Isaiah 62:1-3 ESV
“For Zion's sake I
will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be
quiet,
until her
righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
The nations shall see
your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be
called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
You shall be a crown
of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”
We live in troubled times. The church of Jesus Christ is
under fire, in case you haven’t noticed. And, by “church” I don’t mean
institutions of men, or buildings called “church,” or church denominations in
an unholy union with the federal government. I mean the body of Christ, the
saints of God who have died with Christ to sin and who are living to Christ and
to his righteousness, in the power of God’s Spirit living within them.
We have been under the attack of our enemy Satan ever since
the church came into being, in reality, but here in America it is now becoming
more evident that the church here is under persecution, too. It may publicly be
coming in forms of attacks on institutional Christianity, but in reality they
(world powers) appear to be on a crusade to bring evangelical Christianity
down, to demonstrate to the world that it is bad for society as a whole.
But, this is not anything new, really. This has been going
on a long time. But, the pressures are now mounting against the true church,
the saints of God here in America, and against the true gospel of our
salvation, too. But, this is yet another step in the total destruction of the
church, as is Satan’s plan. He and his hordes are surely out to destroy us.
But, it is God’s will to revive his church and to breathe life back into her –
the life of his Spirit.
And, God will not keep silent until his church is revived,
and until his holy people are living holy lives, pleasing to God, and until
they are out there in the world letting their lights shine brightly for Jesus
Christ, and until they are walking in fellowship with their Lord in obedience
to his commands, in unity with Christ and with one another. He is going to keep
calling his wandering ones back into fellowship with him, and to repentance and
obedience.
And, this is because he loves us, and he has called us to be
a holy people living lives which are separate from the world and unto God. So,
he will discipline us, in love, in order that we may share in his holiness
(Heb. 12).
Isaiah 62:6-9 ESV
“On your walls, O
Jerusalem,
I have set watchmen;
all the day and all
the night
they shall never be silent.
You who put the Lord
in remembrance,
take no rest,
and give him no rest
until he establishes Jerusalem
and makes it a praise in the earth.
The Lord has sworn by
his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
‘I will not again give
your grain
to be food for your enemies,
and foreigners shall
not drink your wine
for which you have labored;
but those who garner
it shall eat it
and praise the Lord,
and those who gather
it shall drink it
in the courts of my sanctuary.’”
So, the Lord has called certain ones of his saints to be
watchmen (and women) in our day and time, to speak his messages (biblical
messages) to the people day and night, and to never be silent. Their assignment
from God is to expose the lies of the enemy, to proclaim the truth of God’s
Word, to call the wandering church to repentance and obedience to Christ, to
warn of divine judgment, but to promise restoration for the repentant.
And, the Lord is sending out his watchmen (and women)
throughout the earth and on the internet to proclaim his messages so that the
adulterous and idolatrous church will come to repentance, and so they will be
revived, and so that they will be on fire for the Lord and will be sharing the
gospel of our salvation, so that many will be saved before our Lord returns.
For, the church in America, at least, has been overtaken by
the enemy for a long while now. I can’t say exactly when this began, but it
appears it has been going on my whole lifetime, but in slow, deliberate and
calculated steps (increments) of deception, a little at a time, so that it was
barely noticeable by the unsuspecting and the naïve.
And, the result has been disastrous! For, so much of the
church has been turned upside down, and it has become worldly and adulterous.
So much of the church has gone the way of the world and of big business and has
converted the church, which is a living organism, into businesses of men to be
marketed like any other business, and to make the church appealing to the
world, and to dilute the gospel to make it acceptable to the world, too.
So, the vast majority of those who call themselves
Christians in America are very worldly and very fleshly, and they have been
convinced that they can continue in sinful practices without guilt and without
punishment, and that they don’t have to share the gospel, but all they have to
do is be “nice” to people and to be “good deed doers.”
And, thus, Satan has emasculated the church, i.e. he has
rendered the church here in America powerless, weak, and ineffectual
spiritually with regard to holiness, righteousness, purity and faithfulness to
God and obedience to his Word. But, God, in his mercy and grace, is still
calling his wandering ones to repentance and to renewed faith, because it is
God’s will to revive his church, not to hand her over to the enemy for
destruction.
Isaiah 62:10-12 ESV
“Go through, go
through the gates;
prepare the way for the people;
build up, build up the
highway;
clear it of stones;
lift up a signal over the peoples.
Behold, the Lord has
proclaimed
to the end of the earth:
Say to the daughter of
Zion,
‘Behold, your salvation comes;
behold, his reward is
with him,
and
his recompense before him.’
And they shall be
called The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the Lord;
and you shall be
called Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken.”
So, as followers of Jesus Christ, what is our responsibility
with regard to getting out the truth of the gospel, not just to those who have
made no profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but to those who have professed
faith in Jesus Christ, but for whom it was a false faith, or for those who have
wandered away from the true faith they once had?
We may not all be called to be watchmen (and women), but we
are all responsible to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of
darkness into his wonderful light. And, we are all to let our lights shine
before men and to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. And, we
are to be the Lord’s witnesses to the people of the world, and to snatch people
from the fire and to save them, etc.
So, we need to be out there where the people are, which
right now in America is on the internet, since we are not allowed to gather in
person right now, and we have to keep six feet between us and other people. And,
we need to be preparing the hearts of people to repent of their sins and to
follow the Lord in obedience to his commands.
And, this involves exposing the lies and the deceptions, and
proclaiming the truths of God’s word (in context), so that blinded eyes will be
opened and so that people will turn their hearts back to (or to) the Lord in
repentance, in surrender to God, and in obedience to his commands.
We need to unite together as the people of God in this
effort to get the truth out and to expose Satan’s lies, for many people today
are living under a cloud of deception. We need to rise up as a mighty army for
God, not in physical warfare, and not with using the weapons of this world, but
by putting on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil attacks
against us.
For, the church of Jesus Christ needs to be revived, and
many people need to be saved from slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin and to be
liberated to now walk in holiness and in purity of devotion to their Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. So, let’s take this opportunity we have been given by God
to get alone with God, and to get serious about his calling on our lives. And,
then let’s get out there and flood the internet with the true gospel of our
salvation so that many will put their trust in Jesus Christ to be their God and
Lord.
Onward
Christian Soldiers
Sabine
Baring-Gould, 1865
Arthur
S. Sullivan, 1871
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!
At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee;
On then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise.
Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod.
We are not divided, all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine, one in charity.
Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
But the church of Jesus constant will remain.
Gates of hell can never ’gainst that church prevail;
We have Christ’s own promise, and that cannot fail.
Onward then, ye people, join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices in the triumph song.
Glory, laud, and honor unto Christ the King,
This through countless ages men and angels sing.
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
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