The Promise of the Father

Acts 1:3-5 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: ⁴ And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. ⁵ For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

John 16:7, 13 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you…… Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

 After His resurrection, Jesus spent forty days with His disciples sharing more with them concerning the kingdom of God. Jesus had told them before the crucifixion that He must go away so that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth that would teach of Him, would come. In  His final instructions to His disciples Jesus told them to go back to Jerusalem to “wait for the promise of the Father.”  Many of them were obedient to wait until the promise came.  Most likely there were more than that initially, but they got tired of waiting and went home. 

When they waited they worshiped, prayed, and brought petitions before the Father.  They even found a replacement for Judas Iscariot to fill the empty spot amongst the twelve. 

I do not think they really knew what it was that they were waiting for or how long it would be until the promise would come.  I do not think they knew what it was going to be like.  But when the Promise came, they recognized Him, and began to flow with what He was doing.  It was probably a pretty wild time. There had never seen anything like it before. 

In much the same way, we are waiting for a promise from the Father.  Many have felt a great expectancy of something from the Father coming in their lives or region.  We do not know exactly what it is going to be like, nor how soon we will see it.  But we faithfully wait and pray and position ourselves to partake of that which our Father is about to pour out.  We wait and pray and position ourselves to flow with Him in what He is about to do.  Today is a day of preparation.  It is a day of letting God strip off the things that can get in the way or obscure our view or distort our perception of things as they unfold. 

Just as on the Day of Pentecost they had to think outside the box, we are in a day when it is not going to be church as usual and we need to think outside our traditional religious boxes.  Even amongst Pentecostals/Charismatics, we have traditional religious boxes that we have developed over the years.  They must go to make room for the new thing, whatever that looks like.  Lord Jesus help us.

Banner of Love

Song of Songs 2:4  He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

According to Nelson’s Bible Dictionary “A banner is a flag, ensign, streamer, or emblem attached to the end of a standard. Banners served as rallying points for military, national, or religious purposes……The most common use of banners was for military campaigns. A large signal flag usually was erected on a hill or other high place.”

 

God is raising up a warrior bride/army. The banner over God’s warrior bride/army is a banner of love.  This warrior bride will have a fierce love for God and for each other.    

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

You may wonder about my choice of the word “fierce.”  That is the word I heard from the Lord.  I looked up the word in the dictionary.   Here are some definitions of “fierce” from Webster’s Dictionary:   “marked by unrestrained zeal or vehemence, furiously active or determined, having or showing a lot of strong emotion : very strong or intense.”

I think that could describe the love that will characterize the bride of Christ in these last days.  It will be necessary to have that kind of love.  That kind of love comes from God.  It is not something we can find within ourselves.  God is love.  His love shines forth to us.  Then through us back to Him and to each other.

Song of Songs 8:6-7 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. ⁷ Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

 

Becoming Unfruitful

Matthew 13:22 KJV He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

Matthew 13:22 AMP As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and the pleasure and delight and glamour and deceitfulness of riches choke and suffocate the Word, and it yields no fruit.

In the parable of the sower, we see that the seed that is received into thorny ground is choked and becomes unfruitful. Plants become unfruitful if they are attempting to grow in a garden where the weeds are not removed.  In the same way in the life of a Christian unless we have the thorns/weeds removed from our lives we can hear the Word of God over and over and it will not bear fruit in our lives. 

The care of this world is one of the thorns/weeds that will choke the Word and lead to unfruitfulness.  Care can involve being concerned and anxious. It can be the many distractions that can take our focus away from the Lord. 

This parable also mentions the deceitfulness of riches.  A person may think, that cannot possibly apply to them, because they do not have much money.  But the deceitfulness of riches can be a snare to anyone no matter how little or how much money a person has. Our culture, in particular advertising, tells us that we have all these “things” in order to be somebody or be valued in this life. That is a lie and many buy into it.  It is a deception that is constantly put before us.  Our true value is found in Christ not in whether we have the latest greatest whatever. This type of thinking can choke out the Word of God and keep us from the true riches that are in Christ. I am not saying having things chokes the Word, but how we think about the things, what value we place on them is what can choke out the Word.

We may even bear good fruit for a time, but then these thorns/weeds may begin to grow in our lives.  Like in a garden the weeds continue to seek to grow and hinder our fruit bearing.  We must be vigilant to stay free from these things so we can bear much fruit.

John 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

God Knows My Frame

Psalm 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

I serve a God that is so vast and perfect and powerful.  My God is the creator of all things, and yet, He cares about me and my every need.  He knows everything about me.  He knows my every weakness and still loves me. He is always seeking to draw me on into a place of greater maturity in Him. He sees the greatness in me that I do not see.  He will meet me where I am at and encourage me to step into what He has for me. 

Gideon found this to be true.  God came to him while he was hiding from the enemy and called him a “mighty man of valor.” (Judges 6:12)  When God told Gideon about the victory he was to have to save Israel from their enemy, Gideon went on to explain to God the reasons he knew that wasn’t possible. But God knew differently and did not pay attention to Gideon’s reasons why he could not accomplish the task God had for him.  God showed him signs along the way to help him, such as, having fire come out of the rock and consume the meat and bread that Gideon had prepared. There was also the commonly talked about sign with the fleece being wet and the fleece being dry that was yet another confirmation from God. 

So Gideon proceeded to gather an army.  Then God told him that was too many men.  After God had taken to army down to 300 men, he told Gideon it was now time to go down against the enemy, because God had delivered them into his hand. 

Here is the part that I find especially comforting and encouraging----Judges 7:10-11 But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: ¹¹ And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.

God did not condemn Gideon for still being afraid, He just made a way for him to be encouraged to go forth into the victory that was promised. After taking his servant to the enemy camp, hearing about a dream one of the men had and the interpretation of it, Gideon was able to lead the men forth into battle.  They went forth and God gave them the victory.

 God knows my frame.  He knows my weakness and provides what I need to move on into victory. 

BUILT TOGETHER

Jesus is the corner stone of the building that God is constructing.  Each stone when it placed in its proper place is placed in alignment with Jesus Christ.  Again we must be in agreement and alignment with Christ to be properly aligned with the others that God is building with. 

Ephesians 2:20-22 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; ²¹ In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: ²² In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

 

Ephesians 4:11-13 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; ¹² For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: ¹³ Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

UNITY

When an orchestra tunes up before a performance all the instruments tune to one note.  Then when they play a song they are in tune with each other.  They harmonize with each other.  When we as Christians are all tuned to the Lord Jesus Christ will be in tune with each other.  We will harmonize with each other.  We will be at peace and function well with each other.  In this way when we are in agreement or alignment with God we are in agreement or alignment with each other.  That is how true unity in the body of Christ comes. 

Ephesians 4:3-6  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ One Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

WALKING IN AGREEMENT

Amos 3:3  Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Several months ago I had an experience where I saw a vague picture of the back of a person that I believed to be the Lord.  I heard the Lord say “Come, walk with Me.”  So I saw myself step up beside the person and put my hand in His.  At that moment I heard, “How can two walk together, except they be agreed?”  With that I found myself on the floor with my face planted in the carpet repenting concerning every way in which I was not in agreement or alignment with Jesus. I really thought I had been doing ok with God, but I soon saw that it was the little things that were out of agreement or alignment with God.  It is the little foxes that spoil the vine.   

Song of Solomon 2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

The dictionary defines agreement as harmony of opinion, action, or character.  Alignment is defined as the proper positioning or state of adjustment of parts in relation to each other. 

 

When I am in agreement and alignment with God I will be at peace with Him, walking in victory over the forces of darkness, and in proper relationship to other Christians. 

Awake and Arise

For at least a year this phrase has come to me often…”Awake and Arise.”  I think of 9/11.  There was a brief period of awakening because of the alarm.  But then it seems people just went back to sleep, kind of like hitting the snooze button on the alarm, which I tend to do quite frequently.   God is looking for His people to awake and arise, not keep hitting the snooze button on the alarm and roll over and go back to sleep or just lay there in bed kind of half asleep, half awake. It is time for the people of God to awake and arise and to move forward into the fullness of the Spirit.  We are moving into a time when we will not be able to slumber and sleep any longer.  But now is the time to awake and arise in order to be prepared for what is coming.  It is important to awake and arise to move with God in what He has planned for the coming days.  It will be the best of times and the worst of times.  For those who are prepared and walking with God, I believe it will be the best of times. Now is the time to awake and arise into what God has for you.

Ephesians 5:13-19  But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. ¹⁴ Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. ¹⁵ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, ¹⁶ Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

The Cleansing Blood

1 John 1:7….and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Yesterday, as I was singing the hymn “Nothing But The Blood,” I was reminded of an experience I had a number of years ago during a church service. In that church service we were singing about the cross and the blood.  As we did I saw a picture of myself under the cross and Jesus was on the cross.  Blood began to pour out of Him and down over me.  It was like I was standing under a faucet or a shower head and it was turned on full blast.  The blood just washed down over me. 

The chorus of that hymn says “Oh! Precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”  When the blood shower was finished, I was shining bright like snow with sun reflecting off of it.  It was so bright you could not really tell it was me.  It was like the glory of God shining forth from me as a result of that cleansing that only the blood of Jesus can bring. 

Nothing But The Blood

By Robert Lowry

Verse 1

“What can wash away my sin?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

Chorus

“Oh! Precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” 

Verse 2

“For my pardon this I see, Nothing but the blood of Jesus; For my cleansing this my plea, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

Verse 3

“Nothing can for sin atone, Nothing but the blood of Jesus; naught of good that I have done, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

Verse 4

“This is all my hope and peace, Nothing but he blood of Jesus; This is all my righteousness; Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”  

 

The Only Acceptable Sacrifice

The only sacrifice for sin that is acceptable to God is Jesus Christ.  All the sacrifices laid out in the Old Testament/Old Covenant looked forward to fulfillment in Jesus Christ. We can try to do enough good works as a sacrifice for sin, but that does not work.  It is only through the sacrifice of Jesus’ body and blood on the cross that we are set free from our sin. 

Cain tried to make a sacrifice to God from the sweat of his own brow, from the work of tilling the ground.  But that sacrifice was not acceptable to God.  Abel offered up the sacrifice of a lamb and its blood.  The sacrifice of the lamb looked forward to Jesus, the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. 

Religion tries to do enough work by the sweat of the brow to make an acceptable sacrifice unto God for sin.  But that can never happen.  It is only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that can be an acceptable sacrifice.

Hebrews 10:3-10   But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. ⁴ For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. ⁵ Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: ⁶ In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.

⁷ Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. ⁸ Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; ⁹ Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. ¹⁰ By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Genesis 4:3-5 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. ⁴ And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: ⁵ But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Hebrews 9:22 RSV  Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

True Freedom

Today, being Independence Day, I am thinking about freedom.  To me Independence Day is about celebrating the freedoms we have in the United States of America.  True freedom does not come from our government.  Nor does it come from being independent.  True freedom comes from absolute dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ.   Jesus came to set us free from every sin and bondage. 

Independence Day is the day the United States of America celebrates the declaration that this nation was separating itself from the oppressive rule of another nation.  Each one of us can have our own Independence Day.  The day we choose to separate ourselves from the oppressive rule of Satan and his demons and submit to the rule of Jesus Christ, in whom we find freedom, is our own individual Independence Day.

John 8:32 KJV And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 8:34-36 KJV Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. ³⁵ And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. ³⁶ If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

2 Corinthians 3:17 AMP  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom).

Galatians 5:1 RSV For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

James 1:25 NIV  But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

More Than Earthly Riches

Job 22:23-25 (Eliphaz) If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. ²⁴ Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. ²⁵ Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

Job 23:10 (Job) But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold

Eliphaz counseled Job, stating that if he will just repent and return to the Almighty, that he will be blessed with the riches of gold and silver.  How often do we here that today from the pulpit or on Christian TV?

The riches that God has promised us are far beyond the riches of gold and silver.  Job understood this.  In Job’s response to these comments by Eliphaz he stated, But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.   Job knew that the true riches were a life that was as pure as gold, a life that God had formed and conformed into His image and likeness. 

Job did eventually have his earthly riches restored, but more importantly he maintained his integrity and was purified by the trial that he went through. 

Only A Foundation

1 Corinthians 3:11-15  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; ¹³ Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. ¹⁴ If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. ¹⁵ If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

 Far too many in the body of Christ only have a foundation, and nothing built upon it.  Having Jesus Christ as your foundation is a very good thing. We must have Jesus in our lives to be saved, for there is salvation in no other.  But it is also important to build on that foundation with something of quality.

We can build on the foundation with wood, hay, or stubble and still be left with only a foundation in the end.  These all will be burned up and we will be left with a pile of ashes, when we are at the judgment seat of Christ.  I do not want to stand there with only a pile of ashes to show for the life I lived on this earth.  Wood, hay, and stubble all grow on the surface of the earth.  None of them is very costly to buy.  Nor does it take too much work to harvest them for use to build with.

On the other hand gold, silver, and precious stones will not burn up when fire is put to them.  They will last.  Gold, silver, and precious stones are all costly.  They will cost us something, such as time invested, denial of certain earthly pleasures, embracing of the ways of God, etc.  Gold, silver, and precious stones are found under the surface of the earth.  They are found in the deep, dark mine shafts of the earth.  Sometimes the gaining of these will come through times of darkness.  Sometimes it will take a lot of effort to gain them.  Then to be able to build with them there is the purifying and molding process for gold and silver.  Precious stones will need to be cut and polished. This also takes time and effort.  But the end result will be well worth the cost.  The result will be something of eternal value.  It will last for all eternity. 

God Shelf

Recently I was thinking about something I was told by someone who had ministered in India.  They said that often the “converts” in India just add Jesus to their god shelf.  In India they worship many gods and so Jesus just gets added as one more god in the multitude.  But Jesus is not just one more god.  He is the Supreme, Almighty, Most High God.  When we say “yes” to Jesus, we are saying “Yes, I want You to be the Lord of all in my life.”  There is to be no other, for in Jesus alone do we find life.  Jesus is the only way to God the Father.  Salvation is only found in Jesus.  No other god has taken on human flesh and died to redeem mankind from their sin.  No other god can claim the role of Creator. 

We as Christians know these things about Jesus.  But how often do we just add Jesus to the god shelf of our lives?  How many other gods do we serve?  Entertainment?  Pleasure?  Education?  Work? Possesions?  Self? 

2 Kings 17:33 They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

 

John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² The same was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

God Delights in Mercy

Micah 7:18-19  Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. ¹⁹ He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

The Lord God Almighty delights in showing mercy.  Religion has taught that God is looking for a reason to punish.  But that is not true.  God is looking for a reason to show mercy.

As an example I think of Ahab, who was a very wicked king of Israel.  (1 Kings 16:30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.1 Kings 21:25  But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.)

One day Elijah, the prophet, was sent to give a message to Ahab concerning judgment that was coming upon his family because of the wickedness that he had engaged in and that which he was about to do.  Ahab responded by repenting before the Lord.  Repentance attracts God’s mercy. Immediately God brought Ahab’s repentance to the attention of Elijah and pushed back the judgment until the day of the sons of Ahab.  My guess is that had his sons also repented it would have been pushed back again, because God delights in mercy. 

1 Kings 21:27-29 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. ²⁸ And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ²⁹ Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.

Knowing that God delights in mercy is a comfort to me. 

Living the Message

Hosea 1:2-3 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD. ³ So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.

Hosea was a man who was willing to live the message of God’s love before the people of Israel.  Many of the prophets were asked to do unusual things as prophetic demonstrations of the message that God had for His people.  Just as today we have television/movies/internet where we can see and not just hear or read a message, these men were asked to show the message.  Jesus spoke often in parables using examples of things that the people were actually seeing as they were their listening to Him.

Hosea’s demonstration of the message was quite costly personally.  He was to take a woman of “whoredoms and children of whoredoms.”  Some have said this was just an allegory and Hosea really did not marry this woman.  That is not what the scripture says.  It says that he was to take her as his own and then when she went back to her other lovers, he bought her back when she was being sold into slavery.  Hosea was a living demonstration of the love of God for His people.  He was a living demonstration of God’s heart for His people Israel and for each one of us personally. 

The obedience of Hosea is an example of a man who was willing to live the message of God no matter the cost.  Marrying a prostitute and then buying her back must have brought tremendous reproach upon him personally.  It must have been incredibly painful to obey God and then be hurt so deeply by the rejection of Gomer.  It must have also been costly in the natural having to pay the price to buy her back.  But Hosea’s love for Gomer, for God, and for his nation caused him to walk in obedience no matter the cost. 

Am I willing to suffer such reproach and heart pain in obedience to God?  Am I willing to live the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ no matter what it may cost me?  The message Hosea lived demonstrated the tremendous longsuffering love of God.  It demonstrated God’s heart of compassion for the backslider.  Will I live the message by demonstrating God’s love to the backslider?  Will I live the message in whatever way He asks?  These are question I ask myself as I contemplate the life of Hosea, prophet of God.