Sunday, November 30,
2014, 5:58 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.” Speak, Lord, your words to my
heart. I read Revelation 5 (NASB).
I
saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on
the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with
a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” And no
one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or
to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy
to open the book or to look into it; and one of the elders *said to me, “Stop
weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,
has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”
And
I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb
standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven
Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And He came and took the book out
of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. When He had taken the book, the
four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb,
each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they
*sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy
are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and
purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people
and nation.
“You
have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon
the earth.”
Then
I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living
creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and
thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy
is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and
honor and glory and blessing.”
And
every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and
on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,
“To
Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory
and dominion forever and ever.”
And
the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and
worshiped.
Why Was I Crying?
This morning, as I sat down here at my desk in front of my
computer, with this passage of scripture before me, and a new Word Document
opened up, ready for me to write (type) whatever the Lord Jesus would lay upon
my heart for me to write from this passage today, I began to weep, literally. I
was suddenly overcome with enormous sorrow in my heart, and tears began
streaming down my cheeks. Why was I crying? I miss church!
Now, when I say I miss church, what I mean is that I miss
real church, you know like the Body of Christ, believers in Jesus Christ,
meeting together with one another to study the Word of God together, and to share
burdens, heartaches, joys and praises from the depths of our souls, and then to
pray for one another, fellowship in the Spirit together, and then to minister
in the Spirit to one another using the gifts given us by the Spirit to
encourage and to strengthen one another in the faith – with each part doing its
work.
I miss preaching that is straight from the Word of God, in
context, and of the Holy Spirit’s leading – the kind of preaching that convicts
of sin and pierces through our hearts, that lifts us up when we are down and
strengthens us when our faith is weak - that draws us close to the Lord in the
knowledge of who he truly is and in what he is honestly all about. I miss
hearing testimonies of other believers as they share what God is teaching them
through his word each day and how he is growing them in their faith. I miss how
Mrs. Dittmar used to just break out in singing a hymn during our time of personal
reflection during communion, and how the rest of the congregation would join
her in singing praises to Almighty God.
I miss the friendships I used to have with other women who
would call me and share a scripture with me the Lord Jesus had laid upon their
hearts to share with me in order to encourage or counsel me, because they knew
what I was going through, and they cared, and they were listening to the Spirit’s
voice, and they were walking in obedience to him. I miss those long
conversations which we used to have with each other over the phone, or sitting
across from each other at a breakfast table, where we talked about Jesus and
our walks of faith and what we were learning, and how God was encouraging us. I
miss how we would then be sensitive to the Spirit’s voice with each other and
would pray in the Spirit one for the other. My friend Mary even, one day, made
me a prescription bottle with capsules with scripture verses in them, and she
prescribed I take one a day. I saved it now 35 yrs. J
Why Don’t I Have Church?
So, why don’t I have church today? Church is not what it
used to be. It has evolved. We, as the people of God, have evolved. So many
Bible studies are not Bible studies at all. They are studies in books written
by humans in which the Bible may be mentioned or quoted, but in the context of
the philosophy of the person who wrote the book, and so we end up studying
human thinking instead of God’s thinking. And, if we would try, in many cases,
to introduce a teaching from scripture in contrast to the human’s teaching, it
may well be thrown out, even though it may be biblically sound, because it
doesn’t fit with the message written by the person who wrote the book – a message
that group is all following blindly. So many of these books, too, are way far
away from the gospel as taught by the apostles, too.
In so many churches today so much of everything is so
orchestrated and controlled by humans that there is not much room at all, if
any, for the Spirit to even work. There is not much space, at all, given for
the body to use their spiritual gifts and to work in the roles God has assigned
to them, unless their body parts and gifts fit neatly into the prepackaged way
of doing church as is being passed down from globally recognized pastors and
Christian leaders who have developed materials for pastors across denominations
to follow for how they should grow their churches.
Many of these church growth methods teach the pastors to
avoid people strong in their faith or in Bible knowledge and to filter them out
because they are not a “good fit” for what they are trying to do, and even to
encourage all the “misfits” to go someplace else. In fact, many of these
pastors say they will help you find another place to go, just so you leave
their place. Whatever happened to not saying to any part of the body, “We have
no need of you”?
In so many churches today their “worship services” are major
stage productions and everything is completely orchestrated by humans in order
to appeal to the emotions and desires of human flesh, diluting the gospel, and making
everything fun and entertaining, light and fluffy, in order to make the world
comfortable in the church so the world will want to come back. The church has
adopted the ways of the world, and has led their people to immerse themselves
in worldly cultures so that they can “win the world,” but to what?
So, what is wrong with this picture? Most everything! If the
world is comfortable in our churches, then we are not the Body of Christ. The
Body of Christ may attend these “churches,” but so much of what is called “church”
today is just businesses of humans, and corporations under the government, and
run just like any other business, replacing the leading of the Spirit with
marketing schemes, manipulations of emotions, trickery, and with a conforming
of “the product” to the desires and wishes of the “customers” so they will want
to come back, and so they will keep “buying.” Oh, how I miss church!
Stop Weeping!
After I expressed to my husband, who was sitting across the
room from me at his desk, how I was overcome this morning with how much I miss
church, and how tears were streaming down my cheeks, I read this passage again,
and read how John was weeping because it appeared there was no one worthy to
open the book or to look into it. One of the elders, though, told him to stop
weeping, because the Lion of Judah (Jesus Christ) has overcome so as to open
the book and its seven seals. Amen!
I asked the Lord Jesus to give me understanding into all
this, and to help me to see how what I was weeping over related to this passage
of scripture, as I believe he put that into my heart this morning. What was
written on the parchments represented God’s purposes, his sovereign will, and his
protective care over the church and over the people of the world. What was
written on the sealed parchments also represented future events yet to take
place which would fulfill God’s purposes and will for the church and for the
world. In other words, God has everything under his control, and he has a plan
in place, I believe, to bring his church back to him as their only God and
Lord, and to revive his church so that they will be his holy people once more,
enjoying his sweet fellowship with him and with one another.
When Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain for our sins, took
the book, then the creatures and the elders fell down before the Lamb, each one
holding the prayers of the saints. This morning, but not unlike most days for
me, I was praying for unsaved family members to come to Christ, and for the
revival of God’s church. God listens to my prayers, and I believe he is
responding this morning to my prayers by the message he is giving me here. He
is encouraging me that he is in control and that he is completely sovereign
over all things, that he has a plan and a purpose for everything that is
presently going on with the church, and that his plan is for his church to be a
kingdom and priests to their God and to reign with him upon the earth. Amen! In
other words, things will not remain as they are forever. Praise Jesus! There is
hope! One day his wayward people will return to him and the church will be like
he intended her to be all along. Oh, how wonderful that day will be!
‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus / Louisa M.R. Stead / William J.
Kirkpatrick
’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just
to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise, just to
know, “Thus saith the Lord!”
O how sweet to trust in Jesus, just to
trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me ’neath
the healing, cleansing flood!
Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus, just
from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking life, and
rest, and joy, and peace.
I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee, precious
Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me, will
be with me to the end.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Thee! How
I’ve proved Thee o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for
grace to trust Thee more!
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