The Way of Holiness

Isaiah 35:8 “And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.”

“Holiness” in scripture is defined two ways;….when it speaks of God, it means His sinlessness, and His perfection of Goodness.

When it speaks of us (Romans 12:1, Hebrews 12:14), it speaks of scantificaltion….setting ourselves aside to Him, for His use.

The Lord gave me this verse years ago,….stressing the gospel message…that if I preach it….He would give understanding to those who want to hear it.

A highway is a road built up from the fields and forests….build up and maintained….so that those that get on it, will see the sign posts and know how to go to their destination.

This “way of holiness”,……is also called “the Way of the Holy One”. For it is the Lord’s way, that will lead us back into a right relationship with God.

(Some say this is a prophesy of those who would be taken into captivity under Nebuchadnezzar, to return to Jerusalem.

Some say it is Christ opening up a way for the Church….to include all who will.

Some say this is a prophesy of Israel in the last days, when Christ shall return to the earth the second time, and deliver them, and bring them back into fellowship with Him.

And some say that it includes all of His people, at any time….those that do not know Him, and they, that have fallen away from Him.)

But here, is an announcement of “a way”, “a Way of Holiness”. (Trumpets! should be blown here)

But who can travel on this way?

It says “the unclean shall not pass over it”….but doesn’t that include everyone.

Yes, for we are as an unclean thing.

Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

So if we are all unclean, how can we travel on this highway?

Only by seeking cleansing, from the One Who maintains this Holy Way.

We can be cleansed by the precious blood of Christ:

Zech 13:1 “In that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanliness.”

Eph. 5:25-26 “…..as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it;

That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”

1 Peter 1:18-19 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

But by the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb with out blemish and without spot.”

1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

And what about those, who come, hear God’s gospel and travel on their way?

Well, the Lord says, even if they are fools (those men who reguard not God or His government)…..they will not be able to make a mistake, in the call of Christ.

They will understand the simple gospel message…….and they may stay on this highway….or go their own way….but they will understand God’s claims on their lives……

….which are:

Come unto Me, Look and be saved, Believe on Me, Call upon Me.

“Come unto Me”…..

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto Me, O ye that labor and are heavy ladened, and I will give you rest.

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.

For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

“Look and be saved”…..

Isaiah 45:22 “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”

“Believe on Me”…..

John 6:47 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.”

“Call upon Me”….

Acts 2:21 “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Romans 10:9-10, 13 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

This Holy Way, this “highway” is clearly marked out…..and it is open to all who will hear the gospel message, believe it, and receive the Lord Jesus Christ into their lives, as Lord and Savior.

On this Way of Holiness,…..we have company……”the redeemed shall walk there:” (Isaiah 35:9)

And One other goes with us:

Luke 24:13, 15 “And, behold, two of them went the same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.

And it came to pass, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus Himself drew near, and went with them.”

These two believers were blessed on that road to Emmaus, with the company of the resurrected Lord of glory….Jesus Christ.

But so are we, who travel that Way of Holiness, to heaven. Jesus comes with us…..never leaving, nor forsaking us…..but with His Word, guiding us in this way of peace.

The Temptation of Jesus

Matthew 4:1 “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.”

Jesus was “led up of the Spirit”. This temptation, then, was God’s Plan and Purpose for His Son.

He was in all points tempted, like as we are, the writer to the Hebrews revealed. (Hebrews 4:15)

So this temptation shows us how to act when we, too, are tempted.

First, notice that our hardest temptations come after we have gotten more Spiritual power and grace.

Jesus had just been baptized by John the Baptist, and the Holy Spirit had come down upon Him without measure, as He came up from the water.

A Voice had announced that Jesus was God’s Beloved Son! And that He was well pleasing in God’s sight!

But then He was tempted.

Matthew 4:2-4 “And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungered.

And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command these stones to be made bread.

But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Jesus was hungry. He had been fasting for forty days, and nights; so when He could, He wanted to break the fast by food.

But when tempted by the devil to change stones into bread, so He could satisfy His hunger,…….now,…..and prove that He was the Son of God;…..Jesus refused.

But He did not just say “No”, but rebuked the suggestion by quoting “It is written”.

What the Scriptures say, help us to live right, and know what to do.

The suggestion of the devil, was that because Jesus was the Son of God, He could do what ever He wanted, have whatever He wanted, whenever He wanted, by simply commanding it to be so.

Of course, Jesus had power to do that,…..but that was not why He became man.

He became man, to live a perfect life….so He could be a perfect sacrifice for sin, for us…..that we might live.

It was ever to do the Father’s Will, that He came, and that was what He lived for…..and would die by.

(So should we do the Father’s Will for us.

It puts us in the wonderful position of being able to stand back from temptations, and plans of the world and the devil………and seek God’s Will in everything.

That puts temptations in a new light.

It is not: “You want this,….it is not too awful,….why not do it?”

It is: “Is this what the Lord would have me to do, now?”)

Notice this first temptation of Jesus, was for bodily wants.

Matthew 4:5-7 “And the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple.

And saith unto Him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.

Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

Jesus had quoted Scripture,……so now the devil quotes it.

This scripture is a promise to Christ, for protection (Like When Harod sent soldiers to kill the baby; or when they were going to throw Him off the cliff at Nazareth)……..but not the presumption the devil suggested.

Notice the devil says again,……”If thou be the Son of God”.

Here the temptation is for public announcement, and fame.

Cast yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple.

What a better way to prove the fact that You are the Son of God!

For God would certainly do His promise,….and those that saw it, might have been awed into following Jesus for awhile, because of it…….

…….but that is not true believing.

But Jesus refused it, for it was not the Father’s Way of announcement.

His Way was for Jesus to go about preaching, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.

He was to do good to all. (Matthew 4:17)

Certainly it was not as exciting as angels catching Him……..but it was God’s Will.

The devil’s suggestion was just tempting God;……and Jesus refused it and quoted that Scripture: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

(To tempt God is to make God prove Himself or His Word, by demanding that He do something for us, now. Do this, or we won’t trust You.)

This second temptation had been for Fame, and prestige.

How often we get trapped into “seeking” these.

Matthew 4:8-10 “Again, the devil taketh Him up unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them:

And saith unto Him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.”

The temptation here is: Forget the path to the cross.

If You will fall down and worship me, You can have all the kingdoms and the power of them…now;……without the suffering and shameful death of the cross.

This was the devil’s attempt to destroy Who Jesus was: “I will give you all I have, to make God finally submit to me, in the person of His Son.”

Of course Jesus refused this:

But after this final suggestion, Jesus commands the devil to depart; quoting the verse, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.”

Jesus would do all the Father’s Will.

And He was confident that those kingdoms would be His, God’s Way; and that was through the suffering of the cross,….onward to resurrection and glory.

The third temptation was for personal power, and glory;…….without suffering.

And the devil temps us in the same ways:

1. See to your needs first. Yes, your a Christian, but God has not “forbidden” you to do this, so He probably doesn’t care. Big temptation.

2. If you are going to have a ministry for God, make it flashy. People will remember you. They will admire you. They will think you are great! (There is a whole lot of “you” in that “ministry”)

3. If you will just go along with the world, you could skip a whole lot of trouble. Sure, you can look like a Christian, but you don’t have to walk in that “narrow”way.

In other words, “Go ahead, lose your Christ’s Life, to have your self life”. (Matthew 16:25)

These,……..and others like them,……are the things the devil tempts us with

(For he tempted our Lord the same way.)

Looking to the Father’s Will, Jesus went through these temptations, standing on the Word of God, His Father.

Jesus left the place of temptation, having the victory,……by placing Himself in the Father’s hands, under the authority of the Word of God.

He did all the work the Father had for Him, and finished it…..for us.

So we need to look to Jesus, and go through all He has purposed for us, with Him.

He will empower us, giving us our measure of our devotion and obedience, by the Holy Spirit,………to know and to do His Will.

Today!

Hebrew 3:15 “While it is said, Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation.”

All our lives comes down to ‘Today’. Tomorrow is not yet. Yesterday, with its success and failures, is done.

But today we have. Today we have the opportunity to turn to God and do His Will.

We never know what a day will bring. We should, therefore, determine which direction our lives will go, while we have today.

So today, if you will hear His Voice.

We can hear God’s voice in nature; many have seen the changing seasons and heard God speak to them:

Psalms 74:17 “…Thou hast made summer and winter.”

If the seasons change, all over the world, surely that means that the sadness of today is not permanent; but will give way to rejoicing.

We can hear God through His Word. It is His revelation of Himself and His Ways to us. The Holy Spirit will help us understand it, when we ask Him.

And we can hear His Voice to us, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit within. He is Light, and will make known to us, HIs Will.

John 7:17 “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine (teaching) whither it be of God, or whither I speak of myself.”

Jesus said, If we really want to know His Will, we can know.

God considers our “heart” the throne of our mind, emotions and will.

So when we hear Him, we are to “soften” our hearts by yielding to His Will.

To “harden” our hearts is when we will not to do it; for whatever reason.

Zechariah 7:9-11 “Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, Execute true judgement, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor, and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.”

A hardened heart is not caused by circumstances, or birth;…….but a choice of will.

When Israel hardened their heart: they first refused to listen, for they did not want to be responsible. They thought that if they had not heard, God could not require His Word to be obeyed.

They pulled away from the work of “shouldering” the burdens of prayer, faithfulness, and love.

Finally they stopped their ears, or filled their ears with other voices, so they would not have to know God’s Voice in the circumstances.

Again, God considers our heart, the throne of our mind, emotions, and will.

But He can give us “hearts of flesh”; or tender hearts which return the love He gives us to Him.

Ezekiel 11:19-20 “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stoney heart out of the flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh:

That they may walk in My statues, and keep Mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.”

The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, is given to us in our hearts to make alive again, and guide. He rules and over rules in circumstances which affect His People.

Without Him we can do nothing.

But with His Almighty energy, the most extraordinary results can be produced.

Everything depends upon His manifesting or concealing His Power.

Are we anxious to obtain His help?

Are we watching so we will not provoke Him to be silent? Oh how much we need Him to speak to our inner man and give us courage!

The Holy Spirit is not a temporary gift; He abides with us.

He does not weary of us (Amazing Love!).

But He waits to be gracious at times, till we really see our need, and seek Him.

It is love which makes a hard heart into a softened heart, yielding to God’s Spirit.

It is God’s love given to our hearts,……and then returned to Him, by us.

In love, He speaks of “Today”, if…..you will hear His Voice.

Turn to Christ Jesus, and yield to HIs Spirit within.

Receive His love,….and return it to Him.

He wants to bless each heart given to Him,……let Him, “Today”.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice

Psalm 27:7 “Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.”

Psalm 20:9 “Save, Lord: let the King hear us when we call.”

One of our great blessings, as Christians, is that God hears our prayers, and answers them.

1 John 5:14-15 “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His Will, He heareth us.

And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.”

They may be short like Peter walking on the sea: “Lord, save me”(Matthew 14:28-30).

Or they may be long petitions, laying out our troubles before Him (Psalm 142:1-2).

Psalm 86:7 “In the day of my trouble I will call upon Thee: for Thou wilt answer me.”

True prayer is finding out what God wants us to pray, and then praying in accordance with His Will…..for ourselves and others. Lifting up to Him, His Will; by our will and words.

Psalm 27:8 “When Thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.”

During the ministry of Isaiah, the Lord corrected His people….when after giving a wonderful promise to them, they did not ask Him to do it:

(The promise: “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean…..a new heart also will I give you….and I will put my Spirit within you,…” Isaiah 36:25-27)

Isaiah 36:37 “Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them;…”

They did not ask for what He promised them.

Do we take for granted His promises, and not ask, for what He wants to give?

Sometimes the Lord asks us what we want:

David, after his sin in numbering the people, was given a choice as to the correction he was to receive,……..and his answer was:

“let us now fall into the hand of the Lord; for His mercies are great:….” (2 Samuel 24:12-14)

And I ask all who know the Lord Jesus……..where else can we feel safe….but in His hand……..even, when we are being corrected?

One of the things the Lord requires, when we pray…..is to listen for His answer.

Isaiah 55:3 “Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.”

Isaiah 30:21 “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.”

One of the great parables Jesus told about prayer is:

Luke 18:10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.”

I want to mention here, that both men went to the right place, to do the right thing: To pray…….both of them.

When men would go into the temple, they would look toward the mercy seat. It was hidden, in the Holy of Holies; behind the first curtain, the Holy Place (where only the priests ministered), and a second curtain.

It was where the blood of the sin offering was poured out for the sins of the nation. And to this mercy seat, all were to look, to pray. (Exodus 25:21-22)

The Lord tells of the Pharisee’s prayer first:

Luke 18:11-12 “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.”

This man begins with praise to God…..but it is for himself, being so much better than so many others.

He was not a gross sinner, and he thanks God for that….and goes on to tell God: that he was a good man….certain that God appreciated him,….and his good works.

“…for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” (Luke 6:45)

This man’s heart was full of himself…..so the words spoken praised God,…..yet his heart came out….and showed that the only thing he was praising was himself.

Luke 18:13-14 “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

This man was a tax collector: usually they were a cheat or thief….taking more than Rome demanded….for themselves.

But his prayer was of repentance: “God be merciful to me a sinner”.

Mercy is God’s kindness to sinners. There are temporal mercies: the sun, rain, harvests, etc., for all.

And there are spiritual mercies, which include sending His Son to save us, His faith and grace to help us, and His Holy Spirit to guide us.

Titus. 3:4-5 “But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared,

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior;”

That is what this man wanted…..God’s mercy to him, spiritually, as a sinner…..one who had rebelled and offended God, and His Way.

He would not even look up….”would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven”.

Those that humble themselves under the hand of God, will be exalted in due time. (1 Peter 5:6)

“…for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5)

This man wanted mercy for forgiveness, and grace for salvation……that was what this man wanted.

And he got it. “This man—the publican—went to his house justified.

Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”

Real repentance does not go out and do the sin all over…..and that is what this man wanted….he wanted mercy for his sin, and salvation from it……and he got it.

Sadly, the Pharisee did not. He went home the same, as when he came….thinking he was in God’s favor…..but, he neither received mercy, nor justification.

(Frankly, he was stuck with himself, and his thoughts of God…a bad place to be in:

Matthew 16:25 “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.”)

Psalm 85:7-8 “Show us Thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us Thy salvation.

I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people, and to His saints: but let them not turn again to folly.”

The Faithful and True Witness

Revelation 3:14 “And unto the angel of the Laodiceans write; these things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.”

This is Jesus Christ.

He is seen here as the Amen: the only One who can say “Let it be.”

He is also seen as the beginning of the creation of God: before the Godhead created the world; God the Father and God the Son made an Everlasting Covenant,

(For they saw all that would happen to their Creation in the rebellion and fall of the devil, and the fall of Adam.

That Everlasting Covenant was the agreement that the Son of God would come as man,……in the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4-5),…..and pay the full ransom price for those that would be saved, that God the Father promised Him.)

Jesus Christ is also seen as the Faithful and True witness; and this is what we are going to deal with here.

(It is interesting to note: that in these three names of the Lord Jesus, it is His Word that is stressed.

In Amen, it is future. In the faithful and true witness, it is present. And in the beginning of the creation of God, it is past. All are His Word, for He is The Word. John 1:1-3)

Now a witness states the facts; nothing more.

He tells what He sees and what He knows to be true.

So Jesus tells us what He sees in this church; the last of the church ages before it is raptured. (taken up to heaven. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

And what does the Lord see in His last church?

Revelation 3:15-16 “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold or hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold or hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

He sees that we are lukewarm. Neither cold or hot, but just natural body temperature.

If we were cold, we would see and feel the deadness of our spiritual life and do something about it.

If we were hot, we would be what He wants: zealous from “zeto” or boiling hot, and He would bless us.

But we are just normal body temperature, or lukewarm. We feel no coldness, so think we are alright….after all we will make it to heaven, won’t we? That’s what matters,…right?

But to the Lord, who is outside of this church, it is not alright.

It is all wrong.

For our religion is a relationship to Jesus Christ: a love relationship.

Yes, we come as sinners to a Savior, to be born again.

But then, after being born again, we begin a great journey: with Christ.

It is a journey of our lives, through trouble and blessing……in a love relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

And here, as the Faithful and True witness, Jesus Christ says,,….

“You are acting toward me as you were in your natural state: indifferent,……neither seeking Me,…..nor outwardly rejecting Me,….just indifferent to My words, and My call.

It is as if, you do not need to hear Me.”

And why are we indifferent?

Revelation 3:17 “Because thou saith, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:”

Perhaps we have forgotten, that the riches that we have, are in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 3:16)

When He gives us promises, or experiences of success,……it is so we may bring them back and lay them at His feet in praise and thankfulness.

It is not to hang on to them, and make ourselves “rich” in our own eyes, or in the eyes of others.

We get to thinking, “We have need of nothing more. We know enough. We pray enough. We praise enough. We do enough.”

But when we do this, the spirituality we were gaining, turns to natural pride, and selfishness;…….we quench the Holy Spirit of God……for we have forgotten the basic principal of following the Lord:

Luke 9:23 “And He (Jesus) said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

And that following, is from here…..to heaven.

But when we refuse to follow Him, by denying ourselves,….

We are actually becoming “wretched” before God…..in a dire state….sickly, and weak. And the saddest part: we do not know this is happening…..for we are looking to ourselves, not the Lord.

And when this happens,……then all the rest happens, as well.

Miserable (how can you be joyful, without God’s active Presence)

Poor (for your true riches are in Christ: In Him is our portion)

Blind (when we refuse to see, we are blind)

Naked (the only “garment” of righteousness that is acceptable to God is Christ’s righteousness applied to us, and then worked out through us in willing obedience.)

What to do?

First, turn your eyes back to Jesus. And ask for sight.

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

Isaiah 45:22 “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”

Second, look to yourselves, to repent (repent means to turn around. Since we are obviously going contrary to God, turn around and get in step with Him again.)

Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”

2 John 8 “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.”

And all this begins with “hear My Voice”. (He is the Word! Halleluia, that He is still speaking to us!)

Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”

This “door” that we open is the door of our lives. A life open to and receptive to Him.

Hear, and Live. Look to Him, and Live.

Our relationship to Jesus is our life as Christians.

How do we stand in it?

Thy Mercy, O Lord

Psalm 138:8 “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”

His mercy is a wonderful character of God.

Mercy is the kindness of God to those who are sinners.

God shows mercy for mankind in general, which includes: light, heat, rain/water, food. The external mercies for life.

Matthew 5:45 “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

But to His beloved Church,……His mercies are internal, and eternal, as well.

He brings them closer by His love and Care, by the mercy He gives. This mercy includes their Salvation:

Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost”

(The first time “merciful” is used is with Lot, [Genesis 19:16] who was saved from the destruction with the rest of the wicked in Sodom and Gomorrah. “The Lord being merciful unto him”.)

The mercy of God lifts up the trembling sinner, so they can see God, in the face of Jesus Christ.

And brings comfort and knowledge of the character of God, to those who are following after…….seeking a closer relationship to God.

James 3:17 “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

God’s mercy completes (perfects) the work He has started within us;…….He will not desert us, because we fail Him;……..rather, in mercy, He sanctifies us……and preserves us by His Word, that we may be kept in the love of God.

Jude 20-21 “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

God’s grace holds us up,……in power.

God’s mercy puts His arm around us in love,…..and keeps us close to Him and His life for us.

We, who are called to follow Christ Jesus, are called to show mercy to others,……..because God has shown it to us:

Remember Jesus telling of the Good Samaritan?

Jesus was using this illustration to a lawyer who asked how he could have Eternal Life. (Luke 10:25).

He did this to “tempt Him”.

(Now, lawyers were those who were to know the scriptures, and interpret what they meant to the everyday life.)

When Jesus asked him,…….”What is written in the law?”

(This was often the way Jesus dealt with those that should have known God’s Word…..to take them back to what it really says.)

Quite confident in his answer; the lawyer said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy souls, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.”

(Perhaps if he had left the last part out,…….he could have walked away in pride,……..but putting that last part in there, about his neighbor,……made him responsible in a way that had to be shown outwardly.

In other words, did this lawyer really believe the scriptures…..was this the way to eternal life? Then he should love God and treat his neighbor as he treated himself.)

And Jesus made this clear to him when He said, “….this do, and thou shalt live.”

Automatically the lawyer tried to defend himself against what Jesus had just told him.

“So who is my neighbor?”

Jesus then tells of the Good Samaritan.

We know the story: The Samaritan was the only one, among three, who had stopped in a place where robbers were,…….to help a robbed and wounded man.

He also paid with his own money to keep him in the inn, and for care for him.

So, Jesus asks this lawyer: Which one was the neighbor to the man that fell among thieves?

In other words, ” Which man acted in God’s Way?”

Luke 10:37 “And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus, Go, and do thou likewise.”

The scriptures never say whether this lawyer got the message Jesus preached to him…..but we should. We should be merciful, for God is merciful to us.

And what a great and wonderful characteristic of God it is!

This is mercy: The kindness of God to us, who are sinners.

And this kindness, we should show to others,……as He did to us.

Psalm 138:8 “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever: forsake not the works of Thine own hands.”

The Lord will complete my education in His school of life,

and bring me to have His likeness, by His mercy;

for His mercy endures, and lasts through my whole life experiences, and forever;

for He will never forsake His work in me.

To Learn Instruction

Proverbs 1:5 “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding will attain unto wise counsels:”

Proverbs is a book where a father tells his son the best way to live…..get wisdom from God: live in reverence to the Lord.

Proverbs 4:11-12 “I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.

When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.”

Wisdom is that light from God that brings “fear” or reverence for the Lord to us.

For He is over all….

in knowledge (there is nothing that takes the Lord by surprise…for He sees the end from the beginning)…

in might (He is Almighty)….

In Purpose (for His purpose is from everlasting to everlasting….for us and everyone and everything)

God’s wisdom gives us His sight in the things we need….opening up for us the way to go, and encouraging us in His strength.

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding.”

And so in Proverbs, we are encouraged to seek this wisdom from God for our lives.

To live our lives in the knowledge of Who He is….and that He will enable us by His wisdom….teaching us, not just how to live…..but to live the best life we can!

Proverbs 24:30-31 “I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;

And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.”

A passerby noticed a field, and then a vineyard….both had good soil, and could have gotten a harvest.

But the lazy man who owned them…did not use the advantages that he had.

He did not care for the plants…instead there was thorns (a picture of corruption and the curse Hebrews 6:7-8).

The owner didn’t even keep the wall which surrounded them in repair….so even the wild animals would be kept out.

(In scripture, our souls are compared to a field (Luke 8), and a vineyard (John 15) that we are to keep,….and bring forth fruit, for the Lord.)

Proverbs 24:32-34 “Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

So shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth; and thy want as an armed man.”

Notice the passerby did not accuse the owner, but rather saw these as a lesson for himself.

If we are “lazy”, because we want to pamper the flesh: “a little sleep”, “a little slumber”, “a little folding of the hands”……all of these are….”a little”.

“A little”….the flesh says—a “little” sin, a “little” putting off till tomorrow what should be done today, a “little” ignoring the Holy Spirit to pray…..

All are “a little” but it results in poverty of spirit….a numbing of our hearts which can turn to hardness.

And it leads to dissatisfaction……

We think that to give in “a little” to ourselves, will give us satisfaction…..a little rest, a little anger, a little hurt,……but it is the opposite….it leads to uneasiness, in our Christian life.

That is not satisfaction, and contentment……which the Lord has for us.

1 Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

But the lesson did not end there: Our souls, as these fields and vineyards, can be improved……by diligence:

The thorns and nettles can be taken away and burned.

The wall….repaired….to keep out anything which destroys the fruit meant for the Lord.

2 Peter 1:5-8 “And besides this giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;

And to knowledge, temperance;

And to temperance, patience;

And to patience, godliness;

And to godliness, brotherly kindness;

And to brotherly kindness, charity (love).

For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Faith is given to us by God at new birth. To this, we add “virtue”, which is the “force” or power of the Holy Spirit within, by diligently yielding to Him.

If we are diligent in faith, the Holy Spirit empowers us for the rest……like the harvest of a field or vineyard.

James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (does not correct); and it shall be given him.”

The Lord will not correct you for not knowing….for He wants you to ask.

He gives willingly, and largely….will we ask for His wisdom?

To Know the Lord

Hosea 6:3 “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.”

“Then”.

This is time word: not before, but “then”.

“Then” what? We shall we know Lord, “If” we follow on to know the Lord.

This might seem like a revolving door. We will know, if we follow on to know.

But Jesus said the same thing when He was here:

John 8:31-32 “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My words, then are ye My disciples indeed;

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Now these people believed on Him; but they were to continue in His word……..

Then they would know the truth,……and the truth would make them free. (Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. John 14:6)

You see, we are called to a walk with Jesus. That is taking each step, each day, each forward move: with Him.

And what does He promise those who “follow on”?

“His going forth (with us) is prepared as the morning;”

As certain as this old earth keeps turning, there will be sunrise tomorrow.

There may be clouds, or the day dark and dreary; but the sun will be there: prepared as the morning.

He knows everything that will come to us each day. He is there, preparing in us the grace we need to deal with each thing.

He will rise with us; hit the highway with us; go into our work place, or school with us; and all along the way He will:

“Come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain upon the earth.”

Rain in scripture speaks of His mercy:

This rain was essential for a good harvest in Israel.

You had to have the early rain to soften the ground; and the latter rain to grow the crops.

All this was by the mercy of God.

And He will come unto us: in the circumstances we are in now, today; and “rain” the blessing of grace and mercy for us. (He will be there; guide us, help us, and lift us up; in this time, whatever is going on.)

He wants us to know Him as Lord and Savior.

He wants us to know Him more each day: what He wills for us, and what He will do for us.

He has prepared each grace that we need; “prepared as the morning”—it is sure.

And He wants us to go with Him, into all our circumstances and relationships; and know more and more of Him: “to follow on to know”.

For “then”, we will know:

And let’s face it: knowing the Lord is: truth, life, and everything we will want.

He fills our hearts and lives with joy: “If” we continue in His word.

Deborah and Barak

Judges 5:1-2 “Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.”

The story here is:

Israel is in the promised land, but they were often lazy, in conquering their inheritance. They often let the people of the land live among them…..this became a snare to them, for they began to follow the worship of the gods of these people.

Each time they did, God would send nations against them; stealing their harvests, and taking anything they wanted…..to wake them up to their disobedience. This was one such time…

Judges 4:2-3 “And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera…

And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.”

But, when Israel began to cry, the Lord began to move toward them with deliverance…

Judges 4:4, 6 “And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

And she sent and called Barak……, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?”

Here a judge of Israel….Deborah (also a prophetess), calls Barak to do his duty.

It seems God has already spoken to him about it…..but he has not gone.

So Deborah rebukes him (to correct with words to get the person back into God’s Way)……and tells him that it was time to go.

She also tells him what God has told her will happen;….if he does what he is told:

Judges 4:7 “And I (the Lord) will draw unto thee, to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.”

Jabin was the king of Canaan, and his captain of his army was Sisera. They had chariots of iron….and

…..oppressed Israel for twenty years…..but now God was going to deliver Israel from them…..for “the children of Israel cried unto the Lord”.

Barak had hesitated when he had heard from God to do this…..it was an impossible task.

But now, when Deborah had called him, and given him a promise…..he should have shaken off the fear, and believed God.

(How often we are called to do the same….to cast off our fear [His grace is always ready to help us] and to believe God, and be obedient to His commands to us.

Yet we hesitate…..and the impossible, grows more impossible by the day.

What should we do?

Paul wrote the Corinth Church, which was to deal with a situation in the church which was ruining their witness; telling them to do it….and adding this:

1 Corinthians 16:13 “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”

And in every situation, we should do the same….especially, if we have hesitated before.)

But Barak wanted a guarantee, of sorts….

Judges 4:8 “And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.”

Deborah agrees…..but tells Barak: because you have obeyed in this way….the honor will not be yours….but a woman will have the honor.

(I must say here, that this is pretty childish and petty of Barak. Israel will suffer because he would not have his guarantee?

I believe that is the reason that God removed the honor from him.)

But he obeys. And he and the ten thousand men, and Deborah go up to mount Tabor.

(I must also add here, that the eagerness of the those that came with him is seen! In the song of Victory it is called “willingly offered themselves.”)

Sisera hears of this march, and eager to put down any who challenge them….goes out to battle.

The Battle:

Barak and the ten thousand are on the mount.

Sisera and nine hundred chariots….and thousands of men came up toward the mount.

To get there they had to cross the river Kishon.

Deborah tells Barak…….Now is the time: “Up, for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: Is not the Lord gone out before thee?”

So while Barak and his ten thousand men come running down the mount…..God is slowing the chariots in the river….clogging up the advance toward the mount and in the confusion and ensuing fear…..

Barak and his men gain the victory.

Barak then goes after the chariots and the men in them…..for they begin to turn around and run….along with the army of Sisera.

Barak and his men chase them….destroying Sisera’s army as they go.

Sisera, who had been in one of the lead chariots, which had been clogged in the river….jumps out and runs away.

An interesting side-note is put right in the middle of this narrative (Judges 4:11):

“Heber the Kenite,…had severed himself from the Kenites,”……..evidently rejecting the Kenite religion and choosing to believe in the Living God of Israel.(2 Corinthians 6:17 “Come out from among them”.)

And as a shepherd….he pitched his tent at Kadesh….which was close to the coming battle.

And here we meet Jael….the wife of the Heber the Kenite, the shepherd. Sisera headed for her tent.

She saw Sisera coming, and he went in and lay down…….she told him to cover up and hide under a rug.

She gave him some milk to drink…..and he told her, to tell anyone who came,……that there was no one here.

He fell asleep,…….and then she took a tent nail and drove it through his temple.

Later Barak came and she showed him the mighty Sisera…..dead, by the hand of a woman.

The enemy was slain, not by Barak; who refused the honor…..but by a woman, converted to God, and who He could use.

Then sang Deborah and Barak, saying:

Judges 5:2-3, 21, 24, 31 “Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.

Hear, O ye kings, give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praises to the Lord God of Israel.

The river of Kishon swept them away, the ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, Thou (Lord) hast trodden down strength.

Blessed above women shall Jael the wife Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be of women in the tent.

So let all Thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love Him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.

And the land had rest forty years.”

We are called, as the Lord’s servants, to be obedient…..and by faith to overcome…….overcome anything which stands in the way of us doing God’s Will.

Whether that be fear, weakness, doubt, or anything…..He will honor us, if we will honor Him and obey.

To “willingly offer” ourselves to stand with Him in the battles of our life….this is what He asks.

Our Place before God

Judges 7:19, 21 “So Gideon and the three hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch (about midnight to two in the morning); and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and break the pitchers that were in their hands.

And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.”

This is, of course, Gideon and his three hundred men….all with lamps hidden in the pitchers, with trumpets, and swords….coming and standing around the Midian camp. They were spread out around it, for the camp of Midian was great.

So each man being in his place was important. The breaking of the pitchers, and their shouting….in the stillness of the night; and the sudden lights all around them…..would have terrified the Midianites….thinking that many armies were surrounding them.

If there had been one Israelite out of place….there would have been a gap; and the Midianites would have surely taken advantage of that weakness.

But every man was in their place….and the victory was won.

Paul says about our place in the mystical body of Christ (for we are in Him, and He is in us)…..

1 Corinthians 12:12, 16-18 “For as the body is one, and hath many members and all the members of that one body being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

But now hath God set the members everyone of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him.”

We, as Christians, are part of the body of Christ. We each have a place in the fulfilling of the ministry of Christ, to the world.

Now hearing Christ, and seeing Christ, and yes….smelling out the things that are “good” or “rotten”….in spiritual discernment….are all equally important to the Lord.

All, are for the ministry of Christ,….through us….to the Church (and of course that includes our families)……and to the world.

But we can only do our part of this great Work….if we are in our place.

And that comes down to being in our place…..in each situation.

The hard part, for any who want the Lord’s Will, is finding our

p in each situation.

Sometimes we ask…..Now?……here?…..with these people?

There are so many examples of the fact that we have a place before the Lord…..which He wants us to fill….and as we are there…..He will bless us:

Abraham and his prayer for Sodom (where Lot was).

His prayer went from….If “there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt Thou also destroy and spare not the place for the fifty…? Then forty-five, forty, thirty,…..

To: If “ten shall be found there.

And He (God) said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.”

Of course we know that Lot, his wife, four daughters—two were married, were there….That is eight….if there had only been two more righteous….the city might have been spared….by Abraham’s prayer.

(Yet God sent angels to get Lot and his family out)

Abraham had been in subjection to God…..and had been in his place, praying for the righteous,……but,….allowing God to do what is best. (Genesis 18:17-33)

David, a young man, sent to bring provisions to his brothers in Saul’s army…..hears the taunts of Goliath…..and in faith, asks why they have not been met…..after all, “who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

So David volunteers “to go and fight”. But he refuses Saul’s armor….for he “had not proved them”…but instead, he takes what he knows….a sling and stones.

David was in his place……with the weapons he had defended his flock of sheep with (1 Samuel 17)….and led in victory.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego had pretty high jobs……yet risked them……and their lives, instead of bowing down to Nebuchadnezzar’s image.

They were in their place before God….and God blessed them for it. (Daniel 3) Saving their lives…..being with them in the furnace….and giving them a great testimony before this heathen monarch.

And in the New Testament:

The woman taken in adultery. One by one the men that accused her, left, under the Words of Jesus. “Let him, who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”

But she stayed, even when they were gone….she could have tried to sneak out….but she subjected herself to God, in Christ Jesus….and stayed…..to hear His judgement….and in her place, received forgiveness. (John 8:3-11)

The apostles after the resurrection, were told to stay in Jerusalem till the power of the Holy Spirit was given.

The city had crucified Jesus, and they had been afraid.

But they subjected themselves to Christ, and waited…..till they got the power and Presence of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-5, 2:1-4) And won 3000 to Christ, the first day.

Ananias, a Christian in Damascus, (who surely would have been arrested by Saul/Paul, a few days earlier) was told to go and pray for him.

He asked God, to be sure He wanted this done…..but subjected himself to God, and went…..and was the first to receive Saul/ Paul, the great apostle, as a brother in Christ. (Acts 9:10-17)

(There are lots of others. Each finding their place to stand before God, in this world.)

We have a place to stand in…..today.

We don’t know who we shall meet, or how things will go…..but He does….and He has our place prepared, standing with Him…….that we might manifest our light to the world.

Let us submit ourselves to be used….where He places us today….and have His blessing in us…..and for His glory.