Without a Vision, the People perish.

Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

“Vision” here, means what they were to keep looking toward, their goal.

This “vision” was the purpose of Israel in Canaan: They were to show the nations round about them, what it was like to have God, as their God and King.

Deuteronomy 28:9-10 “The Lord shall establish thee a Holy people unto Himself, as He hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in His ways.

And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee.”

They failed in this Purpose. (Although the Lord promises that Israel will have this one day: Ezekiel 36:25-28)

But why did they fail? Sin, of course, was involved…but the main reason was:

1 Samuel 8:19-20 “…and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;

That we also may be like all the nations;……”

Because they wanted to be like everybody else!

How often this hinders us in our Spiritual lives!

There should be a “vision” for us, as Christians. A goal or purpose of where we are going in life, and a way of getting there.

There should be something we are working toward:

1) A purpose which we are to obtain through our lifetime.

2)And there should be a goal for today…

Our purpose is given us when we are born again, and this purpose is the same for all. (How much we obtain it, is an individual thing)

It is to be conformed to the image of His Son:

Romans 8:29 “For whom He did foreknow (that means God saw you in Christ Jesus before the world began 2 Timothy 1:9)

He also did predestinate

(that means He made full provision for you in grace or power for the work He gives you)

to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first born among many brethren

(All of us, loving and obeying the Father).”

I have broken down the verse, so we can see what is really being said.

God has purposed, that we might be just like Jesus in our character….

But He has also provided the Holy Spirit, and the grace (the unmerited favor of power, and ability) to do this.

If we actually saw how much the Lord has given us, we would be amazed!

And we just need to obtain it…..first, to want it. Second, to receive it…now.

(Sometimes it depends on what He is asking, doesn’t it?

Sadly, and this has happened to me:

we let the opportunity to have abundant measure of His power….slide.

We hesitate….what will this cost me, to say this, or do this…..and it is gone….we have stifled the Spirit.

It is so silly, we have let go a treasure, for what?

But if we receive it, whether you say, Yes, Lord, please give me this. Or whether you just yield and follow….it is given!)

Then…we are given a place in the scheme of God’s Plan…a calling to fulfill.

(Everyone is called as a witness to Christ…we are all called to speak about our Lord)

When I was first introduced to “Deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Me”, (Matthew 16:24)

I struggled a lot with time: my time, and the time I gave to prayer.

Don’t get me wrong, I prayed….but I had been called to pray, and I had a lot to learn.

At that time, my purpose was to obtain my calling….and my goal for today was to learn the lesson of self-denial. (For “my time” was robbing my efforts.)

Later, it was patience.

How many times has the Lord reminded me about patience.

It is His attribute (look how He puts up with me), and I need to get it into me, by denying myself when I get frustrated, or late.

Or when I want Him to answer my prayer….now, not in God’s time.

You get the idea….we all need to see God’s overall purpose for us….to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).

And then to fulfill for today, our work as His disciples. If we do today, then it is easier to do tomorrow.

When we slip and fall; and we will….as we confess it, He forgives us and lifts us back up, to go on with Him.

The Lord often deals with our besetting sin, first (He did with me)….

Then, with our habits, and attitudes….and onward, till all of us, shows that we belong to Christ Jesus.

Acts 4:13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”

If we remember Peter’s denial of the Lord…not once but three times…we, too, might marvel.

But the answer is….”they had been with Jesus”.

The Holy Spirit reminded them of all they had heard, and learned in the years with Jesus….and when it was needed, they were empowered to use it.

We should all have our “vision” or revelation from God of what He has for us, where we are going with Him, here; and how we are to go…

He has given it in His Word, and will relate it to us personally, by the blessed Holy Spirit.

Know His Will for you….and grow in grace and knowledge.

Jesus stands at our door

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.”

(What great mercy and condensation that Christ Jesus the Lord should stand at my heart’s door and knock!   That He should wait and speak to me….not with the thunder of judgment,  but with the Voice of HIs Word….calling me on.

         Song of Solomon 5:2 “I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my Beloved that knocketh, saying,   Open to Me, My sister, My love, My dove, My undefiled:  for My head is filled with dew, and My locks with the drops of the night.”)

What a mercy that He should speak again to this church….and to the people inside to come and open to Him!

The Lord has shown Himself to John, to prepare him to go and preach again to the churches….

….and in each letter, the Lord speaks to the church….His supply for their need.

In Laodicea, they need to be boiling hot….to be zealous for Christ.

         And frankly, I have found in my experience….that zealousness only comes when we give up everything for Christ…in our everyday lives.

We might think that we have “surrendered” to the Lord….but has it given you a hunger for His Word….or a thirst for His fellowship?

       If you have “surrendered”…..and not gotten repentant…..not sought with new diligence to grow in grace….

…then you have only “surrendered” to or for something….not to Christ Jesus, personally.   It may be….”God wants me to do this….or give up this.”   And you “surrender” to that.    

       Good in itself….but that is not the personal zeal….which goes beyond seeking Christ for something….to seeking Christ, only.     For in Christ, we “find” everything,…all else falling into place.

(We often talk about the disciples leaving all and following Him….Matthew 4:19-20.   But many women ministered to Him “of their substance”,…following Him, wherever He went….some right to the foot of the cross!   Luke 8:1-3,  John 19:25  And to the upper room to be filled with the Holy Ghost.  Acts 1:14   Theirs was a zeal for Christ, too.)

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.”

I can not tell you exactly what is barring the door of your heart or life to Him….

….but it is His Voice which awakens!   His sweet Voice which drew us at the first….which called us and which speaks again and again to us.

He stands!   That means He is ready to do for us.   How gracious that He knocks….by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit….to show us that we have a closed door to HIm.

        But it is His Voice,  that calls us.

John 10:3-4, 27 “To Him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear His Voice: and He calleth His own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

        And when He putteth forth His own sheep,  He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice.

        My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

We are all called to follow Him….and we are all called to “sup” or “fellowship, as at a table”  with Him.    

(Now I want to stress here, that “fellowship” is partnership….is a sharer with all things in common.   

      Our fellowship is with the Father,….for we are joint-heirs with Christ.  And as He is His Father, so He becomes our Father. (John 20:17)

      Our  fellowship is with the Creator;  acknowledging His Purpose and His Determination (or Pleasure Revelation 4:11)…joining in with Him to fulfill His Purpose in us.

      Amos 3:3 “Can two walk together except they be agreed?”

      Our fellowship is with our Lord and Savior, grateful for His salvation and His guiding hand upon us in praise and Thanksgiving.

      1 Cor 1:8-9 “Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

      God is faithful, by Whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”

      There is the fellowship of His sufferings….that we may learn…”in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”(Phil.4:11)

      Philippians 3:10 “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death;”

      We have fellowship of the Spirit…as we speak and gather together….that we may share with others the goodness of God, the exhortations of God….and they with us.

      Philippians 2:1-2 “If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love,  if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

      Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”

The Lord stands at our door….and knocks….and we can hear HIs Voice:  

      “I created you….for My determination and Purpose.    I have many things to share with you…and you with Me.   Will you open your door to Me?”

(Now I wish to speak of “doors”.    

      The first “door” that was spoken of,  was to Cain.   He had let pride rule his heart and actions and had brought  a offering to God of his own works.   But God spoke of his “door”….

….”Listen to Me, and bring the right offering so we may fellowship together….or sin lieth at your door, and it will come in and rule in you.”  (Genesis 4:7)

              It is so important to know what we let in our “door”….thankfully the Lord will tell us, as He did Cain….though His Voice was refused, there.

      The next “door” was the door set in the ark, which saved Noah and his family.   There was only one door (Genesis 6:16)….and the Lord shut him in. (Genesis 7:15-16)   

             And we know that Christ Jesus is the one door….John 10:9 “I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”       

      The next “door” was at Abraham’s tent (Genesis 18:1)….when the Lord appeared to him….giving him a promise of a son to Sarah….and speaking to him of Sodom and Gomorrah.   There was the great intercessory prayer for any righteous in these cities…and Lot! (Gen. 18:20-33)

     There was the “door” where the blood of the Passover lamb was placed.  (Exodus 12:7, 11-12)…and Israel was saved from the destroying angel.

     There was the “door” where the servant, unwilling to leave his wife and children….even though he could go free on the seventh year….where his ear-lobe would be bored (Ex. 21:2-6)…which is a picture of Christ’s devotion to us….to serve for us…though He could have gone free. (Psalm 40:6-8  this is a prophesy of Christ!)

     There is the “door” of our lips.  

     Psalm 141:3 “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

     And there is the “door” at which Christ stands today…..the Laodicean church door….and our “door”,….for it is to the individual He speaks.

    Shortly….the opportunity to answer and open that door will pass….

…..for He will open a “door” in heaven!

Revelation 4:1 “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a  trumpet talking with me;  which said,   Come up hither,…”

          Christ Jesus will come in the sky….and we will be raptured.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

          Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

The door we open to Christ Jesus our Lord, now is the door of our lives….every big and little bit of them….and He will come in and fellowship….sharing all things…everything we go through, He is ready to see to….

…Will we open our door to Him?)

Do not sorrow….even as others

A little background is necessary:

The Thessalonians were a strong and loving church. They had been established by Paul under persecution….

….yet they manifested love to each other and all around them in Macedonia.

This is marvelous……the trials and persecution did not come between them and their Lord, but pushed them closer to Him.

Yet they had a sorrow.

Paul had told them of the coming of Christ for His church…..that they were to watch for themselves……..so they would be ready for His return.

And they had…..they were faithful and watchful.

But some of those who had first believed had died….

…and those who were alive wondered about them.

Would they see Christ come for them?

Paul wrote back….giving the Word of the Lord for them…..a revelation from the Lord to Paul, for all of us.

“Do not sorrow….even as others who have no hope.”

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain shall not prevent them which are asleep.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Though their bodies sleep in the earth….their souls are with Christ in heaven.

So that when He comes to rapture His church…..they will come with Him….and their bodies shall rise and come together with their souls…

…..and we, who are alive shall be caught up to meet Him in the skies!

Notice, the name Paul uses here….”the Lord”. It was a favorite name of Paul…for remember when Christ Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus….he said…

….”Who art thou Lord?”, And “Lord, what would you have me to do?”

(In the name “Lord”, is defined One who is Superior…..One who rules….One who can speak and it will be done.

And when we say “Lord”…..we should be acknowledging that Christ are these things to us….as Paul did)

Paul gave his life to the Lord that day…..and proclaimed His goodness and mercy from that day forth.

Notice also, “The Lord, Himself shall descend from heaven”…..

….Christ Jesus will not send an angel….no, not even the highest form of angels to meet His beloved church when they come from their workplace of earth….

….but the Lord Himself shall come to meet us!

There will be a trumpet sound.

When God assembled the congregation of the children of Israel….there was a trumpet sound

Numbers 10:2-3 “Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and or the journeying of the camps.

And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.”

We shall all come…..assembling with the Lord….caught up to ever be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:18 “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

We should not sorrow….as others that have no hope…..

Death can not separate us from the promises of God…..for Christ has overcome death,……as well as sin. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

But we are to “watch”…..be ready…..be waiting….be awake.

1 Thessalonians 5:5-6 “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”

To be sober here is to refrain from selfish indulgences…..which hinder our readiness….and keep us looking other places than at Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:8 “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.”

The armor spoken of here is only defensive….(in Ephesians 6:10-18 it is offensive as well)….

….it is speaking of guarding our inward life….

…..that we will be growing in grace….and ready for Christ’s coming.

The breastplate covers our heart and it’s affections.

The helmet covers our mind and it’s reasons and imaginations.

These are to be guarded if we are to walk in the Light.

And what is our armor here? Faith is our foundation grace…..uniting us with Christ our Rock.

Love is our motive…..For we love Him, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19)

These….if we are using them…..guards our hearts.

Hope…..the confident expectation that God will do what He says…..guards out minds.

Hope of salvation is the Holy Spirit reminding us that God is working all things to bring us to the fullness of our salvation…..within….and one day, with Him….as He has said.

It guards our thoughts.

1 Thessalonians 5:6 “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”

We are not to sorrow as others who have no hope…..for our God has a plan and a purpose for each of us….

…He will come for us,…and we will rise to meet Him in the air.

We are to watch, using the means the Lord has provided (faith, love, and hope)…..in these dark times……so that our inner life will be kept for the joy and enjoyment of our Lord.

Heed my Reproof

Proverbs 1:20-23 “Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My Words unto you.”

If you will notice here in these verses, Wisdom is seen as female….”she”.

This is important…..because it is to be us, as God’s servants (no, not just His ministers, pastors, or teachers)…..but all of us as HIs church, His believers, who are crying out HIs Wisdom to all passerby’s.

(Now I am not advocating for preaching on street corners…..unless you are so called. I am advocating for us to “send the light”…..to witness to others….to show the truth of God’s Word.)

But it is a picture of God’s Wisdom being shared with all the others….

….in the streets, in the work places, in the place of courts and gatherings, and in the city….

….all that we come into contact with….to be “crying” to them to repent and come to God.

This is true Wisdom.

(It is interesting to note that there are two definitions for “crieth”, in the Hebrew in these verses….

….the first “Wisdom crieth without” speaks for letting out a shout for joy! Letting everyone know the good news.

The second….”She crieth in the chief places…”. Speaks of stopping someone to make sure they hear the invitation.)

“How long ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity?” These “simple ones” are those who refuse to go on with the Lord.

They know “enough”. They are “comfortable” in their lives with God….except God says that He has been calling them to go on with Him, and they have refused.

“The scorners delight in their scorning”. The scorners are they, who mock God’s Word…..who love to “poke holes” (or so they think) in the gospel.

They work very hard at laughing at the call to repent. They will not hear of their “sins”…..no, they are eager to point out others “faults”, and call all believers hypocrites, as they slander them.

The best illustration of scorners are those…..who seeing Noah build an ark on a hill…..came to hear him preach to repent and believe God….and went away laughing at that “crazy Noah”.

At least, until it started to rain.

“Fools hate knowledge”. Fools say “no, God”. (Psalm 14:1)

They refuse to hear, proclaiming the absence of Truth….and rejecting God, who is Truth.

“A fool is he who through this life pursues the clouds he can not own…..and leaves a wealth of things undone…..his tomb a final stepping stone”

When preaching on these verses, my husband used to quote this.

What emptiness and doom! What a life! Wishing for things that can never be…..while the things they could have done,……were right before them….left undone.

But God’s call goes out to all of them…..”Heed My reproof”

“Turn you at My reproof”.

And it goes out through us, His believers.

But, no matter who goes by on the street, work place, or anywhere…..God’s reproof…..God’s call to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ….goes forth in Wisdom….

…..as we show His light and Word, in our lives and words.

For if they will “turn”…..God would pour out His Spirit in faith, grace, salvation and sanctification.

God would make known to them His Words of life.

If they will do it…..He would “pour out”……that is abundantly meet the need….

……His Spirit unto them.

Are we ready to manifest God’s Wisdom…..and shout out with joy…..and give the invitation to those we come into contact with…..His Word, His Gospel.

Acts 17:30-31 “….but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man(Christ Jesus) whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.”

Christ is coming again,….have we given the message, we have been given to share?

The Way that I must Take

Proverbs 4:18 “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

Picture the gray before dawn…then the dawn and the light seems to pierce open the day. It brightens, and illuminates. It widens unto the “perfect day”, or high noon….when there are no shadows.

This is what our “path” of following Christ Jesus, should be like.

In the New Testament, Jesus says the same:

John 8:12 “Then spake Jesus unto them, saying, I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Notice this Light is for our walk with Him!

Follow Him and get the light you need, and more light. It is called “light of life” for it gives sight, courage, and joy; when yielded to.

But if this is not your case, then….

It is time to consider at what you stumble.

Proverbs 4:19 “The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.”

(And my husband often preached….”As the righteous, we should at least know at what we stumble.”)

“The way” of the wicked. This is the path they take, when they choose sin.

They can not even see at what they stumble.

How many times have we thought: Oh, this is just a little thing. A small error, or something that probably isn’t right….but not too wrong.

Oh! We know not at what we stumble! This “small thing” can blow up in our faces, and sometimes we do not even know how it happened!

It is this “way”, that is dark. Stay out of it!

2 Corinthians 4:4, 6 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

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.”

1 John 1:6-7 “If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

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.”

Darkness comes when we refuse to believe or obey the light God gives us.

God gives us the right to question whether we understood His Word to us (Acts 9:10-17)….but never, to refuse to believe His Word, or Him.

His Light comes by impression of the Holy Spirit, by the Word of God, and through the preaching of His faithful ministers, and teachers. (A good Sunday School teacher who leads their charges into a knowledge of the Word of God, is worth their weight in gold, to the children in their care.)

Proverbs 4:25-27 “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”

In other words, “Stop looking around to see “something better” than what God has put before you.

Keep your eyes where God is leading, and you won’t stumble, or fall.

Ephesians 5:15 “See that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,”

Circumspectly means to walk exactly. To shine a light on your path, and make sure your not walking into any traps.

We deal with a God of Purpose, a sure Purpose; Who will see His Purpose accomplished.

Ephesians 1:11-12 “In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will:

That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ.”

And Light, His marvelous Light is one of the means He uses for us. Light, think of it! No more to walk in darkness.

Ephesians 5:8-9 “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light;

(For the fruit of the Spirit is all goodness, and righteousness, and truth;)”

Ephesians 5:14 “Wherefore He saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light,”

When our walk begins to darken, by neglect, or sin; we often get “sleepy” in our Christian life. The Lord would have us: Awake, arise, and receive the light He offers us.

We enter into the strait gate, when we are born again….but the way, though narrow and sometimes with battles….is an enlightened way, as we walk with the King of Kings.

This is the Way He would have us take….will we?

Lord, teach us to Pray

Luke 6:12 “And it came to pass in those days that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”

After His enemies, the scribes and Pharisees, started talking about….”what they might do to Jesus.”

And right before He chose the twelve apostles,…..the Lord Jesus spent a whole night in prayer.

How comforting it must have been for Him, to be before His Father’s presence, when His enemies were plotting against Him. (“They were filled with madness; and communed one with another…” Luke 6:11)

How strengthening for Him, that in the Father’s Will, He would be given eleven men that would stay with Him, till the end…(plus the betrayer, Judas. Luke 6:13-16).

His disciples must have recognized the comfort and strengthening that prayer gave Him…..for…

….one of the times He was praying, His disciples asked:

Luke 11:1 “And it came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

Teach us to pray…..

Whether they meant, teach us the words to say….or the attitude in doing so;……Jesus did…….giving them all the things they should put into their prayers:

(Luke 11:2-4). “….Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.” He showed them, and us…..Who we are to pray to. And the attitude in coming before the Throne of grace….in reverence for all He is.

“Thy kingdom come.” Let Your kingdom come within me, and then let it come on this earth.

“Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.” We are to seek after God to know His Will….and to do it in the joy and confidence….that the angels do in heaven.

“Give us day by day our daily bread.” We have needs, and God does not neglect them….we are to bring them before Him and lay them out before Him….seeking His will in all of them

“And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.” We should bring our daily sins….to be forgiven, so that fellowship will not be interrupted,….or joy, lost.

And we are to forgive others, reminding ourselves, how much we have been forgiven.

“And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” We all have those things that tempt us. All of us are faced with temptation everyday….it is what we do with it, that matters.

So He taught his disciples to pray that we would be led away….clear away from it. But if we are led astray….to be delivered from it.

Next, Jesus showed them what the attitude of prayer should be:

(Luke 11:5-8). Ask….and receive. Seek….and find. Knock….and get the door opened.

Stay after what you need….till you get it.

Then….and I thing this is both wonderful, and merciful…..the Lord Jesus showed them that God was their Heavenly Father, Who will give “good gifts” unto His children….who ask Him.

Luke 11:11-13 “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”

God will not give “look alike” answers. (Stone for bread….a serpent for an eel….and a scorpion, which curls up and goes white; for an egg.)

He gives the need,…..met.

And of all the gifts He gives….The Lord says…..seek for the Holy Spirit….in fullness.

To pray to our Heavenly Father is a blessed right of the born again ones.

To have the Holy Spirit in us….more and more as we yield to Him, is a blessed promise for our journey here, and forever.

Colossians 4:2 “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;”

Are we praying? Are we being watchful?

Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

Ephesians 5:14 “Wherefore He saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”

We need to learn to pray,…..but the Lord is willing to teach us….

…….giving us His example….and exhorting us to stay after….do not give up on God.

(How weak our flesh is here…..but even in this, we can ask for help.)

Praise our God for all His Word to us.

Lukewarm Laodicea makes Me sick!

Revelation 3:16 “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spur thee out of My mouth.”

Years ago, when my husband was going to write a message on Laodicea, he received this title from the Lord:

“Lukewarm Laodicea makes Me sick!”

And right then, he felt sick….almost like vomiting!

That is what the Lord was trying to show him.

This is the way the Lord feels about this church.

Laodicea is the last of the church age, before He comes to meet them in the air….

….and this is just the time that this church should be zealous for Christ and the saving of souls…..

….but they are neither cold or hot, just lukewarm….sickening.

If we were cold…..He could just judge us.

If we were hot…..He would bless us.

Instead we are just sickening to Him.

We are as Israel of old. (Jesus quoted this when He was here about those religious workers. Matthew 15:8-9)

Isaiah 29:13 “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men:”

Several things to mention:

First….they say all the right words….all the praises that they should.

Second,….notice it is “removed” their heart far from Me. He does not just say that is is far from Him…..but that they removed it. They chose something other than Him, to set their heart upon.

Third,….the fear toward God is merely taught to be right.

It is something they know because it has been told them……not that they have.

“Fear” here is reverence and awe that the Lord should have as God….and because of the great things He has done for us.

But they do not.

It was not that Israel could not see….for they had enough Light, they could have known their God….but it was that they would not.

In Laodicea, we too, say the right things….we do the right things….but our hearts just aren’t in them.

We draw near with our lips, but our affections are far from Him…..

….to what are they looking?

And we Laodiceans say we reverence God…..but if we did, we would stop congratulating ourselves on our “richness”….and see ourselves as He sees us:

Revelation 3:17 “Because thou sayest, 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.”

In this last of the Church age, we are “poor”……without the love and fear of God…..in experience.

Head knowledge is necessary…..but heart knowledge of God by personal experience is:

You know a certain Bible truth…..because you have experienced that truth in your life.

2 Timothy 3:5 “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

They say they are Christians…..that they do believe.

But their lives show they are “denying the power thereof”.

(I want to stress here…..”power”. I know some people misuse this word…..I have heard it too.

But the Holy Spirit gives us grace….the unmerited favor of power in our lives….He gives us power over ourselves…..and power to face a world which hates Christ, cheerfully…….and power to stand in the evil day.

And the Word of God gives us power…..the power to shape our thinking and our attitudes and our choices…..by our reading, praying over it, and thinking upon it….till the power of it changes us.

It is not a word to use lightly…..for real power belongs unto God only….He can give it to any He chooses….

….but it is real. God’s power to us is to change us…..and by that, influence and change others….toward God.)

If we are different, it is by the power of God in our life….and not by something I have done myself.

Lukewarm Laodicea is correct…..it says all the right things…..

….but our hearts are far from Him.

I believe our error is of the heart.

The Lord Jesus when He was here, said about the hearts of those who came to hear Him…..but not to obey Him:

Matthew 13:15 “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”

Their “hearts” are described as “waxed gross”…..so full of other things, there was no room for Him.

Their “ears” are described as “dull”….only half hearing…..nodding: “Oh, yes, that is good”….but not listening for His Word to them.

Their “eyes” are described as “closed”….they have closed….so they would not see the Truth.

If they had seen, and heard Him, with hearts open to and receptive to Him…..

……they would have been converted (most think of this as salvation, but it means to “turn back again”; it is the same word Jesus used to Peter about his three denials Luke 22:32)

……their hearts would have been turned back to God, by Christ….and they would have been healed.

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

For those He loves…..He rebukes…..speaks like a Father to correct us (Hebrews 12:5-6)…

….sometimes softly…..sometimes loudly…..

….but then…

….well, must He also chasten?

His promise is understanding, to be turned back to Him, and healing….will we hear, and repent?

To be Filled with the Spirit of God

John 14:16-17 “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever;

Even the Spirit of truth; Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

Ephesians 3:17-19 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye being rooted and grounded in love,

May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”

To be filled with the Holy Spirit is like a sponge thrown in the ocean. Dried and shriveled, out of the water. Yet it becomes larger and larger; fuller and fuller in the ocean. It can not take in all the ocean, but it takes in more and more; till it is filled to it’s capacity.

When we are born again, we are given the Holy Spirit.

Our dead spirits are enlightened, and made alive by the Holy Spirit of God when He enters our spirits at new birth.

He makes us entirely new. Yet we are babes in Christ.

As babes we are to learn to walk. We stumble often, but we learn, and are soon walking with God.

To be filled with the Spirit of God, is seen in Acts:

Peter and the apostles were filled with the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost.

(Acts 2:4) “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost…”

The Spirit changed these terrified disciples (John 20:19) into men and women which could speak of Christ before a great assembly of people.

Peter, who denied the Lord, now spoke with boldness about him. Boldly telling the crowd that they crucified the Lord of Glory. That in Jesus was salvation; and by none other.

Acts 2:32-33,36 “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses.

Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

Therefore let all the hosts of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Yet, a while later, when they were taken before the council, beaten and threatened; it says they prayed and then were filled with the Holy Spirit again.

Acts 4:23,29-31 “And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said unto them.

And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto Thy servants, that with all boldness we may speak Thy word,

By stretching forth Thy hand to heal;…

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word with boldness.”

Why? because Peter and the disciples did not need the strength and power to stand against persecution, until then.

On the day of Pentecost……he needed the power to stand and speak boldly before a crowd.

Later, it was power to stand before the council.

And now, when things were getting harder, God gives them more of HIs Spirit, to help them.

We are filled with the Spirit, as we are emptied of self; our self-reliance.

Peter, so full of himself, swore he would never deny the Lord; but he did. (Luke 22:33-34)

Peter, emptied of his bluster, and just obedient; waiting on the Holy Spirit, was filled to speak boldly. Three thousand were saved.

Peter, emptied of any thought of being able to stand against persecution, was filled by God’s Spirit to stand against it.

Who knows what our lives will bring? Where will they lead us?

What we can know is: Jesus Christ has made provision for us in His Holy Spirit.

To guide us, to strengthen us, to empower us: just as we need it, and when we need it.

Like the sponge is filled with the ocean; we can be filled with the Holy Spirit of God, as we see our need and yield to Him.

King Josiah

I have long admired this man….he was the last good king that Israel had before the captivity….and under his reign, Judah had a time of blessing.

Soon, the judgments that God had foretold because of Manasseh’s sin….would come….

….but God granted a time of spiritual awakening….if they would have it….and many did. The nation had rest and blessing in this time.

2 Kings 22:1-2 “Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah….

And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.”

(One Bible expositor noted, that when the kings were named, it was the mother’s name that was said….”and his mother’s name was…”.

How suggestive that is! For it is often the Mother that teaches the child in the formative years! And Jedidah must have been a righteous woman….even though her husband was evil!)

2 Chronicles 34:3 “For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.”

(You will also notice, that when the kings were righteous….the scriptures speak of them as following “David their father”, who was a man after God’s own heart. There were no righteous kings in the ten tribes of Israel….but in Judah, in the line of David, there were several. Josiah was one of them.)

When a man gets right with God, he seeks to set things right for others, as far as his influence is concerned.

And Josiah was king….his influence was felt all over the nation…and into the other nations that were under his reign.

He began with the House of God….”he brought out all the vessels that were made for Baal,..and for the host of heaven; and he burned them without Jerusalem….” (2 Kings 23:4)

Then he cleansed Jerusalem….”…the houses of the sodomites,….the altars which Manasseh had made,….did the king beat down…and cast the dust into the brook Kidron.” (2 Kings23:7, 12)

Then he made it “that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire” as sacrifice….outside Jerusalem, in the valley of Himmon.

“And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel….2 Chron. 34:33)

Then Josiah in the eighteenth year of his reign….he felt that the Temple needed repair….so he instructed that the money brought into the Temple, should be put to that work.

During this construction….they found the book of the Law….and it was passed from priest to scribe….then to the king.

2 Kings 22:10-13 “…..And Shaphan read it before the king.

And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.

And the king commanded….Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of the book, to do according unto all that is written concerning us.”

How blessed for a nation, when the king repents….and the Word of God is finally honored!

God would not remove the judgements to come…..but because Josiah repented, and sought what to do,…from the Word….

2 Chronicles 34:27-28 “Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest His Words against this place,….and humbledst thyself before Me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before Me; I have even heard thee also, saith the Lord.

Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers…neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place….”

Josiah could have been content with this…..he was taken care of. But real repentance seeks the good of others as well….

…..so Josiah did what he could, to prepare the hearts of the people….by repentance and a turning completely to the Lord.

2 Chronicles 34:29-32 “Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

And the king went up into the house of the Lord….and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found….

And the King stood in his place, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments….with all his heart, and with all his soul,….

And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God….”

(We can not really make anyone else repent….but we can, to our influence, show them the Word of God and make them aware of what God is requiring at our hand. This Josiah did….with the whole nation….and anywhere his reign was felt!)

Josiah set up scribes from the priestly families…..to be sent throughout the land to teach all the people again about God and the Law. (Jeremiah was one of these!)

And Josiah kept a Passover….making the priests and the Levites prepare themselves and then the service….reminding the people of God’s Provision and deliverance:

2 Chronicles 35:18 “And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a passover….”

(It is good, when we have been corrected…..to remember God’s goodness to us in times past. And the Passover was God’s showing to Israel the Way of deliverance….to shelter under the Blood of the Lamb.

God often reminded them of His deliverance from Egypt….and it all came to pass because of their obedience in the sacrifice of the Passover.

And we, as Christians, have all our blessings…..in Christ. Ephesians 1:3

How much we should remember His mercy and goodness to us….for it keeps us “humble and tender”….in the good times,…and when we get corrected)

Josiah continued to follow the Law….the next twelve years….he continued to rebuild the Temple and to “prepare” it…..in other words Josiah kept the Temple the central part of the life of Judah, while he lived.

Josiah also….removed the “workers with familiars spirits, and the wizards,….and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah…”

Anytime anything that was against the Law was seen, he would “put it away”…..and cleanse the land from all these things.

Notice his diligence in the things shown in the Word he read!

And we are told to be diligent in “adding to our faith, virtue…and to virtue, knowledge…etc.”…..if we are to be fruitful in “the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8).

2 Kings 23:25 “And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.”

He “turned to the Lord”. He kept The Lord before him in all his reign.

(I want to talk of repentance….or the “turn” we make, when we realize we need the Lord. It generally comes through HIs Word….and makes us see the enormity of our sin….and the penalty of it.

Repentance leads us to “turn to the Lord with all our heart, with all our soul (our thoughts, emotions, and will)….and with all our might”!

The Lord and HIs Word is the focus of our lives….and we seek the good, in the Lord, for everyone else, in our influence.

True repentance is not just wanting things to be different…..but going to the Lord in word and deed….and being obedient, by His grace from the Holy Spirit, to Him….in all things.)

His death was the cause of much sorrow in Judah (2 Chron. 35:25)….and some believe (I believe this)….it did not have to be this way. But he chose to go out and fight the king of Egypt, who was going to fight another king.

The king of Egypt was a horrible man, and had done things wrong against Judah before…..but not now.

Perhaps, he thought that going through his territory was an act of war…..but he was warned….yet continued in his chosen course…and died in battle against the king of Egypt.

Yet….God specifically says in Jeremiah, speaking of four years after Josiah’s death…Jeremiah 46:2, 10….”For this is the day of the Lord of hosts, a day of vengeance…” when Nebuchadnezzar slew Egypt’s king.

The Lord has a time and a way for every purpose of His.

(I want to mention here, that Jeremiah, Daniel, and his associates, were under the influence of Josiah….and by there turning to the Lord….where they were…became lights of influence for God!

How this shows us that our lights for the Lord….give more influence than we think…and can spread beyond what we think!)

Josiah was a good king…..because he turned to the Lord with all his heart, soul and might.

We, too, can do good…..by turning to the Lord the same way. Let us hear HIs Word…..and let it cause our hearts and minds and wills to seek the Lord, always.

The Joy of the Lord.

Nehemiah 8:10 “And he said unto them, Go thy way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

In other words, as they experienced this joy, and yielded to this joy; they would be strengthened in His Might.

This is to “be strong in the Lord and the power of His Might.” (Ephesians 6:10)

The need was great for Israel. They were back in the land, after the captivity.

But enemies had and would keep trying to destroy their unity, and commitment to God’s Worship.

Here, when this verse is given,…..they had just had a service where the Law and books of Prophesy were read, and interpreted to the people.

They were excited to learn, but also saddened by the memory of their sin, which had sent them out of the land; and of the trouble they were having now.

There is a time to repent;…..

and a time to rejoice in the goodness of God……

Now was their time to rejoice in the goodness of God.

We are called, as Christians, to have Christ’s Kingdom come with in our hearts and lives, now.

Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

The inward Kingdom of God is set up in the hearts, of all who repent and believe the Gospel.

And that Kingdom is none other than:

Romans14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

Now joy is a choice instrument, that God uses in a believing soul.

Joy and Peace are the true criteria to judge ourselves, spiritually.

When we are right with God, we have peace with God, and ourselves.

Joy follows.

Joy is particularly designed by God to be a balance against the sufferings; inward and out; of our walk of faith.

It is meant to lift up the hands which hang down, and confirm the feeble knees (Hebrews 12:12).

There is a strengthening power in the joy of the Lord.

Therefore, whatever dampens our joy in the Lord, hinders our holiness…..

(The Devil would “throw water” on our joy, so that he would spoil our enjoyment of the things God gives…and if he could, the use of them too.)

…..when we get discouraged, or depressed,……we begin to let down our shield of faith.

The firey darts of the devil get through, when the shield is down. We are wounded.

When we get like that, we need to be exhorted to do, as Israel was told:

Nehemiah 8:10 “And he said unto them, Go thy way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Joy and Happiness are not the same.

Each springs from a totally different source.

Happiness comes from the situations around me. It is measured by what is happening to me. It is bound up in either the behavior of other people, to me; or the circumstances which I am in.

Joy comes directly from the Spirit of the Living God.

This joy springs from the Presence of God in my life.

It is not dependent on people, places, or the situations in which I find myself; but rather from the Presence of God with me,…..in any circumstances.

(And don’t we find it so,….that knowing that the Lord is with us, is a great blessing…always.)

Joy is one of the attributes of God that He shares with us. Joy runs like a river of goodwill, through His make-up. And He wants to share that with us.

He is the God of all Joy.

He is alive. He is here. That joy was the overflowing of power in the early Church.

And that can be the experience of all who truly allow God’s peace to rule in your hearts. When it does, joy follows.

Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”

We have a purpose……and deep delight in the Lord. These are the characteristics of such a person.

There is direction in our duties, no matter how ordinary.

There is purpose in every area of our lives; for we are in harmony with the Holy Spirit within,…….and that lifts me from the confusion and trouble of this world,…….to rest in the arms of the Lord.

This is to know the joy of the Lord, and it becomes a force in my life, to dispel darkness and despair; to energize my life in my walk with God.

The joy of the Lord is our strength.

We need it, and He has it for us.