Ezra:
Ezra 7:27-28 “Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem:
And that extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counselors, and before all the kings mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go with me.”

Ezra was a scribe, a gentle man steeped in the Word of God: Moses books, Joshua, Judges, Chronicles, and books of the Kings. The Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and a few others. These were his love.
And as such, he was commissioned by the king of Persia to go and teach the Word and law of God to the remnant in Israel.(It seemed as if this was Ezra’s request to go)

Ezra 7:6 “This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.”
Ezra 7:10 “And Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statues and judgements.”
(Notice here it says Ezra sought the law of the Lord, so he could do it…this was not a head knowledge only; but a heart loving the Lord and His Word, so he could obey Him.)

In the kings mind, to honor the God of Israel would bring help for his kingdom. He was right.
Ezra 7:23 “Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?”
So he commissioned Ezra to go and take Levites to go through all the land of Israel and teach the laws of their God.
(You will notice Ezra often speaks about the “good hand of God”. His joy at God’s help and deliverance is gently spoken of again and again: [7:6, 7:9, 7:28, 8:18, 8:22, 8:31] under that phrase.)
So Ezra gathers together those offerings for the house of God,and the Levites needed to teach all that had returned from captivity to Israel.

Great job! For one so devoted to God and His law. This should be wonderful; to be back in the land and setting up the worship of God in Israel.

So he begins the job with the gentle energy. And right away he shows great courage when he refuses to ask for a convoy.

Ezra 8:22-23 “For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all of them for good that seek Him; but His power and His wrath is against all them that forsake him.
So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated of us.”

The gentle grace of prayer, worked. (As it always does for those who truly seek God’s honor.)
Making sure of the task, he sets people to weigh and oversee everything.
It is a four month trip;
When they get to Israel Ezra finds out about the sin of the people…and does not act in the energy of the flesh and lash out, but in repentance for all his people (and, yes, he includes himself though he has not sinned in this respect) he places himself at the door of the temple–not inside, and weeps, and prays.
Ezra. 9:6 “And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.”
Ezra 10:1 “Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.”
How the Holy Spirit uses his crying and prayers!
Reformation is suggested and done, because of him.
Ezra 10:3 “Now therefore let us make covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.”
His devotion to God and His word, brings the repentance needed; then the blessing.

Later we find him in the days of the festivals teaching the people about the Law, and in the praises of the day.
Nehemiah 8:1, 5-6, 9-10, 13,18 ” And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto the Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.
Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.”

Ezra was a man of God looking for the good of the people of God.
Never in anger; but in the gentle personality that God had chosen to use, to tell of God’s word, show true repentance, and bring blessing (by both) to Israel.

“According to the good hand of his God upon him”
Ezra was a man who lived under the influence of his God. And wanted to share that influence. For remember he sought the law of God, so he could do it.
So can we.
Psalm 17:7 “Show thy marvelous loving kindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee for those that rise up against them.”

Fruitless Christians

Luke 13:6-9 “He spake this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon; and found none.
Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?
And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I dig about it, and dung it:
And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.”

This matter of bearing fruit is a matter of our responsibility.
We are responsible to bear fruit: both the fruit of the Spirit:
Galatians 5:22-23 ” But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

And the fruit of a Christian, which is another Christian.

Luke 13:6-9. (Above)
The Dresser or gardener, wants to give this tree one more season to produce fruit.
Giving it some special attention: to dig about it and dung it.
“To dig about it”: Loosing the hard places around the roots. How many times have we let the light of the Word of God dry us out; instead of enrich us?
Instead of promises, we see things that we will probably never have.
Instead of warnings, we become distressed to have to remain alert.
Instead of encouragements, we feel overwhelmed with things.

“And dung it”: This is nourishment. Once the digging has opened things up, then the extra help is given. And how much we need this. The Lord often sends us more of the Holy Spirit’s influences, along with Pastors, and messages, to awaken us to turn to Him anew.
We can get stuck in the normal life, we are here, we are Christians, we bear leaves.
We look good, but we are bearing no fruit.
John 15:2 “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”

Now the dresser or gardener could do what he could…give it that special attention, for a time.
But after that, then what?
If the digging and dunging did not work, then this tree would pass out of the hands of the dresser; into the hands of the One that the tree belonged to.
It’s fate then would rest with Him.
What the Lord wants for each of us, is that we bear the fruit of His Spirit in our lives by the intimate fellowship with Him….and then that we as His witnesses, bear the fruit of another Christian. To bear fruit to Christ’s honor and glory.

Duet. 4:20 “But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto Him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.”

Nowhere in either Old or New Testament is dedication separated from redemption.
The two are intimately linked, and we never find one without the other. The Apostle Paul did not wait until he was a prisoner, or about to be martyred, before presenting himself to God.

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”

It was never God’s plan that His people should wait several years, perhaps for a time of special blessing, or special trouble; before giving themselves wholly to Him.

It is His intention, that when He saves a people, He also gains a people. He gives me redemption; He asks for my self dedication in return.
He knows (even if we don’t, at times) that our joy is only in Him, and His Will.
He never leaves us in the pig pen of the world, but calls us with His Spirit, to come
And be completely His, by our deliberate, willful choice. (We are already His by His redemption.)
Psalm 65:4 “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.”

Luke 13:9 “And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, after that thou shalt cut it down.”
We are always in God’s hands….for help, strength, and grace. Or for correction, and the rod of chastening.
To the people Christ died for that they may have life eternal; He will not let us go on and be as good as dead.
Life is our inheritance…and the Life of God within us will bring forth fruit by His Spirit; if we yield to His Word to us (don’t be hardened against it) and receive His awakening to our souls.

Stifle Not the Spirit
1 Thessalonians 5:19 (Williams Version) “Stifle not the Spirit”
1 Thessalonians 5:19 (KJV) “Quench not the Spirit”

To “Quench not or Stifle not the Spirit” of God, is set in the closing exhortations that
Paul sends at the end of the letter.
He begins this ending exhortation with:
1Thessalonians 5:1 “But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.”
And he goes on to say:
1 Thessalonians 5:6 “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”
And so he writes a series of short, to the point, exhortations about what they should be doing, as they are looking for the coming of the Lord.

Quench not the Spirit, is one of these. It means: don’t put out the fire of the Holy
Spirit’s influence in your life.
Stifle not the Spirit, to me, is more exact. To stifle is to choke off.

We stifle the Holy Spirit by our attitude at the way He is working; Or with a hesitation to do what He has told us to do; Or by refusing His joy, peace, or any of His helps.
(I remember one time when someone I had helped, treated me unjustly; saying unkind things . Yet I can honestly say that none of those things bothered me….at least, at first.
Instead I felt real peace about the whole situation, until I started thinking about how that person should have been. Then, when self rose up to be recognized; the Holy Spirit was stifled; and my peace was gone, and I had a real hard battle with myself. Which would never have happened if I had not stifled the Spirit’s peace.)

I remember when I was first given this verse; I said, “Yes, Lord, I do this; but what should I do about it?”
And the Lord told me, “It’s right up there!” The answer was in the verse right above this one.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 ” In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you.”
If I would give thanks to God for everything…then a great deal of self pity, self righteousness (how we like to take credit for things), self in so many forms; would be denied and the Holy Spirit would not be so easily stifled.
But that requires a little effort…
But it should be pleasant effort. Going back over the day’s events; or the situation you just came through; to thank the Lord for His help, His deliverance, His words to say, His…, His…, His…everything. And there begins to be so many things to thank Him for.
As the verse says, “In everything give thanks:”

For myself, I began to be thankful for so many things I never even saw before.
It began to be a joy to find them.
The joy of the Lord is our strength ( Nehemiah 8:10)

Here is a principle point of our warfare as Christians soldiers:
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ;”
When it comes to our warfare as Christians soldiers, we need to remember that the battle is the Lord’s, and we must use His weapons.

These are not the carnal weapons of: trying to put temptation out of our minds; of pretending everything is alright, when we know something needs to be dealt with; of going along with other Christians, ( because they are Christians, it should be O.K.)
All these things are carnal weapons, not Spiritual.
Spiritual Weapons pull down the strongholds of reason within our minds to show us how God feels about what we are doing; Spiritual Weapons pull down the strongholds of feeling “happy”, to show us God’s joy.

“Casting down imaginations,”. This is a weapon the Adversary of our souls uses almost everyday. What if? And then we think about: what if.
Our imaginations, if not checked and kept under the Holy Spirit’s control and lead us so far from what God has for us…we can be lost in our own thoughts; and never accomplish God’s will for our lives.

“And every high thing that exalts itself against the genuine knowledge of God.”
Now notice, it does not say, “destroys the knowledge of God”. No, we would immediately reject anything like that.
But “exalts itself against”, is another matter.
Our own experience from the past, someone else giving advice, or what we would like to happen, or (and there are a lot of these) suggestions of our Adversary, the devil.
These are things that can “exalt itself against” what God is saying to us.

Our message is “Stifle not the Spirit”.
The holy guest within us, comes into our spirits with light, love, peace, help, grace…
All the things we need to get us to the end of our path.
When we stifle Him, we close our lives to His help, right then.

Picture you letting Him into your darkened heart’s house. He comes in with light , warmth, and peace. You and He set at a table and eat and talk….everyday. The joy that comes is wonderful. One day, you invite to the table an angry word, an evil suggestion, a lustful thought; to eat with you and He.
When they come, He gets up and goes to His room…shutting the door; leaving you, with them, in the dark.
What next?
What will you do?
Who do you want to be with?
The answer to that is what we deal with in “Stifle not the Spirit”
To go and knock at His door and ask forgiveness; to throw out those others; and to “walk in the light, as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), is what we are called to do everyday.
But it is a wonderful calling. What will you choose?

The Path that I Must Take…Now be for Me.
Proverbs 4:18 “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

We talk a great deal about “the way” or “the path”, we as Christians, should walk in. It was placed there by God, for us, personally.
Yes, there are things every Christian must go through, and these we speak of as our way.
But, it is personal, because each of us deal with circumstances differently. We are all unique. And God wants us that way. Not in our sin…Christ came to save us from our sin. (Matthew 1:21). But as far as personality is concerned, God wants us to be us.

We believe our personalities are our souls (mind, heart, and will). They are what Christ died for…to save our souls; for He loved us in Eternity past and came to save us from what would have separated us from Him and His love–sin, our sin.

God, also, speaks a great deal of the path or way that we should walk in.  And He says here in Proverbs that it should be like the “shining light”.
The sun rises in the east every morning…at first you don’t even see the sun, but light, though it is dim, is there.
Then the sun is there…a bright ball of light, sending color everywhere. Cheering, and vitalizing everything.
At first, the sun is still making shadows. The brightness of the sun you CAN walk in;
But you can also stand in the shade, which is darkened places.

In other words, “the path of the just” is progressive. At first there is the light without warmth. Then there is the sun and shadows…and this continues on till the high noon of our experience, which is where we are not letting anything hinder our communion with God.
We are dealing with any darkness in our life right away, so that nothing comes between us and the Lord.

Proverbs 23:26 “My son give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.”
“Give me”. This is an act of our will.
“And let thine eyes observe my ways”. It says “let”; in other words, don’t do anything to stop this from happening. Once we decide to “be His”; then our eyes move to seek His way for us.
This path is the walk we take from here to Heaven.
And the way we go is the things we pass through to stay in His path for us.

As things come up, passing through(and that is the goal–to pass through, not stay in them) the testings , and the trials; two things will happen:
We will learn about ourselves, and we learn the sufficiency of our God, for us.

Doing this, we should come to our expected end:
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

This “expected end” is to be what He has made us; by walking in the path, through those trials, and testings He will guide us in.

If we would have all that God wants us to have, at the end; then we must walk in all the experiences of our day to day walk.
In the Hebrew, “the expected end”, is full of hope.
The hope of the Godhead. A thing They desire to see brought to pass. This They long for; our expected end.

Jeremiah 29:13 “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Plainly God says here:
When our hearts are really in this search, we will find that which we seek.
Remember, give Me thine heart.
Our path is a progressive walk with God. In all our days, and nights; of sickness, joy, trials, and ordinary times; we should walk with Him.
When we do; we are “being” His. (And, in every way, He is being ours)

Almost Persuaded

Acts 26:28 “Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.”
We have heard it said…”Almost don’t count” and it doesn’t.
To almost do is not to.
To almost say is not to.
To almost anything is, in the end, to not have anything.

Luke 8:18 “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemth to have.”
To seem to have is like “almost”….it is nothing for eternity.

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Ordained means to make full provision for. God has done that for us. Anything He ask us to do, or say; He has provided the grace, power, and even the joy if we will have it; to do it.
We have been saved from sin, and made the workmanship of God, in order that we might walk in good works which God prepared for us.
Yet we often shrink back, hesitating to begin. Afraid of that first step, which is simple obedience to His commands.

Acts 26:26-27 “For the King knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely; for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.
King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. ”

King Agrippa knew the facts. They were not called into question. He even believed the prophets. (And how many of them spoke about Christ’s coming, both in suffering and exaltation?)
Yet where was the hesitation?
Acts 26:28 “Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. ”
To hesitate is to simply and knowingly wait for some other force to help you decide.
It is to wait for something to happen, to force your hand.

Isn’t time we stopped “hesitating”, and start standing with the Lord?
For in those three words lies the direction we must go: “with the Lord”.

Stop the “almost persuaded” in your life.
Stop waiting for Him to push.
Stop waiting for a better argument or a better reason to do His Will.
Just do it.

It is now that you receive His Word, or reject it.
Pray about it, think about it; However you say the excuse: it can come down to doing ANYTHING but His Will.
The wiles of the Devil….his temptations, tricks, and suggestions, figure in our thoughts about this; for he wants to defeat God’s people in any way he can.

Acts 26:29 “And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, we’re both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.”

Paul wanted Agrippa and all who heard him to know and follow Christ as he did.
Christ calls all His people to come and follow Him….now, into the good works He has laid out for them to walk in.
Come.
Not almost, but altogether, come.

“Our Wall” and how to remove it:

Song of Solomon 2:8 “The voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.”

Here we deal with the voice of “my beloved”, or the Lord. He comes leaping upon the mountains of our troubles; and skipping on the hills, or little difficulties we all have.
Mountains in Scripture mean impossible problems that we can not possibly handle.
And hills are those everyday difficulties we come across as we go along, as Christians.

But he leaps and skips these. There is nothing to prevent His coming to us.
Yet there is a hinderance. A real hinderance to further growth with Him.

Song of Solomon 2:9 “My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: Behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice.”

What hinders? A wall. Our wall.
Not His wall; nor is it your wall…but our wall.

This wall is “our” Spiritual Experience. What the Lord and I have gone through, or should have gone through.
The wall is build of things that are out of date….that need to be laid aside.

There are things the Lord has called you to, or told you to do, that you have never done…never got around to doing.

Some of the stones in this wall, are ways the Lord has had to deal with you to wake you up to His call…and they are “hard” places in your experience which should be acknowledged and sought forgiveness for.

Some of these stones are people that the Lord has had you deal with…You did it but it was an unpleasant experience…one you have never left behind.

Some of these stones speak of the faith that wavered, and that lead to mistrust and for some a complete stop in the walk of faith.

But there is a “lattice”. A window which is open to see that the One that calls is indeed the Lord. He is behind our wall, but He comes and says:

Song of Solomon 2:10-13 “My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
The fig tree putteth forth her green figs; the vines with a tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.”

“Rise up”; Which means we were not standing in our place, ready to go with Him into what is next for us….but we had stopped, and waited; But for what?

Well His voice calls us on with Him; to “come away”.
Come away from the past experience we seem to be stuck on.
Come away from failings; and thinking about them all the time.
Come away from faith that wavers, and step out with Him; He will enable us to believe that He will do what He has said.

And He calls us: “my love, my fair one”. His voice is not angry…but He is seen as a roe or a young hart. So He is ready to bound away at any minute.
How many times has He come and called, “Come with Me and leap these impossible
Problems you have and skip with Me over these difficulties. Leave behind what is behind, and come on in your experience to what is the real joy of life (which is what these flowers, birds, and fruits speak of): Being with Me, I am truly your Beloved.
Let us go on”
Will you rise up and go along with Him?

Hear HIs Voice

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

And this is The Lord standing outside His Church Door. But it is to “any man” or the individual He speaks to open their life to Him.

As Christians, we often feel, that once we are saved; the journey is over.
But it actually is just beginning.
If you have heard the Holy Spirit’s voice call you to come to Christ…and you have; then it is a step by step walk with the Lord. Hearing His voice , again by the Holy Spirit, to follow Him.
But to follow Him in what?
1st: Growing in grace. We are saved by grace. And we are kept by His grace. And we are enabled to do by grace.
Grace in the Scriptures is the unmerited favor of power. The Power of the Holy Spirit within you.
This is a process of Denying yourself, picking up your cross, and following Christ.
For we deny our self life to gain our Christ life….not for salvation, but for fellowship and power in our everyday lives.
This used to be called “liberty of spirit”
2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord it that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is , there is liberty.”
But people stopped using it because, it became an excuse for sin. Something the Apostle Paul warned against.
Galatians 5:13 ” For, brethren, ye have been called unto Liberty; only use not Liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
True Liberty of spirit , is freedom from our sin and self, to know God’s Will; and His peace and joy, in doing it.

2nd: In our Walk with Jesus, there is service. We are all called to serve Him as witnesses.
Acts 5:32 “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost , whom God hath given to them that obey him.”
We may not be called to preach or teach; but we are all called to witness of the love and goodness of God in us.
There are other callings…but whatever it is, it is to be done in love to Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 : 1)”Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity(love),I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.”

In other words, just so much noise.

2) “And though I have the gift of prophecy , and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”

Boy! What service. But not to God, for it was not done in love for Jesus.

3)”And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”

Surely this will gain me some reward! But to God it gains you nothing, because the motive was self.

Remember what Jesus said when He was here:
Matthew 22:37-39 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”

John 14:23 ” Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him.”
John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Love to God leads to Obedience in life.
Doing Things, even spiritual things without love to God, leads to deadness of heart.

Our Message is To hear His Voice. Have you heard it call you to go on with Him ? Then in love to the Lord Jesus Christ, take the next step with Him.
Deny yourself, and do your calling.
There is liberty of spirit to all who will “follow on, to know”

Hosea 6:3 “Then shall we know, if we follow on the 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.”
As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow morning (there may be clouds, but the light comes); God will come forth to help those who truly want to know Him and His Will.
He teaches us to love…Him, and others; if we will follow Him.

The Still Small Voice
1 Kings 19:12 “And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”
When we think of POWER; we think of miracles from the Bible, or the sun standing still (Joshua 10:12-14) or time going backward (2 Kings 20:8-11).
Indeed, there has been power there.
But, when God’s POWER is seen, it is usually thru His Word.
(He stressed this , at the first:
Genesis 1:3 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” He did not have to speak; All He had to do was Will it. But He did speak, to show the Value He places on His Word.)

To stress the real Power of His Voice, we would do back to a cave and a hiding Prophet.

1 Kings 19:9 “And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?”

Indeed, What was Elijah doing in that cave? How did he come to this?

Elijah was a man of Gilead, who was distressed at the low spiritual state of Israel. So he began to pray. God had told Israel that if they worshipped other gods , then He would withhold the rain. (Deuteronomy 11:16-17). Elijah prayed God would withhold rain, to get Israel’s attention, so they would turn back to God.

James 5:17 ” Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain:and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.”
For six months Elijah prayed for God to withhold the rain, and He did.

Then Elijah was told to go to Ahab, king of Israel and tell him:
1 Kings 17:1 ” And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD GOD of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

This might seem the wrong way to go about it….but Ahab did not believe in God…he had completely become an idol worshipper.
But someone coming and saying , in effect, God is listening to my prayers,
And HE is going to stop the rain until I pray again.

That got Ahab’s attention!

Elijah was told to go and hide…for Ahab would try and kill him. He did TRY. But God hid him till:
After 3 years, Israel was in famine….cattle, crops, everything withering,
Then…
Elijah was told (1Kings 18:1). “….Go, show thyself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.”

How would he do that? Through Elijah’s prayer…but first, Elijah wanted to showed Ahab and all the Israelites , the power of the prayer of God’s servant.
So , he set up a “contest” between the priests of the idol, and him.
1 Kings 18:19 “Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred which eat at Jezebel’s table.”
It was a simple contest :
1 Kings 18:23-24 “Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and PUT NO FIRE UNDER: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.”
So the prophets of Baal began:
1 Kings 18:26 “And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. BUT THERE WAS NO VOICE , NOR ANY THAT ANSWERED. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.”

So now it was Elijah’s turn. Remember Elijah began this, by praying that God would withhold rain, so Israel would be awakened to their sin of idolatry and come back to God. But how would they be awakened? By a mighty demonstration of God’s Power?
Called to a certain work: Which was to make everyone know that God was NOT pleased with Israel’s sin. This he did when he went before Ahab. EVERYONE knew that he had gone before the king and declared “No rain or dew” till he said.

And there had been no dew or rain for 3 years!

What were the means to Awaken the hearts to God’s demands for His people?
How were they to “hear” for themselves?

Elijah was told to go back and God would send rain. As for the “contest”, I believe Elijah got into this, by thinking (as most of us would), if the people could just see some MIGHTY WORK , that only God could do, then it would be settled –once for all–that God was God, and that he was God’s servant.

1 Kings 18:30-35 ” And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, ….And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it a second time. And they did….And he said, Do it a third time. And they did it the third time. And water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.”
(Where did he get the water? Mt. Carmel is about a few miles from the Mediterranean Sea)
He made the Altar so wet it could never burn….except by the Power of God.

Listen to the Prayer of Elijah:

1Kings 18:36-39 ” And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said,
LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know a that thou art the LORD GOD, and THAT THOU HAST TURNED THEIR HEART BACK AGAIN.
The the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.”

Two things to notice:
Elijah did not pray for rain, here.
And the people said “the LORD, he is THE God…..not OUR God.

The fire came down! First the burnt sacrifice was consumed, which meant God heard Elijah, and honored him before the king and the people.
Then the wood,
Then the stones of the altar, itself
Then the very dust on the ground where the altar sat.
And licked up the water in the trench.
Then the prophets and priests of Baal were slain!
This was a mighty demonstration; so….
Everything is set in order , RIGHT?

But what did it do for King Ahab, or the people?
Where was the rain?

It came, and at Elijah’s prayer, but who was noticing , then?
1 Kings 18:42-45 “So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now , look toward the sea. And he went up and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand……..And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.”

The fire falling was a mighty answer to prayer, but the people’s hearts were not turned back to God.
They might have been shown the true GOD . But I believe, that to turn their hearts back , required Elijah to preach to the people that he had prayed for, till their hearts said The Lord is OUR God.
That requires people hearing for themselves God’s requirements on their own lives.
And that comes through Preaching and Teaching and prayers.
(We can know God is able, without ever knowing God is able for me. That is the problem here; God was real now, They had to believe in His power…but they did not believe in Him for their lives)
Then what did this mighty demonstration do for Elijah? For Ahab? For the people?

For Ahab there was no change in his heart.
1 Kings 19:1 ” And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.”
He ran home and told Jezebel; nothing changed in life either.

For the people? Some say that the worship of Baal was never the same. But most did not turn back to God, even tho they knew He was “The God.”

And for Elijah? That is the saddest situation of all.
Having done such a Mighty Demonstration of God’s Power….
Since the rain was given in answer to his prayer….he thought:
Surely everything is over with….Israel will now worship The Lord God , and Elijah could go and relax.
Everything was fixed…they were God’s People again. Right?
God enables His servants….there was ample power at Elijah’s disposal.
But God requires His servants to see the job done; and Elijah thought the job was over with.

But it wasn’t:
1 Kings 19:2 “Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time”
Now as God’s Servants, we should expect trials, and enemies in this world.
But Elijah was thrown off guard, by thinking that the work was done, that he and God had won. There would be no opposition.
But, again, that was not the case.
1 Kings 19:3 “And when he saw that , he arose, and went for his life,….”
After such a mighty demonstration, then running for his life.

Now , I would not judge Elijah….I have been tricked up myself, thinking things were not what they actually were.
And thinking that if I could just somehow show God’s Power, too, things would be different.

What we need to come to is God’s Word, and Voice.
What was it that began Elijah’s ministry?
The Word of God spoken to Moses so many years before…a promise that God surely would; and did, bring to pass by his seeking it.
And what caused Elijah to return , to pray for rain, after three years….God’s Word to him.

So now let us consider a lesson that God used to teach His runaway prophet. (For He was not done with him, though he had run away.)

1 Kings 19:9-10 “And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life , to take it away. ”

Maybe he actually thought he WAS the only one left. A sure sign that no one seemed to stand with him. And here he was hiding inside the cave.

1 Kings 19:11-13 “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by , and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; BUT THE LORD WAS NOT IN THE WIND: and after the wind an earthquake; BUT THE LORD WAS NOT IN THE EARTHQUAKE: And after the earthquake a fire; BUT THE LORD WAS NOT IN THE FIRE: and after the fire A STILL SMALL VOICE. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And behold, there came a voice unto him and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?”

God’s Word and Voice began his ministry; and here God teaches His prophet a lesson about His Voice in comparison to Mighty Demonstrations of Power.

God calls Elijah to come out of hiding, after showing him He was not in the wind, earthquake, or fire….but it is His Voice that brings out His real servants to Himself. Here God gives his runaway servant some instructions, and Elijah just goes and does it. No need for anything else.

And what else does God show him? The prophet who said “I only am left”?
1 Kings 19:18 “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.”

There were seven thousand of God’s servants, through out Israel.

The important thing here, is: Having heard the Word of the Lord again, Elijah just goes and does it.
There is no fear, no hesitation, he just does what he is told.

This is true power…God’s Voice speaking to us. He can do what He says, and He can take care of us , too.

By the Foolishness of Preaching
1 Corinthians 1:21 ” For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

By the profound exposition of God’s Word?
By the deep and mighty expression of the original language?
By the charisma of man, speaking in man’s wisdom?

No. Not by any of these, has God been pleased to use. But by preaching.
And, yes, He calls it foolishness.
Why?
Because it is foolishness to the men of this world. No one can talk another person into believing. (As the Lord explained to me once, when I had spent a great deal of time “reasoning” with some people….”You may have won some arguments, but you did not win any souls.”)

1 Corinthians 1:18-23 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness; but unto us which are saved; it is the power of God.
For it is written,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
For the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; ”
The wisdom of this world will not lead a soul to Christ. It looks to the reasonings and understanding that does not “know God”; therefore will never go beyond that, though it may understand things about Him.

Nor will it answer to the deep longing of the soul of man. It can’t, for the satisfaction of the soul can only be found in God.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”
The word “world” here is in the Hebrew “concealed from the beginning to the end, or eternity”
The soul of man has Eternity set in it, and he has longings to know those expressions of eternity for himself.
In other words…man has and does want to know his part in the eternal plan of things.
To know God, and to meet him personally.
The fall of man, by sin, has marred that glorious view, and now, man can not find out the things of God without the power of the Holy Spirit’s work.

Man’s soul was made for God…to have fellowship with Him. It can know no rest, till it rests in God.
Man’s eternal spirit, that part of him most like God,(though darkened and empty from the fall); longs for the Spiritual Reality that is communion (talking and walking) with God…in the most personal and real sense.
It is something of Eternity within us that cries out for expression in our lives.
It is a longing within our hearts and souls that knows no other satisfaction from any other source, but God.
He has created this within us to draw us to Him or we would never come.

And this is done by the foolishness of preaching.
1 Peter 1:23-25 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth and the flower thereof falleth away:
But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
We are born again by the Word of God; this is the seed that is sown in the heart and it liveth and abideth forever.
All things of this life are transitory and fading…there is nothing permanent in it. Nothing of the Eternal things we seek.
Yet all speaks of something more.
There is more than what we can see…there must be a quickening force behind it all.
It could not have come of itself. This we know, though we may not know how we know.
But God’s Word will stand when all else fails and is gone.
“And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you”

How important to God is preaching the Word?
Very.
1Corinthians 1:21 “And after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
It pleased God….and if He is pleased, should we be looking for “better” ways of doing our duty?

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty;
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
That no flesh should glory in His presence.”
We will not be able to stand before God and say:
Look here and see what I’ve done for You.
Look at this great place I’ve built.
Look at all these souls I’ve saved.
Look at what my power and wisdom has done.
No, no , no. We will not stand before God and say any of these things…”no flesh should glory in His presence.”

Jesus paid the price for everyone saved. For everyone sanctified. For everyone who goes to heaven.
There is no merit in any work for God we do. None.
The value of the work comes in the submissive obedience to Him;    and the results come from Him.

A man can never be too small for God to use.
But he can be too big, too wise, too mighty;   to fit into God’s pattern of usefulness.
Foolish things to confound the wise.
Weak things to confound the mighty.
And base things, and things that are despised…these God has chosen.
And things that are not, to bring to nought things that are.
God is not looking for men who know what they are doing already….He is calling men who will look to Him for everything.
The Word, and the enlightenment to preach it.
Guidance.
Strength.
And Blessing.
Do we want to “please” God? Then it will be by the foolishness of preaching.

There was added to the Church Daily such as should be Saved

Acts 2:47 “Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved”

But how did this come about?
Acts 2:37-42, 46-47
“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For this promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying , Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto the them about three thousand souls.
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”

This is the New Testament Church. You can trace its history thru the Book of Acts, and every place where you read of their being of “One Accord”, you will find great and mighty things happening.

This “One Accord” is the Lord’s Accord in the Ministry of the Church. His being in charge of His Work. The Harmony of us working together with Him to bring His Will to pass.
Each individual, saved by grace, being Obedient, and working together to see His Will done in the Church, out of love to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And to do this we each must have The Holy Spirit’s Power at work in us.

Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh IN US.”

Unless that Power has been, and is , at work in us….we will never see it in the lives of others.
And how is it at “work” within us? By bringing us into subjection to God’s Word , by the Holy Spirit’s speaking to us.
By each of us hearing His Voice in our hearts, and minds.

Now we believe that certain things are a part of our ministry, and one of those things is His spoken Word to you.

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

HE Stands and Knocks; But it is HIS Voice that is heard.
And as we said , we believe that His Voice is to be heard.

We believe there is Power in that voice.
Genesis 1:3 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

He did not have to speak. To Will , would have been enough.
But He did speak, to show the Value He places on His Word.

What God says will be, will be! There is Authority in the Voice of a King.
Matthew 6:10 “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done IN earth, as it is in heaven.”

Most say ON EARTH, and it surely will be one day….But Jesus said “IN EARTH”.
When you are a subject of His Kingdom, then you can speak for your King.
When His kingdom is within you, then His Power is also at work within; and then through you.

2Timothy 2:6 “The husbandman that laborth must be first partaker of the fruits.
This was the first verse the Lord gave me about my ministry of preaching.
What He said to me was that anything I was willing to get into my own experience, then He would require it at those who heard me preach about it.

Luke 4:32 “And they were astonished at his (the Lord Jesus) doctrine: for his word was with power.”

Matthew 7:28-29 “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
The scribes knew the Word of God…so they could tell the people what it said to do.
But they had no authority because they, themselves, did not do.

Matthew 23:13 “But woe unto you , scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in”

There used to be a saying “Practice what you preach”
They didn’t.

But back to the Kingdom of God, Coming to you.
Remember this is Jesus teaching His disciples. And a prayer we are to pray.
For to have His Kingdom Come to you is to have His Authority yielded to in your life..and then you can show forth His kingdom.
And how are we to submit to Him, practically?
James 1:21 “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
To receive something with meekness, you would not offer any resistance to it.
We should stop resisting the Word of God to us.
In preaching
In teaching or reading.
It is an engrafted word; not according to Nature , but contrary to it. But the Lord places it within us with power, when we don’t resist it.

Then you can enter into the harmony of being of One Accord with the Lord.
And can be a blessing to others, in your Church, and in your everyday life experiences.
God can use you to express His kingdom, for you are a subject of the King.