"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the Lord, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jeremiah 31:33 NASB
"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be my people and I will be your God.
Ezekiel 36:25-28 NASB
" 'Then you will no that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord have spoken and done it," declares the Lord' "
Ezekiel 37:13-14NASB
However you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.
Romans 8:9-14 NASB
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 3:16NASB
Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from among their midst and be separate," says the Lord. "And do not touch what is unclean; and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me," says the Lord Almighty.
2 Corinthians 6:16-18 NASB
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us- for it is written "cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" - in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Galatians 3:13-14 NASB
God required perfect obedience to the law under the old covenant. While the law is good, yet it could not empower anyone to obey it.
Now under the new covenant we have the law of God written upon our hearts. It is something that we want to do. God has removed the heart of stone, our stubborn wills have been subdued by the washing of regeneration in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Under the old covenant the presence of God dwelt in the temple, in the holy of holies, symbolized by the ark of the covenant. Worshippers approached God through a system of offerings and sacrifices, with a priest as an intermediary. It was only once a year that a priest could enter the holy of holies with a sacrificial offering.
Now we are the temples of the living God, He dwells in us by His Spirit. We enter into His presence through Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit came upon certain old testament saints at specific times for specific purposes. Now in this age of grace we can enjoy His presence and power for sanctification and service at all times.
All this is made possible to us through Christ Jesus. The broken fellowship has been restored. We enjoy sonship as God's children. God is our God and we are His people. We have access to the throne of grace that was not available under the old covenant, we have new changed hearts, power to live a holy life. We worship in spirit and truth, enjoying intimacy with a God who was once unapproachable because of our sin.
Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ!
Monday, February 10, 2014
Friday, February 7, 2014
A Time For Repentance.
Why Should any living mortal, or any man,
offer Complaint in view of his sins?
Let us examine and probe our ways,
and let us return to the Lord.
We lift up our heart and hands toward
God in heaven;
We have transgressed and rebelled,
You have not pardoned.
You have covered Yourself with anger
and pursued us;
You have slain and not spared.
You have covered yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can pass through.
You have made us mere off-scouring,
and refuse in the midst of the peoples.
All of our enemies have opened their
mouths against us.
Panic and pitfall have befallen us,
devastation and destruction;
My eyes run down with streams of water
because of the destruction of the daughter
of my people.
My eyes pour down unceasingly,
without stopping,
Until the Lord looks down and
sees from heaven,
My eyes bring pain to my soul
because of the daughters of my city.
Lamentations 3:39-51 NASB
These are the words of Jeremiah the weeping prophet as he weeps over the destruction and captivity of Jerusalem.
Just as the Israelites of old abandoned the true worship of Jehovah God, so also has a large portion of the modern church.
Where are the men and women who weep over the desolation of the house of God today? Where are those who mourn over the lack of God's presence in our midst as we come to worship with our lips but not our hearts? Where are those who will give God no rest night and day until He pours out His Spirit upon us once again?
Rise up and seek the Lord that He may raise up His Church in holiness and power once again, that the nations would look and see that The only God is indeed on the throne today. Cry out that God would restore His people for the glory of His name. Seek Him to remove the reproach from His wayward children, so that it would not hinder others from entering into His kingdom.
Cry out! Cry out! Stand in the gap until His righteousness falls like rain once again. Oh God revive us again for the sake of your name!
offer Complaint in view of his sins?
Let us examine and probe our ways,
and let us return to the Lord.
We lift up our heart and hands toward
God in heaven;
We have transgressed and rebelled,
You have not pardoned.
You have covered Yourself with anger
and pursued us;
You have slain and not spared.
You have covered yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can pass through.
You have made us mere off-scouring,
and refuse in the midst of the peoples.
All of our enemies have opened their
mouths against us.
Panic and pitfall have befallen us,
devastation and destruction;
My eyes run down with streams of water
because of the destruction of the daughter
of my people.
My eyes pour down unceasingly,
without stopping,
Until the Lord looks down and
sees from heaven,
My eyes bring pain to my soul
because of the daughters of my city.
Lamentations 3:39-51 NASB
These are the words of Jeremiah the weeping prophet as he weeps over the destruction and captivity of Jerusalem.
Just as the Israelites of old abandoned the true worship of Jehovah God, so also has a large portion of the modern church.
Where are the men and women who weep over the desolation of the house of God today? Where are those who mourn over the lack of God's presence in our midst as we come to worship with our lips but not our hearts? Where are those who will give God no rest night and day until He pours out His Spirit upon us once again?
Rise up and seek the Lord that He may raise up His Church in holiness and power once again, that the nations would look and see that The only God is indeed on the throne today. Cry out that God would restore His people for the glory of His name. Seek Him to remove the reproach from His wayward children, so that it would not hinder others from entering into His kingdom.
Cry out! Cry out! Stand in the gap until His righteousness falls like rain once again. Oh God revive us again for the sake of your name!
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Humility, Essential For the Presence of God.
For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
Isaiah 57:15 NASB
God is present everywhere (Psalm 139:7-10), but He only dwells in two places. As the Holy God, He dwells in the high and holy place. He also desires to dwell with man, but cannot dwell where sin reigns. It is in the place of brokenness, the humble heart submitted to the Savior, where Christ desires to dwell.
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
Isaiah 57:15 NASB
God is present everywhere (Psalm 139:7-10), but He only dwells in two places. As the Holy God, He dwells in the high and holy place. He also desires to dwell with man, but cannot dwell where sin reigns. It is in the place of brokenness, the humble heart submitted to the Savior, where Christ desires to dwell.
Clean Hands, and A Pure Heart.
It has been said that if you desire revival, draw a circle on the ground, step inside, and ask God to send revival and begin with me. It is a fact that God must first work in the hearts of His chosen vessels before He can use them for greater purposes. He must first cleanse His church before He will use it to bring souls into His Kingdom. Judgment begins in the house of God (1 Peter 4:17).
The Scriptures are filled with examples of this truth. Before Moses could lead Israel out of Egypt He first had to circumcise his son. This was a sign of his covenant relationship with God, and was something he had neglected to do (Exodus 4:24-26).
Joshua could not proceed into the promised land until all of the males born during the forty years Israel wandered in the wilderness, were also circumcised (Joshua 5:2-9). This physical act is symbolic of the removal of the sin nature in our hearts (Romans 2:29) (Deut 10:16) (Jer 4:4).
Years ago a group of seven men were moved by the plight of the backslidden churches around them. They made a covenant before God to seek Him on a regular basis until He sent revival. They faithfully met three nights a week to seek God, praying until four or five in the morning. They met like this for weeks until early one morning one of them arose from prayer and opened his bible and began to read from Psalm Twenty Four. "who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood (Psalm 24:3-4NASB).
The men were cut to the heart and all began to confess their sin and rededicate themselves to Christ anew. this was the beginning of a mighty revival that swept the Hebrides in 1949.
We must be clean to approach A holy God. We must put away sin and surrender ourselves to Him. He must have us before He will use us, but once cleansed and filled with His Spirit there is no end to the great things He can accomplish through us!
The Scriptures are filled with examples of this truth. Before Moses could lead Israel out of Egypt He first had to circumcise his son. This was a sign of his covenant relationship with God, and was something he had neglected to do (Exodus 4:24-26).
Joshua could not proceed into the promised land until all of the males born during the forty years Israel wandered in the wilderness, were also circumcised (Joshua 5:2-9). This physical act is symbolic of the removal of the sin nature in our hearts (Romans 2:29) (Deut 10:16) (Jer 4:4).
Years ago a group of seven men were moved by the plight of the backslidden churches around them. They made a covenant before God to seek Him on a regular basis until He sent revival. They faithfully met three nights a week to seek God, praying until four or five in the morning. They met like this for weeks until early one morning one of them arose from prayer and opened his bible and began to read from Psalm Twenty Four. "who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood (Psalm 24:3-4NASB).
The men were cut to the heart and all began to confess their sin and rededicate themselves to Christ anew. this was the beginning of a mighty revival that swept the Hebrides in 1949.
We must be clean to approach A holy God. We must put away sin and surrender ourselves to Him. He must have us before He will use us, but once cleansed and filled with His Spirit there is no end to the great things He can accomplish through us!
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
No Rights.
In society today, people cling tightly to their rights. We claim rights to property, possessions, feelings, and countless other rights. Just let someone infringe upon our rights and we get fired up, bent out of shape, and go to work protecting our right to whatever it is that is being threatened. This is especially true as Americans. Our country is founded upon the idea that we have certain rights that are guaranteed us, and laws are in place to protect those rights.
It is the same within the Church as well. The vast majority of people calling themselves Christians hold to what they feel are their rights. Once again, this is a product of the culture that we live in, a society founded upon the idea that we have rights guaranteed us.
However, this is not how the Kingdom of God works! As Disciples of Christ we are called to give up our rights! This is what Jesus means when He speaks of losing our lives for His sake (Mark 8:35). We are called to renounce, give up our right to all of our possessions (Luke 14:33). It will cost you everything to gain Christ (Philippians 3:8). All of your plans, hopes, and dreams, all of your money and finances, all of your friends and family are no longer yours. You give up your right to anger and bitterness. You give up your right to live and do as you please. You are no longer your own, you must relenquish the right to your very self (1 Corinthians 6:19).
We are so deceived. Many so called Christians today are living for themselves, clinging to their rights, standing up for things that do not really matter, pursuing things that have no value in the eyes of eternity. Jesus is looking for those who will deny themseves, take up their cross, and follow Him (Matthew 16:24-25). He is looking for those who will get up on that cross and die to themselves, so that He can live through them (Galatians 2:20). Nothing less than this can be called true Christianity.
It is the same within the Church as well. The vast majority of people calling themselves Christians hold to what they feel are their rights. Once again, this is a product of the culture that we live in, a society founded upon the idea that we have rights guaranteed us.
However, this is not how the Kingdom of God works! As Disciples of Christ we are called to give up our rights! This is what Jesus means when He speaks of losing our lives for His sake (Mark 8:35). We are called to renounce, give up our right to all of our possessions (Luke 14:33). It will cost you everything to gain Christ (Philippians 3:8). All of your plans, hopes, and dreams, all of your money and finances, all of your friends and family are no longer yours. You give up your right to anger and bitterness. You give up your right to live and do as you please. You are no longer your own, you must relenquish the right to your very self (1 Corinthians 6:19).
We are so deceived. Many so called Christians today are living for themselves, clinging to their rights, standing up for things that do not really matter, pursuing things that have no value in the eyes of eternity. Jesus is looking for those who will deny themseves, take up their cross, and follow Him (Matthew 16:24-25). He is looking for those who will get up on that cross and die to themselves, so that He can live through them (Galatians 2:20). Nothing less than this can be called true Christianity.
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