JOURNEY OF FAITH
Day Eight
How great are Your signs, Abba Father, how mighty Your wonders! Your Kingdom is an Eternal Kingdom! Your dominion endures from generation to generation! All my praise belongs to the Most High God! I honor and glorify You Who lives forever, Father! Your dominion is an Eternal dominion; Your Kingdom endures from generation to generation! All the peoples of the Earth are regarded as nothing! You do what You please with the powers of Heaven and the peoples of the Earth! No one can hold back Your hand or say to You, “What have You done?”
Listen, O heavens, and I will speak! Hear, O Earth, the words of my mouth! Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants! I proclaim Your Holy Name, my Lord and Father! Oh, how I praise the greatness of my God! Hallelujah!
Revelation 8:1-13 [NIV; amplification in italics]
When He opened the seventh seal, there was an intense, ominous, awe-filled silence in Heaven for about half an hour. All Heaven became mute, motionless and breathless, waiting with solemn expectation, with adoring anticipation, for the momentous culminating manifestations of the Divine Presence that were about to unfold with the breaking of that seventh seal. And I saw the seven archangels…the highest ranking and mightiest of all created beings throughout all the universe…who stand continually before God, always in His immediate Presence, and to them were given the seven trumpets with which sounding they are to execute the manifestations of the terrible Majesty and Power of God in His oncoming administrations.
Another Angel, the Angel of Yahweh…the Lord Jesus Christ Himself…Who had with Him a sacred golden censer, came and stood at the altar. As The Great High Priest, He was given much incense to offer, such incense coming alongside and mingling with, and being offered for, the enrichment of the prayers of all the saints, to be offered on the golden altar before the Throne of infinite Godhead and Eternal Majesty. The smoke of the incense, mingling together with the, until now, unanswered volumes and oceans of prayers of the saints that have ever entreated their God that “Thy Kingdom come! Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven!”, perfumed with the precious fragrance of His Own meritorious favor and righteousness, sanctified with the sacred fire from the altar, went up sweet and savory before God from the Angel’s hand. He offers them as approved and endorsed by Himself, and for such acceptance that their fulfillment may be delayed no longer but now eternally satisfied as the Presence angels are about to put their awe-filled trumpets to their lips, to enforce the holy indignation of that Throne against all who stand in rebellion against it, dethroning forever and ever the enemies and usurpers who occupy the Earth! Then the Angel of Yahweh took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the Earth, thereby Himself initiating the oncoming climax of the Day of wrath that has come to avenge His Own elect in answer to their innumerable prayers. And there came dreadfully ominous peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake, heralding that Day of Judgment in which the Earth shall burn as an oven, in which all the proud and ungodly shall be as stubble to the devouring flames!
Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them, predetermining the order and method of their proceedings by which they would execute the awe-filled transactions assigned them.
The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came a mighty tempest of hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the Earth, to envelop it. The bloody storm raged with such fury throughout all the Earth that a third of the Earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up; all the world was smitten with a bloody, putrid, charred blackness.
The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something of a fiery meteoric mass, looking like a huge mountain, all ablaze with seething, thundering, flashing flames, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, with the result that a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, which looked to be a comet blazing like a torch, fell from the sky in another spectacular meteoric display, sweeping over and depositing its deadly particles on a third of the rivers and then plunging into the Earth, thereby having its same deadly impregnating effects on the sources of a third of the underground springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood…named after a bitter, intoxicating, poisonous herb. A third of the waters of these rivers and springs were affected by the deadly particles infused into them, and turned poisonously bitter, and many people died from the waters that had thereby become bitter.
The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night, thereby disturbing the seasons, hindering the ripening of fruits and harvests, and filling the world with chilliness and sickening gloom.
As I watched, I heard an eagle-saint that was flying in midair…one from among the assembly of raptured saints now gathered together with the Lord (“Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together”)… call out to those remaining on the Earth in a loud voice of merciful forewarning, giving opportunity that they may turn their hearts’ to the Lord before it is too late, and seek refuge in Him: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!” [Revelation 8:1-13]
WHY DO I EXIST
CHAPTER 10
GIFT OF THE INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT
ANECDOTES
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.
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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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GOD’S ETERNAL PROVISION FOR MY EXISTENCE
God’s ETERNAL PROVISION for my existence is the Gift of His Son and the Gift of His Holy Spirit.
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.
GIFT OF MY HOLY SPIRIT
Given to dwell in you…never to leave you, never forsake you…to be the Divine Nature abiding in you Whose Power continually guarantees and secures your capability to live your everyday life:
faithful to your solemn marriage vows as the spiritual bride of Christ My Son;
faithfully within the Holy of Holies and the inaccessible Light of the Glory of My unclouded Presence in our Sacred Covenant relationship.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you of all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; yes…I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you…to follow My decrees and to be careful to keep My laws.
And this is My covenant with you, “My Spirit will not leave you, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children from this time on and forever! I, the Lord, have spoken! You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.” [Ezek 36:25-28; Isa 59:21]
SPIRITUAL MATURITY
Don’t you yet understand?…In your physical life, maturity is growth from the utter dependence of a baby to the complete independence and self-reliance of an adult.
In your spiritual life, however, maturity is growth from independence and self-reliance to utter dependency upon God. He is most spiritually mature who lives a life of unreserved child-like dependence upon Me.
A baby is utterly helpless to provide for its physical needs; all (s)he can do is open his/her mouth and cry. Unless there is someone who hears its cry and satisfies its needs, (s)he will surely die.
In the same manner, you are utterly helpless to provide for your spiritual needs. All you can do is open your mouth and cry out to Me. I alone am the One Who hears your cry and satisfies those needs.
SPIRITUAL LIFE: CRYING, NOT TRYING
My child, if you try to live a spiritual life in the power of your flesh…through reliance upon your human capabilities and capacities, by your own efforts and in your own strength, according to your own wisdom, knowledge, and understanding…you will surely die spiritually.
Just as a baby cannot provide for its physical life, neither can you provide for your spiritual life. Don’t you yet understand? Your spiritual life cannot grow and mature by trying…only by crying. Crying out to Me, and trusting that I will hear your cry and satisfy your needs.
Like a newborn baby crying in its thirst…crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up into full spiritual maturity, now that you have tasted the goodness and kindness of the Lord!
INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT CRIES OUT “ABBA FATHER“
My brothers and sisters in Christ…our God and Father has given us the Eternal Gift of His Holy Spirit to dwell in each one of us…never to leave me, never to forsake me: Because you are My child, I have given you the Spirit of My Son to dwell in your heart, and He continually cries out, “Abba, Father!” All who are indeed My children are continually led by My indwelling Holy Spirit!
NEW COVENANT AGREEMENT
Beloved…that is why I made a New Covenant agreement with Mankind, and gave My Holy Spirit to dwell in you, to be the Power Who enables you to grow up into full spiritual maturity. It is His work, not yours. He Personally lives out the life of My Divine Son Jesus in you…Who is your Wisdom from God, as well as your Righteousness, your Sanctification, and your Redemption. I put in you a new heart and a new spirit; I removed your stubborn heart of stone and replaced it with a tender, obedient heart. And I put in you My Spirit, empowering you to obey My laws and live by My decrees. This is My covenant with you: “My Spirit, and these words I have given you, will never depart from you!”
POWER OF A RESURRECTION LIFE
It is Finished! The Holy Spirit was given as My Eternal gift to dwell in you…never to leave you, never to forsake you. Embrace the life of My Divine Son Jesus that the Holy Spirit is Personally living out in you…a life of obedience and suffering, self-sacrifice and self-denial…giving Him free reign to do so.
Embrace the death of My Divine Son Jesus that the Holy Spirit is Personally working out in you, conforming you ever more deeply into the likeness of His death…death to sin and death to self…in order that you may thereby attain, more and more, to the power of the resurrection life of Christ Jesus My Son out from the dead…the power to walk through each and every day as more than a conqueror and with overwhelming victory.
LIVING IN THE HOLY OF HOLIES: YOUR BIRTH-RIGHT
Beloved…this is what it means to live your everyday life faithfully within the Holy of Holies: entrust your life and your everyday manner of living continually and unceasingly throughout each day entirely into My hands. I assure you…I will lead you and guide you by My Holy Spirit! Trust in Me with an unwavering child-like trust that…
- My indwelling Holy Spirit will indeed Be All in you and Do All in you…will indeed place you where you are to be, lead you where you are to go, show you what you are to do to participate together with Him in His work, give you the thoughts to think and present, the words to speak or write.
- In My will for your life and in the work I have given you to do…in the ministries I have given to you and their responsibilities…My indwelling Spirit will indeed enable you to fulfill your responsibilities in accordance with My plans, purposes, and will, and in a manner that is well-pleasing in My sight.
- In every circumstance, event, and thing that is currently touching your life, and in all that I will yet allow to touch your life, My Spirit will indeed lead you and guide you, showing you how to respond and when.
- In all things I allow to touch your life, My indwelling Spirit will indeed intervene in those affairs to Personally do whatever is beyond your human capabilities and capacities to do, in accordance with My Own plans, purposes, and will.
- In all things I allow to touch your life, My indwelling Spirit will indeed Personally cause…or specifically, consciously, and deliberately allow… results, outcomes, and conclusions according to My Own good purpose, in accordance with My Own plans, purposes, and will.
- The results, outcomes, and conclusions I bring about will indeed be the very best, very kindest, most loving thing that can possibly be…and that I make all things work together for your good.
- Therefore, it should not matter to you what these results, outcomes, and conclusions are, since that is for Me to consider and not for you. All that really matters is that you cooperate with My enabling grace to keep your heart lovingly and joyfully joined with My will.
POWER OF THE INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT
Blessed Holy Spirit…Your Divine Power dwelling within me has given me everything I need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Jesus, the One Who called me by His Own Glory and Goodness. Through these, Christ Jesus has given me His Own very great and precious promises, so that through them I may participate in Your Divine Nature now dwelling within me, and thereby escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. [2 Pet 1:3-4]
ETERNAL PROMISE: ABIDING REST
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.
REMAINING IN MY PROMISED REST
My beloved child…the only way you can remain in My promised rest is by your…
unwavering child-like trust both in My Love for you and in My Sovereignty over all Creation,
unreserved child-like dependence upon the leading of My Holy Spirit, and your
unquestioning child-like obedience to, and acceptance of, My will as the very best, very kindest, most loving thing that can possibly be.
You are responsible to consciously and deliberately wait upon Me…to watch for Me and wait before Me, to look off unto Me and listen for My voice. That is to be your life. What My Spirit shows you to do, He will also enable you to do. It is His work from beginning to end. You are responsible to be obedient and participate in His work whenever He shows you to do so, and to cooperate with the Power of His enabling grace at work in you in doing it…not by trying to do His work on your own, by your own efforts and in your own strength.
GOD REVEALS HIMSELF THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT
And it shall be said in that day, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” [Isa 25:9]
NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH
You are to have no confidence in the power of your flesh, since in your sin-enslaved human nature you are hopelessly powerless, hopelessly impotent, hopelessly helpless to do anything, or say anything, that is good or pleasing or acceptable to God. The power of your flesh encompasses all of your human capabilities and capacities…anything by your own efforts or in your own strength; anything according to your own wisdom or knowledge or understanding.
SIN-ENSLAVED HUMAN NATURE
Abba Father…I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sin-enslaved human nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot always carry it out. For what I end up doing is not the good deeds I want to do; no, the evil deeds I do not want to do…this I all too often keep on doing!
Now if I so often end up doing what I do not want to do, it is no longer I myself who does it, but it is the enslaving power of sin living in my human nature that asserts itself and does it.
So I find this law at work in me: when I want to do what is right and good, evil is right there with me, subjecting me to its insistent demands. For in my inner being I delight in God’s Law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law embraced by my regenerated mind, and making me a prisoner of the indwelling principle of sin at work within the members of my body.
What a wretched man I am! Who will free me from this body of death? Who, then, shall deliver me out of bondage to this indwelling law of sin and into moral freedom, where my body shall no longer serve as the seat of this shameful death? It is not humanly possible, Father; it is possible only through the Power of Your indwelling Holy Spirit. Thanks be to You, Father…You have delivered me and set me free through my living union of oneness with Christ Jesus Your Son!
So then, to sum up this whole matter, such is the unchanging conflict of these two principles within me as Your child: I myself in my regenerated mind am a willing bond-slave to God’s Law, but in my sin-enslaved human nature that still remains a part of me, a wretched slave to the rule and reign of the indwelling principle of sin.
POWER OF THE DIVINE NATURE DWELLING IN ME
Blessed Holy Spirit…Continually and unceasingly day and night, I need You to guide my life! Then I won’t be doing what my sinful nature craves. My sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what Your Holy Spirit wants, Father. And Your Spirit gives me desires that are the opposite of what my sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so I am not able to freely carry out my good intentions.
But when I am directed by Your Spirit, Father, I am not under obligation to the Law. I who belong to Christ Jesus Your Son have nailed the passions and desires of my sin-enslaved human nature to His cross and crucified them there. Since I am now living by Your Spirit, I will indeed seek to follow Your Spirit’s leading in every part of my life. [Rom 7:18-25; Gal 5:16-18, 24-25]
HOLY SPIRIT: AGENT OF WORSHIP
My part in this Sacred Covenant relationship with God is to embrace the chief end of Man: To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
Although this is my very place in our relationship, and I am consecrated and set apart to worship God, I am hopelessly powerless, hopelessly impotent, hopelessly helpless to do so in the powers of my sin-enslaved human nature. In the power of the flesh…the totality of my human capabilities and capacities, by my own efforts and in my own strength, according to my own wisdom, knowledge and understanding…I cannot worship God as He really is, nor offer Him the true worship that He wants.
The only act of worship on my part that is acceptable to You, that is pleasing to You…which must be first of all before any other worship or sacrificial offering…is to take the free will You have given me in my creation and freely, of my own free will, lay it on the altar of sacrifice in absolute surrender, and say from my heart, “No Father, NOT my will, but Thy will be done.”
Apart from that, I cannot truly worship You…I cannot worship You in Spirit and in truth. Giving my free will back to God is the only thing I can give You, Father, that You don’t already have…because You had freely laid aside Your Sovereignty as my Creator to determine the course of my life, and gave me absolute sovereignty to determine the course of my own life.
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…
an unruffled child-like rest in You, and
an unclouded child-like carefree joy in Your Presence.
Even so, God…in His infinite willingness to fulfill all He has covenanted in our Sacred Covenant relationship, has given the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell in me… never to leave me, never to forsake me.
The Holy Spirit was given to be the Divine Power Personally living out the life of Jesus within me…a life that is indeed good and pleasing and acceptable to God.
The Holy Spirit alone is the agent of all true worship. Therefore, the attitude in my natural human spirit must be one of absolute surrender, giving the Spirit of God free reign in my life, to rule over my everyday manner of living…Sovereign Lord over my life, seated upon the throne within my heart, to reign in Sovereign Majesty, and to rule with Sovereign authority. It is only in the Power of the Holy Spirit that my worship can be good, and pleasing, and acceptable to God.
My sin-enslaved human nature was crucified with Christ…nailed to His cross; I am never again to allow my flesh to come down off that cross and usurp the rule and authority in my life that rightfully belongs to the Holy Spirit. It is only in the Power of the Holy Spirit that I can live my everyday life in a manner that worships God as He really is. For it is God the Holy Spirit Who is continually living out the life of Jesus in me, working in me both the desire to obey my Father’s will and the power to do His will, for His Own good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. [John 4:23-24; Phil 2:13]
HOLY SPIRIT: INSTRUMENT OF WORSHIP
When I received Jesus the Christ into my heart, as both Lord over my life and Savior of my soul, to be joined together with Him in a Sacred Covenant relationship, I solemnly vowed…
to live my everyday life faithful to my solemn marriage vows as the bride of Christ in our eternal living union of oneness,
to live my everyday life faithfully within the Holy Of Holies, in the inaccessible Light of the Glory of my Father’s unclouded Presence in our Sacred Covenant relationship,
to be a mirror of the Almighty, reflecting His Glory to the created Universe.
My faithfulness to these Sacred spiritual marriage vows throughout the course of my everyday life is what constitutes worship. The story of my everyday life is to be worship in His eyes. Every part of my life, and every part of my being…body, soul and spirit…is consecrated and set apart to the worship of God. And the worship of God is inseparable from love, for God is Love.
Jesus replied to a question from one of the Scribes, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the One and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” [Mark 12:29-31]
HOLY SPIRIT: AGENT OF PRAYER
You are helpless to pray effectively, as you do not know what God’s will is for souls whom you are interceding for, nor even how to offer your prayer in a worthy manner as you ought. In your utter human weakness, you must wait before the Spirit of God for His help. So too the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads on our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes and pleads before God on behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will.
So, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit…pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. [Rom 8:26-27; Jude 20-21; Eph 6:18]
HOLY SPIRIT: AGENT OF FRUIT
My child, you are helpless to produce fruit…the abundant, abiding fruit produced by My Holy Spirit. You are merely a branch; branches do not produce fruit.
Branches are meant to bear the fruit which My Spirit produces. Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without being vitally united to the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me, and I in him, bears abundant fruit. However, apart from a living union of oneness with Me…you can do nothing. [John 15:4-5]
HOLY SPIRIT: AGENT OF GOD’S PLANS, PURPOSES, AND WILL
In your own wisdom, knowledge, and understanding…you are helpless to know God’s plans, purposes, and will for you. It is the Spirit of God Who…
places you where you are to be,
leads you where you are to go,
shows you what you are to do to participate together with Him in His work,
gives you the thoughts you are to think and present,
gives you the words you are to speak or write.
The Holy Spirit searches all things…even the Divine counsels and the limitless depths of God…things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny. For just as no one among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s own spirit within him, even so no one knows the mind and thoughts of God…only the Spirit of God.
Now, we have not received the spirit that belongs to the world, but the Holy Spirit Who is from God, given to us that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts of Divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly bestowed upon us by God. But the natural human spirit of man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are meaningless nonsense to him; and he is incapable of knowing and understanding them because they can only be spiritually discerned and appreciated. [1 Cor 2:10-12, 14]
HOLY SPIRIT: AGENT OF SPIRITUAL REVELATION
Beloved…you are helpless to acquire spiritual wisdom, knowledge or understanding by means of the human capabilities and capacities of your mind. Your deepest need when you have studied or heard God’s Word, is to cease from your thoughts, put no trust in them, awaken your heart to open itself before God, and seek living fellowship with Me. It is the Spirit of God Who illuminates your mind to spiritual things.
But as for you, Christ has poured out His Spirit upon you. As long as His Spirit remains in you, you do not need anyone to teach you. For His Spirit teaches you about everything, and what He teaches is true, not false. Obey the Spirit’s teaching, then, and remain in union with Christ. [1 John 2:27]
HOLY SPIRIT: AGENT OF PLEASING GOD
In the power of your flesh you are helpless to do anything, or say anything, that is good or pleasing or acceptable to God.
Those who live according to their sin-enslaved human nature have their minds set on and pursue what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Holy Spirit desires. Those whose manner of life is controlled by their sin-enslaved human nature cannot please God, or be acceptable to Him. [Rom 8:5, 8]
HOLY SPIRIT: AGENT OF GOD’S INFINITE WILLINGNESS
Child of God! Do you now realize; do you now understand? You are hopelessly powerless, hopelessly impotent, hopelessly helpless in the power of your sin-enslaved human nature to live your life in any manner that is good and pleasing and acceptable to Me! Therefore I, your God and Father, have assured you that I am infinitely willing, through the Power of My Holy Spirit I have graciously given to dwell in you, to:
BE ALL in you…all I created you to be, all I saved you to be;
DO ALL in you…all that I have planned in advance for you to do.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you of all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; yes…I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you…to follow My decrees and to be careful to keep My laws. And this is My covenant with you, “My Spirit will not leave you, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children from this time on and forever! I, the Lord, have spoken!
You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.” [Ezek 36:25-28; Isa 59:21]
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Friends & neighbors, brothers and sisters in Christ…
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…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, 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 continually, and I will do so again:
https://preservechristianfamily.org/category/testimonies/
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
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