Jer 18:2-4 Arise, and go down to the potterβs house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potterβs house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Will you arise and go down to the Potters house? Will you come to the Father and place yourself in His hand? Will you allow yourself to be marred and to be ruined for this world? Can you abandon yourself to His wheel and allow Him to create in you what He will? He will not compel you . He bids you come to Him with the fullness of your life, holding nothing back and allow Him to mar you, to ruin you. Will you step forward and open up your heart and allow the King of Glory to come in all of His fullness?
We come to the Lord as pieces of clay drawn from the earth. He takes us and He rearranges us. Who we once were is crushed and broken and reshaped on the potter’s wheel. Upon the potter’s wheel we are the clay. We are in His hands and there is a process. How wild it is that we, the clay, would ever question the potter? Every part of who we are as genuine saints is shaped and molded by the potter and it is all in His hands. The steps of our lives are ordered of God. We are His. Do you think saint that this fiery trial that you are going through is out-with the bounds of the potter’s wheel ? It is not. So if you are tempted this day to question the Lord about the circumstances of your life, know that every part of your life has purpose.
It is never pleasant to be thrown down upon the wheel, to be taken in His hand and crushed, to be pounded and molded into something entirely new and useful for the potters own purpose. And even then we have to consider that the firing is yet to come. The furnace into which we are placed that hardens us and makes us strong. Yet those who yield to the potters hand is in the end shaped into something marvelous. I want to encourage you today saint. There is purpose in your suffering. You are being shaped into a vessel entirely useful to your Lord.
About ten years ago as I was praying, I had an intense vision of sorts. I have had very few of these since becoming a Christian almost thirty years ago. As I was standing praying, suddenly I found myself plunged beneath a river and lying on my back on the river bed as the waters ran over me. The water was not deep, it covered my face by just a few inched but it was fast flowing and I was lying on the river bed which consisted of small smooth stones. I immediately panicked and held my breath thinking I was going to drown. I could not get up, but right away the Holy Spirit told me to “breathe.” Against all reason and with fear in my heart, I opened my mouth and took a breath and found that I could breathe.
Without any words, the Holy Spirit conveyed to me that these were the waters of life and that I had to submit to these fast flowing waters. They would, over time, take all the rough edges off me and I would become like the smooth stones upon which I lay. Only over time has it been possible to see the full picture of what the Lord was doing and showing me. The waters were the circumstances of life, the trials and tribulations that come upon us, the testings of our faith, the obstacles and the refining fires that forge us and shape us into useful weapons of righteousness in the hands of the Lord.
In 1 Sam chapter 17 we see the encounter that David has with Goliath. David was only a young man but even by that time he had been working for many years. And over those years as a shepherd boy he had encountered many wild animals that sought to kill and destroy the flock over which he had been called to watch over. He had proven himself loyal and faithful to his calling and in the course of events he had even killed a lion and a bear with the help of the Lord his God. David could not have known he was being prepared for this day and the days to come when he would become king.
When David announces that he would fight the giant, the world attempts to equip David by giving him the finest set or armor available, the kings own armor. David knows right away that these weapons of war were carnal and they would do him no good in the coming fight, he had no idea what to do with these weapons. Instead David goes to the river and takes five smooth stones from the riverbed. These stones were David’s weapons of righteousness. One of these stones would kill what was probably the foremost warrior in all the world. A simple stone from the riverbed becomes a weapon would take down the most formidable foe.
Right now as we speak, God is preparing a remnant army. They are not being prepared for war in any conventional sense. Maybe you can relate to the trials and the testings of life that has taken the rough edges from your life. You have been shaped by circumstances. God Himself, the sovereign Lord of all is trying you and testing you. Many times you have wondered what it has all been about. You might look back at your life and think “was it all worth it, I seemed to have achieved very little.” Can I encourage you today saints, God knows. He knows how to assemble an army that marches on its knees. He knows how to hone a weapon of warfare that is not carnal but mighty in the realms of the Spirit, able, in the right hand, His hand, of taking down seeming invincible enemies. You are His smooth stones and you must wait patiently in the river for the day that God has chosen for the army to arise. The day is coming. The enemy has been arrayed on the battle-field. Can you hear his loud boastings? Can you hear his army laugh and ridicule and scorn? On the other side of this battle God is raising up a fearless, indignant army who will overcome by the Blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony and most importantly, because of their love and passion for God, they loved not their lives unto death.Β
When Joshua, that great warrior of Israel, miraculously passed over the river Jordan he ordered 12 stones to be taken from the dry river bed. These were undoubtedly smooth stones. They were arranged in a circle and called Gilgal. This was a reminder and a monument to the miraculous. Every time these smooth stones were seen the people would know that they worshiped a mighty miracle-working God who would go to any lengths to deliver His people. God is now raising up an army that in and of itself will testify to the fact that God is a miracle-working God who takes the foolish things of this world and He uses that to overcome the might and the those who are wise in their own estimations. Praise the Living God today.
A number of years ago I was in the midst of a situation that did not last a week or a month or even a year, it had been going on for a number of years. Near the end of this situation I found myself surrounded by darkness and despair. I had no idea it was almost at an end, but God did of course. I found myself lying on the floor, engulfed with hopelessness and as far as I could see, no light. When suddenly, after months and months of crying out to God His light pierced the darkness. There is a song, an old Hymn, written by a Welshman at the turn of the last century. His words perfectly describe what happened to me and millions others like me.
I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore,
Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more;
But the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry,
From the waters lifted me, now safe am I.
Love lifted me! Love lifted me!
When nothing else could help,
Love lifted me.
Love reached down and with a glorious light pierced my darkness and the darkness fled followed closely by my despair. Brothers and sisters, if you know something of that situation today in your own life, don’t you stop crying out with all your heart to a the living God who sees the afflictions of His people. He sees your darkness, He sees your despair. He knows your pain and He sees your struggle. He will lift you again, He will raise you up. He will flood your heart again with love and with hope and with praise. Why don’t you start today and sing this song and remind yourself that the very same Lord, the very same love that lifted you when you were drowning in sin and far from the peaceful shore will lift you once again above the stormy waters of life and then you can sing once more “Love lifted me, when nothing else could help, love lifted me.”
It is interesting to consider that the very first act of defiance against God was carried out in a pursuit of knowledge.The results of that disobedience, that desire to know, separated man from God. Consider this Scripture that speaks of riches- But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.(1Ti 6:9)
You see that riches in and of themselves are not sinful or harmful. It is the desire to be rich that draws men into temptation and a trap, and releases many hurtful lusts which the Scriptures say drown men in destruction and perdition, which means eternal destruction. These are very solemn and frightening warnings. Now I would argue that knowledge, in and of itself is fine, but the pursuit of head knowledge in relation to God has the same kind of consequences. It draws men into the harmful sins of pride and ego and of course pride separates us from God, He resists the proud.
There is a way to know Jesus more deeply, it is found through suffering. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2Co 12:9) Here Paul is speaking about how the power of God may rest upon us. It is ironic that so much of the charismatic movement is taken up with a desire for the power of Christ yet rather than submit to suffering and infirmities and simply trust in God knowing that His grace is sufficient for us, they desire the opposite. They see no place for suffering or infirmities, to them it is a sign of a lack of faith.
Can you imagine if your pastor stood up next Sunday morning and asked the congregation is they desired the power of God in their lives. We can say with great probability that almost everyone would raise their hand to that question. Next he tells the congregation that in order to truly move in the depths of Christ, to be closer to Him and to have the power of Christ rest on them they must surrender to sufferings and trials and tribulations and infirmities, not only surrender to them but praise God for them for when we are weak, then He is strong and He is glorified in the midst of our own sufferings. How many would come forward to the altar for that call?
University and Bible college will not bring you closer to God. Head knowledge will not bring you closer to God. You can pursue degree after degree and masters and doctorates, but this desire for knowledge, for the sake of knowledge will draw you away from God. Those who suffer much for His cause, those who face trial and tribulation for His sake, those who have thorns in their flesh are humbled for if the Lord will give us an abundance or revelation we need to be in such a state of humility.
God’s remnant saints walk the way of infirmities and weakness. They know what it is to be persecuted and hated for His sake. They do not desire to impress men, they do not suffer from the fear of man, they are anointed with the fear and the favor of God. The pursuit of anything other than communion and intimacy with Jesus will lead us away from Him. No matter how righteous the matter is that you are pursuing, if it is not Jesus then you are in very real danger of falling into temptations and being caught in snares. Perhaps you have been pursuing something other than God. Today is the day to die to that pursuit and know that God’s grace is sufficient for you. Rest in Him, be found in Him, it is the greatest treasure that exists and it is the only way to know Him more deeply. Come into His depths this day.
Rev 12:17Β And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Much has been written about “the woman,’and her “seed,” Who is the woman,?Who is the seed,? Who is the remnant? You can read any number of books and articles on this subject. I don’t want to write about that today. I have written many times about the remnant, indeed my website is entitled “A call to the Remnant,” and my Facebook page is simply called “The Remnant.” Yet you wont be able to read anything I write, then fit me into a certain eschatological camp. Now you will know that I do not believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, but that is about it.
I want to focus on the last few words of the above verse. When talking about the remnant of her seed John describes them. He finishes the sentence by saying they are those who “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Let me ask you something saint. Do you have the testimony of Jesus Christ in your life? Do you keep His Word? Then you are the remnant of God and you have an enemy that has made war against you.
In the latter days, which I believe we are in, then the enemy will come against the saints for a “final solution,” if you like because his time is short and he knows it. He will not come after folks simply because they are called “Christian.” He will not come after the apostate church and denominations that already do his bidding such as approve of abortion and sanction gay marriage and so on. Why would he? They are a vital ally to him as he seeks to weed out the wheat from among the tares. In Christendom today we see a field of tares and among them are stalks of wheat. And so, how to identify them? You will know them by the fact that they have a testimony. Every genuine saint has a testimony of Christ in them. And if called to give their testimony the saint gladly gives it. He or she will tell you how they were born again, how they became a new creature in Christ. They will rejoice in the retelling of that story.
They will also live exemplary lives. They will not be perfect people but their lives will glorify God. In their communities people will know of them because of the change in their lives, their very lives are a testimony to the power of God. Hundreds of years ago, many genuine saints were identified for execution because everyone in their towns or villages knew them because of their exemplary lives. Now this flies in the face of those who preach cheap grace, but that’s ok. As it was then, so now shall it be. The very lives of the saints will identify them. Their love for one another and their love for the truth will mark them. This too has always been the case. A genuine saint will never and could never deny the truth of Christ in them or the Word of God. They will not compromise with the world. Their very lack of compromise identifies them for the enemy. He will know who to make war with and his fury will be boundless, but be of good cheer saint for the Word of God says in the very same chapter that ……………….
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
(Rev 12:11)
So brothers and sisters, the enemy can and will make war against us. His power and fury will be great but blessed is the name of the Lord for He who is within us is greater than he who is in the world. By the blood of the Lamb we stand justified before a Holy God and no power that exists can ever take us out of Hid hand. By the testimony of Jesus Christ in us we stand as a witness, as a light that shines into the darkness. And because of that , because we have already died and been born again, we fear not the death of this body nor the one who can kill this body, but we magnify the one who has the power not only over our bodies but over our eternal souls. In this we stand. If He is for us, who can be against us?
Many years ago I watched a documentary about the rise of the third Reich. One of the women they interviewed said something I will never forget. It was in the 60s so it was more than 20 years after the war ended. She was asked why she had supported Hitler and why she attended the rallies and why she was so fanatical about him. She said the following “there was something in the atmosphere and we all breathed it in.” It was such an honest profound answer and in fact it was a spiritual answer even if she was unaware of that fact.
I remember when I was a teenager in Scotland. I had never been to a Celtic v Rangers game. This game was legendary. They were both Glasgow teams and the rivalry went back over one hundred years. There was an added element to their rivalry, in fact this was the major distinction of the two teams. Celtic was a “Catholic,” team and Rangers was a “Protestant,” team. This religious element only heightened the hatred between the two sets of fans. The “atmosphere,” at the game was supposed to be brilliant, such was the passion between the two sets of fans. I went to my first game when I was about 18. I discovered the atmosphere was one of sheer hatred. Even although I was completely neutral, I felt myself getting swept up in the “atmosphere.”
Today we are living in an atmosphere of hatred. One might argue, correctly, that rivalry between different groups such as blacks and whites, straight and gays, liberals and conservatives have always existed and have always been bad. I would agree but I would also argue that there is a tipping point. Once the tipping point has been achieved, it spills over into the atmosphere which then effects everyone to one degree or another depending on how much you give yourself to it. It is one thing to breathe it, it is quite another thing to breathe in deeply. The saint should be surrounded by rarified air, the air of love and grace, an atmosphere whereby one does not render evil for evil.
The tragedy of rendering evil for evil is all around us. If you hate, for whatever reason, you are being slowly eaten alive from the inside out. You have breathed in the poison. The great tipping point here in the States has been President Trump’s election. One side thinks their hatred is justified because the other side is so bad. Hatred, for whatever reason, no matter what side you are on, is a consuming fiery cancer The thing about hate is that either way it wins. And when the tipping point is reached and hatred runs amok, then the destruction of society inevitably follows. It could be World War one or two. It could be the Russian revolution. It could be the 1960s and the race riots. It could be Rwanda or the cultural revolution. There is an antidote and if we fail to seek it and to live it then we shall destroy ourselves and fall into the darkness. If you choose to breathe in deeply the air that is all around us and spew out more hatred into the atmosphere then your fate is sealed, or you could breath in the rarified air of peace and love as the Lord Jesus has commanded us saying……………
You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Mat 5:43-48)
“A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles wings, but it is a life of day in and day out consistency; a life of walking without fainting ( see Isaiah 40:31) It is not even a question of holiness and sanctification, but of something which comes much further down the road. It is a faith that has been tried and proved and has withstood the test. Abraham is not a type or an example of the holiness or sanctification, but a type of the life of faith- a faith tested and true, built on the true God.β (Oswald Chambers-My Utmost for His Highest)
God honors the saints who have been tried and tested. He knows, He sees, He understands. He measures the man on the inside. He measures the man or the woman on the whole span of their journey and not the snapshot that we tend to take of ourselves. The Lord is interested in the general thrust of our lives and the overall context of who we are and who we are becoming. The question is not how holy we are, the question becomes “are we still standing?” Are we still putting one step in front of the other? And even then the matter is not complete, for unless those steps have taken us through storms and fires and floods, then the journey that ends when we take our last breath is far from over, it is far from being established. And just like Abraham, we shall not see what is around the next bend. To see what is around the next bend would allow us to prepare ourselves in the flesh and of course faith is the evidence of things not seen. We shall go through our trials by who we are in Him. His strength in us carries us through the waters, sustains us in the fire and holds us in the storm. And when the waters recede, we stand. And when the flames die away we are still whole. And when the storm is gone, the foundation has held us strong.
Faith is obedience to the small still voice to go forward into the unknown. Faith is about still standing when the storm has raged and beaten upon your life. Faith is born and is watered in and by the storms of life. Faith is tempered and hardened by the fiery furnaces we are called to walk through. This is the measure of a man or a woman of God. Not their natural abilities of charisma, not their giftings not their statio0n in life, but their standing in God that gives them the strength to stand. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. This faith, faith in God, having seen His faith triumph in your life time and time again is the faith that pleases God. The broken saint, the one who has weathered the storms of life has this one thing above all, He has seen the faithfulness of God and knows that He is to be trusted above all things…….bro Frank
You may feel very lonely saint, but you are not alone
There is one who walks with you and sits upon His throne
You may feel very tired, this old world has got you down
But the one who dwells within your heart will always be around
You may be troubled on every side but know you will survive
For remember you were dead in sin but now you alive
The light that dwells within you is the light from up above
He breathed into your very lungs and filled your heart with love
You may have battled with despair but joy comes in the morning
The darkness tries to lie to you and fill your heart with mourning
Yet deep within your very heart sits the one upon His throne
And then when all seems lost to you, you’ll find your not alone
He is our very present help in the times we are in need
For the one for whom the Son sets free is surely free indeed
Free to call upon His name in the darkness or in the light
He’s with us through deep waters and He guides us through the night
So precious saint consider this, consider His great love
Consider He came down to us from the glories of above
He loves you so He died for you He’ll never leave you alone
He forever intercedes for you before His Father’s throne
As a people, Americans in general are self-sufficient. It was one of the first things I admired about them when I moved to Kansas from Scotland. It seemed that no matter what obstacle they faced, they came up with a solution by their own resources and by their own hand. I have no doubt whatsoever that living in the vast plains of North America for the last couple of centuries only enhanced their abilities to come up with solutions to problems that would typically require a new part or a replacement. These things were usually weeks away.
This, I would suggest, is a blessing and a curse. The self-sufficiency of man may work very well in the world, but in the realms of the Spirit it serves to hinder us. This is a nuanced problem as it requires balance as do almost all things in life whether in the world or in the Spirit and the balance would be to be self-sufficient and resourceful in the world but in the Spirit be completely reliant upon God. The problem is that when we are self-sufficient in life, we tend to have less “need,” for God. And as we have less need for Him we begin to drift away, slowly but surely.
For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of lifeΒ 2Co 1:8. It seems that the Apostle Paul is learning dependence upon God at levels few of us ever have to.
The Apostle Paul, a man esteemed above most others in the Christian world, here, with remarkable transparency and raw honesty tells us that he despaired even of life. Have you ever been so desperate and so in the depths of despair that you thought you might die? It seems strangely out-of-place in our modern world of heroes who valiantly face each and every danger with stoic strength and immovability. Yet, the ability of recognizing our dependence upon God is our very strength and the greater you are tested in this the deeper is your depth in Him.
And so trials and tribulation and sufferings tend to hammer home our need for God. We are told that we will not be tempted more than we are able and that the Lord would give us a way of escape. Many folks tend to think this means that we will avoid the very situation that Paul is speaking of in the above Scripture. Yet here the eminent Apostle Paul himself finds himself seemingly tempted more than he was able, so much so he despaired of life itself. The overall situation was above and beyond his capability and strength, spiritual or otherwise. Does this then contradict the Scripture that He would never tempt us more than we are able? Not at all, He has given us a way of escape, God Himself is our way of escape.
Maybe you find yourself in a place where you are in despair? You cannot see a way ahead. You cannot fix something no matter how resourceful and self-sufficient you are. No friends or loved ones can help, your pastor cannot help. God is your way of escape this day. He and He alone is your life-line. Fall upon Him today and humble yourself by acknowledging, just like Paul, that you are in despair. You will discover that the Lord your God is faithful. He is calling out to you and He is drawing you in, deeper into His heart. Will you take His hand this day and lay down your burdens?
These are quotes attributed to Michelangelo and I love them, for I think he expresses, without knowing, spiritual truths. What he has assigned to a block of stone and the creation of a statue, is the very thing that God does with a human being who discovers Him. “I saw the angel in the marble and carved him until I set him free.” And “Every block of stone has a statue inside of it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. And one more in reference to his most famous statue of King David “David was always there in the marble, I just took away everything that was not David.”
We who know Jesus are a work in progress. Paul says in Ephesians that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. This word perform means to complete. The work that He has begun in you, He is faithful to complete it. I want you to sit for a moment and ponder the magnificence of that. Rest in the truth that the greatest artist of all, the one who hung the stars in the sky, the one who laid the foundations of the earth, the one whoΒ created you and breathed life into you has not finished His work with you but will finish it.
The Lord has a hammer and He has a chisel. In the process of freeing you from your former self there must be the blow of the hammer down upon the chisel and we must yield to it. The Scriptures also tell us that the steps of a righteous man are ordered of God. Your life is not some series of random events that somehow hold you capture to its surrounding circumstances. No, your life is His and He is faithful to you. The swing of His hammer is the process whereby He is setting you apart. When Jesus cried to Lazarus to come forth, the coming forth was not all that happened. Lazarus was bound hand and foot with grave-clothes. He had to be set free from them. The grave-clothes had to be taken off so that the Lazarus that was brought to life would no longer be bound by death, but released and free to live.
In 1 Peter chapter 2 Peter says that we are stones being built up into a spiritual house. Every stone is shaped by the Master. Peter also says in the same chapter that we are a royal priesthood, a holy nation a peculiar people who have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light so that we may declare the praises of Jesus. When the religious men of the day plotted to kill Jesus, they also plotted to kill Lazarus. Why? Because his very lifeΒ testified to the Master, the creator of life, the one who rolls the stone away, the one who shines light into the darkness, the one who bids us come out of the darkness and join Him in His marvelous light.
You are such a one saint. Dont let the enemy fool you or lie to you. You are His creation. He created you, He breathed life into you, He called you out, He raised you up, He healed you, He forgave you, He restored you, he reconciled you, when you passed through the waters He was with you, while you were refined by the fire He was with you, when you were down He raised you up, He died for you, He rose again for you and He ever intercedes at the right hand of the Father for and He has not finished with you but He is faithful and true to complete which He has begun in you and He does it all for His good pleasure. You are His, you were bought with a very expensive price. He has not forgotten you. Lift your hands towards heaven today and open your heart and let this truth flood into your very being. God bless you my brother, God bless you my sister. Keep on going, there are a cloud of witness cheering you, you are God’s work of art and all other works of art are but a mere shadow, a pale imitation at best of what the Lord is creating in you.
Though the fig tree shall not blossom
And no fruit hangs from the trees
Nor field’s of wheat for harvest
Nor fish found in the seas
I shall rejoice in the Lord my God
He is the God of my salvation
He makes me strong when I am weak
And is a light to every nation
He takes me up to higher ground
And sets my spirit free
To dance and sing and praise His name
And to come on bended knee
Even in the midst of judgement
He shall not forget His mercy
And His glory will cover all the world
And He is water to the thirsty
He is freedom to the ones in chains
He is food to those who hunger
And to those who are so very weak
The Lord is so much stronger
He is your strength to carry on
He is your strong high tower
He has filled you with His Holy Ghost
And so endued you with His power
So glorify the Living God
For His mercy endures forever
He is strong when you are weak
And has the power to deliver
Walk on dear saint you’re not alone
For your God He sits upon His throne
Night and day He never sleeps
He is the comforter to all who weeps
So in the midst of darkness stand in light
Walk in the day for comes the night
When the enemy roars in like a mighty flood
We shall not drown who are covered by His Blood
“As soon as they had come to land they saw a fire of coals there, and fish on it, and bread.” (John 21:9)
All night long the disciples had fished and had caught nothing, yet one word from the lord and the nets were full. Notice that when Peter jumped overboard and swam ashore, there was already fish cooking on a fire of coals and there was bread. So often in this world we strive, just like the disciples, for what we need but we do it without Jesus. Sometimes we achieve something, many times we do not, but the common denominator is striving. Remember when the disciples were rowing across the waters in the midst of a great storm and were getting nowhere? They were exhausted and probably frightened, then, Jesus comes walking on the water and enters their boat and suddenly they were at the other side. As soon as Jesus enters all striving ceases. Have you found such rest in Jesus? Do you get caught up with this life and its constant demands? It’s exhausting isn’t it? Now I am not telling you not to work or indeed not to work hard. Yet, there can be hard work and there can be striving. When you walk with Jesus, when promotion or more money is not the dominant thought, there is peace. To be content with where you are right now is not to be passive at all. One can work as unto the Lord but still the focus being on Jesus. If I know that even if all my hard work does not produce the results I was looking for, that there is still fish cooking on a coal of fires and bread from heaven to eat then I am at peace. And the irony is, when we are anxious for nothing, when we do not worry about the things that worry the people of the world, then so often there is a net of fish so full that it seems impossible that it would not break. In God there is peace, shall we not invite Him in to our boat today?
If you are going through a time of isolation, seemingly all alone, read John 17 . It will explain exactly why you are where you areβ because Jesus has prayed that you βmay be oneβ with the Father as He is. Are you helping God to answer that prayer, or do you have some other goal for your life? Since you became a disciple, you cannot be as independent as you used to be. God reveals in John 17 that His purpose is not just to answer our prayers, but that through prayer we might come to discern His mind. Yet there is one prayer which God must answer, and that is the prayer of Jesusβ ββ¦that they may be one just as We are oneβ¦β (John 17:22). Are we as close to Jesus Christ as that?
God is not concerned about our plans; He doesnβt ask, βDo you want to go through this loss of a loved one, this difficulty, or this defeat?β No, He allows these things for His own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, and nobler men and women, or they are making us more critical and fault-finding, and more insistent on our own way. The things that happen either make us evil, or they make us more saintly, depending entirely on our relationship with God and its level of intimacy. If we will pray, regarding our own lives, βYour will be doneβ (Matthew 26:42), then we will be encouraged and comforted by John 17, knowing that our Father is working according to His own wisdom, accomplishing what is best. When we understand Godβs purpose, we will not become small-minded and cynical. Jesus prayed nothing less for us than absolute oneness with Himself, just as He was one with the Father. Some of us are far from this oneness; yet God will not leave us alone until we are one with Himβ because Jesus prayed, ββ¦that they all may be oneβ¦.β (Oswald Chambers)
What could we desire in heaven and on earth but the glory of God! It is necessary to desire the glory of God as He desires it. God, who knows all things, has a plan of operation. He does all things at just the right time. He waits until the right hour to accomplish His will. When Jesus entered this world He could have converted the world at once and destroyed all evil, but His wisdom did not direct Him to do so. Listen to the Lord as He says “My hour has not yet come.” Do not interfere with His perfect timing by trying to advance it or hold it back. Fall on your knees before Him and acknowledge your nothingness. Seek only to be an instrument in His hands. He may use you or set you aside as pleases. Be totally committed to His desires, and indifferent to your own. It should not matter to you whether He uses you or not. Remain in Gods hands. He may cast down or build up. Let Him do whatever He pleases, both in you and through you.( Madam Guyon)
Are we truly seeking the glory of God in our lives brothers and sisters? Do we have such a radical sold out relationship as the two authors above were alluding to? To be dead to this flesh is to be one with God. Is that not why Jesus came to that we could be one with Him as He is one with the Father, and for what purpose? So that the world would know that He came from the Father. So that we could abide in the glory. What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and when we walk in the oneness of God, the very purpose of Him coming, then we revel in the glory, we are partakers of His glory. And that glory is a light unto a dark world.
I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.(Joh 17:23-24)
As long as the Church had remained separate it had been a powerful witness for Christ in the world and was constantly drawing converts into its holy fellowship. When, however, already weakened by the adoption of human rule in place of the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it was suddenly brought into partnership with the state, it became itself defiled and debased. Very soon the clergy were competing for lucrative positions and for power as shamelessly as the court officials, while in congregations where a godless element predominated the material advantages of a profession of Christianity changed the purity of the persecuted churches into worldliness. The church was thus powerless to stem the downward course of the civilized world into corruption. (E.H.Broadbent- The pilgrim Church pg 46)
Broadbent is speaking of what happened when the church was swallowed up by the Roman empire in the times of Constantine. There was a purity in the persecuted church, the persecution itself kept them close to God and dependent upon Him, but when the persecution stopped and they now found themselves in the ranks of the rich and the powerful, in very short order it was totally corrupt. The western Roman empire did not survive very long after it co-opted the church. The deeper principal at play here was separation from the world enhances purity in the Church. It does this because when we are clearly separate from the world we incur the wrath of the world. We are, so to speak, the conscience of the world. The world should be able to look at us and see something very different from itself. When it does, it brings about conviction of sin and hatred from the world because of that. Yet Jesus had already told us that if the world hated Him it would certainly hate us. And so, hatred leads to persecution and along with persecution, the Church is purified as it suffers for the cause of Christ. A unique anointing rests upon us when we are fulfilling our role in this world. But in the west at least, we have wanted that anointing without any willingness to suffer or to be the conscience of the world, to be a counter-culture rather than to be a sub-culture.
Indeed, the vast majority of what passes for the church now is seeker friendly to one degree or another. We do our best to be just like the world so that we shall not offend it in any way. We become like social workers in our desire to befriend the world. In multiple denominations now it has went far beyond that, embracing as normal, the sins that have taken society by the throat and are tearing it apart. Divorce, homosexuality, living with one another and pre-marital sex have been embraced by many. We are no longer the conscience of the world but have become part of the instruments of searing their conscience. Our own worldliness has led to the darkness that is plunging the world headlong into hell. The good news is that there are some issues that are really black and white for any genuine saint. Homosexuality would be one of them. No genuine Christian could embrace this lifestyle choice and because of that we shall undoubtedly find ourselves once again the conscience of the world. This of course will lead to persecution which will lead to the particular anointing that rests upon the church when it is persecuted for the sake of Truth, for the sake of Jesus.
We shall once again be a powerful witness in the world, albeit a much smaller group than what professes to be Christian. But it will still be a powerful group of countless millions of saints. The remnant saints of God shall be compelled, because of their love for the truth and for Jesus, to come out of the world and the worldly church. We shall regain again the mantle of the Church, we shall know this because the world will hate us just like it hated our Lord. We servants are not greater than our Master, if the world hated Him it will hate us. If He suffered their wrath then so shall we. If it is His will that we shall suffer then we shall be anointed. This is, in fact, what you were called to do, because: The Messiah also suffered for you and left an example for you to follow in his steps (1 Pet 2:21)
The Lord gave me a word not so long ago based on Isa 19, it really opened up to me what is going on among us in society and the world. The truth is we are being judged. Jehovah has come down, and it not a good thing for the world when He comes down. Society is set against each other and hate and mistrust reign in the hearts of men. We saints must be on guard against the spirit of this age for it surely comes for us, it especially comes for us. I am reminded of a lesson I learned, how to love your enemy, that almost ripped my heart out and killed me.The enemy had come and took from me the apple of my eye and I raged with the injustice of it. I remember crying out to God, lying on the floor “It’s not possible, your asking me to do something that is not possible.” Actually I was kinda shouting it. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart. I had not heard Him in such a long time, so when He spoke I was like a dying man in the desert drinking life saving water.
He reminded me of Abraham and how Abraham stood in front of Him. The boldness of that. Then Abraham interceded on behalf of Sodom, and the Holy Spirit repeated that for effect “Sodom, Frank, you know that even until this day that Sodom is a byword for wickedness.” He showed me that Sodom was indeed judged but the Lord was happy with the spirit of Abraham interceding on their behalf. He told me that if Abraham could intercede for Sodom, I could love my enemy who had stolen from me by getting close enough to slip the knife in between my ribs and penetrate my heart with poison and left me slowly dying. Then the Lord spoke to me and told me that He did not skip to Calvary. The path that He took to Gethsemane and then Calvary, He knew that once the work was completed that not only would mercy flow, but judgment too and He wept for all those who would be lost. It was a fresh revelation to me of Calvary and I got up from the floor. I had walked the floor so many nights and the battle that I had waged for several months, that had consumed me, where anger and bitterness and hatred and even murder had tormented me, the battle was now over. I will be truthful, I almost did not make it. This was no foregone conclusion even although I had been on the road for a long time.The Lord reminded me that justice was His and mines was to love my enemy and do good to those who spitefully used me.
Just a few months ago I sat beside my former enemy in Church as my grandson was baptized. In front of me was her sidekick who had also caused our family so much heartache. I was amazed at the love I had for both of them in my heart. This was no mere grudging stoic acceptance where I just did the right thing because it was the right thing to do, this was a deep and abiding love and I knew that it came from the Lord Jesus in me, it penetrated every part of who I was. Frank in the flesh would have destroyed them, the old man in me. But the old man is defeated and the new man reigns. We live in a day, much like the saints of old lived, where it is so vital to love our enemies who hate us so much. Now more than ever we must be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Maybe you are struggling this day with un-forgiveness. Your flesh is screaming so loud you can barely hear anything else. It has consumed you and the bitterness of it is hollowing you out. There is a way of escape my friend. It is time to give it up. It is a death process but if love is to prevail and heal the poison of your heart you will have to lay it down and leave it with God. Can you do that? I pray for you even now that you can. The light beckons you to come home and leave the darkness. Come home to the warmth of a brand new day and leave the night behind.
Many years ago my mother was homeless. After many long years living with a violent alcoholic husband, she entered a shelter for battered women. There was no intention on her part to ever divorce my dad, simply to separate from him fifteen years after coming to the Lord. The day she came to the Lord was the day that violence erupted in our house. When she was in the home for battered women she witnessed to many of the women in there. Every night she would cry out to the Lord for a place to live. Typically you would get a government house in a housing scheme or what my American friends would call the projects.
The ladies would often remind my mom what kind of apartment she would get because she was telling them that the Lord had something for her. She had put a little money aside and had given it to a trusted family friend for safe keeping. After three months of living in the homeless shelter with my young brother, my mum was wearied. She felt in her heart that the Lord had let her down. She confessed this to her closest friend and the friend prayed with her. As she left that friend the Lord spoke to her heart. He told her to go and get the money she had put aside with the trusted friend and then she was to go to the private landlord’s office who owned the property she had left my dad in. She was to ask for an apartment to rent.
Now, my dad, being an alcoholic had not paid the rent in a long time, they were $800 in arrears which thirty-five years ago, in Scotland, was a huge amount of arrears. My mother thought about this as she made her way to the office to speak to the office manager, a well-known stern woman. My mother felt the humiliation long before she got to the office but she was determined to be obedient. She took a deep breath and was ushered into the manager’s office. She poured her heart out to this woman and told her everything that had transpired. The women gave little away in her expression. When my mom had finished her story and had asked if the lady had anything to offer her, there was a moment of silence as the woman just stared at my mum. She reached over and opened a drawer and took out a key. She held this key up to my mum and told her that she had held onto this key of a nice apartment for three months.
She told my mum she had no idea why she had done this and then said these words that have burned themselves into my mom’s memory, she said “Surely there is a God.” From the very beginning of my mom’s homelessness God had set aside a key. He had it all in hand. Not very long after my mom moved into this apartment my father gave his heart to the Lord and they were reunited and retook their marriage vows after my dad was baptized. Over the next three years they paid every penny of the $800 arrears to the landlord. Often times when we are crying out to the Lord for something or we are in some kind of situation, we have no idea that the Lord already has the solution in hand, we just cannot see it. Maybe you are in some kind of situation today, you have cried out to the Lord and at this snap-shot in time you cannot see anything. Can I encourage you that God knows, He has not forgotten you, He has it all in hand, your prayer will be answered right on time, the Lord’s time. He is the key and He will open up a way before you.
Eleven years ago was my 25th wedding anniversary. My wife and I had decided to go to the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia and use that as our headquarters and travel for 16 days through-out the region. Shortly before leaving for the trip the Holy Spirit spoke to me. He told me I was going to have a significant encounter and that it would change everything. I assumed I was going to meet someone. We rented a house that was actually attached to the walled city, it was part of the stone drawbridge and had a magnificent stone terrace that overlooked the enchanting harbor of the city.
As I stood there one day, basking in a warm sun that was rising majestically from behind ancient mountains, a glorious and indescribable presence enveloped me. I had experienced the manifest presence of God many times before but nothing like this. It seemed to permeate my very DNA. Every part of me was alive and captivated, from my head right down to my toes and all around me and then suddenly I was in another place. The strange thing was that I was consciously aware that my body was still standing there but my spirit was “standing,” in this vision.
I was looking at some amalgam of the old testament Tabernacle and Solomon’s temple. In a grand square there was a great number of people. I asked who they were and was told they were the vast majority of people who called themselves Christians.They were standing in what I was told was the court of the gentiles. A great sadness came over me as I witnessed a tremendous amount of activity going on in the court. I wondered why they were not passing through a low door that was in a wall that led to the inner sanctuary. I was told that they would not bow down which would enable them to pass through the door. I could see what was behind the door in the wall, it was the inner sanctuary.
There was first a brazen altar. It was a foul-smelling place but deeply loved by God. The few who came though the door brought sacrifices of sin it seemed to me. They were coming forward not to get something but to give up foul-smelling sins that had so easily beset them. It took great humility to come before this place and acknowledge these secrets of their heart but they were readily burned up in a fire that continually burned. People sacrificed rags and were clothed in fine white linen. People sacrificed perversions and were given purity. Lies were sacrificed and truth was given. All manner of sin was replaced by holiness and purity.
Then they moved forward to the laver bowl where they washed themselves before moving on to be fed by shewbread which filled them in a way that they would never again hunger. Then they stood in the light of the lampstands, no longer ashamed but washed clean and made pure and able to stand in the light of God for He had cleansed them. Lastly their prayers began to rise up and come before the throne of God Himself. I looked again at the vast crowd outside of the manifest presence of God, engaged in much activity in the court of the gentiles and I was amazed that they would not enter. So close to entering in, but so unwilling to give up the things of this world, too proud to bow down and enter through the door, too ashamed to give up their innermost foul-smelling sin.
Suddenly I was back standing on the terrace. I looked out over a motionless sea where it met a cloudless sky and the rising sun warmed me with such a fierce intensity. In this fire of His presence I was alive with a life I knew would never end. This was my encounter with my glorious indescribable Jesus. When I returned home I was given a word from the Lord by a dear saint who knew nothing about this. I was to “write to the nations.” It seemed such a grandiose word, “write to the nations.” Nevertheless I was obedient to the Word. I started a website and began to lay bare my heart with what the Lord had taught me.
I was to speak to the remnant. I was not to try to convince anyone of anything but simply speak to those in the courtyard and encourage them who had ears to hear, to bow down low and enter through the low door and into the inner sanctuary. Just over ten years later I have written over one thousand articles,more than 300 poems, two books and many hymns that have been recorded. and the inspiration for all of that flowed from that encounter. Amazingly I have reached over five hundred thousand people from over 160 nations. God is faithful to those He calls, may we be faithful to His calling.
I want to be honest. Shortly after I had a second vision. It was somehow connected to the first. I was standing in church one Sunday morning and suddenly I found myself plunged under a fast flowing river on a bed of smooth stones. It took my breath away and I immediately began to struggle and panic. I was going to drown. The Holy Spirit held me gently but firm and spoke to me ” breathe Frank.” That was all He said. I fearfully opened my mouth and found that I could breathe. Then I somehow “knew,” what this was about. The waters that were rushing over me were troubled waters. The Lord wanted the troubled waters of this life to remove my hard edges, I was not to fight it. The following ten years were the most troubled years of all of my Christianity. Trial after trial. Despair. Wretchedness. Loss, like an incoming tide, came to me over and over again. Sleepless nights pacing the floor, sometimes on the floor crying out to God. And I thought often of the time I had cried out to God with somewhat naive optimism saying “whatever it takes Lord to make me useful in your Kingdom.”
All of this brothers and sisters I have found along the narrow path that we sojourn together. Like all the pilgrim saints , the long narrow way home is often a lonely, weary and exhausting road. But we have glimpsed something glorious have we not? We have in our mind and soul and spirit saw something of our eternal destination. It is high and lifted up. He is high and lifted up. The Lord Jesus is not only our companion along the way He is our destination. Don’t ask me to explain that. He is behind me and He hedges me around about, He goes before me and He dwells within me. Yet my destination is the unadulterated presence of the living God where the flesh is no longer a barrier that limits the glory. A place where this world is no longer a distraction nor competes for my attention. To finally dwell in a high and lofty place where I know as I am known. Oh to know as I am known, tis another world indeed, it is our world, it our home, it is our destination and every step we take is another step closer. Keep on walking saints though the road seem hard and lonely, keep on walking and lift up your head and see the glory. It is closer than you think.
A Call To The Remnant 