Whom Does God Revive?

This is the day of the Lord which He has made!  We live in an exciting time when God is restoring and reviving His people.

Isaiah 61 has the awesome promise of what the Spirit accomplishes through us.  "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; ..."  We are seeing a fresh move of God in many places today as churches, schools, prayer groups, and individuals have experienced a new wave of God's glory.  What is the key, besides God's fresh mercy and goodness, to this refreshing presence and leading of the Holy Spirit?

People have been led to wait upon and worship God for extended periods.  God inhabits His praises.  However, there is something more that opens the door of our hearts to receive from God.  Isaiah 57:15 states God's habitation well, "For thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy, 'I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.'"  When we take time to wait upon the Lord in worship, we allow the light of the Holy Spirit to expose the darkness in our hearts and revive us.  

A local church began to wait upon the Lord last Sunday and the morning service extended over 20 hours, as worship, prophecy, confession of sin, testimonies, and prayer flowed.  The Lord moved in powerful ways with healings, repentance, tears and rejoicing, dancing and times of stillness before a holy God."  Many of those attending shared testimonies of what God did (which can be seen on their YouTube channel).  One young man shared his experience and then wisely commented "I know two things for sure, 1) every move of God begins with repentance and forgiveness and 2) it will be awesome!"  

Truly the first words Jesus preached was "Repent for the Kingdom of God has come."  Of course, repent was John the Baptist's message, and the first thing Peter said to the people who asked, "What shall we do?" on the day of Pentecost, was  "Repent."  However, it takes the Holy Spirit's light to expose sin.  Do you recall what happened to Peter and his confession (in Luke 5:8) after they "threw the nets in on the other side" and caught the massive quantity of fish?  "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."  This incident confirms what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit, that He would convict us of sin, of righteousness, and of eternal judgment.

Today is the day of the Lord.  Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they did not know the day of their visitation.  Do not miss what He is doing.  Take time to humbly seek Him and let Him search your heart.  Be obedient to whatever God leads you to do.  He desires to pour out His Spirit on all flesh, and to revive the hearts of the humble and contrite. Come into His presence with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, and humbly allow Him to lead you into repentance and forgiveness.  You will experience the fresh joy of His salvation (being whole) and His glorious presence.  Now is the acceptable time.  

Fire is Breaking Out!

There is a fire breaking out in America!  Isaiah 43:19 declares that God is doing a new thing and asks, "do we not perceive it?"  If you haven't heard about what is happening at the Asbury College revival and the spreading to other colleges, it would be worth your time to check it out.  God has promised to revive His church, and this is one of many things He is doing to awaken His church.  He is no respecter of persons which means He is also willing to revive each of us wherever we are.  The prophetic word from people like Chuck Pierce, Tim Sheets, Gina Gholston, Dutch Sheets (Give Him 15) and many others is that God is not through with America, but rather will in amazing ways renew and restore His people to fulfill His original purpose for this nation. Let's keep praying for another "Great Awakening."  

Many people do not realize the godly foundation and the commitment that God's people made in the establishment of this country.  (The liberal anti-God agenda is to wipe out all memory of God being the center or how this nation was formed.)  Therefore, as we celebrate President George Washington and Abraham Lincoln on President's Day, it is beneficial to focus on the convictions of the founding fathers. 

We thank God for those men and women who sought God and committed America to the Lord and the spread of His Gospel.  The people on the Mayflower declared their faith toward Almighty God as they placed a cross on the shoreline and released this prayer and prophetic declaration:  We do hereby dedicate this land and ourselves to reach the people within these shores with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to raise up godly generations after us, and with these generations take the kingdom of God to all the earth...from these very shores, the gospel shall go forth, no only to the New World, but the entire world. 

Notice this same awareness of God and the purpose of this country in George Washington's comments.  He stated, "It is impossible to govern a nation without God and the Bible."  He also understood, "It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor."  Washington also showed great wisdom in his vision for our future, stating, "The future of this nation depends upon the Christian training of our youth."  

Likewise, consider Abraham Lincoln’s statement on honoring God, “My concern is not whether God is on our side, my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” Lincoln endorsed the Word of God, “I believe the Bible is the greatest gift God has given to man.  All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book.” 

Consider what Psalm 67 declares about why God blesses us.  "God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, (Selah) that Your way may be known upon the earth, Your salvation among all nations."  In short, God reveals Himself and His goodness to us so that we can make Him known to the whole world.  

Yes, God is not mocked, but will surely fulfill His promises and purpose for us and for our nation.  We rejoice for the fire that is breaking out, and humbly submit ourselves, "Here I am, Lord, send me."  May this fire and fresh blessing of God continue to grow so each one of us will be a true witness of Him and as a result cause many to come to know God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The Spirit and the bride say, Come, Lord Jesus!  Burn, Fire of God!  

 

Know You are Chosen

 Yes, many are called but few are chosen.  How do we move from being called into knowing we are chosen?  The dictionary gives the definition of chosen as "having been selected as the best or most appropriate."   My suggestion is that Jesus has set the criteria to know. 

In Mark 3, Jesus, when confronted with the fact that His mother and brothers were outside seeking Him, asked, "Who is my mother and brothers?" Then He answered, "whoever does the will of God."  That special "chosen" relationship is available to all, as we are aligned with Jesus who stated, "I delight to do Your will."  The Spirit of God confirms and bears witness with our spirit, according to John 16, the righteousness of God.  We then know that we are right with God, both doing the right thing and being close, or right with Him.  First John has over twenty verses that state, "by this we know."  God even promises in Isaiah 30:21 to speak to us, "This is the way, walk in it." if we get off to the right or the left.

One of the tendencies of our flesh is to feel like we are not good enough, not doing much, and certainly much less important than many others who are serving the Lord.  That is a mistake.  2 Corinthians 10:12 admonishes us that we are not wise, and without understanding, when we compare ourselves to others.  The Word in 1 Corinthians 12 goes out of its way to talk about the relationship of the foot to the hand, the eye to the ear, etc. to demonstrate how each part of the Body of Christ has its own function and is absolutely valuable to God and each other.  My kids like to tell each other that they are "Mom's favorite," but only God has the heart to called each of us "most blessed." (Psalm 21:4)  You are His best and chosen when you do His will. 

Psalm 58 concludes in verse11, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges the earth!"  Revelation, and other Jesus coming back references, declare that when Jesus returns, He will bring His rewards with Him.  Hebrews 11:6 also reminds us, that without faith it is impossible to please Him, "for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."  God has attached the word "surely" to various facts to help us know His heart with certainty.  Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.  Surely there is a God in heaven who sent Jesus to shed His blood for you and bring you "holy and blameless" before the Father.  Surely, you who do His will are chosen.  

Jehovah Nissi - You Have Done It!

 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow you today, because of what the Lord has done.  

Yet in real life it doesn't always seem that way.  David had similar problems. Psalm 52 starts rather negative as it describes the heart and attitude of Doeg the Edomite who betrayed David and killed Ahimelech and the priests of Nob.  "You love evil more than good, falsehood more that speaking what is right.  You love words that devour."  Evil always boasts of the destruction it can do, but God...   

Thanks be to God who clearly has the perfect plan to "break you (evil) down forever," according to verse 5, and of course, complete eradication of evil in Revelation.  God is not mocked.  Love and Truth, Jesus Christ, has overcome all.  

The verse that caught my attention in this same psalm is verse 8.  "But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.  I will give thanks forever, because you have done it."  

It is finished.  Jehovah Nissi declares it.  The surface meaning of Jehovah Nissi seems weak, "the Lord is my banner."  However, the more complete context is that it is a banner of total triumph, much like the Avalanche would hang up a banner in Ball Arena after winning the Stanley Cup declaring their victory and championship.  Our banner, our championship, is Jesus on the cross, which once for all establishes God's total overcoming of sin and all its consequences.  Paul affirms in 1 Corinthians that the cross is the power of God and the wisdom of God.  His victory gives you new "green olive tree" vitality and a fresh awareness that you have God's Word assuring lovingkindness (mercy and goodness) forever.  Our relationship with the God of total love and mercy never ends. We are joined to Him and His lovingkindness forever.  The concept of never ending is beyond my finite imagination, but I am so grateful to declare what He has done for me and simply receive it with thanksgiving!