Over many many years Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel. You see, Absalom wanted what his father had. He wanted the exalted place among the people. He would rise up early and stand beside the gate and those who came looking for the king, he intercepted them and spoke to them. They were not his people, they were his fathers people but Absalom, falling foul to that most ancient of sins that caused Lucifer to fall down from the heavens, desired to have what was not his to have. And so he wooed the hearts of the people away from their King.
Is that not the very essence of religion? There is one mediator between man and God and His name is Jesus. How many men and religious institutions have sought to replace Jesus over all the centuries? One pretender after another, rising early in the morning, slowly and deceptively seeking to displace God and stealing the hearts of the people away from their rightful King. And all the worse is the fact that so many of these men and institutions knew something of the mercy of God, had been blessed in many ways by His goodness and His forgiveness. They had been touched by His love and by His word which only serves to make their deception and their desire to have what He alone has all the more treacherous.
And so finally David hears of this rebellion against him. Oh what a dagger must have penetrated his heart, to know that his very own had turned on him. One that he loved and had forgiven and had showed mercy too, and he repaid all of that with hatred and animosity and a heart bent on taking what was not his. It is hard to imagine the anguish of David, now no longer a young man, having suffered so much in his life and so much of it undeserved, now as an older man, having to flee from everything that had been his. The city of David, the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant would all be left behind and he and a remnant few would flee the jealous forces that were arraigned against him. They would flee into the wilderness.
Today there is a remnant few who have fled into the wilderness. They have left the city behind with all of its religious trappings. No walls, no tabernacle, no ark of the covenant. Stripped of all the religious trappings, they have something that David had. He had the presence of God with Him. Not that which represents the presence, but the actual presence of God. While religious men hung onto the trappings and rituals and icons, for that is all they have, David goes into the wilderness, the remnant go into the wilderness with God Himself. And as he ascended Gods holy hill he wept, he and the people with him wept. With tears the seed is sown brothers and sisters, tears of sorrow for what has become of something that should have been so beautiful and brought glory to God, but has been so thoroughly corrupted by men who desire to steal the glory of God and steal the hearts of the people.
Do not despair in the wilderness brothers and sisters. In God we have peace no matter what men think about us. In God we can rejoice despite the fact that the forces of Absalom are arrayed against the remnant few. Listen to some of the things that David says in this time and be comforted…… Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice…… because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee……….I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches……….From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I……………………. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
There is an inevitable end to the forces of Absalom, those who would attempt steal the glory of God and from His King. David speaks to this very thing and to those very forces in psalm 63……But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes. But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped. Glory to God saints! Is the end we shall come out of the wilderness by the power of God. The soul that weeps, the soul that thirsts after God in the wilderness shall find joy and inexhaustible waters of life even in the driest deserts and when He comes again into His rightful place then all of God saints will rise up and cry Holy.
I remember I was involved in some meetings in Scotland and Wales. The first one in Scotland was a large outreach to the community over several nights, the second one was a revival meeting in Wales. A dear brother, one of my dearest friends, a pastor from Oklahoma was going with me. He got a call from one of the moderators telling him in no uncertain terms not to have anything to do with me and that if he did, things would not go well for him. The problem? Apparently I was a Pentecostal. This man caused all kinds of problems and in his self righteousness did great damage to the meetings in Wales. Many , many years before that he had been involved in a “revival,’ therefore he “qualified,” to be in the revival industry. And believe me brothers and sisters, so much of it is an industry with books and conferences and so on. Revival in and of itself was worshiped. Where was Jesus? Why was His name not high and lifted up? Rather than pursuing Jesus, so many were simply pursuing ghosts of a bygone age, seeking to replicate it and any deviation from what they understood about it caused major problems.
There is a lot of talk about revival right now. I’ll tell you why I do not like that word. It competes with Jesus. If a move of God supposedly happens there are two broad groups of people who immediately respond. Group 1 says “It is definitely a revival.” Group 2 says “It is definitely not a revival.” And in these two groups are all manner of bias and that bias comes immediately to the fore. Somewhere in the middle is a group of people who would love to see God move, yet, because of the horrendous history of so called revivals in the past or churches who claim to have a revival every Sunday, they wait. They wait hopefully. They do not attack anyone. They do not make assumptions. They do however long to see a mostly religious Christendom actually encounter the Living God in ways that mean they can never return to the world from which they came.
If all you are talking about is revival, then you are talking about the wrong thing. If you are running with the crowd then you are most likely running in the wrong direction. It is Jesus first and last. It is His Word and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit that we rely upon. Without either, we can do nothing. If you are a cessationist then you have much greater problems than whether some meeting somewhere is of God or is not. This frenetic activity from the two broad groups of folk underlies a fundamental lack of Godly wisdom. In the days ahead, with the world coming to its end, and with gross darkness falling all around us, we will desperately need discernment and patience and wisdom from God above. Delusions, lying signs and wonders, angels of darkness appearing as angels of light, they are all going to increase with an alarming speed. Drawing close to God and His Word will be a vital aspect of our walk, and should always be, but all the more so as darkness descends. Draw close to Jesus brothers and sisters. Only by His name being lifted up will men and women be drawn to God. All other names, all other words, have no power.
2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Deception is never very far away. In all ages, unscrupulous men, men who typically do not work by their own hand but rather are “supported,” by others, have spread falsehoods and deceptions, selling themselves as ones who “know.” Paul addresses this very thing. Certain men had told them Thessalonians that Christ had already come back, that somehow they had “missed the boat,” so to speak. Paul gently reminds them of what he actually taught them. He reminds them that first there must be a great falling away from the faith. He reminds them that “He who now restrains,” will do so until He is taken out of the way. The lawless one must be revealed. There will be lying signs and wonders that will fool those who are not saved. This strong delusion will be sent by God Himself but it will not affect those who have “received the love of the truth.” The lawless one will be consumed by the breath of His mouth and the brightness of His coming, His second coming. Brothers and sisters, do not be deceived by preterists, so called or partial preterists and others who tell you that Jesus already came back, that all of this was fulfilled in 70ad. It is amazing to me that the same men, of the same character, who lied to the Thessalonians are still with us today and still deceiving foolish people who have not “received the love of the truth.”
It is one thing to hear the truth. It is even another thing to accept and agree with the truth, it is entirely another thing altogether to love the truth, to such an extent that one would suffer the loss of all things for it. Jesus is the truth. To be a lover of Jesus is to be a lover of the truth. It is like a mighty shield wall that stands immovable against all lies and lying signs and wonders. Receiving the love of the truth is to be marked eternally. It is to have rivers of molten lava flowing through our veins. It burns at the heart of who we are.It burned in the heart of every single martyr down through the ages, and there were millions of them, who could not and would not deny the truth that was revealed to them. Those who receive the love of the truth are dismantled piece by piece and rebuilt in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are strong in the Lord and the power of His might. They speak in a way that is beyond their capacity for they speak by the power of the Holy Spirit who leads them and guides them into all truth. Paul says, in the starkest terms, that term being “we command you,” (he rarely commanded anything) “withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly,” according to the things Paul has just said. Have you received the love of the truth?
2Th 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
Paul is thanking God for the Thessalonians. And he is thanking God for the evidence that they are indeed saints. What is the qualifications that Paul is speaking of? 1. They have growing faith. 2. That growing faith leads to an abundance of love for their fellow saints. 3. They had patience and faith and love and endurance even as they suffered greatly through tribulations and persecution. And then Paul says this, he says that all of this was “manifest evidence,” of the righteous judgement of God that these Thessalonians were counted worthy of the Kingdom of God. Manifest evidence is translated “indication.” There was every indication to God that these saints by their faith and by love and endurance in the midst of great trials , stood strong.
Is there every indication in my life and your life brothers and sisters that you and I will be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God? Do we love in abundance, especially those of the faith? Are we patient in persecution and trial? Does our trust in God hold firm? Does it compel us deeper into the heart of God? Matthew Henry says that if our faith is worth anything it is worth everything! Everything we have, every part of our hearts, every part of our lives in service and devotion to the One that we love. And the proof of it of course does not lie on the mountaintop, but rather in the depths of the valley in the midst of trials and sufferings. This is where the “evidence,” comes to light. Under heat, under duress, in the crucible of life. Let us aspire to be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God and let this be evident to all who observe our lives.
Years ago I saw a documentary of a certain part of Africa. For 10 long months it sees no rain. First the mighty river dries up and then it becomes pools.Then the pools slowly shrink until they are nothing more than wet mud-holes. In this particular documentary, it showed a giant crocodile that had taken up residence right in the middle of a mud-hole. Despite its presence, deer and other animals risked their very lives in order to partake in the last of the water. A small number of animals, rather than taking up residence with the crocodile,undertook a long migration in search of water. Yet almost all the animals that were indigenous to this geographic location, refused to go in search of water and died before the rains came. Animals that in normal circumstances would never come within 100 yards of a crocodile, came right up beside him in a desperate attempt to get some satisfaction, from this drying mud-hole.
When God withdraws the rain of His presence from the church we see many strange things. The majority stay where they are and slowly die as they throw their lot in with their former predators.Others, like the deer that panteth for the water-brooks, are driven to make journeys they would otherwise never make. Driven out into the deserts and dry places in their desperate desire to find living waters. The tragedy for many in the “church” today is that they can live a life, devoid of His presence, and not even know that they are dying. Imagine that this ten months without rain is a season or seasons in Christendom. Generation after generation sucking on mud, barely surviving on the moisture that remains in the mud hole. Getting down and dirty in the mud, and being dangerously close to the world as they try to survive in the dry season. To try and operate in this world as a church without the Holy Spirit and the presence of the living God is to be reliant upon a mud-hole. Vestige of some by- gone days where once the river flowed. Talk of past victories but no present life. Living on memories and manna from a bygone age.
As someone who now lives in Kansas, a place that only gets about 33 inches of rain a year, I know how dry the ground can become and how deep that dryness is. At first when it rains the rain merely flows over the top surface. The ground is so hard it does not penetrate. It needs to consistently rain over several days for the ground to become saturated,to be thoroughly penetrated. Flash floods come and go very quickly and when it is gone, it is like it has never rained because it never penetrated. Yet, when it rains consistently over time, the effects are deep and lasting.There is a deep penetrating rain coming for Gods people. He has taken His people into the wilderness, the valley of death, the valley of decision. Because of the intensity of the battle that lies just ahead of us, it was and is necessary for the Lord to take His people into the desert place of testing. They have left the mud-holes of the world and the crocodiles behind. They refused to stay and die in a place of compromise. They have been driven into the desert and there they will find the Church, in a place where it seems impossible for anything to live, never mind thrive. Survival here does not depend upon traditions or past victories or the dusty heritage of religion. No, rather it depends upon the hand of God alone., A place where we once again cry out to the Living God for Him and Him only. Those who truly desire Him will stay in this place of testing. The Remnant of Gods people will prevail for our God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Yes there is an intensity of persecution for Gods people just appearing on the horizon. There are storm clouds gathering even as you read this. There is coming a time such as has never been seen before for Gods people. Yet with huge storm clouds come great rain falls. God will pour out His Spirit in a such a way that His children will stand in the pouring saturating rain of His presence. And despite the intense persecution and all out war that the old serpent will wage on us, we will rejoice and glorify and lift our hands on high. We will praise God for the rain that falls. The persecution will seem light in comparison to the eternal weight of glory that is to be experienced in His presence. God will inhabit the praises of His people who worship Him with their whole hearts. Gods people will only care that His presence is with them. As long as He goes before them, they will follow. They will follow Him right into the valley of the shadow of death. For they know that He will lead them to the pure waters of life.They will allow nothing to separate them from their God. Stay the course brothers and sisters, the rain is coming, and then comes the King.
Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
In Paul’s final words to the Ephesians, he addresses all the different groups that he had spoken life into. He had instructed them in ways that they could only carry out by the power of the Holy Spirit. Whether that was Husbands to wives, wives to husbands, children to parents and parents to children, bond-servants to masters and masters to bond-servants, if they were to walk in Christ and be obedient to Him they must walk in the Spirit. This was not just good “how to,’ advice from a life coach or a marriage counsellor, this was instructions from God that could only be carried out by His spiritual children. Now the question was “will you walk in obedience to these instructions?” Will you “put off,” and “put on,” the things aforementioned? If you are willing to do these things then finally brothers and sisters, you must be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Your obedience to God qualifies you to put on the whole armor of God. Do not be fooled, no disobedient servant shall put on this armor.
For this is a spiritual battle of unseen forces and this is where the victory will lie. As the days of this world wind down then the principalities and powers will rise up. The rulers of the darkness of this age and the spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places shall come forward will great rage and boldness. They will attack truth from every imaginable angle and to the saints it will seem that we are being swamped and over run by the forces of darkness. It is, in effect, a last stand. Therefore saints, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the coming evil day and having done all-to stand. Truth will be your core, it shall be fastened to you at the very center of who you are. The righteousness of Christ shall be your breastplate. It shall guard your heart against the darkness of unrighteousness. Your feet shall be secure as it stands upon the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ of which we are not ashamed. Our trust in God shall protect us from the lies of Satan and his hordes, his threats shall not penetrate our hearts. And with our minds protected by our salvation and a sword in our hands then we shall hold our ground. We shall not move. We shall be an army of warriors who march upon our knees in prayer and supplication to the glory of God.
This stand, by the power of the Holy Spirit will fill us with boldness. We shall be bolder than we ever imagined. We shall be ambassadors for Christ even as we are shackled by the fleshly chains of men. Chained, perhaps, in this world, but free Sons and daughters of the world to come. This stand will of course, enrage the enemies of our souls. Think of the three Hebrew children. They may perish in the fire kindled by the hatred of men, but they would never bow down to the gods of this world. As we make out stand, as we refuse to bow down to the gods of this world, then we must expect the fire to come. Yet look again into the depths of the flames that surrounded the Hebrew children …….look…. can you see? The Son of man and the fellowship of the flames. We who worship Christ shall not burn, but rather we shall live forever in the glorious presence of our Lord and God. So brothers and sisters, lay down and put off that which hinders you from this fight and take up your cross. Put on the righteousness of Christ and the full armor of God and let us stand together. Back to back, side to side, lets us surround ourselves with our fellow saints and the Holy Spirit and let the battle of the ages begin, for Christ has already won the war!
Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
We are living in a day where the Gospel is under more threat than it ever has been in the last 2000 years. Quite an incredible statement when you consider the history of martyrs and persecution that took place century after century. We seem to believe that we must not condemn anyone who preaches “the gospel,’ and that the motivation must not be questioned, rather as long as the message is preached then we simply leave the motivation of the preacher to God. I agree with this. Let the Word go forth and let the Lord be the judge. Yet in the scripture we see something entirely different in regard to “another gospel.” If “another,” gospel is preached other than that which was delivered, then the one who engages in this is cursed. And unless we did not get it, Paul repeats himself ” I say again, if anyone preaches any gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” We should let that sink in for a moment. Paul pronounces a curse over those who preach a false gospel.
In the immediate context Paul is talking about legalizers or Judiazers. People who professed faith in Jesus but still were under the law and desired to see others under the law. Yet this curse is more than appropriate to ascribe to the “cheap grace” or the “prosperity gospel,” and the myriad of other so called gospels that exists today. We hear so many say “well as long as Jesus is being preached.” Jesus was being preached by those whom Paul was speaking of. In the end brothers and sisters, the Gospel is something that we receive through the Holy Spirit. And those who receive it recognize it in others. Paul did not receive it from anyone. In fact, after his salvation he was gone for three years into Arabia. And when he finally came to Jerusalem he only stayed for fifteen days where he conferred with Peter and James only, and then he was gone again for fourteen years. No one knew him personally in Judea, they had only heard of him. This “training,” that Paul received from God himself would mean that Paul would show no personal favoritism to any man, no matter what that man was perceived to be by others.
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.(Rom 1:16) The Gospel is simply the good news about Christ and His Kingdom. It is personified in the fact that He has set you free from the bondage of sin and death. He came to set the captive free.He came to restore the broken. He has redeemed our fallen souls. He has made a way for us to the Father and it comes only through Him. He loved you while you were yet in your sin. He who the Son sets free is free indeed, he is completely liberated from the curse of the law. And that last point is why he was so hated by many of the legalizers and why he would confront Peter to his face. Brothers and sisters, if we want to be friends with the world then never confront anyone about anything. Stay hiding in your silence. Peep out from behind your twitching curtains and watch as false gospels are taught everywhere and do and say nothing. Doing that will make you the exact opposite of Paul. There is nothing loving about fearful silence wrapped up in virtuous overtones. Its the truth that sets men free, not your love. Your love only makes a difference when it is aligned with truth. Jesus alone and His gospel is the way the truth and the life.
Our role in the coming days (lengthy)
The Body of Christ has not changed down through the centuries. Always at her core she has been called to be an eye-witness to God’s glory. This is the essential heartbeat of Gods remnant bride and always will be. She is a tabernacle in the wilderness, she is Gods temple here on earth. At the same time she has always been despised by the religious spirit because she speaks truth to power. In these days God says in His word through His prophet Zechariah that ” In that last day a fountain shall be opened up for the house of David.” God Himself says again through the prophet that (speaking of Christendom) “Two thirds in it shall be cut off and die. But one-third shall be left in it. I will bring the one-third through the fire, I will refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name and I will answer them. I will say ” This is my people.” (Zec 13:8-9)
And so we see that a fountain shall be opened in that day for the house of David. Can you imagine how welcome a fountain would be in the midst of a dry and thirsty land, a land racked with drought and famine? I want us to look at two men of God and see what parallels we can draw. Let’s look at Noah and as we do let’s think about the context of the time in which he lived. It’s a time and a place of great wickedness and there would only be a tiny fraction saved out of this. Noah is commissioned to build an ark over a long period of time. We know that Noah faced ridicule and scorn. What he was building have never been built before. And, rain had never fallen from the sky and the notion that the whole earth would be covered by a flood was preposterous to all who lived then.
Every day the people could hear Noah’s hammer. Every day the ark took shape and was rising up. The continuous hammering would have been a great source of irritation to all around him. Noah would have to keep building despite the ridicule and the scorn and the anger because the rain was surely coming and he was being obedient to his calling. We too as Gods remnant people have to keep true to what the Lord has called us to do. We are also in the ark business. There was one place of salvation when the rains of judgment began to fall, it was the ark. Can I put it to you brothers and sisters that the remnant church of God is God’s ark built by the hands of Jesus. The Body of Christ.
With the judgments beginning to fall, with the beginning of the birth pangs, it will become apparent that God has a people who have not bowed the knee to Baal. God is getting ready to reveal His ark by bringing judgment and allowing the rise of the anti-christ. This ark will be a witness to the glory of God and His way of escape. This ark will be used as a last chance for the un-redeemed of the world to be saved before final judgment. This ark will be revealed to the world by persecution. All of the world will see this ark and they will be without excuse when that day comes. This ark is the glory of Christ here on the earth and He reveals Himself through what He has built.
Now lets consider Joseph and consider the context and the back-drop of his day. Here we have Joseph who has been called to save a remnant. “And God sent me before you to save a Remnant in the earth and to save your life by a great deliverance.” ( Gen 45:7) Before Joseph could do this he had to be scorned and ridiculed by his own. Because of dreams and visions, that scorn turned to anger and hatred. He was then rejected and sold into slavery. He is then wrongfully accused and ends up in prison, seemingly forgotten and forsaken. God of course had never left him. This is way of the remnant. Yet God had not forsaken Joseph and even in prison Joseph moved in the supernatural and he found God’s favor. He was able to interpret dreams and visions and this would lead him to see that a great famine was coming upon the land. He was able to make provisions that would save “A Remnant in the earth.”
Can you see the pattern behind this brothers and sisters? Can you relate to the suffering and the rejection and the fact that he seemed forsaken? Joseph was surely plagued by this as he languished in prison. The pattern is clear. When there is great judgment coming upon the land, God has a people or a person whom He will send ahead to enable whoever will, to escape that judgment. God has created such a vehicle in the Body of Christ. And they too, just like Joseph, must be despised and rejected by the very one’s they have been sent to save. This is the divine pattern. We see our Lord Jesus walk down this path. He came from the glories of heaven and the right hand of the Father, emptying Himself and humbling Himself in order to walk amongst those who He had come to save. He became despised and rejected, tortured and killed.
And now with the final judgment fast approaching, the ark which Jesus has been building for 2000 years is almost ready. God’s remnant church comes from every possible background and across all denominational lines. ( artificial walls built by men and not by God) Through the last 2000 years they have been scorned, ridiculed hated and despised and hunted down and killed and almost all of this was done by "their own.” Their own being people who would profess God with their lips but their hearts are far from Him. Yet God in His mercy will reach out and continue to reach out through His Body while there is yet time. A witness until the very end. A faithful Body and a people without excuse.
The Body of Christ is everywhere. It is in every village, every town , every city and every nation on the earth. There are countless millions of Gods own children around the world. For the most part they are swallowed up in Christendom with its multiplicity of divisions and man made walls. Yet, the closer to Christ’s return is, the more and more difficulty the Body of Christ will find within the denominations of men. Could a saint really stay within the confines of any organisation that has corrupted itself with the world?
This will be the ever increasing pressure that will be brought to bear on the saints in the coming days. Only the individual saint can answer this question for his or her self. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit must be a lamp unto our feet. As the darkness increases our need for the light that shines forth from the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit who gives us not only revelation but inspiration only becomes greater and greater.We have a God who will never leave us nor forsake us. We must trust Him with our whole hearts.The Word of God and His doctrines were written to be understood by even the simplest among us, in fact God delights in confounding the wise by the foolish things of this world. The doctrines of men are generally complicated and confusing. Stay with the Word, lean upon the Holy Spirit for understanding and insight. Do all of this with your whole heart and you will not go far wrong. He did not leave us as orphans, praise God.The Holy Spirit will lead and guide His children through not only good times but through the darkest valleys and the narrowest portions of the path that leads us home.
Men and women will always choose chains. They will readily accept being in bondage as long as they can exercise their baser desires. The anarchy of the heart and soul reign, and the civilized order that gave rise to the west, presents a true problem to the lunatics that have taken over the asylum. The madness that was contained within the walls of law and order and decency has broken loose. Where did we see this kind of madness in history? Caligula? Nero? In the French court prior to the revolution where the perverse plied their trade? In the halls of the English boarding school system that gave rise to all manner of perversion? And yet it was always contained. Hidden away in the shadows and the alleyways of our “decent society.” The word decent is described as conforming to the recognized standard of society, good taste, modest, as in behavior or speech.
This recognized standard is not particularly etched in stone or written down in a some constitution. It is more like an atmosphere. The prevailing wind of opinion. The rising or falling tides of what is or what is not acceptable. What is the recognized standard of our day? And who does the recognizing? Is it a collective? Once it was the religion of Christianity that defined and defended “decency.” Their decency was derived from the teachings of Jesus. It may have been, for the most part, all just religion, yet it held us together as a society and held back the purveyors of moral and spiritual anarchy. The old notions were enshrined in the law and the law was based upon the Word of God as its final arbiter, meted out no doubt by very imperfect men. Yet what was ever the alternative? To remove God, even the imperfect notion of God, from our laws and out of our national Zeitgeist? Then we had to replace it with another invisible agent. The invisible agent of self.
Self rules. Its not what displeases God anymore, it is what offends man. He does not want to be questioned nor judged by anyone. Women are equally guilty of this “self.” Men have wars and women have abortions, either way there is a slaughter. It is the children who always pay a price for the perversities of adults. Consider the last 120 years. 120 million killed in wars. In America alone, at least 64 million babies murdered. Death and destruction follow after self. 200 million souls lost in that time period. This far exceeds the deaths of all wars combined, in the history of humanity! How did it come to pass that our level of barbarism has risen to far exceed anything that has ever came before us? Yet we would never dream of calling ourselves Barbarians, but that is what we are. God is no longer the invisible agent that moves and restrains societies, self is. This is the generation that collectively worships self and has, with a very loud public voice, rejected God.
This is the great falling way. We are the Godless generation of the last days. In 2 Tim 3 this generation is described. Paul says that men would be lovers of themselves. One might argue that men have always loved themselves but Paul puts this in his descriptive list. This is a love of self far beyond anything we have ever seen before. He says that the Godless generation of the last days would be without natural affection. That phrase is the Greek word is astorgos which means to be have your heart hardened towards your own family. Consider the baby in the womb and the love of a mother for her child. A mothers love is legendary and yet the phrase that rings out from younger woman is “my baby, my choice.” Choice to do what? To kill it. Even in nature we see a mother bear would fight to the death to save her cubs, yet so much of humanity is now without even the very basics of natural affection. They are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, or even lovers of their own children.
Brothers and sisters, no matter what invisible agent the masses have given themselves to, we, the saints, have not nor ever will change. Down through the corridors of time all the way back to the cross, God has had His people, His remnant saints. They have oftentimes been persecuted by renegade societies and political and religious tyrants. Yet in all these things they have never bowed their knees to the gods of this world and the gods of this world are none other than the great god of self demonstrated in a throwing off of all restraints. Will the streets continue to be given over to lawlessness and anarchy? Yes. Will those who worship themselves trump all common decency and come after us? Yes. Yet, does God still reign? Yes He does. Does the truth still burn at the center of our hearts and flow like molten lava through our veins? Yes it does. If we are cut shall we not bleed mercy and forgiveness? Yes we shall. Does the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ still tower over all of humanity? Yes it does. Even the shadow of the cross burns into the consciences of men.
Where shall they run from this? They shall not run. They shall not hide and one day they shall come face to face with their own barbarity whether in this life or the next. We are a manifestation of Christ on the earth. When they see us they must see Jesus. Shall they fall at His feet or shall they call out “crucify Him.”To crucify His followers is an attempt to crucify Him afresh. And in those days we shall dwell in the shadow of the Almighty. He shall be to us a refuge and our High tower. With the armor of righteousness we shall stand fast in a day of culminating unrighteousness. Our enemies shall be those of our very household and but still we shall love. They will hate us with a perfect hatred but still we shall love. They will reject us and cast us out, but still we shall love. They will hunt us down and kill us, and yet…….we shall love our enemies. We shall not render evil for evil but rather we shall overcome evil in the victory of the cross and by the word of our testimony and we shall love not our lives unto death, the ultimate witness.
A sister in the Lord sent me an article about about someone who had visited a church and it was dark. Now, the author was speaking of physical darkness, the lights were turned down so low that she could not read. The irony was not lost on her that the opening song was about the Lord being the light in the darkness The last time I was at a church it was also dark. It had stadium seating as they do in the cinema. It was not dark when I entered, but soon enough the lights were dimmed, I guessed the “show,” was about to begin. Now why are countless churches operating in the dark? Could it just be a trend? Another fad? An attempt to appeal to a younger generation? Or, could it be as simple as the fact that this darkness truly represents their spiritual state? I tend to go with the latter.
“Entertainment.” Without the presence of God we must entertain the masses. So, just like the movies and secular concerts, we dim the lights and highlight the platform, put a spotlight on it. The platform in and of itself is an idol. I believe Luther tore down the idol of “The Eucharist,” and helped raise up the idol of the pulpit, the platform, the elevated place. People can sit in darkness because nothing is required of them. All the “action,” is taking place front and center and elevated. Then add the dry ice smoke machines and you have the whole ghastly package. Entertainment rules supreme, concert style worship and dimmed lights make sure the spotlight is on “the front.” Actual congregational worship and the proper 1 Cor 14 setting is dead, and in its place Hollywood rules supreme. Hollywood meaning that which is contrived is made to look real. May God bring down the curtain on this abomination.
2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
In this chapter Paul lays out the marks of the ministry, how we shall be known. As ministers of God, meaning the Body of Christ and all of its many members, who seek to live Godly in Christ Jesus, we shall be patient in the many tribulations that we will surely face. And here are just some of the many situations that we are commended to be patient in, as opposed to living your best life now. In needs, in distresses, when we are beaten for Christ and imprisoned for His sake. In working with our hands, in revolts and rebellions, in sleeplessness and in fastings. We shall be known for our kindness and our sincere love as we walk though all of these situations, showing Godly wisdom and sharing the knowledge of God in all places and to all people. We shall walk in the power of God and by the armor of His righteousness. We shall be honored but we shall also be dishonored but we shall be gracious in both states. Men will say good things about us, but equally many men will dishonor us with lies and false accusations. They will say that we are deceivers and agents of the devil himself, but no matter, let us continue to be patient. The remnant people of God will know of us but for the most part we shall be unknown.
To the world it will seem that we are cursed and are dying but we are blessed and we are walking in the true abundance of eternal life. It will be seen that we are men and women of great sorrow, and indeed we shall suffer the sorrows of this world but we rejoice in the glory of Jesus and in the sure knowledge of the eternal Kingdom of God. It will seem to many that we are poor and wretched and blind but we are truly rich in the treasures of heaven which were purchased in the midst of the fire by the hand of Christ Jesus. We are clothed in the white garments of righteousness and holiness and our blind eyes have been opened to see the glory of God and to gaze up into an open heaven. It seems to the world that we have nothing, but in the reality of the Kingdom of God we possess all things through our Lord and Savior Jesus. We who suffer with our Lord shall rule and reign with Him in the heavenlies and this our heart knows well. We have a peace that surpasses all understanding. We have a contentment that the world knows nothing of because it is not based on any worldly things. Now brothers and sisters, what has just been here described is the common walk of the genuine saint.
We must walk in Christ alone and find our fellowship with others of like mind. We must not be unequally yoked. For what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? Can we fellowship with those who are willful transgressors? Not according to the Word. What communion can light have with darkness? For those who are in the light walk in the light and they have fellowship one one with another. Does Jesus and the devil have fellowship? Is it possible for believers and unbelievers to walk together under the banner of Christ? Brothers and sisters, it is incumbent upon us to understand this, the weight of these directives fall upon us in this matter of fellowship. In this day and age of watered down Christianity, a Christless and crossless Christianity, it is up to us to find the saints who walk as Paul admonished us to walk in this very chapter of 2 Cor 6. God Himself says, no rather He commands, in the very context of this chapter, that we are to “come out from among them and be separate and do not touch what is unclean.” In following these commands He promises to receive us and that He would be our Father and that we would be His sons and daughters. He promised to dwell in us and walk among us where two or three are gathered together in the mighty name of Jesus, and He will be our God and we shall be His people. Glory to God!!!
2Co 5:5 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent to be well pleasing to Him.
Whether we live or whether we die, our aim, in this present reality, and the Kingdom to come is to glorify God. It is explained to us that we walk by faith and not by sight, we are confident, yes even well pleased, that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. To walk by faith is to gather to ourselves an eternal weight of glory. To trust in God, whether we live or whether we die is well pleasing to God. How many of us can truly say that our greatest desire is to be “absent from this body” so that we might be present with the Lord? This state of mind and soul and body is well pleasing to the Lord. We overcome the enemy in this life by three fundamental elements. The Blood of the Lamb. The Word of our testimony. And we love not our lives unto death.For we know that when that time comes for us that our “mortality shall be swallowed up by life.” We shall be clothed in robes of immortality.
We experience a portion of eternal life here in our present mortality. We have glimpsed it. We have touched it. We have tasted it. Perhaps just a moment here, or a vision there, but we know the unmistakable marks of the Kingdom in the depths of our hearts. It creates in us such peace, not the kind of peace that the world has, the world can never have this peace. It creates in us a sure knowledge and a blessed hope of the coming reality, when our redemption is complete , body and soul. Where this corruptible flesh is raised in-corruption. We walk in the power of God, having overcome this world in Christ. And if we have truly overcome in Him then we know that this present reality is but a vapor. We desire, above all else, above family, above friends, above country, to be with Him. To be where He is. What holds you back saint from walking in such power? Let it go and take hold of that eternal hand.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
What a glorious declaration! When our corruptible bodies are raised in in-corruption and our mortal bodies have put on immortality, there shall be a majestic shout that spans the heavens, that fills the very corners of everything that exists “Death is swallowed up in victory!” And while that is yet to come for those of us that are mere mortal men, we saints have already realized this in the blessed hope we have in the risen Christ. The echos of that truth reverberate to the depths of our spirits. Can you sense it even now saints? Can we say to death that we know its end? Where now lies your sting O death? Hell, where is your victory? It has been swallowed up by the greater victory, the victory of life over death, the victory of the Risen Christ” The first to rise but not the last!
If we only had hope in this life then what pitiful people we would be. Yet all of our blessed hope lies in the life to come. Christ has risen from the dead and He has become the first-fruits of those who have died in the last 2000 years! The time is coming soon when the Lord Jesus Christ delivers the Kingdom to God the Father, when all rule and all authority and all power comes to an end. All enemies will be put underneath the feet of Christ by Christ and the very last enemy shall be death! And when all these things have been made subject to our Lord then He Himself shall also be subject to the Father who had given Him all authority, that God may be all in all! These things are yet to come brothers and sisters but we live in the victory now. We shall die, but we do not fear death for Christ has overcome death. Hell exists for those who choose to go there, but we saints live in the victory of life over death, heaven over hell. Eternal life over eternal death. This is the victory that was and is and is to come. We have awoke to righteousness and we now walk in the beauty of His holiness, glory to God.
1Co 14:24 But if all prophesy, and if an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
Note the word “all”. Over and over we see the word all. And again in verse 31 we are told “for you can all prophesy that all may learn and all may be encouraged. Six times in two verses the Scriptures hammer home the truth “all.” Genuine saints are all priests in a royal priesthood. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light! (1 Pet 2:9) All the saints have been called forth to cry out the praises of the One who called us out of darkness to show the world His marvelous light. We are His excellent ones. Specifically anointed to move under the manifestation of the Spirit and speak as He leads us to speak. And when we do as we are instructed to do , then, according to the Scriptures the unlearned or the unbeliever will fall down on his face and worship God because the secrets of his heart was revealed and he shall then reports to all that “God is truly among you.”
This is the plain reading of the scripture saints. To do it any other way is to be in direct conflict with God. To sit under the clergy/laity system is to directly violate the principles and the instructions here laid down by God Himself. What audacity to think we know better. The greatest injury perpetrated against the Church was robbing the Body of its fellowship, of its actual breaking of bread, its communion together. How it fellowshiped together, how it gathered together, how it worshiped together under the auspices of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, who oversaw, who hovered over all things, all of this was rejected by the professional clergy. To wait upon the Lord so that only He speaks, is the simple gathering of the brethren. Let us wait upon the Lord. Who shall He speak through? What shall He say? How will He encourage us? How will He discipline us? What song shall He have us to sing? The Holy Spirit knows all this and empowers all of this by being manifested among us through “all.” Not one man.
The devil himself has worked feverishly over the centuries through religious hands to tear down what is real and erect empty meaningless rituals that are then idolized. The modern day church is like a ship at sea that has lost its power and is now driven by the winds and the tides and the currents of the world. Lost and drifting, waiting to be swamped by the next big wave, the next modern thing, the next hellish doctrine of the world. And yet the true Body of believers are still operating under power, the power of the Holy Spirit manifesting Himself in our lives. The day is coming soon saints, when the pressures from a very hostile world will draw us back together. The weak will fall away, the feeble will fall away. Lovers of the world more than lovers of the Lord will fall away. Little by little the saints are being purged from the world and this is good, the hand of the Lord Himself is doing this. We shall come back together, and we shall worship as we have read in 1 Cor 14. The great persecution will soon be upon us but the gathering of the saints takes place at the same time. We shall truly be united in our sufferings and in the persecution. And there we shall find the same power that stopped the mouths of lions, that overcome the fiery furnace, that shook the prison and turned the whole world upside down.
1Co 14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
I will probably have a couple of devotionals on this chapter. I believe it to be one of the most important “chapters,” in the NT. Nowhere else do we have such a description of an early gathering service. Paul clearly states that what he is saying in regard to these matters is ” commandments of the Lord.” He further states that if you believe that you are a ” prophet or spiritual,”or leaders among the brethren then you must acknowledge the things of which he has just written about. And what has he just written about? He has just relayed to us “commandments of the Lord,” as to how a service should be conducted. To ignore Paul in this is to actually ignore God. He ends the chapter just as he begins it by saying “therefore brethren , desire earnestly to prophecy and do not forbid to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order.”
Before I begin to talk about the manifestation of the Spirit among us in the service, in all its many demonstrations, we must speak to the purpose of it all. The purpose of the manifestation of the Spirit among us in the service is primarily for edification. The word edification or to edify is mentioned five times in this one chapter. Those who come to Christ must be fed. We know that God Himself fed the children of Israel in the desert. Manna fell from heaven and water poured forth from the Rock. If it were not for the supernatural hand of God, all of the children of Israel would have starved in very short order or returned to Egypt. Now, in the NT God also feeds His children, and just as the children of Israel in the desert, we too shall die if He does not feed us or we shall turn to the world. We must be edified. He who prophecies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.( 1 Cor 14:3) For he who prophecies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets that the gathering may receive edification. (1 Cor 14:5) Even so, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the gathering. (1 Cor 14:12) Let all things be done for edification. (1 Cor 14:26)
So brothers and sisters, you see the clear purpose of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit among us as we gather. It is to edify us. To feed us, to build us up. To strengthen us. If we are not edified then we are not fed. If we reject the clear commandments of God then we are not fed. A intellect will not nourish your body, it needs to be fed spiritual food. God has, in His great wisdom, laid out how we shall be fed and from what source we shall be fed from. He is the source. He alone. We are not building up the intellect, we are strengthening the inner man. The spiritual man. And He can only be fed in the prescribed manner. Jesus says to the devil in the garden that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God. And so our singular source of spiritual food comes from the Word of God and the mouth of God. And how then does this happen? By the manifestation of the Spirit in our midst when we gather. He edifies through the prophet. He edifies through the word of knowledge. He edifies through the word of wisdom. He edifies through the interpreted tongue. He edifies through the Word. He edifies through a teaching. He edifies us in worship as we sing praises unto Him. In all these things, and more, He speaks to us and His words are life. They feed the deepest parts of who we are that we may rise up and be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. It is by His Spirit alone we are fed. To reject this is to starve.
1Co 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love , I am become as sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.
In the previous sentence Paul tells us that we have to earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet, even above and beyond the best gifts, which we have indeed to earnestly desire, we must pursue love. It is not one or the other, God forbid. That’s a lie. Not only must the man or woman display the manifestation of the Spirit, above and beyond even that, He must walk in the greatest gift of all, love. Not human love, supernatural love. The kind of love that can only belong to the born again man or woman. The kind of love that shatters the gates of hell. The kind of love that inspired God to create us in the first place. The love that sent His only Son to die for the whole world. The kind of love that pursues us even when we are yet in our sin. The love that confounds hell itself. Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do. What kind of love motivated Jesus to cry this out in the midst of the greatest agony ever suffered? What kind of love would motivate Stephen to cry out the same thing even as those cruel merciless stones rained down upon his mortal body? Supernatural love. If one is truly endued with power from on high, that power will be first and foremost manifested in love in his or her life, the greatest manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
Paul begins with what love does not do or what it isn’t. It does not envy. It is not boastful. It is not full of pride. It does not behave in a deliberately offensive manner. It is not selfish. It is not easily provoked. It does not think the worse of people. It does not rejoice when others fall. Love, instead, revels in the truth, it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. Love, indeed, never fails. It never fails. For this love is the manifestation of God Himself, in His own and through His own. It can never fail because God never fails. It is eternal for God is eternal. When the end comes, when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back and the Kingdom of God rules and reigns for all eternity then of course we wont have to hope any more, for all hope is fulfilled. We will no longer have to trust in the God that we cannot see, for now we shall see Him face to face.
Knowledge will vanish because we shall know as we are known. When all things are fulfilled in this manner, then love still stands forever. We are yet in this world, but the world to come is coming soon. Now we are like children, then we shall be complete in Him. Now we see in a mirror dimly, then face to face. Imagine it saints!!! There is now and there is then, we still exist in the now. And now we have the manifestation of the Spirit, then, all things are complete, perfect. And when that perfect has come, then all these other things, besides love, shall fall away. Do not let anyone fool you, do not be ignorant about these things brothers and sisters. For certain men have a form of Godliness, nevertheless they deny the power of God and say that it has ceased. From such men turn away.
Signs and wonders and miracles follow those who believe. It follows the dramatic transformation of souls, which is of course the greatest miracle of all. A large majority of Christendom seem only transfixed on miracles. We see in Acts 8-9 a man called Simon magician or sorcerer. Upon seeing the power of the Apostles, he wanted the same power and desired to “purchase,” it. Of course he is sternly rebuked. He is never mentioned in Scripture again. In extra biblical writings it seems he continued in his sorcery while still being around the Christian community. He gave rise to the word “Simony,” which means “using religion for profit.” Men like Simon would never move in the power of God. May I suggest we live in an age of Simony. There is so little evidence of the miraculous power of God in Christendom because Christendom in large part is run by men who “use religion for profit.” God is still a miracle working God, therefore if there is a fundamental lack of the true supernatural power among that which names itself the church, then that is a reflection on them and not upon our Lord who never changes.
If God has not changed, and of course He has not, then why it is that there is next to no supernatural power on display in what we call the church today? Can I suggest that one of the major causes is “Simony” those who “use religion for profit.” And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? (Judges 6:13) Where are all the miracles Gideon asks? The very first thing Gideon had to do was tear down the idols of his fathers. What Gideon did, we will not do. The traditions of our fathers still stand and they are more important to us than the commandments of God. The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same things over and over again and expect different results. If there is a crisis and a lack of genuine power within the ranks of Christendom, then the answer is not to dim the lights, bring on the smoke machines and turn Sunday services into secular looking concerts. The answer, as always, lies within the Word of God and His commandments. 1 Cor 14. This is the model, and if we refuse to return to the Word of God in order to maintain our own traditions and the salaries of “senior pastors and so called worship leaders” then, of course, not only will nothing change, it will only get worse.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; (1Co 3:11-12)
There is but one foundation and His name is Jesus. How then shall we build upon that which was laid down for us? There are those who receive the love truth of the Word and the Lord Jesus Christ, high and lifted up. Nothing will cause them to deviate from what they have been taught by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. Though cultures may change and systems may be added, they will have none of it. The traditions of men mean nothing to them, only the preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified. They determined in their hearts to not know anything other than this, the great foundation of Christ. Though men may persecute them and burn them, the fire that men kindle cannot destroy the works of God in them, rather it but purifies them. They stand immovable upon the solid foundation and this is precious in the sight of God. Precious like spiritual gold and silver and precious stones.
Now, there are many who build upon His foundation with wood and hay and stubble. In any fire these elements burn up quickly and it leaves but ashes behind. Men will find out in that great day of what elements their work was of. I put it to you that most of what we see in Christendom today is but wood and hay and stubble. It shall all be swept away in the fire of God’s judgment and those involved will suffer great loss and come out of it with but his soul saved if he is indeed the Lord’s. Imagine the great tragedy of a lifetimes work gone in a moment of time. What you thought was precious, all of your works and efforts, revealed to be but wood, hay and stubble. Yet those whose works endure shall receive a reward. What works you might ask? The works of love and joy and peace in the midst of hatred and insecurity and anxiousness. The works of obedience to the Lord and to His word despite the traditions of men who set themselves up to come against anyone who would challenge their traditions and the authority they have.
God does not judge the outer man, he judges the inner secrets of the heart. He is not impressed with huge buildings and organizations of. He does not dwell in temples built by human hands. Heaven is His throne and earth is His footstool. In the last 2000 years these institutions have been led by stiff-necked men who always resist the Holy Spirit. They reject the Word of God in favor of the traditions of men and the pursuit of power and authority. It is all wood and hay and stubble. And yet there are the few who have built upon the true foundation with Truth and endurance, suffering and overcoming, to them belong the reward. They may have been hated here on earth but they walked in the love of God. They may not have a “ministry,’ as men measure these things but they minster to the Lord before His throne with the tears of their broken-hearts and their contrite spirits. Their narrow road home is laid upon the foundation of Christ and Him crucified. To walk this way is to suffer indignities. To be broken. To be ridiculed and rejected by men. To be seen as nothing according to the measurements of men but to have great treasure indeed in the economy of God. We are rich brothers and sisters, never forget that. Into our hands and hearts was placed gold and silver and precious jewels. And by these we have been called to enrich others.
Isa 66:12 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream:
The Lord is coming back for His own. Those who know Jesus are one in Him. And in Christ there is glory. The very glory that He received from His Father, He has given to us. It flows from heaven itself and it carries its glory all the way to the sea, the sea of endless glory, before the throne room of God. My peace I give you says the Lord, not as the world gives peace but as only God can bring peace. Let not your hearts be troubled in a world that is plunging headlong towards judgement. A world that is rising up and shaking two angry fists at God. The heathens rage and the peoples are caught up in vanity. The kings and the rulers of this world set themselves against God and His anointed. Yet even still, let not your hearts be troubled, rather, know that all of this means His return is imminent.
Behold the Lord will come with fire and with chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger and His fury. With a sword in His hand, a sword that He does not wield in vain, He will judge all flesh. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And of His glory there shall be no end. And His majesty shall be as a perpetual sun that never sets. The created sun is but a flickering candle in comparison to His perpetual radiance. And the vastness of the seas, but a single teardrop from the Masters eye. What mind can conceive what the Lord has prepared for those who love Him? For those who loved Him, yet were mocked and ridiculed and rejected and killed by the anger and the rage of a heathen world. Yet they overcame everything that the enemy threw at them by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives unto death.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a robe dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his robe and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (Rev 19-11-16)
A Call To The Remnant 