JOURNEY OF FAITH
Day Twenty-two
Revelation 20:1-15 [NIV; Amplification in Italics]
And I saw an angel coming down out of Heaven…the Angel of Yahweh…the Lord Jesus Christ Himself…having the key to the Abyss and holding in His hand a great chain. He seized the Dragon, that ancient Serpent, who is the Devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss…that prison in which evil spirits are detained prior to their final judgment…and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
I saw thrones on which were seated all those resurrected saints who are His called, chosen and faithful followers…those who had been assembled together to form the armies of Heaven, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean…His glorious bride…who had now been given authority to judge and to shepherdize the nations along with Him as He had promised: “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My Throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His Throne.” And I saw among them the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the Word of God. They had not worshiped the Beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They were especially noteworthy among those who came to resurrection life, and now reigned as kings and priests over the nations along with Christ for a thousand years. [The rest of the dead…those who are not among His called, chosen and faithful followers…did not come to resurrection life until the thousand years were ended]. This is the completion of the period of the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who alone have part in the first resurrection…a resurrection out from the dead, and a translation of those still living, who belong to Christ…His glorious bride! The second death has no power over them, but they will be unerring and immortal kings and priests of God and of Christ, shepherdizing the nations…ruling over them to direct, instruct, and feed them with all the loving care of angels, but shall rule them with a rod of iron in their hands to enforce docility, obedience, and unreserved surrender to all the laws and requirements of the Lord God Almighty…and they will reign with Him for a thousand years!
When the thousand years are over, the loyalty and devotion of the nations, who had now experienced a heavenly life of peace and prosperity under the blessed shepherdizing of the Lord Jesus and His immortal co-regents, are again to be tested. Satan will be released from his prison and will go out once again, for the last time, to deceive the nations in the most remote four corners of the Earth…Gog and Magog…to gather them together for battle, believing the lie that they can overthrow the rule and authority of the Lord’s immortal and glorified saints. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the Earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the City He loves. But fire came down from Heaven and instantly, utterly, devoured them. And the Devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the Beast and the False Prophet had been thrown a thousand years before, to be imprisoned there forever and ever, where they will be tormented day and night forever and ever, without end. Thus ends the last rebellion ever seen upon this planet…the last sin, and the last deaths, that ever occur in this dwelling-place of man.
Then I saw a great white Throne, awe-filled with immeasurable power, and of pure, complete, unmingled, and invincible justice, and Him Who was unnamable, indescribable, and Eternal Godhead seated on it. Earth and sky seemed to have fled into an insignificant nothingness from the overwhelming Almightiness of His Presence, and there seemingly was no place for them! And I saw the resurrection of damnation of the rest of the dead, those who did not have part in the first resurrection, both the great and small, standing before the Throne, brought forth from all the depositories of the souls and bodies of the unholy dead, and books were opened wherein were fully recorded every thought, every word, every deed, every attitude, every motive, every secret and most hidden thing, of every person who ever breathed Earth’s atmosphere. Included therein also were the deeds of goodness and morality of those who thought to stand before God on their own merit…who never felt the need of atonement by the propitiation of a crucified Savior, and who thus disdained to build on the merit and righteousness of the One only Mediator as the sole hope of a guilty and diseased humanity. Another book was opened, which is the Book of Life…the roll-book of the regenerate in Christ Jesus…the register of the washed and sanctified through faith in His redeeming Blood. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged and condemned according to, and in proportion to, the degree of sinfulness of what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire, as had been the Beast, the False Prophet, and the Devil before them. The lake of fire is the second death…an eternal living-death of unimaginable woe, pain, and dreadful torment of both body and spirit, day and night, unceasing, forever and ever. If anyone’s name was not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. [Revelation 20:1-15]
WHY DO I EXIST
EPILOGUE
HOUSE OF PRAYER
ANECDOTES
Suddenly, out of the clear blue, the Spirit of God swept over and fell upon our group! Kids and adults alike were weeping with joy, and then break out into another song! Kids and adults began joyfully weeping and embracing one another, breaking out again into yet another praise song! Everyone was filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit! And so the inaccessible Light of the Glory of the awesome Presence of God just kept going on and on! No one would ever be able to forget that evening when God poured out a Divine token of Love on our little group as we were immersed in praise and worship by the fireplace! Hallelujah!
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Friends & neighbors; brothers and sisters…
If you remember nothing else from the pages of “WHY DO I EXIST”… never forget this: GOD LOVES YOU.
God’s Love 4 U is…
Unconditional
Unfailing
Unchanging
Unending
Beloved…I love you because of Who I am…not as a response to who you are, or what you do, or what you refrain from doing.
If only you would know in the depths of your soul, if only you would just fully embrace, the greatness of My Love I have lavished upon you…that the most intense desire of My heart is to gather you to Myself as one of My Own children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. That is the depth of My love for you.
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DIVINE PRESENCE: HOUSE OF PRAYER
At 5:00 PM on a Friday afternoon in the mid 1980s, I left Brooklyn with a 15 passenger van filled with 5-12 year old inner city kids on our way to a weekend retreat at a Christian Retreat Center in the mountains of Pennsylvania. I was their Youth Leader. The Conference Center Director told me that the Prayer Band from the Brooklyn Tabernacle was going to be there for the entire week…and they had been praying for us every day! I was deeply impressed hearing they were praying for us, because they certainly did not know us, and at that time I had never even heard of the Brooklyn Tabernacle!
It was winter and it was cold as we began our 3 hour trip, but everything seemed OK…until we got into Pennsylvania. The van was being pelted with an ongoing mixture of wind-driven snow and freezing rain, and the narrow mountain roads winding along precipices and cliffs were becoming slippery and treacherous! I was in a cold sweat, continually pleading with the Lord to watch over us, protect us, and keep us safe! With a heart of thanksgiving, we arrived at the Retreat Center at 9 PM…and the gracious staff was there waiting for us, with a wonderful dinner they had prepared for the kids!
Saturday was spent involved with our kids program, and then we joined the Prayer Band in the early evening to have dinner together in the Conference Center’s large dining hall. After dinner, our kids went over to the beautiful stone fireplace at the other end of the dining hall to sing kids praise and worship songs along with the tracks I would play on our boom box.
We always sang these songs, everywhere we went. They knew at least 100 songs, all by heart! We had been invited to sing at a number of churches over the past year; it was our particular God-ordained ministry. The kids were enthusiastic and all lit up when they sang; they thoroughly enjoyed pouring out their little hearts in these songs! Invariably, they would “bring the house down” wherever we went! Congregations wouldn’t let us leave; we would end up singing 5 or 6 songs!
I selected a track as we sat by the crackling fire, and the singing began. I never had to tell them which song I was going to play; they knew the song in just a few seconds into the opening music! Members of the Prayer Band began wandering over and joining in, and soon we were all immersed in singing kids praise and worship songs!
Suddenly, out of the clear blue, the Spirit of God swept over and fell upon our group! Kids and adults alike were weeping with joy, and then break out into another song! Kids and adults began joyfully weeping and embracing one another, breaking out again into yet another praise song! Everyone was filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit! And so the inaccessible Light of the Glory of the awesome Presence of God just kept going on and on! No one would ever be able to forget that evening when God poured out a Divine token of Love on our little group as we were immersed in praise and worship by the fireplace! Hallelujah!
It was there at the Retreat Center that some members of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Prayer Band invited me to come to their Tuesday night prayer meeting. They told me that 2,000 people attend every Tuesday night…standing room only! I never heard of a prayer meeting like that! I wondered how that could possibly be…my experience of prayer meetings at that point was a hand full of people gathering together around a table to pray…over a “shopping list” of prayer requests provided by the pastor.
From the day of that invitation, it took 4 years for me to finally go and see this for myself! The Spirit of God, though, kept reminding me of that invitation; would not let me forget…until finally I decided I have to go; I couldn’t believe there could be 2,000 people at a prayer meeting! How could that possibly be, I wondered.
I arrived at the Tuesday night prayer meeting at 6:45 PM…the meeting starts at 7:00 PM. When I walked into the sanctuary, it was packed! The lights were dimmed quite low. There were a whole number of people at the altar…standing, kneeling, on their face…just crying out to God. Others were seated, praying silently or out loud. There was background instrumental worship music playing…very soft so as not to be a distraction. Nobody was socially conversing with one another…there was only the sound of prayer, the atmosphere of prayer, the aroma of prayer. As I walked into that sanctuary, I was struck with the Presence of God…an overwhelming sense of His Presence! I would never forget this first experience…and I was constrained to attend that prayer meeting every Tuesday night thereafter for the 14 years before being told by the Lord, “I want you to move to Florida!”
The sanctuary doors on the prayer meeting night were opened at 5 PM…2 hours before the meeting was to start. At 4:30 PM there would already be a hundred people in the lobby, waiting for those doors to be opened! It was there at the Brooklyn Tabernacle that I learned what the leading of the Spirit was, and where I learned what a House of Prayer was…what the Lord intended for His church when He said, “My House shall be called a House of Prayer.”
The hour and a half prayer meeting always started with at least 20 minutes of corporate worship and praise songs, longer whenever the Spirit led to do so… 2,000 people immersed in worship, praise, and thanksgiving, with our hands lifted high and our voices raised to the sky, giving Him honor and glory and praise! “I will enter Your gates with thanksgiving, I will come into Your courts with praise.”
The musicians were there, but they did not lead the worship…the Holy Spirit led the worship spontaneously through the Pastor [or assigned associate pastor] as they were prompted to sing one song and then another…on and on. The musicians only provided the accompanying music to the song the Holy Spirit selected; no one knew beforehand…not even the Pastor! The congregation did not have song sheets where the words to the song were written; there was no screen in the front displaying the words of the song. People knew the words by heart; new members learned the words by heart as they joined in with the singing. It was the people who were immersed in worship: God inhabits the praises of His people.
That was the atmosphere my sister walked into on that night when the Lord had told me as clearly as a man speaking to his friend, “Your sister will be saved in this meeting.” You will be blessed beyond measure in reading this testimony: https://preservechristianfamily.org/2017/04/17/divine-intervention-salvation/
After the worship and praise was over, the balance of the meeting was prayer dedicated to supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving…for whomsoever and whatsoever, as the case may be at that particular time frame. Although the prayer meeting ended at 8:30, invariably many people just lingered there in the Presence of God for another half hour or more!
That brings me to the time period after which in 2004 the Lord had told me to move to Florida, and He had raised my mother up off her death bed as He told me 3 times He would, and her subsequent homecoming 9 ½ years later…to May 2015. A couple who were close friends was attending CITG at the time, and they told me there was an associate pastor who had just experienced the Brooklyn Tabernacle prayer meeting recently, and was completely overwhelmed by it. They told him about me…that I was a member there and had attended those prayer meetings every Tuesday for 14 years; he wanted to meet me! I knew the Lord was calling me to CITG because of the prayer meeting…so I went to the morning service the following Sunday, and met Pastor James for the first time, before the service began. We had such a blessed time talking about those anointed prayer meetings!…and he asked me to come to CITG’s Tuesday night prayer meeting and give a testimony about the Brooklyn Tabernacle prayer meeting…which I did. There were about 35 people present on that Tuesday evening. That was how the Lord called me to CITG, and to minister at their prayer meeting.
Pastor James wanted to establish a prayer meeting at CITG that mirrored what he had experienced at his one trip to the Brooklyn Tabernacle…a House of Prayer… and we began working together to do this. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before he was called to another church in a different State. After that, the CITG prayer meeting just kept dwindling in numbers, and deteriorating in purpose…until the church leadership discontinued the prayer meeting altogether in November 2019.
After Pastor James had left CITG until that end-time point in 2019, the prayer meeting had become just a platform for the current night’s leader to give a mini Bible study…15 minutes out of a one hour meeting! The Lord had clearly proclaimed His intended purpose for His Church: “My House shall be called a House of Prayer”… not a house of preaching, of teaching, or Bible study. Preaching, teaching, and Bible study…Yes; but not on the prayer meeting night! “My House shall be called a House of Prayer!”
The remainder of the “prayer meeting” time was dedicated to the “same ole, same ole” “shopping list” requests of God…”to do” lists for Him and “laundry lists”… the “my will be done” lists. Not a single thought about His will be done!
There was no thought of first of all, before ANYTHING else, to enter My gates with thanksgiving, come into my courts with praise. There was no leading of the Spirit in songs of worship, praise, and thanksgiving; the people were not immersed in worship and praise: God inhabits the praises of His people. Yes, there was a worship song…a taped song off a computer from a worship group that was not even present there in the meeting! Why? Isn’t the Holy Spirit capable of prompting His people to make melody with our hearts to God…singing songs, hymns, and spiritual songs from our heart? Brethren…the Holy Spirit must have free reign…in everything! Apart from that, the worship is a stench in the nostrils of God; it is not worship in Spirit and in Truth! It is not at all good or pleasing or acceptable to God!
There was no thought of coming to the sanctuary early, to personally cry out to God before the meeting ever started. The sanctuary did not have the atmosphere of prayer, the aroma and fragrance of prayer, the respectful quietness for those already immersed in prayer. Those who came did not come to pray; they came first of all for social interaction!
The prayer meeting was NOT the most important church meeting of the week… more important than the Sunday service, more important than the various church ministries, meetings, and programs. Pastors, elders, and church leadership rarely, if ever, attended. The Holy Spirit was programmed out; the prayer meeting was spiritually dead. The Lord’s House was NOT a House of Prayer!
Sadly, this characterizes 99% of churches across America!…and explains why the Lord’s Church has no spiritual power, authority, or influence in our current day society! Brethren, you need to watch this video presentation: My House Shall Be Called A House of Prayer: Pastor Jim Cymbala: https://vimeo.com/132887856/
This is a wake-up call to the churches that claim the Name of Christ; they have a form of godliness, but are totally void of any spiritual power! They are not a House of Prayer!
Brothers and sisters in Christ…There is no hope for our church…any church for that matter…becoming a House of Prayer unless the Holy Spirit rend the heavens and comes down as a consuming fire to transform His Church…Oh that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at Thy Presence…as when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make Thy Name known to Thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Thy Presence. [Isa 64:1-2]
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Brothers and sisters in Christ…
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! 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!
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 eternally 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 children of the Most High God!
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The Cost Of Going All The Way With Christ
I heard the voice of the Lord calling, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?”
In the Power of your indwelling Holy Spirit, I respond, “Here am I, Lord; send me.”
Blessed Jesus, Your steadfast love for me…so amazing, so Divine…constrains me…it constrains me to freely surrender unto You my soul, my life, my all…it beckons my soul, my life, my all…
because I am convinced that You died on behalf of every soul who was ever brought into existence, and therefore every soul was included in, and participated together with You in, Your sacrificial death on behalf of Mankind…available to any soul who would freely and wholeheartedly choose to appropriate as their own the rich eternal blessings of Your finished work on that cross at Calvary, through their solemn marriage vows to become Your eternal bride, Blessed Jesus…the bride of Christ.
And since You died on behalf of every soul, I who now live joined together with You as Your eternal bride…the bride of Christ, sealed with my solemn marriage vows to You in our Sacred Covenant relationship…can no longer live for myself…but wholly surrendered unto You Who died for me…on my behalf and in my place…and Who was raised again to life for my sake, that I may now share together with You Your resurrection life out from the dead.
Abba Father…my new life is hidden now together with You in Christ Jesus Your Son! When Christ Jesus, Who is my life, appears once again on this Earth…this time in all of His Majesty, Glory, and Power…then I also shall appear together with Him in Glory. [2 Cor 5:14-15; Col 3:4]
Abba Father…I gratefully acknowledge, with a heart of thanksgiving, all You have Personally done for me. I owe my soul’s eternal destiny of Heaven to You! Because of Your steadfast love for me, I know there is nothing You would ask of me…to be for You or to do for You, to learn of You or just, perhaps, to suffer because it is part of Your plans, Your purposes, Your will for me…that would be unreasonable, or too much to ask.
Therefore, I need no longer be anxious…about anything…as I realize this: You know the plans You have for me…plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me a hope and a future. I am Your workmanship, created in Christ Jesus Your Son to do good works, which You Yourself have planned in advance for me to do.
And so, Father, in the Power of Your enabling grace, manifested and exercised in me through the Eternal Power of Your indwelling Holy Spirit…it no longer matters to me…
where You place me, or how…whether in serious perplexity, or in positions of great difficulty, or in circumstances of great pressure and trial;
It no longer matters whether You place me at all, or when;
It no longer matters where You lead me to go, or what You show me to do; what thoughts You give me to think and present, what words to speak or write.
These things are rather for You to consider than for me. For in the easiest position, still, You must give me Your grace; and in the most difficult, Your grace is more than sufficient. It is enough for me knowing that You know why You place me where I am…whether to do, or to learn, or just, perhaps, to suffer. It no longer matters to me what I do or what I suffer. All that matters is that You keep my heart lovingly and joyfully joined with Your will!
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 respond 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]
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SUMMARY OVERVIEW OF MANKIND’S CREATION
Here is a concise summary overview of God’s Eternal Purpose and intention in bringing you into existence, as He Himself has clearly set forth in Scripture, expressed clearly and accurately in the Westminster Shorter Catechism: The chief end of Man is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.
- I made you for Myself, in My Own image and in My Own likeness, Divinely crafted with the capabilities and capacity to be joined together with the Triune God in a Sacred Covenant relationship…a living union of oneness…the very crown jewels of My Creation, and that, as a mirror of the Almighty, you would reflect My Glory to the Created Universe.
- I purchased you, by Myself and for Myself, with the precious and priceless Blood of My Divine Son Jesus, that you would declare My praises…the praises of the One Who called you out of darkness into My marvelous light.
- I made you to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, consecrated and set apart to the worship of God…consecrated and set apart to worship Me!
Your Divine Son Jesus explained to the Samaritan woman at the well, “The time is coming, and is already here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and Truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” [John 4:23] True worshipers such as You seek, Father, will worship You in Spirit and Truth.
The only act of true worship is embracing in my heart, and manifesting continually and unceasingly in living out my every day life: NOT MY WILL, BUT THY WILL BE DONE…IN EVERYTHING.
And how do I manifest this true worship in living out my life? By living out my every day life in a manner that bears witness for all to see to the truth of what I claim to believe…that in everything my life literally expresses
an unwavering child-like trust in You,
an unreserved child-like dependence upon you, and
an unquestioning child-like obedience to do Your will and accept Your will.
The confirmation of Your Holy Spirit within me will be
my unruffled child-like rest in You, and
an unclouded child-like carefree joy in Your Presence.
Brethren…God’s high calling for His royal children is hereby clearly set forth:
The story of my entire every day life…every thought I think, every word I speak, every thing I do…must be WORSHIP in Your eyes. WORSHIP is not a part of my life; WORSHIP IS my life.
My only true worship is a life wholeheartedly embracing, and manifesting continually and unceasingly, NOT MY WILL IN ANYTHING, BUT THY WILL BE DONE IN EVERYTHING in living out my every day life…the life of a bond-slave, wholly surrendered unto God, wholly given for the blessing and salvation of souls…solely and only, wholly and always, surrendered unto God.
My life…my heart, my soul, every fiber of my being…consecrated and set apart to the WORSHIP of God is what glorifies God and fulfills the chief end of Man…which is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, abiding in the Holy of Holies…in the inaccessible Light of the Glory of Your unclouded Presence, Father…continually and unceasingly even now all the days of my life on this Earth, and then throughout the endless unfolding ages of all eternity.
Brethren…this is why my God brought me into existence; there is nothing else. Period.
Wherefore brethren, having now boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies 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] Hallelujah!
Are you prepared to go into the Garden that Jesus went to that night of His betrayal, and to walk along the path He was called to walk in demonstration of His love for the Father? Our Lord Jesus asks of me…of each one of us…“Do you love Me with an agape love?” Have you set your heart to walk along the path of obedience and suffering, self-sacrifice and self-denial, death to sin and death to self? It is the path Jesus walked and the way which He Personally dedicated for me…a new and living way to God, through the veil, that is to say, through the veil of the flesh…my sin-enslaved human nature. It is the veil of my flesh that is an impenetrable curtain prohibiting entrance into the Presence of God in the Holy of Holies; it must be rent in two from top to bottom for me to enter in and abide there.
Jesus Himself, by virtue of the Eternal Power and the Eternal Worth of His Blood poured out on my behalf on that cross at Calvary, rent the veil in two, from top to bottom…that veil that hung in front of the entrance into the Holy of Holies prohibiting entrance into the Presence of God, under penalty of death. By virtue of the rent veil of His Own flesh…the offering of His will unto death on the altar of sacrifice in obedience to the Father…He guaranteed and secured my Eternal Access into the Holy of Holies and the inaccessible Light of the Glory of my Father’s unclouded Presence, as my birth-right. And having taken upon Himself a human nature, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death…even death on a cross! [Phil 2:8]
It is not humanly possible to walk that path; only the indwelling Power of the Holy Spirit can set me free to walk that path, in His Power and in reliance upon His strength. The power of my flesh is hopelessly helpless to do so; there is no way it would even want to! The Spirit of the Living God alone works in me both to will and to do. I can’t do it apart from Him. Even so…If only I would just give Him free reign over the living-out of my every day life, He will Personally live out this life of Christ Jesus in me to also walk that same path. And He will Personally work out the death of Jesus in me…death to sin and death to self…conforming me ever more deeply into the likeness of His death, in order that I may thereby attain, more and more, to the power of His Resurrection life out from the dead…the power to walk through each and every day as more than a conqueror and with overwhelming victory. It is the ONLY path that leads up to the Gate that opens into the Heavenly Sanctuary and into the Holy of Holies…into the inaccessible Light of the Glory of my Father’s unclouded Presence. The Gate bears on its header the inscription “THY WILL BE DONE.” No one can walk through that Gate without first checking his/her own will there with the gatekeeper in absolute and unconditional surrender.
Absolute Surrender: Bond-slave By Choice
Blessed Holy Spirit…I freely lay my life on the altar of sacrifice, giving You free reign over the course and direction of my life on Earth. I am wholly surrendered unto God, wholly given for the blessing and salvation of souls.
I voluntarily become Your bond-slave…which was a choice made in times of old…not out of coercion or gratitude, but out of love. But if the servant…having been released and set free…shall plainly say to his master, “I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go free,” then his master shall bring him to God [the judges as His agents]; he shall bring him to the door or doorpost and shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him for life. [Ex 21:5-6] As such…
- None of my possessions belong to me; they all belong to You. You are free to do what You will with them, for all that I have has come from You; You are free to give and free to take away.
- I have no plans of my own; whatever plans I may have are all subject to Your plans, purposes, and will for me. I am here to do Your will, O Lord.
- I no longer have any privileges here in this world, because I am no longer a citizen here; You have transferred me out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. All of my privileges are at my home in Heaven, where I am a citizen. There I am privileged to walk the streets of gold, and eat those immortal fruits that grow along the river flowing from the Throne.
- I have no expectations from the people of this world…nothing I expect of them to be or to do, for they continually fail to meet my expectations. All of my expectations are from You, Lord…You have never failed me, and You never will.
- I have no rights here on Earth, because I am not a citizen here; I am a resident alien. Since I have no rights here, there is nothing that anyone can violate. All of my rights are as a citizen of Heaven, and those rights will never be violated.
- I have no honor here among the people of this world, for anything I have done that is worthy of honor was not done by me, but rather by You working through me, with me, and in me. Therefore, all the glory belongs to You alone.
- I have no time of my own; all of the time I have been allotted here on Earth belongs to You. You are free to use my time here as You will.
- I have no desires of my heart for anything this world has to offer; You are Lord of my life. I have only one desire, “I desire to do Your will, O Lord, and to finish the work You have given me to do.”
- I have no purposes of my own for my life, no goals that I cling to. I live wholly surrendered to Your plans, Your purposes, Your will. My only purpose for life is to do the good works that You Yourself have planned in advance for me to do.
- I have no affections for the people of this world, or for anything this world has to offer, that competes with my affection for You. My sweetest, most tender affections are reserved for You alone.
- I have no attractions to the people of this world, or to anything this world has to offer, that competes with my attraction to You. You alone are the choicest, most precious treasure of my heart.
- All of my motives for doing things, my attitude in doing them, and my disposition while doing them, are subservient to You and intended to bring You glory. Enable me, Lord, to have godly motives, a good attitude, and a sweet disposition in all that I do.
- I am wholly Yours, and You are wholly mine…wholly surrendered unto God, wholly given for the blessing and salvation of souls. My heart longs to be inflamed with yearning for God alone…to pour out my soul, my life, my all for You!
Beloved child of God…The power of My enabling grace can not…can never…be manifested and exercised in you by your sin-enslaved human nature. Only My Holy Spirit can make My enabling grace effective in you. Don’t you understand? It is My work, not your work; your place is to cooperate and to respond. [Father God…1 Cor 12:6-11]
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WAITING ON GOD: CARDINAL TRUTHS
These are the cardinal truths concerning the life of waiting upon God, and how deep down these truths go to the very root of spiritual life. [Andrew Murray, Waiting on God]
- The very Nature and Eternal Being of God, as the only Possessor and Dispenser of any life there is in the Universe, implies that He must every moment communicate to every creature the power by which it exists, and therefore also much more the power by which it can do that which is good.
That capability for Mankind to do that which is good is solely and only through the Holy Spirit…God’s Eternal Gift given to dwell within us who are born-again, never to leave us nor forsake us, to be the source of our strength and the Power of our life. - The very nature and being of a creature, as owing its existence to God alone, and equally owing to Him each moment the continuation of that existence, implies that its happiness can only be found in absolute, unceasing, and continual child-like dependence upon God.
- The great value and blessing of the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost, as the fruit of Christ’s Redemption, is that it is now possible for God to take possession of His redeemed children and work in them as He did in Adam before the fall.
- In the Spiritual life, our great need is the knowledge of two great lessons:
The one…our entire sinfulness and helplessness…our utter impotence by any effort of our own to do anything towards the maintenance and increase of our inner spiritual life.
The second…the infinite willingness of God’s Love…which is nothing but a desire to communicate Himself and His blessedness to us to meet our every need, and every moment to work in us by His Son and His Holy Spirit what we need. - Therefore, the very essence of true religion, whether in Heaven or upon Earth, consists in…
an unwavering child-like trust in God;
an unreserved child-like dependence upon God;
and an unquestioning child-like obedience both to do and to accept the will of God…
because we can give God no other glory than yielding ourselves to His Love, which created us to show forth in us its glory, that it may now perfect its work in us.
WAITING ON GOD: REFLECTIONS
- Brethren…I have been much impressed by the thought of how, in all our religion, personal and public, we need more of God. I have felt the need for God’s people, in our worship time, to wait on God much more than we do; to make the cultivation of a deeper sense of His Presence, of more direct contact with Him, of entire dependence upon Him, our definite aim and personal goal.
- At all our conventions and assemblies, too little time is given to waiting on God. Is He not willing to put things right in His Own Divine way? Has the life of God’s people reached the utmost limit of what God is willing to do for them? Surely not! We need to wait on Him; to put away our experiences, however blessed they have been; our conceptions of truth, however sound and Scriptural we think they seem; our plans, however needful and suitable they appear; and give God time and place to show us what He could do, what He will do, if we would only just give Him free reign to do with us as He pleases.
- The great lack of our religion is…we do not know God. The answer to every complaint of feebleness and failure, the message to every congregation or convention seeking instruction on holiness, ought to be simply, “What is the matter? Have you not God?”
If you really believe in God, He will put all right. God is willing and able by His Holy Spirit. Cease from expecting the least good from yourself, or the least help from anything there is in man, and just yield yourself unreservedly to God to work in you. He will most assuredly do all for you.
This is the gospel we so little know. Would God that we might get some right conception of what the influence would be on a life spent…not in thought, or imagination, or effort…but in the Power of the Holy Spirit, wholly waiting upon God. He can do new things, unheard of things, hidden things. Let us enlarge our hearts and not limit Him. When Thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, Thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at Thy Presence. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him. [Isa 64:3-4] - My beloved child…this is indeed the privilege of all My children: “All who are indeed My children are continually led by My indwelling Holy Spirit!” So I counsel you, walk in My Spirit. Watch for Him and wait before Him; look off unto Him and listen for His voice. He will place you where you are to be. He will lead you where you are to go. He will show you what you are to do to participate together with Me in My work. He will give you the thoughts you are to think and to present, the words you are to speak or write.
- The very essence of a blessed life of deep and intimate personal relationship with God…an abiding life of faith in God…can be summed up in this one, all-encompassing, principle:
MY WAITING UPON GOD…Just to be alone together with You in our trysting place, to walk with You and talk with You in the cool of the early hours of the morning well before dawn…just to commune with You face to Face as a man would speak with his friend…
MY WAITNG UPON GOD continually and unceasingly throughout the day and night…with a joyful expectation and an excited anticipation, with an unwavering child-like trust and an unreserved child-like dependence…watching and waiting, looking off unto You and listening for Your voice behind me saying, “This is the way; walk ye in it” …
FOR GOD TO REVEAL TO ME WHO HE IS and the rich eternal treasures of the Heavenly realms…ever more deeply and intimately…and Your plans, Your purposes, Your will for me as Your messenger, Your ministering spirit, Your watchman, Your prophet…
SO I MAY THEN RESPOND,with an unquestioning child-like obedience, to every leading and prompting of Your Holy Spirit in living out my every day life, cooperating with the Power of His enabling grace Who is the One Who works in me both to will and to do. - Blessed Holy Spirit…You are the Divine Nature dwelling in me, Whose Power in me continually guarantees and secures my capability to live my everyday life:
faithful to my solemn marriage vows as the bride of Christ;
faithfully within the Holy of Holies and the unclouded Presence of my Father in our Sacred Covenant relationship.
My soul, wait thou only upon God!
HOLY SPIRIT: BREATH OF MY SPIRITUAL LIFE
Continually and unceasingly, day and night, my heart needs to breathe in that breath of life that comes from the Holy Spirit and sustains my spiritual life…just the same as my lungs need, continually and unceasingly, to breathe in that breath of life that comes from the outside air and sustains my physical life. This is the blessed life of deep and intimate personal relationship with God.
Abba Father…since I have been raised with Christ Jesus Your Son into newness of life, I continually set my heart and my soul upon the rich eternal treasures that are above, in the Heavenly realms, where Your Divine Son Jesus is seated at Your right hand. I continually set my heart, and my soul…my mind with all of its thoughts, my emotions with all of its feelings, my will with all of its inclinations…on the things of Heaven and the spiritual realm, not on the things of Earth and the physical realm. For I died in union with Christ Your Son, and have been raised up together with Him into newness of life; my new life is hidden now with Christ Jesus in You, Father. When Christ, Who is my life, appears once again upon this Earth…this time in all of His Divine Majesty and Glory and Power…then I also shall appear together with Him in Glory. [Col 3:1-4] Hallelujah!
CONFIDENT ASSURANCE THAT IT IS NOT IN VAIN:
In the confident assurance in God which faith gives, I am ever to remember one thing above all…to wait upon God. My chief need in waiting upon God, one of the deepest secrets of its blessedness and blessing, is a quiet, confident persuasion that it is not in vain; courage to believe that God will hear and help. I am waiting upon a God Who never could disappoint His people! In the utter insufficiency of all human strength, “Be strong and let thine heart take courage.”
I am to let NOTHING in Heaven or Earth or Hell…let NOTHING keep me from waiting on my God in full assurance that it cannot be in vain!
BLESSINGS OF FAITH
Everyone who overcomes by means of their faith…
- I will give the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life that grows in the Garden paradise of God.
- will in no way be harmed by the second death. Therefore, remain faithful, even to the point of death, and I will reward you with the crown of life.
- I will give to eat some of the hidden manna of Heaven. I will also give you a white stone with a new name engraved on it, known only to the one who receives it.
- those who remain obedient to My will to the very end, I will give authority and power over the nations. Your authority and power over them shall be like that which I Myself have received from My Father.
- will walk in fellowship with Me, arrayed in garments dazzling and white. I will never blot out your name from the Book of Life, but will acknowledge you as Mine, and openly confess your name in the Presence of My Father and His angels.
- 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.
- I will give the privilege to sit beside Me on My Throne, just as I Myself overcame and am now seated beside My Father on His Throne.
My soul, wait thou only upon God!
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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…a River of unceasing glorious and rich eternal pleasures at My right hand…eternal pleasures at My right hand beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations…rich eternal treasures that no eye has ever seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of Man to ever begin to imagine, what wondrous things God has prepared for those who love Him…a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness nevermore to cease!
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 a link to the prayer entitled Longing For God:
https://preservechristianfamily.org/2019/01/22/longing/
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Friends, brothers and sisters…
The truth is that there are just 5 foundational principles underlying human existence…5 principles determined and ordained by God that are the framework for human existence.
God’s framework in creating Mankind:
- ETERNAL REASON for my existence: Love.
- ETERNAL PROVISION for my existence:
Gift of My Son
Gift of My Holy Spirit - ETERNAL PURPOSE for my existence: Relationship.
- ETERNAL PLAN for my existence: I know the plans I have for you.
- ETERNAL PROMISE for my existence: Promised rest for My children.
The Gift of My Son makes it possible for you to appropriate My Eternal Purpose for creating you and bringing you into existence…
Relationship…through becoming His bride, the bride of Christ.
The Gift of My Holy Spirit makes it possible for you to embrace and be engaged in My Eternal Plans specifically and personally ordained for you in bringing you into existence…I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.
Entrance into the Eternal Blessings I have for Mankind…My Eternal Promise of an abiding rest for My children…BEGINS with your solemn vow before Me to become the bride of Christ My Son in a divine spiritual marriage, to be joined inseparably together with Him through the new life to be conceived in you by the Holy Spirit.
Our Lord Jesus’ High Priestly prayer to the Father…on that night just prior to His betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane…clearly defined eternal life: Now this is eternal life: personally knowing You, Father, the One True Living God, continually ever more deeply and intimately in a daily living-out union of oneness,
and knowing Jesus Christ Your Son…the Messiah Whom You have sent…in that same deep and intimate personal relationship, joined inseparably together with Us in an eternal Sacred Covenant relationship. [John 17:3]
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. [1 John 5:9-13]
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?
BLOOD OF CHRIST
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 Your bride…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 eternal living union of oneness.
- 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.
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Beloved…be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. Be alertly waiting for your master’s return from the wedding feast, so you may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those whom the master finds ready when he comes. You also, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect! [Jesus…Luke 12:35-37, 40]
When our God shall come, even Christ, to set up His Kingdom on the Earth…a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. Only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return. We will enter Zion with singing, our heads crowned with everlasting joy! Gladness and joy will overtake me, forever free from sorrow and grief! [Isa 35:8-10]
Brothers and sisters in Christ…
In that soon coming Day of the Lord…Men’s hearts will be failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the Earth: for the powers of Heaven shall be shaken. When God spoke from Mount Sinai His voice shook the Earth, but now He makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the Earth but the heavens also.” This means that the things on Earth will be shaken, so that only eternal things will remain. When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. [Heb 12:26-27; Luke 21:26, 28]
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. In that day, the Earth will burn as an oven. Everything in the physical, material realm will be burned up…EVERYTHING; nothing will remain.
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]
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]
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
Alone With God:
Preserve Christian Family 