Unto
the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth
the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou
canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are
apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast
patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first
love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the
first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy
candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou
hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh
will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise
of God. Revelation 2:1-7 KJV
Remember
therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If
therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt
not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Revelation 3:3 KJV
Many times we come up against
things in our Christian walk that are in direct opposition to our progress both
in our personal lives and our fellowship life in the church.
We have to remember
that the enemy does not like us and would love to see us crushed into the
dust. We have to realize that he will use any one and anything to disarm and
neutralize us and the church. He also knows that a most effective way to
destroy a church is to turn the members against each other and he’s an expert
in doing this in so many ways! A whisper here, an angry thought there, a
slander somewhere else all delicately sprinkled with a liberal dose of lies. He’s
a master at this and he’s an expert in your personal weaknesses, knowing exactly
which buttons to push, which dial to turn, which lever to pull…even more than
you do and at the same time making it seem as though you are smart in doing so
on your very own!
A
kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. A church divided is heading for
disaster. This happens when members forget who they are and whose they are.
This happens when members forget who they serve and who they represent. This
happens when members in an effort to hurt another member end up hurting the
very Christ for who they are named. We can become blind to everything but our
own agenda. We can become caught up in a selfish war in which we become subtly manipulated
by the enemy as either willing or unwilling puppets in the hands of the satanic
servants of the devil. Men and women who have no real love for the work of the
Lord, and who like the woman in Solomon's days, is willing to have the child
cut in half because she had no love for it.
1.
WE ARE HURTING AND WE NEED TO HEAL.
We will not receive
healing by standing, loitering around in the reception area. We need to get
into the room where the healer is. We need to move pass the outer court with
it's natural lighting, pass the cadre of priests tending the artificial light
of the lampstand and right into the throne room of His grace and mercy where we
can bask in the healing light of the awesome Shekinah
Hebrews
4:14-16 KJV Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed
into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high
priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet without
sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Matthew
11:28-30 KJV Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and
learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light.
John
6:37 KJV All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
John
5:39-40 KJV Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal
life: and they are they which testify of me. 40 And ye will not
come to me, that ye might have life.
2.
WE NEED TO REFOCUS!
Many times we become blindsided.
We are caught without warning. We've been exposed to the unexpected ugliness of
humanity that we did not care to see. We have uncertainty, doubts and fears.
But this is not a physical warfare. This is spirit warfare and we shall NOT
allow the enemy to destroy what God has given to us! Regardless if brethren are
involved, we need to recognize that they are not the enemy. We need to locate
the real enemy and direct our fire power in that direction. More importantly we
need to refocus our attention on the God of our salvation and lift up our eyes
to Him from whom our help comes.
Hebrews
12:1-3 KJV Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a
cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set
before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher
of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of
God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of
sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
A striking incident in
II Chronicles illustrates this.
2
Chronicles 20:1-12 KJV 1 It came to pass after this
also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with
them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to
battle. 2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying,
There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side
Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi. 3 And
Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast
throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah gathered themselves together,
to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they
came to seek the LORD. 5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the
congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new
court, 6 And said, O LORD God of our
fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou
over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there
not power and might, so that none is able to withstand
thee? 7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive
out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the
seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? 8 And they dwelt therein,
and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name,
saying, 9 If, when evil cometh upon
us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before
this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and
cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and
help. 10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and
mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the
land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them
not; 11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come
to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to
inherit. 12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no
might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what
to do: BUT OUR EYES ARE UPON THEE.
Jehoshaphat did what
we now need to do. He took his eyes off the threatening armies and lifted them
up to Yahweh! He specifically stated: BUT OUR EYES ARE UPON THEE!!! We know the
result! They found their song to Yahweh!
2
Chronicles 20:13-24 KJV 13 And all Judah stood before the LORD, with
their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 Then
upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the
son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in
the midst of the congregation; 15 And he said, Hearken ye, all
Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith
the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great
multitude; for the battle is not yours, but
God's. 16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come
up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before
the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Ye shall not need to
fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and
see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be
dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with
you. 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face
to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the
LORD, worshipping the LORD. 19 And the Levites, of the
children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to
praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high. 20
And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of
Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah,
and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be
established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. 21 And
when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and
that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army,
and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for
ever. 22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD
set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were
come against Judah; and they were smitten. 23 For the
children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir,
utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of
the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy
another. 24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the
wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold,
they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
Paul and Silas
knew exactly where to focus. They were the original Jailhouse Rockers!
Acts
16:23-26 KJV And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they
cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them
safely: 24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into
the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the
stocks. 25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang
praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly
there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were
shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were
loosed.
We may enjoy the unique experience of walking
on water but we will certainly have a very sinking feeling in our experience if
we allow our focus and attention to become distracted by the ugly circumstances
and situations around us!
3.
WE NEED TO RESUME WORSHIP
Every child of God, and
each church, has its own unique song for He has given us all a new song. It may
be slightly different in notes but it will all harmonize in a perfect chorus
and symphony of glory to God and we all have this new song to sing. We
need to be careful not to lose our song.
The Bible says He has
put a new song in my mouth:
Psalms
40:1-3 KJV To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited
patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2 He
brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my
feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3 And he
hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall
see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
Psalms
96:1-4 KJV O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the
earth. 2 Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his
salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the
heathen, his wonders among all people. 4 For the LORD is great,
and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
And as we just noted
Paul and Silas never lost their song and determined to sing at midnight when
most would count it a lost cause. We know the result of that Rock Concert!
Acts
16:23-26 KJV And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they
cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them
safely: 24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into
the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the
stocks. 25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang
praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly
there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were
shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were
loosed.
We need to find that song again and sing it. We need
to receive our new songs from YAHWEH!
Psalms
149:1-9 KJV Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise
in the congregation of saints. 2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him:
let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. 3 Let them praise his
name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and
harp. 4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the
meek with salvation. 5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing
aloud upon their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their
mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; 7 To execute vengeance
upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; 8 To bind their
kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; 9 To
execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise
ye the LORD.
No comments:
Post a Comment