"Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts." 1st Corinthians 4:5 When the Lord comes there will be nothing that is not brought to light. Those things done in darkness, behind the scenes, secretly, bribes and threats and deals, gossip, hatred, sexual sins, and pride of heart ...ALL will be brought to the light, and all that lies in the "counsels of the hearts" will be revealed. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;' Jeremiah 17:9 We try to deny that, but the Holy Spirit gently shows us the truth about ourselves. Is there any hope for such as I? There IS hope. The God who made us knows how to save us. He knows how to change us. But he will never force it upon us. He has given us the gift of free will. The choice is ours. "CREATE IN ME a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10 Every one of us is born in a fallen, sinful state. "None is good, NO NOT ONE" (Romans 3:10). Wisdom is to acknowledge one's fallen state and turn to God for the solution. If a person remains as he is, he will die in his sins. But God offers to all the opportunity to be saved and cleansed and healed and made whole, and in HIM to find true peace and happiness. Turn to him, right now, and ASK. Pray with me: Father, I certainly see myself in your Word. You know the hidden things of darkness within me. You know the selfish, greedy counsels of my own heart from which I seek to get my own way, to get pleasure, to acquire riches and honor, and to look good in the eyes of man. You see in the counsels of my heart how I always justify myself both to myself and also to anyone who finds fault with me. In my heart I know better than to try to justify myself, but I lie to myself and convince myself that I was justified to do this, that, or the other. But the truth is that I am NOT justified. I am deceitful both to myself and to others. The counsels of my heart are always self-seeking. Lord Jesus, I know I need to acknowledge the truth about myself and confess to you my pride and the sins which serve my pride. I am a sinner, Lord, and there's no way I can escape that. I turn to you and plead for the forgiveness of my sins, because your Word says that you bore the judgment on my sins in your own body as you hung on that Cross. You gave your life for my salvation. But more than forgiveness, Lord, I ask you to deliver me from myself. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit with me." You are my only hope. But you are the only hope I need. "Be of sin the double cure: . save from wrath . and make me pure." Lyrics from "Rock of Ages"
"For whatever things were written before
were written for our learning,
that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures
might have hope."
Romans 15:4
Some do not read the "Old Testament" - thinking it was only for the Jews and that since Christ is the fulfillment of all that was written, they should read only the New Testament now.
What blessing, what richness they ignore. The Old Testament is filled with the revelation of God, the revelation of the Messiah, and the revelation of how God deals with men. Paul, in the New Testament, tells us that all of the Old Testament was written FOR US, for learning, and for the comfort of the Scriptures. By "the Scriptures" he means all of the Old Testament because when Paul wrote this, the New Testament had not yet been written. Paul was making it clear that "the Scriptures" mean all of it.
Jesus Christ is THE WORD from Genesis through Revelation.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God."
John 1:1
The Old Testament is a treasure trove of God revealing himself through the stories and writings contained there. For example, we see Abraham bringing his son Isaac to be sacrificed, Isaac willingly bearing the wood on his shoulders as they went to the top of Mount Moriah, the very place where many years later Jesus would bear the wood of the Cross and be sacrificed there. We see the Lord providing a goat for the sacrifice, so wonderfully showing that the sacrifice would be a substitutionary sacrifice - Jesus the sacrifice, in substitution for you and for me. It's the great picture of our redemption, and the Old Testament is filled with pictures and teachings, all about Jesus and what he accomplished for us.
Read the Old Testament, asking God to reveal Christ to you throughout. Ask him to open your eyes to behold the depths revealed there. There are many prophecies of the coming Messiah, and many "types," as exampled in the picture of the father sending the son to be sacrificed, bearing the wood on his shoulders, which is only one among MANY such types. Then there's the prophecies. Here's an example of the many prophecies of Christ:
"Behold, your King is coming to you;
he is just and having salvation,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 9:9
This prophecy written so long ago by the prophet Zechariah, foretold the day when Jesus would descend from the Mount of Olives on a donkey, and go into Jerusalem as recorded in Matthew 21:6. Imagine, the King of Kings coming ...on a donkey! Foretold and fulfilled hundreds of years beforehand. This is a small example of countless prophecies throughout the Old Testament concerning Jesus.
Take the challenge and read through the Old Testament looking for the many types and prophecies of Christ. You will be astonished. The more you read and reread, the more will be revealed to you.
"Then I said, 'Behold, I have come,
IN THE VOLUME OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME...'"
Hebrews 10:7
Speaking of the Old Testament to the Jewish people, BEFORE the New Testament was written, Jesus said:
"You search the Scriptures,
for in them you think you have eternal life;
and these are they which testify of me."
John 5:39
And surely they do. Jesus Christ is the Word. He is the Word from Genesis through Revelation, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end - IT'S ALL ABOUT HIM!
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast,
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
1st Corinthians 15:58
Steadfast. Immovable. Why does the Scripture have to stress this?
Because we have an enemy.
If you have been called, if you were chosen from before the foundation of the world to do a work for God in this generation, you can be absolutely sure beyond all question that the powers of hell will do all they can to stop you. You will come to know Satan as you have never known him before, and you will be shocked at the ferocity of his hatred for you. Sometimes the obstacles he puts in our way seem to be just overwhelming. One of his key methods of operation is to add affliction upon affliction. You just get through one thing, and he adds another. It's enough to discourage the strongest believer. And that's his intent, to so discourage you that you will give up.
But the Word of God anticipates this and counsels us to be steadfast and immovable. So how does one maintain that kind of patient endurance in the midst of a siege? I believe it's not humanly possible, because our enemy is an archangel, a supernatural being, and knows exactly where to hit us. The attacks will be personal and in the areas most dear to us. But the Word of God says that the Lord is our shelter, our refuge, our strong tower. We aren't expected to find the strength within ourselves, we are to run to HIM.
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe."
Proverbs 18:10
Brothers and sisters, the only way you're going to survive if you're actively serving the Lord is by spending TIME - TIME - in the presence of the Lord. If you neglect this, you'll be a sitting duck. If you neglect this you are in effect saying that you have enough resources within yourself to stand, that you don't NEED God, and that you're not willing to take the time to spend before him. Be very aware that Satan will also work against you in this very thing, doing all he can to prevent you from spending time before the Lord, because he knows that if you're faithful in this one thing that you will come to victory. He will put all kinds of obstacles before you to keep you from spending TIME before the Lord. He will make every effort to convince you that you can make it on your own, and if you believe that lie, he's got you.
We are in a day and age unlike any other. It is the last hour, and God is doing a mighty work throughout the world. Those who have been called to play a part in this must be very careful to stay close to the Commander, because we are in very dangerous territory laced with minefields.
"For a great and effective door has opened to me,
AND THERE ARE MANY ADVERSARIES."
1st Corinthians 16:9
Pray with me:
Father, impress upon me the seriousness of the time, and of the conflict I find myself in. Remind me constantly that no lone ranger is going to survive in this last-days story. Let your Holy Spirit bring powerful conviction upon me when I start to feel like I can handle it alone, for pride is perhaps the greatest impediment to victory. Draw me by your Spirit to spend TIME with you, at your feet, receiving the directions I need concerning how to proceed and soaking up the strength for the battle, FROM YOU.
And when I get it right, bless me with all the victory that can be had as I reach out to a lost and dying world, bringing to them the message of your great and wonderful salvation. In Jesus's Name. Amen.