Strengthen yourself in the LORD Jesus!

 Remember, the list is not infinite but finite. These qualities are not only possible but required of every member of the Body of Christ who is chosen to work with the Lord in the establishing of His Kingdom on the earth.

• Truthfulness.
• Covenant keeping.
• Sincerity.
• Purity.
• Gentleness.
• Kindness.
• Mercy.
• A forgiving nature.
• Honesty.
• A wholesome fear of God.
• Obedience to God.
• Faithfulness.
• Courage.
• Avoiding spiritism.
• Purity of speech.
• Patience.
• Endurance.
• Humility.
• Justice and fairness of behavior.
• Being slow to anger.
• Being a peacemaker.

Do not stagger at the list. These virtues can be dealt with one at a time very successfully.

You do not have to set about to transform yourself. The Spirit of God will show you (probably already has pointed out to you) the areas He is ready to work on now. Your part is to recognize that until hindering bondages are removed and Christ’s Nature installed in their place your present witness is harmed and your readiness to rise to meet the Lord at His appearing is endangered.

If you do not take these elements of needed change seriously you will continue to trust in imputed righteousness. But the Kingdom of God will pass you by. You cannot go against the Word of God and prosper. The believer who continues to sin will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

There is a negative and a positive dimension of righteous behavior. The negative dimension is deliverance from that which is unrighteousness. The positive dimension is the forming of Christ’s righteous Nature in us. It is not enough to be delivered from sin, we also must be filled with Christ’s righteous personality. Jesus Christ is ready and willing to perform both of these works of righteousness for each believer who will look to Him in faith.

Righteous behavior is absolutely necessary if we are to be a true Christian.

Our change from unrighteous behavior depends on our having faith that such transformation is not only necessary but possible through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Righteousness is righteousness. The world knows what righteousness is even if the Christians do not.

How we gain righteous behavior. Now we come to the issue: what does the New Testament say about the way in which we should regard the establishing of righteousness in our personality.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; And to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; And to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, (II Peter 1:3-10)

First of all, we note (above) that “His Divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.”

Everything we need for godliness!

Through our knowledge of Him, who called us by His own glory and goodness, we have everything we need for life and godliness.

There is no need for us to wonder or to hesitate in indecision. Through Jesus Christ we have everything we need for eternal life and godly character and behavior. It is up to us to lay hold on that which already has been given to us.

Are not God’s own glory and goodness adequate to transform our moral character? From these God has given us great and precious promises. Through His promises we are able both to participate in the Divine Nature and also escape the corruption in the world that proceeds from evil desires.

We understand, therefore, that the Scripture gives us a basis for faith—faith that God indeed will bring each member of the Body of Christ to maturity in righteousness.

How are we to respond?

We are to add to our faith goodness. We are to add goodness. How do we do this? By laying hold on the very great and precious promises found in the New Testament, promises that have to do with the Holy Spirit crucifying the old nature and bringing forth the new creation of righteous behavior.

We are to add knowledge to our goodness, the knowledge of the Lord we gain by taking up our cross and following Him each day. The Scriptures guide and comfort us in our distress, but the knowledge of the holy comes from experience. Day to day pours forth speech. Night to night reveals knowledge. It is in the nighttime of trials that we gain the knowledge of the Lord.

We are to add self-control, which is part of the fruit of the Spirit, to our knowledge. We are to add perseverance to our self-control.
We are to add godliness to our perseverance.
We are to add brotherly kindness, also a fruit of the Spirit, to our godliness.
We are to add love, a fruit of the Spirit, to our brotherly kindness.

We add these to our faith by seeking the Lord every day. Thus we become a new creation of righteous behavior.

Now, notice the importance of these attributes of character: “If we possess these qualities in increasing measure they keep us from being ineffective and unproductive in the knowledge of Christ.” It follows that if we do not possess them we remain ineffective and unproductive in the knowledge of Christ. If we are ineffective and unproductive in the knowledge of Christ we will not participate in the first resurrection, the resurrection of the royal priesthood.

When we do not add these qualities we are nearsighted. We are blind. We have forgotten we have been cleansed from our past sins.

If we add these things to our faith we will never fall away from the Lord.

It is up to us to make our calling and election sure, and we do this by making certain that we grow in righteous behavior.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1)

Let us throw off the sin that so easily entangles us and prevents us from running the race of righteousness freely and swiftly. We throw it off. There has been much teaching that Christians are simply unable to deal with sin in this manner. But the Scripture informs us otherwise.

Most of the sins we commit are habits, such as swearing, lying, stealing, reading pornography. We can stop these if we choose, calling on the Lord to assist us.

Sometimes a sin hangs on in spite of our determination to cease practicing in it. In this case we are bound. We are being forced to behave in a manner of which we do not approve. This means we have lost control of ourselves.

What we must do in this case is to go to the elders of the church and ask for deliverance. No doubt a spirit is involved. This can be cast from us so we can gain the victory in prayer.

If we are to maintain victory over a behavior, once having gained it, we must continue to practice the principles of discipleship found in the New Testament. If we do not, the bondage may return and leave us worse off than before.

The Lord Jesus warned us about this, about leaving our house swept and put in order but empty of tenants. Get Christ into your house!

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Hebrews 12:4)

We see from the above that a struggle against sin is part of the normal Christian discipleship. We have to pray and then use our own will in refusing to practice ungodliness. Some believers are brought further than this and are tortured or martyred because of their refusal to sin, resisting to the point of actually shedding their blood.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24)

It is up to us to crucify our sinful nature. We do this, as we have said, by praying, making a sincere effort to cease sinning, presenting our body a living sacrifice to God, and continuing in all the principles of godly living set forth in the New Testament.

Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame. (I Corinthians 15:34)

Because of the sinning of the Christian believers numerous people of the world are ignorant of God. There is no witness of God apart from the good works of the believers.

No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (I Corinthians 9:27)

We must keep a firm control over the appetites and lusts of our physical body. If we do not, our body will lead us into sin and we will disqualify ourselves from having any reward in the Kingdom of God. No matter how great may be the results of our ministry, we will be cast from the Presence of Christ if we give way to our flesh.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (I Corinthians 10:13)

All people, including Christians, are tested in this world. God is faithful and makes a way of escape for the Christian so he or she can go through the test without sinning against God.

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. (I Peter 4:1,2)

God assists our pursuit of godliness by sending suffering on us. As we note from the verse above, if we allow our suffering to drive us to prayer the result will be we turn away from sin and live according to the will of God.

“Because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” (Hebrews 12:6)

When suffering comes upon you, go to the Lord. Do not blame Satan or people. Go to the Lord. If you are a believer it is highly possible you are experiencing God’s discipline. Be very thankful because the end will be peace and holiness. Peace and holiness are highly desirable attributes of behavior and are found in every true member of the Body of Christ.

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (I Peter 2:12)

The unbelievers may be ready to blame us for all their troubles, but if we continue in godly, righteous behavior they will be forced to acknowledge their error and will give glory to God in the day when He visits them.

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

The contribution of the evangelist is necessary as the Lord adds to the Church daily such as should be saved. But the witness to the world consists of the godly character and behavior of the believers.

For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. (Isaiah 61:11)

Righteousness and praise can spring up in the sight of the nations of the earth only as the members of the Body of Christ are righteous in behavior.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22,23)

Righteous character and behavior require the evil to be removed and the good added. As we follow the Spirit of God, cooperating with Him in every detail, He casts out the evil and fills us with the good. Love is infinitely more than the absence of hate.

Love, joy, and peace are not the fruit of the Christian but of the Spirit. Such qualities cannot possibly come from Adam though he try with all his might. They can come only as a human being meditates in the Scriptures to discover how he should be behaving and then goes to the Lord for help. The Lord gives His Spirit to those who obey Him, and it is the Spirit who creates the image of Christ in us.

If we hope to be raised from the dead and caught up to meet the Lord in the air we must be righteous in character and behavior. No believer who has not added the qualities of personality described in Second Peter has any hope of ascending to meet the Lord in His Day. Such moral transformation (another way of saying the formation of Christ in us) is absolutely necessary if we are to participate in the establishing of the Kingdom of God on the earth.

We must have faith that Jesus is able to transform us. The Christian churches often have maintained it is impossible to rise above sin while we are in the present world. The Scriptures do not agree with this point of view.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. (Romans 6:12)

The New Testament informs us we can gain victory over sin through Jesus Christ. This will not take place in our personality until we are willing to mix faith with the Word of God.

Righteous behavior comprises those kinds of actions that generally are considered by Christians and non-Christians alike as being righteous and godly. They correspond to the voice of conscience. The only people on earth, apparently, who are confused concerning the nature of righteous behavior are the Christians.

If you want to know what righteous behavior is, ask an unsaved person.

We have listed several verses of Scripture that exhort us to stop sinning and do the will of God, to exercise a strong hand over our flesh. The Spirit of the Lord will enable us to do this and will add the Virtue of Jesus Christ to us.

The choice is ours. We can choose to be the slave of righteousness and thus be qualified to be a member of the Body of Christ, the Servant of the Lord.

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. (Romans 6:16,17)

It is a case of obeying the form of teaching to which we have been committed.

We can choose to obey the teaching and live, or we can choose to be a slave to sin and thus kill our own spiritual life, our hope of attaining the first resurrection from the dead. The Judgment Seat of Christ will evaluate the choices we made during our lifetime and reward us accordingly.

The wages (for all people, including Christians) of sin is spiritual death. The gift of the opportunity to attain eternal life has been given us from the Lord. Will we receive it and act on it?

I will take hold of your hand.

It is a good thing to hold the hand of God. But because of the pressures coming upon us in these days we need to have God hold our hand.

Due to the spread of sin throughout the world the prevalence of demon spirits and rebellious angels is increasing. The crimes committed in the United States are so heinous as to be beyond description. We are becoming accustomed to children shooting other children in school, to people chopping up bodies and leaving the parts in different locations. It seems there is no end to the horrors. Yet the government keeps on playing political games, fiddling while Rome is burning.

But if we consent to be the bondslave of Jesus Christ, God has promised to hold our hand. When God is holding our hand we can walk on the very brink of disaster as safely as though we were home in bed—in fact more safely.

When you lay down at night do you say, “Lord, you alone make me dwell in safety”? It is a good idea. A few months ago a spider bit my eye while I was snuggled “safely” under the blankets. What does this teach us about safety?

Here is a marvelous promise. If we are God’s servant He will hold our hand.

How safe a child feels when Dad is holding his hand. How safe we ought to feel when God is holding our hand.

What can harm us if we are walking with God as His servant?

I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.

God wants every member of the Body of Christ now, and throughout the ages to come, to be a covenant for the people, a light for the nations of the earth.

The old covenant can be written on tables of stone, on parchment, on paper, on the walls of our house. The new covenant can be written only on the human mind and heart.

What we term the “New Testament” is actually a record of people who themselves are the new covenant.

When Christ is formed in us, people can approach Him through us, and God through Christ. All that people need is found in God but they are unable to approach Him. They cannot see Him. When they pray they usually hear no response. God is far away in Heaven, somewhere beyond the galaxies.

But when we are the bondslave of Christ, people can come to Christ and God through us and receive their needs and desires. For this purpose each member of God’s elect was called and chosen to be the Presence of God (Immanuel) throughout the creation.

We ourselves are being made the covenant of God with His creatures. This is the role of the royal priesthood.

A covenant is an agreement between two parties. One promises to do something and the other agrees and enters the covenant.

The Old Covenant consisted of the Ten Commandments plus the remainder of the statutes of the Law of Moses. The Ark of the Covenant was so named because the Covenant, the Ten Commandments, was carried in the Ark.

God spoke the words of the covenant to Moses. Then the Israelites were to obey them. When the Israelites obeyed the Law of Moses, God was bound by the covenant to bless them, give them victory over their enemies, prosper them in material possessions, and keep them in health.

Because the Jews had only the adamic nature to enable them to keep the terms of the Covenant they failed on many occasions. God was not satisfied with them and issued a new covenant.

The new covenant is not written with ink but with the Spirit of God. The new covenant cannot be written on parchment or paper but only on the mind and heart of man. The new covenant is not a covenant of the letter, as was the Law of Moses, but a covenant of the Holy Spirit. The letter of the Law kills but the Holy Spirit gives life. The first covenant was a covenant of condemnation. The new covenant is a covenant of righteousness.

The old covenant can be learned by devout, intelligent people and then communicated by speaking and writing to the students.

The words of the New Testament can be learned by devout, intelligent people and then communicated by speaking and writing to the students. A rigorous exegesis can be made of the various passages and then the text can be expounded.

But the new covenant itself cannot be communicated in this manner.

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. (II Corinthians 3:2)

When the new covenant is to be formed in a group of people it first must be written on the heart of the apostle sent to them. This does not mean the apostle must first experience the new covenant and then tell the group about it. Rather the birth and formation of the covenant in the group must be birthed and formed in the apostle. Aaron must carry Israel on his shoulders and over his heart, so to speak. The apostle must be a “father” to the group.

“Written on our hearts.” It is the apostle who travails with birth pains. But it is in the group that Christ is formed.

The new covenant is Christ written in the mind and on the heart. As the apostle is brought down to death the Life of Jesus raises him from the dead. The superabundance of eternal resurrection Life flows from the apostle to those around him and they live also. Christ is formed in them. They become the new covenant.

Paul cried out from the Praetorian barracks, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice.” Because the exultant paean rose from a saint in travail the exhortation comes with fertile force. People are transformed. The course of nations is affected.

The new covenant is the eternal law of God (made flesh in Christ) formed in the personality of people who eat that flesh and drink that blood, the flesh and blood of the covenant. It is their responsibility to obey the law placed in their mind and heart. If they do, the blessing of God will abide on them.

The Lord Jesus said He would not drink of “this fruit of the vine” until He drank it new with us in His Father’s Kingdom. Because the resurrected Christ ate the honeycomb we have no doubt He literally will drink new wine with us when the Kingdom comes.

Would we be stretching His saying if we pointed out that when we open the door to Him we dine with Him on His body and blood within our own personality? Perhaps this is a transcendent fulfillment of His promise.

Not everyone may have been in a position to read the writings of the Apostle Paul, but they could read Paul himself. They could follow him as he followed Christ. When they did, God blessed them.

Perhaps the people of the nations were not able to understand all that was said by those in whom the covenant was formed because of Paul’s travail. But they could read those people. They could follow them as they followed Christ. When they did, God blessed them.

Every member of the Servant of the Lord, of the Body of Christ, is being made a covenant with the nations of the earth. Christ is being written in our mind and heart through the travail of others, through their gifts and ministries. Now we are the covenant of God with the nations of the earth. When they are willing to read us and follow us, God will bless them. But the nation and people that will not read and follow the saints will never be blessed by the Lord.

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (II Corinthians 3:3)
If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The LORD will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. (Zechariah 14:18)

During the Kingdom Age the nations of the earth will go up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles by coming to be received and blessed by Christ, Head and Body, to enter the Divine covenant communicated by the saints.

We can see instantly that none of these marvels can take place until the members of the Body come to the stature of the fullness of Christ. But the Word says we indeed will come to this fullness and the nations indeed will come and be blessed. Will we indeed be a part of the fullness and the blessing? We will if we obey the Lord today.

A light for the Gentiles.

As we have said, the only moral light to guide the conduct of people is Christ, and Christ in His saints. The moral light, the testimony, is the righteous behavior of God’s elect.

There is a time to preach the mysteries of the Gospel. But what the world is waiting to see is the Character of Christ, the new covenant, in the believers. The Gentiles will glorify God when they observe the godly behavior of the believers. But until they do they will view us as charlatans, as the Christian churches are often regarded in America.

It is our own fault! We Christians lay great emphasis on our religious antics. The world is waiting to see truth and integrity. How long are they going to have to wait? Until we are “raptured” and they see us no more? What moral light will guide them then?

We need to wake up. The world is descending into Hell and the believers in the Western democracies are having their fun and playing their games.

Some of the believers in other places are being tortured and slain for the Gospel’s sake.

To open eyes that are blind.

In the case of the Lord Jesus He opened physical eyes and spiritual eyes. God wants us to do the same. We ought to pray fervently that God will give us the ministry and gifts we need to do the work of the servant.

Perhaps we have not because we ask not.

The peoples of the earth need their spiritual eyes opened and sometimes their physical eyes. It isn’t going to happen until God empowers His Servant. Let us pray to this end, for the opening of blind eyes is an integral part of the covenant we are being made.

To free captives from prison.

Sometimes we become enraged over the abortions, the homosexuality, the drugs, the rapes, and the other abominations of our culture. There are American Christians in the Midwest who wish the whole West Coast, especially California, would drop off into the Pacific Ocean because of the abominations that are practiced.

If we had eyes to see what really is present in the dens of lust we would be horrified by the horrible ghouls that have the people enslaved. We would want to deliver them from the chains that have them bound. We need to pray that God will open our eyes to the spirit realm so we can see the bondages that encase the minds and hearts of so many Americans. Then we would have compassion. Then we could pray effectively.

As long as God leaves us on the earth we should pray that God will help us to grow to maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ. Then we will be able to free the captives instead of cursing them.

The weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but mighty through God to the tearing down of the strongholds that compel the abortions, the homosexuality, the drugs, the rape, the murder. People are being driven by demons. How can they help themselves? It is the role of the Body of Christ to free the captives, but not by our own wisdom, strength, or talents. Only as we wait on the Lord and inquire in His temple.

If we don’t minister in the rest of God how can we bring other people into the rest of God?

To release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

Picture the citizens of the nations as prisoners in a huge dungeon. The floor is straw. They are thrown garbage each day for their food. There are a few iron-barred windows but so high off the floor they cannot see out, and so they huddle in the darkness.

This is a true picture of the nations of our day, be they rich or poor. They are eating garbage, sitting on the floor and unable to reach the light, huddled together in the darkness, competing with each other and killing each other for a little dry straw.

Across town the Christians are playing ring-around-the-rosy in their churches, jumping up and down next to their pews so they will be able to go up in the rapture.

But then comes a member of the Servant of the Lord, powerful angels at his side, the Glory of the Spirit of God on him and in him. He commands the jailer to stand aside. He reaches for the massive door of granite and steel. The great lock melts away like mist. He pulls and a sliver of golden light reaches across the floor. The prisoners rush to the door.

This is exactly what will take place in the last days. When darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people, the Glory of God will rise on the members of the Servant of the Lord, on those who are competent to work with Christ in the work of the Jubilee of release.

It is not a time to curse the darkness but to pray and ask God to help us become the fruitful member of the Body He has called us to be. The outlook is bright with the promise of God.

I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. (Isaiah 42:8)

I am the LORD!

The Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. In what day? In the day when we surrender our self-will and self-seeking to God and permit the Father and the Son to sit on the throne of our life.

Salvation occurs in three stages: basic salvation, being filled with the Spirit of God, and entering union with the Father through Christ. It is the third stage that is the goal of redemption.

God will not give His glory to another. To receive the Glory of God we must become one with Him.

As we enter the third stage of salvation, union with the Father through Christ, we understand the meaning of “the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.” Gone is our desire to exalt ourselves, our ambition, our lust for preeminence. In its place is a quiet rest in God.

The Lord Jesus is our example. He did not grasp His relationship to the Father. He was a lowly, humble man. He was at home among the poor. Always in every situation He gave the glory to God. He was at rest in the Father, totally free from the need to exalt Himself.

Every member of the Servant of the Lord must permit the Spirit of God to deal with him or her until the desired state of oneness with Christ and God is attained. As long as we are seeking our own glory we make all sorts of blunders in our relationships with God and people. But when the Lord alone is exalted we are fruitful.

The world is not waiting for you or me. The world is waiting for God. Jesus Christ came to bring God to people. Now He is the Vine and from the Vine are growing branches. On the branches are being formed the fruit of righteousness and praise. When the nations behold our oneness in God, and the resulting fruit, they will believe that God has sent Jesus Christ.

We would so much like for the world to believe in Christ. Jesus said the world will believe when we are one in Him and the Father.

The Lord appoints some to preach the Gospel to mankind. But of more importance is the witness given by the members of the churches. When the world sees Jesus in us they will believe.

Throughout Church history the workers have proclaimed the Gospel. Much good has been done. But the testimony of the churches themselves has not been as godly as one could wish.

We would like the glory of God for ourselves and for others. But God will not give His glory to another. It is only as we are one with Him, as the Lord Jesus is, that God is free to share His glory with us.

Or my praise to idols.

We have many idols in America: money, sexual lust, violence, power, entertainment, drunkenness. Much of God’s dealings with us has to do with the removal of the power our idols have over us.

Christ is under God. We are under Christ. The remainder of the creation is to be under us, for it is appointed to the royal priesthood to govern and judge mankind and the angels. Christ continually is removing the gods that are between Himself and us and forcing them under our feet. How we howl in pain and unbelief because of this process! But if we cooperate with God’s Spirit there finally is peace and rulership. Christ will have nothing between Himself and us.

See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you. (Isaiah 42:9)

Our is the age of communication. God also is a communicator. If you want to know what has taken place and what will take place in the future, spend time in prayer each day.

The media pride themselves on furnishing us with facts. And so they do. But they do not furnish us with truth.

Facts tell us what something weighs, what it looks like, what color it is, when it took place, where it took place, the names of the people involved, their ages, and so forth. They may make a prediction for the future based on the facts at hand. This kind of information is highly prized in our culture.

But none of this is truth.

Truth is a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. He helps us to see clearly and objectively what is a fact in the material world. But He is able to do infinitely more than this. Christ informs us of the significance of the thing, person, or event. Also He tells us of the outcome—which may be quite different from that assumed from the facts.

If you want truth, spend time talking to Jesus. He is the Truth and the only truth.

The media is one huge lie, designed to bring to pass the desires of the sponsors (which usually is the acquiring of money). The reason all sale prices end in 99 dollars or 99 cents is to give us the impression the item is cheaper than it actually is. Most of what we hear from the government is “spin,” that is an interpretation of an event that prejudices the reader in the direction desired by the politicians.

What happened to integrity and truth? Diogenes, get out your lantern. It is needed in America.

The newspapers are slanted. It all is one massive lie. We do not know what really is taking place or why it is taking place. We are the dupes of the super-powerful and wealthy of the world. We are the dull slaves known as “consumers.”

It is harmful to dwell on this garbage. All we need to do is keep talking to Jesus. He will tell us the truth concerning the past, present, and future.

If you want the eleven o’clock news, then get on your knees at eleven o’clock.

It is important for us to understand our times correctly. Jesus will give us all the knowledge, understanding, and truth we need to survive. He is absolutely dependable. The Servant of the Lord will finally prevail over the politicians, the wealthy, the powerful of the world. There is nothing they can do about it except fall on their faces before the living God!

The creatures of God are full of eyes. God knows all things and in our time we will know all things. Righteousness opens our eyes. Sin blinds us.

Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them. (Isaiah 42:10)

Sing to the LORD a new song.

There always is a newness about Jesus Christ. The Christian discipleship is a prolonged, difficult journey through numerous obstacles. We can become weary and frustrated as our expectations are not fulfilled.

If we keep praying and do not become discouraged and quit, there come seasons of refreshing. All of a sudden the Lord appears. Then everything is new. We are refreshed in spirit, soul, and often in body. We renew our strength. We mount up as with wings.

Of those who are lifting up themselves, even the youngest and strongest will finally collapse. But the faithful who wait on the Lord will not grow weary or become faint. They always are singing a new song.

The firstfruits unto the Lord sing a love song to Him. They alone know the tune and the words. There is a reward for seeking the Lord.

His praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, all who live in them.

We notice in the tenth chapter of Revelation that the great angel of the days just preceding the return of the Lord, stands on the oceans and continents.

God is the Lord of the whole earth. His praise is destined to arise from the ends of the earth, the seas, the continents. It is the responsibility of the Servant of the Lord to install righteousness and praise in every area of our planet. This indeed shall take place!

Let the desert and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops. Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim his praise in the islands. (Isaiah 42:11,12)

It is the members of the Body of Christ who will bring such rejoicing to the world.

The “desert” undoubtedly is speaking of the Arabian Desert and its cities. Kedar was one of the sons of Ishmael and refers to Bedouin Arabs.

Sela, the rock, was an Edomite settlement, a rocky plateau 3700 feet above sea level—hence “let them shout from the mountaintops.” We see here that when Christ returns there will be joy and shouting among the Arabs.

Revival yet shall come to the Arab nations. Pray always for the Arab people because the Lord will get fruit for His table from among them.

Again, the people who live on the islands of the sea will be praising the Lord. All the nations of the earth will rejoice when the Lord returns except for the great centers of commerce and education that will be part of the Antichrist system. They will attempt to prevent the coming of the Lord but they are doomed to total destruction.

Truly the creation has been made subject to futility; but it shall be released, at the coming of Christ and His Body, into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

The LORD will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies. (Isaiah 42:13)

The Church for some years has been at Pentecost. Pentecost is the fourth feast of the Lord. The next, the fifth feast, is Trumpets. The Blowing of Trumpets announces the war between righteousness and wickedness.

In order for justice to be brought to the earth Satan must be cast out. The casting out of Satan is the coming of the Kingdom of God.

The price of redemption was paid on the cross of Calvary. But Satan will not release his slaves. The only solution is force, the force of God’s Spirit.

The Blowing of Trumpets has two aspects, one personal and one kingdom-wide. The personal fulfillment of Trumpets occurs as the Lord Jesus Christ comes against the enemy in the lives of His people, declaring war against the powers of darkness. The kingdom-wide fulfillment of the feast of Trumpets will take place when the Lord Jesus descends with His overcomers and drives Satan from the earth.

We are not accustomed to this role of the Lord Jesus. But the change is taking place today. The Lord is taking off His Moses hat and putting on His Joshua hat.

Whenever change takes place among people an uproar is created. So it is today. The believers, naturally, want to cling to the familiar. They want to sing “Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us”; “I Come to the Garden Alone”; “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” Who could blame them? These hymns of the faith have brought the Christians through many a stormy trial.

But new choruses are coming forth having to do with war and battle: “Our God Is an Awesome God”; “He Is the Living God, Enduring Forever”; “Blow the Trumpet in Zion.” Our own assembly is probably on the growing edge in this regard and some of our choruses have been composed by our own musicians, such as “Faithful and True.”

On occasion the people will march around the church while the only sound is the drum, some of the worshipers carrying banners, including our great banner with Christ on His white horse descending to make war against His enemies.

There always have been war hymns, such as “Onward Christian Soldiers”; and “Stand Up for Jesus.” But there now is much more of a sense of immediacy accompanying these, at least for our generation.

The worship team on the platform must envision themselves as an advance guard, driving the enemy from the congregation until the people are lifted into the prophetic milieu. The presence of demons in the United States is increasing daily. The battle continually intensifies. The believers coming in to worship are torn and bleeding from what they have encountered during the week. It is the responsibility of the worship team to mount the attack until the Spirit of God is predominant.

The platform during the worship is no place for casual conduct, banter, or any kind of foolishness whatever. It is to be all-out war and nothing less! All confusion and indecision must be settled in prayer prior to the commencement of the service. Nothing should be said or done that brings the congregation down from the heavenlies or focuses their attention on themselves or on the worship team.

The song service should start strong and keep up the militant and worshipful attitude, even during the slower choruses.

The team leader is free to make exceptions to the above principles but only as he or she is directed by the Spirit, never casually.

Make no mistake, the battle has begun in earnest!

We are in a time of transition, and change is always difficult for people.

One of the radical changes is the identification of the earth and its peoples, rather than the spirit Paradise, as our land of promise. It may take another generation or two before we are able to grasp that we are heading toward victory in the earth rather than life in a mansion in Heaven.

The Lord will march out like a mighty man. Like a warrior he will stir up his zeal. With a shout he will raise the battle cry. He will triumph over his enemies.

Can you picture this? Can you picture your Jesus shouting for the battle? Do you believe He can triumph over the enemies in your life? Do you believe He can triumph completely over His enemies in the whole world?

Lift up the everlasting gates of your soul and the King of Glory will enter your personality. He is knocking today. Open the door.

But who is He? He is the Lord, strong and mighty in battle. Let Him in and He will dine with you on His own body and blood. Then you will be part of the Bride—as terrible as an army with banners.

Let me give you another view of the “rapture.” Listen: With a shout. With the voice of Michael, the leader of the warrior angels. With the trumpet of God.

Did you ever think of the catching up of the saints as the beginning of war against the enemy? Do the words and phrases accompanying the rapture sound like the evacuation of the believers so they won’t be harmed, or is the attack and invasion of the Lord of Hosts brought to mind?

Are the saints being caught up to meet the Commander in Chief in the air so they can descend with Him and destroy Antichrist? What is your opinion?

He will triumph over His enemies.

Never think that Christ will be content with anything but total victory.

When we study the relevant prophecies we see that the forces of darkness are going to be crushed under the feet of the Christians. They will be ashes under our feet. Satan will be crushed under the feet of the Church.

Our Lord has been waiting patiently at the right hand of God until His enemies are made His footstool. The enemies of Christ will be brought down by Christ working through the members of His Body. He will make the place of His feet glorious, those feet of fiery bronze.

We are the feet of the Lord. Therefore we must be baptized with fire until every trace of Satan has been burned out of us. The judges of the earth must first be judged. God is ready to do this for you and me today.

Armageddon with a capital “A” cannot be fought until armageddon with a lower-case “a” is fought and won in you and me. The Word of God is a two-edged sword, meaning that as we judge we are judged. Until the sin and rebellion have been removed from us we cannot serve as kings and judges of mankind and the angels.

The inner armageddon has begun. Prepare yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit against all the worldliness, lust, and self-will in your personality.

It had to come sometime! At some point the Church must be delivered from its spots and wrinkles! How can we expect to gain Paradise and bring it to the earth until first we get past the angel guarding the tree of life?

For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant. (Isaiah 42:14)

For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back.

What an extraordinary statement?

Yet, if we think about it, it is true. Consider the horrendous sins being committed in America today. We wonder why God doesn’t come down and put a stop to the outrages, the fraudulent practices of those in positions of authority, the murder of babies, the lying, stealing, and perversions of justice that are common.

There are awful practices taking place in Sudan as the Muslims attempt to stamp out Christianity. Yet leading nations keep on trading with Sudan and the abuses are not being publicized sufficiently and dealt with. The love of money nullifies conscience.

Child prostitution is widespread in many nations in our day. God remains silent. He has held Himself back. Does God know? Indeed He does! Does God care? Indeed He does! God is patient, not willing that any should perish but all should come to repentance.

Meanwhile, God is building the Body of Christ, the army of judges that will put an end to sin in the earth.

But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.

Woe to the wicked of the world when God cries out, gasps, and pants. What will be brought to birth? Righteousness, justice, obedience to God.

The whole creation is in the throes of birth. Eventually every person (who is saved) and every thing will be made new in Christ. We are on the threshold of life, of a new day, of a new world. Have you been made new in Jesus Christ?

God will visit the earth. The blood of the innocent is speaking from the ground. God knows the sparrow that dies, how much more the babies that have been aborted, the children that have been molested, the poor that have been denied their proper wages, those who have perished from famine while the wealthy of the world are spending billions of dollars to get rid of their excess fat?

We are near the birth of the Kingdom of God. The signs are all around us. Our redemption is drawing near. It is not a redemption from life on the earth but from sin and self-will.

I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools. (Isaiah 42:15)

God is not going to attack the physical mountains, the hills, their vegetation, the rivers, and the pools, at least not in the context of this verse.

The mountains and the hills are the mighty of mankind that are lifted up.

Their vegetation is the fruit of their doings—doings not sponsored by or approved of the Lord. The works of the flesh.

The rivers and the pools portray the life of the flesh, the “waters” of education and information in which people trust. Ours is a day of rivers of information and pools of knowledge. There never has been a time in history when so much information has been available to so many people.

The assumption is that an increase in knowledge is a good thing in itself. It is not. There are many things more important than knowledge. A righteous, God-fearing character is vastly more important than a head full of knowledge.

Children today are expert in the use of the computer and the Internet. Yet in the realm of God and moral behavior they know virtually nothing. We are producing monsters. One day they will turn against us. They are amoral creatures, not understanding right and wrong. They will murder each other.

The government of Antichrist will emphasize money and education. These are gods in America. They are idols. The child who will survive in the future is the one who has been taught to follow Jesus. The Lord will be his or her Protection when God begins to cry out and pant because of the wickedness in the earth.

When God arises He will bring down that which is highly exalted, and all the proud works of the flesh. The “Herod’s temples” will lie in ruins. The rivers and pools of man knowledge and wisdom will dry up and will be seen for what they are—an endless and unproductive pursuit of that which is not truth.

The learned man in that day will say, “I have spent my life pursuing vanity. All my knowledge is not helping me enter the Kingdom of God. The little children who love Jesus and sit at His feet are drinking of the fountain of life while I am weak and sickly because of the emptiness and deadness of my soul.

“I have played the fool. The poor and ignorant of the world are rejoicing in the majesty of the Lord but I am rejected. Had I only known! Perhaps I can find a child to help me.”

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. (Isaiah 42:16)

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them.

Every member of the Body of Christ must become blind if he or she is to see.

God does not lead those who see but those who are blind.

When we say we see we mean we are living according to the understanding of our human mind. This is blindness. The human mind is an enemy of God and cannot behold His Glory.

There are only two ways in which people can live. We can live according to our human mind or we can live by committing each decision of our life to the Lord. To live according to our human mind and sight is to live in the flesh. To live by committing each decision to the Lord is to live in the Spirit of God.

The righteous live by faith, that is, by committing each decision to the Lord.

It is the Lord’s will that every saved person learn to live in the Spirit of God.

The Lord Jesus always lives in the Spirit of God, in the sabbath rest of God. He does not think His own thoughts or speak His own words. He is the dwelling place of the Father, the eternal House of God.

In the Father’s House, which is Jesus Christ, there are many rooms, many places of abode. The Lord Jesus went to the cross and then ascended to the Father to prepare a place for us in Himself.

We can never find fulfillment as “man” until we become a room in the Father’s House.

When we deliberately choose to walk in the light of the Lord, God leads us in ways we have not known. He guides us along unfamiliar paths. These are ways and paths, the old ways and paths, that lead to eternal life and joy, to freedom from sin and self-will, to perfect peace and contentment. But we never will walk these paths until we are willing to be blind to the things of the present world.

God created us in the present world with eyes to see what is around us and a brain to interpret what we behold. But He hides Himself and says, “Seek me.”

We then have a choice. We can continue on as a seeing animal but blind to God, or we can turn away from our human reasoning and begin to walk by faith in God. The decision is ours.

I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.

How often the way is dark before us! Tragedy strikes! We are filled with dread. The future is bleak. The way is rough indeed.

Now we have a choice. We can strive to solve our problems according to our own resources or we can turn to God. If we turn to God He will change our darkness into light. He will make the rough places smooth.

These wonders may not take place overnight. But we can be certain they indeed shall take place if we do not turn away from the Lord in fear and unbelief. God watches over His Word to perform it.

These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

As the various gifts and ministries of the Body of Christ operate we are built up to maturity as measured by the full stature of Christ. We come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.

The unity of the faith does not mean we all agree on points of doctrine. Points of doctrine are the product of the natural mind. As we learn blindness we grow in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God. We find that God will do what He has promised. We become assured that God will not forsake us.

No Christian who has not matured in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God is prepared to appear with Christ in the day when He returns to establish His Kingdom on the earth. The immature believer would cause endless problems for those around him because of his insistence on acting according to his own perception of what he is to be and do. He is in no position to bring justice to the nations because he himself does not live in the faith and knowledge of Jesus. He is still walking by natural light.

He may be permitted to enter the Kingdom of God but he will not be allowed to bring confusion and weakness into the army of the Lord. He is not as yet an integral part of the unity of faith and knowledge that each member of the Body of Christ must have in order to be qualified to return with the Lord.

The Christian churches of today are filled with believers who do not know the Lord, who have not come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. It is imperative that Christ empower and direct all the gifts and ministries of the Spirit so many will be brought to maturity in preparation for His appearing.

The Lord Jesus will not forsake us if we are willing to become blind that we may by led by Him in ways we have not known.

But those who trust in idols, who say to images, “You are our gods,” will be turned back in utter shame. (Isaiah 42:17)

We have many gods in America. Money probably is the chief of the American gods. We trust in money for survival, security, pleasure, and achievement.

Following closely on the heels of money is sexual lust in every perverted form. Sexual lust, including pornography, is an American sickness.

Entertainment ranks high among American idols. What would happen to our culture if every television went dead? Could we survive? What would we do?

Violence is esteemed in America. While we moan about the amount of crime traceable to television programs and the current music, no one has the power to stop the promoting of violence. It is too popular.

Professional sports are worshiped in America. Money that should be spent on social needs is lavished on stadiums, sports arenas. Even Christians regard endless discussions of football and baseball as an acceptable use of time. They redeem the time by telling who won what game. Can you imagine the Lord Jesus spending His time reading the sports page of the newspaper? Sports are an American idol.

The American Christian sitting back in his recliner, reading the comic strips, watching football on the television, has no idea he is in the middle of a war. Bullets are flying everywhere. He is being wounded and does not realize it. A trap is being set that may bring him down to spiritual destruction. Soon it will be sprung. He is not aware of it as he feeds his idols.

Popularity and bigness are looked on as meritorious and valuable without too much regard for the destructiveness or constructiveness of the factors involved. The idolatry of bigness has seriously affected the Christian churches in America, almost always necessitating a watering down of the strict requirements of discipleship.

Partying and drunkenness are favorite American idols. “Let’s have a party!” Christians love parties. They play silly games while their brothers and sisters are being tortured and killed in Sudan, China, and Peru.

“Oh, but we are having fellowship.” No you’re not. If you were having fellowship you could pray, speak in tongues, prophesy, pray for the sick, sing in the Spirit, talk seriously about the Lord, with no change in the social milieu. Try these at your next “fellowship” and you will know whether you are having a party or fellowship.

“Nice things” are idols in America. We must have “nice things.” In India the villagers stick buffalo dung on the sides of their huts to dry out. The people of India, even the poorest, place great value on interpersonal relationships. They get along somehow without “nice things.”

What if the Lord told us to worship in a chicken coop or cellar? Could we do so even though the surroundings were not “nice”? Could we do so with grace and joy? If not we need to go to the Lord about our problem with “nice things.”

Judgment is hanging over America. The day may come when we are forced to live like so many in the third world countries, our children playing in the mud with the chickens and goats. Would this affect our worship of God? Let us hope not for many dear Christian people worship God in such an environment.

All we have mentioned are idols. They are worshiped in America.

Each of us has many idols residing in our personality. Your idol is something you would have a terrible time letting go of if the Lord should call for it.

Much of our Christian discipleship consists of the Lord putting these idols beneath our feet. The process is painful. The Lord Jesus will have nothing between us and Him just as there is nothing between Him and the Father—no other relationship, circumstance, or thing.

If we refuse to come to God unless we can carry our idols with us, not permitting Him to remove them from us today, we will be “turned back in utter shame” when the Body of Christ appears with the Head to bring justice to the nations.

“I am the Lord. You shall have no other gods before Me!”

“Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see! Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one committed to me, blind like the servant of the LORD? You have seen many things, but have paid no attention; your ears are open, but you hear nothing.” (Isaiah 42:18-20)

Perhaps the greatest battle we have in becoming part of the Servant of the Lord is that of turning away from our own thoughts, our own “sight,” and learning to look to Jesus for everything.

During the two thousand years of Church history tremendous emphasis has been placed on doctrinal correctness, on believing what the authorities desire we believe about God, Christ, and the Christian religion. However, what we believe has little or no bearing on our salvation except as our belief leads us to Jesus.

There is no salvation in belief itself.

The Pharisees were orthodox in their belief but murdered Christ.

Yesterday a young man wrote me asking about the Godhead. It seems he has been a Christian for a month or so and already he is being confronted with people who want to argue about the relationship of Christ to the Father.

I wrote back that such spiritual truth cannot be fully comprehended by the physical brain and to avoid the discussion. I exhorted him to follow Jesus closely and in time Jesus would bring him to the Father. Then he will understand that he is in Christ and Christ is in the Father. That is all we need to know about the Godhead.

It is so difficult to direct our mind constantly toward Jesus instead of relying on our thought processes, but it becomes easier as we practice looking to the Lord for everything. Of course we have to be practical and observant in the world. But all the decisions we are making continually need to be addressed to the Lord in prayer.

The Lord’s servant is blind. The Lord’s messenger is deaf. Do you remember the young prophet who listened to the older prophet and was killed by a lion? The Lord told him to return immediately but he listened to someone else. He still could have ignored the older prophet and gone on his way but he began to reason.

The Lord’s messenger must listen to the Lord. Some people have attempted to call me down from the wall but they have not succeeded as yet. They reason, reason, reason why I should come down and listen to them. When I inquire of the Lord he tells me they are speaking foolishness.

I think it was C. S. Lewis who said the demons love to reason.

On occasion I have wrestled with the Lord because of the severity of my preaching. When I go to the Lord He says, “If you won’t preach it I will get someone who will.”

God’s messenger must be blind and deaf to all distractions. He must be so committed to the Lord that if he is martyred because of his message it is of little consequence to him.

The Lord’s servant sees all that is around him. He can hear what is being said. But he pays no attention to all of this. He goes straight on as the Lord leads him, trusting in the Lord Jesus, keeping the Lord always before him so he may be full of eyes in front and in back, like the four living creatures around the Throne of God. He knows where he has come from and where he is going in the Lord.

Until we become blind and deaf to the distractions around us we cannot see what God is seeing. The disciples showed Jesus Herod’s Temple. The disciples were impressed with its grandeur. Jesus saw a pile of rubble. He had “eyes in front” to see as the Father sees.

Do you want to see and hear what God is seeing and hearing?

The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. (Isaiah 42:21—KJV)

When we become blind and deaf to the compulsions and advice of our fleshly mind we live righteously. We, as Christ always does, see past the letter of the law and act in a manner pleasing to the Lord. The moral law of God then becomes great and glorious instead of a heartless religious ritual.

There are Christians who have a religious spirit. They fasten on particular Scriptures and will not budge from these even though it is obvious to everyone else the letter of the Bible in this case works against righteousness.

We have to know the heart of God or else we can be trapped by what appears to us to be Bible law.

One striking instance of this is the insistence by Christians that all who have not heard the Gospel will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. While such a point of view may be deduced from cutting and pasting a few “precious promises,” there are other passages indicating that people are judged only by the light they were given.

But the person with the religious spirit will cast aside all compassion, the welfare of those for whom he is responsible, such as his children, all reason, and plunge ahead to destruction while he is quoting Scripture. This is the spirit that murdered Jesus. Its basis is religious pride—perhaps the closest of all spirits to the nature of Satan.

The Servant of the Lord is deaf and blind to such impalings on the words of the Scriptures. He or she goes straight to Jesus and asks His opinion. He may end up eating the showbread with the blessing of God.

The Lord Jesus did not do away with the intent of the Law of Moses. He magnified it and made it glorious. The Sabbath commandment changes from an injunction against throwing a light switch on Saturday to thinking, speaking and acting in the Presence of God seven days a week, seeking His pleasure in all we are and do.

But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, “Send them back.” (Isaiah 42:22)

Although the above verse is directed at Israel, God’s elect, let us think for a moment about the plight of the nations who should have been taught righteousness by the example and doctrines of the Christian churches. The Western nations have been largely Christian. Now other religions are becoming increasingly significant in their cultures.

Many of the Western nations pride themselves on democracy and freedom. They are anything but free.

The United States of America views itself as the great champion of liberty, of freedom of thought, speech, and action. But if one looks closer it is apparent that horrible bondages exist. There are areas of the larger cities in a state of anarchy. The bloodthirsty gangs are contained but by no means conquered.

Washington, D.C., which according to the image of “liberty” that is being projected by our spin doctors, should be the garden spot of the universe. In fact it is a crime-ridden area featuring drugs and violence.

If we are so free and wonderful what is the need for more police and more prisons? Why would a person be safer at night in a jungle than on the street of a large city? Have you ever thought much about what goes on at night in New York City? Los Angeles? San Francisco?

And this is the land of promise?

In San Diego, a place of marvelous climate and natural beauty, the local paper is filled with accounts of murder, suicide, rape, robbery, child abuse.

From sea to bloody sea!

We are living in an image of glorious things. But ask the parents of the student who has just been murdered in school how they feel about the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I am not unpatriotic. I volunteered to serve in the Marine Corps during the second world war when I was seventeen years old. I talk about America because I live here. The same is true in England, France, Germany, Italy. In Italy they have kidnaped tourists, removed their organs, sold the organs to people who need transplants, and sent the tourists out to enjoy the Mediterranean atmosphere. Beautiful Italy, the home of the Catholic Church.

Beautiful England where there is explicit sexual perversion on the television.

Beautiful Holland, once a bastion of righteousness, has now joined the race to the kingdom of smut.

Scandinavia, a Christian heritage dating back a thousand years, filled with pornography.

All these nations are associated with Christianity and may think of themselves as “Christian” nations.

They may be lovers of liberty but they are not lovers of righteousness. Their spiritual chains are clanking on the ground.

But this is a people plundered and looted.

If we could see in the spirit realm the people of the large Western nations (the wealthy nations compared with many other countries), they would appear as poverty-stricken captives, worshiping their idols of money and lust, their apparel threadbare, spiritually starved, groveling at the feet of the demons who whip them along.

All of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons.

Sin has cast them into the pit of gloom. This is why so many Americans suffer from clinical depression. Suicide is common, even among young people. Alcohol and drugs are used to escape the reality of life in America. There are drugs for sleeplessness, indigestion, overweight, drugs to elevate and drugs to depress.

The parents of the adolescent child who has run away from home think back over the years, remembering they have given their youngster every possible material advantage. Yet their darling girl has left to live with her lesbian partner. Their little boy, only yesterday playing with his computer games, has raped and murdered his girlfriend. The pretty little granddaughter is at the police stations because they found the baby she had tried to flush down the toilet.

We are free, it is true—free to live in the worst of all bondages.

They have become plunder with no one to rescue them. They have been made loot, with no one to say, ‘send them back.’”

With no one to say, “Send them back.”

How many times do the evangelists have unsaved people (not even troubling them to come down to the front) repeat after them “I accept Christ in my heart.” Then the evangelist says, “Now you are a Christian.”

This is not how you “send people back, back to God.” According to the Book of Acts, the message of forgiveness must be accompanied by the commandment to repent. We are to be saved by repenting, receiving Christ, and being baptized in water as a sign we have turned back from the world.

Apart from a thorough, utterly sincere turning back from the world and its ways there can be no act of salvation.

Repentance and a godly life are as necessary to salvation as belief that Christ died for our sins. One is not acceptable to God without the other.

When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” (Acts 11:18)
First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. (Acts 26:20)

It is repentance, a turning away from sin and the embracing of righteous behavior, that brings eternal life. And repentance can be proven only by our actions, not by our words alone.

If you didn’t repent when you were “saved,” why don’t you repent now! You will begin to make progress in eternal life when you do.

The churches are not rescuing the prisoners of covetousness. Many of the churches are preaching grace, the supposed “pre-tribulation rapture,” the mansion in Heaven. How does this deliver the prisoners from the chains of sexual perversion?

It is time for the members of the Body of Christ to come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. It is time for us to grow up in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God. Our neighbors are frantically looking for someone who can deliver them spiritually and physically from the grip of the oppressors.

Our governments promise much but they themselves are bound. Their most worthy intentions are soon rendered useless by evil people who always manage to profit by walking on the backs of the meek.

There is coming a better day. That day is the Day of the Lord, the day when the Lord Jesus Christ appears with an army of righteous saints at His back, mature Christians who have accepted the sufferings and denials that were necessary for their moral transformation.

God would have you join His army. Are you willing to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow the Lord Jesus?

Which of you will listen to this or pay close attention in time to come? (Isaiah 42:23)

It is time now to pay close attention to what God is saying, some twenty-seven hundred years after Isaiah wrote these words. We are “in time to come.”

One of the admonitions concerning the convocations of Israel, the feasts of the Lord, was that the Israelites should stop their daily work and observe the celebration, fixing their attention on the Lord. So it is today. The face of Christianity is about to be transformed. We are changing from Christ as the Shepherd to Christ as the Commander in Chief. Entrance into the land of promise is at hand. We have not gone this way previously.

We are nearing the time when the wrestling match will be concluded with Satan’s shoulders being pinned to the mat. God is calling for saints who will overcome the accuser by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and by loving not their life to the death.

The Scriptures are being unveiled. The knowledge of the Kingdom is increasing rapidly. Such knowledge presents unparalleled opportunity and unparalleled danger. It is the opportunity to ascend the Throne of Glory. The danger is that we will attempt to formulate spiritual principles and by these proceed to “build the Kingdom” apart from being crucified and raised with the Lord.

Will we attempt to use our ministries and gifts to “save and deliver a lost and dying world” or will we turn back to Jesus and let Him use us as He will? Do we love the things of the Spirit or do we love Jesus? This is the momentous issue of our day. It will be over this very issue that the Charismatic movement will divide into the False Prophet, on the one hand, and the godly remnant on the other.

Whenever we avoid our personal cross, for whatever reason, we put ourselves in clear danger of being subject to the divinely sent “strong delusion.”

We are to press into the rest of God, the place in God where we are living in His Presence and His will through Jesus Christ. The miraculous soon will be evident in the world as never before. Only those who have died in Christ and are living in Christ will be kept from being deceived by the miracles.

Only those who have guarded the word of Christ’s patience will be guarded from deception when the temptation comes to dive into the spiritual excitement without going continually to the Lord for direction. It is not enough to be “doctrinally correct.” It is not doctrinal accuracy that will protect us during the hour of temptation, it is the patient, patient, patient waiting on Christ while all around us there are “evidences of revival and spiritual success” (all in the name of Jesus, of course).

Those who insist on measuring everything by their “doctrinal accuracy” will end up throwing out that which is of Christ along with that which is not of Christ. The answer is a closer walk with Jesus, not a picking apart of what is taking place with the hope of finding something “wrong” in order to prove the work is not of God. Having been in this way for fifty-four years I have not found any true work of God within which there was not something that could be criticized.

There always is a danger when God moves that people will wander off into some unfruitful area. Let us “send them back.” Let us encourage people to return to Christ, to iron righteousness, to fiery holiness, to stern obedience to the Father. Then we will find the old paths. Then we will be quieted by the waters of Shiloah. Then we will have an easy yoke and a light burden. Then there will be green pastures. Then there will be waters of the Spirit to swim in. These blessings are all out there waiting for us when we go back to the Lord.

Who handed Jacob over to become loot, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? For they would not follow his ways; they did not obey his law. (Isaiah 42:24)

Here is a concept that needs to be stressed today. When we do not follow the Lord’s ways, when we do not obey His law, God hands us over to become loot for the enemy and prey for the plunderers.

So often today when Christians get into trouble they are told to rebuke the devil. We are not to go to the devil with our problems but to the Lord Jesus. Our problems are coming from the Lord in the hope we will turn from our lawlessness.

The way of the transgressor is hard. God makes it hard. It is true that God uses the devil to cause us pain. But the solution is not to turn to the devil but to the Lord.

A messenger of Satan attacked the Apostle Paul. Paul did not turn to the devil with his problem, he asked the Lord to remove it from him. In this instance it was the Lord who was teaching Paul to lean more on Himself.

People are very slow to blame God for their problems. They are quick to blame people, Satan, or their circumstances. They become bitter and unforgiving, not realizing it is God who is making them loot for the enemy and prey for the plunderers.

When we are in trouble we are to go to God in prayer in order to find out why we are hurting. We are to cease our sinning and make sure we are living as a Christian, praying, meditating in God’s Word, giving, serving, assembling with fervent disciples. We must be ready to obey God whenever He asks something of us.

If we will take up our cross and follow Jesus, and go to the Lord repeatedly in prayer, we eventually will gain the upper hand of our problems. After we have suffered for awhile God will establish, strengthen, and settle us.

It is of the greatest importance the believer does not fall into the trap of believing everything harmful to him or her is coming from the devil. Satan has no power over any believer who is serving the Lord. God becomes jealous when we are ascribing such power to Satan and may leave us in Satan’s hands, seeing we admire him so much.

It is time today for the Christian churches to turn to the Lord. Then they will find the Lord Jesus always sits as the king over every flood of evil. It is He, not Satan, who has the power to save and heal us.

So he poured out on them his burning anger, the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart. (Isaiah 42:25)

God is not the Santa Claus we in America believe. It is true God is Love—a love far beyond our feeble power to grasp. God is good—a Goodness far beyond our coarse nature to comprehend. All this is true.

God also is Wrath and Jealousy, a wrath and jealousy far beyond our human mind to grasp. He is the Consuming Fire of Israel. The six thousand years of agony because of the one disobedience of Adam and Eve portray the fiery wrath of God.

When God’s people (not the world always) transgress God’s laws, he pours out on them His burning anger and the violence of war. God told the Israelites through Jeremiah that due to famine the fathers would be eating the children and the children their fathers. Are we too sensitive to read this? Are we so sensitive and deluded we think God has changed one bit?

The preachers of today tell us we have nothing to fear at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The Apostle Paul warns us that the Judgment Seat will be a time of terror.

“Depart from Me into outer darkness.” This is a terrifying fate, reserved for the Lord’s servants who do not serve Him with their whole heart.

It is true that the guilt of our sins was removed on the cross of Calvary. It is true that God’s judgment is on the works of Satan in our lives.

But the Judgment Seat of Christ has to do with our choices, whether we made good choices or bad choices. We cannot forgive our sins. Neither can we remove Satan from our personality and throw him into the Lake of Fire. These can be accomplished only by the Lord God.

But there are things we can do and for these we shall be judged. We can use our talent. We can bring extra oil for our lamp. We can choose and ask for deliverance from sin and self-seeking. These are things we can do. If we do not, the punishment is very severe.

We cannot forgive our sins and we cannot cleanse ourselves from all unrighteousness. But we can confess our sins. If we do what we can do God will do the rest. If we do not do what we can do we indeed shall be punished very severely. The program of salvation cost the blood of God’s Son. We are not to take it lightly.

The question is, when we are enveloped in flames will we understand? When we are consumed by the fires of Divine judgment will we take it to heart?

There is hope for the wicked individual who turns back to God. There is no hope for the person who, being reproved again and again, hardens his heart and stiffens his neck. He shall be cut off suddenly without remedy.

When we are bound with a particular sin we should be sorry for our behavior. We cannot remove the spiritual kings of wickedness that drive us. But we can turn from our worldliness and self-seeking and live as a disciple. This we can do, it is a choice we make. This is true repentance.

When we repent in this manner, God will help us put to death the spiritual forces that drive us to sin.

This is true repentance and true deliverance.

Isaiah, Chapter Forty-three

But now, this is what the LORD says—he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1)

From the verse above we see that the Servant of the Lord, the subject of the passage we have been expounding, is Israel. “Israel” refers to all of God’s elect whether they were Jewish or Gentile by physical birth. The physical people and land of Israel were “Israel” before the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, and now Gentiles have been grafted on the olive tree.

The Church of the Old Testament and the New Testament are one elect, one Israel of God, one fold having one Shepherd There is one new man in Christ, all the elect of God being brought together by the cross. The same Spirit that was on Moses dwells in every true Christian, whether Jewish or Gentile by physical birth.

The Israel of God is the Servant of the Lord, the Body of the Christ, the one who will return with Jesus and establish the Kingdom of God on the earth.

Fear not, for I have redeemed you.

From the time God called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees to the present hour the elect of God, true Israel, have been redeemed from among mankind by the Lord God. They no longer are of the world. There is an impenetrable wall separating them from the nations of the earth. They are the called, the elect, the firstfruits to God from among mankind.

The redeemed of the Lord are holy. They are not holy because they are more righteous or morally pure than other people (although they are being made this way by the Holy Spirit). They are holy because God has called them closer to Himself than is true of other people. They are priests of God. No person takes this honor to himself. It is God who calls the priesthood.

Not everyone is called. An even fewer number are chosen. There is Israel, there are the Levites, there is the house of Aaron.

All of the elect from the time of Abraham were redeemed on the cross of Calvary. They all belong to God. God has given them to Jesus Christ. This is true Israel, the Body of the Christ, the Servant of the Lord.

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

God has called every member of the elect, the Church, from the beginning of the world. He has known their names from that time. From the hour of their physical birth the Divine calling has rested on them.

This does not indicate other people are lost and on their way to Hell. It is the wicked who go to Hell, not those who are not called to the priesthood.

Our call to the elect has to be established, according to the Apostle Peter, by our adding righteous behavior to our personality. It is only as we walk in righteousness that we are protected from falling away from our election.

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, (II Peter 1:10)

God has called you by name from the beginning of the world. Do not fear, it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Do not permit the goodness of God to you to lead you into carelessness. Rather turn to God with all your heart and prove yourself worthy of the heavenly calling. Press toward the mark set before you until you lay hold on that for which you have been grasped by the Lord.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isaiah 43:2)

Every saint of God passes through the waters and rivers, and walks through the fire. There is no way of escaping severe problems because it is through these we gain the knowledge of the Lord and thus are able to bear witness of His faithfulness.

The people of the world also pass through the waters and rivers, and walk through the fire. No temptation overtakes the believer except that which is common to man. This present world is the valley of the shadow of death.

The difference is, God makes the way of escape for His servants. They pass safely through the waters as did Noah and his family. They walk across rivers as did Elijah and Elisha. The flame does not set them ablaze, as was true of the three Hebrew men at the time of Daniel. However, the heroes of Nebuchadnezzar’s army were slain by that very flame.

The unscriptural teaching of the “rapture” emphasizes the removal of the believers before they are required to pass through the waters or rivers or walk through the fire. This is not the way God works. God saves us in the midst of tribulation. Eleven thousand people are destroyed all around us, but the destroyer cannot touch us provided we are obeying the Lord. We are under the Passover blood. The angel of the Lord shuts the mouths of the lions.

It is in the servants of the Lord that the Word of God is refined seven times.

The fiery trial of our faith, faith more precious than gold in the sight of God, will result in praise, glory, and honor when the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed.

We cannot speak the Word of God with the desired authority and power until that Word has been proven in us. The Word is proven in us as God permits us to be brought to the edge of disaster (so it seems to us) and then faithfully delivers us.

The greatest good any of us can gain is to come to know the Lord. As Paul said, “O that I may know Him!” We can obtain some knowledge of the Lord through studying the Bible. But God is not a philosopher. He is blood, fire, and a sword (in addition to many other things). We come to know Him as we go through the floods and furnaces of the present life, and this is the purpose of our discipleship in the world.

For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. (Isaiah43:3,4)

What is God saying when He proclaims he has given Egyptians and Arabians to ransom His elect? The humanistic world of today is ready to tell God this isn’t fair; He can’t do this. All people are equal and must be treated the same. God cannot choose one nation over another.

We can say such things all we want to. It makes no difference. God will do what He will. The nations are a drop in the bucket to Him. God laughs when the creatures of the mud shake their fists at Him.

Does this mean God hates the Egyptians and Arabians? Not at all. There are splendid Egyptian and Arabian Christians in our day. They too are part of true Israel, God’s chosen.

God is no respecter of persons. Whoever works righteousness is accepted by Him. God is willing that all repent, that none perish.

The point is, God is creating a nation of priests to represent Himself throughout eternity. The rest of the world just has to accept this. The spirit of democracy has no power to control or judge God. The nation that assists God’s elect will inherit the Kingdom of God, the people will enter eternal life. The nation that refuses to assist God’s chosen will be led away into the fire.

God can do as He will. It is fortunate for us that God is faithful and compassionate because there would be nothing we could do about it if He were evil.

God calls His priests. No man takes this honor to himself. The priests are the firstfruits of mankind and receive the double portion of God’s Spirit.

By the same token the priests are the first to be judged. We see the sorry spectacle of the Jews throughout their history as they have been battered about more than any other race. When they serve God they are blessed above all people. When they rebel against God they are punished above all people.

We have no choice in the matter. If we are called to be a member of the royal priesthood, a saint, a holy one, then we must give this calling the best of our time and energy. If we do not we will be punished severely and may lose our birthright.

“My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense.” (II Chronicles 29:11)

Those who are not called to be a member of the priesthood will not understand what I am writing about. But let every individual take care how he or she treats a Jew or a Christian when they are trying to serve the Lord. Whoever harms them, or even refuses to help them, is harming Christ Himself. Whoever harms Christ is harming God.

God never forgets those who help or harm Him. All people and incidents will be brought forth in the Day of Judgment in perfect clarity and detail. We cannot be certain the sun will rise in the morning. But there is one thing of which we can be sure: there is a day of judgment on the horizon.

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” (Isaiah43:5-7)

There will be two great gatherings in the last days. The physical Jews will be gathered to the land of Israel. Spiritual Israel, the Church, will be gathered together as one entity, the Body of Christ. There is no power that can prevent these two gatherings, for God has spoken.

True Christians can feel these two pulls. We want to see the Jews return to Israel and, in fact, wish to return with them. Jerusalem is the city of every true Jew, even those who are Jews by faith in Jesus Christ though not Jews by physical birth.

There is a movement today among Christians to join together. To be reconciled one to the other is a worthy motive. It is especially true that when we hold a grudge against anyone or any class of people we are to go to God and get this bad attitude taken care of. It is not of Jesus Christ.

We are going to have to be careful with the desire for “togetherness.” Ultimately we will not be reconciled properly to others until we are reconciled to God. Ultimately we do not find God through people but people through God. The desire to try to reach God by gathering people together is of the spirit of the Tower of Babel.

Today the Spirit is calling for reconciliation to God. We are to press into God fervently and continually. There is much in our personalities that still is in rebellion against God. The trumpets of war are sounding in the spirit realm, the war of Christ against His enemies in His Church.

Do not be afraid, for I am with you.

Salvation always boils down to an individual proposition. God wants to know you and me personally. He wants us to know Him personally. He wants us to look to Him in every detail of life.

Much will arise in the coming days that will cause us to fear. We can gain total victory over fear only as we walk in close, personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Our togetherness with other people can never provide that confidence. After all of the support and appreciation from our group we still have to come home at night and face the terrors of the darkness. Our brothers and sisters cannot help us then, only the Presence of the Lord Jesus.

Overcomers are always addressed one at a time: “To him who overcomes.”

I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.

Notice the power of Divine election that always operates in connection with the Servant of the Lord. It is God who gathers His elect.

Jesus said, “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16). The power of the Divine call operates on the Jews after the flesh and the elect after the Spirit.

Noah and his family did not have to go out and gather the animals. Their task was to build the ark. Our task is to build the ark, the members of the Body of Christ. Once that is done the members of the Body will flow together and no power can prevent the resulting oneness with Christ and God and with each other. This is why any effort to bring together the Christian people always must be viewed with caution. We are to prophesy to the bones. It is the Spirit of God that will form the bones into the army of the Lord.

It is the spirit of Babylon that seeks to build a tower in order to bring together the members of Christ into one organization.

The thought of what can be accomplished by gathering the believers together into one organization or enterprise is provocative, but if you think about it this is how denominations get started. The intentions are the best but the method is human, not Divine.

Once we put our hand on the Ark, so to speak, we die—even though our intentions are seemingly pure. It is best to follow the Spirit of God carefully and permit Him to operate the Body, even though it seems at times everything will fall into the mud.

It is time today to bring the Body to the stature of the fullness of Christ. The work will not be accomplished by the efforts of people no matter how well intentioned. The work will be done by the Spirit of God, and this is the meaning of the symbolic “two witnesses” of the eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation.

Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth.

The members of the Body of Christ can be found in every part of the planet. It appears impossible that such widely spread people can be formed into one Church without spot or wrinkle. But they (not all the church members, not all the “believers”) indeed shall be gathered and shall be perfected.

It is not our responsibility to gather and perfect the Church. This is the responsibility assigned by the Father to the Spirit of God. Our responsibility is to live for the moment, to moment by moment do what the Spirit guides us to do. This is where our responsibility begins and this is where it ends. Once we get grandiose ideas of how we are going to “do great things for God” we are on the path that leads to spiritual death. We may continue with the form of Christianity but the Spirit will have departed. He will not be used by man!

This is not to say God cannot guide us to plan or to build. But when we begin to plan and scheme we must keep in mind that it is very, very easy to get ahead of God. The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. It is desperately sick and beyond cure, as some translations have it. Only God can read the heart and finally cure the heart.

Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.

This reminds us of a statement of Paul:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28,29)

Each member of the Body of Christ has been called by name from the beginning of the world. Each member was formed and made for the purpose of revealing the Glory of God, and the history of man is divinely ordered to this end.

Each member of the Body of Christ has been predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ so He becomes the Firstborn among many brothers. We have been predestined. Whether our destiny, our birthright, ever is brought to fulfillment depends on our response.

Every aspect of our redemption is an opportunity. Nothing is inevitable. We can press forward and grasp the mark set before us with diligence and conscientiousness that surprises even God, thus obtaining indescribable glory in the Kingdom. Or we can tiptoe along the line of least resistance until finally we are overtaken by Satan and destroyed.

It appears that God’s people are continually being chastened lest they wander off the course even a little bit.

One thing is certain: he who sows sparingly shall reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully shall reap bountifully. We shall get out of our redemption what we put into it.

Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. (Isaiah 43:8)

There are many voices in the land in our day; various ideas of what should be done; the Spirit of God is falling here, the Spirit of God is falling there; ten thousand people have come here, a hundred thousand people have come there.

The False Prophet, in the name of Jesus, will perform “great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth.”

According to our understanding, the “first beast” is the Antichrist. Antichrist is man-centeredness in the political realm. The second beast, the False Prophet, is man-centeredness in the spiritual realm. If you will notice carefully, much that is done in our Charismatic circles today is believer-centered. It is not Holy Spirit-centered although from what is said it appears at first to be Spirit-centered.

Actually man is in control and what is done is done to bless man, not to bless God. Oswald Chamber said we must cease the “passions for souls” and get a “passion for Christ.” This sounds strange to our ears because we are so man-centered without realizing it.

If we are not mistaken it will be professors of belief in Christ who will be deceived into endorsing the Antichrist system of world democracy. They will support the world plan to relieve human pain by calling on the Lord Jesus to confirm their efforts with miracles. The great signs that follow will deceive the inhabitants of the earth.

There already have been instances of Charismatic leaders being invited to the White House in order to gain their support. From what we have heard these leaders regard the President as a Christian. Yet some of the secular writers view the President as perfidious. Will history view him as another Washington or Lincoln, who were true Christian men from what we have heard?

Why would Charismatic leaders look to our President as being a Christian? Is it not because they are not hearing from Christ even though they do many wonderful things in his name?

All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. (Revelation 13:8)

The Lord Jesus warned us there would be deception in the last days. We just did not realize it would be so sophisticated, so effective, so difficult to detect, so similar to the truth.

The true elect will be kept from deception. The true elect are blind and deaf to the powerful currents of the world. They are regarded as garbage. They do not fit somehow. They are looked on as “losers.” Other Christians are popular and are esteemed even by the mighty of the world. Their names are found everywhere. But not the little flock who wait patiently on the Lord Jesus, who are comforted by the Holy Spirit.

But when their time comes God will lead them out. They see what God wants them to see. They hear what God wants them to hear. They are a handful of corn on the top of the mountains but their fruit shall shake like Lebanon. The man-centered will prove to be flesh, grass, a fine show today but cast into the oven tomorrow.

“All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.” (Isaiah 43:9)

The world has decided in favor of the ridiculous hypothesis of evolution—ridiculous in terms of the probability of any such complex creature as a flea being formed according to the concept of the survival of the fittest. We see from this the intellectual bias of those who would reject the idea of a coming day of judgment. The doctrine of evolution reveals the extent of their inability to interpret the “former things.”

The world is moving in the direction of liberal thought in the area of morality, an area reserved for the judgment of God alone. The nations are gathering together to plan their economic programs, their military alliances, their projects concerning global warming and world health.

The world is becoming man-centered not God-centered.

From ancient times the wise of the world have projected plans to improve the condition of human beings, this scheme, that utopia, the next philosophy. But the Words of Jesus Christ have prevailed. There have been wars and rumors of wars, plagues, famines, natural catastrophes. People are not evolving into superior creatures.

America represents the best the world has to offer. Our nation is the fruit of the efforts of scientists, political sages, educators. Surely we have created the garden of God so all live in abundance, free from dread.

The truth is, we have a nation noted for its drunken violence and immorality. The average American is relatively rich in material goods but his or her home often is the scene of savage conflict and destruction.

Right or wrong?

Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”

Let the exalted leaders of our nation bear witness to the rest of the world showing the marvels of our way of life. Let them exhibit the homes to display the deplorable situations there. Let them cease the image building and “spin,” and testify to what actually is taking place at night on the streets of New York City, Detroit, Miami, Los Angeles. where a person foolish and reckless enough to be out at night is fortunate not to be shot, robbed, or raped.

The serious student may conclude there is no more joy and contentment, peace and safety, than there were in households and cities a thousand years past.

From the time of Abel it has been the righteous who have enjoyed the peace and prosperity that only the Lord God can bring. Reality does not change. The Words of God stands true eternally. Whoever serves the Lord finds life and joy. But the wicked always are as the sea, tossed here and there by the spiritual winds that blow ceaselessly across the land.

As far as our country being the garden of God is concerned, what good is all our money and our “nice things” when our homes have been destroyed? How many American men have left their wives and children to fend for themselves, have embraced a paramour of little integrity, and then have come down to the hour of death to discover they have lost their honor, have betrayed those who trusted in them, and have wasted their life chasing money—money which never brought them lasting joy, peace, health, or respect. Now they will pass into the spirit realm completely unprepared to meet Christ and God.

This is not an intelligent way of life!

God says, “Get your witnesses and prove you are right and I am wrong.”

But the fact remains, God alone has been correct all along. Yet people keep on “learning” and never come to the knowledge of the truth.

But some do, and they are worthy of our best efforts.

“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.” (Isaiah 43:10)

It seems that today we have “witnessing” confused with “evangelizing.” Every member of the Body of Christ is called to be a witness of God. Not every member is called to be an evangelist.

The ministry of evangelism is given to certain members of the Body of Christ, and like all other gifts and ministries is given to some who are spiritually mature and some who are carnal. The evangelist brings the good news of God’s salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

But there is no special gift of witnessing. Each Christian is to be a witness of God, to let his or her light shine in the world. The members of the Servant of the Lord are taught throughout their lifetime to know and believe God. God has chosen them and deals them endlessly, night and day, year after year, teaching them of Himself.

Their role is to know and believe God, to learn of His faithfulness, His love, His wrath, His dependability, His power, His ways of doing things, His Kingdom, and His eternal plan in Jesus Christ.

The witness is not a purveyor of doctrinal truth, of theology, he or she is a witness of the Person of God. The witness can say to people, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9).

Paul was saying, “I know the Lord. I know what He desires. If you will learn from me, receive from me, hear from me, and see in me, and put these things into practice, God will be with you.”

This is a witness of God, a witness formed by the Lord. He does not tell what he has learned from studying but what he has seen with the Lord.

The witness knows and believes God and understands that the Lord, He is God and there is no other!

Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.

Our minds are not such we can comprehend that God always has been, that He has no beginning. We are unable to grasp eternity and infinity.

God is God. There are many religions in the world, many gods, many demons that are worshiped. But there is only one true God. “Hear O Israel, the Lord thy God, the Lord is one.”

Jesus Christ is the Son, the Expression of the one true God, whom Jesus calls the Father.

God has created all of us through Jesus Christ, Christ being the Administrator of God’s creative power. Every human being is a worshiper. Unlike an animal, man is made to worship.

We worship relationships. We worship things. We worship circumstances. In America we worship money, physical lust, violence, entertainment, pleasure, sometimes the demons themselves, as in the case of witchcraft. Often Americans worship their own children or other family members.

God will permit no worship other than that addressed to Himself. Much of our Christian life is occupied with the removing of our idols from our personality and putting them under our feet there they belong. This can be a painful process at times, but a program in which every member of the Body of Christ must be totally successful.

When you pray, ask God to remove all idols from you life. Ask Him not to answer you according to your idols but to expose and remove them. Your prayer will be heard and answered if you persist.

Conclusion

Now is the time for the Body of Christ to come to the stature of the fullness of Christ. The wheat of God is to come to maturity. The tares also will come to maturity.

The days ahead will be filled with spiritual darkness, although the greatest revival of history, the latter-rain outpouring, is at hand. Antichrist will be given authority to reach into the very heavens and tear down some of the host of God. When people call on God their prayers will be hindered at a high level. Deception will abound.

At the same time the throne of God will be established in the hearts of the godly remnant. There always will be deliverance in Mount Zion and in the remnant whom the Lord will call. But the remnant will be driven from the large cities of the earth, from the areas where Antichrist is governing.

The Christian religion and churches, as we have known them, will gradually be resolved into Babylon the Great, on the one hand, and the godly remnant on the other. The remnant will be removed from all participation in the Laodicean churches and from the spiritual delusions of the False Prophet.

There shall be a bride without spot or wrinkle who emerges from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved.

In order for the true members of the Body of Christ, today found in numerous denominations and groups, to come to the stature of the fullness of Christ, all that is of the world, of bodily lusts, and of self-seeking must be burned out of them. Every member must reveal in his or her personality the iron righteousness of Jesus Christ, fiery Divine holiness, and stern obedience to the Father. There is to be no spiritual blemish of any kind whatever in those who will rise at the coming of Christ, be drawn up to Him, and then descend to judge and destroy sin from the earth and to govern the nations of the saved.

In other words, we are facing all-out war. God is arising to face Satan. Christ will come to grips with Antichrist. The Holy Spirit will keep the saint from the delusions of the False Prophet.

Any Christian is welcome to join the ranks of the remnant, to become a functioning member of the Body of Christ. Every one of us must seek God earnestly for the ministries and gifts that will enable us to do our part in bringing the whole Body to maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ.

The Spirit is speaking that this present year, 1998, will be a period of intense spiritual warfare and activity. Many will fall away from the true faith in Christ. Traps will be set by the adversary and sprung on those who did not watch in prayer, who were casual concerning their discipleship, who were too busy to find God’s will for their life, who wasted their time on activities that, while not sinful, were nevertheless not part of the plan of Christ for them, who were amassing money and property, given to parties, material things, occupied with following the antics of professional athletes, surfeited with entertainment and vacations, who idolized their children, indulging them and hovering over them so they were protected against the rigors of life, smothering them with affection but not rebuking them sharply when they behaved wilfully and arrogantly.

Parents who worship their children will be dealt with by the Lord as He lovingly but firmly breaks these unwholesome ties.

Multitudes of people who, generally speaking are righteous but who are not pleasing the Lord with their behavior, will suffer many pains and afflictions in the days ahead. It is the responsibility of the members of the Body of Christ to bring the Presence of God to them, to guide and encourage them. In order for us to offer this kind of assistance we ourselves will have to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is, Christ.  From Him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work,”  Ephesians 4:14-16.

The ultimate purpose of ministry and ministries, is to bring the body of Christ unto maturity — unto the “fullness” of the “whole” measure of Christ.  For those of us who are called as: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, our responsibility actually, is to prepare God’s people for works of service; to train them to do the work of the ministry, and to “equip” them for this charge.

Looking further at this portion of scripture, Ephesians 4:12 — to prepare God’s people for works of service, but also, and here is the clincher:  “So that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

When we can “begin” to even get to this point, I mean, the beginning of the point of reaching unity in the faith, then we will have come closer to attaining to this “fullness” of the measure of the stature of Christ.

This then, indeed, will be maturity, for it will encompass our fellow brothers and sisters in this magnificent goal, and they, along with us, will be “sharing” in this “fullness” and “measure” of Christ.  But, how do we get to this point?  How do we attain this unity of the faith? Is this truly something that we as the body of Christ can attain before He comes for His bride?

I really wonder sometimes, and yet, I see “glimpses” of it as we come together for Him during various prayer meetings, conferences, and the like.

But so many of us argue about this issue or that one.  We choose to get into debates with one another over sometimes, petty things.  We are always wanting to be right no matter what the outcome is.  We cite this scripture or that one, to prove our point, and in the end, we have lost a friend, or better yet, a fellow brother or sister in the faith.

And yet I’m not saying that many of our discussions aren’t important; they are.  We all share in the process of coming to a deeper understanding of coming to the final goal we have in Christ.  But we all hold a “piece” of the puzzle in this process.  Just because someone has received a revelation, a dream, or a prophecy about a certain person or event, doesn’t mean that they have the full picture – they don’t.

We cannot begin to comprehend this measure of Christ, until we see what our brother or sister shares with us in His body.  This then cannot happen until we can see their gift, their part of the body, and our need for them to somehow, “complete” us in Him.

A husband or a wife is “incomplete” until they find that somehow the joining together with their mate, that this then “completes” them in Christ.  And that is not to say that they are “incomplete” as an emotional, intellectual, or spiritual being, but that their life is certainly in the process of becoming “one” in Him through this union of a husband and a wife.

“….For we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church,”   Ephesians 5:30-31.

If then, we are all members of His body, and somehow, “joined together” in Him through this body, then we do need each other, and without the hand, the eye, the arm, or the leg, then we are “incomplete” in Him.  We certainly as a “natural body” cannot function very well if we are missing some of our members.

“…So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”  Ephesians. 3:17-19.

Here again, we see the same truth: “that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”  Here we see the same thing that is stated inEphesians 4:13 — “and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” 

Without our fellowship, and our “togetherness” with the saints, then we cannot know how wide and long and high and deep is this love of Christ.  Our understanding then of Him, becomes limited, and we have “tunnel vision.”

Our view of Christ, then, is not as large as it could be if we had not been rooted and established in love with others who also know Him.  And by “togetherness,” I do not mean merely sitting together in the same pew on a Sunday morning, but sharing in this “togetherness” of the Spirit.  Perhaps we are even separated by hundreds of miles, but there can still be a “togetherness” we share as we partake of the body and blood of Christ together.

In order for us to come unto maturity, we also need to be weaned from “drinking milk.” Spiritual milk is for babes in Christ, and if we are ever to attain to this “fullness” of the measure of Christ, then we need to go on to the “strong meat of God’s word.”

“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.  In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again.  You need milk, not solid food!  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”   Hebrews 6:11-14.

Actually, many of us are still talking about these elementary principles, and that’s not to say that they aren’t important.  But the time comes when those of us who have been walking around in diapers for years, need to realize that their clothes need to change.  It’s time to realize that our discussions need to change.  It’s time for our spiritual diet to change.

We need to come to the place where we truly can distinguish between good and evil, and can “discern” when error is in the body of Christ, whether it is in the form of a teaching, a prophecy, or something which is said from the pulpit.  We then need a steady diet of “strong meat.”  We need to “devour” the word of God as it gives sustenance to our bones, and then strengthens us in the “inner man.”

We need to go beyond the elementary doctrines and truths of God’s word;“not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.  And God permitting, we will do so,”   Hebrews 6:1-3.

When we trust in Him for salvation, we become a member of His family—we are "in Christ" (John 1:12; Romans 6:23; 8:1–11; 12:5; Galatians 3:26–29). Jesus told His followers about abiding in Him as a branch abides in a vine (John 15:1–11). Only in Him can we bear fruit. He gives us the indwelling Holy Spirit who guides us, strengthens us, and transforms us (John 14:15–17; Ephesians 1:13–14; Philippians 2:12–13). 

In Ephesians 1:3–14, Paul explains some of the advantages of being in Christ. We are blessed with "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (v. 3), chosen "that we should be holy and blameless" (v. 4), adopted (v. 5), redeemed (v. 7), and forgiven (v. 7). God's grace is described as having riches and being "lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight" (v. 8). We have an inheritance (v. 11) and have received the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of it (v. 13–14). 

Paul tells his readers that he prays for them, "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:17–23). Notice how Paul describes "the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe" (v. 19); it is this same power by which Jesus rose from the dead. Certainly God has plenty of strength for us! 

While it sounds simple to rely on someone else for strength, and we know that God is eminently capable of strengthening us, living it out in practice can be a bit challenging. Have you ever broken a bone? Maybe you broke your leg and had to be on crutches. Chances are, you had to rely on someone else to help you by driving you places, carrying your groceries for you, and so on. While it was wonderful to have them there as your strength, the tradeoff was that you yourself were weak. When God is your strength, you rely on Him to be your source of strength. He will always be stronger than we are, but we, as humans, can tend to stubbornly cling to our own strength and desire for total self-sufficiency. Even as Christians we can sometimes falsely trust in our own merits for our strength rather than allowing ourselves to be strengthened in the Lord.  

Paul reminds us of what God said to him when he was upset by his own human weakness: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9–10). In Paul's personal weakness, he ended up finding his strength, power, and contentment in God. Through God's strength, we can do all that He calls us to do (Philippians 4:12–13; 2 Peter 1:3). 

By continuing on to read in Ephesians 6:10–18, we see some of the ways we are strengthened in the Lord: 

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."

The armor of God makes us strong in Him: truth, righteousness, readiness to proclaim the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and praying in the Spirit. As we put on the armor of God, we begin to walk in His strength, rather than our own. We are strengthened by Him, made strong in the Lord. With God as our strength, we will not falter, and we will be able to persevere in living for Him throughout the triumphs and hardships alike that we face (see Psalm 18:29–36). 

First, we battle against the rulers, authorities, cosmic powers over the present darkness, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm (Ephesians 6:12). Now, this may sound like a Star Wars screenplay only feasible in our imagination, but it isn’t.  As Christians, our battle against the darkness includes these actions. We do not just wrestle against flesh and blood but with Spiritual forces as well. The works of the enemies in the lives of God’s creation are present since the day of creation. The schemes of the devil are listed in John 10:10. The thief comes, first, to steal. The Devil will do everything to steal our strength, joy, peace, and life. He will offer us ways to quench our weariness temporarily until we become truly engaged with a temporal escape. This escape becomes our residence and we forget the true things which the enemy has stolen.

Second, we battle the Devil’s scheme to kill. If he can’t persuade you to join his tedious escape, he’ll get you by slaughtering your soul. His ways are immeasurable. The devil has nothing to lose so it must be easy for him to plot your fall. Lastly, the thief has come to destroy. Say that he can’t get you by temptation; he’ll get you through destruction. God’s creation is so gloriously wonderful that the Devil wants it destroyed. The enemy is in an all-out attack every day against the creations of God. We might be tired from battles we don’t know exists, which is dangerous because we cannot win a war we can’t see.

Battle Against One’s Self

Another battle also rages within us. We fight against ourselves each day. The moment we wake up is already a battle between our objective to get out of the bed, start the day, and our desire to get another fifteen minutes of snoozing. Many people fail in this simple test. Why? Because it is easy to follow the desire of man than to obey the rules set before him. Galatians 5:17 tells us that the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other so that we are not to do whatever you want. The last phrase of the verse should echo within our hearts so that our Spirit can overcome the flesh. We are not to do whatever we want.

To be strong in the Lord means allowing His Spirit to strengthen our spirit so that it can overwhelm the temptations of the flesh and the lies of the enemy and not the way around. We may be facing these battles every day but there is an important truth that we need to highlight amidst these combats. Every battle belongs to God.

The Battle Is Not Ours

No matter how small or vast our battles are, is not ours to win. The truth is, it is impossible to win these battles with our own power. We are utterly unable. The only way to win these battles is to give it to God. There are just two steps to be strong in the Lord in our daily battles. First, let go. Second, let God. If we want to experience real freedom from unnecessary worries and needless weariness, we must stop carrying burdens that we are not meant to carry. Instead, we must start letting God take the lead and fight for us. We often come to God, when the war waging in us is too much for us to handle. But the Bible tells us a different approach.

It is the Lord our God who fights for us (Deuteronomy 3:22). The tactic of having Him as the last resort will do us no good. We will find ourselves already exhausted before we can even fight back. He is our true strength. Putting Him first will save us moments of frustrations and nights of weariness. We don’t need to always feel tired before we come to God. He expects that we submit to Him everything, not only those which challenge us.

We need to be strong in the Lord in every aspect of our lives. Some lose the war because of excessive confidence. They think their enemies can’t outsmart them so they rely on their defense so when things fall out of the plan, they lose many armies before they can finally win. On a bad occasion, they lose at all. Christians don’t fight battles this way. Our method of winning is through surrender.

The Act of Surrender

Surrender? Yes, you’ve read it right. Surrender is a very negative word in our society. It means defeat for most people. However, the act of surrender which the Bible tells us is not passive combat (Romans 6:13). It does not let go and do nothing. It lets God do what He desires. Surrendering in the Bible is submission to God. It means submission of any aspect of your life in recognition that we alone can’t do it without God. To surrender to God means to admit that we on our own strength are powerless and are bound to fail. But, in God, we are strong for He reigns over all things. Victory is in His name.

The act of surrender means yielding to God who is the highest authority in one’s life. If we want to defeat the forces of evil, we need to come to the One who is higher and stronger than any rulers on the earth. There is no other name greater than the name of Jesus (Philippians 2:9). Surrender is never passive. In truth, it is an active effort that needs practice. To live life daily surrendered to God indicates a heart that says yes to God on a daily basis. Saying yes to God is both submission and obedience. This is what a surrendered life implies. There is no other way to win our battles but to give it to God. Let Him take over. Allow Him to show his power in us. The battle belongs to Him, not us. It’s for him to decide not our desire.

If you want to be strong in the Lord, James 4:7 gives us this formula: Submit to God and resist the devil. Combining these two and the devil will flee from you.

Fight in God’s Power

When we face trials of various kinds, we should never forget that God is bigger than any circumstance we face. If we start to feel like we can’t persevere any longer, entrust to God your weaknesses for He is mighty. The Lord is mighty to save. He is mighty to help us. Jesus is mighty to take over our wars and turn them into victories. During our struggles to find hope and strength, we must recognize that the power of God can change everything, and use anything for our good. You might be feeling weary and weak right now. Your situation might be so unclear right now, but the Lord who called you for His purpose is doing anything for your good (Romans 8:28). To be strong in the Lord is acknowledging His eternal and matchless power.

It’s time to say goodbye to an outward show of strength and say hello to the mighty power of God. Acknowledging God’s power means knowing His character and making it active in our lives. He is our refuge and strong tower (Psalm 18:2). The Lord is our rock and mighty fortress (Psalm 18:2). He is our shield, stronghold, and deliverer (Psalm 144:2). The Lord is our light and salvation. He is the strength of our life (Psalm 27:1).

Here’s a truth some people will try to elude. We cannot trust our ability to be strong. If we do, we set ourselves to exhaustion, failure, and a false sense of triumph. Being strong in the Lord is about trusting Him. We do not fight an earthly weapon but with the weapons of the Lord. The weapons of God have divine power to destroy strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). Hence, we are fighting in God’s power and not in our individual force.

We Are Never Alone

Being strong in the Lord is also being with Him. God is in the midst of our struggle whenever we experience it. He is with us through our sufferings. The Lord goes before us and behind us. He is within us and around us. God leads us. He fights for us. The Lord also redeems us and delivers us. Throughout everything that has happened to and around us, He has been with us. Even when we don’t know how He is working, we should know he will never leave nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). Our lack of knowledge does not stop God from fighting for us. He knows what amount of strength we need to overcome for HE is with us, always.

The Lord is not a far-off God. He likes it to be near to His children. God is always working with you and within you. Sometimes, He changes the situation you’ve been trapped in. Other times, He changes you. So, whatever it is that keeps you awake at night or drains the energy in you even before the day starts, do not forget that God is with you. He will never abandon us in our times of struggles.

Put on God’s Armor

When Apostle Paul instructs the Church of Ephesus to be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might (Ephesians 6:10), he did not leave them hanging. Paul gives them a powerful defense to remain strong in the Lord. The next verse says “Put on the whole armor of God to stand against the schemes of the devil”. The armor of God is a metaphor signifying the defense that Christians need to put on to stand the attacks of the enemy. It consists of the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Each part of the armor represents significant focuses of the Christian faith. These are the key weapons for a follower of Christ so they can be strong in the Lord in whatever circumstances and difficulties they face.

The belt of truth symbolizes the only truth which Christians should adhere to. Whatever lies the enemy throws at us, we must only stand on the foundation of God’s truth. The belt secures all other parts of a warrior’s armor together. It is also where the sword is placed. The Sword of the Spirit on the other hand represents the Word of God. Of all the portions of the armor, the sword is the only weapon that is offensive and defensive in nature. The belt of truth carries the Word of god which is the strength of every Christian.

The next piece of the armor is the breastplate of righteousness. For an ancient warrior, the breastplate protects the vital organs of the body. The breastplate of righteousness protects our hearts from the deceptions of the enemy. As for shoes to our feet, we also must put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. It will allow us to walk through deep waters while carrying the mission of God to the world. Another piece of the armor which is also of vital importance is the shield of faith. A shield will protect us from any weapon. A firm faith in God will keep Christians strong in the Lord whatever smear the devil might throw. The Bible says it can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.

Finally, the helmet of salvation protects the mind which is the same as our walk in Christ. The message of salvation should dwell in our minds so that whatever worries or sinful thoughts will come, the message of grace will overwhelm these thoughts away. Be strong in the Lord by wearing His armor. These are not a representation for the sake of it. They mean the most important Christian subjects which are non-negotiable in winning our battles. Let us face any spiritual battle, ready with the armor of God.

Power of Prayer

The final instruction of Paul to the Ephesians is that to be strong in the Lord, we must “pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication”. There are many examples in the Bible that shows how God’s people overcame their struggles with His help and power. One example is Samson. When Samson lost all his strength due to his disobedience to God, the Philistines were able to seize him. The Philistines forced him into hard labor and later tied him to the pillars of the Temple of Dagon to mock him. Samson during this time called to God and asked for his strength again to take revenge on the Philistines after they had gouged out his eyes. The Lord gave back Samson’s strength enabling him to pull down the pillars he was tied to, bringing down the temple killing everyone who was there.

That day, Samson died together with the Philistines but the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those of whom he had killed during his life (Judges 16:30). Samson suffered in the hands of the Philistines particularly when they took his eyes. Samson knew He failed God. But God never left Samson. The Lord never allowed Samson to die without accomplishing his task. God gave Samson the supernatural strength to get out of the shackles of the Philistines. Just one prayer to God and he has been freed from the chains of his enemies. Yet, Samson’s prayer must have not been a low-key prayer. Remember, Samson didn’t pray for God to save him; he wished to die with the Philistines. His prayer must be so desperate that he was ready to die.

Persist in Prayer

It can be that the enemy had you in the bondages of his traps. You may not see a way to escape. Perhaps, you are starting to lose hope in your present circumstance. There can be weaknesses and sins within you that you find hard to surrender to God. Your story has not ended yet. The Lord has a greater purpose for you. He is the God who sets free. There is freedom in Him. You will only need to ask Him. Whatever chain it is that stops you and keeps you weak, ask God to take it and break it for you. However labor work you do, you cannot pull it off away from with your strength. If you have sinned against God, He is always willing to forgive you and give you the strength to withstand the temptations of the enemy.

Never get tired of praying. The Lord hears our every cry and listens to every prayer. Samson may have gotten his strength back with just one prayer or maybe he prayed to God tirelessly while he was in prison, we don’t know. But, he prayed. He failed God, but He still prayed to Him. When we pursue to be strong in the Lord, we start to see how weak and sinful we are. And that does not prevent us from calling unto God for more strength. On the contrary, it should draw us closer to God for more of His strength.

Resting in God’s Strength

To be strong in the Lord also means we can rest in Him. Upon discovering that the battle is not ours but God’s, we should easily understand the rest we have after this truth. Resting in God’s presence is far from the rest this world has to offer. It does not hide through sugar-coated longing which is inside rotten. It is “rest” in its purest essence. This is peace which does not negate the fact there is a battle. It does not hide the realities of the world. It only highlights the power of God’s truths. There is so much happening around. If we choose to be bothered, we will find ourselves stuck in frustration and fear. The enemy can steal our joy and peace. We should not allow that so we are to rest in God’s strength.

The storm may be big, but God holds the universe, we can rest in His palms. Our strength fades and perishes but the strength of God is perpetual. Paul Maxwell writes “Our rest is not measured in minutes or hours, but in proximity.” Sabbath is a day, but it is also a place with God— a place he makes, where he pursues us.” The closer we are to God the better we can find rest in this hectic world.

We can choose our battles. Not all wars are worth fighting for. Our faithfulness to God is not measured by the numbers of victories we had. Let us take time to pause and find rest in God’s strength so we can be strong in the Lord despite all the things occurring within and around us. Rest is Biblical (Genesis 2:2-3; Matthew 11:28-30). The latter verse tells us to give God all our heavy laden so He can give us rest.

In order to live the life to which God calls us, we must do battle with the devil and his forces. In order to win that battle, we must “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” 

When Paul urges us in verse 10 to draw upon the power of the Lord, he uses the same trio of words that he used in Ephesians 1:19 (dunamis, kratos and ischus). The use of these three different words for “strength” is a unique way of emphasizing just how important it is for us to trust in Christ and his power.

Dunamis means power, and you will recognize it as the Greek word from which we get the English words “dynamite” and “dynamo.” 

Kratos means might, and it conveys the presence of “strength, power, or mighty deed.” 

Ischus means strength, which carries the idea of endowed power or ability. 

We simply cannot live the fulness of the Christian life if we do not tap into the power and strength the Lord makes available to us. This is a constant them throughout the NT.

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1.7)

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” (2 Peter 1.3)

“He is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” (Ephesians 3.20)

As we do battle with the forces of darkness, the power of God is essential. In our own strength, we will not be successful at standing against the schemes of the Evil One. If we are going to defeat the internal impulses of the old nature and the external attacks of the Enemy, we must tap into God’s power. There is no other way to win.

Trust God, and walk in the power that he has given to you.

You must be strong in the Lord and put on His full armor, so that you may stand firm against the enemy.

“Finally” means, “for the rest,” and shows that this section is built on what precedes. Paul is saying, “Based upon your glorious position in Christ (chapters 1-3) and in light of the worthy walk to which you are called (chapters 4-5, plus 6:1-9), I want to conclude by explaining to you the serious conflict in which your faith necessarily engages you.” Because you are fighting in the Lord’s army…

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1. You must be strong in the Lord.

Paul piles up words for strength in verse 10, using three of the four words that he employed in 1:19-20. There he mentioned “the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.” Also, in 3:16 Paul prayed that God would grant you … “to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.” As in that verse, the verb in 6:10 is probably passive, meaning, “be strengthened in the Lord” (Peter O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians [Eerdmans/Apollos], pp. 460-461). In other words, we are not strong in ourselves. Our strength comes from the Lord.

Yet, at the same time, I think that there is an active (Greek, middle voice) sense to the verb, in that we must take the initiative to be strong in the Lord. This is illustrated in the life of David. While he was on the run from Saul, David had wrongly allied himself with the Philistine king and was about to go into battle against Saul and the forces of Israel when God intervened. David and his men were sent home from the battle. But they arrived to find their city burned with fire and their wives, children, and possessions taken captive by the Amalekites. At that point, David’s men were so embittered that they were talking about stoning him.

Then, in the middle of the verse, there is a great hinge that turned things in a new direction (1 Sam. 30:6b): “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” What a dramatic turnaround! David was almost down for the count. God’s promise to make him king seemed null and void. “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” The Lord graciously directed David to pursue the raiders and recover all of their families and goods.

That same strength is available to every Christian. You may be at your lowest point. You may be discouraged. It may seem that God’s promises are not true. But no matter how much may seem to be against you, you can “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” You can strengthen yourself in the Lord your God. How?

A. To be strong in the Lord, you must be in the Lord.

I won’t belabor the point, but I need to say that Paul’s command to be strong in the Lord rests on his first two chapters, where he makes it clear what it means to be in the Lord. To sum up his treatment, he wrote (2:8-9), “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” To be in the Lord means that He has saved you from God’s judgment by His grace alone through faith in Christ alone. Salvation is not based on anything that you have done or deserved. As we have seen, one of Paul’s frequent expressions in Ephesians is the phrase, “in Christ,” or “in Him” (1:3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13). You cannot begin to understand what it means to be strong in the Lord unless you truly are in the Lord through saving faith in Jesus Christ.

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B. To be strong in the Lord, you must know your own weakness.

This is a continual, lifelong process that begins at salvation. We cannot trust completely in Christ to save us until we come to some awareness that we are helplessly, hopelessly lost and unable to save ourselves by our own good works. As Spurgeon put it, we must see that we are convicted and condemned, with the rope around our neck, before we will weep for joy when Christ pardons us (C. H. Spurgeon Autobiography [Banner of Truth], 1:54).

But then we must go on to grow to know practically our own weakness so that we take refuge in the Lord’s strength. Jesus taught this by using the analogy of the branches abiding in the vine, and said (John 15:5b), “for apart from Me you can do nothing.” Peter needed to learn this lesson. He boasted that although everyone else would desert Christ, he would remain true. But the Lord allowed Peter to go through his terrible denials so that he might not trust in himself, but in Christ alone. The apostle Paul had an amazing experience of being caught up into heaven itself. Because of this, to keep Paul from exalting himself, the Lord sent a messenger of Satan to torment him. The lesson that Paul learned was (2 Cor. 12:10b), “for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Our pride blinds us to our true condition. It makes us think that we have some measure of strength in ourselves. Pride makes us think that the longer we are Christians, the stronger we become. But we never become stronger in ourselves. In reality, the strong Christian is one who has come to see more and more of his own weakness and propensity towards sin. That awareness drives him to depend all the more on the Lord’s strength. To be strong in the Lord, you must know your own weakness.

C. To be strong in the Lord, you must know the Lord’s strength.

Satan is a powerful foe, but he is only a created being, whereas God is the eternal, almighty Creator of the universe. If the Lord so willed, He could annihilate Satan in an instant. He has already defeated him at the cross and resurrection of Jesus (Col. 2:15). In His perfect timing and plan, He will throw Satan into the Lake of Fire, where he will be tormented forever and ever (Rev. 20:10).

From start to finish, the Bible proclaims the mighty power of God. He spoke the heavens and earth into existence out of nothing. He delivered His people from Pharaoh’s clutches through the miraculous plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. He sustained them in one of the world’s harshest environments through the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, where He provided daily manna and water from the rock. When fierce enemies threatened to annihilate His chosen people, time and again the Lord provided deliverance. In one of the most dramatic instances, Sennacherib’s army had Jerusalem surrounded. It looked like Israel was doomed. But in response to Hezekiah’s prayer, the Lord sent His angel who killed 185,000 enemy troops in one night (2 Kings 19:35).

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Often throughout Scripture, the Lord reminds His people of the obvious, that nothing is too difficult for Him (Gen. 18:14; Jer. 32:17, 27; Zech. 8:6; Matt. 19:26; Luke 1:37; Rom. 4:21). Paul has already spoken of God’s great power towards us, as seen in His raising Jesus from the dead and enthroning Him at His right hand (Eph. 1:19-20). Paul has prayed that we would know the power of the Holy Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ might dwell in our hearts through faith (Eph. 3:17). Proverbs 18:10 declares, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe.” To be strong in the Lord, you must know His strength in a practical way, because you have repeatedly taken refuge in Him and seen His great deliverance in your life.

So to be strong in the Lord, you must be in the Lord through faith in Jesus Christ. You must know your own weakness and you must know His mighty strength. Then Paul adds,

2. You must put on God’s full armor so that you may stand firm against the enemy.

A. Standing firm against the enemy is the result of putting on God’s full armor.

“Stand” is a key word in this section. He repeats it in verses 11, 13, and 14. Also, the word “resist” (6:13) comes from a Greek compound word from the root, “to stand,” meaning literally to stand against. It’s a military term for holding on to a position that is under attack. It implies the courage to hold your ground because of your allegiance to King Jesus, even when others may be fleeing from the battle because the enemy seems so strong.

An incident about one of David’s mighty men, Shammah the son of Agee, illustrates standing firm in the battle (2 Sam. 23:11-12): “And the Philistines were gathered into a troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and the Lord brought about a great victory.” Because of his allegiance to David, Shammah stood firm and he fought, but the Lord brought the victory.

We rely on God’s strength and use His armor, but we must take the initiative to put on the armor and stand firm in the battle because we love Jesus. It’s not a matter of “letting go and letting God,” where you are passive and God does it all. Nor is it a matter of gritting your teeth and doing it yourself, with occasional assistance from God. Rather, it is a blending of His power and our striving. As Paul puts it (Col. 1:29), “For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”

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Many have suggested that Paul got the idea of putting on the full armor of God from the Roman soldier that was chained to him as he dictated this letter. That may be, but it also may be that he was meditating on Isaiah 11:5, which says of the Lord, “Righteousness will be the belt about His loins, and faithfulness the belt about His waist.” Or, Isaiah 59:17, “He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head.”

The armor is just a graphic way of saying what Paul says in Romans 13:14, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” In other words, Christ Himself is our armor. He is the belt of truth (John 14:6). He is our breastplate of righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). He is the gospel of peace that we stand on (Eph. 2:13-14, 17). He is the shield of our faith (Heb. 12:2). He is our helmet of salvation (Titus 3:6). He is our sword, the word of God (John 1:1). He is our full armor, capable of protecting us from every onslaught of the devil.

Putting on God’s armor means that in every trial and temptation by faith you appropriate Christ’s strength in place of your weakness. By faith you cry out to Him for deliverance and strength to persevere. By faith you rely on His promises, even as Jesus defeated Satan by quoting Scripture (Luke 4:1-13).

B. Stand firm against the enemy by growing in biblical understanding.

There are three things here:

(1). Understand God’s full provision.

I’ve already touched on this, but I remind you that Paul wrote the first three chapters of this letter to set forth the necessary doctrinal foundation of all that God has provided for us in Christ. Strong Christians are doctrinally grounded in the truth of Scripture. Unless you know the Word well, as Jesus did when He defeated Satan, you will not stand firm in the evil day.

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(2). Understand Satan’s schemes.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached 26 messages on this theme (The Christian Warfare [Baker]). Schemes (in Greek) occurs only here and in Ephesians 4:14. But using a synonym, Paul states (2 Cor. 2:11), “so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” If you’re ignorant of his schemes, the devil will be able to take advantage of you. His schemes invariably use cunning and deception. He often works through secular culture, to carry us downstream with the prevailing ideas of the day. In our day, many Christians are deceived by the ideas of postmodernism, which asserts that there are no absolute truths in the spiritual or moral realms (except for the absolute that there are no absolutes!). Satan launches repeated attacks on the credibility of Scripture, whether through evolution or by attacking the person of Christ. Satan lures us into sin by portraying it as pleasurable and by hiding its consequences. He uses discouragement, pride, selfishness, the love of money, lust, and many other traps to lure us away from the Lord. To stand firm against the enemy, we must understand his schemes.

(3). Understand where to stand firm and where to be tolerant of differences.

If Satan doesn’t get us through his scheme of going along with our tolerant culture, he pushes us off the other end by making us intolerant of anyone who does not agree with us on every point of doctrine. I know of a man who claims to have “biblical discernment,” but his entire “ministry” consists of critiquing godly men over minor differences in doctrine or practice. I once received a newsletter from another man (I should have saved it, but threw it away in disgust) who ranted on and on about how a seminary professor believed that a particular Hebrew verb came from a certain word root. But this man was setting the record straight that the professor was wrong! Really, who cares?

Standing firm against the schemes of the devil means that we stand firm on the core doctrines of the faith. We cannot budge on the Trinity, the person and work of Christ, biblical salvation, or the inspiration and authority of Scripture. But the Scripture also tells us to show tolerance for one another in love (Eph. 4:2). That verse implies that we will not always agree with one another on every point of doctrine or on every method of how to go about the Lord’s work. To stand firm, grow in understanding of where to do battle and where to be tolerant of differences.

Thus, standing firm against the enemy is the result of putting on God’s full armor. We stand firm against the enemy by growing in biblical understanding. Finally,

C. Stand firm against the enemy with biblical practice.

In other words, put into practice what you believe. Test your armor by gaining some victories in real life situations. Resist temptation. Avoid Satan’s traps. Get out of your comfort zone and do something where you have to trust God to get you through. As Hebrews 5:14states, “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” Or, as James 1:22 puts it, “Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers, who delude themselves.”