Wednesday, November 3, 2010

November 3, 2010 The Mark of Groaning

Jesus, God's faithful High Priest, has been revealing to us the idols that grieve Him-- all leading up to the exposure of the "image that provokes to jealousy."  Although there may very well be an historical outworking of this in the world, with the beast, false prophet and the "abomination of desolation," I am, right now, simply responding to the Spirit who is revealing spiritual conditions of the human heart.  In my understanding, this image that provokes God to jealousy is the self, sitting on the throne of the heart.  By now, we should have a clear sense of God's opinion of this.  If that is what we see in ourselves, then we must allow Christ to deal with it once and for all.  True salvation includes deliverance from the rule and worship of self.

God has work for His saints to do.  We're not just waiting around for the end to come~ we are called to be kings and priests with Him as His Kingdom grows upon the earth.  He intercedes 24/7 in the heavenlies and we are to minister with Him  (we are in the heavenlies when we walk in the Spirit).  This requires purification of heart so that we may be at one with Him and His purposes.  Once our hearts are cleansed and in unity with the Spirit, we begin to see what He is doing on the earth and to be united with His purposes.

We must understand that God allows things to come to fruition~  He lets them develop until they are fully grown.  It is then that things are seen for what they are, and God's judgments are shown to be righteous.  Ezekiel writes: "The rod has blossomed, pride has budded. Violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness." Ezekiel 7: 10b-11a NKJV  This is one reason we don't see God act on things when we think He ought to!  Yes, it is troublesome to have to put up with evil all around us, but the end is coming for all wickedness.

I'll never forget the first time I realized that I was supposed to be grieved over the evil in the world (before that, I sort of ignored it).  I had read a Scripture verse about Lot being troubled over the evil of his city (2 Peter 2:7 I suggest reading the different translations), and I realized that I wasn't all that bothered myself.  I began to pray for God's heart on it: wow, what a change that brought on!  Very uncomfortable, but how can we pray if we don't see things the way God does?

One of the reasons we don't want to see and feel God's way is that it makes us feel separated from humanity, and from the world we live in.  Most of us don't want to feel that way.  We have such an intense need to belong that we dull ourselves to the evil, or hide ourselves away in little pockets of Christian life.  No, of course we don't need to wallow in wickedness~  that's not what I'm getting it.  But you can hardly get away from it if you exist in the world.  It is how we respond to what we see that I'm talking about.  The sick feeling I get in my soul and spirit when I see the way the world is does not drive me to attack the world, rather it causes me to go before the throne of God for direction and grace.  I then receive His comfort, because He feels the same separation from the world, and so many of the people in it.  Christ came to bridge that separation, yet how many refuse to cross into the blessedness of God's light? And yet, His heart rejoices greatly in those who love Him, and His glorious plans for the future are real and sure.

Sharing God's hatred of evil and His love of the truth sets us apart from the world, and brings us into His realm of protection.  "And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side;  and the LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” Ezekiel 9: 3-4 NKJV  (Of course, we know this includes women too).  Part of the Lord's Prayer is "deliver us from evil".  Are we serious about praying this, or are we too concerned about how it will affect our lifestyle?

God's "secret place" is not always a very comfortable one, but it is a spiritually safe one.

These visions of Ezekiel today are some of the most chilling in the Bible to me.  This picture strikes at the heart of what is going on in the world and in our nation, not just historically in the past or future temple in Jerusalem:
"Then he said to me, 'Mortal, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of images?  For they say 'The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.'" Ezekiel 8:12 NRSV

Satan has dark strategies that are working out in the governments of man.  But there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.  We might as well face it:  God sees everything.  He's dealing with what's inside His people's hearts until we can join in praying wholeheartedly "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. . .deliver us from evil."  We ask the Spirit of Truth and Revelation to expose the darkness, bring those who will repent into the Kingdom of Christ, and to glorify His name in the lives of the people of God. 

Don't be afraid to see what the Lord shows you about what is happening in the world.  Because Christ is victorious, and so are you!

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

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