Isa 51:1 Listen to me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek the Lord.
Three times in this chapter God says “Listen to me.” And when the Lord repeats Himself three times we should indeed listen. First of all, who is He talking to? In the first verse we see that it is “you who follow after righteousness, you who seek the Lord.” In verse 4 He says “Listen to me My people.” And finally in the 7th verse He says “Listen to me you who know righteousness , you people in whose heart is My law.” God is clearly talking to His people. A people who follow after His righteousness, a people whom God refers to as His own and those who “know,” Him and whose heart there is inscribed upon it, the law. He is talking to you and I. He wants to tell us two main things in this chapter. Firstly, He speaks of comfort, and secondly He wants us to stand up and put on strength.
His comfort comes in a series of promises and directions. He tells us to look to the rock from which we have been cut from. Consider where you came from and how you were delivered. And who delivered you and by what means. All of it glorious. You were delivered by the hand of God, the nail pierced hand. You were delivered from the gates of hell, from the miry clay, from the pigsty. You were delivered from death itself and born again into the newness of life. God says that He would make the waste places, the wilderness, the place of drought and death, like the garden of Eden. Where nothing grew, now stands a magnificent garden where rivers of living water flow. Joy and gladness will be found there and the sound of thanksgiving will be heard by the voice of melody. You are His garden. From this place we are a light unto the nations. His righteousness shall be near to them and His salvation will go forth before them.
Yet He also says to His people “AWAKE, AWAKE and put on strength, AWAKE, AWAKE and stand up!” Stand up brothers and sister. Rise up and put on your armor for the battle lies before us. He is the Lord your maker who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. Shall you be afraid of mere men, who, if you cut them they bleed, or who, when they take their last breath they die? God says ” I have put My words in your mouth, I have covered you with the shadow of My Hand, that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth and say to Zion, you are My people.” A call to arms brothers and sisters for the last days war. Arise from your slumbers and put on the full armor of God and come forward in the power of His indignation, for you are covered by the shadow of His hand. Do not worry what you shall say for God says “I have put My words in your mouth.” He has also put a sword in your hand and shield in the other. He has put upon your head the helmet of salvation and upon your chest He has put the breastplate of righteousness. You stand in the shoes of peace and your loins are girded with Truth. You stand whole and complete, ready for battle, in the salvation of your God.
Today we are being driven by the form and not the substance. Jesus is the substance. Jesus is the primary object. Jesus is the preeminent one. Without Him high and lifted up, front and center, without His presence in our midst we only have a form. A religious structure built by human hands to house our own desires. We have abandoned the real Jesus and constructed another Jesus. This other Jesus serves us. He serves our needs and desires, he entertains us through his creators. This other Jesus has never carried a cross nor does he require his followers to carry one either.
This cultural Jesus is a mere reflection of his adherents. He never judges, he never corrects. He has no particular requirements. He is a genie in a bottle even although they vigorously rub and he never appears. He does not walk with them, they walk alone. He does not talk to them, they merely engage their own imaginations. He lies to them through the prism of their souls. They hear him say peace and prosperity. He is a reflection of the better part of their natures and they do not realize that the better part of their natures is like filthy rags to the true and living God.
If these people ever actually encountered the true and the living Christ He would devastate them and upturn their lives. Everything they know or thought they knew would come crashing down. A God who judges? Hear the screams. A God who calls them to enter into His sufferings? Hear the wails. A God who requires their whole lives, their whole hearts, their whole allegiances? They writhe in agony. The flesh that refuses to die is enmity to God. He bids that flesh to voluntarily pick up its cross, the means of its own death. It shall surrender or it will rage against the author of the cross.
The narrow path never deviates as it winds its way home. It is fraught with danger. It slowly strips away all of the baggage that we took with us for our journey. It tears away at the flesh and passes through refining fires and floods. It often winds it way through hot and arid deserts. The narrow path has many exits and every exist is a path of least resistance. As soon as one steps onto it one can hear the haunting intoxicating sound of the siren call as it draws that one away from the narrow path.
For those who stay the course and stay on the narrow path, every so often, always suddenly, the Lord comes to us. He reminds us that we are His, He encourages us. He bids us look down and see that the path itself is the Word of God and that the path lights up and directs us in the way that we should go. We are instructed to turn neither to the left nor to the right. The Lord embraces us in His love and His kindness.
He heals our wounds, He tenderly touches our weary hearts. He feeds the deepest parts of us and sustains us for the journey. He restores the brokenhearted and gives strength to the weary. He gives us hope when there seems to be no hope. He gives us joy when there is nothing at all to be joyful about. He gives us a garment of praise and takes away a heavy spirit. He bids us to lift up our eyes and see the celestial city, from where our help comes from. Stay the course brothers and sisters. Stand fast in the time of our vexation. Our Lord is coming soon and our journey will be at an end.
These hand of mine Father, so many times, in any number of situations, I’ve wanted to throw them up in the air in despair, or wash my hands of something completely, or use them to literally beat someone. Yet you Lord, have called me to raise my hands up, not in despair or anger but in surrender. For most of my life I never knew what that looked like, this “letting go.” Father, help my lack of surrender, show me always what that looks like in every situation that I may always walk in Your peace. Surrender, to the world, is defeat. Surrender to you Lord is victory. My hearts desire Lord is to always walk in the shadow of Your victory.
Isa 43:2 When thou pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you shalt not be burned; nor shall the flame scorch you.
What a remarkable Scripture. In the previous chapter we learned of the stubbornness of Israel and their obstinate disobedience. And yet here, this chapter opens up with “Fear not for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name, you are mine.” Glory to God, He is a redeemer. He has redeemed us brothers and sisters, while we were yet in our sin. If His love for us was so great while we were yet in our sin, how much greater His love now that we are sons and daughters? He will be with us through ever difficult trials. He will be with us when troubles surround us. Though we pass through the fire, the flames shall not scorch us and when we cross mighty rivers we shall not be overwhelmed and swept away. How many times have you felt overwhelmed and it seems certain you shall be swept away? And then we find that the anchor of our soul holds us fast and leads us through the waters.
He says to those who are called by His name “fear not,” for He has created us for His own glory’s sake. He formed us and He made us and called us by His name and says of us “you are My witnesses,” of whom I have chosen.” You are His redeemed people brothers and sisters, do not lose sight of that. Walking according to the Spirit is believing everything God says about you. Walking in that truth and letting that truth take a hold of you, letting that truth consume you, letting that truth take you in its current is walking on the highway of holiness. The “atmosphere ” around you shall reflect the Spirit of God inside of you. A witness to the Lord’s reality. God says to us ” Therefore you are My witnesses ……Indeed, before the day was, I am He; and there is no one who can deliver out of my hand, I work and who shall reverse it?” Amen! Do not let the fires of your trials overwhelm your mind, instead consider the God that you serve. Do not let the waters of your circumstances sweep you away, stand, rather, in the power of His might and in the palm of His hand and in the beauty of His holiness.
Isa 42:10 Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.
Who shall we sing unto? Shall we not sing unto the Lord of Hosts? To the one who created and stretches out all of the heavens. He spreads forth the earth and and gives breath to the people on it. He calls us to righteousness and gives us His Spirit. He has called us as a Covenant people. He has created us to be a light unto the world. We are to speak to those who are blind and watch the scales fall from their eyes. We are to call out to the lame and the broken that they may be whole again. To the dead we cry out “come forth,” and the dead of this world are reborn. He has given us His glory and He gives it to no other. The glory of Christ rests upon His people, we dwell in it. The former things have come to pass and behold all things are new. We sing a new song unto the God of Glory.
God’s people have been called to shout His glory from the rooftops. From the mountaintops. From the valleys and the coast-lands. Praise Him in the morning for His goodness. Praise Him in the noonday for His marvelous grace. Praise Him in the midst of the setting sun for His magnificent love. Praise Him in the night-watches for His great faithfulness. Praise Him when the sun rises again for His mercy never ends. There is so much strength in the praises of His people. He inhabits them just as He inhabits us. When the praises of God rises up like a phoenix form the ashes of our circumstances then beauty comes forth like the noonday sun. The beauty of His holiness is magnified in the praises of His people. Obedient people. In order to serve the Lord most High and be a demonstration of His magnificence on the earth, we must be an obedient people.
This obedience is our demonstration to a sick and dying world that there is a pathway to this God that we praise. As each man and woman of the world do that which is right in their own eyes, it merely promotes gross darkness. Our obedience to the Lord is the antidote to the darkness of the world. If the blind are to see through the darkness, that darkness must be illuminated by God’s obedient servants. The new song that we sing is the song of the humble servant who has fallen in love with His Master. This love is the fountainhead of all obedience. Bond-servants who shall sing unto the ends of the earth of the One that they love. Of the One who died for them. Of the One they gladly gave up their own lives for. Sing it today brothers and sisters, Sing it loud. The world we live in boasts loudly in the pride they have for their lifestyles, let us, who actually have something to boast about boast about it louder. Shout it from the rooftops, shout glory to God, glory to God in the highest. Let the world hear our new song, the song of our very lives which marches to every beat of our brand new hearts.
Isa 41:9 I have chosen you, and not cast you away.
The Lord our God has a chosen people, a Holy generation. We are His royal priesthood and He has not cast us away. He says in the next verse that we are to “fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God, I will strengthen you, yes I will help you and I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” He will give us strength when all around the world there is growing hostility towards His people. He knows this, He sees this. He sees you, He knows you and He will help you and He will certainly uphold you by the strength of His righteous right arm. If He is for you saint, then what shall become of him who is against you? If His thoughts towards you are more numerous than the sands of the seashore, then why should you be afraid? These are promises from the Living God and they shall never be broken.
His promise to us is “I will open rivers in the desolate heights and fountains in the depths of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water.” (Isa 41:18)There are no conditions brothers and sisters where our Lord’s arm is short in helping His sons and daughters. Even in the desolate heights there shall appear living waters that flow in a pure river as clear as crystal from the throne of God and from the Lamb. Even in the depths of the deepest valley, surrounded by the darkness and hostility of a world that hates God, there shall be a fountain, an inexhaustible fountain of Living water drawn from the river of life that flows from the desolate heights. These waters are the waters of joy and gladness, peace and strength and the very love of God. They sustain us and empower us and give us the strength to carry on. These desolate heights and deep deep valleys are the barren landscapes of a world without God. We are life in the desert that amazes the creatures of such places. A witness to a dying world that life exists and not only life, but an abundance of life where once was only sand and dry bones.
If the gentile observers shall follow the source of this life then it shall lead them to God. If those who dwell in such great darkness see light where there should be no light then it shall draw them like a moth to a flame. What is this source of life they will ask and from where comes this light that shines out like a beacon among the barren places? We have the answer, for we once dwelt in the same darkness. We were once without such living water and now we rise from the desolate heights. We rise up from the valleys. We rise up in the updrafts of His presence. The incense of our prayers rises up and takes us before the throne where all life flows from. Rise up today brothers and sisters in the strength of our Lord. He has chosen you and not cast you away. He is you strength to carry on. He is your life where once was only death. He is your Living water and you shall never thirst again. He is your very sanity in a world gone mad. He is your peace that surpasses all understanding in a world where there is no peace. He is all these things and He is so much more and He loves you in a thousand ways that you can barely imagine. Go forth today in the strength of such knowledge and in the manifest presence of God.
Isa 33:5 The LORD is exalted; for He dwells on high: he has filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.
The Lord our God dwells on high. He is high above the fray. He is high and lifted up above mere mortal men and their affairs. Nothing touches His glory, nothing defiles the beauty of His holiness. He is not righteous, He is righteousness. His judgments flow from justice. He is justice. He fills His children with righteousness and judgment. In a day where everything is spinning out of control, the wisdom of God in us, and the knowledge of God in us, this is our stability (And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times Isa 33:6) Salvation is our strength and the fear of the Lord is our treasure. This is our solid ground upon which we shall not be moved.
This which is to come has not overtaken us like a thief in the night. The Lord speaks to the hearts of His sons and daughters. They “see,” what is soon coming in the midst of a world overtaken by madness and blindness. The strength of our “knowing,’ God is the strength that will see us through. When all around us is spinning out of control and they come against us like men possessed, then they shall truly see the glory of our God. They will see indeed that He is exalted and magnified and they will see it in a people who know. What do we know? We know God in the intimate sense of that word. Tis not in the head but in the depths of the heart. And because His Spirit speaks to us we know that “now I will rise, says the the Lord, now I will be exalted, now I will lift Myself up.” (Is 33:10)
Christ is at the door. Let us lift up the eyes of our Spirit and see His appearing. Magnify Him from the depths of your heart to a broken and dying world which has plunged into darkness. The Lord promises us saints, that in that day there shall be a tabernacle that shall never be taken down. Not one of its stakes removed nor will any of its cords be broken. There the majestic Lord will be for us a a place of broad rivers and streams. Can you see it brothers and sisters? Can you see what the Lord will do when He comes back to judge the earth and raises up His children? Can you catch a glimpse of His glory? Magnify Him in your hearts today, exalt Him today and let your spirit go to where the glory is for He dwells on high and we dwell with Him.
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 30:10……………………..Do not prophesy to us right things, speak to us smooth things and prophesy delusions.
In verse eight of Isaiah 30 it was written than the next words are so important that it should be “written on a tablet.” Write it down on a scroll for all to see for all times to come. Not only is the generation here spoken of wicked, and trust in oppression and perversity, but so also shall all proceeding generations fall into their perverse ways. The pattern would, and has, repeated itself over and over again and will do so until the Lord Himself comes back again the second time. In Jesus’ day, He spoke to a wicked and perverse generation. We live today in such a generation. Not any old generation mind you, but the generation that proceeds the coming of the Lord so therefore our generation is akin to the times of Noah.
This generation perhaps more than any other demand “smooth words,” to be spoken to them from the pulpit or anywhere else. They do not desire to hear what is right, they would rather have their ears tickled. God spoke to this situation. ” Because you despise this word (the word of God) and trust in oppression (where the true prophets are muzzled) and perversity, and rely upon them, therefore this iniquity shall be for you.” What iniquity is God speaking of here? He says that this generation is like a bulge in a high wall and the fall will come in an instant. He likens them to lying children who will not be led by the Word of God. They prefer the traditions of their fathers that demand nothing more than an outward show, but have no inner reality. Anyone who dares to point out the glaring discrepancies in the lives of these people are hated and despised and ridiculed and banished. In older days they would be burned at the stake.
The solution the Lord tells us in verse 15 is “In returning and rest you shall be saved and in quietness and confidence you would find your strength.” Come to me says the Lord Jesus all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. There is rest and strength to be found in coming to Jesus. Yet, we see that they would not come to God and be saved. They would have no rest. They would have no strength. They would run from God, they would ride on swift horses to get as far away from God as they could, but you cannot run from God. Their hearts fainted and even at the threat of one, a thousand shall flee we read in Isaiah 30. Contrast that to the saints spoken of in Psalm 91 ” A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but none of it shall come near you.” What a privileged people we are who dwell in the secret place of the Most High God, who abide under the shadow of the Almighty. He is indeed our refuge and our fortress, our God in whom we shall trust.
But it is the in the exercise of love in our practical Christian life that our chief lessons in walking in the Spirit must be learned, as our heavenly Teacher leads us in detail through the blessed yet often painful discipline of the school of experience, and grounds us not only in the principles, but in the most difficult practice of this heavenly grace (A.B. Simpson)
Every part of who we are and all areas of our lives are part of the classroom curriculum of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit leads us and guides us in the way that we should go. In the great battles we face He molds us. In the most mundane of things of our every day lives He teaches us. Many of us rise to the challenge of the great tragedy, but it is in the little things that we are surely molded. Patience and kindness and love for those who are in our sphere. Our spouses, our parents, our children, our dogs. Patience in the car when we are driving. Patience with our coworkers. For the shy He calls us to speak out. For the bull headed He calls us to remain silent. The bold learn meekness and the timid learn courage. Those with bad tempers learn to shut their mouths.
There is a revolution going on inside of you and it rises from within. We change from the inside out. Christ in us touches every part of who we are. The very intelligent among us are humbled. The man or woman who were of no great intellect are given wisdom beyond what they could have imagined. Our characters, our personalities have been given over to the Lord. We died when we came to Jesus did we not? We sing “I surrender all,” with great emotion not truly considering the absolute revolution of those words. Those who once sought riches now seek the glory of God. Those who once were paupers God raises them up to walk with Kings.
No matter what your background is, no matter what personality and character traits you have. No matter if you are black or white or rich or poor, you are one in Christ and the one thing you will have in common with your brothers and sisters will be the painful lessons of discipline that will be worked out in the very experiences of your lives. Each of us are unique so therefore there is a unique cross to take up daily. Never try and put your cross on anothers back. The Lord knows you intimately and the cross that you will bear at any given time is intimately yours. Every day you must pick it up, and depending where you are in your sanctification, the cross will change. It always fits your back perfectly but it changes.
You may ask “when does it end?” It does not end brothers and sisters. Not in this life. The crosses that are ours will be ours until the day we come into glory. Now to many this will bring dismay. Yet to the saints of God they have learned to embrace the cross for the cross is victory. The cross is death to their flesh. The cross is the markers along the narrow way that point us to heaven. The cross is the entryway into the Fathers heart. Cross after cross leads us deeper ever deeper. The cross, which represents death to the world is the key to life in the Kingdom. The natural man will be repelled, the spiritual man will be drawn. It is life to one and death to another. It is a sweet fragrance to one and a foul stench to the other.
The cross causes the one who bears it to willingly decrease and the Lord in us to increase. As we die to ourselves then the Lord in us is lifted up and if He be lifted up then He will draw men to Himself. And this process plays out every day in saints from every tribe and every tongue. No matter what your culture is, this same process plays out. The rich man, the poor man, the man who lives in the middle of the jungle or in the middle of a city. It does not matter. Every single saint has the equal opportunity to glorify Christ in their everyday lives. God is no respecter of persons in this matter. We all have the same calling in this regard and we all have the same training. We are called to yield and to be disciplined and to surrender. Yield today brothers and sisters and let this revolution have its way in you. This revolution that was taught in the sermon on the mount is as strong today as it was in the beginning. Let Christ be glorified in us.
I was born by the river
In a dirty ol town of hard livin
And that old river just keeps on running
And I know I just got to keep on forgivin.
That old river is fast flowin
But it couldn't wash away all the pain
For in the eddy's and the alleys
The gutters of life kept pouring down rain.
Cobblestones streets illuminated by full moon nights
Lamp posts silhouetted, sandstone chimney pots
The thing about this rain that never seems to stop
It soaks you to the bone and everything rots
As I flew a long long way from the valley
And left it far far and away behind
To the big sky horizons of a different world
Yet the valley was never far from my mind
Still the river flowed, still the rain fell
And even in this land of vast horizons
I was walking though the long deep valley
Looking for a world I could arise in.
And then a hand reached down through the rain
Through the misty darkness of cobblestone streets
Where the gutters were awash with pain
A new land came forward and the old ones retreat
Now the river keeps running through the valley
And the rain keeps fallin from above
Yet the sun has broken through the landscape
And has filled that old valley with its love.
Like the martyrs afterwards, at the stake and amid the flames, who it is testified that so deep was their inward joy that they were unconscious of the external agony. so He was transported above His anguish by the very joy of His Father’s presence and love. It was this that enabled Him to endure “For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, despising the shame.” He saw not the deep dark valley of humiliation, but the heights of resurrection-life and ascension glory just beyond. And He was lifted above the consciousness of the present by the vision and hope and the joy of the Lord. This is the joy He gives to us. It is nothing less than the fullness of His own heart throbbing in our breast and sharing with us His own immutable blessedness (A.B.Simpson)
Do you see what the brother is saying saints? He did not see the dark valley of humiliation rather He saw the heights of resurrection life and the glory “just beyond.” This is the power of the Holy Spirit working in us. The same Holy Spirit that was in the Lord Jesus Christ is in you and He gives you the same vision that the Lord had in this sense. Can you see what is just beyond? Just beyond your circumstances. Just beyond your trial. Just beyond your sickness. Just beyond your enemies. We have the power in us to see just beyond the horizon of this world and glimpse the ascension glory of eternity. The world to come, the world beyond this, the world that already exists in us, the world we actually walk in. The Kingdom. And we see the Kingdoms King and His name is Jesus.
And so as the days grow darker look up and see the light. As the enemy grows bolder know that you have the power to stand and fight. There are no mortal flames that can burn the glory down. It only intensifies the light above and gives us greater sight to see the one who wears the crown. What flood can overwhelm us when He raises us to higher ground? Shall we not count it all rather as rubbish so that in Him we shall be found? There is an eternal fountain of gladness and joy that we have access too. As we stand upon His holy Hill and be drenched by the morning dew that falls from heavens heights. And so we stay close to the one who leads us on and speaks to us in the still small voice. And to that voice we must respond. If we are to see the light of Christ and see what is just beyond. The glory of the risen King, the one to whom we all shall sing…….Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. Crown Him with many crowns.
Tomorrows rain shall never come
For this is the eve of the final setting sun
The filth has not, nor shall be washed away
And now the stench of a world that refuses to pray.
This was a vineyard on a very fruitful hill
There should have been good fruit but we took a bitter pill
And wild grapes came forth and refused to now the knee
We rejected the Creator for all that we could see.
And so we drew iniquity with the cords of our own vanity
And now the terror of the Lord and the glory of His Majesty
Causes men to run and hide from the horror of the light
For now they realize that they are creatures of the night.
The children of the day shall take their place atop the mountains
And from those lofty heights there shall flow eternal fountains
And all the nations of the earth shall flow towards these waters
And the praises of our God and King shall rise from sons and daughters.
Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Fearing God is the beginning of all things. Man can never find relationship with God outside of a healthy fear of the one who created him. A reverence for God draws you closer. No one skips into His presence. Isaiah falls down on his face, the prophets tremble at the presence of God. We have lost all fear of God in Christendom. The world has foolishly never feared God and they will go the way of fools. Yet, what happens when those who call themselves by His name have no actual fear of God? No reverence of God, no trembling at His touch, at His majesty. He is not your mate, your buddy or your pal. He is God and He is greatly to be praised. We praise Him by our lives, by our thoughts and our deeds. Worship is a way of life, not a 20 minute song service.
To worship God is to fear God, to fear God is to encounter God. To encounter God is to be drawn deeper into our Fathers heart. We do not fear God in the sense that a man fears a wild beast that can tear him to pieces. We fear God in the inner man. We know of His reverential beauty and glory. We understand just who we are in the presence of majesty. We know that without His covering we would be nothing more that wretched men who would cry out “who will deliver me from this body of death.” And we know our Saviour who has indeed delivered us from this death. We are no longer “undone,” and our lips are no longer unclean for we have been cleansed by something greater that a burning coal from the fires of heaven. We have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb! We know the sacrifice that God the Father made in sending His only Son to die for us. We have been touched by the magnitude of this.
It has rocked our world greater than any earthquake could. The ground shifted from beneath our ungodly feet and He set our feet upon the solid Rock. We now stand, by His grace and Mercy, upon the finished work of our Lord on the cross. Who could measure the magnitude of this? There exists no such spiritual Richter scale. The Love of God cannot be quantified other than by the bloody cross of Calvary. The preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who perish, but unto those who are saved , it is the power of God (1 Cor 1:18) Fools despise this message and they know nothing of the fear of God. Those who know God and fear Him are on the path of knowledge. True knowledge and true wisdom. The ultimate irony for the foolish who fear not God, is that they will tremble and fall down with fear when it is too late. Better to learn the fear of God now and live, than to learn it before His seat and die eternally.
Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind.
God finally speaks to Job! Not in a still small voice, but out of a whirlwind. A tornado! Most people are absolutely terrified by tornadoes. Often when they glimpse it, they are mesmerized by it, so much so they cannot move. It comes down from the clouds and touches the ground. It moves and nothing stands it its way. Whatever it encounters is broken down and taken up. The sound, they say, is like a freight train. It commands the attention of all who see it. When God speaks, men take notice. When God speaks from the mountain to the children of Israel, they cry out for Him to stop as the thunder claps and the lightening fractures the skies above. God says to Job “Now, prepare yourself like a man.”
When men speak, it is all too often just noise, a light breeze on a summers day. Job’s friends have spoken much, and convinced no one of anything. Job has spoken much and has not convinced his friends that they are wrong.Elihu has silenced Job but not convinced him. Now God will speak and all men will be silent when God speaks. Brothers and sisters, do not argue your case before men, do not try and convince men of the rightness of your case. Let God justify you. Nothing that Job said or could have said would have convinced his so called friends. Nothing they could have said would change Jobs mind, so in the end its all just noise. Now God speaks and Job gets it. His response is, not unlike Isaiah’s “Behold I am vile, what shall I answer you, I lay my hand over my mouth.”
God continues to ask Job rhetorical questions. The majesty and glory of God pours forth from the “questions.” Job is being taught by God Himself and it lays him bare. Finally Job answers and says “I know that you can do everything and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from you……..I have uttered what I did not know………..I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see you, therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes!” What a transformation from a man God had already pronounced to be blameless. Before, he only knew of God, now he has seen Him high and lifted up and he is changed forever. And of course, the man of God is justified in the end, not by his own defense, but by God Himself. “God says to Jobs friends ” My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends for you have not spoken of me what is right as My servant Job has.”
In the end, God has justified His precious servant. Justice belongs to the Lord. And the Lord demands that the three friends offer burnt offerings for themselves and then go to Job and have him pray for them. They are humiliated but their humility and the prayers of Job save them. Now, Job must pray for them as commanded by the Lord, (pray for those who despitefuly use you) and when he does, Job’s losses are restored, and more. Remain silent brothers and sisters and do not try and justify yourself to others. Walk before the Lord in the sure knowledge that all these things are in hand. Pray for those who would condemn you. Lift your eyes to the heavens and consider who laid the foundations of the earth. Praise Him, for the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Even if He kills us, yet shall we trust Him.
Cutting the Gordian knot is an ancient story related Gordius to the king of Phyrgia. He is said to have tied his cart to a beam with the most incredibly intricate knot. An oracle proclaimed that the man who could untie this knot would rule all of Asia. Along comes Alexander the great and he is presented with the knot and the story. He studies the knot for a moment, takes out his sword, and with one blow, cuts the knot and releases the cart. And so the phrase has come down through the ages to represent incredibly intricate unsolvable situations. In the end, only drastic and swift action can cut through the maze of intricacies and unsolvable problems.
I would like to suggest that Christendom presents such a situation. It has become a monstrous maze of religion and denominations and hatred and bigotry. Much of the Body of Christ wanders in and has been swallowed up by such a maze. What man, or group of men, could ever solve the problem, could ever extricate the Body of Christ from the maze of Christendom? There is no such solution, only the sword can cut through the Gordian knot of impossibility. Only this time, it will not be an Alexander or an earthly sword, but Christ Himself that shall cut the knot. The knot, in this case, is a man made abomination and only the sword can solve the problem. The knot cannot be undone, it can only be cut asunder. Jesus tells us that He did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Its the sword that frees.
When the sword is applied then the knot is destroyed. The knot is Christendom and it has enveloped the Body of Christ. Cut the knot and the Body is released from its entanglement. There is violence in the cutting no doubt. A mans enemies shall be those of his own household. Jesus did not come to send peace into the world, but rather a sword. The truth divides. A man shall find himself the enemy of his own household, denomination, community, nation and world. He will discover that if he loves any of these things more than he loves Jesus, he is not worthy to know Jesus. He will lose his life. Yet, if he is determined to know Jesus above all these things, he shall find eternal life. When the sword of the Lord is wielded, the simplicity of the truth of God is unleashed. The Body of Christ is free as it wields the sword, it is forever entangled if it attempts to undo the knot.
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.
Job 3:25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.
This portion of scripture is often presented in some sort of negative fashion, especially by the Charismatics. They see this as an admission of a lack of faith and somehow blame Job’s very fears for bringing upon him his calamities. This of course, is totally false. We already know that Job was a blameless man of integrity, who, under severe trial, held fast to his integrity and honor of God. Now rather than this being a negative, it is actually very much a positive. Job never took anything for granted. He had a very healthy fear and reverence for God. He feared for his children that somehow they may dishonor God and sin. He would arise early and make sacrifices to God and pray for each of His children.
The question is, brothers and sisters, do we have the same kind of fear and reverence and integrity that Job had? Do we take our many blessings for granted? Do we presume upon the blessings and the mercies of God? How then shall we live? With our eyes wide open to a world that is full of possible distractions and temptations. Not just for ourselves, but for the children that we raised. What are we sacrificing for our children? What burnt offerings could we present before the Lord as wise and faithful servants? Perhaps the preferred career could be sacrificed in order to make more time for that which is truly important? Perhaps there is no real need for the great big house or the latest car? The story of Job reminds us that all of a sudden, an ill wind can blow and our circumstances radically change in a very short period of time.
One small comfort for Job would have been to know that he did everything a good father could do for his children. It guarantees nothing, but it is something to stand upon. If we had a sick loved one and we did everything that we could do for them, in their passing there would be no recriminations. There is a wonderful peace to be had by doing the right thing with a cheerful heart. This is part of our love and integrity. This is how we should serve the Lord our God. With everything that is in us. It will not prevent adversity touching the hems of our garments, but it gives us a peace within to know that with all of who we are, we strove to serve the Lord our God with reverence and Godly fear and integrity. What can the storm do against such a man or a woman. Imagine, for a moment, God saying “have you considered my servant ………… (fill in your name) Treasure beyond measure.
Job 2:10 ….shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?
Brothers and sisters, this matter drives at the very heart of who we are. We are much more likely to discover who we are in the depths of adversity, than in any other state. So much energy in Christendom is expended in the stand against adversity. Rather than embrace it, as we certainly embrace the good, we fight it, often with everything that is in us. The adversity, and how it affects us, becomes the towering idol in our lives. Shall God not praised in any circumstances? Shall He not always be our primary focus? Should our eyes ever be moved from a gaze upon Him? In all my years walking through the corridors of Christianity, this single issue is the most pervasive. Our attitude towards infirmity or dire circumstances ultimately shape us and identify us. The fundamental core of who we are must be, whether we live or whether we die we shall praise the living God. Every other issue, if it is allowed, draws us away from God and towards ourselves. Rather than being fixated with God, we become fixated on ourselves and our circumstances.
In this verse Job addresses his wife. She, because of their circumstances, expresses what happens when circumstances are more important than God. She encourages her husband to curse God, abandon God, abandon his faith, abandon his life. For her, the circumstances of their life was more important than God Himself. She is a foolish woman and has been branded as such in the eternal word of God. Paul learned to be content whether he was hungry or full, in sickness or in health, in liberty or in the dungeon. He learned this. He learned that all loss, is mere rubbish, in comparison to being found in Him. In the end brothers and sisters the only thing that matters is being found in Him. Everything else, if we allow it, is idolatry. It is the curse of the last one hundred years that much of what identifies itself as Christianity, demands that God heals them and prospers them. This is the foundation of their so called faith. Madness and foolishness to stake your faith on the circumstances of your life rather than the holiness of a God who not only gives us good things, but also gives us adversities. Shall you accept that saint, or shall you rage against God and die in the wilderness?
Outside of God there is no moral authority, without Him everything begins to come apart at the seams. We become a law unto ourselves where the ends, the vain imaginations of our own dark hearts, justify the means. Abortion is the primary example of our lawlessness. The ideologies of feminism and rights and freedoms, come together like a ghastly witches brew. In order to believe that there is something higher than the sanctity of life, then we have to elevate ourselves to be gods. If our lives are so important that it justifies the taking of another life, and not just any other life, the life of our own child, nestled in the womb, then we have reached a level of idolatry not seen since the ancient world.
In Lamentations chapter four we see women greedily consume their own children in order to save their own lives. They, of course, did not arrive at that soulless place overnight. This is the ends result of idolatry not the beginning of it. This is why we in the modern world are at the end of our rejection of God and His ways. We have reached our zenith but it is not to be measured in height, rather the abyss is to be measured in depth and darkness. To the world, God is dead, and they are no longer bothered or bound by His Word.
Having abandoned God and rejected Him out of hand, we have also, necessarily, rejected absolute truth. The new laws that we make in this state spring forth from the wicked imaginations of dark hearts. So therefore there is no depth or bottom to our depravity. The only measure is the darkness of the human heart which we know is deceitfully wicked. We are not just rebels, we are wicked and the vain imaginations of our heart are wicked and it was only ever somewhat restrained by the notion of an eternal judgement to come. Therefore, when we throw off the notion of God and eternal judgement then the bowels of hell itself are loosed.
The complicating factor in the west at least, is that at the very same time we have abandoned God we still claim to serve Him. Since we worship and serve ourselves, we proclaim our ideologies to be Godly, to be an expression of the God we claim to serve. In the ultimate act of perversion we say, in our willful self delusion, that we are moral and our ideologies are moral. We hijack the word and actually use it against anyone who dares to stand against our opinion. Now it is no longer possible to simply disagree with someone, that someone is challenging your very deity and they are therefore immoral and irredeemable.
These people, living outside of God, are lawless and will crush anyone who does not worship the god made in their own image. Politics begins to get infused with theological words for truly it is the religion of the world. Now every foul force, living out their Godless lives, claims God as their author and creator and in a sense they are right, but its not the God of the Bible and absolute truth, its their own god made in their own image. When the most powerful man in the world pronounces that the freedom to murder children is a God given right, then you can no doubt hear the creaking of the gates of hell as they are flung open.
The freedoms that men believe they have, quite apart from a just God and an eternity where justice is established and completed, is tearing men to pieces. How could it do anything otherwise? All of this is for the grasping of power and control and an independence from the Living God. The very desire of the devils heart. Men must choose for the time draws near. We either worship God and follow Him, or we worship ourselves and we follow that dark descending road that leads all the way to the bottom of the abyss.
A Call To The Remnant 