Sunday, June 29, 2014,
7:47 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “To Be Like Him.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Isaiah 7 (NIV).
Hearts Shaken
When
Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram
and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem,
but they could not overpower it.
Now
the house of David was told, “Aram has allied itself with Ephraim”; so the
hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken
by the wind.
Then
the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz
at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s
Field. Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart
because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger
of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son
have plotted your ruin, saying, “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and
divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.”
Obviously this is a situation spoken of in Biblical history,
and so these directives are specific to this particular situation. Yet God’s
word teaches us that ALL scripture is God-breathed and is useful (profitable)
for teaching, reproof, correction and for training in righteousness (See 2 Tim.
3:16). So, we look at the principles that are being taught here, and we
interpret them in light of the New Covenant relationship between God and his
people, the church, and we pray for wisdom and understanding to know how this
can be applied to our lives today.
The people had received a report of an alliance between the
king of Aram (in Syria) and the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Israel was then
divided into two kingdoms, and Jerusalem was in the southern kingdom. True
Israel today is the true church, the Body of Christ, not to be confused with
the institutional church, an institution created by humankind. Perhaps an
analogy could be made here that the “Israel” of today, i.e. the church, is also
a divided kingdom and only in the southern kingdom (not a physical location but
in a spiritual realm) does Jerusalem, The Holy City, the heavenly Jerusalem,
the Bride of Christ dwell.
In other words, when in America someone says “church,” they
generally mean a non-profit corporation of the federal government of the USA,
instituted of men (humans), and run much like a business, though they don’t generally
picture it that way. Usually they think of it as the true church because there are
some true Christians who go there, but there is a definite distinction that
must be made here between the “northern kingdom” and the “southern kingdom,”
i.e. one is an institution of humans (a physical entity) and is in an alliance
with the federal (or global) government, and the other is a spiritual entity of
the Spirit of God in which dwells the Holy of Holies, the Spirit of God.
They are not one and the same, though the true church may
attend the meetings of the institutional church. And they are operated
completely different from each other, too, i.e. one has as its head human
beings and government, and the other has Christ as its head and is ideally operated
by the Spirit of God. Yet, the institutional church is definitely at war with
and is coming against the true church, the Body of Christ, of the Spirit of God,
yet the institutional church will not overpower the true church. God will not
allow it. So, we are to be careful, keep calm, not be afraid and not lose heart.
We will not be overcome. Amen!
Not Happening
Yet
this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘It
will not take place,
it will not happen…
If
you do not stand firm in your faith,
you will not stand at all.’”
…The
Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time
unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of
Assyria.”
In
that day the Lord will whistle for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for
bees from the land of Assyria. They will all come and settle in the steep
ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the
water holes. In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the
Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and private parts, and
to cut off your beard also. In that day, a person will keep alive a young cow
and two goats. And because of the abundance of the milk they give, there will
be curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds and honey. In that
day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver
shekels, there will be only briers and thorns. Hunters will go there with bow
and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns. As for all the
hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers
and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where
sheep run.
This is what I believe the Lord Jesus is showing me here. It
would appear, from all outward signs, that the true church of the Spirit of
God, headed by Christ himself, is dying out, and that it is being overrun by
the institutional church, of the making of and being operated by humankind. We
see so many lies, manipulations and deceptions within the institutional church
today. We see the gospel being destroyed from within. We see the focus of the
church turning more toward man-made religion, humanistic teachings and
philosophies, and worldly values and standards, and it breaks our hearts. And,
it can get discouraging at times, with no visible end in sight other than the
total and absolute obliteration of truth and of godly principles and values.
So, the Lord is encouraging us here, that even though things look bleak at the
moment, his church will survive and they will overcome! Amen!
Yet, not all is encouraging, for the way in which he must
get his church to thrive and survive in this world of lies, deceptions and
manipulations, is that he must bring judgment upon his adulterous and
idolatrous church, and that involves the persecution and death of even the genuine
followers of Jesus Christ. The King of Assyria, I believe, is symbolic of this
beast of Revelation which will be allowed to conquer even the saints of God,
but only physically. They can kill our bodies, but they can’t kill our souls. I
believe God will use this judgment against his church to open up the short-sighted
eyes of his church so that they can see the reality around them, so they are no
longer deceived by the liars and manipulators, and so they will follow Jesus
Christ wholeheartedly, even to their deaths.
I believe the church will actually grow during this time, as
many will come to Christ through the time of severe persecution that has come
and is coming upon the church throughout the world. Satan can try all he wants
to destroy us, but we will only grow stronger. So many times we can only see
what is directly going on around us. God wants to give us long-distance vision
to see what lies ahead for us in the future, so that we do not give up hope.
To Be Like Him /
An Original Work
March 16, 2014 / Based off Scripture
Crucified you are with
Jesus.
To be like Him, oh,
you’ll be,
Because He died at
Calv’ry,
So from sin you’d be
free.
Oh, what joy He brings
into your life,
Giving life with Him
endlessly.
Oh, what plans He has
for your life.
Share the gospel
faithfully.
Show the people He
loves them.
Now His witness you’ll
be.
Tell the world of sin
about Jesus,
How He died for them
on a tree.
Purifying hearts, He
saves them,
Who believe on Christ,
God’s Son.
Turning now from their
idols,
New lives they have
begun.
Jesus saves from sin;
we’re forgiven.
Over sin, the vict’ry
He won!
When He comes again to
take us
To be with Him
evermore,
There will be no more
crying.
Gladness will be in
store.
Heavens joys will now
overtake us:
We’ll be with our Lord
evermore.
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