I want to share a personal testimony. Many of you, my brothers and sisters in the Lord, over the years, have prayed for my family. I praise the Lord for that. Prayers for youngest son Daniel who has Down Syndrome, and prayers for my oldest son Christopher, who had, to say the least, a very challenging life due to sin and breaking the law. He is 38 now, but all of his troubles really began back in high school. The police were at our door a lot. After he left high school he just kept on going. Alcohol and drugs and crimes related to that. Violence and lies. It broke me as a father and I threw myself at the feet of Jesus. If I tried to get up on my own two feet, I would quickly be knocked back down. I was in over my head and I had no idea how to handle that. The old Frank was constantly screaming for control. It was really an exhausting battle. I was being thoroughly broken. I cried out to God from the depths of my heart, on my knees, more times than I can remember. In the quiet of the night, walking the floor, many many tears. In the morning getting up, and being strong again for the family.
It all came to a head when he was arrested for a very serious crime. The police had been watching him for many months and they had turned one of the guys who bought from him and sent him in to make a purchase and that is when they swooped in and arrested him. They wanted him to turn on the guy above him, but he refused to. And so he was under house arrest awaiting trial. He had to blow into a machine which also takes your picture. Unbeknownst to me, he had a bottle of Whiskey in the basement. A surprise call on the machine at 2am in the morning caught him of guard. He was to turn himself in immediately to be incarcerated. Rather than doing that, he cut the GPS unit of his ankle ( a felony in and of itself) and went on the run for well over a year. We had the US Marshals at out door. He ended up in Scotland and then finally he was caught by the Federales in Mexico. Extradited to Florida and then extradited to Kansas. He was finally home. I agreed to get him a “good,” lawyer, but only if he pleaded guilty to his charges. He reluctantly agreed.
He was remanded in jail and was eventually sentenced to three years in Lansing state prison in Kansas. For the first time in our whole lives, we really began to establish a relationship. I would visit him most Saturdays. In the middle of all of this we faced two horrible court battles in order just to see our grandson. Through every moment in this story there was miracle after miracle, not least the miracle of our sanity. My wife and I grew much closer together and a few times we would just look at pictures of Christoper and Mason and cry together. It was “our pain.” It is hard to explain God’s favor sometimes but every step of the way, He was one step ahead of us. When I was down and thought I could not get back up, He picked me up. When my mind was like a violent sea with mountainous waves, He came to me and whispered that He was jealous for my thoughts and suddenly the waters were still.
It has been around eight years now since Christopher has been released. He committed his life to Jesus and has been out of trouble. A few months ago he came to me and told me he was going to apply to have his three felonies expunged. I was delighted with that idea. Myself and a dear brother prayed about this, as did Christopher’s Godly grandma. Two of the three records were expunged but the most serious of the crimes, the drug dealing was not. When he was sentenced he was put on a drug dealing registry. Very few States have them but Kansas did. For 15 years he has to register with the local Sheriff every three months and pay a fee. If he traveled anywhere in the county, the local Sheriff of where he was going had to be notified. The Judges hands were tied, by law, he could not expunge it. We thanked and praised the Lord for the two that were expunged and committed the other one to His will. About three weeks ago Christopher got a letter from the prosecutors office. The law had just been changed. If you had stayed out of trouble for five years after your probation was over, then the judge now has the discretion to expunge. Yesterday Christopher was in front of the judge and this final part of his history was erased.
I thought about the world expungement. In practical terms it means that if you look up Christopher’s record now, he does not have one. It is like he never had this past. How many of us have been Spiritually expunged? No matter our past, the forgiveness and mercy and grace of the Lord wipes it all away, born again. Renewed. I want to take a minute today to publicly thank my Heavenly Father! And my Lord Jesus Christ who sticks closer to us than a brother. And the power of the Holy Spirit to move over and over again. No matter how many waves threaten to drown us, His hand kept our heads above water. We stand, because of His great love. An incredibly broken situation that seemed to be irreparable, has been put back together by the magnificent Hand of God. Maybe you think your own situation or your family situation is broken beyond repair? Its a lie. There is nothing that God cannot put back together. Take your pieces and bring them before the throne. It is there alone that an all powerful, loving God can take the ashes of your situation and make something beautiful out of it. There is a history of rebellion in my family, but there is a greater history of redemption.
Who indeed? We humans love to deify men. We love to lift them up and glorify them. Christians in particular love to do this. It is really an abomination to God and shall not be overlooked. Diotrephes is the logical conclusion of the lifting up of men which is why the apostle Paul tackles this issue head on. If we elevate men, men will love it. If we desire to follow men, and we so often do, the very same men will love it. They will, of course, for decorum’s sake, deny any of this. Even as men lift them aloft above their heads, they will feign giving Jesus the glory, but their actions and the actions they allow in others denies this. Paul smashes into this head on in his typical style and no holds barred words. “Neither he who plants is anything, not he who waters, but God who gives the increase,” is everything. We are nothing without God, even that which we have was given to us. What then can we glory in, other than Christ? How could we ever let stand for one minute anyone who would try and raise us up? God forbid.
He who plants and he who waters are one. One Body. One work here on earth. Nothing rises above the spiritual parapet save Jesus Christ. If you look up and see a man, God help that men. If you look up and try to raise up that man to anything other than what He is in Christ, part of the Body, one in nature, then God help you. All of it robs from God who gives the increase. All of it robs from Christ who is preeminent. Its all robbery, its all theft, its all religion. Diotrephes loved the preeminence and allowed himself to be raised up and encouraged others to raise him up. Men like this make themselves indispensable . This means they steer the sheep towards reliance upon them and not the great Shepherd. Do you know anyone like this? Unless we are forever pointing men towards the Word of God and the risen Christ then we are of the priesthood of Diotrephes. Carnal in nature, carnal in spirit and if it remains so, then lost forever. Jesus Christ first, Jesus last and Jesus forever. The old enemy has caught more men in this trap then any other. More seductive than women, more seductive than money, the greatest seducer of all, power and the desire for it and the lust of it, in all its many manifestations.
My uncle was a dispatch rider in the WW2. He was a private. It was a dangerous mission so the High Command were never going to waste men of higher rank in delivering messages. In the scale of things, in the order of importance, the rider was the least important. You could always replace the rider, but motorbikes were hard to come by. What was important was the message. The one giving it and the one receiving it. It is so in the Kingdom. The one delivering it is can be readily replaced. We brothers and sisters should remember that lest we think too much of ourselves. We are simply one. The message is all important. And whether we ride the bike or maintain the bike then that is all well and good, but the message Giver and the recipient of the message is of vital importance. The message is preeminent and Jesus is the message. Jesus is the author, and by His Blood He came to deliver this message Himself. What general or high ranking officials would ever lower themselves by delivering the message themselves? Yet, the greatest communication ever delivered to men had to be delivered by the greatest one that existed, the One who ever existed, God’s only Begotten Son. Remember this with all of your hearts brothers and sisters, some of us plant, some of us water, but God……but God….but God always has and always will, give the increase by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
This glorious Scripture was fulfilled when Christ stood in the temple and expounded this verse and told the world, that this Scripture was fulfilled in their hearing. The Spirit of the Lord God was upon Jesus. It is He who is anointed to preach the good news to the poor. He may speak through us, but by the power of the Holy Spirit it is Christ Himself that speaks to the poor. Only Jesus can heal the brokenhearted. Only Jesus can proclaim liberty to the captives, and only Jesus can free those captives from their chains and He would do it all through us, the priests of the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. The dove descended upon the Lord Jesus and we must be immersed in the same Holy Spirit. We rise up in that power. We are a royal priesthood, a Holy Generation. We are the chosen ones of the Lord, royal priests in a royal priesthood.
When they see us brothers and sisters, they must see Jesus. We are a manifestation of Jesus to the world by and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Everything is done in the name of Jesus because there is no other name under heaven whereby a man can be saved. There is no other name under heaven whereby a man can be freed from His bonds. There is no other name under heaven whereby a man can be healed. There is no other name under heaven whereby the blind eyes are opened and the crushed heart is restored. We saints are clothed in the garments of salvation. We are covered by the robes of righteousness just as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Just as a garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so to the Lord our God causes righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. We are a living demonstration of His righteousness and we can do nothing more than praise Him from the depths of the inexhaustible wells of our salvation. Never forget who you are in HIm brothers and sisters.
The term “quiet quitting,” is a relatively new term and for the most part, would be unknown to most baby-boomers. It is a phenomenon among today’s generation and its spreading quickly. In essence, quiet quitting means not going above and beyond at work. Showing up, ticking the necessary boxes, doing just enough to cover yourself and guarantee your salary. Notions of loyalty and ambition to climb the corporate ladder are forgone in favor of pursuing that which personally fulfills you. Now some may say that this describes lazy workers that have been among us in every generation, those who do just enough to get by. That may be true of some of the quiet quitters, yet our younger generations have grown up in ease and they expect that their personal ambitions and desires should be fulfilled.
Is this what decadence looks like? We are far removed from the pre-war generation who lived through a decade of dire poverty and want. Who then passed on their attitudes to the baby-boomers and they in turn lived them out to a lesser degree but who wanted much more for their children and grandchildren. The faint echos of a bygone age are now drowned out by the aspirations of the decadent who are on the march, not helped by the fact that they are just about to inherit the greatest fortune every gathered by any generation in the history of the world. Perhaps if we knew just a little more about the Fall of Rome we would be able to see our own rapid decline in the luxurious desires of a generation that knows little if anything about struggle?
What puts steel in the backbone of any generation is a certain amount of suffering, the experience of doing without. The desire to rise up above unfavorable circumstances builds in men and women something of what we saw in “the greatest generation.” They came out of the farms, many of which had been ruined by the dust bowl, and they came out of the mean cities where one had to really compete just to put a roof over the head and food on the table. These circumstance gave us the strength to overcome the axis powers of evil and save civilization. There were no safe spaces on the battle-field. No special toilets for those who were confused about their gender. They did not have the luxury of quiet quitting. Everything was put on the line and many paid the ultimate price.
In the church today, Christendom is full of quiet quitters. Those who do just enough to get by. Who show up to a service and tick the box. Who have desires and aspirations quite apart from serving God. Who would claim that they are just not being fulfilled by their life. Who would be horrified at the prospect of suffering for the cause of Christ. Who would perhaps curse God because of great loss. Where are the warriors for Christ? Where is the Church militant? Is there any cause worth dying for in a generation that only sees God as a means to an end? Where is the generation of the cross? Where are the people who willingly step forward to go above and beyond their own selfish desires and whose highest ambition is to serve God on this battlefield of life? If your fulfillment in this life is more important to you than the job that the Lord has assigned you, and you are a quiet quitter, then is it any wonder that we live our lives in shades of grey? Chasing rainbows rather than seeking God is a sure sign that you are an entrenched quiet quitter in the spiritual walk of life.
Isa 44:3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
The Lord our God has made so many promises to His people. He said He would never leave us not forsake us. He said He would endue us with power from on high. He said He would satisfy those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. He promised that the meek would inherit the earth and that the pure in heart would see God. He promised the Kingdom of heaven to those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. He promised that the peacemakers shall be called the sons of God. He promised the over-comers, those who endure to the end, that they would eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. To the same over-comers He promised that they shall not be hurt by the second death. To those who are faithful unto death He promised the crown of life. Hidden manna, a new name, the power over nations and the morning star. Finally, He promises to the faithful, that they shall sit down with Him on His throne and rule and reign with Him.
These, you will notice, are not unconditional promises. We have our part to play. Yet for the joy and the glory set before us, we shall gladly lay down our lives for the name and for the sake of Jesus. He will pour water on the thirsty and floods of water on the dry ground. And for those of His who ask He shall pour out His spirit upon them, He shall fill them and fill them and fill them again with power from on High. They shall stand where others fall. They shall love where others hate. They will be peace-makers in a land of division and strife. They will be pure of heart in a world that is horribly corrupt. His blessings shall pour forth on the offspring of His own and they shall spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses. They shall fly like summer larks in the golden hues of a setting sun. They will soar like eagles among the mountaintops. The sons and the daughters of God shall be a manifestation of His presence in the land and the world has yet some hope while they walk this earth.
Isa 30:20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction.
Who is the Lord talking to and what is this bread and water? In verse 17 we see a winnowing, a falling away of what is not of God and what are we left with? A remnant left as a beacon upon a mountain and a banner upon a hill. There is one thing about a beacon that shines out from a mountain, everyone can see it. God will be very gracious to those who are left when all others have fled. Don’t we see that now in Christendom? Have the majority not fled to the world? Those who “wept for Jerusalem,” are the ones who are left. We see this in verse 19, the Lord Himself will gather up our tears. In Ezekiel chapter nine we read that the Lord says “And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.”
The remnant saints who bear the mark of God, are the beacons upon a mountain. We are God’s banner and it must be flown high above the battle-field, above the world. And even though the Lord gives us the bread of adversity and the waters of affliction, we shall flourish in the midst of it all. Adversity and afflictions are our teachers. Teachers have authority. We yield to God in the midst of them all for it is He that has given us these teachers for His own purposes. Do not think it a strange thing brothers and sisters that we must learn in this fashion. God scourges those He loves, does He not? It is our reaction to such scourgings that separate us as sons and daughters from the pretenders. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as sons; for what son is he whom the father does not chasten? But if you are without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons (Heb 12:7-8)
Brothers and sisters. In the end days that are ravaged by spiritual famine and drought, God has made provision. The waters that pours forth from our afflictions is the very thing that waters the seed. And this seed leads to the increase of bread throughout the land. “Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.” (Isa 30:23) Saints, we, who are sons and daughters of the King, are water to the thirst and bread to the hungry. All of this comes from our teachers, adversity and affliction. Are you suffering adversity, are you afflicted? Yield in the midst of the darkness of these teachers and see the light that shall forth. The whole world shall see the light that shines forth from God’s sons and daughters. The Lord will cause His glorious voice to heard.
Isa 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believes shall will not act hastily.
The word of God is tried and true. It has never failed and will never fail. It is immovable and sure. The promises of God to His people remain and shall remain forever as a beacon of hope and direction in the days of darkness that have come upon us. More importantly, the stone that is laid in Zion, this eternal foundation, is the Word made flesh. Jesus is the Word of God and He was tried and He is true. He is the way the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father accept by the eternal foundation stone. Everything that is eternal stands upon this. The Lord is so precious to those who know Him. He is the pearl of great price. Those who are His willingly lay down everything for this pearl. Those who have glimpsed His glory and understand and know Him shall never deny Him. For we are one with Him just as He and His Father are one. We are part of something that has not been shaped by human hands.
Now brothers and sisters, we are lively stones. We have been shaped and chiseled by the hand of God Himself to take our place in the temple that sits upon the eternal foundation. This eternal foundation, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, rightly divides truth from error, light from darkness and though it may be assaulted and laid siege to, it shall not be overcome. It stands immovable. It rises from the ashes of a fallen humanity and stands for all the fallen world to see. And though the world rages in its vain imaginations, it cannot topple this temple built upon the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Those who know this truth and stand upon it, shall not be moved. We shall, with patience, wait upon the Lord. We shall not act in haste nor make golden calves and rise up and play. His promises to us are the firm foundation upon which we stand and the gates of hell shall not prevail against that which the Lord Himself has built.
Isa 26:20 Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut thy doors behind you.
There is a time coming of the Lord’s “indignation.” Now, in our present day language this word has lost its true meaning. The word in the Hebrew is zah-am. It means, figuratively, to foam at the mouth, to rage to be in a fury. Imagine such a time when the God of all creation is furious. And the Lord’s advice to His people is to separate themselves, to come into the innermost part of who they are in Christ and stay there. God has set us apart, we are a called out people. We have been called to shut the door to the things of the world and to be locked in with our Lord and our God. The intimate part of the house is the bedroom. We have been called to intimacy with our Lord and God. It is this very intimacy, this overwhelming love and desire for our Lord that initiates the separation from all else. Without this love, without this desire, how can we be separate? If we have competing loves in our life then we shall never make our way to the chamber and shut the door. We will, in a sense, look back at Sodom and we know how that turned out for Lot’s wife.
Psa 27:5 “For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.” He has set His people upon the Rock. We are called to come away with Him that He may hide us under the shadow of His wing. Who hears the call? One must be able to hear the call. One must be able to know the still small voice that speaks even amidst the whirlwind and the earthquake. To those who have ears to hear, no matter how loud the noise and how great the distractions, they shall hear the call. For the heart has panted for the water-brooks and the soul has longed after the one that they love. At His calling they shall come. They shall abandon all else for they abandoned their life to their Lord. And they shall come into that place and shut the door. “Come my people, enter your chambers and shut the doors behind you.” The Lord is calling, shall you stay in the world in the day of His indignation? Or shall you enter in?
Isa 25:3 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee.
Who are these strong people who will glorify God? Consider verse one of Isaiah 25 “Oh Lord you are my God, I will exalt you, I will praise your name, for You have done wonderful things, your counsels of old are faithfulness and true.” No matter what, Isaiah is determined to praise God, for they who truly know Him can do no other. Isaiah has been touched by the fire. Isaiah has been changed by encounter. God is Isaiah’s grand obsession and whether he lived or whether he died Isaiah shall exalt and glorify the living God. This is what makes him strong, it is the strong people who glorify God even as the whole world turns on them. They are unashamed of the living God even unto death. There is power in this un-ashamedness. Jesus said that if anyone is ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of them. Paul says this “therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest upon me. When a man or woman knows their true state, because they have seen themselves in comparison to to the magnificence of God, then that weak man or woman becomes mighty in God because Christ’s power rests upon them.
They become strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Saint, you are strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Consider how Isaiah describes God in relation to you in verse four of this chapter. 1. You have been a strength to the poor. 2. A strength to the needy in his distress. 3. A refuge from the storm. 4. A shade from the heat. He is all these things and more to us brothers and sisters, it goes on to say that a blast from the terrible ones is as a storm against a wall. The Wall still stands saints. God is a wall of fire to every child of His. Let the terrible ones come against the Body of Christ. They shall not prevail. And when the last and terrible storm is over, verse eight says that He will swallow up death forever. Death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory? Verse eight finishes with this ” And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces and the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth. Be strong brothers and sisters and glorify God, even in your own bedroom, for your praises, whether you know it or not, echos down through eternity.
Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
Incredible words from Job in the very depths of his torment. He has now lost any hope in restoration in this world. And so, his eyes turn towards the latter days and the world to come. Surely Job speaks prophetically when he announces that he knows his redeemer lives and that in the last days He shall stand upon the earth. After Job’s flesh is destroyed, he declares that in his flesh he shall see God! We now know that our bodies shall be redeemed, Job did not know that, only by the Spirit. His heart yearned within him for such a time as this where he shall see His redeemer. He even cries out “oh that my words were written, oh that they were inscribed in a book, engraved upon a Rock with an iron pen and lead, forever. Job could not possibly know that this is exactly what would come to pass.
In the very depths of his torment, Job now truly sees. He sees the fleeting nature of this life and yearns for the life to come. He understands that redemption does not mean to be restored to his former glory, but that redemption is to be found in God alone. What does Job want above all things? Not the things that he has lost, but rather, to speak to God. To fellowship with God. To walk with God and to talk with God and to be redeemed by God. He knows that His redeemer lives. Despite what was happening to him, despite the loss of all things, despite being despised by everyone, He knows that His redeemer lives and he desires, above all things, to speak to Him. Brothers and sisters, what do you desire most in your life? Is it to be found in Him? Job was so sure about what he was about to say that he wanted the words to be written in a book. And, lo and behold, that is exactly what God did. Job declared God to be His redeemer. He was declaring that He had standing with God and that standing meant that ” I shall see God.” We have the same standing!
Job 13:20 Only two things do not do to me: then I will not hide myself from you.
What are these two things Job desires in order to come before the Lord? We find them in the following verse. 1. Withdraw your hand far from me. While Job was in the very midst of his agonies, it would have been very difficult to focus. If you have ever suffered terrible chronic pain, you will know that it is almost impossible to focus in the midst of it. Yet even in this state Job manages to make one of the greatest declarations in the history of man “Even if He kills me, yet will I trust Him.” And, of course, it seemed to Job, that he was being killed, first by losses that would destroy almost any person. And then afflicted in his body with boils from head to toe that would not have given him a moments peace.
2. Let not the dread of you make me afraid. Job instinctively knows what Isaiah found out to be true. To come before the throne is to fall unto your knees and tremble as if dead. Isaiah cries out “woe is me for I am undone.” And so, therefore these are good requests. Job knows he needs to talk to God, he knows his very existence and survival depends upon it. In the end, no matter what our circumstances are, we need to speak to God, it is the answer to life itself. It is unlikely, as a Christian, that if you fail to pursue God when your circumstances are favorable, that you will pursue Him when they are dire. To forget God in the midst of a peaceful life does not bode well for you. We must never forget or neglect our relationship with the Lord, He is the key to life itself and without a vibrant relationship with Him, then we are mediocre people at best. Job was never such a person which is why, for him, there is so much confusion in this situation.
After a lot of research, it seems that Job was written around the time of the patriarchs. Imagine the effect this would have on them, hearing the story of Job. A cautionary tale indeed. Job, by virtue of his standing and wealth, would have been known far and wide. And therefore, news of his seemingly disastrous fall would have have spread quickly. Everyone would know the story of Job. Before any Scriptures were ever laid down, here is the story of Job, written. God is teaching some of the most valuable lessons ever taught. Everything is not always as it seems. Do not be quick to judge. Do not apply certain truths to a situation when you do not know the back story. Only speak as you are led. Often, very often, it is better to say nothing and simply wait upon the Lord. Never assume that material blessings are somehow a sign of God’s pleasure, and by the same token, never assume that a lack of material blessings are a sign of God’s displeasure. In the end, the only treasure worth having is a relationship with the Lord.
Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:
This is the high water mark of faith. Only those who know the depths of the valley and have suffered through many seasons, can truly make this declaration. To suffer, to experience loss, to have God fall silent, not just for a day or a week or a month or even a season, is to be in the position to make this declaration. The three Hebrew children expressed similar faith when they declared to the king that even if they burned up in the fire that they would never bow down to the gods of this world. They were, of course, facing imminent death. Praising God in the dungeon as Paul and Silas did is an expression of this faith. Singing spiritual songs as the flames licked around their mortal bodies as the martyrs did, was an expression of this kind of faith.
Trusting God. Having faith in God is an absolute. It makes no inquiries. Many saints know this in the depths of their beings and if the time ever came, then out comes this treasure and flesh is placed upon the bones of our declarations. God breathes and men live. The power of the Holy Spirit that enables His saints to stand. The breath of God blows upon the embers of what lies deep within the depths of who we are. Spiritual flames burst forth and consumes the fears and the ordinary state of man. It has to be there in the first place. Decisions must be made. It is we who must decide whom we shall serve. It is the outward circumstances that shall reveal whether the words that we have spoken are true. To the saint who already knows that he shall trust his Lord whether he lives or whether he dies, he will burn and be consumed by the glories of God. Circumstances shall become opportunities to prove that above all else and despite the loss of everything, they love the Lord their God with all of their heart and soul, mind and strength. He who willingly gave everything for them, they now willingly give everything for Him.
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.(Heb 6:4-6)
This has always been a controversial subject, that which is spoken of in these Scriptures. Theologians of every stripe have applied it and misapplied it in order to make it fit into their own dearly held doctrines and theologies. In the first sentence of these verses we see that it uses the word impossible. You do not need to be a Greek scholar to figure out that word, it means what is says. The word enlighten means to illuminate. It is the Holy Spirit who illuminates. He does not bring illumination to the unsaved. The saints minds are illuminated and the revelation of the Word is illuminated in our hearts. This is the heavenly gift whereby we, the saints, are made partakers of the Holy Spirit. We, the saints, have tasted, have glimpsed the power of God and the Kingdom that is and was and is to come. If we, the saint, fall away, we are told, it is impossible to be renewed again unto repentance, seeing that we would crucify Him again and put Him to an open shame. Now that is the plain word of God saints.
In Chapter 12 of Hebrews, after going through a long list of heroes of the faith in chapter 11, we are reminded that we are surrounded by such a cloud of witnesses. We are told that we are to lay aside the sin that so easily besets us. We are to run the race with endurance. We don’t tend to like that word, endurance, to endure. Yet we are reminded that our Lord Jesus endured the cross. He also endured hostility from sinners. We are further reminded that the Lord scourges every son and that we have not to despise such scourgings, rather we are called to endure them and if e do God deals with us as sons. In this, our subjection to the King of Kings, as His precious bond-servants we become partakers of His holiness and despite the pain of it all, it leads to the “peace-able fruit of righteousness to those who “have been trained by it.”
A standard sized apple tree can take up to eight years to bear apples after it has been planted. There are multiple seasons that must pass before we begin to see the fruit of the tree. The enduring of chastening and our “subjection to the Father of spirits,” in these seasons causes life to spring forth from that which formerly had no life. We become partakers of His Holiness and this leads to the bearing of much fruit, the peace-able fruit of His righteousness. Those who will not endure, despite the fact that they have been enlightened, they have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, shall fall away and not be renewed again. There are sons, and there are those who render themselves illegitimate. The things that can be shaken are being removed and the things that cannot be shaken shall remain, shall stand. For you saints have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and the church of the firstborn. You are registered in heaven to God, the judge of all. (Heb 12:22-24)
Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God
Now some may say that the rest that remains for us, that is spoken of in Hebrews chapter four, is the eternal rest after we have departed this world. We are told in verse 11 that he who enters such a rest has ceased from his own works, but then in verse 11 it states that we are to ‘labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” It sounds a bit confusing, what are we to make of it? Is it the sabbath rest? Is it the eternal rest? Is it both somehow? How can we cease from our own works and at the same time labor to enter in?
The Lord has made a way for us to enter into His rest in this world. No longer is “one day holy,” but every day is holy to the saints. It is not just one day that is holy, but every day, for our whole lives are dedicated to God in the reality of the relationship He forged for us at Calvary. We are new creatures in Christ, behold all things are new. The Spirit of the Living God dwells in every single genuine saint. He teaches us, He leads us and He guides us. He enables us through Calvary and the Blood of the Lamb to come before the throne of grace. He enables us to come into His presence. To renew our strength and and run and not grow weary. He is our rest. He is our eternal rest and He is our rest here on earth. This word labor means to be diligent. Just as the Word tells us in Heb 11:6 that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
In order to diligently seek Him you must humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will raise you up. You must be obedient to His word and abide in it. You must take up your cross daily. You must love, you must forgive, you must never be ashamed of the Gospel, you must not deny your Lord by your words of by your deeds. You must put on the full armor of God. You must endure. You must suffer, you must overcome. This, and much more is the diligence that leads to your reward, His presence and walking in it. Remember from the psalm as the deer panteth for the waterbrooks so my soul longeth after thee. If the dear is panting, then the deer has been diligently searching for quite a while. The deer is thirsty and determined to find living waters. Are you thirsty? Are you panting to enter in? There is such a place saints. Paul had learned to be content in every situation. The same Spirit that abided in Paul abides in you. There is rest to be found in Jesus now and then there shall be an eternal rest. They are both the same thread.
Many years ago my son Daniel, who has down syndrome, was attending a summer day camp. This particular morning they were going on a trip to play Frisbee golf. Needless to say he was very excited. When we got up that morning it was apparent the weather was not good. As we left at 9am for camp the skies grew really dark in a way that you would have to live in the Mid-West to appreciate. As we drove down the highway it was as dark as midnight and then the torrential rain came. There was thunder and lightening, it was a full on classic Mid-West storm, the kinda storm your eyes are pealed for clouds coming down in the beginnings of a tornado. It was clear there would be no Frisbee golf this day.
On our way to camp Daniel and I would always have a worship service and that morning was no exception. Daniels hands raised in worship, tears flowing down his face. About half way there he reached over and tugged my shirt. I turned the music down. Daniel says, with his broken language skills “I’m gonna sing to the storm.” It penetrated deep into my spirit. I knew what he was saying. He was telling me he was not afraid of the storm and that he was gonna sing it away. I turned the music back up and we continued to worship. Suddenly tears began to roll down my face. I thought about the very simple yet profound faith of my son. There was only five minutes until we got to the camp but in my spirit I asked “Lord is it possible you are about to suddenly calm this storm.’
Brothers and sisters, before we got to that camp, the light broke through the darkness and the rain suddenly stopped. I was quietly shedding a few tears at the Lord’s dramatic response to Daniels prayer , not Daniel. He gets out of the car and he is muttering and he is speaking for God to the storm and he says “see storm, you’re not the boss of me.” And as soon as he said it I thought of the Scripture, Mark 4:39– And He awakened and rebuked the wind and said to the sea “Peace be still!” And the wind ceased and there was great calm. I had such a time with the Lord on the way home as I considered who He was. When was the last time that you “sung to your storm,” brothers and sisters?
Maybe you are in the midst of a storm right now. Maybe it’s as dark as it ever has been in your life. Saint, this storm does not have mastery over your life. We serve a God that in the midst of the most violent storms can say “Peace be still.” And suddenly there is peace. Can you sing to your storm today? Can you praise God even in the midst of your greatest trials? When the enemy of your soul says “let’s hear you sing now,’ can you confound him and sing out? When your back is to the sea and there seems to be no way of escape, can you, in faith, begin to praise Him because you know that all power belongs to Him?
Our God has commanded that light would shine forth from darkness. This storm that you are in the midst of has a Master and it is not the enemy of your soul, it is the Liberator of your soul. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak through you by faith to the storm. Remind yourself that you will not be identified by this storm that you are in. Your identity is in Christ alone. Declare that to the storm. These momentary light afflictions works in us an eternal depth of glory, a holy heaviness if you like where the head is bowed in the glory and trembling hands reach up and touch the light that shines in the darkness. “You are not the boss of me.” Christ shall shine into that storm and the darkness will flee as peace floods your soul rather than darkened trouble waters.
Mar 4:39-40 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?
Dan 12:7 ….and when the power of the holy people have been completely shattered all these things shall be finished.
In Daniel chapter 12 we see the prophecy of the end times. by the angel. There will be a “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation.” At the end of all of that there shall be a great deliverance for “everyone who is found written in the book.” Yet first there will be a “complete shattering.” The identifying aspects of this time, according to the angel is “many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase.” The phrase here used in the scriptures “to and from,” means to travel. So, a time when travel is greatly increased and knowledge is greatly increased. I would like to suggest that this is the time in which we live.
All of this prophecy takes place on a river bank. One angel on one side, the second angel on the other side and the “man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river.” This “man,” is certainly Christ. And the question asked of the Christ is “how long.” And we see that the sign of the end of the ages is much knowledge, much travel and a complete shattering of the holy people whose names are written in the book. The saints are the holy people. The book is the book of life and now is the season. In Matt 24:3 we hear this similar question asked of Jesus “Tell us when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age.” The disciples are asking this question of the man who they had personally saw walking above the waters.
And in verse nine Jesus says that they “will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you and you will be hated by all nations for my namesake.” In Rev 13:7 we are told that at the end of ages “it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them……….all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundations of the world.” The power of the holy people will be completely shattered. The devil shall prevail against them….for a time. In that time saints, this is when the faith that our lives are founded upon and the freedom that we have been granted, will be tested.
I am writing this to the overcomer’s. To the holy people of God.To those who will endure to the end, the very end. The wisdom of God shall cause you to “shine, like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.” (Dan 12:3) The man of Linen stood above the waters. The Lord Jesus stood above the waters. When the storm was raging and the waters very tumultuous, Christ was above it and He calls us to rise above the stormy waters in faith. It seems certain that Isaac would die and Abraham’s vision and promise from God would be shattered, but not so. It seemed certain that the Son of man was dead and buried and the promises of God dead and buried with Him, but not so. It will seem certain that the Holy people and the power of God is defeated, but not so. Wait, saints, wait…..wait….overcome….endure….be refined in the fires of affliction and shine like the stars in heaven, for the Son of man shall find faith on this earth when He returns.
And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luk 18:7-8)
Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
What a magnificent prophecy! As far as the east is from the west, then the sins of the saints shall not be held against them for this is the distance between judgement and mercy. The mercy of the Lord is “from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to the childrens’s children.” (v17) The righteousness of Jesus who sits at the right hand of the Father. Glory to God, for these are those who fear Him, those who know Him, those who are known by Him. This fear of God brings us trembling before the throne of grace. There we find this very mercy as we confess our sins. It is there that we find His righteousness. It is there that we discover that nothing in this life is about our righteousness. On my very best day I’m not good enough and on my worse day He is still good enough. His righteousness.
It is always about Jesus. It is He that forgives all of our iniquities. It is He who heals us. It is He who redeemed our lives from destruction. It is Jesus who crowns us with lovingkindness and tender mercies. It is He in whom we find satisfaction and in this He renews our youth like the eagles( v2-5) It is Christ alone who does all these things. All of my strivings, all of my efforts are of little to no value in the Kingdom of God. It is my recognition and my surrender to His righteousness that produces something of eternal value in me. It does not matter who I am or where I have been, it only matters who I have seen. The question becomes have you seen the King? Have you glimpsed the glory? Have you seen Him high and lifted up sitting at the right hand of the Father? Have you seen His righteousness for it is this that covers you.
The glory that you have seen is the righteousness of Christ and His glory fills the temple and you are His temple. He has built this temple with lively stones. No human hand has had any part in the building of this temple. And so it is His glory alone that matters. His righteousness, His mercy His lovingkindness that shall surely be found in His surrendered obedient servants that the world might see a manifestation of God’s great love,. The Lord has established His throne in heaven and His Kingdom rules over all. (v 19) Bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name. (v1)
God is longing to speak to His people. If He is outside the camp, will you go outside the camp and look for Him? If He is outside the four walls of your church or denomination will you just stick with “what you have?” What a tragedy. The modern day church is like a bustling city where everyone is rushing to and fro, each going their own way. Look at any busy street scene in New York or London and you will see tens of thousands of people going in every different direction. They are all Londoners, they are all New Yorkers, but that is where the distinction ends. They are part of a metropolis and the one thing you know about any metropolis is that it is noisy. It is full of distractions. It is inhabited by individuals.
In the day of the Lord there is darkness, not light. There are feast days and special days within our church calendars and in our age God says He hates them. The offerings that we make to God in the days of our darkness, the Lord will not accept. Our songs of praise, nothing more than the noise of a city. The Cain spirit offers up sacrifices of its own efforts. It give the minimum that it can give and it gives out of a desire to receive. It is utterly rejected by the Lord. God sees the idols from Egypt that you have hidden away, they are covered by your feast days and offerings and noisy worship, they shall be uncovered. For in the days of the Lord’s darkness, His light shall penetrate every last motivation.
The praise of God and the worship of God is our sacrifice to Him. Our lives, crucified, is our acceptable worship of Him. Without genuine sacrifice, without a genuine desire to seek Him where He may be found, without this one singular desire to dwell with Him, then we shall simply dwell with one another. Fellowship gathers around the Lord. It is the gathering of the called out ones. There is no other fellowship. He is in the midst of those who seek Him and who desire to dwell with Him. Those whose greatest desire is to behold His beauty. The tabernacle is an intimate place, away from the noise, away from the clamor of the world. It is a place that is found by those who seek.
If our focus is on the finite then we cannot see the infinite. Our focus must be on God alone, He is our exceeding great reward. We must see our lives in the context of who we are in Him or we can never see Him at all. God is calling and He is calling with a still small voice. His voice is not in the thunder or the earthquake, His voice is heard on the breeze. If we would hear Him, then we must fall silent. Worship begins in the heart as a small whisper in the wind. Can you hear a whisper on the wind in the midst of a noisy city? Can you hear The Lord calling? In the end we are consumed by Him, ruined by Him for this world. The beauty of His Holiness and the train of His robe slowly fill us and overwhelm us until we are fully consumed. This is the light that speaks to the darkness of our day, the day of the Lord. The darkness that He brings discovers the light. We shall be one or the other, but we cannot be both.
A Call To The Remnant 