Friday, April 20,
2012, 6:49 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song, “No Less,” playing in my mind. As I lay
in bed praying through present circumstances in my life, the Lord gave me a brief vision of a man standing
outside the front door of our house, only he was standing off to the west side,
and he was north of me as I stood on the other side of the door from him
looking outside the window. The man was someone I knew, i.e. he is someone who
frequently appears in dreams and visions given to me, and he usually represents
global “Big Brother,” only in the sense of “Big Brother” in the book “1984” (http://www.gradesaver.com/1984/study-guide/short-summary/).
The man was wearing glasses that had a thick black frame. The man also had a
scowl on his face, i.e. he had a look of intimidation. End
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Zechariah 10 (NIV 1984):
Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime;
it is the LORD who makes the storm clouds.
He gives showers of rain to men,
and plants of the field to everyone.
The idols speak deceit,
diviners see visions that lie;
they tell dreams that are false,
they give comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd. “My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;
for the LORD Almighty will care
for his flock, the house of Judah,
and make them like a proud horse in battle.
From Judah will come the cornerstone,
from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler.
Together they will be like mighty men
trampling the muddy streets in battle.
Because the LORD is with them,
they will fight and overthrow the horsemen. “I will strengthen the house of Judah
and save the house of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion on them.
They will be as though
I had not rejected them,
for I am the LORD their God
and I will answer them.
The Ephraimites will become like mighty men,
and their hearts will be glad as with wine.
Their children will see it and be joyful;
their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.
I will signal for them
and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
they will be as numerous as before.
Though I scatter them among the peoples,
yet in distant lands they will remember me.
They and their children will survive,
and they will return.
I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon,
and there will not be room enough for them.
They will pass through the sea of trouble;
the surging sea will be subdued
and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.
Assyria’s pride will be brought down
and Egypt’s scepter will pass away.
I will strengthen them in the LORD
and in his name they will walk,”
declares the LORD.
My Understanding: The
Lord was speaking here to his covenant people, and the message has not changed.
We are to ask the Lord both for spiritual, and for physical blessings and
provisions, for he is our creator and sustainer; our provider and the giver of
good gifts. We are to seek his counsel, advice and direction for our lives and
future, for he is the one who made us, and he is the one to direct our steps
and to show us the way to go. We are to put our trust in his sovereignty over
our lives, and to trust that he is the one in control, and that he will work
out the things in our lives according to his purposes and for his glory.
We are not to put our trust in man or in the idols of men:
fame, fortune, acceptance, prestige, entertainment, and/or human intellect and
reasoning, etc. We are not to find our comfort in the things of this world, or
to look to men to bring comfort that only God can provide. In other words, we
should not seek out a false comfort or sense of security in things or in men –
their wisdom, philosophies, etc. Men tell lies. The pleasures of this world are
deceptive in that they speak a false message of self-gratification when they
tempt us to find our solace in them.
Comfort in Vain
Yet, this also speaks to the subject of false teachers
(shepherds) who tell lies to people for the express purpose of deception. Yet,
some of these leaders are just repeating the lies they have heard, and they
ignorantly proclaim them as truth, I believe. One of the biggest lies of Satan
that I am aware of that is hitting the church in America, in particular, is the
false gospel that teaches hope of eternal life absent of true repentance
(turning from sin) and obedience to Christ and to his commands, as required for
salvation, and as done in the power and working of the Holy Spirit in the life
of the believer as he cooperates with that work.
By convincing people that they can be in genuine
relationship with Jesus Christ, and have the hope of eternal life in heaven,
while circumventing repentance and obedience, they give the people “comfort in
vain,” because they promise them heaven without telling them the truth of the
cost of following Christ. Thus, the people wander like sheep without a
shepherd, because their leaders are leading them astray with a false hope, and
they are leaving them still under the control and power of sin.
God was angry against those leaders in Zechariah’s day, and
I believe he is angry against the national leaders and church leaders in the
USA (the west) today, and he will punish those shepherds of the people of this
nation, and in the church in this nation, who have lied to the people, and who
have promised the people freedom while knowingly or ignorantly deceiving the
people for their own advantage, i.e. in order to build their own earthly
kingdoms. These leaders are leading the people away from their pure devotion to
Jesus Christ by not telling them the truth of the gospel, i.e. by withholding
the truth (or some of it) in order to please men and to say what their itching
ears want to hear. They don’t want to offend them with the truth of the gospel,
because they want their own “kingdoms” to prosper. And, telling them the cost
of following Christ would not be “good business.”
“Big Brother”
I believe the vision of (global) “Big Brother” at the door
of our house (America/the church) is a picture of the coming judgment on this
nation and on its leaders, both in the government and in the church. The Lord
(our cornerstone) will bring this judgment, and when he does, all will be
affected by it. The Lord will use the judgment in the life of the church to
bring his people to repentance and back to her “first love.” God/Jesus Christ
will then be the only shepherd for God’s people. I believe this will take place
in the time known as the tribulation period to come on the earth. God will
remove human leaders from their positions of power, and he will bring this
nation into a time of judgment to where we will have to depend entirely on the
Lord for everything. We will no longer turn to idols – things our hands have
made – to bring us comfort. I do believe this time is “at the door,” i.e. it is
imminent.
The man in my vision who symbolized “Big Brother” (globally)
was wearing glasses with thick black frames. Eye glasses are used to correct
defective vision, and vision has to do with insight, wisdom, discernment,
judgment, etc. Black is the absence of light, and light is truth and
righteousness, so black is often symbolic of what is evil and sinful. A frame
is a border, casing, structure, framework, construction, a body, a trap or to
entrap, trick or entice; a surrounding structure. So, these lenses (perhaps a
device that focuses a beam of electrons or radiation – Encarta) are encased in
a framework or structure (organization) that is thick with evil (like the
antichrist or the beast of Revelation). I believe they represent “the battle
bow” that will come against these shepherds of the people, that they are of
this global “Big Brother,” and that they will be used to correct the defective
discernment and judgment, not just of the leadership, but of the people who
have been led astray by the false teachers and who have bought into their lies.
The purpose will be to correct defective vision, i.e. to bring people to
repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and to revive the church. And, truly that
will be the Lord’s way of delivering his people and of strengthening them.
Jesus, Our
Cornerstone
Jesus Christ is our cornerstone. This is a prophecy (in the
whole of Zechariah) concerning his coming as shepherd, Savior, ruler and judge.
The first time he came, he came to save us from our sins. He will come again
one day to rescue us physically from this evil world, at which time he will
also judge the earth and its inhabitants. Yet, this will be preceded by a time
of judgment on the earth at his hand that is called the Tribulation period.
Some people believe the church will be raptured out before that time takes
place. I believe the church will be here during the tribulation period, and
that God will use this time to purify his bride and to make her ready for her
husband and their wedding. And, I believe Zechariah 10 is about that time when
God judges and he purifies his people; and when he revives and renews them, because
they responded to correction with repentance and renewed faith.
This prophecy, though, also encompasses Jesus Christ’s
coming to earth to be born as a baby (human flesh), his life and ministry on
the earth, his crucifixion on the cross for our sins, his resurrection, and the
coming of the promised Holy Spirit to indwell the lives and hearts of true
believers in Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ sent his Holy Spirit to live in
our hearts, the Lord is always with us. He gives us the strength we need in
battle (spiritual warfare) against our enemy, Satan, through the power of the
working of his Holy Spirit within us. He promises us his provisions and
blessings, and his strength and power against our enemy, yet implied in here is
that we the people have turned from their (our) wicked ways and their (our) idolatry
and misdirected trust in man, and they (we) have turned to trusting in the Lord
Jesus as their (our) only Shepherd (Lord).
When the Lord comes in judgment on this nation (and world),
and he revives his adulterous and idolatrous church, then his people
collectively will walk in his name. A person’s name is his character, and his
word, integrity, etc. So to walk in the name of the Lord means to live life in
keeping with God’s holy and righteous character, by his divine power at work
within us. Also, to walk in someone’s name means to be his representatives or
ambassadors, which we, as his followers, are supposed to be, and in fact are,
for good or for bad. If we are truly walking in his character, and we are
walking in truth, integrity, righteousness and holiness, and we are following
him and obeying him as his servants and messengers, then we are his ambassadors
for good, as though Christ were making his appeal through us. We are his
servants and witnesses to tell the world about Jesus Christ and to share his
gospel.
I believe walking in Christ’s name also means that, because
of all Jesus Christ has done for us, that we, as his followers, can do no less
than praise, love and serve him with our whole being. May we delight today in
walking in his name, and in following him wherever he leads us.
No Less / An
Original Work / March 19, 2012
I can do no less than
praise You,
Lord, for all You’ve
done for me.
You died for my sins
to save me,
So I would be set
free.
I adore You! Lord, I
praise You!
Jesus, Savior, King of
kings!
You provided my
redemption.
Your grace has
pardoned me.
I can do no less than
serve You.
Lord, Your witness I
would be,
Telling others of Your
love,
And why You died on
that tree.
Tell of how You gave
of Your life,
So from sin we’d be
set free,
So we could worship
You forever,
And live eternally.
I can do no less than
love You,
Lord, for You have
first loved me.
You gave of Your life
so willing,
Because You cared for
me.
Turn from my sin! Obey
freely!
Live for You each
passing day.
Read Your word, and
follow Your lead,
Lord, as I humbly
pray.
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