JOURNEY OF FAITH
Day Forty-five
WHY DO I EXIST
INTRODUCTION
For those 38 years leading up to that momentous day October 17, 1981, I lay in the spiritual gutter of sin, wallowing in its muck and mire…utterly destitute, hopeless and helpless, without hope and without God. On that wonderful day, Blessed Jesus, ou saw me lying there, and with eyes of compassion, reached out Your nail-pierced hand to me, inviting me, “My child…come with Me. I have prepared a place for You in My Father’s House.”
The moment I reached up and took hold of Your hand, You drew me to Your Bosom and embraced me. You removed the filthy rags of sin that clothed me, and immersed my body and my soul in Your precious and priceless Blood…to soak there in Your Blood. You soaked away all the filth that was caked up on my soul…all the sin, all the wretchedness, all the degradation. You bathed my body and my soul in Your Own Blood…washed me, cleansed me, and made me clean. Then You dressed me in the white robes of Your Own Righteousness, and presented me before the Father. As I stood there before the Father…washed in the Blood of the Lamb, dressed in the white robes of Your Own Righteousness, pure and holy now in His sight, without spot or wrinkle or blemish, accepted now in the Beloved…I heard, with ecstatic wonder, the Father say, “My child…this day I have adopted you…through birth and Blood…into My Family. You are now and forevermore My child, and I am forevermore your Father and your God.”
My life was never again the same…a wonderful journey into the depths of God ever since! This Scripture became a literal reality: Therefore, beloved, since you are now joined together in a living union of oneness with Christ Jesus My Son, you are a new creation. You are no longer the same person you formerly were…your previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away. Behold, a fresh, new life has begun!
For so long…so many, many, years…I had sinned against God. I had sinned against Him so often…so very often, and so deeply…so very deeply. Up to that point in time, for the 13 years of my adult life, I had tried everything to fill that felt-sense of emptiness…a void, a relentless aching…in the depths of my soul for something…I knew not what…that was missing. Nothing satisfied that emptiness; nothing filled that void. Having been raised Catholic, I came to the conclusion that it must be God that I was missing. But how do I find God was the pressing question of my heart. I wondered, Who am I that God would care about me, or have any concern for me? I wasn’t somebody who was important or significant that God should have any thoughts about me. That was my mindset in those years.
Even so, I set out on an intense, consuming search to find God…a relentless search that would continue over the next six years. I didn’t really know what “finding God” actually meant; I just knew that whatever it meant, I needed to find Him. I went to different priests and asked them, “How do I find God?” They weren’t much help; actually, they didn’t really know the answer. Sometimes they would point me to a book to read, written by a priest. I would read the book, and a number of times I made an appointment to meet with the author of the book…even traveling out of State to meet with him! Still…they had no answer. I diligently tried practicing different methods I had read about… “Centering on God” and other types of meditations and concepts…all to no avail. I became involved with pursuing several different philosophies concerning God…such as “The Power of Positive Thinking,” and even had sessions with Albert Ellis, a prominent psychologist who had written numerous books on a new theory he had developed called “Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy.” All of my desperate searching came up completely empty.
Meanwhile, my life was spiraling downward at warp speed. By October 1981, in absolute desperation, I reluctantly accepted a suggestion to meet with a local Baptist minister. For a Catholic in those years, this was absolute rock bottom; a Catholic would not be caught dead talking to a Baptist minister, let alone meeting with one! But I was desperate.
On Saturday morning, October 17, 1981, I poured out my heart in Pastor Lester’s office concerning my desperate, yet fruitless, search to find God. He patiently listened, and when I had finished, presented so simply a child could understand what I had spent six long, intense years searching for! He asked if I would like to follow him in a prayer to accept Jesus as Lord of my life and Savior of my soul, and enter into a personal relationship with Him. As we prayed, there were no flashing lights…no sound of bells and whistles…just a deep satisfying sense in the depths of my soul that now, at last, I had found God…or rather, more accurately, that God had found me. On that day the Scripture verse became true for me: You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. [Jer 29:13]
Abba Father…I owe my body and my soul to You. If it were not for You, my body would be in the grave, and my soul would be in Hell long ago… 15 times I should have been dead that I am fully aware of and can testify to, and surely many more times that I am not aware of. Though I had sinned against You for so many years, so very often, and so very deeply…even so, You Personally intervened in my life to stay the hand of death. If it were not for You, Father, I would be in Hell right now…and I full well deserved to be there; the angels of Heaven would have acknowledged Your righteous and just judgment. But in Your boundless mercy and infinite grace, You would not have it; You were not willing that I should perish. How many times Satan had come for me to claim my life and to claim my soul, but You would not permit it. No…You were my Shield and my Protector; You protected my soul, and You kept me safe…even from the very pit of Hell… until that wonderful day of my salvation!
I don’t know whether in the depths of your heart you really believe there is a God in Heaven or not, but this I do know…for six years I desperately searched for God and did not find Him…until that momentous day He found me and revealed Himself to me!
Now that I am His and He is mine, my Father’s ear is attentive to the voice of His child, and He loves to give His child little tokens of His Divine Love whenever my requests are within the framework of His plans, His purposes, His will. Scripture tells me, “You have not because you ask not…or you ask with wrong, selfish motives.” My Father loves to show His child His Glory…that I may see it with my own eyes, and thereby have occasion to testify to His great Name and mighty Power! I have testified to it, and I will do so again…continually: https://preservechristianfamily.org/category/testimonies/
That is my motive…to proclaim Your Glory. I do not have a selfish motive, a self-serving agenda, something I want to gain for myself. I want the people of the world to know how great You are, Abba Father! Show me Your Glory; bring Glory to Your Name; bring Your blessings and Your salvation before the souls of Men!
I have gazed attentively into the Sanctuary and I have beheld Your Power and Your Glory many, many times! Formerly, my ears had only heard of You; but now my eyes have seen You and have seen Your Glory! In the presence of the congregation, I will proclaim Your Great Name and Your Mighty Power according to all that my eyes shall see!
A few years later, on that late February, 1984, winter night on Long Island, I lay on my bed crying out to God…immersed in deep sadness and sorrow, intense crying and pain, overwhelming grief and loneliness and brokenheartedness over a deep sense of loss that had just blind-sided my life. I had only just become the bride of Christ 28 months prior, on October 17, 1981. And now this was the third night of intense emotional agony. I remember thinking that if Hell were like this…and I knew it was ten thousand times worse, infinitely worse…I couldn’t bear it. The emotional pain was entirely debilitating…I don’t know how I made it through the work day. I felt hopeless and helpless…crushed and immobilized by a consuming sense of loss. When I got home in the evening, all I could do was collapse on my bed, crying out to the Lord in utter despair. A whole array of verses from Psalms went through my mind as I just poured out my broken heart to Him.
Quite suddenly…out of nowhere…the Lord walked into my room! I didn’t visibly see Him; my room was just as dark as it was before. But I was so filled with His Presence entering into me I felt like I was going to explode! My physical body could not contain His in-dwelling Presence! I remember exclaiming in awe, “Oh Lord…I can’t bear any more! I feel like I am going to burst!” Not that I wanted Him to leave; I was just expressing how I literally felt…that my human body just could not contain Him for any longer and live! At that moment, it didn’t matter to me whether I lived or died…I was experiencing an eternal weight of Glory beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent Glory and blessedness in His Presence!
The inaccessible Light [although there was no literal light] of the Glory of His Presence lasted maybe five or six seconds…but that experience is just as fresh in my memory today as it was in reality those 39 years ago! At that moment…the heretofore unbearable, debilitating emotional pain I had been feeling did not diminish in intensity, nor was it removed. It just became so insignificant and so meaningless in the light of what I had just experienced, that I literally thought, “Who cares!” And from that point on, though the source of the pain was never removed or resolved, it never again mattered to me, nor bothered me. I had seen the Lord; with my own spiritual eyes, I had seen Him! I would never again be the same!
Just one second in the inaccessible Light of the Glory of His Presence…a foretaste of Heaven itself…even now here on Earth is more than enough to wipe every tear from our eyes…all of our sadness and sorrow, crying and pain, grief and loneliness and brokenheartedness! And in that glorious coming Day, the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. [Isa 35:10]
Beloved…don’t become discouraged and lose heart! For your light and momentary troubles during this life are achieving for you an eternal glory beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease! [Cor 4:16-18]
Not long after that incredulous experience, I began to hunger and thirst for a continual felt sense of the Presence of God. As I read through Psalms, I knew in my mind that I wanted to have the cry of David’s heart:
As the deer, in the heat of summer, pants for water-brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God! My soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You…as for streams of water in a dry sun-scorched land where there is no water! My soul thirsts for You, Lord…for the One True Living God! When, Lord, shall I come into Your Presence and behold Your Face, the Face of my God? When will You speak to me face to Face, as a man speaks with his friend?
I realized, though, that I didn’t long for God in that way. I didn’t feel a longing for God as a heart-cry; I didn’t feel a yearning for God from the depths of my soul…yet I wanted to. It was the desire of my heart. And so my continual prayer was, “Lord, I don’t long for You in the way David did…but I want to. I long to long for You in that way. My heart is inflamed with yearning to long for You.
During that same period of time, I also began to hunger and thirst to live a holy and righteous life in my everyday manner of living. I had only become a born-again Christian a few years prior [October 17, 1981, at the age of 38], and I was struggling with several besetting sins from my past unsaved life. I made a conscious decision to fully embrace the words of Jesus, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be completely satisfied. [Matt 5:6] I began to hunger and thirst for a purity, holiness, and righteousness of my own that comes from obedience to the Law of God in living out my everyday life…not to be good enough to earn salvation, but because I was already saved…by virtue of the Eternal Power and the Eternal Worth of the Blood of Jesus, which He poured out on my behalf on that cross at Calvary for the forgiveness of my sins. I just wanted to be like my Father and my God as the apostle Peter exhorted me to be: “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He Who called you is Holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am Holy.” [1 Peter 1:14-16]
Well…the Lord so wonderfully answered those two prayers not long afterward! One day I became aware…and actually remarked to myself, “Whoa, Lord! I no longer feel the least bit tempted by those besetting sins that used to plague me and torment me…that I had been struggling with for much of my prior life! I can’t believe it! Hallelujah!” Not only that, but I was filled with the joy of the Lord. I would wake up in the morning singing to the Lord, and fall asleep at night singing softly to the Lord! All throughout the day I felt an unclouded child-like carefree joy, and was resting in Him with an unruffled child-like rest! I was continually experiencing the fullness of joy in the felt-sense of the Presence of the Lord!
My life had been so wondrously changed! The Spirit of God then led me to a book written by Hudson Taylor [missionary to China, latter 1800s] entitled. “Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret.” I read how it was his habit to get up early in the morning, well before dawn, and spend time alone with the Lord. And then I remembered that Jesus Himself often did the same thing to be alone with the Father…well before dawn, while it was still dark. I found myself wanting with all my heart to do that also…just as they had done.
I began setting my alarm clock for 4 AM every morning…seven days a week. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I just reached over and shut off the alarm when it went off…only to awaken later in the morning feeling so sorry I had failed once more! It only reignited my determination to try again…to plead with the Lord to help me be able to do this which had now become the most intense desire of my heart.
The Lord heard my heart-cry, and answered my prayer…and after a lengthy period of successes and failures, I finally acquired the habit of rising at 4 AM to meet alone together with the Lord in our designated trysting place. It is a wonderful place of blessing, just sitting at His feet, just to commune with Him. It is there where He continually pours more and more of His Blessedness and His Goodness into me, where we have intimate fellowship together, where He reveals to me something of the rich eternal treasures of the spiritual realm, where I become ever more one with Him in our sacred Covenant relationship…mirroring as They are with One Another in Their Blessed Holy Trinity. A number of years ago I moved my time to be alone together with the Lord back to 3 AM, so we could have more time together before breakfast.
For 39 years now, I continually look forward with a joyful expectation, an excited expectation, to our meeting alone together in those early morning hours just to commune! I guard that time jealously, so that nothing would ever interfere with it; I wouldn’t miss it for anything!
Friends & neighbors; brothers and sisters…
It is my prayer that you will feel the leading of the Spirit to seek these rich eternal blessing with all your heart. You will most assuredly experience these same blessings for yourself, and will have this same testimony to share:
I proclaim to you Christ Jesus…the One Who existed from the beginning, from Eternity Past, Whom I have heard with the ears of my own inner being, and have seen with my own spiritual eyes. I have gazed upon Him and have spiritually touched Him with my own hands. He is the Word of Life. His Life is continually being revealed to me; I have seen it and testify to it, and I proclaim to you that He is the One Who is Eternal Life. He always existed with the Father, and is now continually being manifested afresh and anew to me. I proclaim to you what I have personally seen and heard in the depths of my soul, so that you also may enjoy this same fellowship together with us. The fellowship I continually enjoy is with the Father and with His Son, Christ Jesus. I am writing these things so that you also may fully share together with me in this fullness of joy. [1 John 1:1-4]. This is our birth-right as a child of the Most High God! Hallelujah!
LONGING FOR GOD
Brethren…
- Is your soul longing to experience real joy…real peace…real comfort
- Does your soul thirst for the felt-sense of the Presence of God?
- Do you long for this deeper, more intimate personal relationship with the Lord… and His promise to pour all of His Blessedness and Goodness into you, to have deep and intimate fellowship with you, to become ever more one with you?
- Well then, if anyone thirsts, let him come to Me! Let him drink who believes in Me…ever coming, ever drinking, continually satisfied! The Water I give will become a fountain within you, welling up, flooding your soul with torrents of Living Water…ever flowing, continually overflowing! No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry! No one who believes and trusts in Me shall ever again thirst! Your soul shall forever be satisfied, as with the richest of foods! You will feast on the abundance of My House, and I will give you drink from My River of Delights! Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the Waters; and you who have no money…come, buy, and eat! The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life!
- Following is a prayer entitled Longing For God.You will be greatly blessed in embracing this as your own prayer!
O Lord, You are my God…I yearn for You with all my heart! Even as the deer, in the heat of summer, pants for water-brooks, so my soul thirsts for You! My soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You…as for streams of water in a dry sun-scorched land where there is no water! My soul thirsts for You, Lord…for the One True Living God! Blessed Jesus…I have come into Your Presence to behold Your Face, the Face of my God. Abba Father…I’ve come into Your Presence to commune with You face to Face, as a man speaks with his friend. Blessed Holy Spirit, sweep over my soul and carry me off into the Heavenly realms…where Your Divine Son Jesus is seated at Your right hand, Father…high and exalted. O my Beloved…in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see Your face, Lord, let me hear Your voice; for Your voice is sweet, and Your face is altogether lovely! All Your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; pleasing is the fragrance of Your perfumes! Your Name, O Lord, is like…perfume poured out!
O my Beloved, I am Yours, and You are mine! I have sought Your Face with all my heart, Lord; be gracious to me according to Your promise! Father…show me Your Glory! Stretch out Your hand to heal, to restore, to deliver, to save, to perform miraculous signs and wonders through the Name of Your Divine Son Jesus! Bring Glory to Your Name, and bring Your blessings and Your salvation before the souls of Men! In the presence of the congregation, I will proclaim Your Great Name and Your Mighty Power according to all that my eyes shall see! Surely, I will enter Your gates with thanksgiving, I will come into Your courts with praise! I love the house where You live, O Lord…the place where Your Glory dwells. How lovely is Your dwelling place, Lord God Almighty! My soul yearns… even pines away and is homesick…for Your courts. My heart and my flesh cry out and sing for joy to You, the One True Living God! I find my home and my resting place in the shadow of the Almighty, sheltered in the arms of my God. Whom have I in Heaven but You, Father? And Earth has nothing I desire besides You.
I have gazed attentively upon You in the sanctuary and I have beheld Your Power and Your Glory. Formerly, my ears had only heard of You; but now my eyes have seen You and have seen Your Glory. Because Your steadfast Love for me is better than life, my lips continually proclaim Your Glory! My lips shout for joy as I sing praises to You…I, whom You have redeemed! You turned my wailing to dancing! You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy…that my heart may sing to You and not be silent! It is only the dead who who do not praise You, O Lord…neither the physically dead nor the spiritually dead…not by any who go down into the land of silence. O Lord my God, I will give You thanks forever and ever, throughout the eternal ages! I will praise You as long as I have life, and in honor to Your Name, I lift my hands and worship You! Every day I will bless You and adore You, Precious Lord; yes, I will praise Your wonderful Name forever and ever! O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praises; with singing lips my mouth overflows with Your praises! I will open my mouth and offer up unto You a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of my lips, worshiping You for Who You are…the One True Living God; praising You for all You have done for the souls of Men down through the ages; gratefully acknowledging, with a heart of thanksgiving, all You have Personally done for me. My soul shall forever be satisfied, as with the richest of foods! I feast on the abundance of Your house, Lord; You give me drink from Your River of delights… a River of rich eternal pleasures at Your right hand!
Day after day You pour out Your steadfast Love upon me; night after night Your song is ever with me…a prayer to the God of my life. You are my strength and my song of unceasing praise; You are indeed my salvation! On my bed I remember You, Father; my thoughts linger with You through the watches of the night. My soul yearns for You in the night, my soul thirsts for You through the watches of the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You.
I spread out my hands to You, Father; my soul thirsts for You…like a parched land for just only a few drops of water! My soul waits before You, with a joyful expectation, an excited anticipation…more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen who wait for the morning! Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings! You cover me with Your feathers, and under Your wings I find refuge; Your faithfulness, O Lord, is my Shield and my Protector! My flesh and my heart may fail…often do…but You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever! My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.
Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing Love, for You are my Refuge and my Fortress…my God, in whom I trust! For have You not promised? I will never, never, leave you; I will never, ever, forsake you! Assuredly not! O Lord, You are my Help; of whom shall I be afraid? What can man do to me? Who, or what, shall ever be able to separate me from Your Love, precious Lord? Shall trouble or hardship, distress or persecution…famine, nakedness, danger or sword? No…in all these things I am more than a conqueror through You, Lord…the One Who loves me! For I am persuaded, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that neither death, nor life; nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers; nor things present, nor things to come; nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all Creation, shall ever be able to separate me from the Love of God my Father, which flows unceasingly through You, Precious Lord…my Redeemer and my King!
Following is the link to the prayer entitled Longing For God:
https://preservechristianfamily.org/2019/01/22/longing/
Brothers and sisters in Christ…
God is calling you, and desires to anoint you, to be part of His holy remnant. Whether you are a pastor, a Christian leader, or a member of the congregation…this is what the Lord says: To the pastors I have placed in charge of My churches concerning your congregation and each individual member, write: This is the last call. I have wooed you so many times. This time, I say to you, in great love…there is a cost to an anointing; this is not a light, frivolous matter. The anointing is not cheap. If you say in your heart, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it,” if you pay the cost of the anointing, I’ll open doors for you, I’ll speak through you, and I’ll use you again like you have never conceived. The church and any members of the congregation embracing My call will move in the Power of My Holy Spirit, and bring great Glory to God! The time of being pumped up is over. I am tired of your solemn assembly’s, I’m tired of your sacrifices…they’re not from the heart. Don’t miss what God is about to do. The time has come; I need you, and I love you… but if you ignore this trumpet call…if you say in your heart, “We will not listen,” I am going to remove your anointing. You’re not going to have anything to say to anybody; you’re going to be dry. You are going into the desert…I will love you there, and I will keep you in My care, but you can’t go with Me, and I won’t go with you.
Beloved child of God…let My Holy Spirit open your heart, and say from the depths of your being, “God, once again, use Your church; use Your child. Now…not another time…tonight, let something in my heart respond to Your call.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vmE2nbVctE [Note: this video opens in the middle of a worship song, which continues to the 2:15 minute mark before Pastor Wilkerson is introduced as the speaker]
Brothers and sisters in Christ…
Just as God raised up a remnant of just 1% of all the men Gideon had marshaled to fight against the Midianites, even so there is a holy remnant whom God is raising up for Himself in these Last Days…a Godly remnant of the 1% of His children who will not bow down, who will not shrink back, who will not compromise, who will remain steadfast and immovable in their commitment to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes.
God’s holy remnant is called to a life of self-sacrifice and self-denial. You cannot become My holy remnant without being willing to sacrifice your desire for anything and everything you own. Obedience is what characterizes the life of My child…obedience continually and unceasingly day and night. You are called to a life of obedience. Obedience is better than sacrifice; rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as evil as worshiping idols. [1 Sam 15:22,23]
Friends, brothers and sisters…
There is one absolutely necessary preparation for every living soul on the face of this Earth, for the soon coming and imminent return of Jesus Christ…the one preparation that will irrevocably determine in which neighborhood you will spend all eternity, whether in Heaven or in Hell. You must be a born-again child of God. I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot be in God’s Kingdom. I tell you the truth, no one can ever enter the Kingdom of God unless you are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at My saying you must be born again. [Jesus…John 3:3-7]
If you have never been born again,
or you are not sure whether you have been born again,
or you have been living your life as a lukewarm Christian and would now like to recommit your life and enter into a deep and intimate relationship with Christ Jesus in preparation for the soon coming marriage supper of the Lamb…
then I counsel you to get alone with God, read the solemn marriage vows presented below you must make to become the bride of Christ and thereby be born-again, and with sincerity of heart from within the depths of your being, acknowledge before God, “I DO.”
MARRIAGE VOWS
SPIRITUAL BRIDE OF CHRIST
- Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Divine Son in the Triune God, the Lamb of God Who came into this world to become the One only, all-sufficient, atoning sacrifice through His death on a cross and subsequent resurrection, thereby securing forgiveness for your sins and restoring your relationship with God that had been severed by sin?
- Do you now solemnly vow before God to give yourself to be the bride of Christ, receiving Jesus the Christ into your life in a spiritual marriage, promising to honor and obey Him as both Lord over your life and Savior of your soul?
- To be joined inseparably together with Him in a Sacred Covenant relationship…an Eternal living union of oneness through the new life to be conceived in you by the Holy Spirit…
- To have and to hold Him, above all others and above all else this world has to offer, as the choicest, most precious treasure of your heart…
- To love and to cherish Him, above all others and above all else this world has to offer, reserving for Him alone your sweetest, most tender affections…
- For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, all the days of your life, until death of this body brings you to be together with Him in Heaven for all eternity?
Now this is eternal life: knowing You, Father, the One True Living God, and knowing Jesus Christ Your Son, the Messiah Whom You have sent.
God Himself has given this testimony concerning His Son: I have granted you eternal life, and this life is given through union with My Divine Son Jesus. Whoever is joined together with My Son in a living union of oneness
possesses that life;
whoever is NOT joined together with My Son in a living union of oneness
does NOT possess that life.
I have written this to you so that you who place your trust in Christ My Son will know, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that you do now indeed have eternal life.
BLOOD OF CHRIST
I stand in awe of the Sacrificial Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah, the Root of David. Blessed Jesus…You laid aside Your Divine Majesty, Glory, and Almighty consuming Power, and came into this world clothed in meekness, lowliness, and humility. You loved me with an everlasting love, and You voluntarily lay down Your life for me even unto death. No one took Your life, Lord; You were free to lay it down, and free to take it up again. You stretched out Your arms on a cross on my behalf, and declared, “IT IS FINISHED!”
IT IS FINISHED, for all time and for all Eternity…available to any soul who would freely and wholeheartedly choose to appropriate as their own the rich eternal blessings of the finished work of Christ on that cross at Calvary, through their solemn marriage vows to become Your eternal bride, Blessed Jesus…the bride of Christ.
By virtue of the Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of Your Precious and Priceless Blood poured out on behalf of the souls of Mankind on that cross at Calvary, You have forever freed me from my sins…past, present, and future…and restored my relationship with God that had been severed by sin.
- IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of the Blood of Christ has secured eternal forgiveness of my sins, and has guaranteed and secured my Judicial Status of Eternal Righteousness before God as an accomplished and finished fact.
- IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of the Blood of Christ has guaranteed and secured my Eternal Union with You, Lord…now joined inseparably together with You in an Eternal living union of oneness as the bride of Christ in a divine spiritual marriage…flesh of Your flesh and bone of Your bones.
- IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of the Blood of Christ has guaranteed and secured that the Eternal Purpose for which God created me…to be joined together with the Triune God in a Sacred Covenant relationship…stands eternally fulfilled.
- IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of the Blood of Christ has guaranteed and secured my Eternal Access into the Holy Of Holies, and into the inaccessible Light of the Glory of Your unclouded Presence, Father…as my birth-right.
- IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Holy Spirit was indeed given as God’s Eternal Gift to dwell in me, never to leave me, never to forsake me…to be the Power in me Who continually guarantees and secures my capability to live my everyday life faithful to my solemn marriage vows as the bride of Christ in our Sacred Covenant relationship.
- IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power of the indwelling Holy Spirit is now made continually available to me, Whose Power in me continually guarantees and secures my capability to live my everyday life faithfully within the Holy Of Holies, in the inaccessible Light of the Glory of Your unclouded Presence, Father, in our Sacred Covenant relationship.
Revelation 7:1-17 [NIV; amplification in italics]
After this, the apocalyptic storms raging furiously throughout the heavens and Earth having finally subsided, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the Earth, holding back the four winds of the Earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another…the Angel of Yahweh…coming up from the east…the Lord Jesus Christ Himself…having with Him the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice filled with majesty and Power to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea, commanding them: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal of the living God (an extraordinary impartation of the gifts and powers of the Holy Spirit) on the foreheads of those who have consecrated themselves and remained pure from the adulterous and idolatrous defilements of this generation. These have thereby especially distinguished themselves as the servants and extraordinary witnesses of our God, and are to be marked with a seal so that they may be readily identifiable by all mankind, and also (miraculously) protected and delivered from the wrath of God yet to come.” Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: exactly 144,000 Israelites from all the tribes of Israel then living in the period of the judgment, who only then are brought to be confessors and praisers of God, while the most of their kindred continue in unbelief and rebellion:
From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the Throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes, attired now in the unspotted righteousness and faultless splendor imputed to the saints, and were holding palm branches in their hands as tokens of their inexpressible joy over their deliverance and salvation. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God, Who sits on the Throne,
and to the Lamb!”
All the angels were standing around the Throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the Throne and worshiped God, saying:
“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks
and honor and power and strength be to our God
for ever and ever! Amen!”
Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes…who are they, and where did they come from?” Perplexed, I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are the great harvest of penitent hearts subdued into submission to the Word and Sovereignty of God by the Rider of the white horse…they who have been suffering through and have come out of the great tribulation thus far in progress; though eternity’s higher glories embracing crowns and thrones had passed them by due to their preoccupation with this paltry and perishing world, they have then at last come to their senses and washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. They have been saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. Therefore, They are before the Throne of God and serve Him day and night in His Temple; and He Who sits on the Throne will spread His tent over them. They shall abide forever under the pavilion of God in the very shadow of the Almighty, and they shall be His people, and He will be their God. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the Throne will be their Shepherd; He will lead them to springs of Living Water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'” [Revelation 7:1-17]
End Times Of Biblical Prophesy
Following is a powerful message from the pulpit…2nd part of a new weekly 10 sermon series by Dr. David Jeremiah…proving that we are currently living in the End Times prophesied in Scripture. I will be posting all the messages in this series as they are presented. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND watching these video presentations.
Sunday 9/26: Globalism…An International Prophesy: Dr. David Jeremiah.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmKMrJn4G4w
Brothers and sisters in Christ…
The Bible warns there will be the Anti-christ…a man who proclaims to be God…who will unite the world in a one world government, with a one world financial system, and establish a one world religion.
While we cannot predict “the day or the hour,” when you put all these components together, it’s starting to look even now a lot like the beginnings of the End Times.
He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead as a visible badge to show their allegiance to their infernal lord, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the Beast or the number of his name! [Revelation 13:16-17]
- The vaccine mandate with its “VACCINE PASSPORT/DIGITAL ID,” without which you won’t be able to buy or sell…your kids won’t be able to attend school, you will not be allowed to go to work, or go into any store or facility open to the public, or travel anywhere, or attend any sporting events or live entertainment, or to enter movie theaters, or do anything…is the forerunner of, and preparation for, the mark of the Beast.
- The GLOBAL RESET with its one world government and one world financial system…now being ushered in through the on-going destruction of the Constitutional Republic of America which stood in the way of the principles and dictates of the Anti-christ…is the preparation of the way for the coming rule and reign of the Anti-christ.
Destruction of America
There were 5 chilling prophetic dreams posted by Pastor Dana Cornerstone that portrayed the utter destruction of America. I have been writing about this nearly every day for 18 months already, and so the dreams are not really prophesy, they are a confirmation of the Holy Spirit of what is already taking place!
I am going to post one dream each day for the next 5 days; following is the 3rd one. I urge you to watch them and consider them in light of how events have unfolded even to this very hour.
- Franklin Dream: Ben Franklin, speaking to God the Father: “I guess we are no longer a Republic.” God the Father replied, “No, it’s Mine now, as is the whole Earth.”
Great Reset. If you don’t get a vaccine, you can’t work. That is the spirit of Anti-christ in our Country right now. https://youtu.be/RaElA7f9bWw
Lord God Almighty, when Your judgments come upon the Earth…as they are even now…the people of the world learn righteousness. Though God shows grace to the wicked, even so, they still do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they continue going on doing evil, and regard not the Majesty of the Lord. [Luke 21:26; Isa 26:10]
But if the watchman sees the danger coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people, and the sword comes and takes the life of even one of them, that one will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood. [Ezek 33:6] Lord God Almighty, as Your watchman I have been solemnly fulfilling the responsibility You have given me in sounding the alarm to warn Your people; there will be no blood on my hands.
Brothers and sisters in Christ…
I love my Country; I grew up here, and worked here, and enjoyed the freedoms we were given here. Even so…this Country is no longer the Country I grew up in. It has become something else…something totally different, something strange and foreign to me. We are a Nation no longer under the rule and Authority of God, and as a result so horribly transformed from what our Founding Fathers envisioned and birthed. Once a great and respected Christian Nation, God has made us the laughingstock of the world. This is what the Sovereign Lord said to Moses concerning the Israelites, and our Nation’s founding fathers warned it would apply to America as well: If you disobey the Lord your God and do not faithfully keep all His commands and laws that I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you in accordance with God’s solemn resolve to punish you as you deserve for disobeying Him.
Cursed shall you be in the city and
cursed shall you be in the field.
Cursed shall you be when you come in and
cursed shall you be when you go out.
The Lord will send upon you curses…calamitous events such as fires, floods, earthquakes, or pestilence that happen suddenly with a huge loss of life.
He will bring confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking Him. [Deut 15-16, 19-20]
Presented below is what it looks like…utter chaos…when God has determined by His Own Divine Decree to destroy a Nation, as He has America. Here is what a Fascist Totalitarian Dictatorship looks like as it continues to unilaterally shut down, trample over, and shred our every constitutional right that stands in its way.
Make no mistake about it…God Himself has Personally judged our Nation with utter destruction, by His Own Divine Decree. Man did not do this; God didn’t just allow this to happen, He determined it to happen. Just as He did not allow Sodom and Gomorrah to be destroyed, or allow the world to be destroyed by a Great Flood…He Personally caused it.
We are plunging into a deep and very dark abyss in American history, at warp speed! A new Democrat reign of terror is upon us, utterly obliterating our Constitutional Republic, free speech, free press, political playing field, and our personal liberty! We need to be fully aware of what is taking place in our Nation in order to know how to be prepared as ministers of the Lord during these End Times.
God has determined by Divine decree that our Nation will be destroyed. “Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat! Those whom God is determined to destroy, He first infatuates.” God has Personally stricken the minds of our Nation’s leaders with idiocy, so that professing to be wise, they have become fools…utter morons! [Rom 1:22] He has caused their thinking to become utterly confused…just as He had warned…so that they actually believe they are acting in wisdom while they are in reality literally destroying the Nation! You see it unfolding before your very eyes every day! The Lord will cause you to lose your mind in idiocy, and strike you with wild and helpless fear and panic; He will make you become blind and cause your minds and hearts to be confused. [Deut 28:28]
Destruction of America
Brethren…you need to watch this Pastor Dana prophetic dream concerning ominous events that will take place during December, and January. We see all of these things being foreshadowed even now in our everyday news…
Baltic Dry Index dead…no movement of goods, no global trade; ships anchored in ports, nothing moving at sea;
people standing for hours on long food lines;
Nationwide power outages;
people being housed in shelters;
market crashes and yields lost;
Great sadness throughout the land; people seemed very dazed and very confused;
Depression as a creature, choking people, pushing them down;
God’s holy remnant shining like little beacons of light and hope in neighborhoods throughout the Nation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEMpDDLFvVE
- Perhaps God is now forewarning of something worse yet to come, even Nationwide…a cyber attack shutting down our electric grid, or severe food shortages resulting from cargo ships stranded unloaded in our harbors…I don’t know; I can’t answer that. Even so…This is where I continue to stand. I don’t know why God has been exhorting me to continually warn the brethren to be prepared with a supply of food and necessities…but I am not giving up my own provisions at this point in time. I am holding on, and I will wait and see what takes place.
And so I continue to encourage you…Make provision for the physical sustenance of your family and yourself [refer to
https://preservechristianfamily.org/2017/02/26/brace-yourself-prepare/
A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep on going, and suffer for it. [Proverbs 22:3]
The Lord always warns His holy remnant beforehand, so that they will always be prepared and never taken by surprise like the unbelievers and the lukewarm. Make provision for yourself and your family materially, spiritually, and emotionally NOW for what the Lord is warning will take place, so as to not be overwhelmed by a severe scarcity of goods and thereby spiral into debilitating emotional depression!
You need to be prepared and available as a minister of the Lord to a dying world: Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the Word of life. [Phil 2:14-16] We have been raised up by the Lord for such a time as this!
But if the watchman sees the danger coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people, and the sword comes and takes the life of even one of them, that one will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood. [Ezek 33:6]
Lord God Almighty, as Your watchman I have been solemnly fulfilling the responsibility You have given me in sounding the alarm to warn Your people; there will be no blood on my hands.
Beloved…I still hold to these words of warning from the Holy Spirit: “Brace yourself, and tell others that I have warned them to brace themselves, for they are about to see even more shocking things. Ready or not, Nation, here it comes! Brace yourself on My Word and on My promises, and do not rely on your own strength. Do not stop bracing yourselves, and don’t look back; the storm will not pass until I, the Lord, stop the storm! Those who refuse to get ready will be wanting in the end.”
Lord God Almighty…the mountains quake before You, and the hills melt away. The very mountains melt like wax in Your Presence! The Earth trembles at Your Presence…the world and all who live in it. Heaven and Earth flee from the Almightiness of Your Presence! [Nah 1:5; Ps 97:5; Ezek 38:20; Rev 20:11]
Beloved…sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of My unfailing love! Break up the fallow ground within your heart! For it is time to seek Me, the Lord, until I come and shower righteousness upon you! Look off unto Me and My strength; seek My face and My Presence continually! Those who know My Name will trust in Me, for I have never forsaken those who seek Me! [Triune God…Hos 10:12; Ps 105:4; 9:10]
At that time the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and did not take extra oil with them. The wise, however, took extra oil in jars along with their lamps, and so were ready for his coming. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. [Jesus…Matt 25:1-13]
Beloved…keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him. [Jesus…Matt 24:42-44]
In that great and terrible Day of the Lord, Father, Your Divine Son Jesus will manifest the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God against all those upon the Earth who stand in rebellion to His Throne, and He will destroy all those upon the Earth who are enemies and usurpers of His rule and authority, until He has placed every one of His enemies under His feet. Then in that Day, Your will, Father, will be done on Earth even as it is in Heaven. [Heb 1:8-13; Isa 13:6-9; Joel 1:15; 2:11, 31; Zep 1:18; 2 Pet 3:10; 1 Cor 15:24-26; Matt 6:9-10]
Beloved…continually wash your robes in the Blood of Jesus; wash your garments that have been soiled with sin, making them clean again, dazzling and white. Wash your feet with pure water; wash the dust of sin off your feet. Continually and diligently do these things, that you may always abide with Me in the Holy of Holies, in My unclouded Presence. [Rev 19:7-9]
These are the days of the separation of the wheat from the chaff. I [John] baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come One Who is more powerful than I, Whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor, gathering His wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them.” [Matt 3:11-12; Mal 4:1-2]
But also in those days there arose false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among yourselves. They will subtly and cleverly teach their destructive heresies about God, even denying the Sovereign Lord Who bought them. Theirs will be a swift and terrible end. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of them, Christ and His true way will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies and cunning arguments to get hold of your money. With eyes full of adultery, their lust is never satisfied. They make a game of beguiling and luring unstable people into sin. They train themselves to be greedy; they are doomed and cursed. But God condemned them long ago, and their eternal misery is on the way. [2 Peter 2:1-3, 14]
And so, my brothers and sisters, first of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. Even so…The Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire. Since everything on the Earth will be destroyed in this way, you ought to live a holy and godly life as you look forward to the coming Day of the Lord! Everyone who has this hope purifies himself, just as He is pure. So, beloved, since you are expecting these things to happen, be eager to be found by Him at His coming living a pure and blameless life and at peace… in serene confidence, free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts. Let me warn you therefore, beloved, that knowing these things beforehand, you should be on your guard, lest you be carried away by the error of lawless and wicked persons. I don’t want you to lose your own secure footing. But grow in the special favor and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He Who called you is Holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am Holy.” [2 Peter 3:3, 10-12, 14, 17; 1 John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:14-16]
This is what the Most Holy, Most High, Triune God declares:
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him. [Matt 24:36-39, 42-44]
“Behold”, says the Lord Jesus in His last warning for the last opportunity offered to mankind to be among His redeemed, “I come for the last time like a thief in the night to gather those who would be among the elect! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, in watchfulness, prayer and readiness for the summons when it comes, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed, eternally without remedy.”
PREPARE YOURSELF
We are in the Last Days; time is moving very quickly, and we are drawing near! And so, my brothers and sisters, first of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ He promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of Creation.”
Son of man, you’ve heard that proverb they quote in Israel: Time passes, and prophecies come to nothing. Tell the people, This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will put an end to this proverb, and you will soon stop quoting it. Now give them this new proverb to replace the old one: The time has come for every prophecy of Mine to be fulfilled! [2 Peter 3:3-4, 10-12, 14, 17; 1 John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:14-16; Ezek 12:22-23]
God is calling a holy remnant to Himself…to personal revival…a holy remnant of His children who will not bow down, who will not shrink back, who will not compromise, who will remain steadfast and immovable in their commitment to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes. God’s holy remnant is called to a life of obedience and suffering, self-sacrifice and self-denial…to walk along the path that Christ Jesus dedicated for us, and to follow in His footsteps as our Forerunner. You cannot become part of My holy remnant without being willing to sacrifice your desire for anyone & all others, and for anything & all else this world has to offer. Obedience is what characterizes the life of My child…obedience continually and unceasingly day and night. You are called to a life of obedience. Obedience is better than sacrifice; rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as evil as worshiping idols. [1 Sam 15:22,23]
Wherefore brethren, having now boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus, by the way which He dedicated for us…a new and living way to God through the veil, that is to say, through the veil of His flesh…let us then without further hesitation or delay draw nigh in fullness of faith; here let us continually abide in the fullness of faith. [Heb 10:19-20, 22] Those who abide in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [PS 91:1]
Arise My bride, and prepare to see My Face
Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
Then the angel said to me, “Write this down: Blessed are those summoned to the marriage banquet of the Lamb…all true believers who are members of His Universal Church. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with Power and great Glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect…God’s holy people…from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” And he said to me further, “These are the True Words of God.” [Rev 19:9]
Blessed Jesus…I rejoice and shout triumphantly for joy! I celebrate and ascribe to You glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb draws near, and Your bride, the Universal Church and each of her members, has been preparing herself and has made herself ready! [Rev 19:7] Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! For our Lord God, Sovereign All-Ruler, reigns! Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him Glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. The finest linen, dazzling and white, was given her to wear. Then the angel said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage banquet of the Lamb!” [John…Rev 19:6-9; Luke 14:15-23]
The washing of one’s robes and the keeping of one’s garments relates to this very attitude and habit of looking for the return of Christ as an imminent event. Brethren, as you hope to walk those golden streets, and eat of those immortal fruits, see to it that you have your garments clean and your loins girded about like unto men waiting for their Lord. [Seiss…Rev 21:9-22:5]
Then the king said to his servants, “The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.” So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding garment. “Friend,” he asked, “How did you come in here without putting on the appropriate wedding garment?” The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, “Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are invited and summoned, but few are chosen.” [Matt 22:8-14]
ENDURE TO THE END
Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will deprive you of your crown. Everyone who overcomes by means of their faith…I will make a pillar in the Sanctuary of My God. Never again will you leave it. I will write on you the name of My God and you will be a citizen in the city of My God…the new Jerusalem…which will come down out of Heaven from My God; I will also write on you My Own new name.
Holy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcx2O9WXvn8&feature=youtu.be
Preserve Christian Family 