us have clean hands and a pure heart, and let our heads be lifted up to see the glory of the living God, let us open the doors to the most intimate chambers of our hearts and the King of Glory shall come in, you are the King of glory oh Lord Jesus, mighty in battle. We worship you Lord Jesus and we follow you into battle for you are our commander of the heavenly hosts. You ride upon the skies of love and glory. The momentum of Calvary drives out every demon and chases them to the ends of the earth and every time they raise their dark heads the King of glory, Jesus , our Lord and Saviour dispenses His light and there is victory. Victory in Jesus, our Saviour forever. At the cross at the cross where we first saw the light, and the burden of our souls was rolled away. Just like the stone that held Lazarus in his grave, when that stone was rolled away and you shouted come forth, then we came forth from death into your marvelous light. No longer dead in our sins and trespasses, no longer children of darkness , no longer cowed by the sting of death for death had lost its sting and the grave was defeated and now we are children of the light , we are your children set upon a hill for all the world to see. We are as a lighthouse that shines out its light into the darkest nights and into the fiercest of storms .
We are a beacon of hope for a world that has no hope because you are in us and we in you. You shine your light through us Lord to a world that is lost in its sin and you say through us to that world, come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden, come and find rest for your weary souls. You are our all in all and we stand firm with you Lord Jesus. Even as your name becomes an offence around the world then we cry it out all the louder. In the coming storm of persecution, we will continue to cry out your name to our persecutors for you are their only hope. Oh Lord, all of this and more from one moment in your presence, one word from your lips, one breath of life from you. Lord we know that we can do nothing by ourselves. So, since it is not by might nor by power but it is by your Spirit Lord, we run to you Lord , our refuge and our High tower and we know that God is in the generation of the righteous and we have been made righteous in the sight of God by you oh Lord. You are about to bring back your people from their captivity Lord and you will do what you have promised and we believe the promises of our God. We stand amazed at you oh Lord. We will stand and wait upon you and we will be still and see the Glory of our God…….In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.
Many today are attempting to build a proper kind of altar to the Lord
without removing the old Baal altar first, which doesn’t work. The
BUILDING AND PLANTING comes after the tearing down.
Pastor Brian Long , a very good friend of mine, a dear brother in Christ, preach’s on the the departed presence of God. Yet, what has departed, will return. God has His remnant people and He will never leave them nor forsake them. I had a similar word from the Lord back in May https://scottishwarriors.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/the-glory-of-gods-presence-is-departing/ God is showing this to His people all over the world. God is about to birth something new, a new wineskin for this new wine that He will pour forth as He returns to a rebuilt Temple.
Isa 43:19
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
A Call To The Remnant 