Now in the days of Gideon, a time of judgement, the Midianites and the Amikalites oppressed the children of God. No matter what the Israelites planted, they never got to see the fruits of their labor. The Midianites and the Amakilites would come in like locusts and devour and take everything. And so, Israel was greatly impoverished. Can I suggest that we face the same landscape and problems in Christendom today? We are impoverished spiritually and financially and no matter the work done, it is consumed by the idols and the enemy which seems to be all around us like locusts.
Now, in their distress, the children of Israel cried out to God for a deliverer, and the Lord sent them a prophet. The prophet reminded them of God’s faithfulness and how they had rejected Him (Jud 6:8-10) Now, at God’s appointed time, when all is desolate, He speaks to Gideon who was threshing wheat in the wine-press in an effort to hide his activities from their oppressors.(6-11) “The Lord is with you mighty man of valor.” You see how God is calling what is not as it would be. Hiding from your enemies in a defunct wine=press in an effort to get some bread is hardly the stuff of valor. Brothers and sisters, I want you to see Gideon as a type of the Remnant God is in the process of raising up right now. Do not focus on the 300 as of yet, for that is still a ways off. We as people are not ready yet. Listen to what Gideon says to the Lord.
God’s love for us is empowered when it clashes with the darkest parts of who we are. Like a circle these meet and one is overpowered by the other. Prior to the new birth, when the sinner realizes who he is and also realizes that God loves him while he is yet in his sin, he is transformed. Yet deeper works are to follow. This meeting is no one time meeting. God searches us out and plumbs the depths of who we are and in finding Him there, at those depths, in that fire, in that darkness then we plumb the depths of His actual love. Can I say this process will ever end? No, I cannot say that. I do know that the Apostle Paul ” learned to be content,’ in whatever situation he found himself. What does it take to reach this place? Well, as I look at the life of Paul, it takes a life that most are not willing to live, only the few.
Our Lord He came from the glories above
He came to earth with a heart full of love
And choirs of heavenly angels sang
As the bells of upper Hades rang
Oh joyous night Oh Christ divine
A star in heaven, a heavenly sign
For Christ the Lord is born today
He came to show the world the way
He came to set the prisoners free
He came that every eye might see
A light at the end of a tunnel deep
A glorious harvest ready to reap
Consider this babe so innocent and pure
He has come to make your salvation sure
Lift up this child in your heart tonight
Lift up your eyes to a glorious sight
Behold your King is born today
Fall to your knees,worship and pray
For unto you a child is born
Behold the darkness gives way to dawn
Faith is the least self-regarding of the virtues. It is by its very nature scarcely conscious of its own existence. Like the eye that sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. While we are looking at God, we do not see ourselves-blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ, the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do ( see Philippians 2:13) (Tozer)
Hi saints, many who have eyes to see can see a storm coming. Indeed the skies have already began to darken and the first bands have already arrived, birth pangs if you like. Slowly but surely Christendom is being surrounded by her enemies. How then shall God’s people stand in that day? How will you stand? Have you asked yourself that question? Will you truly have faith in the living God? Will you stand fast in that day?
Parting is such an empty sorrow
Yet there is always a sweet tomorrow
There is such a pain within my heart
When that time comes that we must part
And the minutes and hours that slipped away
Were taken for granted day by day
Until the time comes when you have to leave
And I’m left standing with my heart on my sleeve
All the things that many American Christians hold dear have been severely challenged by the re-election of President Obama. I have not a single doubt that the Lord is in charge of it all and is at work. There are many idols in the American church and they are being challenged every day. Can I tell you that I full expect to see the Republican party throw off even the pretense of ” values,” and ” faith.” Now why would I think that is a good thing? Well, because if the Lord hates anything, we know He hates hypocrisy. This election has cut like a knife to the heart of serial hypocrisy. Just look at the Billy Graham organisation pulling down their literature on Mormonism for political expediency. This is perhaps one of the final nails in the coffin of Evangelicalism. And so my own answer to the question posed by so many today ” where do we go from here?” is to do what we should be doing all the time, following hard after Jesus. He must be our grand obsession, not taxes. He must be our all in all, not the result of the next election. He must have the pre-eminence in our lives, not our lives itself and how well we can do in this world. He must be Lord and Savior, not some president or worldly leader.
This is a song I wrote a couple of months ago. Some of you may remember this poem. Mary, my dear sister in Christ in Scotland has done a wonderful job in music and singing, truly anointed………………..bro Frank
One day the Lord will rend the heavens and His glory will flow down the mountains and fill every valley with His majesty. The seas will flee at His presence, the mountains will humbly bow and say ” Glory , glory to the risen King.” The sun will turn its face away in shame for it is outshone by the brilliance of His illumination. The moon and the stars will cry out ” Holy, Holy is He who was and is and forever shall be.” And every voice from every tongue will say “Jesus,” and acknowledge the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And the beasts of the earth will fall down and cover their faces and then the lion will rise up and approach the lamb and they will lay down together. And every knee shall bow in every tribe Read the rest of this entry »
Let the skies fall down
Let them fall before your crown
Let the seas rise up
They could never fill your cup
You drunk down all the fires of hell
And forever broke sin’s deadly spell
Let the rivers run deep
As they see you come they weep
Let the stars fall from the sky
Let every hand be raised on high
At Golgotha you broke every chain
And now forever you shall reign
Let every valley flood
And be filled with precious blood
From the veins of Calvary
That were drained for you and me
That we may lift our voice and sing
Of Christ the Lord our risen King
Let the mountains touch the sky
And shout aloud as they reply
To the mighty rushing wind
That testifies that all men sinned
And speaks to men in pain
Ye men you must be born again!
The Remnant church is, at it’s core and most fundamentally, God’s witness here on earth. Truly we have been called first and foremost to be a witness. Now most saints know that this word in its Greek form translates to martyr. Does that mean that every saint, every witness since the beginning of the church has been called to martyrdom? Certainly not. Yet let us not forget brothers and sisters that in every century God’s people here on earth have been persecuted and martyred for their faith. The danger for us saints in the Western world in the last 100 years has been that we have not been so-called. Other saints around the world cannot say that, whether that is Africa or Asia or China or the Middle East, they have continued to be persecuted and martyred for their faith. For most of Europe and North America, this has not been the case with some noticeable exceptions during periods of war and so on. Now, one would imagine that living in an atmosphere where one is allowed to worship freely without any state or religious interference that Christendom would thrive, yet, if we look at the state of Europe and North America we see something that at best, is a shallow faith. In the case of Europe we definitely see a post Christian society. In North America what is predominant is a cultural Christianity, a cross-less Christianity and a Christ-less Christianity and some cross-pollination or in many cases a hybrid of the all of these. Cultural Christianity would be a Christianity that is simply shaped to suit our culture. In this kind of Christianity Jesus would rarely be mentioned and God would be seen as some kind of Santa Claus. A cross-less Christianity would cover movements like the prosperity gospel, name it and claim it groups, Word of faith believers and health and wealth believers. Or again, a hybrid of all three. A Christ less Christianity would cover dead denominations for whom the Word of God has ceased to be authoritative even in pretense and where all things are acceptable, this would include things like gay marriage and gay ministers, abortion, divorce and so on.
But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.(1Pe 4:13,14)
Brothers and sisters, I want you to notice the above scripture, especially the highlighted portion. Can you see what the Holy Spirit is saying? He specifically talks about the ” spirit of glory.” What is this spirit of glory that ” shall be revealed?” Obviously the context of 1Peter is suffering, For those who can rejoice in the midst of suffering there is a specific kind of glory revealed. Just like the refining fires reveals the gold that lies within the rock, then the refining fire reveals the gold that lies within the saint as it burns away the rock and the dross and we are left with pure gold. We see in Habakkak, in the midst of terrible suffering and judgement this scripture “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Hab 2:14)