Capturing The Vision

Capturing The Vision

By Farrell Fisher

Copyright 2013

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Farrell Fisher

Chapter One: Visions ……………………………………………7Chapter Two: Expecting God’s Presence ………………………18Chapter Three: Entering In ……………………………………25Chapter Four: The Sounds of Heaven ………………………33Chapter Five: Living In the High Places ………………..40Chapter Six: As He Is…So Am I! …………………………..47Chapter Seven: The Great Looking …………………………56Chapter Eight: All Glory To God Alone …………………..62Chapter Nine: The Self-Styled Humanist vs. Sovereign God ….70Chapter Ten: On What Do You Major In Your Pilgrimage? …75Chapter Eleven: No Longer! …………………………………82Chapter Twelve: Claiming Your Mountain ………………..92CHAPTER- THIRTEEN:EXPANDING VISIONS AND HORIZONS 98

CHAPTER – FOURTEEN: A SENSE OF URGENCY 107

Foreword

Since 1982, when God birthed the “vision” of Macedonian Ministries in my heart, He has been so faithful to birth within me a heart-cry for renewal and revival, not only among pastors, but also for all disciples. Over twenty-five years, our Lord has graciously allowed me to speak into the lives of over 100,000 Indian pastors and hundreds of thousands of disciples.

It is not only in the midst of a lost and dying world but even in a languishing and depressed church where people are struggling for identity and purpose. All of us truly need to “Capture the Vision.”

I pray that you will read each chapter in a studious, disciplined, dependent, determined fashion. I’m convinced that God has an encouraging word for you in these fourteen chapters.

In our ministry brochure, I quoted an Indian pastor who wrote several years ago to say, “Pastor Fisher, your seminars in India for pastors have been such a blessing. Multitudinous men were on the threshold of walking away from their ministries until the seminar touched their lives with new hope, new visions, and new purposes. Their ministries are not lost but lifted. Their ministries are not abandoned but ascending in the fullness of our Lord.” My prayer is that your walk is rising, ascending, accelerating in the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ. Be blessed.

I want to dedicate this new book to my wife, who has stood with me faithfully these past 57 years, and I pray for another 57. She’s not only beautiful on the outside but also beautiful on the inside. She’s also very brave to have lived with me for 57 years. It’s been good and I just want to honor her for her faith and her love.

Farrell Fisher

CHAPTER ONE

VISIONS

Carl Henry wrote a book entitled “Twilight of a Great Civilization.” This theologian knew who the real heroes of a given age are – those who know divine visitation and have been captured by heavenly vision! Examine what he wrote: “The real heroes of our time are those who in a faithless age hold, live, and share their faith in God. Genuine revolutionary courage belongs to those who remain true even if atheistic rulers force them underground or punish citizens simply for being Christians…The true immortals will be those who seek to apply the principles of the Bible concretely to the complicated realities of modern life, who preserve a devout and virtuous family life, who are faithful to the abiding values of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”

Modern life, both politically, socially, and spiritually is being pounded by waves of indifference, shoals of apathy spiritually, rocks of opposition to God and His Truth, even endless tidal waves of the visionless and a lack of virtuous, victorious living. We are a people being programmed for failure, governed for godlessness, educated for imbecility, and silenced to hear and trust God alone for ourselves.

Oswald Chambers, in his book “My Utmost For His Highest” (p.46), wrote: “It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call, because then you are not bothered by what God requires; common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. You will be more prosperous and successful, more leisure-hearted, if you never realize the call of God. But if once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God wants will always come like a goad; you will no longer be able to work for Him on the common-sense basis.”

No…it’s not a common-sense basis but the uncommon Spirit of visions and dreams. It’s not human compassion but divine appointment. It’s not fleshly reasoning but Faithful Revelation. Paul said in Galatians 1:15-16, “BUT WHEN IT PLEASED GOD…TO REVEAL HIS SON IN ME…” Dynamic, dynamite, distinctive service unto God is that which is unveiled by God! George McDonald wrote, “The one principle of hell is, ‘I am my own.’” Cal Thomas put it in a little different way when he commented in his book, “The Things That Matter Most” (Harper-Collins Publishers, 1994, New York, NY, p.145): “The fact is, burden-less lives create superficial people whose only interest is themselves.” And visionless lives also create sham people and preachers whose only concern is themselves, and they never listen to the God who gives visions and dreams!

The poet said it well when he wrote: “There is a secret in his breast that will never let him rest.” What I want to say is: There is a “Vision” in the true disciple’s heart that will never let him rest!

Jeremiah 29:11-14 is such a powerful, personal, and practical Word. Three truths are amplified there: 1) God’s thoughts and purposes toward us are good. 2) God has a living hope and an abiding future for us. 3) God hears our cries and is ever-present to lead us and enable us to His highest calling for our lives.

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” I think it is very important for you to consider what your vision is, what God has revealed to you about yourself and your future, about your family, about your nation and about your church. WE NEED VISION FROM GOD!!

In Acts 26:16-19, Paul is relating his testimony of his encounter with the Lord on the Damascus Road. Look at what the Lord said to him: “But arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’ Consequently, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision…”

So, this encounter with the Lord, Paul calls it a “heavenly vision.” He met the Lord on the road to Damascus, God revealed to him that he was to be a minister and a witness to the things he’d already seen, and to the things in which the Lord would appear to him and reveal to him. And Paul states, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision…”

Look at Revelation 1:1-2: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.” Now, look at verses 9-11: “I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. “I WAS IN THE SPIRIT” on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, ‘Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches…” John was IN THE SPIRIT on the Lord’s day. I am firmly convinced that our yieldedness to the Holy Spirit is vitally imperative if we’re going to receive this vision from the Lord. I am fully convinced Saul of Tarsus was under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, or he would not have said, “Lord, what would You have me to do?” I think he came to the realization that His encounter with the Lord was through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. WE NEED TO BE YIELDED TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.

I don’t believe there is any man or church that advances without a sense of need, awareness, conviction or direction; aware that God has something to say to each one of us; that He has a purpose and a plan for every one of our lives. The greatest need of our day is God’s vision!

George Moore is an English novelist. In one of his novels was an illustration of Irish peasants during a period of great depression. The government put them to work building roads. At first the peasants were joyous. They worked appreciatively; they were glad to have a job. Over a period of time, however, they learned the truth – they were building roads to nowhere! They were roads that went out to the wilderness area and just stopped there. As they became aware that they worked for no purpose, only to provide them employment and as an excuse to feed them, the laborers grew listless, stopped singing, and the work building roads came to a halt. Here is George Moore’s comment in this novel: “The roads to nowhere are difficult to make. For a man to work well and sing, there must be an end in view.” I’m convinced the “end in view” is VISION FROM GOD! “WHERE THERE IS NO VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH!”

Beth Moore, from her book, “Things Pondered,” has written these words entitled “The Mountain”:

“I hear You call ‘Come meet with Me, See that which eyes are veiled to see And ears in vain will please to hear Except your heart should draw you here!…Abandon deeds down at My feet, No crowns as yet, no Judgment Seat, Surrender here all noble plans, Just lift to Me your empty hands…I’ll fill them with the richest fare And circumcise your heart to dare To reach beyond all earthliness For on this mount you’re Mine to bless…With gentle hands ‘til heart is stretched I’ll have MY Word upon it etched ‘Til only knees can catch the fall Of one who cries ‘You are my all!’”

What is this vision? We can say that it’s something seen, something that has been heard, something that has been revealed, maybe in a dream; it may be at the height of spiritual ecstasy under the anointing of the Spirit of God or it may be a supernatural appearance that conveys a revelation, a will, a purpose, a plan to your life; but God comes and speaks to the hearts of men.

Rudyard Kipling has a poem called “The Explorer.” He wrote: “There’s no sense of going further, it’s the edge of cultivation, so they said and I believed it, broke my land, sowed my crop, built my barn, strung my fences in the little border station, tucked away below the foothills where the trails run out and stop, ‘til a voice as bad as conscience rang interminable changes on one everlasting whisper day and night repeated, ‘Something hidden; go and find it; go and look beyond the ranges. Something lost behind the ranges, lost and waiting for you, go.”

There is the vision beyond the ranges of the common place to man. There is a vision behind the hills that are hidden away for the life of a man who will listen, for the life of a man who will look, for the life of a man who will stop and hesitate and wait upon God because God is no respecter of persons. What are visions and dreams all about?

FIRST, LET’S EXAMINE THE BLESSER OF VISIONS:

The Blesser of Visions is God Himself! Look again at Revelation 1:1, “The revelation of Jesus Christ WHICH GOD GAVE HIM TO SHOW TO HIS BOND-SERVANTS.” So God Himself gives to you His vision! Joel 2:26 says, “And you shall have plenty to eat and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you…”God is the giver of a vision. God authors spiritual dreams. And we need to recognize that since God is no respecter of persons, God wants to give YOU a vision for your life.

This needs to be a matter of prayer, of laying hold of the horns of His altar and hold on!! “God, do You have something for me individually? God, are You speaking to my family, my church, our nation?” Unless we have that attitude prevailing in our hearts, we’re going to miss what God has to say to our lives. We ALL need to bow before the Blesser of Visions and say, “God, since You are no respecter of persons, what is Your vision for me, for my family, for my church, for my nation?” I believe the Word of God reveals our need of bowing before the Blesser of Visions and saying, “Lord, here we are; what do You want to say to us today?”

SECOND, LET’S EXAMINE THE BIRTH OF VISIONS!

• Here is an Abraham, who is given a vision that he is going to be the father of a great nation. So he leaves Ur of the Chaldeas, not knowing where he was going, but only that God had sent him and said to him, “You’re going to be a blessing to all the nations of the world.” [Didn’t Jesus say that Abraham rejoiced to see Jesus’ Day, and he was glad?]
• Here is a young Joseph. He is given a vision. Just a young farm boy, yet God says in Joseph’s childhood, “You’re going to be a great leader, and there are going to be many in the world who are going to bow down to you; they will acknowledge the leadership that is in your life.”
• Here’s a Moses, given a vision of the God of fire who cannot be consumed. This vision is of God taking Moses’ life and making him a leader of his people out of bondage.
• Here’s a Nehemiah, given a vision of a restored city. He’s given a vision of a mighty work of God, which compels him and thrusts him out on the edge of a new adventure for his life. He goes into the city of Jerusalem. He cannot come down off of the wall because of the significance of the work. He cannot compromise with the Arabs (that’s very, very interesting) because of the vision God has given him.
• Here’s a Joel, given a vision of a land that is prosperous, of people that are filled with plenty, of a band of followers of a Holy God; people who’ll find satisfaction in their lives and will not be disappointed regardless of what comes against them. They’re going to be a people blessed of Almighty God.
• Here’s a band of disciples who are so very few, about 12 in number, given a vision of ushering in and establishing the kingdom of God on earth. What a vision! Twelve men – ushering in the kingdom of God!
• Here’s that grain of wheat, given a vision of dying to itself, of reproducing many more grains of wheat and being fruitful in its life.
• Here’s a Paul, given a vision of touching his world with the gospel of which he was not ashamed!
• Here’s a John, whose friends are dying for the faith, given a vision of hope and victory, a vision of a new heaven and a new earth, and of celebration in the wedding of the Lord Jesus Christ with all His followers. With that vision in his heart not even death could discourage John or the Body of Christ, and they walked on victoriously because of the vision that God had given to them!

My co-laborer in India for ten years was Dwayne Weehunt, now founder and director of “Sower of the Seeds International,” who commented in one of his meetings: “When the church has vision, it changes society around it. But when there is no vision, society changes the church!”

Then you come and you think about where Satan’s seat is (I’m not sure that there is any church on the face of the earth today that’s not where Satan’s seat is – Bedford, Texas, Dallas, Texas, Nigeria, India or some place in Europe, Satan’s seat is prominent in the land). But “Here Is A Church That’s Given a Vision!” It’s going to be a faithful, caring, giving, telling, and healing community with a vision of hope, health, helpfulness, growth and prosperity, and spiritual plenty. It has a vision of joy and blessedness abounding, true salvation, the healing of the hurting and the broken-hearted, marriages restored, deliverance of captives, godly families putting their hands to the plow and not looking back, people who hunger and thirst after righteousness, a loving and caring family, a cooperative body of a rejoicing people that praise God for their present and for their future, a praying people that loose and bind, that release and restrain, that uplift and cast out.

There’s an old hymn that says:

“Once to every man and nation [or church?] Comes the moment to decide, In the strife of truth with falsehood, For the good or evil side; Some great cause, some great decision, Offering each the bloom or blight, And the choice goes by forever, ‘Twixt that darkness and that light.”

The birth of a vision! All these men of God had a vision, and it was birthed within their hearts. And if there is the birth of a vision , what’s yours? What is it that God has revealed to you that He wants to accomplish in and through your life? We need to see and hear that vision. We need to know that God has spoken to our hearts. We need to be thankful that God is the God of visions and dreams, and that He is no respecter of persons. He has a vision for each one of our lives!

W. Graham Scroggie has written: “If one would be Christ-minded he must be missionary-minded, and one who is not this has no justification for calling himself a disciple of Christ. Are you missionary-minded?” Have YOU seen this vision?

Henry T. Blackaby, in “The Power of the Call” (Broadman & Holman, Nashville, TN. P.35) wrote: “God Himself chose us, called us in His time, and separated us out for Himself. As clearly as God separated from all other days and sanctified the seventh day (set it apart for Himself, Gen. 3:3) and commanded it to be ‘the Sabbath of the Lord your God’ (Exodus 20:10), so God set you apart from all others – for Himself!” And I would add – for His purposes, His visions, and His dreams!

THIRD, LET’S EXAMINE THE BATTLE OF THE VISIONS!

You need to be aware that whenever a vision is given and birthed within a person’s life, there is always going to be a battle about that vision. God ALWAYS gives a vision that places men at the point of their extremity where God begins to have an opportunity in their lives. GOD ALWAYS GIVES YOU A VISION THAT IS BEYOND YOURSELF! God gives a vision that puts people on the edge of impossibility where God becomes known as the God with whom all things are possible. That’s what our lives are all about: the God with whom all things are possible! So…He gives you a vision. I don’t know what that vision is going to be for you, but I’ll tell you this, it’s going to place you at the point where God has the opportunity to bring the impossible into reality as a demonstration of the greatness of our God. In fact, the vision God gives always brings His people to the point of “death” where they discover God as the power and authority and the Author of Life over death! Let me explain:

Let’s think about Abraham: “Abraham, you’re going to be the father of a great nation. Through you all the nations of the earth will be blessed.” (By the way, how old was Abraham at this particular time when he gets this vision? I believe he’s about 100 years old and that the Bible says Sarah was past the age of childbearing.) So God gives them a vision, and says, “You’re going to have a son.” What did Sarah do? She began to laugh – but God had brought them to a place of impossibility in the natural, so that through the supernatural work of Almighty God, the vision He gave them can be fulfilled by Him!!

Think about Joseph. He’s the farm-boy, the little child to whom God had given a vision that this little shepherd boy would shepherd nations! God saw him as a world-leader. So what happened to Joseph? He was sold into slavery, falsely accused, and imprisoned; yet God raised him up as a world leader.

Consider Moses. “Moses, you’re going to lead My people out of bondage!” You cannot read the life of Moses, even before the burning bush experience, and not know that it was already in the heart of Moses that God had told him he was going to be the deliverer. So he goes out, acts impulsively, kills the Egyptian, and then out of fear of Pharoah runs for his life and spends 40 years on the backside of a desert with his rod as a shepherd. But even in spite of that, God raised Moses up!

And here are the disciples. They’re going to usher in and establish the kingdom of God on earth! Then their King is killed. They in their despair said, “We may as well go back to the old way of life; let’s just go back and be fishermen again,” yet the Resurrected Christ re-appointed them!

Here’s John – a new heaven, a new earth; you’re going to have life and victory – yet, the world around him was crumbling, his friends were dying about him every day. BUT GOD SAYS, “There’s going to be a new heaven and a new earth.”

What about “the wheat”? The one grain of wheat was going to be fruitful and bring forth a great harvest. Yet, it was placed into the ground, it rotted, it died. Then here came the mighty harvest!

What about the church? Victorious, mighty army, strong, dynamic force penetrating society, changing society, for the glory of God! When you read the Book of Acts, all of a sudden they were scattered abroad, everywhere, alone, weak, feeble, struggling. Yet the Bible says they turned their world upside down!

The battle of the vision! I don’t know what all that means. I have heard many people say to me, “God gave me a vision of what He was going to accomplish in my life. It was totally beyond the realm of human possibility, but God honored Himself and brought the fulfillment of that vision and dream into my heart.” Whatever He shows you is going to bring you to the edge of your own impossibility, where whatever He shows you will be possible for your life because “HE IS ABLE…!!”

God may say to you, “You’re going to be a doctor someday.” You reply, “A doctor? How could I be a doctor? I don’t even enjoy Biology or Chemistry!” God will bring it to pass. Whatever He says to you, He’s able to do! He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think!

FOURTH, EXAMINE THE BLESSINGS OF A VISION! What are the blessings?

THERE’S THE BLESSING OF DIRECTION. Just because we haven’t arrived as yet to the fulfillment of the vision that God may give to us does not make the vision unreal. So many times God gives a vision, it is ‘out there’ to be fulfilled, totally beyond us, it seems. Just because we haven’t stepped the soles of our feet on every inch of ground in that land of promises doesn’t mean the vision and the promises and the purpose of God has been defeated for us! But the sense of direction that we KNOW we heard from God, we know that He revealed His purpose, we know that He gave us the Divine blueprint, and it gives a sense of direction to us.

Dr. Paul Tillet made this statement: “God is present in the unknown forces that make us restless.” AND IF YOU’RE NOT RESTLESS, YOU’RE NOT LIVING ON THE EDGE OF GROWTH! If you’re not restless, you’re not on the edge of maturity, not on the edge of hunger and thirst for what God wants to do in and through your life. But if you’re there, and God has said, “This is what I’m going to accomplish through your life,” then there is a striving toward that sense of direction. It’s called the “Sabbath Rest”! Our striving is being finished with ourselves and found us in His faithfulness.

Oswald Chambers said in his “My Utmost For His Highest” (p.51) that we don’t “attain to a vision, we must live in the inspiration of it until it accomplishes itself.” Paul said, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

There is nothing more beautiful than to see one who has heard from God and knows what God’s purpose and God’s plan is for that life. They commit themselves to that, they hold on to it, and they see the fulfillment of that vision. It may take years. Think about Caleb. It was forty years before Caleb saw the fulfillment of his vision. God said to Caleb, “I’m going to give you a mountain.” After he came into the land of promise, he went to his mountain, and said, “Give me my mountain.” It was 40 years from the time God gave him that vision of what his inheritance was going to be. He held onto it. It gave a sense of direction to his life, it gave a sense of purpose to his life. He would not be detoured away from what God had revealed to him. It gave him the blessing of direction!

THERE’S THE BLESSING OF DEPENDENCY. What did we say about the birth of a vision? About the battle of a vision? God is always going to bring you, with whatever He asks of you, to the place of impossibility. Why? So that whatever God is revealing, it takes Him to fulfill it. So there is the blessing of dependency. When I know that God has brought me there and given me a vision that is beyond me, then every day of my life I find myself dependent upon God for that fulfillment of the vision – and that’s a good place to be!

The Lord said when you pray, pray like this: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Give us this day our fulfillment of the vision, give us this day whatever is necessary to meet the physical, emotional, mental, material, spiritual needs of our lives – absolutely dependent!

Georgia Harkness is an outstanding Methodist theologian. The author wrote: “Christianity’s major world in the western world is secularism. Secularism defined? “The organization of human life as if God did not exist.” I thought about that as I read that statement. How many people organize their daily life as if God did not exist? And that’s true of some businesses, some families, yes, even some pastors and churches.

Acts 26:16 says: “I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you.” Verse 17 says, “…I am sending you.” Here is one who has a vision. As a result of that vision, he is sent out. Read verse 18. Whatever the vision is, there is purpose behind it: “To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God in order that they also may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in me.” Look at verse 22: “And so, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the prophets said was going to take place.” Notice the first part of that 22^nd verse: “And so having obtained help from God…” That’s the blessing of dependency. God gives Paul such a vision that he understands that vision cannot be fulfilled in and of Paul himself. Paul understood that, and he obtained help from God! We ALL need that kind of vision – every one of us! We need the kind of vision that will cause us to be shipwrecked on the isle of God’s sovereignty and stranded on the island of His omnipotence, where, if the vision that God gives us is going to be fulfilled, He has to be the provider of everything that is necessary to fulfill that vision.

THERE IS ALSO THE BLESSING OF DELIVERANCE. Joel 2:32 says: “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape…” Deliverance from what?

Deliverance from the bondage of criticism of what we’re about with our lives. There is deliverance for the man who has a vision from God. Here’s the man who has this vision from God: He begins to “live” that vision, he begins to “die” for that vision, he begins to invest everything in himself to that vision…and opposition arises! Here comes a family member; along come close friends; business associates arise and begin to say, “You’re being so foolish; do you know what you’re doing? Do you realize what price you’re paying? How foolish can a man be?” Yet, what happens? Well, here’s a Paul who says, “It’s good to be a fool for Christ’s sake.” He was delivered from criticism of what he was about!

One of the biggest hindrances to the fulfillment of a vision in a person’s life is the opposition that comes from those who have no spiritual understanding of hearing the voice of God, of seeing a vision from God or a dream from God, and then pouring out their lives to see that vision come to be a reality within them. But if there is that vision burned within your heart, it doesn’t matter what family or friends may say. When you know that you’ve heard from God, you’re willing to lose everything, lay down your life and die, so that vision can be fulfilled through you!

There is deliverance from aimlessness. What is life all about with the people you come in contact with every day? Think about it – the people in your neighborhood, the people in your business office, the people where you work at that factory, the people you rub elbows with every day – what is their life all about? Can I tell you? Can I tell you that probably 80-90% of the people you come in contact with, their whole reason of existence is simply survival. They’re just doing the best they know how to survive. They have no purpose to life, no meaning to life, no aim to life, no goal to life except that they’re just trying to get by every day and survive life as it is. What a sad state of life! But when you have met Christ, when you have heard the voice of God, when you know He has spoken to you about your life purpose, you have an aim. You have direction. You have a goal. You have a purpose for living. And your life will never be the same! You are all business for the King of kings and the Lord of lords!

Let’s come back to Joel 2:26. “You shall have plenty to eat and be satisfied [Are you satisfied? REALLY satisfied? Is there contentment to your life?] and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; then My people will never be put to shame.” YOU shall praise the name of the Lord your God! Prayer and praise are how you maintain a vision. God inhabits the praises of His people! Prayer and praise maintain the vision! God inhabits the praises of His people! And when you arise in the morning, in that inner man, there ought to be that thankful spirit. When you walk through the day, there ought to be that thankful spirit that God has a purpose for your life; He’s given you a vision and a dream and you are fulfilling that vision and that dream. Praise the name of the Lord!

Not only is there praise to maintain the vision, but there is participation in the vision. Paul said: (Acts 26:19), “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” That is so practical to our lives. If we’re not participating with God in the fulfillment of what He reveals to us, we’re not maintaining the vision, and the vision will die! Paul was obedient to the vision God gave to him for his life and as a result of that he was maintaining the vision, there was fire in the vision, there was warmth to the vision, and it carried him through even to the point that he died for it because he knew God had spoken to his heart and life.

WHAT ABOUT BOUNDARIES TO THE VISION. Joel 2:28-29, “And it will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. And even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” Boundaries?

GOD HAS A VISION FOR EVERY INDIVIDUAL. (Philippians 1:21), “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” What is your purpose to life? What is your reason for living? What is the purpose in what you do with your daily life? Paul said, “For to me, to live is CHRIST” – to honor the Lord through all he is and all he does.

GOD HAS A VISION FOR YOUR OCCUPATION. (Exodus 31:1-6), “Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship. And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are skillful I HAVE PUT SKILL that they may make all that I have commanded you.” God gives severally as He wills. He gives gifts unto men. That is a vision God will reveal to you, as clear as a ringing bell! It may take a while for that bell to ring clearly in your mind and heart and spirit, but God has a purpose for your life!

GOD HAS A VISION FOR YOUR FAMILY. (Genesis 12:1-3) “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” God is no respecter of persons. If God had a vision for Abram and his family, through which all the families of the earth shall be blessed, then God has a vision for your family. Begin to thank Him!

GOD HAS A VISION FOR INDIVIDUAL CHURCHES. Acts 1:7-8, He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs [seasons] which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” God revealed His purpose to individuals, and to the body of believers. He gives a vision, a dream, a direct order, yes, to fellowships.

What did we begin with? “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” What is YOUR vision before God? What has God revealed to you? I believe we ought to pray for that vision or dream. We ought to have a vision for our nation! Whenever we lose sight of the vision of God for a nation, the people perish. Whenever a fellowship loses sight of its vision, the people perish. Even in marriages – when they have no vision of what their purpose is before Holy God in marriage, marriages drop like dying flies! It’s so true, yes, of individuals. That’s why it’s so important to be committed to that one, to the many, whose hearts are going after God. For what fellowship does light have with darkness? There is none. We need a vision!

Barbara Reynolds, a liberal columnist for USA Today, wrote an enlightening column for June 25, 1993. She was addressing the clouds and thunderclaps of lawlessness and lack of social order that hangs over far too many country’s major cities. She wrote: “Those murderous habits aren’t based solely on financial poverty, but on a bankrupt human spirit caused by an absence of the Spirit of God. If it weren’t for the religious faithful [in cities and schools], life would be utterly hopeless.” She was so right! But even more, if we lose the religious faithful who’ve been captured by Vision, Vision from God, all segments of human life will be utterly hopeless! But we are not “hopeless” people; we are hope-filled servants of the Most High God who unveils for us the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God!

Let me close this truth of vision with several tremendous statements penned by Gloria Gaither in “An Old Friend Not Forgotten.” Bill Gaither included this in his “Homecoming Collectors’ Edition (Gaither Music Company, 1993): “The world is oblivious for there are too few visionaries. Too blind to subtleties and too imprisoned by carnivals. Too numb to gentleness and too overwhelmed by power. Too deaf to music and too stimulated by noise. Too dull to recognize the permanent – too focused to the transient. Too tuned out to the prophets, too attuned to the hucksters. The world is oblivious for there are too few visionaries…The world is losing heart for there are too few dreamers. Too much cynicism and not enough faith. Too much hype and not enough hope. Too much savvy and not enough wisdom. Too much money and not enough treasure. Too much form and not enough substance. Too many takers and not enough givers. Too many dissenters and not enough inspirers. The world is losing heart, for there are too few dreamers…Into such a world God sends His poets, prophets, troubadours who see what we have missed, who warn us lest we self-destruct, and who fill the songless night with music. They surround our alienation with love’s embrace; they burn through the fog of our oblivion with the piercing light of truth, and they sing the dream back into our hearts.” AMEN?

CHAPTER TWO

EXPECTING GOD’S PRESENCE

Do you remember the passage from 2 Peter 3 about the mockers and scoffers of God’s Word? They said to Peter in verse 4, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” “Where is He?” Even Job, the most righteous man of the day said: “Oh that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat.” (Job 23:3). Elihu, one of Job’s ‘friends’, said, “The Almighty – we cannot find Him.” (Job 37:23).

Even God Himself knows and understands how man finds himself with that question ringing in his ear. In Isaiah 49:21 God speaks: “Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten me, since I have been bereaved of my children, and am barren, an exile, and a wanderer? And who has reared these? Behold, I was left alone…” Have you ever been there where you felt so alone?

In 2 Samuel 21:1 the Word says, “Now there was a famine…and David inquired of the Lord.” In your life, in family relationships, in the economy of pocketbook and soul, in the journey – you may ask, “Where is God?” And like David, you begin to seek the presence of the Lord.

I want you to know that because God loves you so much, He allows you famine to rediscover faith. He allows you economic and soulish bankruptcy to rediscover JEHOVAH-JIREH. He allows you dead-end streets for you to rediscover the only way of salvation’s promises and provisions.

In Genesis 3:9 God called to Adam and said to him, “Adam, where are you?” But I’m sure that in all of our hearts there have been those times we’ve said, “Lord, where are You?” Elisha had just received the mantle of Elijah, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven (2 Kings 2:9-14). Elisha was left alone and stood by the bank of the Jordan River. Do you know his first words? “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”

Psalm 79:1-10 tells us of Israel being invaded and how their blood flowed in the streets of Jerusalem. In verse 10 someone makes a strong statement: “Why should the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’ It’s not only a nation like Israel that is invaded, but there are times, events, circumstances, happenings, when a life feels that it has been invaded and people ask, “Where is his God?” Sometimes the holy temple of the saved saint has been defiled and people ask, “Where is his God?”

It has even happened that lives, businesses, families, and fellowships have laid in ruins and people ask, “Where is their God?” More than anything else, as you read this book, I want to bring you to a place of “Expecting God’s Presence.”

In Exodus 14:19 the Word says, “And the angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them”! Before us, behind us, around us, above us – and He’s within us who’ve been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!

In Exodus 23:20 God says, “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.” In Exodus 33:14-15 He says, “My Presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest…” Moses said, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here!”

Exodus 39 tells of the completion of the work of the tent of meeting – the tabernacle. In that tent, in the Holy Place (verse 36), there was “the bread of the Presence”! David’s heart-cry was “Do not cast me away from Your Presence.” (Psalm 51:11)! But Isaiah had to say that Jerusalem had stumbled and Judah had fallen because they “rebelled against His glorious presence” (Isaiah 3:8). He then finalized his holy prophecy with a word of great hope: “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His Presence saved them; in His love and in His mercy He redeemed them and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old” (Isaiah 63:9).

Do you really know and understand the heart of God? Have you truly grasped His “saving to the uttermost”? Notice:

• EXPECT GOD”S PRESENCE EVEN AT THE PLACE OF BITTERNESS!

In Exodus 15:22-23 Moses had brought God’s people into the Wilderness of Shur. They had traveled 3 days into the wilderness as God had instructed them in order to worship Him, and the Word says they “found no water.” When they came to Marah, “they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter.” Let me ask you a question. Do you believe God knew they’d find no water, and that when they would find water, it would be bitter? Then there was a “murmuring”! Sound familiar? What did Moses do? Verse 25 says Moses “cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree; and when he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet!” The end of verse 25 says, “And there He tested them.”

Capture the vision! God never promised that the walk of a disciple is “a bed of roses,” “peaches and cream,” or “ease and comfort”! Before His ascension, Jesus informed us, “In the world you shall have tribulation.” Paul said to Timothy, “All who live godly in this world will suffer…even persecution.” But what God has promised is “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Exodus 1:13-14 speaks of the Egyptians making the children of Israel to serve with rigor, or harshness, and “made their lives BITTER with hard bondage.” If you don’t know as yet, be prepared, the world of fallen men longs to put the “liberated” and “free” under hard bondage. That’s the intent of the powers of darkness – to enslave you in the harshness of bitter bondage. But Jesus says, “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free”, even as you walk through the bitter waters.Job 3:28 speaks of “the bitter of soul…who…even long for death, but there is none,” unless you find a Dr. Kevorkian who does not thrive on easing one’s pain, but finds pleasure in providing death to the bitter of soul, neither knowing, understanding, comprehending, nor sensing that that place of bitterness of soul may be the place to meet the ever-present Lover of their souls rather than an evil angel of death!

Proverbs 5:3 speaks of the “bitterness of adultery.” I have never seen adultery anywhere, anytime, do anything but produce bitterness – in the participants or those who experience the fallout from it. But then there is Hosea! And there is Jesus who meets Mary Magdalene at the point of her bitter life and brings sweetness to her soul!

Jeremiah 4:18 speaks of the “bitterness of evil ways and thoughts.” In the midst of that bitterness, God sends the prophet. In verse 14, “O Jerusalem, wash your heart from your wickedness, that you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?” Please, please note: God promises you “the mind of Christ.” By His Word, His power, and His Spirit you can bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ Jesus!

2. EXPECT GOD’S PRESENCE AT THE PLACE OF EARTHLY JUDGMENTS!

Never forget Daniel 3 and the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego who fall under the judgment of King Nebuchadnezzar. In verses 23-25 we’re told they fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Nebuchadnezzar was astonished because in that blazing inferno of the fiery furnace, he saw not three men but four, and the “form of the fourth is like the Son of God”! Let me tell you if you don’t know – it WAS the Son of God, who has told us “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Notice what Nebuchadnezzar said in verse 28: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, Who sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God.”

Earthly judgments? An innocent man on death row now facing an inevitable execution finds grace and mercy; the Holy Presence of God is not locked out of prison bars. Look up – your redemption is drawing nigh!

A tear-stricken, heart-broken, forsaken wife faces the pain of a compromising, condescending, callous, cruel, and critical husband who heaps strife upon her because he “deserves someone better.” But in her pain she’s visited by “Holy Presence”, by the Heavenly, helpful “Husband” of eternity, God Himself. Look up – your redemption is drawing nigh!

It is a shattered, broken dream, a horrible business failure because of the under-handedness of a dear friend that cost you dearly. But in the midst of that down and out experience – look up! Your redemption is drawing nigh!

Having traveled to the Philippines over the years since 1984, I was keenly interested in Chuck Colson’s account of Benigno Aquino, husband of Cory Aquino, past president of the Philippines. The account is recorded in Colson’s “Kingdoms In Conflict (Harper Paperbacks, 1987, Harper & Row Publishers, New York, pp.483-485):

“A small Filipino man with penetrating brown eyes stared, unbelievingly, at his prison door’s cool, smooth surface. It was 1972. Moments before, the door had crashed shut on him with metallic finality. It felt like a bad dream. Never before had he been in a prison. In fact, until that day he had expected to become the next president of the Philippines.

It seemed impossible – ridiculous, really. Benigno Aquino was the boy wonder of Philippine politics – mayor of a large town at twenty-two, governor of a province at twenty-eight, at thirty-five elected senator, the youngest ever. Now he measured the entire extent of his freedom in two or three paces. He sat on his bunk and thought, and as the day passed into night he continued to sit there. For the first time in his life he had nothing else to do – nothing.

Son of a wealthy family, this charismatic, gregarious politician suddenly found himself stripped of everything that had propped up his ego. All his plans, his friends, his busy schedule, all his carefully cultivated followers were gone, replaced by the sheer loneliness and boredom of the prison cell and the venomous hostility of his guards. He kept waiting for Marcos to send for him, to offer a deal. Surely he could not simply leave him to rot in prison!

Half a year went by before Aquino was even questioned or confronted with any charges. Then a trumped-up murder case was brought, and a rigged military court condemned him to death. This too was a bad dream, for the real reason for his imprisonment was President Ferdinand Marco’s greed for power. With his two-term limit as president due to expire in 1973, Marcos had declared martial law, granting himself unlimited powers. He had thrown Aquino and other political opponents into prison. Marcos intended never to leave office – and so was determined never to let a popular Aquino out to challenge him.

Prison had, for Aquino, the same bewildering effect it has held for many others. He lost all sense of direction and perspective. He became bitter not only at Marcos, but at the world, even at God. He hated everyone and his prison guards goaded him on. They sometimes put his dinner plate on the ground, and let a mongrel dog wolf part of it down; then, kicking the dog aside, they gave what was left to Aquino. He lost 40 pounds. He suffered two heart attacks. When he was not longing for revenge, he wanted to die.

His mother, deeply concerned, sent him a book, the memoirs of another prisoner. It was my story – “Born Again”. At first Aquino looked at it with little appetite. Watergate was poorly understood outside America. Nonetheless, there were similarities in our careers. So Aquino read the book – and it touched him.

He read how I too had lost everything and entered the disorienting, mocking maze of prison. But God had shown me that such losses were not in vain as I found my true life in Christ. Aquino began to search for the meaning I had found. A voracious reader, he poured over the Bible and other Christian books. He found great inspiration in a little classic, “The Imitation Of Christ” by Thomas a Kempis. He was surprised to discover in reading the works of an early Filipino hero, Jose Rizal, that the same book had motivated his life and struggle for his country.

One night Aquino knelt in his jail cell and gave his life to Jesus Christ. Overcome with grief for his anger toward God, he begged forgiveness. His viewpoints, his life, most of all bitterness – all changed. He had a sense that his life had suddenly moved into a different channel with another purpose.”

How familiar are you with David’s account in Psalm 139? Look especially at verses 5-12:

“You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on me,’ even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.”

3. EXPECT GOD’S PRESENCE AT THE PLACE OF FEAR!

In I Kings 19, after such a tremendous victory on Mount Carmel, Elijah was confronted by a messenger from Jezebel: “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as one of them by tomorrow about this time.” Elijah, so captured by fear, arose and ran for his life! He hid in a cave! Notice – in that cave GOD MET HIM! In that cave of fearfulness, “the Lord passed by.”

Life’s circumstances, similar to Elijah’s, are not intended to capture us in a cave of fearfulness but release us to the care of God’s faithfulness. The Lord is still “passing by” where fear rules. Reach out for Him!

Marion Hilliard, quoted in “Digest of World Reading,” Melbourne, Australia, has said, “Since fear is unreasonable, never try to reason with it. So-called positive thinking is no weapon against fear. Only positive faith can rout the black menace of fear and give life a radiance.” Henry Van Dyke once said: “Some people are so afraid to die that they never begin to live.”

Paul encouraged a fearful Timothy when he boldly declared, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). We all face tremendous battles through our pilgrimage, but God Almighty has a Word for us that is so practical, powerful, and personal: “When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt IS WITH YOU.”

4. EXPECT GOD’S PRESENCE AT THE PLACE OF DARKNESS!

I love Exodus 20:21 because it tells us so much about the God we serve. “So the people stood at a distance, but Moses drew near the thick cloud (or darkness) where God was”!

Again, Psalm 139, verses 11-12, says encouragingly, “If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on me,’ even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.”

There are dark days, dark seasons, dark events or circumstances, dark words, or even dark deeds that are against us. Yet, Job was able to say (Job 12:22), “He reveals mysteries from the darkness, and brings deep darkness into light.” In Job 29:3 he said, “…by God’s light I walked through darkness…”

It is so awesome to read Job 23:16-17 because it is so true, and because it produces such a reverential awe of God in our hearts. “For God made my heart weak, and the Almighty terrifies me; because I was not cut off from the presence of darkness, and He did not hide deep darkness from my face.”

Isaiah illumines God’s purpose of allowing “darkness” in our lives by saying this: (Isaiah 45:3), “And I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden wealth of secret places, in order that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.” King David said, (Psalm 18:28), “The Lord God illumines my darkness.” Hallelujah! Expect God’s Presence in the dark night of your soul!

5. EXPECT GOD’S PRESENCE AT THE PLACE OF LONELINESS AND ISOLATION AND SEPARATION FROM THE DIVINE WILL OF GOD FOR OUR LIVES!

It had been 40 years since Moses had decided to leave Pharoah’s household and walk with God’s people. It had been 40 years since Moses had killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. It had been 40 years since Pharoah had heard of the matter and sought to kill Moses, but “Moses fled from the face of Pharoah and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well” (Exodus 2:15). Forty years later! Moses had ended up on the backside of a desert! He had wanted to walk with God. He had wanted to help God’s people find freedom. But for forty years he had lived separated from God’s ultimate intention for his life.

In that lonely place, isolated, so alone, separated from his mission, God came. Look at Exodus 3. Look at that burning bush that God has for your own life and your own experience. God will call to you as He did to Moses because God is no respecter of persons. He longs to liberate you to your ultimate calling and mission in life!

Do you remember Jacob and that lonely, dark night when he met with God? In Genesis 28:15, God spoke: “Behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go…” And Jacob responded, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” In verse 17 he continues: “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Did you get it? The place of isolation, loneliness, and separation can be for us “the house of God and the gate of heaven!”

6. EXPECT GOD’S PRESENCE AT THE PLACE OF DISILLUSIONMENT AND DISCOURAGEMENT!

Simon Peter! So intent on defending and standing by Jesus! But he denied Jesus. John 21:3 tells us that Peter had decided to go back to his former life, back to his former occupation, back to his old lifestyle. He was so disillusioned and so discouraged! Have you ever been there? Have you ever found yourself drowning in that sea of desperation because of your personal failures in the things of the Spirit? “I AM GOING FISHING!”

But notice: “After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias…” (John 21:1). Peter’s denial and desertion didn’t shake Jesus; it motivated Him the more to be where Peter and the other disciples had found themselves – wallowing in the sea of self-pity. Look up – your redemption draws nigh!

7. EXPECT GOD’S PRESENCE AT THE PLACE OF PERFECTING AND PROVING PERSEVERANCE!

It may be time for you to have an in-depth review of the Book of Job! Though Job may have felt so alone at times, I am reminding you that God says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” When you come to Job 42:5-6, you see what finally dawned upon Job – God had never left him even though he felt so alone! Look: “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” And Job repented because he had not sensed or faithed or trusted God’s abiding Presence in the perfecting processes of his life!

Hebrews 10:35-36 says, “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”

I would like to have personally known Civilla D. Martin and learn all she had experienced in her walk with the Lord. She wrote the words to the old stand-by hymn, “God Will Take Care Of You”: It says –

“Be not dismayed whate’er betide, God will take care of you;

Beneath His wings of love abide, God will take care of you.

Through days of toil when heart does fail, God will take care of you;

When dangers fierce your path assail, God will take care of you.

All you may need He will provide, God will take care of you;

Nothing you ask will be denied, God will take care of you.

No matter what the test, God will take care of you; Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you.

God will take care of you, Through every day, o’er all the way;

He will take care of you, God will take care of you.”

8. EXPECT GOD’S PRESENCE BECAUSE IT IS A PROVEN PROMISE! God said to Joshua as he prepared to embark upon the ministry of leadership of God’s people, “Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). And remember as Jesus gave us The Great Commission and prepared to ascend into heaven on that great cloud of glory, He added, “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.” (Matthew 28:20).

Paul was not only “persuaded that He is able”; in Romans 8:38-39 he was “persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Are YOU persuaded?

9.EXPECT GOD’S PRESENCE EVEN IN YOUR DEATH!

Psalm 23 is more than just a child’s favorite Psalm – it is the child of faith’s glowing testimony! In verse 4 the man of faith said: “Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

One of my favorite people in all the world is Dr. Gene Galloway, family practitioner in Elizabethtown, Tennessee, now retired. We’ve been dear friends for a long, long time and have had the privilege of visiting with one another occasionally over the years. On one occasion Gene shared with Sue and me one of the most heart-tugging stories I’ve ever heard. In the Elizabethtown hospital there was a little girl about six or seven years of age dying, I believe of leukemia. Her family was a family of faith and had built into that precious little girl an abiding faith. As she came near to the hour of death, in and out of consciousness, all of a sudden she raised up in her bed with a big smile on her face and a gleam in her eye and said, “Oh, Mommy, Mommy, do you hear them? Do you hear the angels singing? It’s so beautiful.” And then she laid down to die. No…! She laid down to rest in the bosom of Jesus forever!

Catch the vision! A living faith transcends all that earth and hell have to throw at us…AND WE WIN!! We are “more than conquerors”!!

CHAPTER THREE

ENTERING IN

I want to ask you a question. Are you entering in where you need to enter and with Whom you need to be with? Psalm 100 is one of the greatest psalms with one of the greatest challenges:

• “Make a joyful shout to the Lord all you lands,” including wherever you presently rest the soles of your two feet!
• “Serve the Lord with gladness,” not sadness!
• “Come before His presence with singing,” not silence!
• “Know that the Lord, He is God,” the only One, True, Living God – not the multitudinous idols, false gods of our own making or cheap imitations!
• “It is He who has made us and not we ourselves,” telling us we are not accidents or freaks of evolution but the work of Eternal, Holy God!
• “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture…” Why? Because He made us, lost us through the result of sin and Satan, but He bought us with a price, the precious blood of the Lamb of God!
• “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise,” saying it is not our entering ‘hell’s’ gates, but HIS gates!

In Exodus 33:9 the Word says, “And it came to pass, when Moses entered the Tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.” I want to enter the place where the Lord talks with me!

But to Ezekial God gives a warning: “And the Lord said to me, ‘Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary.” (Ezekial 44:5). And in Ezekial 43:12 God says the law of God’s temple is holiness, Whose temple we are through Christ! Are you entering or are you out?

Revelation 22:15 says, “Outside are dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.” Another awesome word of warning comes from the lips of Jesus when in Luke 11:52 He said, Woe to you, lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered! I don’t want to be a hindrance to those trying to enter – I want to be a help! I don’t want to be a stumbling block – I want to be a stepping stone! I don’t want to be a thief who has stolen the key of knowledge and hidden it – I want to be a trumpeter and proclaimer of God’s undiluted Word!

In Proverbs 4:14 we read: “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil.” Proverbs 8:16 says, “A fool’s lips enter into contention and his mouth calls for blows.” And in Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation…” Several times in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:23 for one) the Word declares that “God brought us out from there that He might bring us in…” Are you in where God wants you to be?

GOD CALLS YOU TO ENTER WHERE HE WANTS YOU TO BE THROUGH THE “STRAIGHT AND NARROW” GATE.

In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” I have no desire to follow the “many” who go the way of destruction. I want to follow the “few” who go the way of life!

In Deuteronomy 30:19 God speaks: “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live.”

Jesus was traveling through the cities and villages teaching and preaching when someone asked Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” Jesus said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able” (Luke 13:23-24). The word “strive” is the picture of a contest – a prize fighter with every ounce in him fighting to win. It is the picture of a foot race with the runner stretching out fervently to finish first. The “narrow gate”? Jesus said in John 10:9, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”

Then you say, “Pastor Fisher, why do you teach us about the ‘narrow way’? We believe Jesus is that ‘door’ to God.” I do so because across our world there filters in a false teaching that there is more than one way to God; God has many doors, they say, and all lead to the same place!

I tell you a thousand times over, NOT SO!! Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes to the Father but through Christ alone! Acts 4:12 says this, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”.

Jesus, the Lamb of God, Immanuel (God in flesh), Promised Messiah, did not come in human form, suffer, bleed, and die in order that Sovereign, Holy God might give multitudinous ways for men to be saved. Jesus only is Lord or not Lord at all!

GOD SAYS THAT ENTERING IN THROUGH THE NARROW GATE IS ALSO ENTERING INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

In Mark 10:13-15 Jesus said, “Then they brought young children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid; For of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”

Jesus challenged Nicodemus and all of us when He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Jesus amplified that statement by saying, “Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (verse5).

Oh, and then in Luke 12:32 Jesus said, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Because of a repentant heart and faith in Christ’s redeeming work alone, the Word declares that “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”(Colossians 1:13).

Paul was on his missionary journey and so many were turning to Christ. In Acts 14:21-22 it tells us how Paul wanted to strengthen the new disciples. Notice: “And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.’”

Entering in is the surrendering of allegiance to the King of the kingdom! Jesus asks, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).

Entering in is the submission of acceptance as a way of life of kingdom truth! Isaiah 59:14 speaks of why God set Israel aside as His instrument of being a blessing to all the nations of the world. It says: “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” Again in Isaiah 26:2 there is an amplification: “Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.”

Paul magnified kingdom truth for Timothy when in I Timothy 3:14-15 he said, “These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground [or support] of the truth”!

In Christ’s kingdom, we are “recipients of heavenly truth”; no longer blinded or deceived by Satan and his hellish hordes.

In Christ’s kingdom, we are “celebrators of heavenly truth,” not compromisers.

In Christ’s kingdom, we are “disciples of heavenly truth,” not people who “pretend obedience.”

In Christ’s kingdom, we are “proclaimers of heavenly truth,” our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace!

Entering in is the sensibility of adaptability to kingdom life and authority. The words of I Peter 4:1-2 are powerful and life-changing for a genuine disciple: “Therefore since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”

Paul amplified this truth in Ephesians 4:20-24 when he said to us: “But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you “put off”, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you “put on” the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Then there is the explosive statement of John in I John 4:17 which says, “Because as Jesus is, SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD.”

Do you really know the heart-cry of kingdom living? One of my favorite choruses says it like this: “Jesus, be Jesus in me; No longer me but Thee.

Resurrection power, Fill me this hour; Jesus, be Jesus in me.”

Kingdom living is being the extension of Christ’s life, the very expression of Christ’s love, and the proof of His power and authority!

In 2 Peter 1:3-4 Peter said, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” In verses 5-10 Peter built in foundation stones of a victorious, overcoming life, and then adds in verse 11, “For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

GOD ALSO SAYS THAT ENTERING IN IS ENTERING IN TO THE PLACE OF WORSHIP. In Jeremiah 7:2 the Word of the Lord through the prophet says, “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the Word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the Lord.”

John 4 tells us that Jesus “needed to go to Samaria.” The necessity was a divine appointment with a needy woman. She came to salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in verses 21-24 Jesus said this: “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

To the church at Philippi Paul said, “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). Worship is a way of life – not a Sunday morning ritual. Worship is the outflow of an inner oneness with God. Worship is the supernatural exhaling from a supernatural inhaling of all God is. David entered the tabernacle of God and out of the overflow of his heart he cried out: “Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (I Chronicles 16:29). In Psalm 95:6 we read: “Oh, come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.”

Too many preachers and disciples don’t have time to “bow down” because they are too busy raising themselves up!

GOD’S HEART-CRY IS THAT ENTERING IN IS ENTERING TO THE FULLNESS OF HIS GLORY!

We know what the Bible declares! (Romans 3:23), “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Did you see it? In our sin, we were short of the glory of God. We had missed the mark!

There is an Old Testament picture that lays a foundation for our understanding of all Christ Jesus has done for us. It is found in Exodus 40:34-35: “Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” The Scripture said, “Moses was not able to enter…the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” But come to the New Testament, to the blood covenant, to the activity, the sacrifice, and the victory of Jesus at the cross in our behalf. Notice Matthew 27:50-51: “Jesus, when He had cried out again with a loud voice, yielded up His spirit. Then behold the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom”! Hallelujah! Do you know what that means?

I Peter 5:10 says, “But the God of all grace…called us TO His eternal glory by Christ Jesus…”

To those disciples on the Emmaeus Road, Jesus said, “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:26).

In the Lord’s High Priestly Prayer in John 17:22, Jesus said to the Father, “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are One.”

Living in the fullness is living in the glory cloud of His abiding Presence! Living in the fullness is living in the glory of all He is! Living in the fullness is living in the glory of all He desires to be in our behalf!

Psalm 34:5 says, “They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.”

*Enter into the glory-cloud today because there is “the help of His countenance.” Psalm 42:5 says, “Hope in God for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.” In Psalm 44:3 the psalmist said, “The arm of our fathers didn’t save them; but it was Your right hand, Lord, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, because You favored them.”

*Enter into the glory-cloud today because there is “the help of His counsel.”

In Exodus 33:9-11, “Moses entered the tabernacle, [and] the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshipped, each man in his tent door. So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend…”

*Enter into the glory-cloud today because there is “the help of His commitment.” Again in Exodus 33:14-15, God speaks with assurance: “And the Lord said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ Then Moses said to Him, ‘If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.’”

*Enter into the glory-cloud today because there is “the help of His comfort.” In Psalm 42:5 David cried out, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him.”

To the church at Corinth, Paul wrote: (2 Corinthians 1:3-4), “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

GOD SAYS ENTERING IN IS ENTERING IN TO THE “SABBATH REST.”

God gave us a warning through the psalmist when He said: “…Today, if you will hear His voice: ‘Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me though they saw My work. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’” (Psalm 95:7-11).

But Joshua and Caleb DID enter, and so can each of us! There is a “Sabbath rest”! In Hebrews 4:1 the writer said, “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it,” and then boldly declared in verse 3: “For we who have believed do enter that rest…” Continuing in verses 9-10 he further stated: “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” What is that “Sabbath rest”?

• It is the one who has ceased from his own pre-determined ‘works’ and “rested” in God.
• It is the one who knows the reality of the crucified life and lives by the life of “Another”! (Galatians 2:20).
• It is the one who has captured the vision of Ephesians 1:23: “…The fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

GOD SAYS ENTERING IN IS ENTERING IN TO THE WORK. In Numbers 4:1-3, “the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: ‘Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house, from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.”

And here is our personal rocket launched off the pad of faith. Paul said in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Do you remember Jesus in John 6 instructing His disciples that they not labor for the food which perishes? “Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in [trust, rely upon, adhere to, obey!] Him whom He sent” (verse 28).

• Acts 13:2 speaks of the work of missions to which God has called.
• I Corinthians 16:10 speaks of the work of the Lord that Timothy and Paul do including taking care of the churches of God!
• Philippians 2:12 speaks of the working out of our own salvation in fear and trembling.
• Philippians 2:30 speaks of the work of Christ that brought Epaphroditus close to death.
• I Thessalonians 1:3 speaks of the work of faith and labor of love.
• 2 Timothy 4:5 speaks of the work of an evangelist.
• I Corinthians 12:11 speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit.
• 2 Corinthians 6:1 declares us workers together with God.

Now, 4 things I want to highlight for you about our work:

• I Corinthians 15:57-58 tells us to be “always abounding in the work of the Lord.”
• I Corinthians 3:13 tells us that “fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.”
• John 9:4 tells us “the night is coming when no one can work.”
• Jeremiah 48:10 warns us: “Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.”

George Eliot once wrote: “It is vain thought to flee from the work that God appoints us, for the sake of finding a greater blessing, instead of seeking it where alone it is to be found – in loving obedience.”

GOD SAYS ENTERING IN IS ENTERING TO POSSESS THE LAND.

Please remember – the Bible is a picture book, and when we read about possessing a land, we can see that the Old Testament historical happening is an unveiling of what God wants to accomplish in us – we are the “land,” the “field,” the “vineyard.”

“So they said, ‘Arise, let us go up against them. For we have seen the land, and indeed it is very good. Would you do nothing? Do not hesitate to go, and enter to possess the land. When you go, you will come to a secure people and a large land. For God has given it into your hands.” (Judges 18:9-10).

But then God spoke through Jeremiah (2:7) when He said, “I brought you into a bountiful country, to eat its fruit and goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land and made My heritage an abomination.”

In Deuteronomy 7:1-2 Almighty God gave the command that the seven strong nations on the promised land were to be conquered and destroyed. They were to show no mercy. And on YOUR “land” there are seven nations greater and mightier than you and they are to be driven out. You are to “possess the land” showing no mercy on that which is so un-Christ-like!

Look at the spirit of the “Amorites,” meaning to “publicize” or “promote.” It represents the boastful, self-promoting who thrive on the root of self-glory and self-praise. That’s pride and prominence for number “I” – “self.”

Look at the spirit of the “Hittites,” coming from a root word meaning “terrifying,” that which produces fear or dread in your heart. It’s that “nation” that “breaks down protective walls through violence and fear.” But God said to Abram in Genesis 15:1, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward.” These “Hittites” are creators of storms to take you under or down on your voyage on the sea of life, but Jesus came in the midst of a storm to say, “It is I, do not be afraid” (Matthew 15:27).

Look at the spirit of the “Perizites.” The root word means “to decide to separate.” It is the picture of one who is irreconcilable and unforgiving. In Matthew 18 Jesus told of an unforgiving servant and of two things that happened:

• He turned him over to the torturers.
• The Master reinstated the debt!

Look at the spirit of the “Canaanites,” which means “bowed down” or “brought low.” But the picture is not that of humility but that of rejection. It is the picture of men who are in subjection and slavery to lust for approval, who are more interested in the praise of men than the praise of God! In Galatians 1:10 Paul asks, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.” To the church at Thessalonica, Paul said, “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.” (I Thessalonians 2:4).

Look at the spirit of the “Hivites,” which comes from a word that basically meant “Eve” or “first woman,” who rebelled against the Word of God and believed the lie of Satan that you can sin and not die. It is basically being god unto yourself with an attitude of “A fist in Your face, God! I am doing as I please.”

Look at the spirit of the Jebusites,” which means “trodden down” or “trampled underfoot,” which is what the powers of darkness even now seek to do to you. They want to step on you and grind you into the dirt!

Look at the spirit of the “Girgashites.” It is interesting that I could not find a definition of it anywhere which tells me there is a spirit out of nowhere that will blindside you, surprise you, and astound you that “that” could even be on your “land.” Ever sensed it?

GOD SAYS ENTERING IN IS ENTERING THE PLACE OF PRAYER.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:6, “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Talking about “Capturing The Vision,” I have never seen, read about, or discovered a mighty man who was used of God who was not a man of prayer. Every human instrument God has mightily used was a Heaven-Invader, laying hold of God in prayer.

Dallas F. Bullington, in the Akron Baptist Journal, once wrote: “Do you know what is wrong with the world today? There’s too much theologian and not enough kneeologian.” He is right!

Alexis Carrel, in his article “Prayer”, wrote: “Prayer is the most powerful form of energy one can generate. The influence of prayer on the human mind and body is as demonstrable as that of secreting glands. Prayer is a force as real as terrestrial gravity. It supplies us with a flow of sustaining power in our daily lives.”

Though prayer may be a force as powerful as terrestrial gravity, I long for people whose sole desire is Terrestrial Grace impacting lives because they faithfully acknowledge and submit themselves to the sovereignty of God.

G. Ashton Oldham put it like this: “Prayer is the chief agency and activity whereby men align themselves with God’s purpose. Prayer does not consist in battering the walls of heaven for personal benefits of the success of our plans. Rather it is the committing of ourselves for the carrying out of His purposes. It is a telephone call to headquarters for orders. It is not bending God’s will to ours, but our will to God’s. In prayer, we tap vast resources of spiritual power whereby God can find fuller entrance into the hearts of men.”

Here is my heart-cry for you, your family, and the Body of Christ of which you are a part: Acts 4:31, “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness.”

Are you entering in to capture the vision of God?

CHAPTER FOUR

THE SOUNDS OF HEAVEN

In Leviticus 26:25 the Lord speaks about “vengeance for the covenant,” released upon those who betray His covenant of grace and walk in disobedience. There are awful prices to pay for the spirit of apostasy and the deeds of spiritual harlotry. One such judgment is found in Leviticus 26:36, “The sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee.” I have no desire to live with that kind of fear, frightened simply by the sound of a shaken leaf!

One of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, speaks about “the wicked man who writhes with pain all of his days,” who has “dreaded sounds within his ears: (Job 15:20-21). I have no desire to hear those dreadful sounds.

The Word of God also speaks of “uncertain sounds.” In I Corinthians 14:8 Paul asks, “If the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?”

Even sadder is when God’s judgment comes upon His own people and He says, “Behold, I am going to eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.” (Jeremiah 16:9).

As heaven rejoiced over the destruction of Babylon, the mighty angel in Revelation 18:22 said, “And the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in her any longer.” Good! There are too many millstones crushing out contaminated grain. But we do need to hear the sound of the millstone that crushes out the true grain of “the Bread of Life.” In 2 Corinthians 4:2 Paul said he was not “walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully.” God , oh God, give us more men of the pure Word – unadulterated by men’s philosophies, traditions and vain deceit!

Mary had learned from the angel that she was to be with child and “that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” Mary went to visit Elizabeth and something supernatural happened upon her greeting: Elizabeth exclaimed, “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy” (Luke 1:44). And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit!

I don’t need a greeting from Mary, but I do need to hear those “sounds of heaven” that cause the spirit of God within me to leap for joy and bring a fresh in-filling of all that He has for me! I certainly don’t want my life to be what the Apostle Paul warned against – “a noisy gong or clanging cymbal” because there is no love. I do, however, desire that the sounds of heaven radiate through my life in a clear, distinct sound so that men and women around me, upon hearing those sounds of heaven, arise to meet the Master!

I read recently Duncan Campbell’s “The Price and Power of Revival.” He asks: “Are there sounds from heaven today? I say yes, it is happening today! Some of us saw it happen in churches comparatively empty, the youth given to pleasure rather than seeking after God, then suddenly there was a sound from heaven, and the whole community became saturated with God and men and women were swept into the Kingdom. We had not organized, we had no publicity program, but heaven’s messengers moved in the midst of the people, and in a matter of hours churches became crowded as scores were swept into the Kingdom of God.”

There are “Sounds of Heaven.”

THERE IS THE SOUND OF BLESSING. I Kings 18:41 says, “And Elijah said unto Ahab, ‘Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.” In Scripture, rain represents blessing and drought symbolizes a curse. In Deuteronomy 28:12 we are instructed, “The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand.” In contrast, verse 24 speaks of the curse that comes upon those who rebel against God and says, “The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.”

These were natural occurrences for a natural historical people. But you and I are of the supernatural – we are His “chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people…” (I Peter 2:9). God has not called us to a drought! He has called us to the “sound of the abundance of rain.”

You’ve been discouraged lately, maybe in a state of despair. You’ve been in the dry places, a drought of soul and spirit. It hasn’t been for you “showers of blessing,” it’s been powder and dust that has come upon you. I’m here to tell you, look into the face of Jesus right now! Proverbs 16:15 says, “In the light of a king’s face is life, and his favor is like a cloud with the spring rain.” God is here to lead you out of the bondage of your land of discouragement. Listen to the sound, the sound of the abundance of rain! It may be only a reminder you need today or a revival of its truth in your heart, but Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”! Listen for it, look for it, receive it! It is there for you!

THERE IS THE SOUND OF GOD’S BENEVOLENT, GRACIOUS VOICE. Ezekial 43:2 says, “And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.” Do you long for your land to shine forth His glory? Then hear the voice like the sound of many waters!

Do you long for your life and ministry to shine with His glory? Then hear the voice like the sound of many waters! Do you long for your church to shine with God’s Glory Cloud? Then hear the voice like the sound of many waters!

Our Lord and Savior still walks among the seven golden candlesticks and He still says: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches”!

In Matthew 10:27 Jesus says, “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.”

John 10:4 says, “When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him BECAUSE THEY KNOW HIS VOICE.” The psalmist said, “How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! O Lord, they walk in the light of Your countenance” (Psalm 89:15). O God, tune our ears to hear the sounds of grace, mercy, and love!

THERE IS THE SOUND OF THE SOVEREIGN WIND OF REGENERATIVE POWER. Jesus spoke frankly with a religious leader in John 3:7-8 saying, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Oh, I ask you with all the compassion of God I can muster, “Have YOU heard the sound of the sovereign wind of regenerative power?” Some local churches have bought the lie that they are beyond the age of spiritual child-bearing. No new life, no zeal to see men and women, boys and girls born into the Kingdom of God. They have settled into stagnation-barrenness!

The prophet saw it and came with a word of great Holy Ghost encouragement: (Isaiah 54:2), “Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child; Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed; For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous than the sons of the married woman,’ says the Lord. ‘Enlarge the place of your tent; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not; Lengthen your cords, and strength your pegs. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left. And your descendants will possess nations, and they will resettle the desolate cities.” Do you hear that sound?

THERE IS ALSO THE SOUND OF BATTLE.

In I Chronicles 14:15 David heard from God. The Philistines once again had made a raid against God’s people. And YOU must be aware that in the same way the enemy of God’s people had backed off for a season and returned once again – you must be ready also! If you are enjoying a temporary reprieve, be sure that there is coming another raid on the valley of your habitation!

So God said to David, “And it shall be when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.”

What do we do?

• Listen for the sound
• Listen for the sound of marching: the Heavenly hosts, the army of God’s warring angels
• Then YOU go out to battle
• You go out with confidence and assurance because God has gone before you
• God strikes the enemy in your behalf – because you went out in faith and obedience!

But listen to the sad note, because it may be personal to you and an honest and truthful evaluation as to why you’re not walking in victory. In 2 Samuel 11:1 the Word says, “Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent for Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. BUT DAVID STAYED AT JERUSALEM.” Verse 2 goes on to say, “Then it happened…” FAILURE comes when one loses the will to fight!

Paul said to Timothy, (I Timothy 6:12), “Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…” Do you hear the sound of marching in the top of the mulberry tree?

THERE IS THE SOUND OF HOLY FIRE.

In Ezekial 10:5,6 the prophet has a powerful up-to-date Word for us as we face the battle of our lives. “Moreover, the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks. And it came about when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, ‘Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,’ he entered and stood beside a wheel.”

In Psalm 104:4 we are instructed that God “makes his ministers a flame of fire.” But perhaps you have become a dying wick! Perhaps you have become smoke and ashes! Do you know there is hope for you?

There’s the sound of the wings of the Cherubim that was heard! And God Almighty speaks, “Take fire from among the wheels!” He’s going to give it to His man who is clothed with Christ! Hear the sound – TAKE THE FIRE!!

• It’s the fire of testing, the fire of unconditional, full surrender. In Genesis 22:5-16 Abraham faced the ultimate test of his life – “And Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship and return to you.’ And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it in his son Isaac, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.”
• It’s the fire of Heavenly attraction. Look at Exodus 3:2-3. You are reading this by divine appointment today perhaps because you have lost that passion to know Christ, you’ve lost that passion to pray, you’ve lost that passion for the hunger of God’s Word and His righteousness. Your faith, calling, and ministry have been hanging in the balance and found wanting. But God loves you, the bush still burns! Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight.” The bush still burns – it has not and will not be consumed! In Isaiah 42:3 God says, “I will not extinguish a dying wick!” Have you heard the sound of the wings of the Cherubim?
• It’s the fire of heavenly prayers uttered in your behalf. (Isaiah 62:1-5), “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning. And the nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will designate. You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. It will no longer be said to you, ‘Forsaken,’ nor to your land will it any longer be said, ‘Desolate;’ but you will be called, ‘My delight is in her,’ and your land, ‘Married;’ for the Lord delights in you, and to Him your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you.” That’s A Promise!
• It’s the fire of Holy Spirit renewal. In Matthew 3:11 John the Baptist said, “As for me, I will baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” The Lord’s will is clear: “Be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

EXAMINE THE SOUND OF THE VOICE OF GOD’S THUNDER.

Are you listening for the gracious sound of the voice of God’s thunder chasing away the flood waters of your life? Psalm 104:7-9 is so powerful! “At the voice of Your thunder the flood waters hastened away…that they may not return to cover the earth.”

God knows where you are; He knows what shape you are in; and He knows whether you’re walking on the water of faith or sinking down because of the “flood”!

In Psalm 69:1-3 David cried out, “Save me, O God, for the waters have threatened my life. I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; my eyes fail when I wait for my God.” Are you waiting for God?

Have you heard the voice of God’s thunder? Hear it! Psalm 29:1 says, “The Lord sat as King at the flood; yes, the Lord sits as King forever.”

Again the psalmist testifies in Psalm 18:16, “He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters!” Look at Psalm 93:3-4! “The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea.” Do you hear the thunder? No more floods in your life! God chases them away, and it is by His Spoken Word! Battering waves hear God’s voice!

THERE IS THE SOUND OF THE BEAUTY OF HEAVENLY PRAISE.

Luke 2:13-14 says, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” Have you heard it? Psalm 96:11 says, “Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad.”

We are of those who “shout joyfully to the Lord…who break forth in song, rejoice and sing praises. We sing to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a psalm; with trumpets and the sound of a horn…” We are instructed to join with the sound of heavenly praise and praise the Lord! He inhabits the praises of His people!

THERE IS THE SOUND OF THE HOLY ANGEL ANNOUNCING HIS RESURRECTION.

Kings and kingdoms have set themselves together against our Lord and His anointed. The nations have raged and the people have plotted vain things to break His claims, to shatter His cords from them, and to erase His name and memory. The powers of darkness, with Satan in the lead, have marched against Jesus and His Church. They sounded the alarm. They rallied the armies. They devised a scheme : “Let Him be crucified! Put Him to death! Silence His voice!” So they nailed Him to a tree where Jesus suffered and bled and died. They put Him in a tomb. “There; that should be the end of that!” Then three days later, “What’s that I hear? It’s the sound of music!”

In Matthew 28:5-6 “the angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.” Do you hear that sound? It’s the sound of resurrection life, power, and hope!

THERE IS THE JOYOUS SOUND OF JESUS’ SOON RETURN.

I Corinthians 15:52, 57 says “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed…Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Many have quit listening for the sound of His trumpet announcing His return – don’t give up hope, don’t become so entangled in this present day that you lose sight of His promised return. The angel didn’t lie! “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up to heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

One of my favorite hymns says: “Some golden daybreak Jesus will come; some golden daybreak battles are won; He’ll shout the victory, break through the blue, some golden daybreak for me and for you.” Are you listening for the trumpet?

THERE IS THE SOUND FROM HEAVEN OF A RUSHING MIGHTY WIND.

There is no greater need for the church today than the appropriation of Pentecost’s promise, blessing, and fulfillment. It’s not a matter of theological discussion, but a matter of Truth’s discovery. It’s not a matter of denominational pride, but a matter of all disciples’ power from on high. It’s not a matter of one disciple’s badge of honor, but a matter of all disciples’ blessing of Holy Spirit power!

Acts 2:1-4, 6 says, “And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance…And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because they were each one hearing them speak in his own language.”

Again, Duncan Campbell, in his book, “The Price and Power of Revival,” said: “I love that passage in Acts that tells us that ‘when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together.’ “ What was noised abroad? What was happening in the midst of men? What was noised abroad? That men and women were coming under deep conviction. What was noised abroad? That men and women in the community appeared like drunken men because they were drunk by the mighty power of God. That was God’s method of publicity, and until the church rediscovers this and acts upon it, we shall at our best appear to a mad world as a crowd of common people in a common market babbling about common wares. The early church cried for unction, not entertainment because they knew that unction creates interest and real soul-concern.”

• *Human effort uses entertainment – God uses the Holy Spirit!
• * Human effort produces frustration – the Holy Spirit releases fire!
• * Human effort covets political influence – God commissions supernatural inspiration!
• *Human effort births church members – the Holy Spirit births disciples!
• *Human effort gives nothing but anxiety in ministry – the Holy Spirit grants adequacy!
• *Human effort breeds the counterfeit – the Holy Spirit breeds sons and daughters of the Most High God!
• *Human effort produces spiritual declension – the Holy Spirit produces revival!

LASTLY, THERE IS THE SOUND OF HOLY SPIRIT PARTICIPATION IN THE HEAVENLY, NEW JERUSALEM.

I get so excited every time I read Hebrews 12:22-24 which says, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.”

Verse 28 goes on to say, “…we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken…” Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? There is more, so much more ahead of us. And they are not faint sounds, but the full sounds of heaven’s gathered companies. Paul said in I Corinthians 2:9, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” Are you listening?

In I Thessalonians 4:16-17 Paul wrote, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” Are you listening?

Peter explodes with eternal expectancy, saying in I Peter 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” Are you listening for the sounds of heaven? Jesus frequently used the phrase, “He who has an ear let him hear” – we are encompassed by the sounds of heaven, only those who have an ear to hear ever do.

ARE YOU LISTENING FOR THE SOUNDS OF HEAVEN?

CHAPTER FIVE

LIVING IN THE HIGH PLACES

I don’t even remember the song, but I do remember a phrase of it that said, “You take the high road, and I’ll take the low road…” I do believe that some have never really learned about “Living In The High Places” because we have been so busy trying to survive on the low road.

David was called “a man after God’s own heart.” Are YOU? He’d made the choice! 2 Samuel 22:2-3 says, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior, You DO save me from violence.” What a tremendous statement of faith, a powerful statement of dependence, a liberating statement from doubt and fear! But that is only the beginning! Look at verses 33-34: “God is my strong fortress; and He sets the blameless in His way. He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, and SETS ME ON MY HIGH PLACES!” Holy God has a heavenly design, taking us off the low road and sovereignly placing us in His High Places!

Deuteronomy 26:18-19 says, “The Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you [see I Peter 2:9-10], and that you should keep all His commandments, and that HE SHALL SET YOU HIGH ABOVE all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God, as He has spoken.” In Isaiah 57:15 God speaks – “For thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy, ‘I dwell on a high and holy place…”

You and I have choices! Do you remember the man who “had his dwelling among the tombs”? (Mark 5:3). There IS the “dwelling among the tombs” OR ascending “the hill of the Lord” (Psalm 24:3). Where are you living?

The prophet Jeremiah saw it with those eyes of faith (Jeremiah 17:12). “A glorious throne on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary [a sacred place, a holy place].”

Luke 6:35 speaks of “sons of the Most High.” That is such an awesome, illuminating, liberating statement! Not only is it a powerful declaration of faith, but also a persuasive statement of responsibility – we’re called TO the Most High and to His High Places!

Paul said to his spiritual son, Timothy, “God has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity…” (2 Timothy 1:9). The word “granted” is “didomai,” meaning “given us”!

GOD HAS GIVEN US A HIGH PLACE OF HEAVENLY PROTECTION FROM OUR ENEMIES!

The psalmist cried out (Psalm 59:1), “Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.” Again, in Psalm 61:1-4 the psalmist said, “Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to you, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.”

To follow the Lord Jesus Christ is not an exemption from strife, conflict, battles and attacks from the “enemy”! Pause and reflect upon what Paul said to Timothy: “Alexander the Coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!” (2 Timothy 4:14-18).

One verse of “Amazing Grace” is often overlooked. It says: “Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come; ‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”

If you have never studied the life of Martin Luther, it would be worth your time to study what brought him to write that great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” Look at the words:

“A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.

For still our ancient foe does seek to work us woe – His craft and power are great, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, Were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing.

Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He – Lord Sabaoth His name, from age to age the same, And He must win the battle.

And tho’ this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, For God has willed His truth to triumph thru us.

The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him – His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure; One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth; The Spirit and the gifts are ours thru Him who with us sideth.

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also_ The body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still; His kingdom is forever.”

It sounds like Job, doesn’t it? In Job 13:15 he said, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him!” Do you remember Nebuchadnezzar’s question? In Daniel 3:15 he asked, “What god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?” as he prepared to thrust Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego into the fiery furnace. Do you remember their answer? It’s found in verse 17.”If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.”

HE HAS GIVEN US A HIGH PLACE OF PLENTIFUL PROVISION OF THE MERCIES OF GOD.

Psalm 103:11 says, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.”

Isaiah was even bolder and stronger when he said in Isaiah 30:18, “Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you…”

Then Paul said to the church at Ephesus, (Ephesians 2:4-6), “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

I grew up on the song that says, “Mercy there was great and grace was free, Pardon there was multiplied to me, There my burdened soul found liberty – At Calvary.”

Exodus 25:17 tells us of “a mercy seat of pure gold!” What is YOUR heart-cry? Justice or mercy? Isaiah 63:9 says, “…In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.” Do you receive it? MERCY REDEEMS, LIFTS, AND CARRIES! Paul said to Timothy, “I was shown mercy” (I Timothy 1:13). Lord, open our eyes and show US mercy!

In Luke 18:13 the publican cried out, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner.” Far too few find mercy because they whitewash sin and never see themselves as “the sinner.” Then there are those who never truly become “living sacrifices” because they have never been to the mountain of the multitudinous mercies of God! Look at Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” What a high and holy place is the mountain of God’s mercies!

HE’S GIVEN US A HIGH PLACE OF POWERFUL DEPENDENCY WHERE GOD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING AFFLICTION INTO AN ANTHEM OF PRAISE, TROUBLE INTO THE SYMPHONY OF TRIUMPH, AND EVEN THE STING OF DEATH INTO THE HYMN OF ETERNAL VICTORY.

To “capture the vision” for your daily pilgrimage, the Psalms MUST become a part of your spiritual journey. I want you to carefully follow Psalm 107:33-43!

“He turns rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground; a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it. He turns a wilderness into pools of water, and dry lands into watersprings. There He makes the hungry dwell, that they may establish a city for a dwelling place, and sow fields and plant vineyards, that they may yield a harvest. He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly; and He does not let their cattle decrease. When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow, He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way; yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, and makes their families like a flock. The righteous see it and rejoice, and all iniquity stops its mouth. Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.”

Look again at verse 41: “Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction…” The poor? He can be the wealthiest man on the face of the earth, but in his heart he is broken, spiritually humbled, and bankrupt of his own worth and value. He is the publican, not the Pharisee. He is the empty ego, the “nobody” who finds he is “Somebody” only in Christ. He is the “nothing,” the “zero,” who has been filled with the fullness of Christ. He is poor – and God Himself has raised him “far from affliction.”

It’s not that he never faces it, but he is freed from it. It’s not that he never undergoes trouble, but he is raised above its impact to a holy place of rest.

No one has ever faced any more tribulation than the nation of Israel as they were being delivered from slavery to Egypt. In Exodus 14 we see them on the journey, but Pharoah’s army is in hot pursuit. In verse 13 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.” Verse 14 follows with: “The Lord will fight for you, ‘and you shall hold your peace.’”

What a place to be! You face affliction and God transforms it into a place of peace. You face the torment of an alien army and God releases nothing but a peace that passes all understanding. You face that sting of death but resurrection life raises you above it.

After Exodus 14 and the armed conflict, chapter 15 begins like this: “Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song…” I encourage you to read beginning at verse one, but hide verse 13 especially in your heart – “You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation…”

To the church at Corinth, Paul said: “Now thanks be to God who ALWAYS leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.”

HE’S GIVEN US A HIGH PLACE OF DISCIPLINED FAITH WHEREIN THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IS RESTED.

In Psalm 113:3-5 the Holy Word says, “From the rising of the sun to its going down the Lord’s name is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God who dwells on high?”

If you have not learned it as yet, we serve the absolute monarch of all ages, nations, and people groups. He is divinely omnipotent. He IS the sovereign ruler over all – even over the powers of darkness.

It’s not a trite statement, but one pregnant with eternal truth – “Our God Reigns!” Psalm 146:10 says, “The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations.” In Psalm 47:8 it reads: “God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne.”

Divine sovereignty and our submission to it is not only the well-spring of Holy Ghost regeneration but also the essence of Holy Ghost revival! Isaiah said, “The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high.” (Isaiah 33:5). The question is, is He exalted in your heart and in your life?

Contemplate the words of this great old hymn: “My faith has found a resting place – not in device or creed; I trust the ever-living One – His wounds for me shall plead. I need no other argument, I need no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me.”

That’s Immanuel! That’s God-in-the-flesh! That’s the Sovereign Ruler of the ages – and He died for me!

HE’S GIVEN US A HIGH PLACE OF HEAVENLY PRAISE!

Psalm 149 is such a powerful word for every disciple. It says: “Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name with the dance; let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute on them the written judgment – this honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord!”

What did verse 6 say? “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand…” Why? Because Psalm 145:3 says, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised…” And then Psalm 22:3 tells us that He “inhabit[s] the praises of Israel.” Do you realize how many never sense God’s presence? They never sense God’s presence because praise is absent from their hearts and lips!

Isaiah 43:21 says, “This people I have formed for Myself, they shall declare My praise.”

PRAISE IS DECLARATIVE – Exodus 15:2, “This is MY God, and I will praise Him.”

PRAISE IS BLESSING – I Chronicles 16:36, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting.”

PRAISE IS INTERPRETIVE – Psalm 7:17, “And I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.”

PRAISE IS THANKSGIVING – I Chronicles 23:30, “And they are to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord…”

PRAISE IS BECOMING – Psalm 33:1 “Praise is becoming to the upright.”

PRAISE IS ENDURING – Psalm 111:10 “His praise endures forever.”

PRAISE IS THE CONQUERING SPIRIT – Psalm 149:6-9 “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute on them the written judgment – this honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord!”

PRAISE IS JOYFUL – Psalm 71:23 “My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You, and my soul, which You have redeemed.”

HE’S ALSO GIVEN US A HIGH PLACE OF HEAVENLY PROCLAMATION.

Does the Word of God excite you as it does me? Look at Isaiah 40:9-11. “O Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’ Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.”

Say to the cities, “Behold your God!” What an awesome privilege and responsibility. I have always said to my sons that I had rather preach the gospel in the smallest village of India with little wages than to step down to be the King of England, President of the United States, or Chief Minister of India! “Behold your God!” He comes, He rules, He works, He feeds, He gathers, He carries, and He gently leads.

Here is how Paul addressed that royal assignment to the church at Rome (Romans 10:13-15), “For ‘whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’”

Let me “gently” remind you, according to 2 Corinthians 5:18, our Lord has given to every disciple “the ministry of reconciliation,” and he reminds us in verse 20 that we all are “ambassadors for Christ”! Are you living in that high and heavenly stratosphere of faithful proclamation of the good tidings?

HE’S GIVEN US A HIGH PLACE OF HEAVENLY PROSTRATION. Let the impact of Isaiah 57:15 do an effective examining, expressing a work of grace in your heart as you read it. Look! “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place WITH HIM WHO HAS A CONTRITE AND HUMBLE SPIRIT, to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

Paul put it like this to Timothy: “For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.” The greatest and highest standing within the kingdom of God is for that humble and contrite spirit that faithfully walks out the Gospel as a servant of Christ!

What did Paul say to the church at Philippi? (Philippians 2:5-9). “Let this mind be in you which also was in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.”

Then through Jeremiah God gives us a warning! Jeremiah 49:16, “Your fierceness has deceived you, THE PRIDE OF YOUR HEART, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill! Though you make your nest as high as the eagle I will bring you down from there,’ says the Lord.”

As Jesus willfully chose the way of servanthood, Paul said that God EXALTED HIM! James 1:9 says, “Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation…” Far too many know little about living in the high and holy place because they never discerned the spirit of the “lowly brother”!

HE’S GIVEN US A HIGH PLACE OF THE PERENNIAL PROVISION OF THE EVER-ABIDING WATER OF LIFE. Jeremiah 17:12-14 says, “A glorious high throne from the beginning is the PLACE OF OUR SANCTUARY. O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake You shall be ashamed. ‘Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.’ Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise.”

The world around us more and more becomes a dry and thirsty land, yet those who have found the glorious high throne and know the place of their sanctuary never thirst; from within there flows “rivers of living water.”

The well of God’s faithful provision of living water never runs dry!

HE’S GIVEN US A HIGH PLACE OF PRECIOUS AFFECTION. Colossians 3:1-3 says, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Ezekial saw that High Place! In Ezekial 47 he tells of seeing a flow of water “flowing from under the threshold of the temple.” He saw its intensification as it went from ankle deep to such depths like a mighty river that could not be crossed, one had to swim. With all of my heart, I believe that was the Holy Spirit “given without measure” to the body of Christ whose fruit is love! Romans 5:5 says, “Now hope does not disappoint, because THE LOVE OF GOD has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

One of the sad words Paul confronts the church with today is found in 2 Corinthians 6:12 when he said, “You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.”

We are not called to restrained affections, but to a heart that is wide open! We are not called to selectionle affections, but to a love broader than this world! We are not called to limited affections, but to a limitless love! “Love the Lord your God!” “Love one another!” “Love your enemies!” What a high and holy love God Almighty has called us to, a love as true as the eternal cross of Christ! Have you been baptized in the river of love?

LASTLY, HE’S GIVEN US A HIGH PLACE OF POWERFUL EXPECTATION. In Revelation 21:10-11 John has ‘Captured the Vision’! “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. And her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” There is something more! There is something eternal! There is something forever! There is something beyond!

To the Corinthians Paul said, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (I Corinthians 15:19). We are not called to pity but to the pleasure of God’s Eternal Day! We are not called to a grave but to the Resurrection! We are not called to “old age” and then death, but to the reality of eternal youthfulness and forever fellowship with the reigning Christ! We are not called to hopelessness but to the hope that we have “as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil.” (Hebrews 6:19). What a high place of powerful expectation!

I don’t know what road you have chosen, but I choose the high road. I want to live in those high places God has unveiled for us through His precious Word. I love the book of Isaiah so much. There is such expectation throughout. In chapter 62, verses 10-12, the prophet wrote:

“Go through, go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway! Take out the stones, lift up a banner for the peoples! Indeed the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the world: ‘Say to the daughter of Zion, “Surely your salvation is coming; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.” And they shall call them The Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.” AMEN?

CHAPTER SIX

AS HE IS…SO ARE WE!

The truth of the Gospel and its power to save grows sweeter with every passing day. The depth, length, height, and breadth of the love of God illumines the mind with the greatness of God’s intent. The people of God are those blessed of God beyond measure. Every new day unveils understanding of the greatness of our salvation.

Paul to Titus was 110% correct when in Titus 2:5-7 he wrote, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom HE POURED OUT UPON US RICHLY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” We were “dead in trespasses and sins.” We were “in subjection to slavery under the heavy hand of the powers of darkness.” We “formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, and were by nature children of wrath.” We were “separate from Christ”; excluded from the family of God; strangers to the covenant of promise; had no hope, and were without God in the world.

But through Jesus Christ, no longer are we strangers to the covenant of promise! In Romans 5:1-2 Paul tells us, “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”

Observe carefully – though we were “dead in trespasses and sins,” by our teacher, the Holy Spirit, we have been introduced into grace! We were DEAD but Almighty God “made us ALIVE together with Christ.”

Jesus said in John 10:10, “I am come that you might have life and to have it more abundantly…” LIFE! LIFE with a capital “L”! Life in the supernatural dimension! The Life of God! Resurrection life, hope, and power! Partakers of the Divine nature!

In 2 Timothy 1:1 Paul describes himself, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus…”

There is an awesome statement the writer of Hebrews makes when he says, “Jesus has become the GUARANTEE of a better covenant.” The word “guarantee” is from two Greek words meaning “under good security.” In other words, you can count on it; you can bank on it. It is not a promise given without the guarantee or security of its fulfillment.

All the promises of God are what? 2 Corinthians 1:20 says in Christ they are “Yes” and even “Amen”!

The writer said “a better covenant.” The word “covenant” comes from a word meaning “granted” or “made.” Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines covenant in two ways: redemption and grace.

Redemption? “The mutual agreement between the Father and Son, respecting the redemption of sinners by Christ.”

Grace? “That by which God engages to bestow salvation on man upon the condition that man should believe in Christ, and yield obedience to the terms of the gospel.”

Between the Father and the Son there was an agreement, there were promises and conditions that would be granted and made because of Christ’s “obedience even unto death.” We need to be reminded – God was “IN CHRIST” reconciling the world unto Himself.

Therefore, according to 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, THAT WE MIGHT BECOME THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM.”

Between the Father and the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, there was an agreement:

• The Son would take our place and the Father would take men of repentance and faith unto Himself.
• The Son would shed His blood in our behalf, and the offense of Holy God, because of our sin, would be satisfied.
• The Son Himself would be the sin offering and the Father would accept us in His Beloved.
• The Son Himself would die and the Father would make us alive in Christ.
• The Son Himself would be the substitutionary sacrifice and the Father would credit to us all that the Son is.

STAND ON THESE HOLY WORDS:

Ephesians 1:6 speaks of our “acceptance in the beloved.”

2 Thessalonians 1:5 speaks of our being “considered worthy of the kingdom of God.”

I Corinthians 1:30 says, “But by God’s doing YOU ARE [in Christ Jesus] WHO BECAME TO US WISDOM FROM GOD, RIGHTEOUSNESS, SANCTIFICATION, AND REDEMPTION.”

And the major text for this study is I John 4:17, a verse we must never forget: “Because as He is, so also are we in this world…”

I John 5:10 says, “The one who believes in the Son of God has THE WITNESS IN HIMSELF…”

The very heart of Father-God, of God Almighty, of the God of grace and mercy is that you live with that witness in yourself of confidence, of assurance, of an overcoming faith, of the triumphant truths of divine declaration of your Christ-like identity! AS HE IS…SO AM I!

AS HE IS…SO AM I IN THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE.

In Romans 8:2 the Word declares, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” The law of the Spirit of life! IN Christ Jesus! When I come to faith in Christ, it is not a call to what I am already in, sin and death, it is a call to the law of the Spirit of life!

In fact, when you look at Hebrews 7:16 it speaks of our Lord and “the power of an indestructible life!” In Romans 6:23 Paul says it is the wages of sin that is death, but that the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Do you realize what we’ve learned already? In Christ there is eternal life, abundant life, and life in the Spirit!

Romans 8:11 says, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Jesus Christ from the dead WILL ALSO GIVE LIFE TO YOUR mortal bodies through His spirit who indwells you.”

Jesus said in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life…” Romans 6:4 speaks of “the newness of life.” 2 Corinthians 2:16 speaks of “an aroma from life to life.” 2 Corinthians 5:4 describes us as being “swallowed up by life.” I Timothy 2:2 speaks of a “tranquil and quiet life.” Revelation 21:27 says, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.”

The Gaithers have it right! “Because He Lives” –“ God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus, He came to love, heal, and forgive;…He lived and died to buy my pardon, An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives…Because He lives I can face tomorrow, Because He lives all fear is gone;…Because I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives.”

AS HE IS…SO AM I IN THE WITNESS AND EXAMPLE OF A LAID-DOWN LIFE.

In Matthew 16:24 Jesus said to all of His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” The very pattern of one’s true identity in Christ is:

• He is “after Christ” in faithful pursuit and passion.
• He is “denying himself” in counting all things loss to gain Christ.
• He is “taking up his cross,” taking the sentence of death unto himself that the life of Jesus may be manifested fully within him.
• He is “following Christ” in the spirit of “Wherever He Leads, I’ll Go.”

That is why John said in I John 3:16, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us, and WE OUGHT TO LAY DOWN OUR LIVES FOR THE BRETHREN.”

To the church at Thessalonica, Paul bared his heart and soul. In I Thessalonians 2:4-8 and 10-12, the great apostle illumined in a practical way the “As He Is…So Am I” calling: “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness – God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. SO, AFFECTIONATELY LONGING FOR YOU, WE WERE WELL PLEASED TO IMPART TO YOU NOT ONLY THE GOSPEL OF GOD, BUT ALSO OUR OWN LIVES, BECAUSE YOU HAD BECOME DEAR TO US…You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, THAT YOU WOULD WALK WORTHY OF GOD WHO CALLS YOU INTO HIS OWN KINGDOM AND GLORY.”

To those around you, have you imparted not only the Gospel of God, but your own life as well?

AS HE IS…SO AM I IN THE WALK OF OBEDIENCE.

In Hebrews 5:8 there is a description of Jesus. It says, “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.” You and I are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, and one of the necessary lessons of the overcoming life is our learning to obey. Some say, “That’s legalism”; no, it’s an ever-deepening love of our Father. Some say, “That’s law”, no, it’s liberty released because we’ve seen Jesus and His attitude toward Holy God.

David, the king, sang in 2 Samuel 22:45, “Foreigners pretend obedience to me.” But that is true not only of earthly citizens, but also of the professors of heavenly citizenship. In Psalm 81:15 the Word says, “The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, but their fate would endure forever.”

We are not called to be “pretenders”, but “participants” in the very life of our Lord which is a life of obedience. What does the old hymn say? “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

Paul said to the Corinthians that we can even “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2Corinthians 10:5). A paraphrase of Romans 16:25-26 says: “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ…for obedience to the faith.” He even complimented the church at Rome when in verse 19 Paul said, “Your obedience has become known to all”!

Peter speaks to all saints and says in I Peter 1:14, “[Be] as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance.” The question is – Have I found the path of pleasurable obedience to the Prince of Peace?

AS HE IS…SO AM I IN THE POWERFUL PERSUASION OF PURITY OF HEART?

Do you know who the children of God are? Do you know what it means to truly be a disciple of Jesus? Have you come to full faith and understanding of what it means to be a member of the family of God? Paul said to Titus that we should be (Titus 2:13,14), “looking for that blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and ‘purify for Himself a people for His own possession,’ zealous for good deeds.’”

The psalmist asked, (Psalm 24:3-5), “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

Our precious Lord and Savior loves and redeems us as we are in our sin, but He certainly has no intention of leaving us in bondage to sin and self. “He purifies FOR HIMSELF a people for His own possession”!

In I John 3:2,3, John has previewed for us our great inheritance as servants of Christ – “We shall be like Him!” – and then adds: “And everyone who has this hope IN HIM PURIFIES HIMSELF, just as He is pure.”

The writer of Proverbs states persuasively and powerfully in chapter 22, verse 11: “He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend.” Is Jesus, the King of kings, your friend?

But to the church at Corinth, Paul delivered a compassionate warning: (2 Corinthians 11:3), “I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” That is our calling! THE PURITY OF DEVOTION TO CHRIST! The psalmist asked (Psalm 119:9), “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to God’s Word.”

The Bible speaks of:

• The purity of our way – Psalm 119:9
• The purity of heart – James 4:8
• The purity of hope – I John 3:3
• A purified name – Song of Solomon
• Purified lips – Zephaniah 3:9
• Purified souls – I Peter 1:22

To young Timothy, the fatherly Paul said, (I Timothy 4:12), “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, AND PURITY, show yourself an example of those who believe.”

I said earlier that our Lord will not leave us as we are but that He and we, ourselves, are on the journey of purification. Let me give you an illustration.

…A man by the name of Richard Garcia from Knoxville, Tennessee, visited Calvary Baptist Church in Winter Haven, Florida, sometime around 1978 or 1979. I was serving as pastor of that great, compassionate, loving Spirit-anointed fellowship. It was a Sunday morning service that he attended. After he returned home, he wrote a letter to me that I will never forget. He started out like this:

“Pastor Fisher, two years ago I came to the Lord Jesus Christ. It was the greatest day of my life. I knew that I was saved and that I was in His hands for the process of being perfected in His image. I didn’t know what all that included until I visited your church…

Pastor Fisher, on that Sunday morning in your church I saw a man that I had thought was dead for about 35-40 years. And he was there on the front row of your church! God pierced my heart. Here’s why:

In the second World War, I was on a naval patrol on an island in the Pacific when we were overrun by the Japanese. It was hand to hand combat and I was so afraid. I was injured and because of my fear, I pulled a dead body over mine and played dead. From that position I watched the battle rage – and the last two standing were a Japanese soldier and the chief petty officer of our patrol. They fought and fought and I thought had ‘mortally wounded’ each other as they both finally fell down bleeding profusely with no movement. I laid there for a long time. No one moved. Finally, I said to myself that I must get back to our lines. I did. And then I told my commanders of fighting the battle until I was the only one left standing. They gave me the Purple Heart and the Congressional Medal of Honor.

But last Sunday I saw the chief petty officer who led our patrol I had thought dead. He is very much alive and I knew I must meet him and apologize. Will you arrange this meeting and I will return to Florida.”

The chief petty officer was Cliff Hawley, a retired agent of the FBI who had also been a stand-in for President Lyndon Baines Johnson – he looked just like L.B.J., big, tall, and strong. He didn’t remember the young man, now much older, but was willing to meet with him. Cliff said, “When you’re in war you don’t like to know the other soldiers intimately because so many are lost on the battlefield.”

Richard closed his letter by saying, “I’ve written the Office of the Armed Services, I’ve made my confession, and I’ve returned the two medals. I’m going to meet Jesus soon and He wants ‘nothing between my soul and the Savior.’” Hallelujah! Out Lord IS purifying for Himself a people for His own possession and Richard Garcia is a huge part of that glorious family!

AS HE IS…SO AM I – TEMPTED AND TESTED YET ETERNALLY TRIUMPHANT.

In Hebrews 2:18 the Scriptures say of Jesus, “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.” Then in chapter 4, verses 15-16 it says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are , yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Again, Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines “temptation” as follows: “Enticement to evil by arguments, by flattery, or by the offer of some real or apparent good…solicitation of the passions…enticements to evil proceeding from the prospect of pleasure or advantage…an allurement.”

J. Wilbur Chapman had it right – “Temptation is the tempter looking through the keyhole into the room where you are living; sin is your drawing back the bolt and making it possible for him to enter.”

John Bunyan was right also when he said, “Temptation provokes me to look upward to God.” If we do not look upward to God, we will look in, usually to our old sin natures rather than to the Indwelling Christ, and give in rather than resist! It’s why Spurgeon wrote (Memorial Library, Vol. 13, p.40), “The depravity of our nature forbids, first of all, a venturing or presuming to play and toy with temptation!” And it is certainly not the case that a few of the fallen or even a few of the redeemed are peculiarly or sensitively subject to temptation – “We’re All Tempted!” Oh, but notice the liberating truth of our Lord in I Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; BUT GOD IS FAITHFUL, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Hallelujah!

If you walk “As He Is” in the minefield of devilish temptation, victory is assured because of the same Christ within us who faced the tempter in the wilderness in Luke 4:1-14! Three elements of Jesus’ overcoming the tempter and his temptations:

• He stood on the Word – Luke 4:4 “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.”
• He had settled His heart allegiance – Luke 4:12, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve.”
• He lived humbly and not in haughtiness before the Lord – Luke 4:12 “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”

Then notice Luke 4:14, “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee…” The test of your temptation “can be” the testimony of Christ’s triumph through you!

AS HE IS…SO AM I, FAITHFUL AS A SON OVER MY HOUSE.

In Hebrews 3:6, in speaking of Jesus it says: “…faithful as a Son over His house, whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”

It is divine truth that frees us to faithfulness like Christ! In Ephesians 2:19-22, the precious Word describes us as “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, IN WHOM ALSO YOU ARE BEING BUILT TOGETHER FOR A HABITATION OF GOD IN THE SPIRIT.” Our lives, in Christ, are for the dwelling of God in the Spirit in us!

There has been a war waged against the Lamb of God; there is a war presently being waged against the Lamb of God; and there will be a war waged against the Lamb of God. The Word of God declares in Revelation 17:14 that “those who are with Him are the called, the chosen, and the faithful.”

In Isaiah 26:1,2 a song is being sung about those who enter the “strong city,” and verse 2 says, “Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, the one that remains faithful [or keeps faithfulness].” It’s the way of life for one who is “in Christ.” I Samuel 2:35 speaks of a “faithful priesthood.”

Nehemiah 7:2 speaks of a “faithful man who fears God.”

Nehemiah 9:8 speaks of a “faithful heart.”

Psalm 78:37 speaks of the “faithful in God’s covenant.”

Psalm 119:30 speaks of the one who has “chosen the faithful way.”

Proverbs 13:17 speaks of the “faithful envoy who brings healing.”

Proverbs 14:5 speaks of the “faithful witness.”

Proverbs 27:6 speaks of the “faithful wounds of a friend.”

Matthew 25:21 speaks of the “faithful servant.”

Ephesians 1:1 speaks of the “faithful in Christ.”

Hebrews 3:5 speaks of the “faithful in all his house.”

Then in Revelation 2:10, our Lord speaks – “Be faithful until death, and I will give you a crown of life.” Are you longing for the “Well done…”?

AS HE IS…SO AM I IN THE STEADFASTNESS OF ENDURANCE – EVEN OF THE CROSS.

In Hebrews 12:2,3 we hear our calling again, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."

My faithful co-elder in Belton, Texas, for 17 years, Attorney Thomas Baird, says: “It costs us nothing to begin, but everything to finish.” I believe he is right! We shared preaching and teaching together !

In Revelation 1:9 we hear John’s testimony: “I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Christ Jesus…” Did you receive it?

Tribulation…kingdom…and PERSEVERANCE WHICH ARE IN CHRIST JESUS! The persevering, enduring spirit is not our attributes but His availing gift!

Paul told the church at Rome (Romans 15:5), “Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus…” God gives us perseverance if we accept it! And the end result?

Look at James 1:12. “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

Through this earthly pilgrimage, as we press into Him, read what the Lord said to the Philadelphia church in Revelation 3:10-12. “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth. I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown. He who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.”

Edmund Burke, in “Reflections on the Revolution in France” wrote: “The body of all true religion consists, to be sure, in obedience to the will of the Sovereign of the world, in a confidence in His declarations, and in imitation of His perfections.”

Obedience to the Sovereign will, confidence in His revealed truth, and imitation of His perfections! What is in Jesus? Tribulation! The kingdom rule! And perseverance! Enjoy it as you enjoin yourself to Him!

AS HE IS…SO AM I – SWALLOWED UP IN THE LIFE OF HIS ABIDING LOVE.

John13:1 speaks of the nature and character of our Savior’s love: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, HE LOVED THEM TO THE END.” Unending love! Aren’t you glad?

In the High Priestly Lord’s Prayer found in John 17, our Lord said two things to the Father:

*Verse 18 – “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”

*Verse 26 – “…that the love with which You loved Me may be in them…”

Is that love of the Father being released through your life? Do you know that unending love?

Dorothy Gurney wrote a powerful hymn. It says, two verses only: “O perfect love, all human thought transcending, Lowly we kneel in prayer before Your throne

That theirs may be the love which knows no ending, Whom You forevermore do join in one.

Hear us, O Father, gracious and forgiving, Through Jesus Christ, Your co-eternal Word, Who, with the Holy Ghost, by all things living

Now and to endless ages are adored.”

“AS HE IS…SO AM I,” flooded with the wellspring of abiding love!

“As He IS…SO AM I,” bathed in the beauty of Christ’s eternal love!

“AS HE IS…SO AM I,” filled with an unconditional, unquenchable love!

“AS HE IS…SO AM I,” blessed with the fragrance of the sweet aroma of Calvary’s love!

“AS HE IS…SO AM I,” girded with the greatness of Christ’s sacrificial love!

“AS HE IS…SO AM I,” inspired by the covering love of Christ at the cross that causes me to hide another’s transgressions in the sea of agape forgetfulness!

“AS HE IS…SO AM I,” buoyed by the awareness that His banner over me is love!

In Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain of the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

George Beverly Shea wrote it and sang it: The song says, “There’s the wonder of sunset at evening, the wonders as sunrise I see, But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul is the wonder that God loves me. O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all! Just to think that God loves me!”

Do you need a baptism of heavenly love? Look at Romans 5:8 – “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us.” Receive the Holy Spirit, and see a release of the fullness of Calvary love.

In the closing of the epistle to the Hebrews the writer gives an uplifting word (Hebrews 13:20-21): “Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing TO DO HIS WILL working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

“As He Is…So Am I!”

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE GREAT LOOKING

I Kings 18:41-46 is one of the most exciting, encouraging words in all of scripture. Read it carefully:

“Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the abundance of rain.’ So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look toward the sea.’ So he went up and looked, and said, ‘There is nothing.’ And 7 times he said, ‘Go again.’ Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, ‘There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!’ So he said, ‘Go up, say to Ahab, “prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.” Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah.”

CRISIS! That’s a word we all had rather not hear. It’s a cloud we hope will not settle over us. It’s an event we pray will be written into someone else’s life story. But that is not being real, honest, or facing the truth of human experience.

Crisis is defined as follows: “an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs whose outcome will make a decisive difference for better or for worse.”

That’s a universal experience! It doesn’t matter what part of the globe you live on, you are not exempt from crisis moments. There are moments of conflict, times when confusion wants to prevail and cloud the hearts and minds of God’s people. There are seasons of pain, of frustration, of heartache and of disappoint.

It’s there…we’ll not escape it! And whether we are able to admit it or not, crisis, conflict, and confusion are a part of God’s molding scheme in our spiritual journey. He has ordained it.

There was an experiment conducted at the University of Montreal by Dr. Hans Selvye, professor of Experimental Medicine that related to ‘crisis.’ He took some rats, placed them in a comfortable cage, gave them the best of foods, but they were constantly harassed. He placed a dog outside of the cage that barked and growled and threatened them while they were eating. There was the constant pressure of loud noises produced in a variety of ways. Frequently he dropped heavy objects onto the cage. Soon it was evident that the rats were exhausted although they had not been physically hurt. Crisis had taken its toll!

We all know about crisis, conflicts, and times of confusion. What a crisis when a nation is at war. I was only 5 years of age when on December 7, 1941, I stood beside my grandfather with his ears stuck to the radio learning of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese and then our inevitable entrance into the second World War.

There is the inevitable conflict with people who walk with feet of clay. There is the confusion of rejection, those misunderstandings, and then the tragedies of broken marriages and divided families. There is that crisis of failure, the painful blue flame of human experience when we come to the end of ourselves. There is the cloud of sorrow, disappointment, defeat, hurt, antagonism, or hostility.

Crisis comes! It can be with people. It can be the unfolding of nature’s wrath. It can be disturbances that are demonically motivated. Paul said in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Years ago I read of a Dr. Franklin as he told about a transcribed radio program. He talked of how the beautiful music was the inspiration of the speaker’s thoughts of love and understanding among men. His thoughts were on the theme of “The Brotherhood of Men.” But Dr. Franklin said that he looked on the label on the jacket of the record that read: “Fingerprints will be produced as audible disturbances on this transcription. Please avoid fingerprinting the grooves by handling the record by the outside rim.” Dr. Franklin said it was a parable of life! The loving voice of our heavenly Father, the heavenly harmony, the symphony of life, may be distorted and marred by minor or major human disturbances. OR…they may be used to mold us into the spirit, faith, and life of a man like Elijah.

Elijah knew about crisis, confusion, and conflict. He stood before the Ahabs and Jezebels of this world. In the flow of the above passage in I Kings 18, Elijah had just trusted in God to defeat the pagan prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth, 850 of them in number, on Mount Carmel. He had just heard King Ahab call him names, “He that troubles Israel!” He had just finished that spiritual conflict of heaven’s war on earth calling down fire from the throne of God to consume the sacrifice on the altar. Now he is saying, “The same God who withheld rain for three and a half years can send it to wash away the godless of Israel!”

In that experience, there is A GREAT LOOKING, a heavenly message that we need to heed. Elijah told his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” What a picture! It’s a picture for the world, for the church, for a life…an unfading picture of victory in a time of crisis. It’s a picture that appears blank with only a frame around it. It seems as if there is a complete lack of evidence for the support of Elijah’s prayer and faith.

On the surface, it says “NO HOPE.” On the surface, it is painted black with the feeling of bleak discouragement on the servant’s part. On the surface, the print of faith reads as despair. “Look toward the seas”…illogical words of a seeming illogical conduct in the zenith of overwhelming odds. “There’s nothing,” responds the servant.

But Elijah didn’t panic. Delay to this dependent prophet was not defeat. The failure of an immediate answer was not God’s final word. Faith supported the head of Elijah’s hopes. Perseverance was the name of the song sung when the coronation service was held for one of God’s prophets. Holding on in hope was the life verse of his walk by faith.

WHEN THE CRISIS OF LIFE COMES, IN “THE GREAT LOOKING” TOWARD LIFE’S SEAS AND OCEAN DEPTHS, LOOK TO GOD IN PRAYER.

Look at I Kings 18:42, “…And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; THEN HE BOWED DOWN ON THE GROUND…”

Elijah hadn’t taken that physical position in order to try to ease his pain of conflict by the power of positive positioning. Elijah was praying! This is the Elijah called out by God to be His holy prophet. This is the Elijah who depended upon God to shut out the rain of heaven for three and a half years. This is the Elijah whom God fed by the brooks through the ravens. This is the Elijah who trusted God to fill the widow’s barrel of meal, whose jar never failed. This is the Elijah who prayed for the resuscitation of the life of the widow’s son, and he lived. This is the Elijah who stood before the false prophets on Mount Carmel and challenged them: “How long do you halt between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him.” What else would he do when he stands before this crisis with Ahab? What else but pray?

Arthur John Gossip of Aberdeen, Scotland, was one of the greatest among the greats of Scottish preachers. He lost his wife very suddenly, and the first sermon he preached after her untimely death was entitled, “But When Life Tumbles In, What Then?” Among other things he said, “I cannot comprehend how people in trouble and loss and bereavement can fling away peevishly from the Christian faith. In God’s name, fling to what? Have we not lost enough without losing that too?” And he turned to God in a life of Prayer to find the lift above the cloud of the crisis of sorrow and bereavement.

What do people do when crisis comes? What do people do when the revealing tests come? Look at I Kings 18:42 again, “So Ahab went up to eat and drink…” For some, it’s not that priceless privilege to turn to God; it’s another opportunity to gratify self. It’s not that holy hour to hang on to God; it’s the cowardice compromise of sticking our head in the sand and ignoring it. For some, it’s not that monumental moment to discover the power of God, it’s the tragic temptation to become deeper imbedded in the stronghold of self-pleasure, self-evaluation, and self-will.

But Elijah turned to God! It was a crucial day in the life of his people and his nation. For three and a half years the mocking skies of God’s judgment held no clouds over physically and spiritually impoverished Israel. The spirit of rebellion had ruled God out. The nation had sown the wind of willful rejection of Holy God, and they were reaping the whirlwind. The fiery breath of cloudless skies had burned the fields clean; the hot breath of the sun’s rays had scorched their earth. The dead, parched foliage had rustled and rattled in the swirling winds and scorching heat. Deadly drought had swept the streams, lakes, and ponds barren and dry. The cattle died. Desperation was the song of the nation.

But Elijah knew the power of God. He saw it on Mount Carmel. He saw a whole nation turning back to God. I Kings 18:39 says, “Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, ‘The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”

And now he lifts his heart to God and prays. He doesn’t pray for fire but for water. The same Sovereign God who withheld the rain, who sent the fire, that same Sovereign God can give the rains again!

Oh, today, how we need to know in the midst of our crisis the God who sends gracious rains. How we need to know the God who answers our prayers. How WE need to pray. We need to see as Elijah the God who turns the face of conflict into the face of conquest. We need to see as Elijah the God who turns the face of personal drought into the face of the spiritual showers of blessing.

Like Elijah, we trust God and pray! Our skies may be filled with brazen iniquities. Our surroundings may be like the thunderous storms of cataclysmic proportion. Our day may be turned into the black night of suffering, but in the midst of tears, grief, heartache, pain, seemingly unbearable pressures, we will turn our faces unashamedly and in confident faith to the God of Mount Carmel; we’ll pray!

WHEN THE CRISIS COMES, IN “THE GREAT LOOKING” TOWARD THE SEA WE WILL LEAN AND REST UPON THE ROCK OF FAITH.

Again in I Kings 18:42, Elijah not only “bowed down on the ground” but “he put his face between his knees.” It’s a picture of being totally finished with himself and fully trusting his God alone. That’s “FAITH”!

In Hebrews 11:1 the Word says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…” And in Hebrews 11:19 it says Abraham “…accounted that God was able…”

What is it that we sing? “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.” That song says: “By faith they, like a whirlwind’s breath, swept on o’er every field…the faith by which they conquered death is still our shining shield.” Faith…it’s the anchor of the soul in the storms of life. Faith…it’s the only firm, faithful resting place. Faith…it’s this: “He cannot fail, He must prevail.”

Another favorite hymn says, “Standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail…By the living Word of God, I shall prevail, standing on the promises of God.”

Elijah leaned solidly and assuredly on the “rock of faith!” Let’s look at faith. It’s not feeble fables or cunning devices of man’s imagination. What does faith, true faith, do?

*FAITH LISTENS

I Kings 18:41, “Then Elijah said to Ahab…’there is the sound of abundance of rain…” There are no clouds. There had been no rain for three and a half years. No lightning has been flashing. No bolt of thunder rumbling across the horizon. Not one drop of rain has fallen…BUT WAIT!

The man of faith stopped. The man of faith listened in on the deliberation councils of Sovereign God. The man of faith, before the fact on earth, heard the sound of abundant rain in heaven. The man of faith held on to sovereign facts not seen as yet.

Fear says, not so…Faith says, “I Hear.” Fear says, not so…Faith says, “I hear abundance.” Fear says, not so…Faith says, “I hear the sound of abundance of rain.” Fear says, not so…Faith says, “I told you so” as Ahab’s chariot floats down the side of the mountain.

Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Have you listened for God’s Word for you in your moment of crisis?

*FAITH LOOKS UP

Verse 43, Elijah said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea…” Is it real for you? The hymn says and we sing it:

“My faith looks up to Thee, Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior Divine! Now hear me while I pray…!”

Faith looks up. It looks up into the face of God that doesn’t appear to be there.

Faith says, “Look up…Doubt says, “There’s nothing.”

Faith says, “Look again!” God said through Isaiah (45:22), “Look unto Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else.”

Have you focused? Have you focused your eyes on the faithfulness of God? Have you faithfully focused? Sarah Adams found conflict (or was it providence?) in the illness of her family. Her sister’s ill health forced Sarah to have to give up her own plans of marriage and become the personal, private duty nurse in her own home 24 hours a day. But she focused her faith. She saw her crisis in the light of God’s love and wrote: “Nearer my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! Even though it be a cross that raises me, still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee!”

*FAITH HOLDS ON

Verse 43 says, “Go…seven times.” “There’s nothing.” “Go again.” “There’s nothing.” “Go again.” The sixth time…”Go again. I know that just as certainly as I am standing on Mount Carmel, the clouds are gathering. I know that the windows and doors of heaven have been opened and I have heard the sound of abundance of rain.”

He didn’t sense it. He didn’t feel it. HE FAITHED IT! Then in the first part of verse 44, “Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, ‘There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea…’” Paul said to the church at Corinth (2 Corinthians 4:18), “We look not at the things which are seen, but at things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Verse 45, “The sky became black with clouds and wind, AND THERE WAS A HEAVY RAIN…! There’s a rumble of thunder, a flash of lightning, and the rolling in of rain-filled clouds. Nearer and nearer they came over Elijah and Mount Carmel, as he stands with a smile on his face, the wind blowing his hair and clothes in strong breezes. Thunder cannonades across canyons echoing a shout out from the heart of deep caves, “GOD HAS ANSWERED.”

The skies became veiled in glorious clouds. The sound is furious like the torrent of all the rivers that ever flowed in Israel – oceans of water released.

The cloud is called judgment – and it roars. The cloud called anger faces a pagan king. The cloud is called faithfulness and it drops rain like the Niagara. God is riding on the wing of the storm. God is sounding out the voice of promise. It’s a deafening roar. The mountain becomes a channel as the flood of God’s graciousness flows.

Then the rain stops. The sun shines through. The land has been touched with the freshness of God’s cleansing. Faith holds on because “Joy comes in the morning.”

WHEN THE CRISIS OF LIFE COMES, IN “THE GREAST LOOKING” TOWARD THE SEA, WE’LL LIVE IN AN ATTITUDE OF UNWAVERING CONFIDENCE IN GOD.

Verse 46, “Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah…” Here’s what David said in Psalm 23:4, “…I will fear no evil; for You, O God, are with me…”

To the church at Corinth (2 Corinthians 4:8-9), Paul said, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” Why? Because his hand was in the hand of God.

*PLACE YOUR HAND IN THE HOLY HAND OF GOD!

Isaiah knew crisis. He knew trouble. His dear friend Uzziah had died, and broken-hearted, Isaiah went to the temple. Do you remember? He encountered the living God, and he put his hand, a hand of faith, into the hand of God. And what did he say? “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His Glory.”

*PLACE YOUR HAND IN THE HELPING HAND OF GOD!

Reflect upon the words of this great hymn: “Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune me heart to sing Your grace. Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it, Mount of Your redeeming love…

Here I raise my Ebenezer. Hither by Your help I’m come; And I hope by Your good pleasure safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood.”

George Muller explained often how at times in the history of his God-supplied orphanage, he, his staff, and the orphan children had gone to bed at night with nothing in the home for breakfast the next day, but that they had never gone without a meal. One who listened said, “It looks to me like a hand-to-mouth proposition.” To which Mueller responded, “It is, but it’s God’s hand and our mouths.”

*PLACE YOUR HAND IN THE HOLDING HAND OF GOD!

Jesus said in John 10:27-29, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them to Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.”

It’s time to look up! It’s time to focus that spiritual vision on the abundant faithfulness of God’s provision! It’s time to open your eyes to the rains of God that are “Times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord!” It’s time to “Lean not unto your own understanding, but in all of your ways to acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” It’s time to appropriate out of your heart “the flow of rivers of living water.” It’s time!!

CHAPTER EIGHT

ALL GLORY TO GOD ALONE

Isaac Watts, a famous hymn-writer of by-gone years knew the reality of “All Glory To God Alone.” One of his famous hymns is entitled “O God, Our Help In Ages Past.” It says:

“O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home!

Under the shadow of Your throne, Your saints have dwelt secure; Sufficient is Your arm alone, And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame, From everlasting You are God, To endless years the same.

O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, You be our guide while life shall last, And our eternal home.”

In I Corinthians 4:7 Paul asks an eternally significant question. He asks, “And what do you have that you did not receive?” That is so basic, so fundamental, so foundational, and yet there are multitudes in the “spiritual awakenings”(?) of the last 15-20 years who have become so introverted that they have come to believe that they are where they are by self means, resulting in a self-glory that omits God!

That is not the testimony of either Old Testament or New Testament saints. Never did they consider their victories, spiritual accomplishments, understanding, or their overcoming tenacity to have anything to do with themselves.

David, a great king, said of God, “…my glory and the lifter of my head.” (Psalm 3:3). In Psalm 29:9 he said, “…and in His temple everything says, ‘Glory!’” Then in Psalm 66:2 he said, “Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious.”

Listen to the beloved John in Revelation 19:6-7, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, Almighty reigns! Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him!” And in Revelation 5:13 he wrote: “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”

The writer of Hebrews (3:6) said of Christ: “But Christ was faithful as a Son over His house, whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and THE BOAST OF OUR HOPE firm until the end.” What is “the boast of your hope”?

To the church at Corinth, Paul wrote (2 Corinthians 10:17-18), “But he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord. For not he who commends is approved, but whom the Lord commends.” Then to the church at Rome, Paul wrote (Romans 15:17), “Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God.” Have you found reason for boasting ONLY in things pertaining to God?

Jeremiah the prophet found a wealthy treasure when he heard God speak these words: “Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not a wise man boast in his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts BOAST OF THIS, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

The psalmist wisely said in Psalm 20:7, “Some boast in chariots, and some in horses: But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.” In Psalm 44:8 he said, “In God we have boasted all day long, and we will give thanks to Your name forever.”

Then in Psalm 34:1-3 David erupts like an exploding volcano: “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together”!

Now, after that scriptural foundation, let me introduce the heart of our thoughts from John 3:27 when John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven.” What is His name? Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end! “All Glory To God Alone!”

First, WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD ONLY BECAUSE OF HIS GIFT OF UNVEILING OF REVELATION, KNOWLEDGE, AND UNDERSTANDING ABOUT HIMSELF.

In Romans 3:10-18 Paul explains the reality of the fallen sin nature of men, that there are none who seek after God. Is that a statement of a cynic or the statement of Holy Ghost revealed truth?

Are YOU a seeker after God? If so, why? Listen to Romans 1:19, “…that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them…” The awareness and acknowledgement and discernment of the need of our acceptance of God COMES FROM HIM! It’s His gift!

WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD ONLY BECAUSE OF THE GIFT OF HIS DRAWING POWER. Jesus so graciously spoke to His disciples in John 6:44 when He said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him…”

In John 15:16 our Savior boldly declares, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you…” The God of the universe, the Christ of Calvary’s cross, came to you and drew you to Himself!

Oh, read the psalmist’s hymn of praise and providence: “He sent me from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hate me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.” (Psalm 18:16-19).

Be warmed by Jeremiah’s revelation of the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God for your life as recorded in Jeremiah 31:3, “The Lord has appeared of old to me saying, ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” Have you sensed His drawing power of your heart to Him? He is drawing you, and the cross of Calvary stands forever as a testimony of His everlasting love of your life!

WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD ONLY BECAUSE OF THE GIFT OF HIS TEACHING TO ENLIGHTEN US. In John 6:45 Jesus said, “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” Taught by God! It is not that Scripture contradicts itself when in Ephesians 4:11 the Word tells us of the gift of pastors-teachers. Our Lord graciously allows men to be the channels of His blessing – but He only is the teacher – we are the tools.

John puts it another way when in I John 2:27 he said, “And as for you, the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”

For 25 years I traveled primarily to India, but also to the Philippines, Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, Cambodia, Haiti, Bangladesh. One of the awesome times in the seminars when I’m teaching the pastors is when we come to 2 Timothy 2:7 and I read: “Consider what I say, Timothy, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” Our God is no respecter of persons, and when village pastors learn of God’s faithful promise to give them understanding in everything there is revival, celebration, great joy, and they leave with confidence that God will teach them also.

WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD ONLY BECAUSE OF THE CONVICTING POWER OF HIS HOLY SPIRIT.

The prophet Zechariah said, God speaking through him, “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10).

The process of salvation necessitates the convicting power of the Holy Spirit for the conviction of one’s sin-blotted heart. That is why I am convinced modern Christianity is filled with “cultural Christians” rather than converted, regenerated, second-birthed men and women.

It took thirty-seven and a half years of my life to truly come to that place of “repentance toward God and faith in Christ alone.” I will never forget February, 1974 when my dear friend, Peter Lord, said to me in his church auditorium, “Farrell, I sense your problem is you’ve never repented of your sin. You go in my office, I’ll stay on my knees at the altar here praying for you, but you need to do business with God. I’m praying that the Holy Spirit will show you your heart, convict you of your sin, and bring you through to true confession, brokenness, and a crying out to Him for your salvation.”

I did, he did, the Holy Spirit did, and God did! I tell the pastors across the world, “It’s good for preachers also to be saved, born again, and filled with the Spirit.” I had grown up in the church ( and thank God for it), gone to Bible college and seminary, then pastored for 12 years, but finally broke through to true salvation because of the Holy Spirit and the love of a friend.

Jesus said this in John 16:7,8 – “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” But also in John 15:22,26, Jesus spoke these illuminating words about sin and the Spirit. Look: “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin…But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”

John closed out his epistle in I John 5:20 saying, “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”

WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD ONLY BECAUSE OF THE GIFT OF AN OPENED HEART ENABLED BY HIM TO RESPOND TO TRUTH. One of the awesome times of travel to India was in the early days, about 1983, when the door was opened for me to preach to about 2000 young ladies between the ages of 14 to 20 in a school in southern India in the city of Nagercoil. The Lord had led me to open up Acts 16:14 to these young ladies where the Word tells us about Lydia. “Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.” Under the anointing of God’s Spirit, I saw about 500 young ladies get on their knees and begin to cry out, “God, open my heart to respond to the things spoken by Jesus.” Has your heart been opened? It always has been a matter of the heart with God! He said to Samuel, “Man looks on the outward appearances – God looks at the heart.”

In Ezekial 36, after talking about washing and cleansing (through the blood of the New Covenant), God promised in verse 26, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Oh, but that is not all! Look at what God Opens:

*Psalm 40:6 “My ears You have opened…”

*John 9:30 “…He opened my eyes…”

*Luke 24:45 “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…”

*Ezekial 1:1 “…the heavens were opened, and I saw visions from God.”

*Acts 14:27 “…and how God opened a door of faith to the Gentiles…”

*Zechariah 13:1 “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and impurity…” Which leads us to:

WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD ONLY BECAUSE OF THE FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST JESUS.

Sometime around 1993 or 1994 I was in Nigeria to do a Pastors’ Seminar and be a part of an open-air crusade in Jos, Nigeria, with Bob Phillips. At one of the night crusade meetings they introduced a young man, about 27-28 years of age, to sing. He was tall, about six feet, six inches, and very impressive. He began to sing and was singing the stars down with the 7000-8000 people in the palm of his hand. I turned to Bob Phillips and said, “Wow, we need to find out about this young man.” We did.

They told us that in his early high school years, about the tenth standard, or sophomore year, he was already probably the best basketball player Nigeria had ever produced. Universities from America were already traveling to see him play, drooling over his skills and abilities. They said he was a magician with the basketball, strong inside, strong outside. BUT…he was a womanizer, already heavy into alcohol, and soon into drugs. He became both an alcoholic and a drug addict and ended up on the streets of Lagos a beggar. He was broken and dying.

One day in his room, he rummaged in his pockets and found a little money. He said to himself that if he didn’t get something to eat he was going to die. He went to a nearby restaurant, the waitress brought a menu, he ordered and she left. When she returned she brought a bowl of water and a towel, a local custom of washing your hands at the table, looked at the young man and said, “Young man, the water in this bowl can wash your hands clean, but only the blood of Jesus can wash your heart pure!” Then she turned and walked away. He ate his meal, returned to his bedbug and rat-infested room, fell across his bed and began to cry out, “Jesus, I’ve never heard of You, don’t know who You are, but if You can help me, please come to me;” then fell asleep in a puddle of tears.

At daybreak the next morning, there was a knock at the door. He arose and went to the door, opened it, and saw an elderly white-haired gentleman standing there. The man (or angel!) said, “Young man, do you have a need? Jesus sent me here.” Hurriedly, he led the old man in, sat beside him, and heard the story of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, repented of his sins, gave his heart to Christ, and was instantaneously delivered from alcohol and drugs. Then God gave him a song to sing, even praise to our God, and he’s been singing ever since!

What did Peter say? (I Peter 1:18,19). “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

Jesus Himself “Bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed” (I Peter 2:24).

Then in I Peter 3:18 we read, “For Christ also suffered once for our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” Hallelujah! Give Glory To God!

Then in Hebrews 9:14 the anointed author wrote, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD ONLY BECAUSE OF THE GIFT, NOT OF ‘OUR’ WORDS, BUT OF HIS WORD THAT GIVES LIFE.

To the church at Thessalonica, Paul said, (I Thessalonians 2:13), “And for this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received from us the word of God’s message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” (I Thessalonians 2:13).Jesus is not a liar. He is not a lunatic, but is Lord God, Immanuel, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In John 6:63 Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”

Peter understood it and spoke to the scattered of all ages, “…having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the Word of God which lives and abides forever” (I Peter 1:23). It does what? It lives and abides forever. That is why Jesus, in response to the tempter, said in Matthew 4:4, “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” No wonder the Word is so treasured!

WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD ONLY BECAUSE OF THE GIFT OF REPENTANCE THAT LEADS TO LIFE.

I have basically said already that repentance is missing from too much of American preaching. It’s as if we have developed an American ‘gospel’ that is in opposition to THE GOSPEL that Paul was not ashamed of! In fact, in 2 Corinthians 11:4 Paul said, “For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you may well put up with it.”

To the elders at Ephesus whom Paul called to his side (Acts 20:20-,21), Paul said, [“You know] how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Peter went back up to Jerusalem to explain to the circumcision why he reached out to the “unclean.” In Acts 11:12-18 Peter shared how he was led of the Spirit to go to Cornelius’ house. He preached the Gospel to them and said (v. 15), “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning.” Then in verses 17-18 Peter informed them in Jerusalem, “If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, ‘Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

I know you didn’t miss it! “Then God has also granted (given, bestowed) to the Gentiles REPENTANCE TO LIFE”! Yes, even repentance is a gift of God – not an emotional attitude, mind-set, or fleshly determination to change. It is a gift of God!

Let me remind you of what Paul said to the church at Rome: (Romans 2:4), “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”

Reflect upon 2 Corinthians 7:9-11 as you ask yourself, “Have I truly repented and forsaken my sin?” “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner. What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”

WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD ONLY BECAUSE OF THE RICHNESS OF THE GIFT OF LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.

In 2 Corinthians 8:9 Paul wrote: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” And I am not talking about worldly prosperity even though in God’s Sovereignty He may choose to bless you in that way. But, what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?

Look at true wealth through the grace of God! (I Corinthians 1:30), “But of Him [by God’s doing] you are in Christ Jesus who became for us wisdom from God! – and righteousness [imputed and implanted] and sanctification [set apart for His glory and honor] and redemption [blood-bought]…”

The precious Word of God teaches us three things about the richness of the gift of life from God:

1)It is abundant, John 10:10, “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

2)It is spiritual, Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

3)It is eternal, Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Are you enjoying and basking in your journey of great riches?

WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD ONLY BECAUSE OF THE GIFT OF HIS WORK WITHIN US. I have a little plaque, wooden, in my office that says, “Please be patient with me. God isn’t finished with me yet.”

In Philippians 2:12,13 Paul says, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

Then, in Philippians 3:20,21 Paul wrote: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”

Aren’t you glad? Your God is able even to subdue all things to Himself! Even every part of where you feel there is no hope. Look up – for your redemption draws near!

It does not mean that I don’t have a part. It is why Paul told the church at Colossae, (Colossians 1:29), “To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” I LABOR AND I STRIVE IN ACCORDANCE TO HIS WORKING WITHIN ME!

To the church at Thessalonica Paul put it like this : (I Thessalonians 5:24,23), “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD ONLY BECAUSE OF THE GIFT OF A NEW IDENTITY.

The atheistic George Bernard Shaw said, “Every man is ill at ease until he had found his niche.” I am convinced that when a man has found “his niche” he is in the most dangerous place he has ever been in and will forever remain ill at ease. I am convinced that it is not our niche that eases our spiritual illness but our oneness with God who blesses us with our new identity.

I love and celebrate regularly what Peter said in I Peter 2:9,10, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but now are the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”

I appreciate so much James D. Mallory’s book, “The Kink and I,” subtitled “a psychiatrist’s guide to untwisted living.” The truth is we all have “kinks” our Lord is untwisting, but the great relief comes when you exchange your kinks for your identity as “a new creation,” “ambassadors of Christ,” “sons of God,” “kings (not kinks) and priests.”

I remember my precious friend, Peter Lord, asking someone in the seminar group I was a part of, “How righteous are you?” Then he asked a lady to stand and give an answer. “70%? 90%?40%?” Hesitantly, she finally answered, “I guess, maybe 70%.” “No, dear lady, no; if you are ‘in Christ’ you are 100% righteous because as He is, so are you.” Do you see it, do you understand it? It is exchanging, because of God’s great mercy, your identity as a sinner for your place in the kingdom of God and “sainthood” – those set apart for the glory of God alone. Amen?

Last of all, WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD ONLY BECAUSE OF HIS GIFT OF OVERCOMING POWER. The beloved John said in I John 4:4, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

In chapter 5:4 John said, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.” And didn’t Paul tell us (Ephesians 2:8) that “by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the Gift of God.”

Overcoming power, the overflow of saving faith, is the gift of God. Our overcoming has everything to do with Him. He deserves the glory and honor!

In closing, the psalmist exalted our God in Psalm 24:7-10, “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.”

CHAPTER NINE

THE SELF-STYLED HUMANIST VS. SOVEREIGN GOD

Regardless of the intellectual pride of a self-styled humanist, the words of Sovereign God still ring with eternal truth: (Genesis 6:5,6), “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” And there was the judgment of the Flood.

It wasn’t long after that, that “the whole earth used the same language and the same words.” I don’t believe that only means they simply spoke a common language, but that they all were speaking with the same thoughts, ideas, intents – “we’ll be God unto ourselves, so, come, ‘lets us build FOR OURSELVES’ a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven an ‘let us make for ourselves a name,’ lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:1-4)

They had the same goal – “Let us make a name for ourselves!” When I use the term “self-styled humanist” I’m not talking about the classic humanist who is a student of human affairs, but one who places no value in the Word of God, the Gospel of Christ, or the mission of the church, and is satisfied deceitfully with his-mankind’s-own potential apart from God!

He even has a peace about him – certainly a false peace and not the peace that passes all understanding – but he has measured himself by himself, and others, and is satisfied with what he sees. He has no need of God and promotes the false doctrine of human potential apart from God.

Joseph Alleine wrote “An Alarm To Unconverted Sinners, “Cursed is that peace which is maintained in a way of sin. Two sorts of peace are more to be dreaded than all the troubles in the world; peace with sin, peace in sin.”

In his book “My Utmost For His Highest” Oswald Chambers basically said that humankind wants religion to be amiable. In other words, most people don’t want a message that makes them feel uncomfortable with their sin. He wrote:

“…very few of us have any understanding of the reason why Jesus Christ died. If sympathy is all that human beings need, then the cross of Christ is a farce, there was no need for it. What the world needs is not ‘a little bit of love,’ but a surgical operation.”

And the sad thing is that the church at large in America has bought into a comfortable, convenient, non-condemning ‘gospel’ that does not produce “Life”.

J.I. Packer wrote in an article printed in “Christianity Today,” entitled “Decadence a la mode”: “Though we negate secular humanist doctrine, we live by its value system and suffer its symptoms.” And he was speaking of Christians and churches!

Prior to his death Francis Schaeffer made this observation: “To accommodate to the world spirit about us in our age is the most gross form of worldliness in the proper definition of that word. And unhappily today we must say that in general the evangelical establishment has been accommodating to the form of the world spirit as it finds expression in our day…in the most basic sense, the evangelical establishment has become deeply worldly.”

Let me ask you some questions:

*Is it that man is simply a victim or is the problem that he is a sinner?

*Is it a pat on the back men need or holy conviction?

*Is humanism an acceptable way to godlike, human potential or is rebirth THE absolute necessity?

*If man tries to live like God, whether he believes or not, is that acceptable?

*Is it that man needs acceptance and approval or that he needs to be converted, regenerated, transformed by the Gospel and the power of God?

*Is it self-worth and self-esteem that is the great need of men or is it Jesus?

I want to remind you of the eternal truth of John 14:6 when Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”

To Nicodemus, Jesus said in John 3:7, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again…”

Acts 4:12 is so clear: “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.”

In John 11:25 Jesus proclaimed, “I am the Resurrection and the Life…” But some men love darkness rather than light! There is a choice. There is a crossroad. There is a confrontation with Eternal Truth – and men must decide. The Self-Styled Humanist vs. Sovereign God:

The humanist says, “Release your human potential;” God says, Receive resurrection power.”

The humanist says, “Build your self-esteem and personal value and worth;”

God says, “I crucified it – live by the Life of Another.”

The humanist says, “Increase;” God says, “Decrease.”

The humanist says, “Live by the power of positive thinking, personal motivation, and pride in yourself;” God says, “Live by the power of Sovereign truth, divine strength and confidence in the promises of God.”

The humanist says, “Be strong, live by the grit of self-determination;” God says, “Be weak, live by the greatness of Sovereign leadership and guidance and all-sufficient grace.”

The humanist says, “live by the awareness of self-understanding and the strength of your own personal worth;” God says, “Live by the awareness and access to Calvary’s love and the victory of Christ’s priceless sacrifice.”

The humanist says, “Live by the blood and guts of focus, dream, and visualization to fulfill your dreams;” God says, “Live through the grace and blood of the Lamb that focuses on divine will, heavenly pleasure, and eternal blessings.”

The humanist says, “Live in the liberty and freedom of doing whatever comes naturally;” God says, “Flee youthful lusts and discover true freedom in imputed righteousness, a living faith, a holy love, and abiding peace.”

The humanist says, “Be at peace with yourself, accepting the good and the bad, the light and the dark, and the acceptable and the evil, that’s real life;” God says, “Be at peace with me and accept what I have done to complete you in Christ.”

The humanist says, “Live recklessly in this world savoring every moment of temporal, fleshly indulgence;” God says, “Live redemptively and responsibly in this present, evil world, saving the time for eternal, spiritual benefit and blessing.”

The humanist says, “Exalt yourself;” God says, “I called you through grace and am pleased to reveal My Son in you as you humble yourself and repent.”

The humanist says, Deliver yourself over to ‘life’ and all it has to offer;” God says, “I deliver you over to death for Jesus’ sake that the Life of Jesus may ne manifest in your mortal flesh.”

The humanist says, “Live unrestrained in this present, evil age;” God says, “Follow peace with all men and the sanctification without which no man will see Me.”

The humanist says, “The notion of a God is a study of what is absent, unimportant, or nothing at all;” God says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ But I Am and forever will be.”

The humanist says, “Jesus Christ was only a historical figure who was a good man and died a tragic death;” God says, “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God, Immanuel, Lamb of God, Savior of the world, the one way to Me who was: revealed in the Spirit; beheld by angels; proclaimed among the nations; believed on in the world; taken up in glory.”

The humanist says, “Sit on the throne of your own mind, will, and pleasure, ruling and reigning over yourself for your own pleasure;” God says, “Be seated with Christ in heavenly places at the right hand throne of God. Seeking as He did, not His own mind, will, or pleasure but that of His Father-God.”

The humanist says, “Man’s word is sufficient enough for a profitable existence as he looks to himself;” God says, “Man is sanctified only by means on My Word and prayer to the God who does hear and answer.”

The humanist says, “Religious faith is a numbing drug, the opiate of the people that leaves men senseless;” God says, “By grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God.”

The humanist says, “Make a name for yourself;” God says, “The people whom I formed for Myself will declare My praise.”

The humanist says, “Be proud of self-rule in the kingdom of me, my, mine. I am number one;” God says, “Be broken and no longer a stranger and alien to Me, but fellow citizens with the saints and of my household and My kingdom rule that is forever. And, by the way, Christ Jesus, My Son, is to have preeminence in everything.”

The humanist says, “Be friends of this world;” God says, “Friends of this world become My enemies.”

The humanist says, Man in himself is all one needs;” God says, “Man in himself walks in the delusions of his own mind, is darkened in his understanding, and is excluded from the life of God.”

The humanist says, “Neat self;” God says, “There is the need of a new self, being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.”

The humanist says, “Establish your ground, your place, your importance. You are what life is all about;” God says, “Establish your hearts unblamable in holiness, a poured out drink offering for others, a servant like My Son.”

The humanist says, “Man is the victim not the sinner;” God says, Man is the sinner, victimized by Satan and the powers of darkness and the destructiveness of his own sin nature and indulgent desires for passions unrestrained.”

The humanist says, “Behavioral science is the key in overcoming one’s limitations, tendencies, and struggles;” God says, “It’s the Gospel of My Son that overcomes sin, not some science of the mind.”

The humanist says, “It’s only personality disorders;” God says, “It’s a matter of fallen nature. Man is fallen, depraved, alienated, separated from Christ, having no hope, without God in this world and there’s only one answer – Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.” John Bunyan wrote, “Christ and Christ only can make us capable of enjoying God with life and joy for all eternity.”

The humanist says, “Temptation to evil passions is normal and natural – enjoy it;” God says, “Temptation to evil is destructive and there is a way of escape.”

The humanist says, “Sincerity, sophistication, and soul-sacredness is the key to understanding mankind, not sin;” God says, “Guilty, vile, and helpless thee, Spotless Lamb of God was He. Full atonement, can it be? Hallelujah, what a Savior!”

The humanist says, “The birth of mankind is a picture of innocence, health, and a perfect heart;” God says, “Man’s heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure…Behold, he was brought forth in iniquity and in sin did his mother conceive him.”

The humanist says, “Man’s nature is innocuous (not harmful or injurious);” God says, “Man’s nature is iniquitous.”

The humanist says, Hurting humans are healed when they get a proper view of their own worth and value;” God says, “By the stripes of Jesus they are healed.”

The humanist says, “Man is of great value and worth;” God says, “Man in himself is worthless, unworthy, and useless – but, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, he becomes one of great value and worth – he’s now a son/daughter of God.”

The humanist says, “Affirm, esteem, light up, promote yourself as one of costly importance;” God says, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus.” George Mueller once said, “There was a day when I died, utterly died: died to George Mueller, his opinions, preferences, tastes, and will died to the world, its approval or censure, died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends, since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God.”

The humanist says, “The human spirit is a treasure to behold and hold onto;” God says, “I will give you another Helper that He may be with you forever…that is the Holy Spirit of truth, and you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you…He will glorify Christ through you who are redeemed.”

Paul would have a very difficult time in too many churches today if he stood to say as he did to the church at Corinth, (2 Corinthians 5:14,15), “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”

In verse 17 he continued, “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” Then in verse 21 he said, “God made Him (Christ Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

And because Paul learned the truth, he also learned the greatest reason for life: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

There was an article in one of the newspapers years ago about the death and funeral of baseball’s great Mickey Mantle. It mentioned how Mick had come to know himself before he died and how that knowledge had brought great sorrow. I believe it was Bobby Richardson who led him to Christ on his deathbed. After his commitment to Christ, Mantle asked Roy Clark to sing a song at his funeral entitled, “Yesterday When I Was Young.” The third verse of that song says:

“Yesterday the moon was blue

And every crazy day brought something new to do.

I used me magic age as if it were a wand

And never saw the waste and emptiness beyond.

The game of love I played with arrogance and pride

And every flame I lit too quickly died.

The friends I made all seemed somehow to drift away

And only I am lefty on stage to end the play.

There are so many songs in me that won’t be sung

I feel the bitter taste of tears upon my tongue.

The time has come for me to pay for yesterday

When I was young.”

But then Roy Clark also sang, “Amazing Grace!” By what are you living your life? Amazing grace or abominable grit?

I choose to stand, not with the humanists, but with one like Elizabeth Clephane who wrote:

“Upon that cross of Jesus mine eyes at times can see

The very dying form of One Who suffered there for me;

And from my smitten heart with tears two wonders I confess –The wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness.” What do you confess?

CHAPTER TEN

ON WHAT DO YOU MAJOR IN YOUR PILGRIMAGE?

The title is such a vital question for us all. The walk of a disciple is certainly mental as well as spiritual, and sometimes a believer is overcome by misguided, misplaced thoughts rather than the revelation of abiding truth. In Philippians 1:21 Paul said, “For to me to live is Christ!” Three things I believe Paul amplified for us in this scripture:

*”FOR TO ME…” I believe very strongly in sovereign election. Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, I chose you.” The initiative is the Father’s. In John 6:44 Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” So True! But having been drawn, there IS a personal responsibility to respond. God has commanded, “Repent and believe the Gospel!” Will I, YOU, do that?

In Proverbs 1:24,25 God says, “Because I called and you refused, I have stretched out My hand AND NO ONE REGARDED, BECAUSE YOU DISDAINED ALL MY COUNSEL, and would have none of My reproof.”

God called and some refused. Have you?

Through Jeremiah, God said, “And now, because you have done all these works, and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called, but you did not answer…” (Jeremiah 7:13). Have you?

*”FOR TO ME TO LIVE…” For most, it is a life-long search for life, but always in the wrong places and with the wrong persons. In John 10:10 Jesus proclaimed, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” You will remember that awesome declaration of God to His people in Deuteronomy 30:19,20 – “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

*”FOR TO ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST…” Christ Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, is the Eternal Reality of Heaven’s pre-ordained blessing for fallen man. And without Christ we are lost, we are on the wrong foundation, we are majoring on the minors that sound the chords of ultimate sadness and separation and senselessness from the desires of God for us. Augustine said truthfully forever, “Restless are our souls, O Lord, until we rest in You!”

Is your life a glad symphony or a sad refrain? On what do you major in your life’s pilgrimage? Please, please, examine your heart, your mind, your persuasions as you answer my questions ordained by the Father because of His great love for you!

Do you major on your faults and failures, or on Christ’s strength and redemptive conquests in your behalf? Do you major on your un-acceptance before others, or that you are “accepted in the Beloved?” On your inevitable defeats, or on His eternal victories that always cause you to triumph as you rest in Him?

Do I major on a fear that no one really loves me, or that God proved His love for me in that while I was yet a sinner Christ died for me?

Do I major on my search for personal identity, or do I major on the fact of a true, fulfilling identity of who I am “in Christ”?

Do I major on my sinfulness and the filthy rags of attempt at self-justification, or on my declared redemptive righteousness “in Christ”?

Has my emphasis been on my weaknesses in a debilitating fashion, or do I magnify my weakness so that the power of Christ may rest upon me?

Is my thought life dominated on my oldness in the old sin nature, or on the fact that I am a new creature in Christ and declared by God to be a saint?

Do I major on the cultural and familial curses that want to dominate me, or on the Kingdom of Christ and the faith-filled blessings of that kingdom that liberates me?

Do I major with the psalmist on the sad fact that no man really cares for my soul, or on the glad fact that God has loved me with an everlasting love and drawn me with His lovingkindness?

Do I major on the futility of the fleshliness of the First Adam, or on the finality of the Spirit-Life of the Second Adam?

Am I dominated by what I was before Christ, or on who I am in Christ? On the reigning death of my old sin nature, or the reign of righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ my Lord?

Has my mind been filled with the reality of earthly opposition, that so many are against me, or on the blessed truth that Almighty God is for me?

Do I major on my own personal ineptness in the things of the spirit realm, or that I am more than a conqueror through Him who loved me? Do I major on my feebleness in the human effort of being a witness to my world around me, or on the fullness of divine oneness in the blessing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Do I major on my fears of the war with the powers of darkness, or that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under my feet?

Do I major on my inability and the shortcoming of impacting my world effectively, or on Him who is able to establish me redemptively in my world?

Do I major on my personal poverty in the spirit realm, or that I am already enriched in everything spiritual and eternal in Him?

Has my emphasis been on my earthly learning that never brings me to the knowledge of the truth, or on the benefit of the new blood covenant in Christ where I receive His wisdom and His mind?

Am I dominated by my continual war with temptation, or on the truth that my God made a way of escape for me from it?

Is my mind consumed with the thoughts and feelings of restlessness in my life, or that there is now a rest in Christ, and, yes, a rest that remains for the people of God?

Do I major on what is unsure and fading in my life, or upon the anchor of my soul, that is both sure and steadfast, and which enters into the Presence of God behind the veil?

Do I major on my tendency to wander and draw back, or upon the faith, trust, and reliance that causes me to press in to the saving of my soul?

Do I major on my sorrowful chastenings, or do I look beyond to the yielding of the peaceable fruit of righteousness by which God trains me?

Do I major on all that can be shaken in my life, or do I rest and receive in its fullness the Kingdom of Christ which cannot be shaken?

Do I major on the passion for the praise and honor of men, or am I consumed with the passion for the praise of God alone?

Do I major on the works of the law by which no one is ever justified, or on the deeds of the law written on the tablets of my heart by the finger of God through the blood of Christ?

Do I major on the fallen life of my former self without Christ, or on the redeemed life in Christ who loved me and gave Himself for me?

Do I major on setting aside the grace of God in me and focusing on “grit,” or do I stand in the grace of God and focus on His glory?

Am I consumed with being made perfect by the flesh, or do I major on having been perfected by the Spirit?

Are my thoughts on the weak and beggarly elements of my life that lead again to bondage, or on the joy of the Lord that is my strength and the blessed revelations that lead me to full liberty and freedom?

Is my mind captured by the entanglements of the world, the flesh, and the devil that leads again to bondage, or do I stand fast in the liberty by which Christ made me free?

Am I dominated with the less of my former, unredeemed life, or on the much more of reconciliation, being saved by Christ’s life?

Do I major on what I was without Christ – without strength and ungodly, or on the revelational, “rhema” truth that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and by His grace be transformed to the kingdom of the godly?

Do I major on personal condemnation incited by the accuser of the brethren, or on powerful confidence inspired by the affirmer and advocate of the elect?

Do I major on the power of sin in the old man, or on the truth of power over sin because I know I died with Christ at the cross, my old body of sin died with Christ, and that now sin is no longer my master but Jesus rules and reigns in me?

Do I major on the law of sin and death, or on the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus who made me free from the law of sin and death?

Do I live with the emphasis being the carnal mind that is enmity against God, or on the leadership of the Spirit that is life and peace?

Am I consumed with the program of “of me,” “through me,” “for me,” or upon the ministry “of Him,” “through Him,” and “to Him” to whom be glory forever and ever?

Are my thoughts on making constant provision for the flesh to fulfill its best, or do I put on the Lord Jesus Christ?

Is my mind on the kingdom of food and drink, or on the Kingdom of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost?

Do I major on the emptying of my life of faith of all confidence or assurance, or on the God of hope who fills me with all joy and peace in believing that I may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit?

Do I major on my sadness and sorrows, or on the provision of Holy God that I can live before others with joy in the will of God and may be refreshed and renewed with them as I walk by faith?

Do I major on my earthly, fleshly house that is daily dying, or on the eternal temple of God which is my body where the Holy Spirit dwells?

Do I major on the kingdom that is word only, or on the Kingdom that is of God, filled with Holy Ghost supernatural power from on high?

Do I major on the mindful, discouraging picture of what you were, or on the truth that you’ve been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God?

Do I major on the constant attempts of the stealing, thievery of your time, or on the redemption of your time and the revelation of truth that you may serve the Lord without distraction? The Christ-life is not a compartment but the total sum of all you are and do!

Do I major on the sounding brass and clanging cymbals, or on the greatness of that which abides – FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE?

Is my mind on the fact that I have many adversaries as a disciple of Christ, or on the fact that through it all God has opened a great and effective door for me?

Do I major on that which was buried with Christ – and it stinks – or on the fact that through the new birth you are of God and by His grace have become the fragrance of Christ?

Is my emphasis on the letter that kills, or on the Spirit that gives life? On the ministry of condemnation, or the ministration of righteousness (IMPUTED, IMPARTED, IMPLANTED) that abounds in glory?

Is my mind on the veiled face of my old, unrepentant heart, or on my un veiled face by the grace of God that continually transforms me into the same image from glory to glory?

Are my thoughts on despair because heaven’s treasures are in an earthen vessel not discerning it’s God’s design so the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us?

Do I major on the fact that I’ve lost heart because the outward man is perishing, or on the glorious fact that the inward man is renewed day by day?

Do I major on selfish living for the satisfaction of SELF, or on living no longer for yourself but for Him who died and rose again?

Are you yielded to the domination of the old man, or on the discipline of the new creation miracle of God?

Do I major on the restrictions of my affections, or on the marvelous truth that the love of God has been poured out in my heart by the Holy Spirit who was given to me?

Do I major on the reality of trouble on every side, that without are conflicts and within are fears, or on the reality that nevertheless God comforts the downcast?

Do I major on the poverty of my personal soul life, or on the grace of the Lord Jesus who for my sake became poor, that I through His poverty might be made rich?

Do I major on the emptiness and void of my former life without Christ, or that in Christ by the grace of God I always have all sufficiency in all things to every good work?

Do I major on measuring myself by myself or comparing myself among others, or on the Holy Blessed Gospel that “as He is, so am I in this world”?

Do I major on the thorns that pierce my life, or on the grace that is sufficient to see me through?

Do I major on the futility of the former self with all its deeds of fleshliness, or on the fruit of the Spirit?

Is my mind on my doubts and uncertainties, or on the fact that, having believed, trusted, rested in, I’ve been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise?

Are my thoughts on those accusations of the powers of darkness o0f my former emptiness, or on the truth of Jesus, the fullness of Him who fills all in all?

Do I major on the fall-out of having been a child of wrath, or on the fill-up of the truth that I’m a son or daughter of God now by grace through faith?

Do I major on my perplexities, conflicts, and anxieties, or on Him who is my peace?

Do I major on the heartache of living in a loveless world, or on the joy of knowing the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge?

Do I major on my own personal ineptness in my spiritual journey, or on God who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all I ask or think?

Do I major on my sadness for no greater progress in my spiritual maturity, or on the confidence that He who began the good work in me will complete it until the day of Christ?

Do I major on the failures of the past, or on forgetting the things which are behind and looking forward to those things which are before you, pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus?

Do I major on the temporariness of my earthly home, or on the blessed truth that my citizenship is in heaven?

Is my mind on all the sad events of my life and maybe even the multiple sorrows, or do I rejoice in the Lord always?

Am I anxious always about everything, or in everything do I pray to God and find the peace that passes all understanding?

Are my thoughts on the kingdom and powers of darkness around me, or on the holy truth that God has translated me out of that kingdom into the Kingdom of the Son of His love?

Is my life emphasis on my reaching earthly stardom for earthly glory, or on the emancipation of my soul and spirit as I discover Christ only in me as the Hope of Glory?

Do I major on the shadows of former things from the past, even in the historic events of scripture yesterday, or on the substance of Christ?

Do I major on the investment of earthly attractions, or on setting my mind on the things above?

Do I major on my inability to speak the Gospel like Moses and Jeremiah both did, or on the revelation I’ve been approved by God and entrusted with the Gospel to speak its claims – not as pleasing men but God?

Do I major on the establishment of my place in this world, or that God desires to establish my heart blameless in holiness before Him?

Do I major on my short-comings, or on the gracious fact that God counted me worthy in His Kingdom?

Do I major on my unworthiness of Heavenly Kingdom Life, or that God from the beginning chose me for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and my belief in the truth?Has my emphasis been on the reality of having made shipwreck of my faith at some point, or on the rescue of God like the restoration of Peter?

Have I majored on the mystery of iniquity, or on the mystery of godliness?

Is my mind on the earthly opposition to the Gospel that sometimes makes me feel ashamed of the testimony of our Lord (The Gospel is an offense; it does bring reproach!), or do I major on the glorious truth that He has saved me and called me with a holy calling, not according to my works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given us before time began.?

Are my thoughts on what I don’t know about the things of God, or on what I do know – knowing Whom I believed and how I was persuaded that He is able to keep what I’ve committed against that day?

Have I majored on the discouragement of having been a vessel of dishonor, or on the promise that he who cleanses himself will be a vessel of honor, sanctified and useful for the Master and prepared for every good work?

Do I major on the forsaking of friends and family because of my faith, or on the glorious truth that the Lord stands with me, strengthens me, and delivers me from every evil work, preserving me for His heavenly Kingdom?

Do I major on earthly blessings alone in this present age, or am I majoring on looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ?

Do I major on the hopelessness of my flesh (my old sin nature), or on the hopefulness in Christ that is an anchor to my soul, both sure and steadfast, and which does enter the veil of God’s Holy Presence?

Do I major on the prayerlessness of men in my behalf, or on pure and undefiled religion before God the Father?

Do I major on the aftermath of my old sin nature, on the fallout, on the burial clothes, from my death in trespasses and sins, or on the truth that I have been a partaker of the divine nature?

Do I major on the disappointments of lost battles in the spiritual war, or on the truth that I am of God, I have overcome, because greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world? Do I major on the fact that the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one, or that I am of God and have overcome the dragon through the blood of the Lamb, through the word of my own testimony, and because I truly don’t love my own life, even unto death?

Do I major on my mis-steps, or on Him who is able to keep me from stumbling and to present me faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy?

Now…I don’t fully know what all this is about, why the Lord poured these questions into me. I was reading Revelation 3 where the Lord spoke to the pastor or messenger at Sardis and in verse 2 Jesus said: “Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.” And I know in one sense He is saying, “You’ve not been mature in your understanding of who you are IN CHRIST!”

Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

Out of the passion of his soul for the church at Rome, Paul wrote: (Romans 12:2), “And do not be conformed to this world but be being transformed – BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND – that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Through Isaiah the prophet (Isaiah 55), God challenged His people with “higher ways and higher thoughts.” Then He blessed them with the truth that His Word would go forth from His mouth, not returning void, but accomplishing what He pleased, prospering in the thing for which He sent it!

And because His people hear it, receive it, and walk in it: “You shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the fields shall clap their hands!”

Oh, listen to Peter (I Peter 2:9,10), “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy!”

Have YOU obtained mercy? Are you the people of God? Are you His own special people? Are you a holy nation? Are you a royal priesthood? Are you the chosen race?

Listen carefully – I’m not asking you to take the name of the Lord your God in vain. But I am asking you to take His name in victory!

The word says to “confess”! That means to “agree” – to say the same thing as! A very dear and precious brother,, now departed to His heavenly home, used to lead many of us in that valid and victorious confession. Join me. Say it out loud for all to hear – even the angels of heaven and the powers of darkness. Be bold:

I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! I am blessed with all spiritual blessings. I am made alive together with Christ. My nature is divine. As Jesus Christ is in this world, so am I. I am seated with Christ in heavenly places. I am born again by the Word of God. I am kept by the power of God. I am redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, my sins were nailed to the cross. I am complete in Christ Jesus lacking nothing. I am sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. God is my heavenly Father. Jesus Christ is my Lord. I am a new creation of His love. I have love, joy, peace, meekness, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Greater is the Lord Jesus in me than he who is in the world. I overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my own testimony. I love not my life even unto death. I always triumph in Christ Jesus, my weapons are mighty in God to the pulling down of strongholds. I am more than conqueror through Christ my Lord. I take the dominion and authority given to me. I rule and reign in Jesus’ name because Jesus Christ is my Lord and lives within me. I am no longer an alien nor a stranger, but God’s household and a habitation of God through the Spirit. I am a saint by His grace set apart for His glory and honor. I take authority over all the power of the enemy. I renounce all the ways of darkness and demonic powers, both in me and my family. I rebuke all sicknesses, diseases, and curses in the name, power, blood, and authority of Jesus Christ. I tear down every stronghold in my life to the glory of Jesus Christ. I bring every thought captive, in my mind, to the obedience of Jesus and the Word of God. I have the mind of Christ. Jesus is my wisdom, righteousness, redemption, and sanctification. Mighty God works through me. He confirms His Word and signs follow. I always triumph in Christ Jesus. I am delivered from every evil work and preserved by His grace for His Heavenly Kingdom! AMEN? SO BE IT, LORD!!

Our church fellowship has sang the last few Sundays a song by Big Daddy Weave entitled “Redeemed.” It says: “Seems like all I could see was the struggle, Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past, Bound up in shackles of all my failures, Wondering how long is this gonna last. Then You look at this prisoner and say to me, stop fighting a fight it’s already been won…All my life I have been called unworthy, Named by the voice of my shame and regret, But when I hear You whisper, child, lift up your head, I remember, oh God, You’re not done with me yet…I am redeemed, You set me free, So I’ll shake off these heavy chains, Wipe away every stain, yeah, I’m not who I used to be.” AMEN? AMEN!

CHAPTER ELEVEN

NO LONGER! A PROPHETIC WORD FOR A PURSUING PEOPLE

Have you ever said it at some point in your pilgrimage: “When is this going to stop? Is there an end to this trial? Is there a reprieve from the bread of adversity and the water of affliction? Is there a word of hope for the emptiness I feel or for the vainness I’ve experienced in this fleshly walk?”

What if you heard (and received) the vibrating words of eternal truth: NO LONGER, NEVER AGAIN, IT’S OVER, IT IS FINISHED!

Do you realize how the book of Revelation ends? Listen: Revelation 21:1, “no longer any sea,” or separation! Do you remember Paul’s words to the church at Corinth? (I Corinthians 13:12), “Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face…” Revelation 21:4 says, “…No longer any death, sorrow, crying, pain; for the former things have passed away.” Words of tremendous encouragement and hope, but they relate to our futures! Revelation 22:3, “no longer, any curse…” But for now multitudes live under the curse; some like Job, even without a cause. Revelation 22:5, “no longer, any night…” But for now there are dark seasons of the soul and even dark sacred nights!

And you ask, “But is there a Word for now? Is there a ‘no longer’ for this day and this hour and for my soul upon which I can build my life in faith, confidence, and with much assurance?” I’m so glad to say, “There is!” Receive it, rejoice in it, stand upon it, celebrate it as you see it for yourself!

FIRST, “NO LONGER” DOES THERE HAVE TO BE A MEANINGLESS, UNFULFILLING EXISTENCE, NO LONGER A NAME WITH A HOLLOW RING, NO LONGER A CONSUMING PASSION FOR THE TEMPORAL, BUT A CONSUMING PASSION FOR WHAT GOD HAS IN STORE FOR US:

Come to Genesis 17:1-5 and see the blessings you can walk in as a child of faith, a descendant of Abraham, and an heir. Galatians 3:29 tells us, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” And Genesis 17?

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and multiply you exceedingly.’ Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: ‘As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.’” What is it saying to me? Notice:

I have an appointment with God. HE HAS SOUGHT ME OUT!

God has called me by name. “I called…”

God has given me a promise. “All the promises of God in Christ are ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen’.”

God took my name and wrapped it in the love, authority, and grace of His own name! “Farrell Fisher – Son of God!”

Do you remember Saul’s words to Jesus on the Damascus Road? Acts 26:15-16 says, “Who are you, Lord?” Then Jesus said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But arise, and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose…” And our God is no respecter of persons!

You ask, “God has appeared to me?” Yes; He’s appeared to you in the authority of the Living, Life-giving, eternal Holy Scriptures! He’s appeared to you through the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Christ! He’s appeared to you through the anointed Gospel message of a preacher’s sermon or a martyr’s witness! He’s appeared to you through the passionate, intercessory prayers of loving parents! He’s appeared to you through the faithful witness, walk, and ways of a Christ-like friend!

“God has called me? He’s called me by name?” It may have been the tender, soft tap on the shoulder. It may have been a strong tug in the heart. It may have been that “mulish” 2×4 between the eyes! It may have been a Holy Ghost anointing in the fire of a burning bush! Exodus 3:4 says, “So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’”

I remind you of what Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him…”

“God has given me a promise?” 2 Peter 1:2-4 says, “grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

“God took my name and wrapped it in His?” Peter talked about the “newborn babes in Christ” and said of them, (I Peter 2:9-10): “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have mercy.”

I’m no longer controlled by a meaningless, unfulfilled existence; I’m a servant of God. I no longer confess a name with a hollow ring; I’ a son, daughter of God. I’m no longer captured by the spirit of this world; I have an eternal mission in partnership with God!

ALSO, “NO LONGER” DO WE LIVE SALVING OUR CONSCIENCES WITH VAIN SUBSTITUTIONS, BUT WE’VE COME INTO THE FULL AWARENESS AND FULL ASSURANCE THROUGH OUR VICTORIOUS SUBSTITUTE, JESUS CHRIST. The New American Standard version of Leviticus 17:7 says, “And they shall NO LONGER sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they played the harlot.”

Did you hear that word? Sacrifices, sacrifices to goat demons, spiritual harlotry! It’s the “golden calf” mentality of even modern-day American spirituality; any old or new calf will do as long as you’re sincere. The end justifies the means! So they bow before the trees, bow before their bank accounts, bow before their sex and drugs, bow before the god of self-will worshipping their “rights”, bow before the false gods of men’s own makings, bow before and celeb rate their church’s advance at the high price of abandonment of the Gospel on which Paul was not ashamed, forfeiting “repentance toward God and faith in Christ alone” for a “feel-good” philosophy that has nothing to do with the proclamation of Christ’s Gospel of “demands” to true discipleship! (Read carefully Luke 14:25-35!!)

I Kings 14:25-27 tells us of the time period of King Rehoboam and the tragedy of vain substitutions, “It happened that in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shields that Solomon had made. Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house.”

Do you realize how many people like Rehoboam come to a place where “gold” no longer matters; they can get by with “brass”. Consider it!

2 Kings 18:1-7 is just as powerful with its message for us today. Hezekiah had begun his reign at 25 years of age. The Word says in verse 3, “And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.” Please, please notice verse 4 and the first part of verse 5: “He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden images, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it “Nehushtan” (meaning “just a bronze thing”)…He trusted in the Lord God of Israel.”

What have you put your trust in? “Bronze things” or the blessed truth of the Indwelling Christ?

What is it for you? Vain substitutions or the Victorious Savior?

What does your life of “faith” reveal? Spiritual harlotry or spiritual Health?

Where’s your faith placed? Your sacrifices to ‘goat demons’ or in the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God?

I Peter 1:17-21 says: “And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

“NO LONGER” DO WE LIVE WITH THE SADNESS OF UNFULFILLED DESIRES AND UNANSWERED PRAYERS.

In I Samuel, Hannah, that godly wife and devoted servant of God, longed for a child. She faithfully year by year went up to the house of the Lord and cried out unto God. She was so passionate, in such bitterness of soul, praying and weeping in anguish, that Eli the priest thought she was drunk! But he learned differently; she was drunk in the Spirit!

Look at I Samuel 1:15-18: “But Hannah answered and said, ‘No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.’ Then Eli answered and said, ‘Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.’ And she said, ‘Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.’ So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.”

In Jeremiah 33:3 God has promised, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

What did Jesus promise? John 15:17, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.”

God longs for a praying heart and has assured us, Psalm 91:15, “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer…” In fact, in Isaiah 65:24, God says, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”

Moses cried to the Lord because of a thirsty, murmuring people – and God showed him a tree that transforms the bitter to the sweet!

Gideon called out to God once more for dry fleece and wet ground and the Bible says, “God did so that night.”

We just read of Hanna who prayed for a child and God heard her petition.

Elijah stood on Mt. Carmel (I Kings 18:37). “Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back again…Then the fire of the Lord fell…! How we need that fire today!

The angel said to Zacharias, Luke 1:13, “Fear not, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son…”Acts 4:31 says, “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness.” No longer unfulfilled desires and unanswered prayers! But also…..

“NO LONGER” WILL A DEATHLY SPIRIT HOVER OVER YOU AND NO LONGER WILL YOU EXPERIENCE A BARREN, UNFRUITFUL LIFE.

What a powerful, life-changing, word of faith and victory is found in 2 Kings 2:19-21! It says, “Then the men of the city said to Elisha, ‘Please notice, the situation of the city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren.’ And he said, ‘Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.’ So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, ‘Thus says the Lord, I have healed this water, from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’”

Do you remember Job in the height of his personal and family distress? His wife had said to him, “Do you still hold on to your integrity? Curse God and die.” In Job 14:14 he asks, “If a man dies, shall he live again?”

Do you realize how many people fight the mental wars in the situations of their lives? “…The water is bad, and the ground barren…”

Do you realize how many people fight with the mind games in the situations of their marriage and family shortcomings? “…The water is bad, and the ground barren…”

Do you realize how many people fight intellectually with doubts and fears because of the sad situations they’ve settled into? “…The water is bad, and the ground barren…”

WELL, IT’S OVER!! The Salt of God’s faithful Word is being poured into your situation!

It’s over! The Salt of living promises is being poured into your circumstances!

It’s over! The Salt of healing grace is being poured onto the open wounds of your deathliness and barrenness! “By His stripes you are being healed! No more death! No more barrenness!

I’ll never forget a Sunday morning in our fellowship in Belton, Texas, about 18 years ago. I had preached the message, was ready to dismiss the service, but God moved on my heart with ‘a word of knowledge.’ I said, “I don’t know exactly why I am saying this this morning since our fellowship is blessed abundantly with the spirit of fertility, but if there is anyone who hasn’t been able to conceive and you want a baby, God says I’m to pray for you right now.” And a young married lady with her mother had decided to come to her mother’s church this particular Sunday. She began to cry openly and said, “My husband and I have tried for a baby for seven years unsuccessfully.” We surrounded her, laid hands on her, and prayed for God to open her womb. In less than two months, we received the news that she was pregnant, and later she came with her baby son and we dedicated him to the Lord! No more barrenness! No more death!

My next door neighbor in Belton, Texas, was Doug Wood, former Baptist pastor and counselor. Doug was truly a modern-day Job. When he was in high school in Dumas, Texas, he had broken both of his ankles and was in casts. Just two months before his family moved into a brand new home. They were not Christians (in fact, his stepfather was very hostile to anything that had to do with Christianity). Earlier, when he was 12 years of age, he had turned on the television, flipped to a channel, and saw a man laying hands on another man, saying, “Jesus loves you and wants you well.” But his stepfather came in and angrily turned off the television with the words, “Never allow that stuff on my television.” Two months in his new home, suddenly there was a gas explosion, then another, then another. Doug shared that he watched as parts of him blew away or burned off. He was burned so badly that they told his parents they would not move him to the burn unit because he wouldn’t live through the night. He didn’t know Jesus at all, but he shared that he knew Jesus was with him. He lived, and two years later came to salvation in Christ. He ended up with approximately 100 skin, nerve, muscle, and bone graft operations. The medications that followed over the years impacted him in odd ways, sometimes paralysis, and another time produced tumors in his chest to the point he had to have a double mastectomy!

Twenty years later, after coming home from a hospital confinement that had lasted about three months, his neighbor who had just purchased a new motor home said, “Doug, I want to drive you to your next speaking engagement.” It was a blizzard. The man turned the motor home over, and just about every rib in Doug’s body was broken or crushed. It was about a year and a half recovery time!

On another occasion, he was approached by the CIA or FBI or both and asked to join a secret unit of deliverance ministers that traveled the world setting armed forces free from the bondage to the powers of darkness. He told them he needed to pray although in his heart he felt this was where the Lord was leading. The next morning as he arose with the commitment in his heart to accept the offer, the Lord spoke to him. “The powers of darkness will try to kill you today, but you will survive.” Hours later, he was completely paralyzed and remained that way for one full year. On the day the paralysis struck, he died twice and had to be revived.

I was his neighbor for over eight years. I watched him battle horrible migraines. On one occasion after returning home from a vacation, Sue and I both felt I should check on Doug. And as I walked through my garage toward his house, the Lord said, “This is not physical, it’s demonic.” When I knocked on the door, I waited, then Doug opened it having crawled to the door. And he said, “Oh, I’m so glad to see you. The Lord just said this migraine is demonic and not physical and you’re to cast it off me.” I did as God instructed and God did as He is able!

August 1998, Doug, as chaplain for the Bell County Sheriff’s Department, received a call because of the drowning of a soldier at Lake Belton. He hurried in his Mazda pickup toward the lake, but as he was going through a green traffic light, a lady driving a Suburban and drinking, pulled out in front of Doug. He hit her very hard and after his truck stopped he ended up on the pavement with his sternum fractured and every rib on one side crushed into pieces. His knee was injured. His elbow was injured. He was placed in intensive care. On Sunday after church, I was on my way to visit him in the hospital. That Sunday morning I had preached “No Longer” in the church fellowship I helped pastor when I was in the States. The Lord said, “That message this morning was for Doug Wood, and when you see him, tell him I am sovereign and NO LONGER will the death spirit hover over him. I appoint his time of death – not the powers of darkness.” And when I saw him, I told him, we cried, and then I prayed that covering of grace over his life.

Six weeks later, Doug was on his way to town. He was stopped at a stop sign in heavy rain. A teenager driving a pickup truck too fast in the rain tried to turn the corner where Doug was sitting full speed and slid into him, totaling his wife’s car, but for Doug? Not a scratch!

I would be amiss not to tell you that that fire Doug was burned so badly in?

Lived in the new home two months? His step-father and mother set it on fire for insurance not knowing Doug hadn’t gone to school that day and stayed home. He found this out shortly before Sue and I had to move to Bedford, Texas. His mother confessed to him, asking his forgiveness after 40 years (?). No longer! Nehemiah 2:17-18 says: “Then I said to them, ‘You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.’ And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also spoke of the king’s words that he had spoken to me.”

Through the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 65:17-19), God says, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.”

Do you hear what God is saying to you? “You may have experienced seven years of famine, but now, get ready, for there are seven years of rich prosperity coming.” NO LONGER! “You may have experienced seven years of ordinariness in your life, but now, on the authority of My Word, get ready, for there are seven years of extraordinary works of divine grace and mercy coming your way.” No Longer! “You’ve known the chewing, swarming, crawling, consuming locust, but I say, ‘I will restore to you the years the locust has eaten; you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God who has dealt wondrously with you today!” No longer!

Absorb in your heart your confidence in God as you read Zephaniah 3:14-17. It’s for you! “Sin, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall see disaster no more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: ‘Do not fear; Zion, let your hands not be weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.’”

“NO LONGER” WILL YOU BE LOOKED UPON AS ONE FORSAKEN OR AS ONE LEFT DESOLATE, BUT NOW YOU’RE KNOWN AS ONE DEEPLY LOVED AND FOREVER “MARRIED”.

Come with me to Isaiah 62:4-12. Read it all carefully, but notice specifically, “You shall no longer be termed ‘forsaken,’ nor shall your land any more be termed ‘desolate.’” And then verse 12 says, “And they shall call them the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called “sought out,” a city not forsaken.” Hallelujah!

Do you remember the heart-wrenching words of the man in Psalm 142:4? “No man cared for my soul!” It’s the ego battles! It’s the frontlines of war as to one’s identity, worth, or value. Do you realize that around you are people who are saying, “I wish I had never been born”?

How many people do you know who’ve turned inward on themselves and with much hostility have lived under the cloud of self-condemnation? They’ve lived controlled by mental and emotional aberrations.

Oh, the sad number of those who live with feelings of worthlessness, so they build prison walls thick and strong around them to isolate themselves against the risk of being loved.

I want you to look at several verses that will regenerate, revolutionize or revive your life and lost hope about yourself. Take not!

Psalm 40:17, “I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me…!” YOU are on the mind and heart of God. Put your name by that verse!

Psalm 56:9, “When I cry out to you, then my enemies will turn back; this I know, because God is for me!” Put your name here!

In Ephesians 1:3-6 the apostle Paul says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which HE MADE US ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED!” Did you see it? Accepted in the Beloved! Put YOUR name there!

In Colossians 2:9-10 we read, “For in Him (Christ Jesus) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” Put your name THERE! Paul says, “Complete!” Lenski in his book on Colossians says, “The periphrastic perfect has the strongest present connotation: ‘You have been made full, are so now, and continue so.’ The passage implies that God made you complete ‘in connection with Christ.’”

To the person who has been dominated by feelings ‘nobody cares,’ what does it matter when you know “God cares!” Deuteronomy 32:9-12 says, “For the Lord’s portion is His people…He found [Farrell Fisher] in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled [Farrell Fisher], He instructed [Farrell Fisher], He kept [Farrell Fisher] as the apple of His eye…as an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreads out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings…so the Lord alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him.” Hallelujah! PUT YOUR NAME THERE!

I Peter 5:7 says, “cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” Listen:

*The world may forsake you, but God has found you!

*The family may reject you, but God receives you!

*The friends may abandon you, but God has adopted you! God cares!

“NO LONGER” WILL YOU BE GOVERNED BY FEAR, BUT GRACED AND GALVINIZED BY A LIVING FAITH.

Hear it, O fearful one, afraid of your own shadow! Jeremiah 23:4 says, “I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall “no longer fear, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord!

In the mid-1960’s I was pastoring in Tucson, Arizona. The music leader at our church was the herdsman for the University of Arizona Experimental Farm. My, how he loved his animals! One night Sue and I went over for a visit but Carnie was not home. He was out in the barn with a gun to protect his prize sheep from the coyotes. Dawn, his wife, said, “He’ll stay out there as many nights as it takes to defend his sheep.” Can I say, “A greater than Carnie is here for you”? It’s Mighty God, your Defender, and you don’t have to be afraid!

In Genesis 15:1 we read, “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I AM YOUR SHIELD, your exceedingly great reward.’”

Do you remember King David’s testimony? In Psalm 27:1 he said, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

God says: “The fear of failure is over!”

God says: “The fear of earthly or demonic foes is over!”

God says: “The fear of rejection or aloneness is over!”

God says: “The fear of death is over!”

Lidie H. Edmunds wrote the words to the great old hymn, “My Faith Has Found A Resting Place.” Read it faithfully:

“My faith has found a resting place, not in device or creed; I trust the Ever-living One, His wounds for me shall plead…

Enough for me that Jesus saves, this ends my fear and doubt; a sinful soul I come to Him, he’ll never cast me out…

I need no other argument, I need no other plea; It is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me.”

“NO LONGER” WILL YOU BE CONFUSED AND SIDE-TRACKED BY VAIN VISIONS AND FLATTERING DIVINATIONS, BUT CEMENTED IN SOUND DOCTRINES AND AFFIRMING TRUTHS.

In Ezekial 12:23-24 the word of the Lord enlightens and encourages us, saying, “The days draw near as well as the fulfillment of every vision…For there will NO LONGER be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel.”

Paul challenged the church at Galatia (Galatians 3:1), “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?”

The Amplified Version says it like this, “O, you poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians! Who has fascinated or bewitched or cast a spell over you…?” No, that’s not God’s desire for you!

In Ephesians 4:14-15, Paul said, “That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ.”

Our loving Father is saying, “No longer do you have to be subjects to false prophets, false teachers, false doctrines, false visions. It’s over!”

How? Hunger and thirst after righteousness and you shall be filled!

How? 2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved of God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

How? Psalm 119:72, because, “The law of God’s mouth is better to me than thousands of shekels of gold and silver.” How? Ephesians 6:14, because, “I’ve stood and girded my waist with TRUTH (not error), with TRUTH (not a lying spirit), with TRUTH (Not a deceitful prophet!). (Study Jeremiah 23:16-18, 25-30, 4:3-7, and also 2 Timothy 1:12-14, 2:2,7, 14-19, please.).

“NO LONGER” WILL YOU BE CALLED SLAVES BUT FRIENDS OF GOD. In the Amplified Version, John 15:15 says, “I do not call you slaves any longer, for the slave does not know what his master is doing or working out. But I have called you My friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from My Father – I have revealed to you everything that I have learned from Him.”

In James 2:23 it says of Abraham (And potentially of you), “And the scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God.” Does God just have a few special friends? Remember, God is no respecter of persons. He desires that you be His friend!

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “We force no doors in friendship (Can I say, neither does God!), but like the Christ in Revelation, we stand reverently at the door without, to knock. And only if the door be opened from within, may we welcome in to sup with our friend and he with us. The glory of Friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with friendship.”

I Thessalonians 2:4 says, “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel…” In 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 Paul says, “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

LAST OF ALL, “NO LONGER” ARE YOU A SLAVE TO SIN BUT A SERVANT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Sometimes I fear and tremble with the realization that too many “teachers” are “dumbing discipleship downward” and lowering the standard of our high and holy calling. I tremble when I hear someone say, “I’m just an old sinner saved by grace.” I want to shout it: “We’re not sinners; if we’re saved by grace, we’re saints!”

Look with me prayerfully at Romans 6:6-9, 12, 14, 17-18, 22:

Romans 6:6-9, “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we “no longer” be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.”

Romans 6:12 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”

Romans 6:14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

Romans 6:17-18, “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

Romans 6:22, “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”

To the church at Corinth (2 Corinthians 5:15), Paul wrote: “And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”John, the beloved disciple, also held high the bar of true discipleship when he wrote in I John 3:4-10, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.”

YOU CAN BE FREE OF SLAVERY TO SIN – TRUST THE WORD!

YOU CAN BE FREE FROM THE PATTERN OF SIN – OBEY THE WORD! “TRUST AND OBEY!”

Charles Spurgeon, in his book, “The Soul Winner,” has written (p.31): “We are not to hold up a modified holiness before our people and say, ‘You will be all right if you reach that standard’. The Scripture says, ‘He that commits sin is of the devil (I John 3:8).’ Abiding under the power of any known sin is a mark of our being the servants of sin, for ‘his servants you are to whom you obey (Romans 6:16)’…Idle are the boasts of a man who harbors within himself the love of any transgression. He may feel what he likes and believe what he likes, but he is still in the gall of bitterness and the bonds of iniquity while a single sin rules his heart and life. True regeneration implants a hatred of all evil. Where our sin is delighted in, the evidence is fatal to a sound hope. A man need not take a dozen poisons to destroy his life; one is quite sufficient.”

Is it “Defeat In Jesus” or “Victory In Jesus”?

Is it “Manipulated by the old sin nature” or “More than conquerors in Christ”?

Is it “falling short” or “It is Finished”?

Is it “Under the power of sin” Or “Led by His Holy Spirit”?

Is it the “law of sin and death” or “The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus”?

Is it “sown to the flesh, reaping corruption” or is it “sown to the Spirit, reaping everlasting life”?

Is it “leaven” or “liberty”?

Is it “the blood helps some” or is it “the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin”?

Is it “sin masters me even though I believe” or “sin shall have no dominion over you”?

Is it “slave of sin” or “servant of righteousness”?

It’s “NO LONGER!”

CHAPTER TWELVE

CLAIMING YOUR MOUNTAIN

Too many Christians are so “other-world” oriented, they never plant their feet in the task at hand. Others live in what they call “the deep things,” so deeply buried that they never learn to live in what God has already shown them about the “here and now.” Some live in the realm of “ecstasies,” in a mystical cloud, even seeking to know more than what God has already shown them, but surround their lives with what it takes to live in what they have already envisioned for themselves – for them His vision and dream for them seems too small of a calling and they get depressed.

Oswald Chambers, in “My Utmost For His Highest” (Barbour & Co. p.206, 1963), put it like this: ‘ The little ‘I am’ always sulks when God says ‘Do.’ Let the little ‘I am’ be shriveled up in God’s indignation – “I Am That I Am has sent you.’ He must dominate.” What dominates you?

Are you dominated by fleshly drives? Are you dominated by the depraved desires of a world culture? Are you dominated by what’s good rather than what’s best? Are you dominated by the “frame-up” of temporary living or that which is eternal? Are you dominated by self or by God? Are you dominated by ‘your’ visions and dreams or The Vision of The Almighty?

When God has given you His vision, nothing else matters. When God has unveiled His plan for your life, anything else becomes total dissatisfaction. When God pulled back the curtain and shows heaven’s plans for an earthly disciple, anything but what He reveals becomes life on a lower level. And if we lose sight of what He has shown us or allow anything to capture us but His good, acceptable, and perfect will, all of a sudden we find ourselves in darkness, living the self-inflicted limited life rather than living with the Limitless One in limitless boundaries. We can touch heaven and “Claim Our Mountain.”

I’m sure you know the background of Caleb’s life. Joshua and Caleb were two of the twelve whom God had sent to “spy out” the Promised Land. Ten came back with bad reports, but these two precious servants had seen and held onto what God had promised. It’s an amazing story. Come with me to Joshua 14. In Proverbs 29:18 God had said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish!”

Caleb didn’t perish, he prospered. This holy man of God didn’t fall short, he entered in. This persistent, persevering disciple didn’t set his sight short, he saw and kept on seeing what God had promised. How do YOU claim your mountain?

“CLAIMING OUR MOUNTAIN DEPENDS UPON STANDING ON THE AUTHORITY OF THE SPOKEN WORD OF GOD!”

Look at Joshua 14:6, “…And Caleb said, ‘You know the WORD which the Lord said to Moses the man of God CONCERNING YOU AND ME in Kadesh Barnea.”

Several questions we must answer and settle in our hearts right now! Are the Holy Scriptures God’s personal Word to me? Is the Bible the overflow of the heart of God telling me how much He cares for me?

Does it confirm for my life the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God? With David, Psalm 119:89, can I say, “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven? And I must ask, ‘Settled for me?’

I have no desire in my heart to see any disciple of Christ try to live an overcoming, victorious life apart from the Word of God. When Jesus was confronted by Satan, He said, Matthew 4:4, “Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” You are of the ‘mankind’ variety!

In Ezekial 1:1,3, God unveiled for us how He was able to use Ezekial. It says, “…the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God…” With the inspiration and revelation of the Holy Word of God, heaven’s doors have been opened wide to you! Verse 3 says, “The word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekial the priest… and the hand of the Lord was upon him there…” There? The hand of the Lord was upon him, where? By the River or in the Word of the Lord?

I Samuel 3:1 tells us about “the boy Samuel…ministering to the Lord before Eli.” The New American Standard translation finishes the first verse saying, “And word from the Lord was rare in those days; visions were infrequent.” And, when in your daily walk you seldom visit the Word of the Lord, infrequently and rarely go to hear His voice, visions will be infrequent for you!

It is the promise of God through the pouring out of His Holy Spirit, Joel 2:28, “Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.”

After Jesus’ resurrection and right before His ascension, in Luke 24:44-45, Jesus said to the disciples (and to us), “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.”

Have you discovered as yet what has been written “concerning you” that is to be fulfilled in God’s timing? Some haven’t seen it as yet because the lingering effect of a veil over them for far too long has had an adverse impact on their spiritual vision. But listen to Isaiah 25:7, “And God will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.” I’m telling you, Christ rent the veil in two! The covering over all people has been cast aside. You can see “concerning you”!

Jesus said in John 6:63, “The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and life!” How many disciples do you know who are living like Caleb, standing on the authority of the Word of God unveiling and holding on to the vision God has revealed for them? Charles Spurgeon once said (Spurgeon’s Sermons, Memorial Library, Vol. 15, p.184):

“We often wonder that the disciples put such poor meanings upon our Lord’s words, but I fear we are almost as far off as they were from fully comprehending all His gracious teachings. Are we not still as little children, making little out of great words? Have we grasped as yet a tithe of our Lord’s full meaning, in many of His sayings of love? When He is talking of bright and sparkling gems of benediction, we are thinking of common pebble-stones in the brook of mercy; when He speaks of stars and heavenly crowns, we think of sparks and childish coronals of fading flowers. Oh, that we could have our intellect cleared; better still, could have our understanding expanded, or, best of all, our faith increased…” It may not be our intellect that needs clearing, but our hearts! Search and stand on the Word of God with an open heart! Which brings us to the second foundation stone of Caleb’s vital faith:

CLAIMING OUR MOUNTAIN DEPENDS UPON THE BENT OF OUR HEART!

Look at Joshua 14:7. Caleb says, “I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him AS IT WAS IN MY HEART.”

The writer of Hebrews challenges us, Hebrews 3:7-8, “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, if you will hear His voice…do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness…’” Do you realize how important the bent of your heart is in claiming your mountain?

God told Samuel that men look on outward appearance but that God looks at the heart. What does He see when He looks at our hearts?

2 Chronicles 16:9 is one of the most encouraging, powerful, life-changing verses in all of God’s Word. It says: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” Have the eyes of the Lord seen a loyal heart in you, and has His mighty arm reached down in your behalf?

Psalm 119:10 says, “With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!”

I grew up on an old hymn that says, “True-hearted, whole-hearted, faithful and true…!” In Deuteronomy 5:29 God says, “Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!”It was well with Caleb because his heart was wedded to God, His Word, His promises!

CLAIMING OUR MOUNTASIN DEPENDS UPON US FOLLOWING FULLY.

Look at Joshua 14:8, “Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God.”

The Gospel of the Living God, the Eternal Gospel, the Gospel of Christ has never changed. In Matthew 16:24 Jesus said, “If anyone [do you?] desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines “follow” as : to go after, to pursue, to accompany, to attend in a journey, to imitate, to copy, to embrace, to obey, to observe, to practice, to act in conformity to, to adhere to, to side with, to move on in the same course or direction…”

In John 10;4 Jesus is talking about the True Shepherd and His sheep. He said of His sheep, “And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” Question! Do you know the voice of the True Shepherd and are you following that voice?

In Ezekial 13:3 the word of the Lord came to Ezekial, saying, “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!” With all my heart, I believe that too many “disciples” are visionless because they also follow “their own spirit” rather than being led by the Holy Spirit of God! It’s why Paul prayed for the church at Ephesus and us in this day. Ephesians 1:18-19 says that “the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe…”

Revelation 14, in the early verses, talks about the “redeemed.” And verse 4 says of the redeemed, “These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.” That was the spirit of Caleb that kept him on the path of his mountain appropriation.

CLAIMING OUR MOUNTAIN DEPENDS UPON OUR STANDING ON THE PROMISES.

Joshua 14:9 says, “So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever…”

We all need to be reminded of 2 Corinthians 1:20 as Paul said, “For all the promises of God in [CHRIST] are Yes, and in [CHRIST] Amen, to the glory of God through us.”

Romans 4:17-21 is such an illuminating word for “mountain-seekers.” The truth is that God IS the same yesterday, today, and forever. And look at what happened in Abraham’s walk of faith, “God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was able also to perform.”

It was a promise Caleb stood upon and claimed his mountain!

CLAIMING OUR MOUNTAIN DEPENDS UPON OUR STANDING IN THE TEST OF GOD’S TIMING.

How exciting Joshua 14:10 is! It says, “And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these 45 years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, 85 years old.”

When was the promise given to Caleb? At the age of forty. How old is he when the promise is fulfilled? Eighty-five years of age! For forty-five years Caleb stood upon the promise! He never turned aside; he never doubted; he aimed, held onto, and received what God had promised him! I don’t know what all was involved in Caleb’s wilderness wanderings with Israel, but I doubt it was very comfortable or like at “ease in Zion.” But he never lost sight. He held on!

Charles Swindoll, in his book, “Hand Me Another Brick” (Bantam Book, May 1981, p.146), told the story of Ludwig van Beethoven. He said, “The life of Ludwig van Beethoven, although one of great ecstasy, was also checkered with sporadic agony. By the age of five, Beethoven was playing the violin under the tutelage of his father – also an accomplished musician. By the time he was 13, Beethoven was a concert organist. In his twenties he was already studying under the watchful eyes of Haydn and Mozart. In fact, Mozart spoke prophetic words when he declared that Beethoven would give the world something worth listening by the time his life ended…

“As Beethoven began to develop his skills, he became a prolific composer. During his lifetime, he wrote nine majestic symphonies and five concertos for piano, not to mention numerous pieces for chamber music. He has thrilled us with the masterful works of unique harmony that broke with the traditions of his times. The man was a genius…

“Beethoven was not, however, a stranger to difficulties. During his twenties, he began to lose his hearing. His fingers ‘became thick’ he said on one occasion. He couldn’t ‘feel’ the music as he once had. His hearing problem haunted him in the middle years of his life, but he kept it a well-guarded secret. When he reached his fifties, Beethoven was stone deaf. Three years later he made a tragic attempt to conduct an orchestra and failed miserably. Approximately five years later, he died during a fierce thunderstorm…

“He was deaf, yet a magnificent musician. On one occasion, Beethoven was overheard shouting at the top of his voice as he slammed both fists on the keyboard, “I will take life by the throat!” He had determined not to give in. Many of his biographers feel that because of his great determination, Beethoven remained far more productive than he otherwise would have been. Indeed, he took life by the throat.”

It wasn’t ‘life’ Caleb took by the throat, but a promise of God. In closing out his thoughts on Beethoven, Swindoll quoted Romans 15:4, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Have you discovered God’s promise for your life and are you patiently holding on to the hope in the sea of His comfort?

CLAIMING OUR MOUNTAIN DEPENDS UPON US LIVING IN THE UNDYING STRENGTH OF OUR LORD!

Joshua 14:11 says of Caleb, “As yet I am as strong this day as I was on the day that Moses sent me: just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, for both going out and coming in.”

King David understood living victoriously through the “Life of Another.” In Psalm 84:5-7 he wrote, “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.”

Notice, who is “the blessed man”? It’s the man who lives in the strength of the Lord, and he does so because his heart is set on pilgrimage and he knows without God he cannot make it. But with God, all things are possible. It’s so difficult for the macho man and the headstrong feminist to ever learn the victory of “weakness.” Paul put it like this in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Last of all,

CLAIMING OUR MOUNTAIN DEPENDS UPON THE STAKING OF OUR CLAIM!

Joshua 14:12 says simply, “Now…Now…Now…Therefore (because of everything that’s gone on before!), give me this mountain!”

And verse 13 says, “And Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb…” What is it that Jesus needs to do to bless you today? What are you standing on? What have you claimed from the promises of God? What is your vision? What are you holding onto as revealed by the Word and will of God for you, your family, or your fellowship?

Our Lord’s promises are sure, certain, filled with blessing, abundant in their anointing, and radiating Holy Presence in us! Step up, step out…claim your mountain!

CHAPTER 13

EXPANDING VISIONS AND HORIZONS

How rich is the Word of God! Yet many live in a spiritual state of poverty because they do not feed themselves on the riches of His grace as revealed in His Word. Several verses to lay a good foundation:

Psalm 31:8b, “…You have set my feet in a wide place…”

Psalm 18:19, “He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.”

Isaiah 54:2-3, “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, and strength your stakes…For you shall expand to the right and to the left, And your descendants will inherit the nations, And make the desolate cities inhabited.”

I Chronicles 4:10, “And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ So God granted him what he requested.”

Ephesians 3:17-19, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love…may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height -…to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God…”

Psalm 118:5, “I called on the Lord in distress; The Lord answered me and SET ME IN A BROAD PLACE.”

Has it ever dawned upon you as to the vastness of the bigness of our world setting with all its universes?

For most of us we all grew up with limited visions of our little corner of the world never seeing or sensing what all was ‘out there.’ For some of us we readily wanted to stay in and hold onto our childish perceptions; some of us basked in our woeful ignorance; and some of us majored on mistaken misinterpretations of our big world.

Then, one day it’s “man on the moon.” Another day it’s that miracle of organ transplants. Here’s the Concorde, breakfast in London, lunch in New York City.

Have you seen now the bullets that will turn a corner?

Always to those of youthful visions our world is such measurement of infinite distances so beyond our comprehension.

To a little boy a small number of trees equals a vast forest, water in a ditch is like a huge lake, and one little city block is an advance into the unknown world.

And then, we come to God’s Word, and we hear: “You, God, have set my feet in a WIDE PLACE…” We’ve often been so hindered in the world of spiritual adventure because we’ve been so narrowed!! “You, God, brought me into a broad place” granting deliverance from my LIMITED VISION!! I never knew about enlarging and stretching and lengthening and strengthening and expanding – I bought in to “be content with what you are”, never realizing God had a “much more” in mind for me!

It’s time to call on God like Jabez and see if our Lord has something else in mind for us that we’ve failed to discover. What did I Chronicles 4:10 say? “Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ So God granted him what he requested.”

WE NEED AN EXPANDING VISION AND HORIZON AS TO THE ABILITY OF OUR GOD!

Do you remember Genesis 18:13-14 after Abraham told Sarah that God had revealed they were going to have a child in their old age? Listen: “And the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?…Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.’”

In the New Testament, an angel appeared to Mary and told her she would conceive and bear a Son and call His name Jesus! Remember Mary’s response? Luke 1:34, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel responded, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Then the angel told Mary of Elizabeth bearing a son in her old age and said in verse 37, “FOR WITH GOD NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE.”

In I Chronicles 29, before the assembly of God’s people, David blessed the Lord and said, verses 11-12, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory, and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, for you are exalted as head over all…Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is POWER AND MIGHT; in Your hand IT IS TO MAKE GREAT AND TO GIVE STRENGTH TO ALL.”

With all my heart I believe God is waiting on a man, waiting on a church, waiting on a nation that will expand its vision or horizon and lay hold on where God wants to take them AND IS ABLE TO TAKE THEM!!

Daniel 3:17 says, “our God whom we serve IS ABLE TO DELIVER…From the fiery furnace(s) we find ourselves in!!”

Luke 3:8 says, “…God is able of (these) stones TO RAISE UP CHILDREN UNTO ABRAHAM.”

In Romans 4:21 we read, “And being fully persuaded that, what God has promised, HE IS ABLE ALSO TO PERFORM.”

2 Corinthians 9:8 says, “…God is able to make ALL GRACE ABOUND TOWARD YOU…”

To the church at Ephesus, Paul wrote: (Ephesians 3:20), God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…” To the church at Philippi he wrote, (Philippians 3:21), “…God is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.”

In Hebrews 7:25 the author wrote: “…[God] is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him…”

And in Jude 24 we read: “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.”

Did you catch all that? Do you receive it? In your little corner of the world you don’t believe God is able to EXPAND YOUR VISION AND HORIZON?

Isaiah 43:26 says, God speaking, “Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together…” Do you know what God is saying? “Remind Me of what I’ve promised you!!”

“In Your hand, God, is power and might; in Your hand is to make great and give strength to all; You’re able to raise up children of faith out of hard, stony hearts; What You’ve promised me, YOU’RE ABLE TO DO; every situation will be subdued unto Your glory and honor; You’ll keep me from falling; You’re going to present me faultless with great joy; You’re going to do even exceedingly abundantly above all I ask or think!!”

This ‘broad place’ is surrounded by the sense of the infinite! This broad place is submerged in the swelling tide of the Almighty! This broad place is a spacious universe of Divine Ability! This broad place is an on-going symphony of praise unto the God with whom nothing is impossible!

Isaac Watts wrote it: “I sing the mighty power of God, That made the mountains rise; That spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies; I sing the wisdom that ordained The sun to rule the day; The moon shines full at His command, and all the stars obey.”

Do YOU sing the mighty power of God and soar into the heavenlies?

WE NEED AN EXPANDING VISION AND HORIZON AS TO THE AWESOMENESS OF A LIVING FAITH.

In Matthew 17, a man came to Jesus and told Him that he’d brought his demonized son to Jesus’ disciples and that they could not cure him. Jesus’ response? Verse 17, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.”

After Jesus cast the demon out, the disciples asked him, “Why could we not cast it out?” Verse 20, So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, IF YOU HAVE FAITH AS A MUSTARD SEED, you will say to this mountain, ‘MOVE from here to there,’ and it will move; and NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO YOU.”

There’s an interesting verse in Isaiah 28:20. It says: “For the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.”

Do you know what is too narrow or too short to stretch yourself out on? It’s that LIFE OF UNBELIEF! The walk of unbelief cramps you and keeps you COLD, but the walk of faith covers you and keeps you warm!

Is your life covered or uncovered? The bed that you’ve made for yourself is it too narrow, too short, or do you rest on the bed of faith? Come to Deuteronomy 32:15-20:

“But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; You grew fat, you grew thick, You are obese! Then he forsook God who made him, and scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation…They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods; With abominations they provoked Him to anger…They sacrificed to demons, not to God, To gods they did not know, to new gods, new arrivals that your fathers did not fear…Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, And have forgotten the God who fathered you…And when the Lord saw it, He spurned them, Because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters…And He said, ‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be, For they are a perverse generation, children in whom is NO FAITH.”

Do you remember the lame man healed at the gate of the Temple as Peter and John ministered to him? The religious folk marveled at this and didn’t know nor could understand how it happened. Acts 3:16, Peter responding, said: “And His name, THROUGH FAITH IN HIS NAME, has made this man strong…”

Remember the paralytic carried by four men in Mark 2? They even uncovered the roof where Jesus was and let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. And Mark 2:5 says, “When Jesus SAW THEIR FAITH, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’”

Hebrews 6:12 says, “that you do not become sluggish (or lazy), but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Are YOU inheriting the promises? Are you in faith standing on the promises? Are you in faith moving mountains? Are you blessed beyond belief laying hold of Big God? Are you in faith being made whole? Are you seen as a man of great faith? Are you walking with a heart purified by faith?

Are you strong in faith giving glory to God because of a faithful life? Are you part of the faithful whose faith is not in the wisdom of men but in the power of God? Are you surrounded by the shield of faith?

Is your faith toward God spread abroad? Is your faith growing exceedingly? Are you finishing the course and keeping the faith? Are you drawing near to God with a true heart in the full assurance of faith? I John 5:4, “…And this is the VICTORY that has overcome the world – OUR FAITH.” Do you understand the awesomeness of a living faith?

Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God,” and when your FAITH STANDS ON THE WORD OF GOD, listen!!! Isaiah 55:11, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Are you prospering, expanding, enlarging your vision and horizon because of the awesomeness of your living faith?

WE NEED AN EXPANDING VISION AND HORIZON AS TO OUR AREAS OF SERVICE UNTO GOD. Listen to Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

“You have set my feet in a wide place…”

“He also brought me out into a broad place…” He’s called upon ME to “enlarge the place of [my] tent, [to] stretch out the curtains of my dwellings, [to] lengthen [my] cords, strengthen [my] stakes, [to] expand to the right and to the left.” Do you understand what God’s Word is telling us?

Disciples of Jesus are not those confined in a small place suffering from cabin fever – they are the ones who’ve entered the gate of holy calling and soar with Christ in heavenly places…

And though they may live in a small town, an insignificant village, they are consumed with the spirit of global-mindedness! Since God loves the WORLD, SO DO WE!

Disciples of Jesus live in the breadth of an international scope with Abraham desiring to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth!

Disciples of Jesus have been lifted to the mountain-tops to see the vast visions of WORLD VISION of the perishing peoples in the world populace!

Disciples of Jesus don’t live on the shores of “Lake Contentment” – we live by “THE OCEAN OF OPPORTUNITY” to touch our world with grace.

Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17)

Daniel 12:3 says, “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.”

Are you a “wise” disciple? Are you turning ANY to righteousness? Are you a “star” hung up in God’s spiritual galaxy, hung there forever and ever because you did expand your vision and upheld that horizon of “witness” forever and ever?

Listen to Swindoll, “Come Before Winter,” (P.208), “Every so often it’s helpful to stop the annual merry-go-round, get off, look objectively, and think clearly. It’s not only helpful, it’s ESSENTIAL for the Christian. In this circus-like American lifestyle of ours, we tend to be deafened by the blare of our own band and blinded by the lights of our own spots, shining – always shining – on the ring of our choice…That needs to change. We need the hear the voice of the Ringmaster as He raises His hand to stop the band: “We interrupt this program to bring all of you a reminder that the world in which you live is not the whole world…but only a very small part of the world for which I died.” Then Swindoll said:

“The Great Commission is still “The Great Commission,” not “The Limited Agreement for My Corner of America.” He Jesus still looks out across a wide world and weeps over men and women and children who do not know – have never heard – His healing, life-giving Name.”

Dr. Joseph Clark paraphrased I Corinthians 13!! [“Today’s Evangelism,” by Ernie Reisinger, Phillipsburg, NJ; Craig Press, 1982, pps. 142-143],

“Tho’ I speak with the tongues of scholarship, and though I use approved methods of education, and fail to win others to Christ, or to build them up in Christian character, I AM BECOME AS THE MOAN OF THE WIND OF A SYRIAN DESERT…And tho’ I have the best methods and understand all mysteries of religious psychology, and tho’ I have all biblical knowledge, and lose not myself in the task of winning others to Christ, I BECOME AS A CLOUD OF MIST IN AN OPEN SEA…And tho’ I read all Sunday School literature, and attend Sunday School conventions, institutes, and summer schools, and yet am satisfied with less than winning souls to Christ and establishing others in Christian character and service, IT PROFITS NOTHING…

The soul-winning servant, the character-building servant, suffers long and is kind; he envies not others who are free from the servant’s task; he vaunts not himself, is not puffed up with intellectual pride…

Such a servant does not behave himself unseemly between Sundays, seeks not his own comfort, is not easily provoked. Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things…And now abides knowledge, methods, the MESSAGE, these three: but the greatest of these is the MESSAGE!!”

What did Paul say in Romans 1:16? “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation…”

Expanding your vision and horizon of touching the souls of men in our world!! Donald Whitney, in “Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life,”

(p.112), writes: “Throughout his life, John Bunyan, author of “Pilgrim’s Progress,” insisted that the conversation of some poor women, talking of the things of God while sitting in a sunlit doorway, was a critical turning point in his coming to Christ. Believe that the Lord can use what YOU say as “The Great Catalyst of Conversion.”

Hear me with all your heart: Are you a catalyst for the conversion of our world? Are you a seed planter? What is YOUR strategy to touch the world beginning at your doorstep? Whitney said, “If God does not use people like these – LIKE US – as His witnesses, there will be no human witnesses.” God, help us to expand.

WE NEED AN EXPANDING VISION AND HORIZON AS TO THE BROADENED AVENUE OF THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER.

In Matthew 6, as Jesus saw the multitudes, He led His disciples to a mountain, sat them down to instruct them, and in verses 5-7, three times He said, “…when you pray…” Jesus never said, “…if you pray…”

The disciples had been with Him now for a long period of time, in the early morning, mid-day, late afternoons, early evening, all night. In Luke 11:1, “Now it came to pass, as Jesus was praying in a certain place, that one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray…’”

They could have said, “Lord, teach us to work miracles;” “Lord, teach us to maximize our incomes;” “Lord, teach us to be good citizens;” “Lord, teach us to fight the powers of darkness;” “Lord, teach us to heal;” No, they said, “Lord, teach us to pray!!!”

Look at the world around you – both secular and religious – and what are their priorities for successful men?

• Get a good worldly education!
• Get a song to sing – be a happy person!
• Find a worthy cause or profession to invest your life in!
• Be disciplined to make your mark, making a name for yourself!
• Set your goals to establish yourself as one of the world’s wealthiest men!

No, your greatest priority? “Lord, teach us to pray.”

In fact, Alexander Whyte wrote a book entitled “Lord, Teach Us To Pray.” And in it is one chapter heading: “The Magnificence Of Prayer.” Is the magnificence of prayer woven into the fabric of your walk as a disciple?

Alfred Lord Tennyson (“Morte d’ Arthur”) wrote: “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let your voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day. For what are men better than sheep or goats That nourish a blind life within the brain, If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those who call them friends? For so the whole round earth is every way Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.” So true, but the greater truth is:

“Bound by gold chains about the heart and hands of God!!”

Samuel Henry Price said it so eloquently: “The world is full of faces, black with anger, green with envy and red with shame, which could be made radiantly white with holiness and spirituality aglow by the transfiguring power of prayer.” What does James 5:16 say? “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

Matthew 26:41 says, “Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

In Luke 18:1 Jesus spoke a parable to His disciples, “THAT MEN OUGHT ALWAYS TO PRAY, AND NOT TO FAINT.”

John 16:24 is a challenge from Jesus, “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” Are you a joy-filled disciple?

Look at Ephesians 5:18, “praying always with all prayer and supplication IN THE SPIRIT, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints…”

Has the ‘Last Days’ church forgotten or ignored II Chronicles 7:14? “If Mt people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sins, and heal their land.” God, help us! God, wake us up from our prayerless sleeping!! No wonder you walk in most churches today and think you’re in a funeral home!

What was it that caused the early church to turn their world upside down? Acts 4:331 says, “AND WHEN THEY HAD PRAYED, the place where they were assembled together WAS SHAKEN; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the Word of God with BOLDNESS!”

Oh, but listen to Matthew 21:13!!! And Jesus said to them, “It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” Either the omission of prayer in our lives is dominant or we’ve discovered the magnificence of prayer! It’s either the absence of prayer in our lives or the erupting, bubbling of the springs of prayer that touch our world surroundings with grace and mercy!

It’s either the absence of prayer in our lives or the acceleration of that ministry of intercession.

It’s either a void in our lives or a continuous volcanic eruption of the “greater works” ministry of Christ through us because we ARE “PRAYERS”!

It’s either impotent spirituality in the dynamic and discipline of prayer or the unleashing in our lives of the potent power and privilege of prayer.

Kierkegaard used to speak of that “little chamber…where…(a true suppliant) (prays)…where HE LIFTS THE WORLD OFF ITS HINGES.”

James Montgomery in his book on prayer said: “Prayer moves the arm which moves the world, AND BRINGS SALVATION DOWN.”

I’m not talking about your little poetic ditties some call prayer – but, Do you lay hold of God, and you won’t let go until He answers and blesses?

I’m not talking to you about “occasional impulses,” but that expanded life and ministry of PRAYING TO GOD. Do you?

If it should not be thought an incredible thing that God raises the dead, why should I not through prayer lay hold of Him who can raise me, raise us to heights where we’ve never been before in unceasing prayer?

WE NEED AN EXPANDING VISION AND HORIZON AS TO THE BLESSEDNESS OF PLANTING OUR FEET ON THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN-PEAK OF THE ETERNAL.

You don’t have to wonder why Paul wrote what he did to the church at Colossae in Colossians 3:2, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Do you understand the battle that every life faces as to this world or the eternal world here and now plus forever, beyond the earthly entanglements?

Do you understand the battle that each individual faces or wrestles with as to the investment of his life in either the temporal or the eternal?

Do you understand the battle that all of us have to come to grips with as to what has our hearts in time, in importance, in significance as to my life pumping my flesh or honoring God through the Spirit?

I want you to listen to the three verses of three different gospels as to the seed of God’s Word sown among the thorns:

• Matthew 13:22, “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes UNFRUITFUL.”
• Mark 4:18-19, “Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word…and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches AND THE DESIRES FOR OTHER THINGS entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
• Luke 8:14, “Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are CHOKED with cares, riches, and pleasures of life and bring no fruit to maturity.”

Oh, but listen, God “set (our) feet in a wide place,” not a place narrowed to our selfish concerns! God “brought me out into a broad place,” of understanding that I am part of His ETERNAL SCHEME, His FOREVER PLAN, His GLORIOUS HEAVEN in the world beyond!

Enlarging, expanding, lengthening, and strengthening is not to make me comfortable here, but to broaden my awareness of THERE!

No wonder the famous David Livingstone impacted Africa for so long. He said: “I will place no value on anything I have or may possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ.” His kingdom is ETERNAL!

In 2 Peter 1:10-11 Peter said, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble…for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

I’m telling you, WE MUST EXPAND OUR VISION AND HORIZON!

“This world is not my home, I’m just a’ passing through, My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue…

The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore…

Oh, Lord, you know I have no friend like You, If Heaven’s not my home, Then Lord what will I do…

The heavens beckon me from Heaven’s open door And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

A SENSE OF URGENCY

In Ephesians 5:15,16 Paul challenges the Church: “Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”

With an understanding of man’s frailty, James, in James 4:14, said, “You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

That’s why the great preacher of the 1700’s, Jonathan Edwards, author of “Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God,” prayed – “Oh, God, stamp eternity on my eyeballs!”

Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines urgency as “Pressure – pressing with necessity; as the urgency of want or distress – even violent or vehement.”

Hezekiah learned of that urgency through direct instruction from the Lord. One day he was healthy, the next, he was mortally ill (2 Kings 20). God sent Isaiah the prophet to warn him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’”

Some men never consider that life in this world is just a fleeting moment in the span of eternity. No thought is given to the reality of their impending death – or what follows the grave!

Shakespeare, in Macbeth (Act V.,sc 5,2.6) said, “Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” What a sad commentary of a man’s understanding of life.

But Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his Psalm of Life wrote: “Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal.” I don’t know if he knew what was beyond, but he knew there was more!

John Wesley wrote, “I desire to have heaven and hell ever in my eye, while I stand on the isthmus of life between two boundless oceans.”

And then there’s King David, no wonder he was the apple of God’s eye! Psalm 39:4-5, “Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the extent of my days. Let me know how transient I am. Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight. Surely every man at his best is a mere breath!"

The Apostle Paul challenged first century Christians to redeem “the times, because the days are evil.” Are you eternity conscious? Are you aware of the days, their number, destiny, signs, opportunities, or wisdom? I Chronicles 12:32 speaks of the “men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do.” Deuteronomy 32:29 says, “Would that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would discern their future (or latter end)!”

In Deuteronomy 28 the children of Israel were presented the sanctions of God’s covenant with them – blessings that accompany obedience and curses

brought on by disobedience. One of the curses that comes upon those who refuse to walk in God’s ways is found in verse 66, where it says, “So your life shall hang in doubt before you: and you shall be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life.” Man will go through life either experiencing an assurance of life, of blessing, and of his future, or his life will be spent in agonizing uncertainty. Ecclesiastes 7:17 asks, “why should you die before your time?” Or, why should you die before you’ve begun to live?

In Deuteronomy 32 the Lord talks about the unwise. Verse 35 says, “In due time their foot will slip; for the day of their calamity is near, and the impending thins are hastening upon them.” Continuing in verses 46-47 He warns, “Take to your heart all the words which I am warning you today, which you shall command your sons to observe carefully, even all the words of this law. For it is not an idle word for you; indeed, it is your life!”

Do you remember Paul speaking before Felix and his wife, Drusilla, in Acts 24? Paul preached that faith in Christ Jesus means “righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come.” Felix became frightened, and said to Paul, “Go away for the present, and when I find time, I will summon you.” There is no evidence he ever did! He didn’t sense the urgency of the moment.

In Acts 26:28,29 Paul shared with Agrippa, but rather than yielding to Paul’s challenge, he responded, “In a short time, Paul, if I let you, you will persuade me to become a Christian.” He pushed Paul away, went back to the business of being a “little king” and forever missed the King of kings!

Jude 18,20,21 says, “In the last time there shall be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts. But you…keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”

What is this, “A Sense of Urgency”?

IT IS “TAKING CHRIST SERIOUSLY”.

Ephesians 5:15 says, “Therefore, be careful how you walk…” The Amplified Bible says, “Look carefully then how you walk. Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise – sensible, intelligent people, making the most of the time –buying up each opportunity – because the days are evil.” Why?

I Timothy 4:1 speaks to that: “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” Are you aware of the reality of some “falling away from the faith”? Do you even know its dangers? Or have you cut out of your Bible the passages that give warning to apostates, “the cutting off,” “the assigning of a place with unbelievers,” or “the transgressors and sinners crushed together”?

Hebrews 3 speaks of those who began, but did not finish the journey. Read carefully Hebrews 3:12-19. It’s a warning! “Take care, brothers, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God!” He challenges us not to be “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

Our call to “follow Christ” is serious and urgent because it is a call not to a life of ease and comfort, but instead to commitment and a cross! In Romans 8:18 Paul said, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.” Suffering? In modern-day “Christian America?” Though suffering for the sake of the gospel is not something most Americans consider, except as something experienced by Christians in hostile societies, it should be the daily experience of every believer – I Peter 4:1,2 tells us how: “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” Has the desire to live your life in fulfillment of the will of God, regardless of the cost, been the testimony of your life?

Look at Romans 13:11-14, “And this do, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”

Paul urged members of the church at Corinth, 2 Corinthians 6:1 “not to receive the grace of God in vain.” What a statement! So many disciples professing faith in Christ fail to utilize the grace given to them by God in their daily spiritual battles. They encounter a conflict between the nature of their flesh and the Spirit, and rather than resisting the flesh and trusting in the grace of God to deliver them, thereby experiencing “the day of salvation,” They submit to the natural desire of their flesh and rebel against God.

Taking Christ seriously means remaining alert! In Luke 21:36 Jesus warned His disciples, “But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Too many disciples follow in the example of the children of Israel who did not consider their latter end! What can we do to avoid the pitfall of their example?

Maintaining your spiritual alertness? Two-fold:

A commitment to prayer: Luke 18:1 Jesus speaking to His disciples, “that at ALL TIMES they OUGHT TO PRAY, and not lose heart.” In Ephesians 6:18 Paul said, “Pray at all times in the Spirit!” [Look at Daniel 6:10!]. And,

A commitment to the Word: Romans 15:4, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of scripture we might have hope.”

Our call to “follow Christ” is a call to daily spiritual warfare! Ephesians 6:12 tells us that “OUR STRUGGLE is not against flesh and blood [only], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We must each enter that battle for our own lives – Paul told Timothy, I Timothy 1:18, to “Fight the good fight.”

In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Paul explains how we enter that battle and reveals to us the weapons that must be utilized, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” Many people live their entire lives never understanding the battle; others simply grow weary and give up, tired of resisting, tired of staying alert, tired of guarding their minds.

I Chronicles 20:1 begins the life-long saga of heartache and tragedy experienced by David, when at a time for kings to go out to battle, David went A.W.O.L…Psalm 78:9 tells us of the children of Israel, equipped for battle, sent by the Lord, “yet they turned back in the day of battle.” The result was centuries of despair caused by enemies remaining in the land that should have been driven out.

Sometimes we may fail, falter, or find ourselves accommodating the flesh rather than the spiritual and eternal. Ecclesiastes 9:12 says, “Moreover, man does not know his time; like fish caught in a treacherous net, and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.”

Samson is an example of someone who did not remain alert, he weakened; he failed to take seriously his holy calling and ended up with the Philistines gouging out his eyes, binding him with chains, and being imprisoned. Have you ever lost your spiritual vision? Have you ever limped around in spiritual bondage? Have you ever awakened to find yourself languishing in slavery?

But Samson learned to lean through what he suffered! Judges 16:28, “Then Samson called to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord, God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time…” And God did! “A SENSE OF URGENCY”?

THAT’S RECOGNITION, AWARENESS OF, AND BATTLING AGAINST THE FLOOD OF OPPOSITION.

No one whose heart goes after Jesus and whose path is directed by the Holy Word of God can look around our world and not be ashamed of the rampaging flood of earthly, natural, and demonic ‘wisdom’ that is being poured out in opposition to the wisdom of God.

Sexual perversion is so rampant it’s enough to make one heart-sick. On one of my trips to India with Bob Phillips, who was founder and co-pastor of Times Square Church in New York city, Bob told me then, at least 12-15 years ago, that in the New York City public school system a “family life” curriculum had been introduced that taught masturbation to sixth grade boys and girls!

We are not just facing a flood of sexual perversion, but a flood of every form of wickedness that is raised up in opposition to the ways of God – greed, compromise, deception, a lying spirit – in the business and political systems – a man’s word is no longer his bond, very few can be trusted, especially our national leaders! Anything goes. What pleases me, what gives me satisfaction, that’s OK.. Moral absolutes are out. No final authority – just what pleases me.

In James 3:14-17, James wrote, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, and demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” The wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world are in stark contrast!

Job, in a struggle to understand what was taking place in his life, asks an important question, (Job 28:12,13), “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.”

There is worldly wisdom, but it is raised up in opposition to the wisdom of God! Paul wrote in I Corinthians 3:19 that “the wisdom of the world is foolishness before God.” In I Corinthians 1:19,20 he records God saying, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside,” and continues, saying, “God has made foolish the wisdom of the world.”

As believers in Christ, we have one great advantage over the world – time! As time progresses, the futility of man’s wisdom and the superiority of God’s ways are proven. 2 Timothy 3:9 says, “But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all…”

Have you personally wrestled with what true wisdom is all about? Let me give you a few verses to the door of enlightment!!:

• “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” – Job 28:28
• “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright.” Proverbs 2:6-7
• “Now Joshua was filled with the spirit of wisdom” – Deuteronomy 34:9
• “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom” Proverbs 11:2
• “The rod and reproof give wisdom” Proverbs 29:15
• “The “Branch of Jesse” – “and the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding” Isaiah 11:2
• “Christ became to us wisdom from God” – I Corinthians 1:30
• “I pray..God..may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him” – Ephesians 1:17
• But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously” – James 1:5

If our nation is to be saved there must be a return to the wisdom that comes from God. How we must urgently pray for God to raise up men like Bezalel, Exodus 31:2,3, men filled with the Spirit of God in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, to restore the American church, and ultimately the nation, in “the wisdom from above.”

The history of Israel is tragic. Times of apostasy led to judgment from God resulting in destruction upon the nation. Sometimes, in their distress, they would cry out to Him and truly turn back, but it never lasted. In Hebrews 3:10 Paul recorded the Lord’s frustration with His people, “Therefore I was angry with this generation and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; and they did not know My ways.” If we are to walk in wisdom, we must learn from the example of Israel’s failure. Will we follow in their example of disobedience, or will we seek after the Lord alone? It is the only hope for ANY nation! Isaiah 33:6 prophesied of the coming Messiah and reveals God’s intentions for His people who will receive Him and walk in His ways, “He shall be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is His treasure.” “A SENSE OF URGENCY?”

HEART-BROKENNESS OVER THE WORLD’S WICKEDNESS.

In Ephesians 5:16 Paul warns us to “redeem the time because the days are evil.” Man, without God, runs in circles, making paths of unrighteousness that hold him captive. His wickedness becomes more and more ingrained and more difficult to escape its hold! I’m 76 years of age, and it is hard to believe the depth of depravity my nation has sunk to in the last forty to fifty years!

Paul understood (2 Timothy 3:13) that “evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived!” He told the church at Rome that as they present the members of their bodies as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, which is sin, it produces further lawlessness – sin breeds more sin. That explains how a nation with a motto, “In God We Trust,” can buy the lie of political rhetoric that says a person’s moral character has nothing to do with his ability to govern – resulting in the election of a man with no moral character to the most powerful office in the world, lying every time he opens his mouth!! [By the way, God says, “All liars go to Hell!!]. His lying spirit and election exposes the wickedness of our nation and our need of a new “Great Awakening”!!

In Ephesians 6:13 Paul urges us not to give up in such a time as this – instead he challenges us to “take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm.”

WE will no longer be able to take our faith for granted in America. Freedoms that were purchased with the blood of our forefathers, born out of a desire to establish a “city on a hill” giving light to the whole world – are now under attack and being lost, almost on a daily basis. I haven’t given up hope on America yet. There is hope. I don’t believe it is the will of God for us “to perish;” but a price must be paid! The price of prayer, the price of costly discipleship, the price of emptying ourselves that we may be supernaturally filled with God’s Holy Spirit, the price of upholding the Word of God – even in the face of legal and political persecution, and the price of broken hearts at the Throne of Grace crying out to Him for a “divine visitation”! “A SENSE OF URGENCY”?

DEEP, HEART-FELT AWARENESS OF MULTITUDES WITHOUT CHRIST.

In 2 Kings 5 there is the story of Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram. The Bible says that he was a great man and one that was highly respected – a valiant warrior. But “he was a leper.”

That’s the picture of every man, woman, boy or girl across our world. Without Christ, deathly ill with a spiritual leprosy called sin. They are bound for an eternal hell apart from salvation in Jesus Christ. Apart from Christ they are without hope.

That may be your father or your mother. It may be your brother or your sister. It may be your closest friend, your employer, or your fellow employee. Isaiah 59:2 says that “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you.” It’s true! And there is only one way to restore the breach between God and man that was brought about by sin – (Acts 4:12), “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.” That name? JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH! The urgency of the hour is that hundreds of millions of people are slipping into eternity having never heard the name of Jesus.

Proverbs 24:20 says, “For there will be no future for the evil man; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.” But the heart of God cries out: “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are as scarlet they will be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they will be like wool.” There’s HOPE! It is in Christ Jesus, the Lord, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world! It is the message that God has entrusted to every disciple to proclaim – it is urgent that the Gospel be proclaimed to all men in every nation! “A SENSE OF URGENCY?”

OUR EYES OPENED TO THE REALITY OF DIVINE JUDGMENT!

It’s awesome! Think about it! Hebrews 9:27 says, “And inasmuch as it is appointed for man to die once and after this comes judgment!” Judgment!

Romans 14:10 says, “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.” God, help us! Even the church doesn’t know, doesn’t believe, or doesn’t care “that judgment begins with the household of God!” (I Peter 4:17).

In Jude 14 and 15 it’s written, “And about these also Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Peter, (2 Peter 2:9), warned that “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.”

It’s so urgent!! Psalm 96:13 says, “For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the people in His faithfulness.”

So many lives that we touch every day are hanging over the entrance to hell by a single strand of thread – and the thread is old and rotten. It’s not very popular to talk about today, but hell is real – it was prepared for the devil and his angels – but it has become a place for all who are without Christ!

It’s that place “where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched.” We need a big whiff of the smoke and stench of Hell!

Leonard Ravenhill wrote a message before his death entitled “Your Day In Court.” I wish there was room to reprint it in its entirety –

“Can you see those millions of unholy dead? All the criminals who ever lived. All the prostitutes. All the men who make millions from pornography. Can you think of the pimps who pollute those little girls on West 42^nd Street in New York? Can you imagine when God takes hold of history and empties it?! When every man who ever walked the streets of ancient Babylon with all its lusts, or Corinth which was just one colossal cesspool of impurity, must account for himself? When all that has happened in Las Vegas last night is going to be ‘thrown on the screen’ in eternity! Every king that has ruled over England, the caliphs of Baghdad, the maharajas of India, the multi-millionaire, the billionaire – they’re all going to stand one day! Can you imagine that? At the Judgment Seat of Christ they will have to account for all of their deeds done in the body. Every judge that sits in the high court is going to be judged one day by an Infallible Judge. How long will it take? I don’t know and I don’t care…because we’re t going anywhere! I think one of the joys of eternity will be that the redeemed will see all the unholy dead judged, but the unholy won’t see the judgment of the saints, because they won’t be there….

“You may say, ‘Well, Mr. Ravenhill, I won’t be in serious trouble because I don’t have a good memory.’ Well, you’ll have one that day. There’s going to be some awful revelation. There’s going to be some weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. John says the books were opened. (Revelation 20:12) What books? I’m not really sure what books are, but I think the book of the Ten Commandments for one, and I think maybe the Book of Memory for another thing. (Mal.3:16). You see, memory is an amazing thing. Memory will last into eternity. I don’t think the redeemed will remember their sorrows and heartaches, but I’ll tell you the unholy dead will remember every time somebody put a tract into their hand. They’ll remember it through eternity and wish to God they still had a chance to respond. They’ll remember every one of their mother’s prayers they ever heard. They’ll remember every word of every sermon they ever sat through. They’re going to remember everything. How do I know? Because one day a man in hell prayed. It was not only the wrong place to pray, but he prayed to the wrong person (to Abraham), and he of course got the wrong answer (according to the answer he was looking for). ‘Child, remember that during your life, you received your good things…’ ‘But I don’t want my brothers to come here!’ But Jesus says, ‘Remember.’ (Luke 16:19-31). Memory is eternal. It will never die. Your memory isn’t faulty. Every-thing you’ve done, every idle word you’ve spoken, and every action will one day be recalled.

“The unholy dead are going to stand, great and small, before God. Sometimes I look at my Encyclopedia Britannica and I think of all the history that is going to pass before me in the flesh. I’ll be interested to see Julius Caesar and Tiberius Caesar. I’ll be fascinated when Pontius Pilate stands before Jesus. I think he’ll be more uncomfortable than Jesus felt standing before him! It will be awesome when we see the founders of these cults stand before God. When, in God’s name, is the Church going to open their heart and mind and see that every man will stand accountable to God? I don’t care if he flies his own private jet or how many cities or millions of people he rules. It doesn’t matter. The great of the earth and the lowest of the earth are all going to spend their time in eternity. They are going to live there forever and ever, ‘where their worm does not die…’ (Mark 9:48). Hell won’t be the same for everybody. Some will be beaten with a few stripes, some with many stripes (Luke 12:47-48). But I tell you what – I’d rather be the least in the Kingdom of God than the greatest in the kingdom of the devil, both in time and in eternity.” WOW! THANKS, DR. RAVENHILL!!

Do you remember Revelation 9:6? “And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; and they will long to die and death flees from them.” JUDGED! JUDGED!

In Revelation 6 there’s the breaking of the sixth seal! Verses 15-17, “and the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains…and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”

I’ll tell you who will stand – the ones who are “IN CHRIST JESUS”!! So, I believe I’d find out what it means to be “IN CHRIST JESUS!”

“A SENSE OF URGENCY?”

CONSIDER THE UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE.

We began this message by looking at James 4:14, “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

David recognized that a man’s life was like a mere breathy in the scope of eternity. Job exclaimed that his days were “swifter than a weaver’s shuttle.”

But there are those who know that things are not right in their hearts toward God, but say, “It’s not urgent – I have plenty of time.” And then, without warning, it’s gone… the day of opportunity vanishes – because they didn’t sense the shortness or the uncertainty of life!

Jesus, in one of His seven letters to the churches contained in Revelation, rebuked the church at Thyatira for tolerating “the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.” He goes on to say to her, “And I gave her time to repent; and she does not want to repent of her immorality.” It is so crucial that you understand that He does not desire that any should perish but that all should come to repentance! He gave her time to repent, just as He gives all of us the time and opportunity – but He will not contend with us forever. There is a point at which He ceases to strive with us.

The tragedy is that so many people ignore His voice and harden their hearts to the wooing of the Spirit. That’s why He tells us in Hebrews 3:7, “Therefore, just as the Spirit says, ‘Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they [Israel] provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness.” Don’t follow in their example – yield to Him. Don’t put it off – yield TODAY!

The attitude should affect your manner of life on this earth. In I Peter 1:17 we find out what kind of effect it should have upon us: “And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon the earth.” In other words, recognize the urgency of the moment! Do you? I urge you to redeem the time, make the most of every moment to seek after God while He can be found!