JOURNEY OF FAITH
Day Twelve
I cry out to You with all my heart, Abba Father, and You answer me! I will obey Your decrees! I call out to You, Father, and You save me! I will keep Your statutes! I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in Your Word! My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, and I meditate on Your promises! You hear my voice in accordance with Your Love, and You renew my life, Father! You are near, Father, and all Your commands are true! Long ago I learned from Your statutes, that You established them to last forever! Your compassion is great, Father! Renew my life according to Your laws! See how I love Your precepts! You preserve my life according to Your love! All Your words are true; all Your righteous laws are Eternal! Hallelujah!
Hear my cry, Father! Listen to my prayer! From the ends of the Earth I cry out to You! I cry out to You, for my heart is overwhelmed and growing faint! Lead me to the towering Rock that stands high above me! Lead me to the Rock of my salvation!
Revelation 12:1-17 [NIV; amplification in italics]
A great and wondrous sign appeared in Heaven: a woman clothed with the brilliant light of the sun, robed with its purity and magnificently radiant, with the moon…that symbol of the powers of darkness…under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head befitting her celestial royalty and dominion…already enthroned, judging human beings and judging angels... Yahweh’s Queen! None other than the visible Church of the Living God on Earth throughout all ages and in all places is the precious bride symbolically portrayed by this glorious woman, fashioned out of Christ by the hand and Spirit of God from that deep sleep of His for the sins of the world, bone of His bones and flesh of His flesh…as woman was fashioned out of Adam from the deep sleep that fell upon him for that purpose…and in whom all its highest excellencies and chief characteristics are summed up from the beginning even unto the great consummation! She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth to her royal children, who have therein been begotten, nourished, and borne throughout the ages, now to be brought forth in her birth-hour as lords and princes of the eternal realm.
Then another sign appeared in Heaven: an enormous, fierce and malignant, fiery blood-red dragon with seven heads and ten horns…a symbol of none other than that ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan who, with cunning and genius unsurpassed only by that of the Eternal Uncreated Mind, leads the whole world astray. And he had seven crowns on his heads, denoting his usurped control over the entirety of sovereign governments, over the universal secular dominion of this world, throughout all ages and in all places, continually using their power as instruments to accomplish his murderous and malignant purposes to harm, wound and afflict; to oppress, injure and destroy; to bring about misery, sorrow and suffering. His tail swept away a third of the stars of the Heavens…those beautiful and gloriously created angelic hosts, swept out of the sky-regions as a result of their allegiance to him in his rebellion…and flung them to the lowly Earth-regions below to meet the same fate as his; plucked out and thrown down from their lofty setting as bright morning stars, debased and dethroned forever, reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the Great Day. The Dragon stood ready in front of the Woman who was about to give birth to her royal seed, with rage inflamed, intent upon annihilation, so that he might devour her child…the symbolic representation of the entire regenerated purchase of the Savior’s Blood… the moment it was born, thereby to carry out his malignant will to destroy God’s Kingdom. She gave birth to a son, a male child…symbolic of the genuine children of God, begotten of the Holy Spirit, whose characteristics are yet hidden, who are only to be manifested by their resurrection and translation at that Great Day, and for whom all the Creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. It is these royal children who will rule over all the nations of the world with an iron scepter, governing, disciplining and controlling all the peoples of the Earth with absolute, irresistible, authority and power…as a shepherd presides over his flock. He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of Heaven to the other; and so her child, new-born into immortality and eternal life, was snatched up to God and to His Throne and granted, as promised by the Lord Jesus, “To sit with Me in My Throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His Throne.” The Woman…Yahweh’s Queen…fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
And there was a monumental war in Heaven over the birth and coronation of this male child…these royal seed as lords and princes of the eternal realm. The issue at stake is this glorious exaltation of the saints that the Devil and his angels have ever exerted all their subtlety and power throughout the ages to defeat. Michael and his angels fought against the Dragon, and the Dragon and his angels fought back. But the Dragon was not nearly strong enough, and they lost forever their place in Heaven. Foiled at every point, he stands revealed to all Heaven in all the devilish baseness of his true character, and all his hosts as the ministers and abettors of Satanic falsehood and the most hellish malignity. The great Dragon was thus hurled down…that ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the Earth below, and all his angels swept out of the sky-regions along with him; henceforward neither he nor his angels are ever anymore to have the liberty of the heavenly spaces. How you are fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
Then, all Heaven is filled with rejoicing, and I heard a loud voice in Heaven say, even as in mighty volume the triumphal song rings out:
“Now have come the salvation and the Power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night…claiming that these people are not fit for and not worthy of such honors; that God disowns His holiness, and casts dishonor on His Throne by awarding to such people such a portion and such a destiny; that all reasonable being and intelligence is set at naught and outraged by such a proceeding…has been hurled down.
They overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb… whose meritorious Blood, weighed in all the strictness of eternal right, covers the whole amplitude of their deficiencies, and cleanses away all account of their sins…
and by the word of their testimony,
and by the fact that they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the Earth and the sea, because the Devil has gone down to you! He is filled with unwonted rage and fury, because he knows that his time is short; that but a few brief years remain until his reign is over and the Abyss is his prison-house.”
When the Dragon saw that he had been hurled to the Earth, he pursued the Woman who had given birth to the male child. Under the dominion of his appointed ruler, the Beast…who receives his power, his throne, and his great authority from the Devil…the remaining members of the visible church on Earth are persecuted as never before. There will be no living under him without accepting him in place of God and of Christ. The Woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly swiftly and out of reach of her adversary to the place prepared for her in the desert…just as in the days when Israel fled into the wilderness of Sinai to escape the wrath of Egypt…where she would be taken care of, nourished, and strengthened for a time, times, and half a time, out of the Serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the Serpent spewed water like a river…a host of armed forces sent forth from his agent the Beast…to overtake the Woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the Earth at God’s command miraculously helped the Woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river of soldiers that the Dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the Dragon, completely thwarted and frustrated in his malignant will to destroy, was enraged at the Woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring…those yet remaining on the Earth who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. [Revelation 12:1-17]
WHY DO I EXIST
CHAPTER 6
PURE IN HEART
ANECDOTES
Wait on the LORD, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land. [Ps 37:34]
Since you have these promises, My child, purify yourself from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. [Matt 5:6, 8]
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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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WALKING IN HIS WAYS
Wait on the LORD, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land. [Ps 37:34]
Since you have these promises, My child, purify yourself from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. [Matt 5:6, 8]
PURITY, HOLINESS, AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
Purity, holiness, and righteousness…first of all and above all…is a matter of the heart. It is in my hidden life within my heart…in my mind, my thoughts, my imagination…where a pure, holy, and righteous life has its roots.
The only righteousness acceptable to God is purity of heart. Without that purity, the outward physical life makes no difference. God’s Divine evaluation takes place in the heart. He judges the source and origin of sin, not its manifestation or lack of manifestation. If the purity, holiness, and righteousness that people see in your everyday visible physical life is not a true reflection of an inner purity deep within your heart, then either you are living a double life in disobedience to Christ, or you do not belong to Him at all.
Obedience begins in your heart. Many would abhor to commit one sinful external act before the eyes of men in a temple of stone; and yet they are not afraid to commit a multitude of such acts in the temple of their heart and in full sight of God! If, for example, voluntary and deliberate looks and desires make adulterers and adulteresses, how many persons are there whose whole life is one continued crime! Many men and women go to hell forever because of the deception of outwardly-seen self-righteous religion! The illusion that sin is only an external issue is damning. Heinous in His sight are sinful thoughts and feelings which may be forever concealed from the world…but are never concealed from the Lord!
True Christianity lies in the heart, in the purity of heart; the washing of the heart from wickedness. Those who truly belong to God will be motivated to purity. The deepest desire…the consuming desire…of the redeemed is for holiness, even when sin hinders the perfect fulfillment of that desire. Though we may be extremely religious and constantly engaged in doing good things, we cannot please God unless our hearts are right with Him.
The ultimate standard for purity of heart is perfection of heart. Only those who are pure in heart may enter the Kingdom. “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?” David asks, “and who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.” [Ps 24:3-4]
Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. [Rom 6:19] Intimate knowledge of and fellowship with God is reserved only for the pure in heart.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
THE BLESSING OF HOLINESS
The great blessing of those who are pure in heart is that they will be continuously seeing God. Intimate knowledge of and fellowship with God is reserved for the pure in heart. To see God was the greatest hope of Old Testament saints. Like Moses, David wanted to see more of God: As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before Him? [Ps 42:1]
“When I in righteousness at last Thy glorious Face shall see;
When all the weary night has passed, and I awake with Thee;
To view the glories that abide, then and only then will I be satisfied.” [F. Bullard]
REVIVAL
Revival begins in one’s own heart….a consecration of my heart to God, pleading with Him to bring revival, and to begin with me. It is intensely personal in nature…a heart-cry to God to touch my life by His Spirit and work a deep change in me.
What is it that I am actually calling on God to do when I ask, “Lord, send revival?” I am pleading with Him to pour out His Holy Spirit upon me…
- to bring a deep conviction of sin and to make me painfully and consciously aware of sin in my life.
- I am crying out for Him to impress me with a deep need for Godly sorrow, confession of sin, and repentance.
- I am asking from the depths of my soul that He create a pure heart within me…a heart that is inflamed with yearning to live out my everyday life in a purity, holiness, and righteousness of my own that comes from obedience to His Law… in every thought I think, every word I speak, in everything I do.
- I am telling Him that the deepest desire of my heart is to be holy as He is Holy; to be perfect as my Heavenly Father is perfect…just as He exhorts His children to be.
- And I am asking to be filled with His Holy Spirit…that His Spirit would become a fountain within me, welling up, flooding my soul with torrents of Living water, ever flowing, continually overflowing, spilling over, touching the lives of everyone with whom I come into contact…that the Name of Jesus would be glorified through me, with me, and in me…to the praise of His glorious grace!
What can you fully expect God to do for you in answer to this cry of your heart?
- He will make you miserable over sin in your life that you have heretofore been careless, complacent, and indifferent about, and He will make you painfully and consciously aware of sins that your heart…being deceitful and desperately wicked that it is…has hidden from you.
- He will reprove His children, “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded!”
- He will cause you to “Grieve, mourn and wail over your sins, and in true repentance change your laughter to tears of sorrow and your mirth to deep sadness as you grieve over your disloyalty!”
- He will lovingly urge you, “Humble yourself before Me, and I will lift you up, encourage you, and help you!” [James 4:8-10]
- He will lead you to confession of sin and true repentance, and to have the same desire for purity, holiness, and righteousness in your life that He desires for all His children: “As the One Who called you is Holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living. For it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am Holy;’” and, “Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” [1 Peter 1:15-16; Mt 5:48]
- He will grant you the desire of your heart for purity, holiness, and righteousness, because Christ Jesus assured you: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” [Mt 5:6] He has assured me that my longing will be completely satisfied, and I will be filled up to the measure of all the fullness of God…to the richest measure of His unclouded Presence, a soul wholly filled and flooded with God Himself!
- There will be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon your life, according to His command, “Keep on continually being filled with the Spirit.” [Eph 5:18]
- You will experience the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in your life…singing songs, hymns, and spiritual songs and making melody within your heart to God.
- You will experience prayer, in accordance with God’s will, moving the hand of God.
- you will experience the blessings that come from obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life.
- God will show you His Glory; you will see it with your own eyes, and you will thereby have occasion to testify to His great Name and mighty Power! Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God! [Mt 5:8] Hallelujah!
- 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. Those who abide in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [Heb 10:19-20, 22; PS 91:1] Hallelujah!
CONFESSION OF SIN
Abba Father…I come before Your Throne of Grace each day to acknowledge and confess the sins I have committed during the past 24 hours, since I last came before You. Let Your Holy Spirit bring to mind how I have sinned against You in my visible physical life…the wrong things I have done and the words I have spoken or written that others have seen and/or heard.
Enable me to bring to mind how I have sinned against You in my unseen physical life…the wrong things I have done and the words I have spoken that no one else was present to see or hear…especially while driving alone in my car, on the phone in conversation, at home alone, on the Internet, or anywhere or doing anything where no one else was present to witness it.
You see the secret, most hidden things I do. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You. [Ps 139:11-12]
And especially, Father, enable me to bring to mind how I have sinned against You in my hidden life in my heart…in my mind, my thoughts…the wrong things I have done and said in my imagination that no one else will ever know about but You. You know the deepest, most secret thoughts of a person’s heart…and I am just as guilty of committing these sins in my heart as if I had actually and physically carried them out: Everyone [for example] who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. [Matt 5:28]
And I acknowledge and confess the sins of unrighteousness in the spiritual realm I have committed against You: my sins of…
- unbelief resulting from a lack of faith…whereby I cannot, or will not, trust in You with an unwavering child-like trust in all things;
- disobedience resulting from self-will…whereby I do not, or refuse to, obey Your will or accept Your will with an unquestioning child-like obedience;
- self-sufficiency resulting from self-reliance…whereby I believe in my heart that I am able to live my life in a manner that is well-pleasing to You through reliance upon the powers of my sin-enslaved human nature, refusing to acknowledge my absolute need to depend upon You with an unreserved child-like dependence in everything.
GODLY SORROW AND REPENTANCE
Father, I acknowledge and confess my sins to You, and I am deeply sorry for them…because whenever I sin against You, it thwarts the deepest desire of my heart to be holy as You are Holy, and to be perfect as You are perfect…for You have told Your children, “As the One Who called you is Holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living.
For it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy;’”
and, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” [1 Peter 1:15-16; Matt 5:48]
In the power of Your enabling grace, I turn from my sins in repentance;
in my heart, I turn from them. Father, forgive me; have mercy on me, a sinner.
FORGIVENESS OF ALL SIN
Abba Father…thank You for Your promise, thank You for Your assurance, that
whenever I acknowledge and confess my sins to You, You are faithful and just to forgive my sins. You are faithful in that You never fail to do so, and just to do so by virtue of the Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of the Blood of Your Divine Son Jesus, poured out on my behalf on that cross at Calvary for the forgiveness of my sins.
CLEANSING FROM ALL SIN
And You are faithful and just to cleanse me of all unrighteousness…You have forgiven me of all I have ever done, and have blotted out the entire record of transgressions proven against me…erased the entire record of my sins. You removed my sins from me as far as the East is from the West, and have cast my sins into the depths of the sea, never to remember them against me again. You have expunged all of my sins from the record; there is nothing written against my name in Your Book, just as if I had never sinned! And You have conferred upon me the judicial status of eternal righteousness as an accomplished and finished fact.
Sin can NEVER AGAIN stain my soul and separate me from God, because the Blood of Christ Your Son envelopes my soul, and sin cannot penetrate it.
GARMENTS DAZZLING AND WHITE
And thank You, Father, for washing my robes anew in the Blood of the Lamb…for continually washing my garments as they become soiled with sin and I bring them before You in confession and repentance, making them clean again… dazzling and white. Thank You for washing my feet with pure water…for washing the dust of sin off my feet, enabling me to stand before You, to abide here with You in the Holy Of Holies in the inaccessible Light of the Glory of Your unclouded Presence, having been washed in the Blood of the Lamb, dressed in the white robes of His Righteousness, pure and holy now in Your sight, without spot or wrinkle or blemish.
And thank You for giving me fine, radiant linen to wear…dazzling and white… which are my righteous acts, my righteous deeds, which Your Holy Spirit alone works through me, with me, in me as I give Him free reign to do so…so that my light would so shine before the souls of men that they may see in me, as a mirror of the Almighty, the God-ordained origin of the moral excellence being continually wrought in me by Your Holy Spirit…
my praiseworthy, noble, righteous acts and good deeds which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men…and thereby recognize, honor, praise, and glorify You, Father, in Heaven, for all You alone have done in the hearts of Men wholly surrendered unto You down through the unfolding generations of time since Your creation of Adam. [Matt 5:16]
PURE, INNOCENT, AND HELPLESS
Thank You, Father, that at this moment in time, after all my years of sins and failure, mistakes and imperfections, I stand before You just as pure and innocent and helpless in Your sight as I was on the day I was born.
The most intense desire of my heart going forward is to be pure, holy, and righteous in living out my every day life…in living out my visible physical life, my unseen physical life, my life in the spiritual realm, and especially my hidden life in my heart…in my mind, my thoughts, my imagination!
BLESSED ASSURANCE
Blessed Jesus…You assured me, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” [Mt 5:6] Blessed, You said, are those who, in living out their everyday life, hunger and thirst for deliverance from consuming addictions, and for a purity, holiness, and righteousness of their own that comes from obedience to the Law. You assured me that my longing will be completely satisfied, and I will be filled up to the measure of all the fullness of God…to the richest measure of Your unclouded Presence, a soul wholly filled and flooded with God Himself!
I delight myself in You, Lord…and You promised to grant me the desires and secret petitions of my heart that are in agreement with Your will. You promised that if only I would just commit my way to You and trust in You, most assuredly You will do this: You will make my righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of my cause like the noonday sun! [Psalm 37:4-6] Hallelujah!
PURE HEART
Abba Father…create in me a pure heart. I hunger and thirst for a pure heart; my heart is inflamed with yearning…my heart aches and pines away with yearning… to have a purity, holiness, and righteousness of my own that comes from obedience to the Law. I hunger and thirst to be filled with Your holiness and righteousness in my everyday manner of living. The deepest, most intense longing of my heart is to be holy as You are holy; to be perfect as You are perfect. I insist upon it…not in order to gain anything, but because I already have everything. I am Your child, and forever I am; You are my Father and my God!
CHILD IN THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GOD
I already have the judicial status of eternal righteousness before You, Father…by virtue of the Eternal Power and the Eternal Worth of the Blood of Your Divine Son Jesus, poured out on my behalf on that cross at Calvary for the forgiveness of my sins.
I already have purity and holiness in Your sight, without spot or wrinkle or blemish, having been dressed in the white robes of His Own Righteousness.
I already have Your acceptance; I am accepted in the Beloved;
I already have Your approval;
I already have Your affirmation;
I already have Your affection.
I already have everything by virtue of having been born into Your Family…born a second time; born again. I am Your child by birth and by Blood, on that momentous day when Your Divine seed, planted in my heart, was fertilized by the consent of my will in making a solemn vow before You to be the bride of Christ Your Son… https://preservechristianfamily.org/2019/01/21/bride-of-christ/
and an entirely new life was thereby conceived within me.
I am an entirely new creation…a regenerated human being…and I bear the characteristics of God my Father; I have Your spiritual DNA embedded in my soul. I am no longer the person I used to be…the old, former things have passed away, and all things from that point forward have become new.
INDWELLING DIVINE SEED OF GOD
Oh Father, I am eternally grateful to be Your child along with all Your other children…my brothers and sisters in Christ Your Son. I am eternally grateful that none of Your children conceived of God and born into God’s Family deliberately, knowingly, and habitually practice sin, for Your nature, Father, abides within me. Your principle of life, the Divine sperm, remains permanently within me; I cannot live my life habitually practicing sin, because I am born into a new regenerated life…I am a born again child of God! [John 3:9]
I know beyond the shadow of any doubt that everyone born into God’s Family is thereby a regenerated individual and does not make a practice of committing sin. How could I? God’s seed is deep within me, making me who I am. It’s not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin. The Son of God carefully watches over and protects me…Christ Your Son’s indwelling Divine Presence preserves me against the evil one…and the Devil cannot lay hold of me. [1 John 5:16]
TRUE CHILDREN OF GOD
Abba Father…I fully embrace what was written in The Life Application Commentary: Some claimed to have a special relationship with God despite their sinful conduct. They assumed that their behavior did not matter to God. These teachings are refuted in John 1:5-7 and 2:1-6. To this second group of false teachers, John explained that sin was indeed very important to God. In fact, to keep sinning proves that they did not “live in God” at all: no one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him. True Christians seek to remain “sinless” in God’s eyes by continually confessing sin to God and repenting of it. But they do not “continue to sin,” meaning that they do not impose upon God’s forgiveness by taking it for granted in order to keep on living as they please. When they repent of sin, they truly desire to remain free of that sin.
SANCTIFICATION: WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Father, let Your Holy Spirit continually keep on working this sanctification within me. It is His work, not mine, and I acknowledge that I am hopelessly powerless, hopelessly impotent, hopelessly helpless to do so through reliance upon my human capabilities and capacities, by my own efforts and strength, according to my own wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Your Holy Spirit alone is the One Who works in me both to will and to do.
I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. [Gal 5:16] It is only the Power of the indwelling Holy Spirit that enables me to abide in the Holy of Holies; He alone gives me the desire to even want to live my everyday life there.
How, then, do I live my life in the Power of the Spirit? Not by trying, but by trusting. Living in the Power of the Spirit is entirely a matter of trust…an unwavering child-like trust that He will indeed work in me both to will and to do…both the desire to want to give Him free reign in my life, and the power to actually do so. If I try to walk in the Spirit…if I am determined to live my life in the Power of the Spirit by my own efforts, resolutions, commitments, doubled and re-doubled efforts, in my own strength to do so, I will have only guaranteed my failure!
Why would I ever think that the powers of my sin-enslaved human nature would voluntarily choose to deny its own self and put forth effort to give the Spirit free reign over the conduct of my life? Quite the contrary…for my sin-enslaved human nature has a strong desire for its own will to be done and so to suppress the Spirit, and the Spirit constantly has a strong desire for God’s will to be done and so to suppress my sin-enslaved human nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that I am hindered by my sin-enslaved human nature from freely doing what I desire to do in obedience to God. [Gal 5:17]
Living my life in the Power of the Spirit is solely and only, wholly and always, the work of the Holy Spirit in me. It is His work, not mine. Yet it is ours, because I am one with Him Whose work it is. My place is to respond to every leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit, not by my determined efforts to do so but rather by cooperating with the power of His enabling grace to do so.
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 up 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 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, Father…the One True Living God…and worshiping You, Lord Jesus, the Eternal Divine Son of God…the Messiah Whom You had sent, Father;
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 unceasing glorious and 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/
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]
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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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 