JOURNEY OF FAITH
Day Ten
I exalt You, Abba Father, for You lift me out of the depths and do not let my enemies gloat over me! Precious Lord, my Father, I call to You for help and You heal me! You bring me up from the grave! You spare me from going down into the pit! Sing to our Father, you saints of His! My soul praises Your Holy Name, Father! You turn my wailing into dancing! You remove my sackcloth and clothe me with joy, that my heart may sing to You and not be silent! Precious Lord, my Father, from the depths of my heart, from the deepest recesses of my soul, thank You forever and ever!
What can I say, Father? You have spoken to me and You Yourself have done this! I will walk humbly all my years because of the anguish of my soul! By such things men live, and my spirit finds life in them too! Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish! In Your love You kept me from the pit of destruction! You have put all my sins behind Your back! The grave cannot praise You, Father…death cannot sing Your praise! Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness! The living, the living, they praise You, as I am doing today! Fathers will tell their children about Your faithfulness!
Revelation 10:1-11 [NIV; amplification in italics]
Then I saw another angel, a mighty Angel, coming down from Heaven…the Angel of Yahweh; the Lord Jesus Christ Himself! He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above His head. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance, and His legs were like mighty fiery pillars…steadfastly irresistible and immovable; pillars of infinite, all-consuming Majesty and Power! He was holding a little scroll which lay open in His hand…the title-deeds to God’s wonderfully created Earth, which Adam’s sin had caused to be forfeited and mortgaged to Satan and his seed, but for which the True Go’el has paid the redemption price and satisfied the particulars for the redemption of that inheritance, and had now forever broken off its seven debarring seals. He planted His right foot on the sea and His left foot on the land, thereby claiming possession of it as its rightful owner, asserting His purpose henceforth to take possession of it as His Own and to establish His occupancy and rule over it forever and ever; and He gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion in declaration of His intention to consume all opposition and to take vengeance upon enemies and usurpers. When He shouted, the voices of the seven thunders also spoke in affirming declaration of the forthcoming righteous judgment of the Throne of Eternal Majesty to be visited upon the guilty and still rebellious world. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from Heaven say in strict command, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”
Then the Angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised His right hand to Heaven. And He swore by Him Who lives for ever and ever, Who created the heavens and all that is in them, the Earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There shall be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, and in those days following when his trumpet shall be sounding, the mystery of God encompassing the final consummation of all God’s revelations and actions for the reinstatement of man into his lost inheritance will be accomplished. It will be done just as He had announced throughout all the ages…those glad tidings of His Gospel message spoken to any and every one of His servants the prophets, and likewise always so faithfully foretold by them.” Although that Day has been repeatedly delayed beyond all mankind’s expectation and anticipation, though the Bridegroom has tarried, true as the life of God…certain as the Divine Eternity…unfailing as the Power which made the worlds…immutable as the oath of Jesus…the great consummating Day will come! And now, with the solemn immutable declaration of Eternal Majesty in the person of the Angel of Yahweh, that “THERE WILL BE NO MORE DELAY,” the appointed time had now indeed come for the rightful Owner of the estate 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 voice that I had heard from Heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the Angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the Angel and asked Him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” I took the little scroll from the Angel’s hand (as the representative of what each and every raptured and glorified saint now in Heaven is likewise commanded) and ate it, thereby consuming and appropriating as my own the recovered title-deeds to the inheritance now released from the mortgage claim that had formerly stood as the legal document giving Satan and his seed the rights of possession of the Earth. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth: “How sweet are Thy words to my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” But when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour with the bitterness and heartache that results from proclaiming the Gospel message to an unsanctified world! So the book in John’s mouth was “sweet as honey,” but when he had eaten it “his belly was made bitter.” To receive as his own, and as the food of his soul, these precious title-deeds of the blessed inheritance thrilled him with joy and gladness; but those scenes of blood and wrath to the dwellers upon the Earth which must be enacted before the inheritance is reached…those hardships to the flesh in holding faithfully to the holy document…those conflicts, and contradictions of sinners, and harrowing contumelies, and trying dangers, and laborious toils, attendant upon honest prophesying of these things…all combined to make the effects of the book bitter in his body, though so sweet to his taste. Then I was told, “You (as the representative of what each and every raptured and glorified saint now in Heaven is likewise commanded) must preach and prophesy again about the rights, titles, and warrants to the inheritance secured by the True Go’el, to many peoples, nations, languages and kings, that they also may eat that little scroll which embodies all the prophetic, priestly, and royal rights of Christ, given and imparted by Him to every one of His believing people, and to thereby appropriate those rights, titles and warrants as their own, to feed on them and to live on them, to incorporate it within their inmost being, to make it the subject of their hopes, their prophesies, their prayers, and in the strength and virtue of it to live and reign with Him forever, building themselves up with them unto eternal life.” [Revelation 10:1-11]
WHY DO I EXIST
CHAPTER 8
FAITH: VALIDATED THROUGH SUFFERING
ANECDOTES
You can be the recipient of God’s boundless mercy and infinite grace, and yet never enjoy the life of power and rest…a life of joy unspeakable, and full of glory… secured by Christ on our behalf in the Holy of Holies. We may well never appropriate the promise of abundant life given us by Christ Jesus: I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. [John 10:10]
This is the consequence of unbelief. Indeed, our worst sin is not to believe God will do what He has promised. When God made His solemn promise, “They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest”…of whom was He speaking? Of those who rebelled. We see, then, that they were not able to enter the land, because they did not believe. Let us, then, do our best to receive that rest, so that no one of us will fail as they did because of their lack of faith [Heb 3:18-19, 4:11]
*************************
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.
*************************
WITHOUT FAITH, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD
There is no way of pleasing God, of abiding in His Presence and favor, but by faith. Faith is the key to the life of all God’s saints, and the key to our enjoyment of its power and blessings. But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. [Heb 11:6]
But we do strongly and earnestly desire for each of you to show the same diligence and sincerity all the way through in realizing and enjoying the full assurance and development of your hope until the end, in order that you may not grow disinterested and become spiritual sluggards, but imitators,
behaving as do those who through faith, by the leaning of their entire personality on God in Christ, in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness, and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are now inheriting the promises. For when God made His promise to Abraham, he, having waited long and endured patiently, realized and obtained in the birth of Isaac, as a pledge of what was to come, what God had promised him. [Heb 6:11-13, 15]
CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF
You can be the recipient of God’s boundless mercy and infinite grace, and yet never enjoy the life of power and rest…a life of joy unspeakable, and full of glory… secured by Christ on our behalf in the Holy of Holies. We may well never appropriate the promise of abundant life given us by Christ Jesus: I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. [John 10:10]
This is the consequence of unbelief. Indeed, our worst sin is not to believe God will do what He has promised. When God made His solemn promise, “They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest”…of whom was He speaking? Of those who rebelled. We see, then, that they were not able to enter the land, because they did not believe. Let us, then, do our best to receive that rest, so that no one of us will fail as they did because of their lack of faith [Heb 3:18-19, 4:11]
FAITH DEFINED
Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality, such proof and conviction borne witness to by our everyday manner of living, [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses, and living a life that is in accordance with that fact]. For by faith…trust and holy fervor born of faith…the men of old had divine testimony borne to them and obtained a good report. By means of faith we perceive that the material universe and the God-appointed ages of time were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for the purpose for which they were intended) by the Word of God, and that therefore it follows that which we see did not come into being out of that which is visible. [Heb 11:1-3]
PROOF OF GENUINE FAITH
My beloved child…although you greatly rejoice in your promised inheritance, it may be necessary for a season that you suffer various trials. I have allowed these to come so that your faith…far more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire…may be proved genuine, and thereby result in praise, glory and honor when My Divine Son Jesus is revealed.
Consider the occasion with an unclouded child-like carefree joy, My beloved, whenever you encounter various tests and trials! Be assured that this testing and proving of your faith is from My loving hand, and My purpose is to develop and perfect patient endurance in you.
SUFFERING IS MY WILL
Child of God, trust yourself completely to Me. Whenever you suffer adversity because it is My will for you, keep on doing what is right, and entrust your life to the God Who created you, for I will never fail you. I always keep My promises! I consider you favorably when you endure unjust suffering because you are conscious of My will. When you patiently endure suffering which results from doing what is right, it is well-pleasing to Me. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ My Son also suffered for you, leaving you His Personal example for you to follow in His footsteps.
UNWAVERING CHILD-LIKE TRUST
No matter how deep your sadness and sorrow, no matter how intense your crying and pain, no matter how overwhelming your grief, your loneliness, your broken-heartedness…be still, and know that I AM GOD. I assure you, nothing can touch your life without My permission!
So don’t be disheartened…I will not allow tests and trials to touch your life other than what is common to all mankind. And I am faithful; I will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able to endure. Whenever you are tested, I will also provide a way to overcome, so that you can stand up under it as more than a conqueror and with overwhelming victory!
Fear not, My child, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you! When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you! When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze! You are precious and honored in My sight!
I shall cover you with My pinions, and under My wings shall you trust and find refuge. You will be safe in My care; My truth and My faithfulness will protect and defend you. Do not be afraid of any terror of the night, nor the dangers and sudden attacks during the day, nor of any dreaded diseases that stalk in darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
TRUST IN MY SOVEREIGNTY AND UNFAILING LOVE
My beloved child! Do you not know? Have you never understood? I am the Sovereign All-Ruler over all things, over all Creation…Sovereign over the heavens and all that’s in it, Sovereign over the Earth and all that’s on it, Sovereign over the spirit world and all that’s in it, Sovereign over everything that touches your life. I exercise My Sovereignty perfectly over all things…immediately, completely, and continually over all things; I am not a God Who is careless, complacent, or indifferent.
Nothing takes place on the face of this Earth, nothing takes place in the heavens above, nothing takes place in the spirit world, and nothing can touch your life, apart from My having either Personally caused it to happen, or My having specifically, consciously, and deliberately allowed it to happen. And all to accomplish My Own good purpose. All that I do is necessarily the very best, very kindest, most loving thing that can possibly be. Although oftentimes you may not understand…yet, even so, you can trust in My Sovereignty and My unfailing Love with an unwavering child-like trust. For I make all things work together for your good.
WHY ARE YOU FRIGHTENED?
So why do you worry, why do you fret? Why are you anxious, afraid?
Let the words of My Divine Son Jesus to His disciples on their boat that afternoon…when they had lost all hope in the midst of a fierce storm, saying “Don’t you care that we are about to die,”…ring in your own heart: Why are you frightened? Do you still have no faith?
Remain undaunted by the cares, concerns, and responsibilities of life. Cast the whole of your care…all your anxieties and distress, all your fears and worries, all your concerns and burdens…once and for all upon Me, for I care for you affectionately and care about you watchfully.
Why do you become disappointed, discouraged, disheartened, disillusioned over results, outcomes, and conclusions of the work I have given you to do? Do you still have no faith? Remain undaunted by results, outcomes, conclusions. Results belong to Me; it is My work, not yours. And no one can thwart My plans, or hinder My purposes, or override My will.
Why are you downcast, down-trodden, distraught, dismayed, distressed? Do you still have no faith? Remain undaunted by circumstances, events, and things that touch your life. There are no such things as random occurrences, accidental happenings, or incidental incidences. I have either allowed them, or caused them, to touch your life…and all for My Own good purposes. And beloved, I make all things work together for your good!
Why do you lament over the past; why are you anguished about the present, and agonize over the future? Do you still have no faith?
Yesterday is gone; it is unchangeable, unalterable, irreversible. Remain undaunted by your sins and failures, mistakes and imperfections. I am well able to restore the years the locusts have eaten. Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before you, press on toward the mark for the prize of My high calling in Christ Jesus My Son.
And do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Seek first My Kingdom and My Righteousness, and all necessary things will be provided for you as well.
As for today, My child…today is the day the Lord has made, so rejoice and be glad in it. Look forward with a joyful expectation of seeing My Glory; look forward with an excited anticipation of seeing My Hand moving in the affairs of the Earth, in the ministries I have given you, and in the things I have allowed to touch your life. Be still…and know that I AM GOD.
Why are you angry, upset, frustrated, irritated, annoyed? Do you still have no faith? Remain undaunted by what people think or say or do.
I, the Lord, am your helper; you needn’t be afraid. What can man do to you? Who shall separate you from the love of Christ My Son? Shall trouble or hardship, distress or persecution, famine, nakedness, danger or sword? No, in all these things you are more than a conqueror through Him Who loved you.
Why do you become impatient, or grow weary of waiting? Do you still have no faith? 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. You are My workmanship, created in Christ Jesus My Son to do good works…works that I Myself have planned in advance for you to do. Every day of your life was recorded in My book before you were born…before you ever began to breathe! So be still, and know that I AM your Father and your God.
My beloved child…abide with Me in the Holy of Holies, in My unclouded Presence. This is your birth-right as a child of the Most High God. If you will only just abide in My promised rest, you will be continually at rest in an unruffled child-like rest, and you will enjoy being with Me with an unclouded child-like carefree joy.
Beloved child, it is unbelief that keeps you from entering into My promised rest, and unbelief prevents you from remaining in My promised rest.
No matter how great your pressures and trials, how anxious your thoughts;
no matter how hopeless your situation, how clouded your future;
no matter how deep your sadness, your sorrow, your loss;
no matter how intense your crying and pain and the agony of your soul;
no matter how overwhelming your grief, loneliness, and broken heartedness;
no matter how weary or burdened…
come to Me, you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest! Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly, gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
FAITH: THE ONLY WAY INTO MY PROMISED REST
My beloved child…without faith, it is impossible to please Me. Genuine Faith is the only means of entry into My Promised Rest. Even so, it is so simple a child can understand it. It is so simple, though, that only a child-like faith can embrace it and enter in.
FAITH: VALIDATED THROUGH SUFFERING
Faith is validated solely and only in the furnace of affliction. What good is it, My child, if a person claims to have faith but has no good works to show for it? Can such faith save his soul? Faith by itself, in the form of a stated belief but not accompanied by deeds and actions of obedience that bear witness to that stated belief, is destitute of power and dead.
Faith is an action that bears witness to the truth of what you say you believe. Faith is not a mental concept…a knowledge of, and an affirmation of, the Truths recorded in Scripture. It is the living out of your life in a manner that bears witness to your…
- Unwavering child-like trust in Me;
- Unreserved child-like dependence upon Me;
- Unquestioning child-like obedience to do My will, and to accept My will.
No matter how fierce the storms raging in your life may be, the confirmation in your spirit that you have genuine faith will always be…
- Resting in Me with an unruffled child-like rest;
- Abiding in Me with an unclouded child-like carefree joy.
GENUINE FAITH ALWAYS TRIUMPHANT
Genuine faith is triumphant in its power to overcome all obstacles, all adversities.
There is an active power of faith that victoriously overcomes and conquerors by securing deliverance from the evil, when deliverance is in accordance with My will.
There is a passive power of faith that overcomes by persevering and enduring evil, even unto death, when deliverance is not My will.
FOUR STAGES OF FAITH: PHASE 1
My beloved child…there are four stages of faith you need to understand in order to finally attain to the perfected faith exhibited by My Divine Son Jesus which characterized His life on Earth.
The lowest level of faith…phase 1…is the faith that seeks your human nature’s preference. This is the “my will be done” phase.
When you are in the furnace of affliction, all you can think of is crying and moaning for Me to get you out of the fire.
There is nothing wrong with asking Me to remove a cup of suffering from you; My Divine Son Jesus did so, for several hours, in the Garden that night. What is wrong is that you are consumed with being “healed, restored, delivered, whatever;” you never get to the place as He did, “Not My will, but Thy will be done.”
As a result, you never cooperate with My will for you [it wasn’t healing]; you never embrace My plans and purposes for allowing you to be in the fire. You never become what I wanted you to become, nor do what I wanted you to do, nor learn what I intended for you to learn. You are simply stuck in Phase 1…whining, moaning, and complaining.
FOUR STAGES OF FAITH: PHASE 2
The second level of faith…Phase 2…is a determined resignation to do My will. This is the “grin and bear it” phase.
With a determined resignation, you acknowledge that if this is My will, you will bear it. Although you are immersed in intense suffering, you smile whenever in the presence of other Christians so as to appear “more spiritual”…but you are not smiling at all when alone; there is no joy.
FOUR STAGES OF FAITH: PHASE 3
The third level of faith…Phase 3…is a joyful acceptance of My will “in spite of” the suffering phase.
There is no connection, however, between the suffering and the joy; the two simply exist side by side. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet will I rejoice in the Lord; I will be joyful in God my Saviour…in spite of the adverse circumstances, events, and things touching my life.
FOUR STAGES OF FAITH: PHASE 4
The fourth level of faith…the highest and well-pleasing to Me, is Phase 4: a joyful acceptance of My will “because of” the suffering. My precious child…it is well-pleasing to Me when you have a joyful acceptance of My will though you are suffering.
Here is the highest level of response…a godly response to trials and suffering. There is joy because of the suffering. The joy is in knowing that I am working and accomplishing a special blessing through You, with you, and in you…through the suffering I have willed for you.
You understand, and fully embrace, that there is a direct connection between the suffering and the joy…a connection of cause and effect: because of this suffering that I have willed for you to experience [cause], you are filled with joy [effect]…a joyful expectation, an excited anticipation of the blessing I am working through you, with you, in you.
Your present suffering is the means through which you will receive a great blessing; in other words…no suffering, no blessing. You have fully embraced the truth that the particular blessing I have for you can only be appropriated through the particular suffering I have ordained for you.
THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM
My beloved child, you need to embrace the mind-set and heart-set of My Divine Son Jesus…for the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, heedless of its shame.
The joy that was set before Him was the great and special blessing that I had laid aside for Him, that He could only appropriate as His Own by patiently enduring the adversity that I allowed…the suffering of the cross.
What was it that enabled My Divine Son Jesus to endure the cross? It was His faith that enabled Him to endure. Have this same mind, then, in you that was in Christ Jesus My Son: For the joy set before Him…
the joy of seeing sinners saved;
the joy of reconciling sinners back to God;
the joy of restoring your relationship with God that had been severed by sin;
the joy of repairing that mirror of the Almighty that God intended for you to be, that had been shattered by sin…
He willingly endured the cross on your behalf with a joyful acceptance of the Father’s will [not just a determined resignation to do the Father’s will], heedless of its shame. [Heb 12:2]
BLESSING OF THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
In the Garden that night, Christ My Son entreated Me, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for You. If it is possible, within the framework of Your plans, Your purposes, Your will, may this cup of suffering be taken from Me.”
He was being tempted by Satan to desire His Own will rather than the will of God: Since He Himself was tempted to desire His Own will rather than the will of God in that which He has suffered, He is thereby able to come to the aid of those who are likewise tempted. He wins the victory in Gethsemane over the self-will that characterizes human nature, and then, for the joy set before Him, He can endure the cross, despising its shame: Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, then not My will, but Thy will be done.
When My Son Jesus said, “Not My will, but Thy will be done,” these words were much more than a determined resignation [as in grit your teeth and bear it] or a joyful acceptance “in spite of” to do the will of God. It is a joyful acceptance ‘because of” the will of God, as the very best, very kindest, most loving thing that can possibly be…knowing that My Father purposes to make all things work together for My good.
NOT MY WILL BUT THY WILL BE DONE
My beloved child, these words “Not my will, but Thy will be done” involve a change of preference…no longer a preference for your natural human desire, but a preference now for the will of God…whatever it is.
This change of preference is not something merely verbal, or just in your thoughts. It is a real change, in the heart, that can truly say before Me, and know that you actually mean it, “It no longer matters to me whether You take this cup of suffering from me or not…what matters to me is that You keep my heart lovingly and joyfully joined with Your will…whatever it is.”
Whatever the prospect of hardship or suffering, My Divine Son Jesus entrusted Himself to Me, His Father. My will was what He lived by and died by; it was all My Son Jesus ever considered.
WITNESS OF DAVID
Consider the heart of My servant David when surrounded by his enemies: But You are a shield around me, O Lord; You bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and You answer me from Your holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because my Lord sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.
WITNESS OF JOSEPH
Beloved, I work all things together for the good of those who love Me! Have you not considered Joseph, who said to his brothers, “Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here. You intended to harm me, but God, Who allowed it, intended it for His Own good purpose, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
WITNESS OF PAUL
Has not My servant Paul instructed you: Rejoice as you confidently look forward to sharing in the glory of God’s Divine splendor that is your inheritance! Not only so, but even now take joy in your sufferings, because you know that suffering produces endurance; and endurance develops strength of character; and character produces confident assurance!
My child, embrace the same mind that was in My servant Paul. When I told him I would not remove the thorn in his flesh that was buffeting him…that My strength would be sufficient for his weakness, he responded, “I will then all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the Power of Christ may overshadow me! So for the sake of Christ, I will take pleasure in infirmities, insults, hardships, persecutions, perplexities and distresses; for when I am weak in terms of human strength, then am I truly strong in Christ’s Divine strength!”
Are you so slow to understand? See…as silver is refined in the furnace, I am testing you in the furnace of affliction. For My sake, My Own sake, I do this. I will refine you like silver and test you like gold. Then you will call on My name and I will answer you. I will say, “This is My child;” and you will respond, “The Lord is my Father and my God!”
WITNESS OF JOB
Have you considered My servant Job? In his afflictions, his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”
But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we indeed welcome and accept only blessings from the hand of God and not also accept the misfortune and adversity He allows? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked and without possessions when I depart this world. The Lord gave me everything I have, and they were His to take away. Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. May the Name of the Lord be praised!”
WITNESS OF THE 3 HEBREW YOUTHS
Have you considered the unwavering child-like trust of My three faithful Hebrew youths? When threatened with being cast into a blazing furnace, they replied, “Our God is able to deliver us from your fiery furnace, O king. But even if He chooses not to…even so, we will not bow down before your golden statue.”
HIGH CALLING OF FAITH
Don’t you yet understand? Your spiritual life of faith cannot grow and mature by trying…only by 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. [1 Peter 2:2-3; Ps 34:8]
Abba Father, I understand…but this level of faith is too wonderful for me; it is high above me, I cannot attain to it. I need the Power of Your Holy Spirit to enable me to fully embrace this truth and to live out my everyday life in a manner that bears witness to this truth! For the joy of the great and special blessings You have set aside for me and are to be mine…that can only be appropriated by my patiently enduring the particular adversities You have allowed to touch my life…I willingly and gladly bear the suffering of my cross, heedless of its vexation.
Because of Your steadfast love for me, Father, I know there is nothing You would ask of me, to be for You or to do for You, to learn of You or just, perhaps, to suffer because it is part of Your plans, Your purposes, Your will for me…that would be unreasonable, or too much to ask. And so, it no longer matters to me where You place me, or how…whether in serious perplexity, or in positions of great difficulty, or in circumstances of great pressure and trial; whether You place me at all, or when; where You lead me to go, or what You show me to do. That is rather for You to consider than for me. For in the easiest position, still, You must give me Your grace, and in the most difficult, Your grace is more than sufficient. It is enough for me, knowing that You know why You place me where I am… whether to do, or to learn, or just, perhaps, to suffer. It no longer matters to me what I do or what I suffer. All that matters is that You keep my heart lovingly and joyfully joined with Your will. I know that if You place me in serious perplexity, You will give me much guidance; in positions of great difficulty, much grace; in circumstances of great pressure and trial, much strength. I have no concern that Your resources might prove to be unequal to the emergency…and Your resources are mine, for You are mine and are with me, and dwell in me, and have promised never, never, to leave me; never, ever to forsake me…assuredly not.
OUR LORD WILL TEST MY SURRENDER
Beloved child of God…is there really nothing I would ask of you that would be unreasonable, or too much to ask? Does it really no longer matter to you where I place you, or how? “Are you really willing to die for Me, Peter? I am telling you the truth: before the rooster crows twice you will say three times that you do not know Me.” [John 13:38]
PRAISE YOUR LOVE AND SOVEREIGNTY
Abba Father, thank You; in Your Presence, there is fullness of joy…joy unspeakable, and full of glory! I am like a sheltered olive tree flourishing in the house of my God; I will surely trust in, and rely upon, Your unfailing love, Father… forever and ever! I shall praise You forever for all You have done; You continually deliver me and keep me safe! I wait upon You with a sure hope, trusting in the goodness of Your Name!
I will praise You in the presence of the congregation! Henceforth, in the midst of the storms touching my life, I shall know that my Redeemer lives, and on that final Day You will reveal Yourself on this Earth. And though my skin will be destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see my God; I myself will behold You with my own eyes…and not as a stranger! My heart pines away and is consumed with longing within me!
One thing I ask of You, Father; this is what I seek: that I may abide in the Holy of Holies…in the inaccessible Light of the Glory of Your unclouded Presence…all the days of my life, to behold Your delightfulness and to inquire in Your Temple. For in the day of trouble You keep me safe in the shelter of the Most High; You hide me in the secret place of Your Tabernacle, and make me secure upon a high rock! Hallelujah!
Abba Father…forgive me for my lack of faith, and enable me by the Power of Your enabling grace to trust in Your absolute Sovereignty over all Creation, and in Your jealous Love for Your child. You have placed me like a seal over Your heart, like a seal on Your arm; Your love for me is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns within You like blazing fire, like a mighty flame! Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls…yet will I rejoice in the Lord; I will be joyful in God my Savior! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! You make my feet like hinds feet; You give me strength and courage, enabling me to walk upon my high places…places of trouble and suffering and responsibility! Hallelujah!
Abba Father…my soul glorifies You; my spirit rejoices in my Father and my God!
I am Your child, now and forever; may it be unto me according to all You have planned for me! This is surely the blessed life of deep and intimate personal relationship with You:
MY WAITING UPON GOD…Just to be alone together with You in our trysting place, to walk with You and talk with You in the cool of the early hours of the morning well before dawn…just to commune with You face to Face as a man would speak with his friend…
MY WAITING UPON GOD continually and unceasingly throughout the day and night…with a joyful expectation and an excited anticipation, with an unwavering child-like trust and an unreserved child-like dependence…watching and waiting, looking off unto You and listening for Your voice behind me saying, “This is the way; walk ye in it” …
FOR GOD TO REVEAL TO ME WHO HE IS and the rich eternal treasures of the Heavenly realms…ever more deeply and intimately…and Your plans, Your purposes, Your will for me as Your messenger, Your ministering spirit, Your watchman, Your prophet…
SO I MAY THEN RESPOND, with an unquestioning child-like obedience, to every leading and prompting of Your Holy Spirit in living out my every day life, cooperating with the Power of His enabling grace Who is the One Who works in me both to will and to do.
Blessed Holy Spirit…You are the Divine Nature dwelling in me, Whose Power in me continually guarantees and secures my capability to live my everyday life:
faithful to my solemn marriage vows as the bride of Christ;
faithfully within the Holy of Holies and the inaccessible Light of the Glory of the unclouded Presence of my Father in our Sacred Covenant relationship.
My soul, wait thou only upon God!
*************************
Friends & neighbors, brothers and sisters…
There is one absolutely necessary preparation for every living soul on the face of this Earth, for the soon coming and imminent return of Jesus Christ…the one preparation that will irrevocably determine in which neighborhood you will spend all eternity, whether in Heaven or in Hell. You must be a born-again child of God.
“I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot be in God’s Kingdom. I tell you the truth, no one can ever enter the Kingdom of God unless you are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at My saying, ‘You must be born again.'” [Jesus…John 3:3-7]
If you have never been born again,
or you are not sure whether you have been born again,
or you have been living your life as a lukewarm Christian and would now like to recommit your life and enter into a deep and intimate relationship with Christ Jesus in preparation for the soon coming marriage supper of the Lamb…
then I counsel you to get alone with God, read the solemn marriage vows presented below you must make to become the bride of Christ and thereby be born-again, and with sincerity of heart from within the depths of your being,
acknowledge before God, “I DO.”
MARRIAGE VOWS
SPIRITUAL BRIDE OF CHRIST
- Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Divine Son in the Triune God, the Lamb of God Who came into this world to become the One only, all-sufficient, atoning sacrifice through His death on a cross and subsequent resurrection, thereby securing forgiveness for your sins and restoring your relationship with God that had been severed by sin?
- Do you now solemnly vow before God to give yourself to be the bride of Christ, receiving Jesus the Christ into your life in a spiritual marriage, promising to honor and obey Him as both Lord over your life and Savior of your soul?
- To be joined inseparably together with Him in a Sacred Covenant relationship…an Eternal living union of oneness through the new life to be conceived in you by the Holy Spirit…
- To have and to hold Him, above all others and above all else this world has to offer, as the choicest, most precious treasure of your heart…
- To love and to cherish Him, above all others and above all else this world has to offer, reserving for Him alone your sweetest, most tender affections…
- For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, all the days of your life, until death of this body brings you to be together with Him in Heaven for all eternity?
*************************
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
Preserve Christian Family 