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.
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.
Act 4:2 Being greatly disturbed that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the priests and the captain of the temple were greatly disturbed that disciples taught the people. This was their first crime. When was the last time you greatly disturbed someone? Who were these unlearned peasants who dared to teach the people? The religious folks of the day were grieved in their spirits that they were being usurped. If the ordinary folks were listening and being taught by other ordinary folks, where would that all end? They were, of course, particularly grieved that they taught that Jesus was the Christ and that He was alive! Now, the rulers and the elders and even the high priest had the disciples set before them. Outside of the Romans, these were the most powerful men in all of Judah. They demanded to know by what authority they spoke. It is always about authority.
Peter stood up, and, filled with the Holy Spirit told them boldly and plainly that it was in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ they spoke “whom you crucified.” And then, to hammer home the point about Jesus being the Christ says “there is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved.” Unlearned men, untrained blue collar workers. Their only qualification, which was recognized, was that they had “been with Jesus.” Praise the Lord. When they were commanded by the rulers to never speak of Jesus again, the disciples rebuffed them by asking, who should we listen to, you or God? Oh for a tiny portion of that boldness in our own days. Never in the history of the Church has this kind of boldness been more needed.
The same religious men in our days have attempted to silence “the unlearned and the untrained.” And for the same reasons. Authority. They desire the authority and the preeminence. If every ordinary man or woman could preach or teach or give a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge or a tongue or a prophecy then where would that leave the religious leaders? Probably out of a job. If Christians this day had the same boldness to stand and be counted for the cause of Christ as the disciples did, not afraid of what might become of them, then we would have a Church like the early Church. And when the disciples went back and recounted what had just happened to them, their brothers and sisters prayed over them for even more boldness “and when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spake the word of God with boldness.” Would to God that we would pray that same prayer and experience that same shaking and filling.
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Power brothers and sisters. Power, primarily, to be a witness! So much has been written about the Holy Spirit. So much has been spoken of about the sign gifts. So much has been counterfeited by sheer emotion and even the enemy himself. What are the signs that a man or a woman are Baptized in the Holy Spirit? Is it tongues? Is it being an apostle, a prophet, a worker of miracles? …Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.(1Co 12:29-31)
All of these gifts are from the Holy Spirit indeed, yet the primary identification of one baptized in the Holy Spirit is your witness. It is the life that you lead. A life that clearly identifies with Jesus. It is the words that you speak, the Word of God that does not return void. It is your un-ashamedness. Are you ashamed of God before men? Are we too afraid to share the gospel with others? This is a sure sign that we are either not baptized in the Holy Spirit or that we thought, somehow, that is was a onetime thing and that there was no requirements to be “full,” of the Holy Spirit. We must abide in Christ and in His word. We must walk closely with the Lord, seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness that we may be partakers of His righteousness and His holiness. And we also are called to be disciples.
On the road to Emmaus Jesus walked with two disciples. And when that walk was over, they later marveled “did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” The fellowship of the burning heart. Brothers and sisters, those who are baptized in the Holy Spirit will have such a fellowship. Their hearts will burn within them as the Holy Spirit opens up to them the Scriptures just as Jesus did with these two men. The Greek word for heart is Kardia, it means “the effective center of our being.” If Jesus is the effective center of our being then there shall be a fire at the very heart of who we are. Does the fire burn brothers and sisters? Without the wind of the Spirit there is but a smoldering ember. With the Spirit there is a raging fire that burns. It is this passion of all things Christ, that creates in us the light of the Gospel of the Kingdom and this light shines into the darkness.
Twenty eight years ago, just two years after being saved and six weeks after Daniel, our son with Down Syndrome was born, I began to have difficulty breathing. After the initial X-ray, it seemed likely I had lung cancer. I had been a heavy smoker from the age of fourteen until I got saved at twenty seven. Much of that had been smoking cannabis. The X-ray was followed up with a cat scan and then finally a lung biopsy. They discovered I had a disease called Sarcoidosis. It mainly effects African Americans in this country, I later discovered I had 5% African blood in my DNA.
Sarcoidosis can affect any of the organs in the body, and in my case it manifested itself as pulmonary fibrosis in my lungs. These fibrosis are irreversible and as they begin to build up in your lungs, your lung capacity is diminished until at some point you die. A third of my lungs already exhibited irreversible fibrosis. I was told by my Pulmonologist that I was stage three of a stage four disease. There was no cure. There was, however, a treatment that could prolong your life. Very high daily doses of prednisone. IN my case, 60 mg a daily.
As Christians we understand that the more we rely upon Jesus, the deeper our relationship is with Him. Dependence is the key to the depth of our spiritual life. We often see the martyrs testify of how their relationship with the Lord grew to greater depths in the dungeons of this world. When everything is stripped away, when we lose the ability to control our own lives, then we discover that Jesus is fully in charge. As the old adage says, we have to let go and let God. The letting go part is the battle, it is the refining fire, it is our sanctification.
After less than two weeks of taking the steroids, that still small voice spoke into my spirit. “Frank, come away with me, I am your life, I am your stillness, I am your peace when all around you is falling apart, trust in me….trust in me.” I knew exactly what the Lord was asking of me, asking mind you. I was to stop taking the pills. I was to trust in Him, I was to put my life fully into His hand. As you can imagine, the opposition to this was great. My son with Down syndrome was only a few months old and had life threatening issues that would require more than one surgery. My wife was devastated at this decision of mine. She was not a Christian. Yet even Christians did not agree with me and let it be known. The pulmonologist was very angry and told me bluntly that I would die and that it would not be a pleasant death.
Several weeks passed, and the many voices seemed to be right. My ability to breathe declined. It is imperative to note that the still small voice of the Lord made me no promises, my only command was to “trust ,” Him. A well known man of God from the last century said this “Lord, may I be an ox on the altar or an ox in the field.” None of is really know our purpose here in life, what we do know is that we have been called to bring honor to the name of Jesus, regardless of our situation. Whether we live or whether we die we have been called to glorify Him. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.
There will be times, in every Christians life, when the Lord will “make you lie down in green pastures.” You may think to yourself, what is so “Green Pastures,” about an incurable disease? I do not have the words to describe to you the place I found myself in. Enough to say that it was glorious. The warmth of the sun upon my face was indescribable. The blueness of the sky was glorious. The little sparrow sitting on the wall was altogether fascinating. I became super aware of things that I had routinely overlooked or had taken for granted. I was in this mysterious place called “under the shadow of His wing.” I had to rely upon God for every breath that I took and it took my spiritual breath away. I was not burning at the stake and singing psalms and spiritual songs, but I glimpsed into that realm.
The pulmonologist was part of a national study on this disease and had been taking X-rays of my lungs every two weeks, he wanted to chart my regression. He told me that this way, my decision would at least do some good. He was quite angry with me and never tried to hide it. One Monday morning, at 5.30am I was awoken by a call. It was my mother calling from four thousand miles away in Scotland. She apologized for calling so early, but she had been compelled by the Holy Spirit. She very simply stated “The Lord told me that He is going to heal you.” The Lord had instructed her to attend a certain prayer meeting the following night and have me held up in prayer. I find it significant that my mom was instructed to call and tell me beforehand. This was an act of faith, a “stepping out.”
As she spoke, I was overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit, I fell to my knees and in my spirit I knew that I was to be healed, I had no doubt whatsoever. I went for an x-ray two days later. The Doctor called me into his office, he seemed subdued. I had shared with him months before that I was putting my life in the hands of the Lord. He paused before flicking the lights on that would light up the X-ray and said words that i will never forget. “I do not know what you are going to call this.” He flicked the light on and pointed to my lungs, they were completely clear. Apparently the Lord does not know the meaning of the word ,”irreversible.”That was twenty eight years ago. Trusting God is the key to life. When glorifying Him becomes more important that anything else, including your own life, you will be propelled into new heights of glory.
As I walk each morning I am always on the lookout for deer. It is a heavily forested area I walk through and so it can be difficult to see anything. Of course you could walk at dusk or dawn and increase your chance of seeing them, but you just never know. I was walking the other day and looking into the foliage and suddenly realized that I was looking right at the deer and she was looking right back at me. It was as if just one second before she was invisible but then she just appeared before my very eyes and I wondered how I did not see her before. I took my grandson with me a few times, I really wanted him to see the deer, he really wanted to see them. I took him at the right time and the right places but we never saw one.
I thought about the manifest presence of God. I thought about seeking God. I thought about the wind and how we never know where it will blow next. It seems to me this is the way with God. If I only walked every now and again, or gave up walking because I never saw deer, it is likely that I would never see the deer. Yet, because I walk every day and seek every day, all of a sudden, there is the deer right there, looking at me. As it is with the deer, so it is with God. He is looking for those who will search diligently for Him, in fact the word says He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. And the reward? “I am your exceeding great reward.” To ” know,” that He knows you, that He sees you, that He is watching over you. May our souls long after Him today and every day and if they do, all of a sudden, He is there.
This is a follow up to the Isaiah chapter six video. Someone asked me about my own experience with the Holy Spirit and my first encounter with the manifest presence of God…………………..
In Galatians we see an encounter between Paul and Peter at Antioch. It has to be remembered that the initial Church was all Jewish. And even at that time the Jewish teachings and traditions were well over a thousand years old. Imagine for a moment, a thousand years of history, teachings and interpretations and ritual. You were special, Gods own called out people and everyone else were Gentiles, apart from God.
In Acts 10 we see that Peter encounters God in a vision on a rooftop. A sheet comes down with every kind of unclean animal that Jewish people were forbidden to eat and God tells Peter to rise and kill and eat. Now, this would be something like Abraham being told to take his son up the hill and burn him to death. How could this be God? This is the mental and emotional anguish that Peter must have wrestled with as he defies God three times, three times brothers and sisters. At that very moment, the servant of Cornelius the Gentile arrives. The answer to Peter’s vision just knocked on his door. How would you like a question to God to be answered so quickly? And we know what happens next, he goes to Cornelius’s house and witnesses the Holy Spirit come down on that household just as it had come down on them at Pentecost.
Now back to the Galatians. We see that Peter and others including Barnabas were taken up with hypocrisy. The revelation had been given by God Himself about the Gentiles yet Peter and the others were still afraid of those who came down from Jerusalem and insisted that the Gentiles must be like them if they were to be part of the Body of Christ. Thank the Lord that Paul, quite apart from any leadership in Jerusalem, had been taught himself by vision and revelation about the nature of the Body of Christ and so he withstood Peter and the leadership of Jerusalem and insisted that they were being hypocrites by insisting that the Gentiles must live like Jews in order to be part of the Body of Christ, they were adding to the Gospel and Paul would have none of it.
Now, before you are too hard on those early believers who were Jewish by birth, I want you to consider how your own common experience may clash with simple truth. If Peter was so bold and conflicted as to say ” not so, Lord,” ( and this is an impossible phrase is it not, how can He be the Lord of our life and we say no to Him) three times then could this not happen to you? Now what is the simple truth that I am talking about that the vast majority of Christendom say ” not so Lord?” Here it is. Read the rest of this entry »
Today there is a great falling away from faith and trust in God. Paul warned about this: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [Christ’s return] shall not come, except there come a falling away first” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
In the Old Testament, the Lord gives us an example of what happens to those who fall away from faith in God’s power on their behalf. In 2 Chronicles 14, King Asa faced a million-man army of Ethiopians. But the king had great faith: “Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God” (2 Chronicles 14:11).
What happened then? “The Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa” (14:12). What great faith Asa had! For years afterward, “There was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa” (15:19). For years, Asa walked in faith before the Lord, and that brought God’s favor to Judah. A great peace fell over the land, and that peace became a witness to the world. Soon hungry people from surrounding nations flooded Judah, because they knew Asa walked with God.
Then, in the thirty-sixth year of his reign, Asa faced another crisis. Israel’s king rose up against Judah, capturing Ramah in an effort to cut off all trade to and from Jerusalem. The plan was to starve Judah into submission. Asa was left completely vulnerable, but this time he didn’t rely on the Lord in his crisis. Instead of praying for God’s direction and counsel, he turned to the king of Syria. In exchange for Syria’s help, Asa opened up Israel’s treasury, emptying it of all the nation’s gold and silver.
And so Judah was delivered from their enemy, but not by the Lord. That glory went to an alien army from Syria—and Judah’s witness to the world of God’s power was gone. A righteous prophet in the land came to Asa with this scathing word: “Thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God . . . For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars” (16:7, 9).
I am convinced many Christians today are troubled for the same reason Asa was. They have war in their souls because they have traded faith for self-reliance. But the fact is, there is no way a follower of Jesus can have faith in any other source and not be troubled. (David Wilkerson)
David Wilkerson goes to the very heart of what Christians in this land struggle with. I have witnessed good people going back and forth on this issue, knowing they should not put their trust in anything else but God, but then something happens, a terrorist attack, a collapse on Wall St and so on and suddenly it is back to trusting in men. We have not been called to be puppets on strings, strings of fear that the enemy can pull anytime he wants to move us or disturb us or motivate us to do his work for him. So often it seems for so many that their lives are like a roller-coaster, each new turn and bend and hill creating another round of screaming and panic.
The days that are coming require the saints to put all of their trust in God. We will not have the luxury of circumstances to get away with having our trust in anything else. Time to get of the roller-coaster of reacting wildly and with fear to every report and every event. We saints have been called to be a light unto the world. Let others lose their heads in fear but let us keep ours in trust and peace. Hold fast brothers and sisters. Rudyard Kipling wrote this poem centuries ago but it highlights many truths that we as saints should live by………….bro Frank
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
Hi Saints, below is a dream a Canadian brother (in blue text) had. Please read and know that the Lord, I believe, is intensifying His call on His people. There is a prepartion taking place and it is, to say the least, intense. Trials and tribulations are increasing in saints around the world. There is a battle that is taking place in the unseen. When Daniel mourns in chapter 10, it is believed that he is mourning the indifference of his people and the fact that even although they were in a position to return home from their captivity, so many had decided to remain in their captive state. So much of Christendom is now living a Babylonian lifestyle, and yet there is yet opportunity to retun from exile. The time is short, but the opportunity still remains. Dan 10:12 Then he said to me, Do not fear, Daniel; for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to chasten yourself before your God, your words were heard. And I have come for your words. God hears the prayers and the cries of His mourning Remnant, even now as we pray and cry out there is an unseen battle taking place. We already know that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principlaities and powers, against the worlds rulers of darkness of this age and against spiritual wickedness in high places. The battle is taking place even as we speak, this is the time that was revealed to Daniel. Very soon the battle will break onto the physical plane and this is why we are being prepared with such intensity, to prepare us for what shortly lies ahead. Read the rest of this entry »
In this post there are several articles grouped together in regard to the Remnant and the coming Reformation. I hope it will be a valuable resource. It can be a very lonely and confusing walk right now for Gods people, but it is very comforting to know that there are countless tens of thousands of Christians around the world who are walking the exact same narrow path that leads through this current desert. I believe that the “river is rising,” and that there is a depth of feeling that the drought and the famine could be coming to and end, for Gods sake and for His glory. There is a critical mass of His people who are now in this stage “As the deep panteth for the waterbrooks so my soul longeth after thee.”
Eze 19:10 Your mother is like a vine in your blood, planted by the waters; she was fruitful and full of branches because of many waters. And she had strong rods for the scepters of those who bore rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches; and it was seen in her height, with the multitude of her branches. But she was plucked up in fury; she was thrown down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit. Her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire burned them up. And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. And fire has gone out from a rod of her branches, which has licked up her fruit so that there is no strong rod in her to be a scepter to rule. This is a mourning and shall be for a mourning.
This word is an accurate representation of what has happened to the visible Church. In the story of Ezekiel, Israel has already been judged. Now it was time for Judah to be judged. In our modern day world, Israel undoubtedly represents the dead denominations that were replaced by Pentecostal churches and community churches across the land and around the world. These were vibrant places of worship where new life was found and the presence of God resided.
Ezekiel 17 starts out with a riddle from God. This , to the modern reader , may seem like a light-hearted thing. In the reality of the day that it was written, it was no such thing. Many times in the ancient world, a riddle would represent a mental competition between two kings in which the loser submitted to the winner and was killed. So, when God poses a riddle to King Zedekiah, we know that the King is in deep trouble. So what was the political situation in Zedekiah’s day and how does it parallel our own times?
King Zedekiah was placed on the throne By Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. He had invaded Judah, just as Ezekiel prophesied. He took King Jeconiah, only 18 years old and ruler for a mere three months, and replaced him with Zedekiah. So, Jeconiah was the young tender branch in the riddle. Zedekiah is the seed that is planted in a fruitful field. The fruitful field is Jerusalem. This is represented by a willow tree, which is not a stately tree, but it does grow fast in wet soil. Jeconiah makes a covenant with Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar is his protector. Judah no longer has mighty men, they have been defeated by Babylon. Judah was now in an impotent state. It could not threaten or terrorize it neighbors, nor could it defend itself against other countries, it relied upon Babylon. Judah now paid tribute to Babylon. This was a great reversal of fortunes for the country that used to take tribute from others, it now pays tribute to Babylon and is completely dependent upon Babylon for its very survival. Sin has certainly changed the fortunes of Judah and one could draw many personal parallels from that story.
So , Zedekiah was the low vine in the riddle but he was still a blessing to Judah even although his branches were necessarily turned towards Babylon. Even in this lowly state, God was giving Judah an opportunity to rebuild itself in humility because Nebuchadnezzar could have easily completely crushed Judah. This was a window of opportunity to repent and rebuild. Yet, Jeconiah’s pride got the better of him, and he reached out to Egypt to make a secret alliance against Babylon. Egypt was the second eagle of the riddle. This would prove disastrous for Judah and for Jeconiah. Jeconiah is destroyed and his “roots,” pulled up.
Psa 107:4They wandered in the wilderness, in a desert by the way; they found no city to dwell in. Psa 107:5Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Psa 107:6Then they cried to Jehovah in their distress, and He delivered them out of their troubles. Psa 107:7And He guided them by the right way, so as to go to a city to live in. Psa 107:8Oh that men would praise Jehovah for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the sons of man! Psa 107:9For He satisfies the thirsty soul, and fills the hungry soul with good.
Yes, indeed the Lord satisfies the hungry and thirsty souls. Yet, it would do well for all who have been fed and watered by the Lord to remain thankful and not to become discontent, for what happens to the man who is not thankful, or the church that is not thankful and becomes discontent?
Psa 107:10Those who sit in the darkness and in the shadow of death, being chained in affliction and iron; Psa 107:11because they rebelled against the Words of God, and despised the advice of the Most High. Psa 107:12and He humbled their heart with labor; they fell down, and none was helping. Psa 107:13Then they cried to Jehovah in their distress, and He saved them out of their troubles. Psa 107:14He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bands in two. Psa 107:15Let them praise Jehovah for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the sons of man!
Do you see the pattern of foolish man? Can you see the pattern of a foolish church who grow tired of seeking the living God, who grow discontent with their lot in life, who reach out to the world to gain that which God decided in His wisdom that they should not have, and they should not have it because of their very discontentment and lack of gratitude. Who impatiently and arrogantly seek to discover their own way in life at their own pace, forgetting that they are servants of the most High who has commanded us to wait upon His word. To only move when the cloud moves, to always follow His Presence.
Psa 107:17Fools are afflicted because of their rebellion, and because of their iniquities. Psa 107:18Their soul hates all kinds of food; and they draw near the gates of death. Psa 107:19Then they cry to Jehovah in their distress, and He saves them out of their troubles. Psa 107:20He sent His Word and heals them, and delivers them from their pitfalls. Psa 107:21Let them praise Jehovah for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the sons of man! Psa 107:22And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing!
How longsuffering is our Lord with His stiff-necked children? Time and time again He has mercy upon them and hears their cries and reaches out to them. Time and time again His heart is broken and He is compelled to withdraw from them in order that they may see the error of their ways and that they may become like the deer who panteth after the waterbrooks, that their souls may long after Him and not after the things of the world. Whether it is from Babylon or Egypt, it matters not for they both represent the world and oppression. Has the modern day church been invaded by Babylon? Is it now impotent and without power? Does it pay tribute to the world, does the world influence the church rather than the church influence the world? Has the Lord withdrawn His presence once again from a stiff-necked people?
Psa 107:25For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves. Psa 107:26They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul is melted because of trouble. Psa 107:27They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and all their wisdom is swallowed up. Psa 107:28And they cry to Jehovah in their trouble, and He brings them out of their troubles. Psa 107:29He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still. Psa 107:30And they are glad because they are quiet; so He brings them to their desired haven. Psa 107:31Let them praise Jehovah for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the sons of man!
Brothers and sisters, it is time to come out of the world, to come out of the storm into the haven of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this haven we will find that He has calmed the storm and that the waves are still. We will praise Him for His presence and the peace that comes with it. We will know that in the world there is no good thing. Our strong desire will only be for Him and His presence.
Psa 107:32And let them exalt Him in the congregation of the people, and praise Him in the gathering of the elders. Psa 107:33He sets rivers to a wilderness and water-springs to thirsty ground; Psa 107:34 afruitful land to a salty desert, because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it. Psa 107:35 He turns the wilderness into water-ponds, and dry ground into water-springs. Psa 107:36And He makes the hungry dwell there, so that they may prepare a city to live in; Psa 107:37and sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase. Psa 107:38He also blesses them, so that they are multiplied greatly; and does not allow their cattle to become few. Psa 107:39Again, they have become few, and humbled through harshness, affliction, and sorrow.
Yes, those who allow themselves to be humbled through harshness will surely find water-ponds in the wilderness.” He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
Lord, Lord may those who continue on the narrow path that leads to life be broken by you and raised up again.
Eze 17:22So says the Lord Jehovah: I, even I, will also take of the top of the highest cedar and will set it; I will crop off from the first of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. Eze 17:23In a mountain, in a high place of Israel, I will plant it. And it shall bear boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. And under it shall dwell every bird of every wing; in the shadow of its branches they shall dwell. Eze 17:24And all the trees of the field shall know that I Jehovah have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish. I Jehovah have spoken and acted.
God is, even as we speak, preparing rain for the “dry tree.” From the very top of the established tree, He will pluck a tender young twig and He will plant it on a high and prominent mountain. When one views a tall tree, it cannot see the very top branches, let alone a tender twig . Does God not always keep His chosen hidden? Can we even imagine what the Lord will do with what would be considered insignificant by the world at large. When the prophet came to choose a King, was he tall and significant? Was he even considered by others? No, but God knows. God takes the tenderest of twigs, that which is considered insignificant by that which is established and He raises it up.He pulls down the proud and the arrogant, in fact, He plucks it up by the roots. The east wind spoils all of its fruits, the east wind being the influence of the world.
Gen 1:11And God said, Let the earth bring forth tender sprouts (the herb seeding seed and the fruit tree producing fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself) upon the earth; and it was so.
Gen 1:12And the earth brought forth tender sprouts, the herb yielding seed after its kind, and the tree producing fruit after its kind, whose seed was in itself. And God saw that it was good.
2Ch 34:27Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before your God when you heard His words against this place and against its people, and humbled yourself before Me, and tore your garments and wept before Me, I have even heard also, says Jehovah
Job 14:7For there is hope of a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its tender branch will not cease.
Isa 53:2For He comes up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; He has no form nor majesty that we should see Him, nor an appearance that we should desire Him.
There is no doubt the church in the West is defiled. We worship other gods, we just do not call them by name because this would be offensive. We trust in the work of our own hands and we trust in military power and we trust in our leaders for our security. This Northern Kingdom represents all professing Christians, the vast majority, the ten tribes so to speak. Now Judah represents the genuine Church, the true believers and we also will be judged, for surely all judgement begins at the house of the Lord. When we refuse to serve God in the abundance of all things, then God will make us serve our enemies when we are hungry and thirsty, for a time.
We Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught. Ironically, the billions of dollars we’ve spent on youth ministers, Christian music, publishing, and media has produced a culture of young Christians who know next to nothing about their own faith except how they feel about it. Our young people have deep beliefs about the culture war, but do not know why they should obey scripture, the essentials of theology, or the experience of spiritual discipline and community. Coming generations of Christians are going to be monumentally ignorant and unprepared for culture-wide pressures. Read the rest of this entry »
Below is a post from David Wilkerson. He shared this prophetic word on hs blog a couple of days ago. I very rarely publish other people on my blog, yet this is a man that I greatly respect as a true man of God. This post is not designed to scare anyone, in fact I am sure that we all believe that “perfect love casts out all fear.” This post is more in the Agabus tradition. If there is something coming, and it is just around the corner, now is the time to draw near to God if that is not where you dwell. In His presence there is fullness of joy despite circumstances. “He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies.” Even in the very depths of tribulation, we can feast on the presence of God. Consider brother Stephen as he was being stoned to death. Consider the countless martyrs down through the corridors of time who sang hymns as flames consumed their mortal bodies, releasing their spirits into His hand. Rejoice, for perhaps our groom is at the door, our betrothal period may be coming to an end, this is a matter for great joy.
I am bombarded with talk or letters about the coming shortages in our national life: bread, fuel, energy. I read between the lines from people not practiced in scaring folk. They feel that the “seven years of plenty” are over for us. The “seven years of famine” are ahead. But the greatest famine of all in this nation at this given moment is a FAMINE OF THE HEARING OF THE WORDS OF GOD (Amos 8:11).
And the oil that dwells within your chest is set aflame by this light, this fire from the throne itself. “Did not our hearts burn within us as we walked with Him?” Yet we are not walking now, we are in the throne room itself, God has come down. Our whole body burns with a beautiful warmth. All things are possible, eternity stretches out before us and we never want to leave this place, we never want to leave this place. The candlestick burns. God speaks, sin melts like wax, refining, yes refining. We offer ourselves and the dross that lies within and the Lord says “Come.”
A single tear falls from the Fathers face as He sees His Son return victorious. As the Father stands, Jesus, riding His majestic white stallion with a two-edged sword at His side, sees His Father. He lifts His head up towards the light and the glory. His horse majestically walks the path avoiding the golden crowns that lie beneath its feet, undisturbed by the cheers of the thousands, no the millions. And they sing “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty.” Read the rest of this entry »
Oh what a glorious freedom. Free indeed, free indeed , free indeed. Free indeed to stand and fight. To battle even unto death, with my fellow freed men. I pray today that those whom the Son has set free will push the doors of their captivity of wretchedness, that they would realize their freedom, that they would reckon their freedom and walk out of their cells into the glorious sunlight of no condemnation and join the Lord’s army in these the final days of the battle, one more battle in the war that is already won. Read the rest of this entry »
A Call To The Remnant 