1. Our GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE
1 Kings 18:24 I will call on the name of the LORD….Who answers by fire-He is God.
Job 1:16 The fire of God fell from the sky…
Leviticus 9:24 Fire came out from the presence of the LORD.
2 Samuel 22:9 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
Job 41:20 Smoke pours from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.
Job 41:19 Firebrands stream from his mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.
Job 41:21 His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from his mouth.
Exodus 24:17 The glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire.
Deut 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Deut 5:25 This great fire will consume us.
Psalm 83:14 fire that consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Psalm 97:3 Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side.
Deut 9:3 Be assured today that the LORD your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire.
2. HE SPEAKS OUT FROM THE FIRE
Exodus 13:21 By day the LORD went ahead of you in a pillar of cloud to guide them on you way and by night in a pillar of fire to give you light, so that you could travel by day or night.
Exodus 13:22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
Deut 1:33 The Lord your God, who went ahead of you, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you and to show you the way you should go.
Exodus 40:38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all during all your travels.
Numbers 9:15 From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.
Psalm 105:39 He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night.
Is 9:1 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
Jn 1:5 -1:9 The light shines in the darkness…The true light that gives light to every man… but the darkness has not understood it…
Numbers 9:16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.
Isaiah 4:5 Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy.
Deut 4:36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire.
Deut 5:24 "The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire.
Jn 12:30 This voice was for our benefit.
Hebrews 12:18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched;
Deut 4:11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.
Exo 10:21 Darkness that can be felt
Deut 5:23 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire.
Exodus 19:18 Covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently,
Deut 5:4 The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.
Deut 4:15 You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you.
Deut 4:12 The LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice.
Deut 5:22 These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness.
Deut 5:26 For what mortal man has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?
Deut 4:33 Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?
Deut 5:24 Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him.
3. REBELLION
*** LORD SPEAKING***
Jer 21:12 This is what the LORD says: " 'Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done- burn with no one to quench it.
Jer 17:27 If you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire.' "
***
Joshua 23:16 If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land.
Numbers 29:13 Present an offering made by fire
Numbers 28:13 A burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the LORD by fire.
Leviticus 6:9 The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar.
Joshua 7:1 But we acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things... So the LORD's anger burned against us.
Leviticus 10:1; and we offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command.
2 Samuel 6:7 The LORD's anger burned against us because of our irreverent act.
*** LORD SPEAKING***
Exo 22:29 This is what the Lord says, “Do not hold back your offerings from your granaries and your vats.”
Isaiah 43:22 “ Yet... you have not wearied yourselves for me. You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings, not honoured me with your sacrifices… you have not bought any fragrant calamus for me, or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offences.”
Isaiah 50:11 But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.
2 Kings 22:17 Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and provoked me to anger by all the idols their hands have made, and by everything they have done, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.'
Isaiah 37:19 For they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. (Isaiah’s words)
Micah 2:7 “Do not my words do good to him whose ways are upright? Lately my people have risen up like an enemy
Exo 22:20 Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed.
***
Isaiah 5:24 Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Deut 6:15 for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you.
Zechariah 8:2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her."
Deut 29:27 Therefore the LORD's anger burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book.
Deut 29:20 The LORD will never be willing to forgive us; his wrath and zeal will burn us. All the curses written in this book will fall upon us, and the LORD will blot out our name from under heaven.
Exodus 32:33 The Lord says, “Whoever sins against me I will blot out of my book”.
2 Kings 22:13 Great is the LORD's anger that burns against us because we have not obeyed the words of this book; we have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.
Isaiah 24:6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt.
Exodus 22:6 "If a fire breaks out and spreads… the one who started the fire must make restitution.
Exodus 21:25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
Exodus 15:7 In the greatness of majesty threw down those who opposed Him. He unleashed His burning anger; it consumed Us like stubble.
Job 28:5 The earth… is transformed below as by fire.
4. HIS WRATH BURNS
Deut11:17 Then the LORD's anger will burn
Psalm 78:21 he was very angry; his fire broke out … and his wrath rose …
Job 31:12 It is a fire that burns to Destruction
Isa 10:22 Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous. The Lord, the Lord Almighty will carry out the Destruction upon the whole land.
Hos 7:13 Destruction to us , for we have rebelled…
Isaiah 10:16 Therefore, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will send a wasting disease… a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame.
Lamentations 2:3 In fierce anger he has cut off every horn…He has burned… like a flaming fire that consumes everything around it.
Isaiah 10:17 The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers.
Job 20:23 God will vent his burning anger … and rain down his blows upon us.
Lamentations 4:11 The LORD has given full vent to his wrath; he has poured out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations.
Lamentations 2:4 Like an enemy he has strung his bow; his right hand is ready. Like a foe he has slain all who were pleasing to the eye; he has poured out his wrath like fire on the tent of the Daughter of Zion.
Isaiah 26:11 O LORD , your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.
Jer 43:12 He will set fire to the temples of the gods; he will burn their temples and take their gods captive.
Psalm 46:9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.
Psalm 120:4 He will punish you with a warrior's sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom tree.
Isaiah 42:25 So he poured out on them his burning anger, the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.
Isaiah 27:11 For this is a people without understanding; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
James 5:3 Gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.
Zephaniah 1:18 Neither your silver nor your gold will be able to save you on the day of the LORD's wrath. In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth.
1 Corinthians 3:13 Each of our work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.
Deut29:23 The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur-nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in fierce anger.
*** LORD SPEAKING ***
Deut 32:22 But now this is what the Lord says- he who created you… He who formed you… (Is 43:1) , For a fire has been kindled by my wrath, one that burns to the realm of death below. It will devour the earth and its harvests and set afire the foundations of the mountains.
Isaiah 65:1 To a nation who did not call on my name…all day long I held out my hands to an obstinate people… a people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices… and burning incense on altars of brick… and who say, 'Keep away; don't come near me, for I am too sacred for you!' Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day.
Gen 3:13 What is this you have done?
Hosea 8:5 Throw out your calf-idol…! My anger burns against them.
Malachi 1:10 "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you and I will accept no offering from your hands.
Eze 28:18 By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you.
Psalm 50:21 These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face.
Isaiah 65:6 I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay back into their laps… I will measure into their laps the full payment for their former deeds.
Eze 7:4 I will surely repay for your conduct and detestable practices among you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
Eze 7:3 I will judge you according to conduct
Eze 7:27 I will deal with them according to their conduct, and by their own standards I will judge them. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
Eze 15:7 I will set my face against them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the LORD.
Jer 17:4 Through your own fault you will lose the inheritance I gave you… for you have kindled my anger, and it will burn forever."
Jer 7:20 " My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground, and it will burn and not be quenched.
Isaiah 13:13 I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger.
Isaiah 41:20 So that the people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Isaiah 41:4 Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth generations from the beginning? I the Lord, with the first of them and with the last of them- I am he.
Isaiah 54:16 "See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I the Lord do all these things.
Amos 4:12 Therefore this is what I will do to you… and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God.
Amos 4:2 The time will surely come
Zephaniah 3:8 “Therefore wait for me for the day I will stand up to testify. I have decided to assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out my wrath on them- all my fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger.
Jer 4:18 Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!
This Place
Amos 2:5 “I will send fire upon Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem."
Jer 15:14 I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know, for my anger will kindle a fire that will burn against you.
Isaiah 1:7 Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire.
Obadiah 1:18 The house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; the house of Esau will be stubble, and they will set it on fire and consume it. … The LORD has spoken.
Eze 36:5 “In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland.
Amos 1:11 "For three sins of Edom, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath.
Isaiah 34:9 Edom's streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch!
Isaiah 30:33 Topheth has long been prepared…Its fire pit has been made deep and wide, with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.
Amos 1:7 I will send fire upon the walls of Gaza that will consume her fortresses.
Eze 30:8 Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I set fire to Egypt and all her helpers are crushed.
Amos 1:14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah that will consume her fortresses amid war cries on the day of battle, amid violent winds on a stormy day.
Jer 49:2 The days are coming when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites; it will become a mound of ruins, and its surrounding villages will be set on fire.
Amos 2:2 I will send fire upon Moab that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.
Moab will go down in great tumult amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet.
Jer 48:45 "In the shadow of Heshbon the fugitives stand helpless, for a fire has gone out from Heshbon, a blaze from the midst of Sihon; it burns the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of the noisy boasters.
Eze 39:6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the LORD .
Amos 1:10 I will send fire upon the walls of Tyre that will consume her fortresses."
Amos 1:12 I will send fire upon Teman that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah."
Jer 49:27 "I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad."
Amos 1:4 I will send fire upon the house of Hazael that will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.
Jer 51:30 Babylon's warriors have stopped fighting; they remain in their strongholds... Her dwellings are set on fire; the bars of her gates are broken.
Jer 51:32 the river crossings seized, the marshes set on fire, and the soldiers terrified.
Jer 51:49 Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain, just as the slain in all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.
Micah 2:3 “ I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.”
Jer 50:32 The arrogant one will stumble and fall and no one will help her up; I will kindle a fire in her towns that will consume all who are around her." (Babylon)
Jer 51:25 "I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth," declares the LORD . "I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain. (About Babylon)
***
Micah 1:4 The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.
Revelation 18:8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
** Man and Beast
Isaiah 10:16 Therefore, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon the Assyrian sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame.
Daniel 3:22 The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers
Isaiah 9:5 Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
Isaiah 1:31 The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the fire.
Job 15:30 He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God's mouth will carry him away.
Psalm 78:63 Fire consumed their young men, and their maidens had no wedding songs.
Isaiah 33:12 The peoples will be burned as if to lime; like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze.
Nahum 3:15 There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down and… consume you.
Nahum 3:13 The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has consumed their bars.
*** LORD SPEAKING ***
Nahum 2:13 "I am against you," declares the LORD Almighty. "I will burn up your chariots in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions."
Isaiah 31:9 Their stronghold will fall because of terror; at sight of the battle standard their commanders will panic," declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 33:11 You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw; your breath is a fire that consumes you.
Eze 23:25 I will direct my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in fury….They will take away your sons and daughters, and those of you who are left will be consumed by fire.
Zechariah 10:3 "My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders.
Jer 4:13 From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practise deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace’, they say, when there is not peace… So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them.
Hos 7:7 All of them fall, but none of them call on me.
Amos 4:11 "I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me," declares the LORD.
Jer 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD , circumcise your hearts…or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done- burn with no one to quench it.
Joel 2:12 “Even now… return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.
Eze 18:23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?.. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
Is 27:5 Let them make peace with me, yes, Let them make peace with me.
Amos 5:4 “Seek me and live”
***
***Trees and Fruit- The Forest
Amos 5:6 Seek the LORD and live, or he will sweep through the house like a fire; it will devour, and will have no one to quench it.
Joel 1:19 To you, O LORD, I call - for fire has devoured the open pastures and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.
Joel 1:20 Even the wild animals pant … the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the open pastures.
Psalm 80:16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish.
Jer 11:16 The LORD called you a thriving olive tree with fruit beautiful in form. But with the roar of a mighty storm he will set it on fire, and its branches will be broken.
Hebrews 6:8 Land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
Mt 3:10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Mt 3:12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Is 10:18 The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy… and the remaining trees of his forest will be so few.
Psalm 118:12 … they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD.
*** LORD SPEAKING ***
Eze 20:47 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Say to the southern forest: 'Hear the word of the LORD. I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it.
Eze 15:6 As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people.
John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch… that bears no fruit, while every branch… that bears fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful….
John 15:5 I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.
John 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
John 15:6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
Mt 13:30 At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'
Jer 22:7 I will send destroyers against you, each man with his weapons, and they will cut up your fine cedar beams and throw them into the fire.
Mt 13:40 "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire…
Mt 7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Mt 7:17 Every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
Mk 11:20 May no one ever eat fruit from you again.
Eze 19:12 It was uprooted in fury and thrown to the ground. The east wind made it shrivel, it was stripped of its fruit; its strong branches withered and fire consumed them.
Eze 19:14 Fire spread from one of its main branches and consumed its fruit. No strong branch is left on it.'
Mt 7:16, 20A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit… By their fruit you will recognize them…
Malachi 4:1 "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them.
Jer 21:14 I will punish you as your deeds deserve, declares the LORD . I will kindle a fire in your forests that will consume everything around you.' "
Isaiah 66:24 "And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."
Eze 21:32 You will be fuel for the fire, your blood will be shed in your land, you will be remembered no more; for I the LORD have spoken.' "
***
WICKED
Psalm 11:6 On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot.
Psalm 106:18 Fire blazed among their followers; a flame consumed the wicked.
Isaiah 9:18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns, it sets the forest thickets ablaze, so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
Psalm 68:2 As smoke is blown away by the wind… blow them away; as wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God.
Psalm 140:10 Let burning coals fall upon them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise.
Eze 24:11 Then set the empty pot on the coals till it becomes hot and its copper glows so its impurities may be melted and its deposit burned away.
Jer 6:29 The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire
Job 15:34 For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes.
Job 18:15 Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling.
Job 20:26 Total darkness lies in wait for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent….
JUDGMENT
Hebrews 10:27 But only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
Amos 7:4 The Sovereign LORD was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land.
Isaiah 66:16 For with fire and with his sword the LORD will execute judgment upon all men, and many will be those slain by the LORD.
Isaiah 4:4 The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by the Spirit of judgment and the Spirit of fire.
Jn 17:8 When He comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.
Daniel 11:33 "Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered.
QUESTIONS
Isaiah 33:14 The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: "Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?"
Deut29:24 All the nations will ask: "Why has the LORD done this to this land? Why this fierce, burning anger?"
Habakkuk 2:13 Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the people's labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?
Proverbs 6:27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?
Psalm 89:46 How long, O LORD ? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?
Psalm 79:5 How long, O LORD ? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
Nahum 1:6 Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him.
Rev 6:17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?
Malachi 3:2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?
*** LORD SPEAKING ***
Mal 3:5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me.
Hos 5:1 This is judgment against you
Eze 38:22 I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.
Eze 20:48 Everyone will see that I the LORD have kindled it; it will not be quenched.'"
Joel 2:30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
Eze 11:10 I will execute judgment on you… Then you will know that I am the Lord.
***
2 Kings 23:26 Nevertheless, the LORD did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh we had done to provoke him to anger.
Isaiah 5:25 Therefore the LORD's anger burns against his people; his hand is raised and he strikes them down. The mountains shake, and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
5. Destruction
Revelation 8:5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
Revelation 8:7 The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
Revelation 16:8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire.
Revelation 9:17 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet… and out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of a scorpion of the earth… The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur.
Joel 2:4 They have the appearance of horses, they gallop like cavalry. With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle.
Revelation 9:18 A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths.
Revelation 15:2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea.
Daniel 7:9 "As I looked, "thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.
Revelation 1:14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
Daniel 7:10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
Revelation 20:15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:14 The lake of fire is the second death.
Revelation 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
Mt 25:41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Mark 9:48 where " 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.
Rev 14:7 Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come.
6. HE COMES IN FIRE
Psalm 50:3 Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages.
Isaiah 29:6 the LORD Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of a devouring fire.
Isaiah 30:30 The LORD will cause men to hear his majestic voice and will make them see his arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail.
Isaiah 66:15 See, the LORD is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
Isaiah 30:27 See, the Name of the LORD comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire.
Eze 1:4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north-an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man
Eze 1:22 Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice, and awesome.
Eze 1:26 Above the expanse was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man from his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
Isaiah 64:2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you!
Psalm 21:9 At the time of His appearing He will make them like a fiery furnace. In his wrath the LORD will swallow them up, and his fire will consume them.
Psalm 46:8 Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth.
2 Thessalonians 1:7 This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare and be burned up.
*** LORD SPEAKING ***
Rev 16:15 Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that you may not go naked and he shamefully exposed.
Luke 12:49 "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
Jn 9:39 For judgment I have come into this world.
Jn 12:30 Now is the time for judgment on this world
Jn 5:30 I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just.
Malachi 4:1 "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them.
Zechariah 2:5 “And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,' declares the LORD , 'and I will be its glory within.'
Jn 12:23 The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Jn 13:31 Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
Rev 22:20 Yes, I am coming soon.
Rev 2:25 Hold on to what you have until I come.
AMEN HOLY SPIRIT
7. WE ARE THE FIRE OF OUR GOD
When the Perfect Storm of the Holy Spirit comes, it will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of a devouring fire, (Is 29:6) and at the same time, Rain will come in torrents… hailstones hurtling down and violent winds will burst forth (Eze 13:11). But neither the rain nor the winds, nor the hailstones will put out the devouring fire, because it will be an inextinguishable eternal fire of God. As fire is a part of God’s creation, so too are we part of His creation, for we are the fire of God that burns for Him below the heavens and on the earth. We are the fire than burns for Him and in Him, by Him and through Him. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. (Psalm 104:4) We are the servants which bear the fire of our God in our hearts and keep His flame burning until all He has set out to do is achieved and His grief is released and His wrath is spent, and peace for God is finally here.
"The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out; the flame of his fire stops burning.” Job 18:5, but we are the fire that must be kept burning on the altar continuously; our fire must not go out. (Lev 6:13) We are the ones who listen to Jesus and obey Him when He says, "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning” (Luke 12:35), we must keep our lamps burning continuously before the Lord from evening till morning and till evening again (Lev 28:20). We will not let our flames of love for Jesus grow cold, but will stand firm with our lamps ablaze to the end. If we do not stand firm with fires ablaze, we do not stand at all. And if we allow our flames of burning desire for Jesus and the glory that He can bring to the Father to cool or flicker or go out in the coming storm, then because our flames our lukewarm- neither cold nor hot, or non-existent, He will spit out of His mouth. If we are spat out of the Lord’s mouth, we are no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men, we will be cut down and thrown into the fire, burning us up with an unquenchable fire of eternal contempt since we failed to keep our flames burning for Him in the first place.
Jesus came and sanctified us by the truth, God’s word is truth. We are already clean because of the word He has spoken to us, and the obeying and practising of His word allows us to remain in Him and His word remains in us. It is a process of purification and refining, as when the Lord says in Zech 13:9 “This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.”
Because anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean. It must also be purified with the water of cleansing. And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water. (Num 31:23) Everyone will be salted with fire. (Mark 9:49) Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. (Lk 14:34)
I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, and the Spirit gives birth to spirit. (Jn 3:5). We have already been baptized with water for repentance, and with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He let us ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, and He brought us to a place of abundance. (Psalm 66:12)
The Lord’s Word is the fire that has been aroused and awakened in our hearts. The seed for our burning desire to come close to God through His Word has been planted, and our flames of love for Him have been ignited, but the heat and the temperature of our fire is up to us. It is still our freewill to have our fire red hot, icy cool or mildly lukewarm. But when we set ourselves outside to allow the Lord’s word to fully dwell in us in all of its intended heat and fiery passion, and with His word brings His love, His glorification, His peace, the power of His Holy Spirit and the fulfilment of His dreams and hopes, then we are like the 3 men in Daniel (Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego) who was thrown into the blazing furnace- fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. (Daniel 3:25_ King Nebuchadezzar said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Likewise, we who are fire cannot be harmed by fire, and the Lord Himself will walk amongst His fire in us and fellowship with us in the heat of our desire for our closeness with Him in all the elements of this Creation. The Lord says to us: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” (Isaiah 43:2)
In Jer 23:29 The LORD declares, "Is not my word like fire, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” His Word is a fire sent from on high, sent down into our bones. (Lam 1:13) Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us and opened the Scriptures to us? (Luke 24:32) But if we say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in our heart like a fire, a fire shut up in our bones. We are weary of holding it in; indeed, we cannot. (Jer 20:9) The Word of God has to be released by us for Him once its fullness is formed in us, so that it will accomplish all He desires. Whatever we bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever we loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. What we bind in heaven is the Word of God to our hearts, and what we loose on earth is His Word from His heart.
It is not something we should take for granted or treat with lukewarm respect. We must fan into flame the gift of God, which is in us (2 Timothy 1:6). We do not put out the Spirit’s fire in us (1 Thess 5:19). If the Spirit’s fire in us goes out, we have become lamps that have gone out before the Lord as we failed to tend to the lamps continually. When we put out the Spirit’s fire in us, the word of God in us will cease to be a burning and devouring flame which is useful for the Lord as all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16), and we ourselves can no longer be used effectively by the Lord to correct, rebuke and encourage ourselves and others. (2 Tim 4:6).
The Word of God came through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It was sown in our hearts and we received and retained it in our hearts through perseverance. If we treasure the Word of God as a fire our hearts - for we have this treasure in clay jars to show that this all surpassing power is from God, and not from us- and if we completely and totally immerse our hearts into Him and His Word, then out of the overflow of our hearts, we will speak the fire which is the Word of God, for out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. Since we are One with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, then we can be used by the Lord to bring out all the things stored up in Him.
This is what the LORD God Almighty says: "Because the people have spoken these words, I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes.” (Jer 5:14) Our hearts will grow hot within us, and as we meditated, the fire burned; then we spoke with our tongue (Psalm 39:3), and what we speak is the words of fire that is our God- Words that pierces the heart and cause the weeping and gnashing of teeth. Just like the 2 Witnesses in Revelation 11:5 - If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies- the word of God is a fire that burns from within for His justice and victory. The fire is the Word that from His heart into our hearts, and then from His mouth to our mouths -as One heart and One mouth- to release and accomplish all that His wrath and anger have set out to achieve. We are the fire of our God. Just like when the Spirit of God came upon Saul in power, and he burned with anger, and he went forth and carried out the Lord’s purposes. (1 Sam 11:6) Make no mistake, it is always the Holy Spirit doing His work through us, and not the other way around.
When Mary Magdalene had seven demons driven out by the Lord, from then on her fire for the Lord was aroused and awakened, and from thereon, she did whatever is right to her because of the fire in her heart for Jesus and Jesus alone. When she sat listening at the Lord’s feet, when she poured perfume and ran it through His hair, when she stood afar watching His crucified body, when she ran to the tomb when the earthquake rumbled, and when she held on to dear life of His resurrected body, she was burning for Jesus with a fire of Godly intensity, holy and beautiful unto the Lord. She was the first in her generation to have her flames for Jesus ignited at full strength. Mary was the bush that was on fire which Moses saw, the bush that was set on fire but did not burn up. Mary Magdalene’s flame was burning alight and displayed for all the people to see, a strange sight which the people did not understand because they did not look past and into the fire to see the fire of God burning within her, and so they missed it and their hearts remained cold towards Jesus. Previously, the Father had to send an angel to appear in the flames of fire from within a bush (Exo 3:2), but now, the Father sends us as flames of fire for Jesus and to accomplish the things of God for His Son’s return. Mary was the first to have her fire of God fully ignited by God for Jesus, but she must not be the last, nor the only one in her generation.
To end: The Song of Solomon 8:6 sings: Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame, like the very flame of the LORD…. Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.
The question to you today is: Has the Lord awakened and aroused your fire for Him?
AMEN HOLY SPIRIT
29 November 2003
15 November 2003
The Holy Spirit - The Perfect Storm
Wind, Rain and Thunder
Feel, Hear, Smell, Taste and See
1. CREATION
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen1:1)
Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? (Pr 30:4)
Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew? (Lord’s words Job 38:28)
“Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm?� (Lord’s words Job 38:25)
He established the force of the wind and measured out the waters, when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm (Job 28:25)
He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.' (Job 37:6)
He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
(Psalm107:29)
"Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail…?� (Lord’s words Job 38:22)
Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, 'Here we are'? (Job 38:35)
Lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding (Psalm 148:8)
Who then can understand the thunder of his power? (Job 26:14)
Can your voice thunder like his? (Job 40:9)
God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. (Job 37:5)
Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds, how he thunders from his pavilion? (Job 36:29)
Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? (Job 37:15)
“Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? (Lord’s words Job 38:34)
Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens? (Lord’s words Job 38:37)
Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who is perfect in knowledge? (Job 37:16)
By his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. (Pr 3:20)
He established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep (Proverbs 8:28)
Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you. (Job 35:5)
He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it. (Job 26:9)
He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. (Job 26:8)
He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him� (Lk 8:23)
As you do not know the path of the wind, or how life and spirit is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. (Ecc 11:5)
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from, or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.� (Lord’s words- Jn 3:8)
He who forms the mountains, Creates the wind, Reveals his thoughts to man,
he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth- the Lord God Almighty is His Name. (Amos 4:13)
2. GOD ALMIGHTY GIVES RAIN
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish… so is His word that goes out from His mouth, it will not return to Him empty, but will accomplish what He desires, and achieve the purpose for which He sent it� (Lord words- Is 55:9)
The Lord does whatever that pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and in the depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; He sends lightning with the rain, and brings out the wind from his storehouses. (Ps 135:7)
He sends his word and melts them (hail); he stirs up his breezes and waters flows (Ps 147:18)
He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them. (Job 37:11)
He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. (Psalm 147:8)
"He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams. The clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind. (Job 36:27-8)
Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; it is the LORD who makes the storm clouds. He gives showers of rain to men. (Zech 10:1)
He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground (Is 20:23)
He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven. (Acts 14:7)
When a king's face brightens, it means life; his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.(Pr 16:5)
He brings the clouds to punish men, or to water his earth and show his love. (Job 37:13)
Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, O LORD our God. (Jer 14:22)
"There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. (Deut 33:26)
Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season. (Jer 5:24)
A Rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne (Rev 4:3)
He has set His rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Him and the earth. (Gen9:16)
Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, He will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." (Lord HS? word Gen 9:16)
3. REBELLION
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet. Nahum 1:3
But - All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isaiah 64:6)
Ephraim feeds on the wind; he pursues the east wind all day and multiplies lies with violence. (Hos 12:1)
These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. (2 Peter 2:17)
" it is our fault that this great storm has come." (Jonah 1:12)
4. JUDGMENT
“You are in a land that has had no rain or showers in the day of wrath� (Lord’s words- Eze 22:24)
“He withheld rain from you� (Lord’s words- Am4:7)
“The ground is cracked because there is no rain in the land� (Lord’s word Jer14:4)
But “In His wrath He will unleash a violent wind, and in His anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury� (Lord’s words- Eze 13:13)
“Rain will come in torrents… hailstones hurtling down and violent winds will burst forth� (Lords words- Eze 13:11)
“A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows towards His people, but not to winnow and cleanse; a wind too strong for that comes from Him at His command. Now He pronounces judgment against them� (Lord’s words- Jer 4:12)
Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. (1 Sam 2:10)
'A sword, a sword, drawn for the slaughter, polished to consume and to flash like lightning! (Eze 21:28)
It is made to flash like lightning, it is grasped for slaughter. (Eze 21:5)
His judgments flashed like lightning upon us. (Lord’s word Ho 6:5)
For judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the clouds. (Jer 51:9)
His thunder announces the coming storm. (Job 36:33)
5. DAY IS NEAR
“The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you� (Lord’s word Ob 1:15)
“The great day of the Lord is near- near and coming quickly� (Lord words Zep 1:14)
For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near- a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations. (Ezekiel 30:3)
That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness (Zep 1:15)
In that day … if one looks at the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be darkened by the clouds. (Isaiah 5:30)
“A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness… such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come.� (Lord’s words -Joel 2:2)
“On that day, there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime- a day known to the Lord. When evening comes, there will be light� (Lord word Zech 14:7)
The LORD Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of a devouring fire. (Isaiah 29:6)
6. DAY OF WRATH
Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose. (Jonah 1:4)
Amid violent winds on a stormy day. (Lord’s words -Amos 1:14)
He let loose the east wind from the heavens and led forth the south wind by his power. Psalm 78:26
“An east wind from the Lord will come, blowing in from the desert� (Hos 13:15)
With a scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the River (Isaiah 11:15)
With his fierce blast he drives her out, as on a day the east wind blows. (Isaiah 27:8)
And that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain all the people stood in awe… (1 Samuel 12:18)
There came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. (Rev 8:5)
He turned rain into hail, with lightning throughout their land (Ps105:32)
The LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky (Jos 10:11)
He hurls down his hail like pebbles. (Ps 147:17)
Hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth (Rev 8:7)
From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men (Rev 16:17)
Hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land…hail struck everything (Ex 9:24-5)
The worst hailstorm that has ever fallen. (Exodus 9:18)
Who can withstand his icy blast? (Ps 147:17)
7. DESTRUCTIION is COMPLETE
The LORD called you a thriving olive tree with fruit beautiful in form. But with the roar of a mighty storm he will set it on fire, and its branches will be broken.
(Jer 11:16)
He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet. (Ps 78:47)
“Will it not wither completely when the east wind strikes it-wither away in the plot where it grew?' " (Lord’s words Eze 17:10)
“The east wind made it shrivel, it was stripped off its fruit; its strong branches withered and fire consumed them� (Lord’s words- Eze 19:12)
"Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth." (Lord’s words- Jeremiah 25:32)
A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. (John 6:18)
Buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. (Mt 14:24)
“The east wind will break you to pieces in the heart of the sea� (Lord’s words- Eze 27:26)
No man has power over the wind to contain it (Ecc 8:8)
Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm.
(Isaiah 32:2)
Hurry to place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm. (Psalm 55:8)
Hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. (Is 28:17)
Though his pride reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds (Job 20:6)
“From there He will bring you down� (Lords words Ob 1:4)
“The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash� (Lord’s words-Mt 7:27)
8. SEE and HEAR HIS RETURN
See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, He will throw it forcefully to the ground. (Is 28:2)
See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. (Jer 30:23)
See, the Name of the LORD comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire. (Is 30:27)
He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. (Ps104:3)
Look! He advances like the clouds, his chariots come like a whirlwind. (Jer4:13)
I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north - an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal. (Ezekiel 1:4)
His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. (Mt 28:3)
His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. (Dan 10:6)
Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him … the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. (Ezekiel 1:28)
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning (Psalm 18:12)
Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth. (2 Sam 22:13)
See how he scatters his lightning about him, bathing the depths of the sea. (Job 36:30)
After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back. (Job 37:4)
the Lord answered out of the storm (Job 38:1)
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. (Ps 18:13)
'The LORD will roar from on high; he will thunder from his holy dwelling and roar mightily against his land. He will … shout against all who live on the earth.’ (Lord’s words Jer 25:30)
The LORD will cause men to hear his majestic voice and will make them see his arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail. (Isaiah 30:30)
The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning. (Ps 29:7)
Thunder was heard in the whirlwind… lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. (Ps 77:18)
His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. (Ps 97:4)
The earth shook, the heavens poured down rain, before God. (Ps 68:8)
Him who rides the ancient skies above, who thunders with mighty voice. (Ps 68:33)
That day the LORD thundered with loud thunder (1 Sam 7:10)
At the thunder of His voice, the peoples flee. (Is 33:3)
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters. (Ps 29:3)
Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea- the LORD on high is mighty. (Ps 93:4)
9. HE IS BACK!
From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. (Rev 4:5)
Then God's temple in heaven was opened… And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm. (Revelation 11:19)
He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet…He made darkness his canopy around him- the dark rain clouds of the sky. (2 Samuel 22:10-2)
Thick clouds veil him (Job 22:14)
Clouds and thick darkness surround him (Ps 97:2)
Then the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south. (Zech 9:14)
Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of His flying arrows, at the lightning of His flashing spear. (Hab 3:11)
There was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. (Ex 19:16)
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. (Ex 20:18)
I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. (Lk 10:18)
For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. (Lk 17:24)
For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matt 24:27)
Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. (Rev 1:7)
“The Lord will come, and all the holy ones with him.� (Lord word Zec 14:5)
"Yes…In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Lord’s words-Mt 26:64)
"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky… the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.� (Lord’s words-Mt 24:30)
And there was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. (Daniel 7:13)
And He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Mt 24:31)
10. FIRST RESURRECTION
Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on His garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad. (Song of Solomon 4:16)
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (1 Th 4:16-17)
He I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. (Lord word Ezekiel 34:12)
And there were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Daniel 7:2
" 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.�… And breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet- a vast army. Ezekiel 37:9
Sons of Thunder (Mk 3:17)
The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the LORD is great (Joel 2:11)
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like spring rains that water the earth (Hos 6:3)
“Indeed, the water He give us will become in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life.� (Jn 4:14)
“He who stands firm to the end will be saved� (Lord’s words –Mt 24:13)
“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all� (Lord’s words – Is 7:1)
We rise up and stand firm (Ps 20:8)
“Stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.� (Lord’s words- Lk 21:18)
“Stand up before the Son of Man� (Lord’s words- Lk 21:28)
Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting (Ne 9:5)
11. RESTORATION OF ZION
The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people. (Joel 3:16)
The LORD roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem (Am 1:2)
Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely (Is 32:19)
"afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, He will build with stones of turquoise, foundations with sapphires. (Lord’s words- Isaiah 54:11)
Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness� (Joe 2:23)
“If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain� (Lord word Zec 14:18)
"Heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it.� (Lord’s word Isaiah 45:8)
12. AFTER THE STORM
See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. (SS 2:11)
The thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. (Ex 9:33)
Thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the LORD's. (Ex 9:29)
When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever. (Proverbs 10:25)
REJOICE!!
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. (Rev 19:6)
The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad, let the distant shores rejoice (Ps 97:1)
“Acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.� (Lord’s word Is 29:23)
“Before Him me every knee will bow; by Him me every tongue will swear� (Lord’s word- Is 45:23)
Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! (Rev 19:7)
MILLENIUL REIGN
Therefore rejoice you heavens and who dwell in them! (Rev 12:12)
Rejoice saints and apostles and prophets! (Rev 18:20)
“Rejoice that your names are written in heaven� (Lord’s word- Lk 10:20)
And so we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Th 4:16-17
So shall it be! Amen.
***
This is the law of the storm. The laws of the heavens regarding the prescribed time and the design of the storm, as to its light, its colors and its span across the whole space of the earth, have been laid down. And the words which are loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven. The day will come at the appointed hour, whether we like it or not, whether we agree with it or oppose it. It is proper for it to come to fulfill all righteousness. This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s word will never pass away.
The question now to you is, when the storm comes, whose side are you on? In these last days, with whom have you formed an alliance, and to whom did you pledge an allegiance? He who is not with the Holy Spirit is against Him, and he who does not gather with the Holy Spirit scatters. When the day comes, and it will, will you be one who flees, or one who rejoices because the object of your hopes and dreams, your Lord and God, your redemption is drawing near. Rejoicing that the wrath that your God holds in Him is finally released, and He himself released with it.
So today, if you have yet to know Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior, here is an incentive to do so for His day is near and come quickly, now is the time to put down everything and follow Him. The right time for you to do so is now because anytime is right to follow Jesus. Honor the Lord, just as Mary Magdalene did, for she knew what had to be done at the right time, and she went forth and did it for Him.
In John 20, at the Holy Spirit’s arrival, the Lord’s disciples received the Holy Spirit as a gentle breath from Him. And when they inhaled His breath, they received the Holy Spirit into their flesh, mind heart spirit and soul. Then in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit came to a public place where the people gathered. He came as a violent wind from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. So too for us, at the final hour, the Holy Spirit will depart from us as a soft gentle wind. But He will not leave the world like a gentle caress of an exhaled breath, He will leave the world as a storm- a violent storm, an urgent storm, an unstoppable storm- The Holy Spirit- The Perfect Storm.
***
Feel, Hear, Smell, Taste and See
1. CREATION
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen1:1)
Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? (Pr 30:4)
Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew? (Lord’s words Job 38:28)
“Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm?� (Lord’s words Job 38:25)
He established the force of the wind and measured out the waters, when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm (Job 28:25)
He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.' (Job 37:6)
He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
(Psalm107:29)
"Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail…?� (Lord’s words Job 38:22)
Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, 'Here we are'? (Job 38:35)
Lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding (Psalm 148:8)
Who then can understand the thunder of his power? (Job 26:14)
Can your voice thunder like his? (Job 40:9)
God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. (Job 37:5)
Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds, how he thunders from his pavilion? (Job 36:29)
Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? (Job 37:15)
“Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? (Lord’s words Job 38:34)
Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens? (Lord’s words Job 38:37)
Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who is perfect in knowledge? (Job 37:16)
By his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. (Pr 3:20)
He established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep (Proverbs 8:28)
Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you. (Job 35:5)
He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it. (Job 26:9)
He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. (Job 26:8)
He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him� (Lk 8:23)
As you do not know the path of the wind, or how life and spirit is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. (Ecc 11:5)
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from, or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.� (Lord’s words- Jn 3:8)
He who forms the mountains, Creates the wind, Reveals his thoughts to man,
he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth- the Lord God Almighty is His Name. (Amos 4:13)
2. GOD ALMIGHTY GIVES RAIN
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish… so is His word that goes out from His mouth, it will not return to Him empty, but will accomplish what He desires, and achieve the purpose for which He sent it� (Lord words- Is 55:9)
The Lord does whatever that pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and in the depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; He sends lightning with the rain, and brings out the wind from his storehouses. (Ps 135:7)
He sends his word and melts them (hail); he stirs up his breezes and waters flows (Ps 147:18)
He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them. (Job 37:11)
He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. (Psalm 147:8)
"He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams. The clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind. (Job 36:27-8)
Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; it is the LORD who makes the storm clouds. He gives showers of rain to men. (Zech 10:1)
He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground (Is 20:23)
He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven. (Acts 14:7)
When a king's face brightens, it means life; his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.(Pr 16:5)
He brings the clouds to punish men, or to water his earth and show his love. (Job 37:13)
Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, O LORD our God. (Jer 14:22)
"There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. (Deut 33:26)
Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season. (Jer 5:24)
A Rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne (Rev 4:3)
He has set His rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Him and the earth. (Gen9:16)
Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, He will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." (Lord HS? word Gen 9:16)
3. REBELLION
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet. Nahum 1:3
But - All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isaiah 64:6)
Ephraim feeds on the wind; he pursues the east wind all day and multiplies lies with violence. (Hos 12:1)
These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. (2 Peter 2:17)
" it is our fault that this great storm has come." (Jonah 1:12)
4. JUDGMENT
“You are in a land that has had no rain or showers in the day of wrath� (Lord’s words- Eze 22:24)
“He withheld rain from you� (Lord’s words- Am4:7)
“The ground is cracked because there is no rain in the land� (Lord’s word Jer14:4)
But “In His wrath He will unleash a violent wind, and in His anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury� (Lord’s words- Eze 13:13)
“Rain will come in torrents… hailstones hurtling down and violent winds will burst forth� (Lords words- Eze 13:11)
“A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows towards His people, but not to winnow and cleanse; a wind too strong for that comes from Him at His command. Now He pronounces judgment against them� (Lord’s words- Jer 4:12)
Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. (1 Sam 2:10)
'A sword, a sword, drawn for the slaughter, polished to consume and to flash like lightning! (Eze 21:28)
It is made to flash like lightning, it is grasped for slaughter. (Eze 21:5)
His judgments flashed like lightning upon us. (Lord’s word Ho 6:5)
For judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the clouds. (Jer 51:9)
His thunder announces the coming storm. (Job 36:33)
5. DAY IS NEAR
“The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you� (Lord’s word Ob 1:15)
“The great day of the Lord is near- near and coming quickly� (Lord words Zep 1:14)
For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near- a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations. (Ezekiel 30:3)
That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness (Zep 1:15)
In that day … if one looks at the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be darkened by the clouds. (Isaiah 5:30)
“A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness… such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come.� (Lord’s words -Joel 2:2)
“On that day, there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime- a day known to the Lord. When evening comes, there will be light� (Lord word Zech 14:7)
The LORD Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of a devouring fire. (Isaiah 29:6)
6. DAY OF WRATH
Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose. (Jonah 1:4)
Amid violent winds on a stormy day. (Lord’s words -Amos 1:14)
He let loose the east wind from the heavens and led forth the south wind by his power. Psalm 78:26
“An east wind from the Lord will come, blowing in from the desert� (Hos 13:15)
With a scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the River (Isaiah 11:15)
With his fierce blast he drives her out, as on a day the east wind blows. (Isaiah 27:8)
And that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain all the people stood in awe… (1 Samuel 12:18)
There came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. (Rev 8:5)
He turned rain into hail, with lightning throughout their land (Ps105:32)
The LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky (Jos 10:11)
He hurls down his hail like pebbles. (Ps 147:17)
Hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth (Rev 8:7)
From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men (Rev 16:17)
Hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land…hail struck everything (Ex 9:24-5)
The worst hailstorm that has ever fallen. (Exodus 9:18)
Who can withstand his icy blast? (Ps 147:17)
7. DESTRUCTIION is COMPLETE
The LORD called you a thriving olive tree with fruit beautiful in form. But with the roar of a mighty storm he will set it on fire, and its branches will be broken.
(Jer 11:16)
He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet. (Ps 78:47)
“Will it not wither completely when the east wind strikes it-wither away in the plot where it grew?' " (Lord’s words Eze 17:10)
“The east wind made it shrivel, it was stripped off its fruit; its strong branches withered and fire consumed them� (Lord’s words- Eze 19:12)
"Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth." (Lord’s words- Jeremiah 25:32)
A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. (John 6:18)
Buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. (Mt 14:24)
“The east wind will break you to pieces in the heart of the sea� (Lord’s words- Eze 27:26)
No man has power over the wind to contain it (Ecc 8:8)
Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm.
(Isaiah 32:2)
Hurry to place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm. (Psalm 55:8)
Hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. (Is 28:17)
Though his pride reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds (Job 20:6)
“From there He will bring you down� (Lords words Ob 1:4)
“The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash� (Lord’s words-Mt 7:27)
8. SEE and HEAR HIS RETURN
See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, He will throw it forcefully to the ground. (Is 28:2)
See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. (Jer 30:23)
See, the Name of the LORD comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire. (Is 30:27)
He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. (Ps104:3)
Look! He advances like the clouds, his chariots come like a whirlwind. (Jer4:13)
I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north - an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal. (Ezekiel 1:4)
His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. (Mt 28:3)
His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. (Dan 10:6)
Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him … the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. (Ezekiel 1:28)
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning (Psalm 18:12)
Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth. (2 Sam 22:13)
See how he scatters his lightning about him, bathing the depths of the sea. (Job 36:30)
After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back. (Job 37:4)
the Lord answered out of the storm (Job 38:1)
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. (Ps 18:13)
'The LORD will roar from on high; he will thunder from his holy dwelling and roar mightily against his land. He will … shout against all who live on the earth.’ (Lord’s words Jer 25:30)
The LORD will cause men to hear his majestic voice and will make them see his arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail. (Isaiah 30:30)
The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning. (Ps 29:7)
Thunder was heard in the whirlwind… lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. (Ps 77:18)
His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. (Ps 97:4)
The earth shook, the heavens poured down rain, before God. (Ps 68:8)
Him who rides the ancient skies above, who thunders with mighty voice. (Ps 68:33)
That day the LORD thundered with loud thunder (1 Sam 7:10)
At the thunder of His voice, the peoples flee. (Is 33:3)
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters. (Ps 29:3)
Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea- the LORD on high is mighty. (Ps 93:4)
9. HE IS BACK!
From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. (Rev 4:5)
Then God's temple in heaven was opened… And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm. (Revelation 11:19)
He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet…He made darkness his canopy around him- the dark rain clouds of the sky. (2 Samuel 22:10-2)
Thick clouds veil him (Job 22:14)
Clouds and thick darkness surround him (Ps 97:2)
Then the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south. (Zech 9:14)
Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of His flying arrows, at the lightning of His flashing spear. (Hab 3:11)
There was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. (Ex 19:16)
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. (Ex 20:18)
I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. (Lk 10:18)
For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. (Lk 17:24)
For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matt 24:27)
Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. (Rev 1:7)
“The Lord will come, and all the holy ones with him.� (Lord word Zec 14:5)
"Yes…In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Lord’s words-Mt 26:64)
"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky… the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.� (Lord’s words-Mt 24:30)
And there was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. (Daniel 7:13)
And He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Mt 24:31)
10. FIRST RESURRECTION
Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on His garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad. (Song of Solomon 4:16)
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (1 Th 4:16-17)
He I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. (Lord word Ezekiel 34:12)
And there were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Daniel 7:2
" 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.�… And breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet- a vast army. Ezekiel 37:9
Sons of Thunder (Mk 3:17)
The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the LORD is great (Joel 2:11)
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like spring rains that water the earth (Hos 6:3)
“Indeed, the water He give us will become in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life.� (Jn 4:14)
“He who stands firm to the end will be saved� (Lord’s words –Mt 24:13)
“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all� (Lord’s words – Is 7:1)
We rise up and stand firm (Ps 20:8)
“Stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.� (Lord’s words- Lk 21:18)
“Stand up before the Son of Man� (Lord’s words- Lk 21:28)
Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting (Ne 9:5)
11. RESTORATION OF ZION
The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people. (Joel 3:16)
The LORD roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem (Am 1:2)
Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely (Is 32:19)
"afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, He will build with stones of turquoise, foundations with sapphires. (Lord’s words- Isaiah 54:11)
Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness� (Joe 2:23)
“If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain� (Lord word Zec 14:18)
"Heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it.� (Lord’s word Isaiah 45:8)
12. AFTER THE STORM
See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. (SS 2:11)
The thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. (Ex 9:33)
Thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the LORD's. (Ex 9:29)
When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever. (Proverbs 10:25)
REJOICE!!
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. (Rev 19:6)
The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad, let the distant shores rejoice (Ps 97:1)
“Acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.� (Lord’s word Is 29:23)
“Before Him me every knee will bow; by Him me every tongue will swear� (Lord’s word- Is 45:23)
Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! (Rev 19:7)
MILLENIUL REIGN
Therefore rejoice you heavens and who dwell in them! (Rev 12:12)
Rejoice saints and apostles and prophets! (Rev 18:20)
“Rejoice that your names are written in heaven� (Lord’s word- Lk 10:20)
And so we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Th 4:16-17
So shall it be! Amen.
***
This is the law of the storm. The laws of the heavens regarding the prescribed time and the design of the storm, as to its light, its colors and its span across the whole space of the earth, have been laid down. And the words which are loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven. The day will come at the appointed hour, whether we like it or not, whether we agree with it or oppose it. It is proper for it to come to fulfill all righteousness. This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s word will never pass away.
The question now to you is, when the storm comes, whose side are you on? In these last days, with whom have you formed an alliance, and to whom did you pledge an allegiance? He who is not with the Holy Spirit is against Him, and he who does not gather with the Holy Spirit scatters. When the day comes, and it will, will you be one who flees, or one who rejoices because the object of your hopes and dreams, your Lord and God, your redemption is drawing near. Rejoicing that the wrath that your God holds in Him is finally released, and He himself released with it.
So today, if you have yet to know Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior, here is an incentive to do so for His day is near and come quickly, now is the time to put down everything and follow Him. The right time for you to do so is now because anytime is right to follow Jesus. Honor the Lord, just as Mary Magdalene did, for she knew what had to be done at the right time, and she went forth and did it for Him.
In John 20, at the Holy Spirit’s arrival, the Lord’s disciples received the Holy Spirit as a gentle breath from Him. And when they inhaled His breath, they received the Holy Spirit into their flesh, mind heart spirit and soul. Then in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit came to a public place where the people gathered. He came as a violent wind from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. So too for us, at the final hour, the Holy Spirit will depart from us as a soft gentle wind. But He will not leave the world like a gentle caress of an exhaled breath, He will leave the world as a storm- a violent storm, an urgent storm, an unstoppable storm- The Holy Spirit- The Perfect Storm.
***
18 October 2003
What is First Love? (Rev 2:4)
Amen Holy Spirit
Today I am starting with Rev 2:4, where Jesus issues to the 7 churches what is commonly known here as report cards. To the church of Ephesus, Jesus says “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” So to us, when we read it, we think: “must not forsake first love, Jesus is the First and the Last, must love Jesus, must not forsake Jesus, He is my first love”. Amen to that.
But we are to go deeper than that and search out what treasures this first love holds. First love is not only meant putting Jesus ahead of everyone else, it is not only a ranking in our lives but we are to see what first love really is.
Prov 8:22: “The Lord brought me forth as the first of His works, before His deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world. I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep the command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.”
Jesus also says in Jn 17:24: “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world”.
First love is to not only rank Jesus as priority in our lives, but it is also pivotal to see that His love for the Father, and the Father has for His Son, and the love that they both have for the Holy Spirit, is the first love to ever appear and exist in all of eternity. It is the greatest love of all, the love which is unfailing and eternal and endures forever.
When Jesus became flesh and made His dwelling with us, He brought with Him the invitation of that first love to show us and partake in, so that we may experience and taste the goodness and the fullness of the power of first love, remain in it and return it back to the Father a 100-fold as sons and daughters of God with all its beauty and splendour.
But did the Lord exactly that we are not to forsake our first love? Yes. If we had been listening to Him as we were commanded to, we would have extracted that treasure out of His words.
He says in Jn 15:19: “As the Father has loved you, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remained in his love. (Purpose) I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: love each other as I have loved you.”
I call this the “circle of love”- where the Father loves Jesus, Jesus loves the Father, and the Father loves us, and Jesus loves us, and we love Jesus and obey His commands and we remain in His love. By obeying His commands, we come to know that the Father and Jesus love their Holy Spirit, and we love the Holy Spirit as they love Him. This is the “circle of love” that Jesus has given us a foretaste of when He was last here on earth, and He sent the Holy Spirit for us to listen to and agree with so we can remain in His love. That first love. And the “circle of love” expands we each of remain in it and we love one another as He love us.
What does it mean to remain in His love? It is a state of constancy and permanency. To remain in His love just as He remains in the Father’s love means to tale hold of it, know the precious treasures within, and never let it go because your life depends on it. To be out of His love is like a fish out of water, gasping for the breath of life, and soon to die if not restored. Just as the Holy Spirit came down from heaven as a dove and remained on Jesus, illuminating Jesus in the eyes of John the Baptist as the Son of God who baptises with the Holy Spirit- God’s love came down from heaven as the Son of Man and remain in us, illuminating us in the eyes of the world as the disciples of the Son of the Most High God, bearing fruit that lasts as long as we remain in Him and His word remains in us.
In case we did not understand or found it too difficult, this concept of “remaining in Him”, the Lord showed us how to. He speaks clearly and without figure of speech: “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remained in his love.” That was a statement which was meant to start us off in the correct direction- it begins from there. Simply -obeying His commands. And what did Jesus say was the greatest commandment? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” If we fulfilled that commandment, we would have then kept the Father’s command to listen to Jesus.
So the moment we stop listening to the Father telling us to listen to Jesus who tells us to listen to Holy Spirit- the Spirit of Truth who guides us into all truth and make the things of Jesus known to us- we have failed to obey His commands and to remain in His love, we have forsaken it. And we replace the first love with our love which is failing and flawed- Just as we replace our words of powerlessness with the Lord’s words of power in perfection. Any moment we neglect to listen to either one of the 3 who are 1, we fall out of the circle of love, and we have forsaken it. We were not meant to survive these times by relying on just our love for the Lord- for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God- it was to be His love, the first love that loves to the last, that endures forever, His great unfailing love which we have been given the privilege to remain in.
In Jn 13, it is written that: “It was just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave the world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love”. What did He say in Jn Ch 14-17 which showed them to full extent of His love?
He revealed to his disciples about the Holy Spirit - in Acts, He called the Holy Spirit “the gift my Father promised”. Before then He had only hinted to them what was to come- In Mk 13:11 “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given at the time, for it is not you speaking but the Holy Spirit.” And in Lk 11:13: “If you then though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!”
But in Jn 14-17 the Lord unveils to us, his disciples, how good a gift the Holy Spirit really is, sent in Jesus’ name from the Father to us. Us! To know the Holy Spirit as the Father and Son know Him, to have the Holy Spirit live in us as He lives in the Father and Son and to be with us forever as He is in them. And we never had to ask for such a good gift!
And what was the purpose? The Father sent the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name because (Jn 17:26) Jesus has made the Father known to us and will continue to make Him known through the power of fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit, in order that the love the Father has for Jesus may be in us, and that Jesus himself may be in us. All this He has told us, and keeps telling us through the Holy Spirit so that we will not go astray. Our remaining in the Lord’s first love ensures that we remain in that circle of love till the end and the beginning, so that we come to know the Father in spirit and in truth. The Lord our God is one Lord, who we must love with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
Since Jesus taught us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves, how much more are we to love Him who the Father sent to live in us? More than we love ourselves… The Holy Spirit is not a power tool box we are to put on a leash and drag around so that we can do things in Jesus’ name to look good and be popular before men. The only praises we aim for are praises for God and God alone so that men may see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven.
What Jesus was really saying in those 4 chapters in Jn before He went on His way to the cross was this: “This is my Holy Spirit whom my Father and I love, with Him we are well pleased. LISTEN TO HIM!” For when Jesus came and brought us out of Egypt, where we were slaves to sin, and spoke to us, He did not just give us commands about drinking blood and giving to the poor, but He gave us the command to listen to the Holy Spirit and submit our will to Him so that the things of God will be fulfilled by the power of the Holy Spirit as He does His work in us. But we have not listened or paid attention, instead have followed the stubborn inclination of our hearts and the futility of our ways. We went backward and not forward.
The Lord said (Jn 14:13) that “the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me”. But, as yet, the world does not know that Jesus loves the Father and does exactly what He commands him, because we have forsaken our first love. We were meant to be witnesses of Jesus in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) because we receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us, and together we are partners in testifying about the power and glory of the kingdom of heaven, which God has placed in the reigning hands of His Son!
We have not listened to the Holy Spirit and we have foiled the Holy Spirit’s plans to testify about Jesus through a display of miraculous powers, signs and wonders that cause everyone within a million km radius to fall at their feet and confess the Lord’s name as Son of the Most High God, our Lord and Saviour! We have not listened and we have provoked Him to anger and grieved the Holy Spirit time and time again by shutting Him out and boxing Him in.
For if we had been faithful in listening to Jesus, we would see how much the Father and Son love the Holy Spirit. Firstly, Eternal life must include the baptism of the Holy Spirit which Jesus personally performs in each of us. Secondly. Eternal sin is not blasphemy against the Son of Man, but against the Holy Spirit.
If we have been faithful in listening to the Holy Spirit, the Lord will be able to write words on our hearts and as we speak them, we loose them for Him- or rather, when we have learnt to submit to the Holy Spirit, He speaks them on behalf of the Lord and He looses them for Him, and they are loosed.
And if we have been faithful to the Holy Spirit, He would also be able to trust us and reveal to us His own hopes and desires, His grief and frustration, His joys and good pleasures- treasures hidden in secret places- just as the Father and Jesus reveal them to those who seek to know Him. As the Father was a husband to Israel, and Jesus is a husband to the church, where is the bride due to the Holy Spirit, shining with the glory of God and with the brilliance of a very precious jewel?
***
Did not the Lord say that everything in this world is a parable of what He is doing? When Jesus said this truth about Mary Magdalene: “I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her” – He was not only honouring Mary. He also said this to honour the Holy Spirit.
(Jn 12:7) 6 days before the Passover at Martha’s house, Mary Magdalene took a pint of pure nard and poured it onto Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. (Mt 26:2) And then 2 days before the Passover at Simon the Leper’s house, Mary Magdalene again took an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume which she poured on his head as he was reclining. Jesus said, “She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Why was it so important to remember what Mary had done? Why must it be mentioned wherever this gospel is preached? Was it only to pay Mary a high honour?
Jesus knew that just as He had His time to leave, the Holy Spirit also has His time to leave. He wants us to lavish the best of our love and appreciation to the Holy Spirit, especially in these last days just as He enjoyed Mary lavishing her expensive perfume -symbolic of the best of her love for Him- and not just once, but again and again, to prepare for the departure of His Holy Spirit. To do a beautiful for Him, so that the Father and Son who are One, may also enjoy the Holy Spirit’s delights and pleasures through our passions for Him and in Him. By making sure we mention the beautiful thing Mary did all the time, we can fulfil the hidden desire Jesus has for us towards His Holy Spirit. He wanted to make sure that it would not be forgotten or buried deep within us, but something as commonly practised as the drinking of grape juice and eating bits of bread.
And if we had mentioned what Mary Magdalene had done in the last few days of Jesus, we would come to realise that just as Jesus poured out the treasures of His teachings during His final days on earth, the Holy Spirit will also be pouring out treasures of teachings during the His final days on earth - for there is much to do - purposes to be fulfilled, tasks to be completed, appointments to be kept and schedules to be followed, and on top of that, a whole lot of final instructions and directions to those who are meant to stay and wait for the Lord’s return.
So if you have forsaken your first love and fallen out of the circle of love, Repent and do the things you did at first. Start by saying “Amen Holy Spirit” more times than you can breathe. Do not let your love grow cold now- do not let yourselves be the ones who Jesus refers to in Matt 24: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved”. If you focus on the Holy Spirit and His final unveiling of power in His last days on earth, and focus on the pleasures of fellowshipping with Him to attain to fullness of the stature of the power of the Holy Spirit- your love cannot grow cold, or lukewarm and you will not be spat out of the Lord’s mouth.
Jesus tells us in Rev 2 that it is not enough to just have deeds- not enough to persevere and endure hardships for His name and not grown weary- if you have forsaken your first love, Jesus will hold it against you because He did come to show you that first love He has with the Father and the Holy Spirit. It is a precious gift from His heart. Redeem the time- give back double of the “Amen Holy Spirit(s)” you have neglected to say all this time and get back into the circle of love today.
If you have not known or seen how wonderful the Holy Spirit is, and who He is, and you want to- Let’s start by looking over to your brother and your sister on your left and right and say “Amen Holy Spirit”- and see the delight of the Holy Spirit in their eyes. AMEN HOLY SPIRIT! AMEN HOLY SPIRIT!
Today I am starting with Rev 2:4, where Jesus issues to the 7 churches what is commonly known here as report cards. To the church of Ephesus, Jesus says “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” So to us, when we read it, we think: “must not forsake first love, Jesus is the First and the Last, must love Jesus, must not forsake Jesus, He is my first love”. Amen to that.
But we are to go deeper than that and search out what treasures this first love holds. First love is not only meant putting Jesus ahead of everyone else, it is not only a ranking in our lives but we are to see what first love really is.
Prov 8:22: “The Lord brought me forth as the first of His works, before His deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world. I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep the command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.”
Jesus also says in Jn 17:24: “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world”.
First love is to not only rank Jesus as priority in our lives, but it is also pivotal to see that His love for the Father, and the Father has for His Son, and the love that they both have for the Holy Spirit, is the first love to ever appear and exist in all of eternity. It is the greatest love of all, the love which is unfailing and eternal and endures forever.
When Jesus became flesh and made His dwelling with us, He brought with Him the invitation of that first love to show us and partake in, so that we may experience and taste the goodness and the fullness of the power of first love, remain in it and return it back to the Father a 100-fold as sons and daughters of God with all its beauty and splendour.
But did the Lord exactly that we are not to forsake our first love? Yes. If we had been listening to Him as we were commanded to, we would have extracted that treasure out of His words.
He says in Jn 15:19: “As the Father has loved you, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remained in his love. (Purpose) I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: love each other as I have loved you.”
I call this the “circle of love”- where the Father loves Jesus, Jesus loves the Father, and the Father loves us, and Jesus loves us, and we love Jesus and obey His commands and we remain in His love. By obeying His commands, we come to know that the Father and Jesus love their Holy Spirit, and we love the Holy Spirit as they love Him. This is the “circle of love” that Jesus has given us a foretaste of when He was last here on earth, and He sent the Holy Spirit for us to listen to and agree with so we can remain in His love. That first love. And the “circle of love” expands we each of remain in it and we love one another as He love us.
What does it mean to remain in His love? It is a state of constancy and permanency. To remain in His love just as He remains in the Father’s love means to tale hold of it, know the precious treasures within, and never let it go because your life depends on it. To be out of His love is like a fish out of water, gasping for the breath of life, and soon to die if not restored. Just as the Holy Spirit came down from heaven as a dove and remained on Jesus, illuminating Jesus in the eyes of John the Baptist as the Son of God who baptises with the Holy Spirit- God’s love came down from heaven as the Son of Man and remain in us, illuminating us in the eyes of the world as the disciples of the Son of the Most High God, bearing fruit that lasts as long as we remain in Him and His word remains in us.
In case we did not understand or found it too difficult, this concept of “remaining in Him”, the Lord showed us how to. He speaks clearly and without figure of speech: “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remained in his love.” That was a statement which was meant to start us off in the correct direction- it begins from there. Simply -obeying His commands. And what did Jesus say was the greatest commandment? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” If we fulfilled that commandment, we would have then kept the Father’s command to listen to Jesus.
So the moment we stop listening to the Father telling us to listen to Jesus who tells us to listen to Holy Spirit- the Spirit of Truth who guides us into all truth and make the things of Jesus known to us- we have failed to obey His commands and to remain in His love, we have forsaken it. And we replace the first love with our love which is failing and flawed- Just as we replace our words of powerlessness with the Lord’s words of power in perfection. Any moment we neglect to listen to either one of the 3 who are 1, we fall out of the circle of love, and we have forsaken it. We were not meant to survive these times by relying on just our love for the Lord- for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God- it was to be His love, the first love that loves to the last, that endures forever, His great unfailing love which we have been given the privilege to remain in.
In Jn 13, it is written that: “It was just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave the world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love”. What did He say in Jn Ch 14-17 which showed them to full extent of His love?
He revealed to his disciples about the Holy Spirit - in Acts, He called the Holy Spirit “the gift my Father promised”. Before then He had only hinted to them what was to come- In Mk 13:11 “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given at the time, for it is not you speaking but the Holy Spirit.” And in Lk 11:13: “If you then though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!”
But in Jn 14-17 the Lord unveils to us, his disciples, how good a gift the Holy Spirit really is, sent in Jesus’ name from the Father to us. Us! To know the Holy Spirit as the Father and Son know Him, to have the Holy Spirit live in us as He lives in the Father and Son and to be with us forever as He is in them. And we never had to ask for such a good gift!
And what was the purpose? The Father sent the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name because (Jn 17:26) Jesus has made the Father known to us and will continue to make Him known through the power of fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit, in order that the love the Father has for Jesus may be in us, and that Jesus himself may be in us. All this He has told us, and keeps telling us through the Holy Spirit so that we will not go astray. Our remaining in the Lord’s first love ensures that we remain in that circle of love till the end and the beginning, so that we come to know the Father in spirit and in truth. The Lord our God is one Lord, who we must love with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
Since Jesus taught us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves, how much more are we to love Him who the Father sent to live in us? More than we love ourselves… The Holy Spirit is not a power tool box we are to put on a leash and drag around so that we can do things in Jesus’ name to look good and be popular before men. The only praises we aim for are praises for God and God alone so that men may see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven.
What Jesus was really saying in those 4 chapters in Jn before He went on His way to the cross was this: “This is my Holy Spirit whom my Father and I love, with Him we are well pleased. LISTEN TO HIM!” For when Jesus came and brought us out of Egypt, where we were slaves to sin, and spoke to us, He did not just give us commands about drinking blood and giving to the poor, but He gave us the command to listen to the Holy Spirit and submit our will to Him so that the things of God will be fulfilled by the power of the Holy Spirit as He does His work in us. But we have not listened or paid attention, instead have followed the stubborn inclination of our hearts and the futility of our ways. We went backward and not forward.
The Lord said (Jn 14:13) that “the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me”. But, as yet, the world does not know that Jesus loves the Father and does exactly what He commands him, because we have forsaken our first love. We were meant to be witnesses of Jesus in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) because we receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us, and together we are partners in testifying about the power and glory of the kingdom of heaven, which God has placed in the reigning hands of His Son!
We have not listened to the Holy Spirit and we have foiled the Holy Spirit’s plans to testify about Jesus through a display of miraculous powers, signs and wonders that cause everyone within a million km radius to fall at their feet and confess the Lord’s name as Son of the Most High God, our Lord and Saviour! We have not listened and we have provoked Him to anger and grieved the Holy Spirit time and time again by shutting Him out and boxing Him in.
For if we had been faithful in listening to Jesus, we would see how much the Father and Son love the Holy Spirit. Firstly, Eternal life must include the baptism of the Holy Spirit which Jesus personally performs in each of us. Secondly. Eternal sin is not blasphemy against the Son of Man, but against the Holy Spirit.
If we have been faithful in listening to the Holy Spirit, the Lord will be able to write words on our hearts and as we speak them, we loose them for Him- or rather, when we have learnt to submit to the Holy Spirit, He speaks them on behalf of the Lord and He looses them for Him, and they are loosed.
And if we have been faithful to the Holy Spirit, He would also be able to trust us and reveal to us His own hopes and desires, His grief and frustration, His joys and good pleasures- treasures hidden in secret places- just as the Father and Jesus reveal them to those who seek to know Him. As the Father was a husband to Israel, and Jesus is a husband to the church, where is the bride due to the Holy Spirit, shining with the glory of God and with the brilliance of a very precious jewel?
***
Did not the Lord say that everything in this world is a parable of what He is doing? When Jesus said this truth about Mary Magdalene: “I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her” – He was not only honouring Mary. He also said this to honour the Holy Spirit.
(Jn 12:7) 6 days before the Passover at Martha’s house, Mary Magdalene took a pint of pure nard and poured it onto Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. (Mt 26:2) And then 2 days before the Passover at Simon the Leper’s house, Mary Magdalene again took an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume which she poured on his head as he was reclining. Jesus said, “She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Why was it so important to remember what Mary had done? Why must it be mentioned wherever this gospel is preached? Was it only to pay Mary a high honour?
Jesus knew that just as He had His time to leave, the Holy Spirit also has His time to leave. He wants us to lavish the best of our love and appreciation to the Holy Spirit, especially in these last days just as He enjoyed Mary lavishing her expensive perfume -symbolic of the best of her love for Him- and not just once, but again and again, to prepare for the departure of His Holy Spirit. To do a beautiful for Him, so that the Father and Son who are One, may also enjoy the Holy Spirit’s delights and pleasures through our passions for Him and in Him. By making sure we mention the beautiful thing Mary did all the time, we can fulfil the hidden desire Jesus has for us towards His Holy Spirit. He wanted to make sure that it would not be forgotten or buried deep within us, but something as commonly practised as the drinking of grape juice and eating bits of bread.
And if we had mentioned what Mary Magdalene had done in the last few days of Jesus, we would come to realise that just as Jesus poured out the treasures of His teachings during His final days on earth, the Holy Spirit will also be pouring out treasures of teachings during the His final days on earth - for there is much to do - purposes to be fulfilled, tasks to be completed, appointments to be kept and schedules to be followed, and on top of that, a whole lot of final instructions and directions to those who are meant to stay and wait for the Lord’s return.
So if you have forsaken your first love and fallen out of the circle of love, Repent and do the things you did at first. Start by saying “Amen Holy Spirit” more times than you can breathe. Do not let your love grow cold now- do not let yourselves be the ones who Jesus refers to in Matt 24: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved”. If you focus on the Holy Spirit and His final unveiling of power in His last days on earth, and focus on the pleasures of fellowshipping with Him to attain to fullness of the stature of the power of the Holy Spirit- your love cannot grow cold, or lukewarm and you will not be spat out of the Lord’s mouth.
Jesus tells us in Rev 2 that it is not enough to just have deeds- not enough to persevere and endure hardships for His name and not grown weary- if you have forsaken your first love, Jesus will hold it against you because He did come to show you that first love He has with the Father and the Holy Spirit. It is a precious gift from His heart. Redeem the time- give back double of the “Amen Holy Spirit(s)” you have neglected to say all this time and get back into the circle of love today.
If you have not known or seen how wonderful the Holy Spirit is, and who He is, and you want to- Let’s start by looking over to your brother and your sister on your left and right and say “Amen Holy Spirit”- and see the delight of the Holy Spirit in their eyes. AMEN HOLY SPIRIT! AMEN HOLY SPIRIT!
04 October 2003
In His Law The Islands Will Put Their Hope (Is 42:4)
Is 41:1 Be silent before me, you islands! Let the nations renew their strength! Let them
come forward and speak; let us meet together at the place of judgment.
Is 51:1 Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord:
Is 51:4 Listen to me my people; hear me my nation:
Jer 9:24 Let his who boasts boast about this that he understands me and knows me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight.
Is 42:1 Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put on Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.
Is 42:4 In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope.
Is 51:4 The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations.
My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm
will bring justice to the nations.
The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm.
Lift up your eyes to heaven, look at the earth beneath;
The heavens will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment
and its inhabitants die like flies.
Is 51:7 But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.
Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your
hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults.
For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like
wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all
generations.
Is 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right
hand.
Is 42:6 I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold on your hand.
Is 56:1 Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my
righteousness will soon be revealed.
Zech 7:9 Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
Matt 9:12 But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have not
come to call the righteous, but sinners.
Matt 23:23 …The more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You
should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
Jer 21:12 Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one
who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire…
Is 28:18 See I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure
foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.
I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line.
Jer 30:11 I am with you and will save you. I will discipline you but only with justice. I will
not let you go entirely unpunished.
Is 66:8 For I, the Lord, love justice.
Eze 34:16 I will shepherd the flock with justice.
Eze 34:30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and they they, the
house of Israel, are my people. You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are
people and I am your God.
Hos 2:19 I will betroth you to me forever, I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in
love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge
the Lord.
Jer 31:3 I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-
kindness. I will rebuild you up again, and you will be rebuilt.
Am 5:4 Seek me and live.
Am 5:25 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!
Matt 5:3 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.
Lk 18:7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day
and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get
justice, and quickly.
Jn 14:28 You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you’.
Jn 16:20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will
grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
Jn 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.
Rev 1:17 Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead,
and behold I am alive forever and ever!
Rev 3:7 Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will
he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is
coming out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.
Rev 16:15 Behold! I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his
clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.
Rev 22: 7 Behold, I am coming soon!
Rev 22:12 Behold, I am coming soon!
Rev 22:20 Yes, I am coming soon!
Rev 3:14 These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
Rev 18: 5 Praise our God, all his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Amen Holy Spirit.
come forward and speak; let us meet together at the place of judgment.
Is 51:1 Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord:
Is 51:4 Listen to me my people; hear me my nation:
Jer 9:24 Let his who boasts boast about this that he understands me and knows me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight.
Is 42:1 Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put on Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.
Is 42:4 In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope.
Is 51:4 The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations.
My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm
will bring justice to the nations.
The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm.
Lift up your eyes to heaven, look at the earth beneath;
The heavens will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment
and its inhabitants die like flies.
Is 51:7 But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.
Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your
hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults.
For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like
wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all
generations.
Is 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right
hand.
Is 42:6 I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold on your hand.
Is 56:1 Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my
righteousness will soon be revealed.
Zech 7:9 Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
Matt 9:12 But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have not
come to call the righteous, but sinners.
Matt 23:23 …The more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You
should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
Jer 21:12 Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one
who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire…
Is 28:18 See I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure
foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.
I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line.
Jer 30:11 I am with you and will save you. I will discipline you but only with justice. I will
not let you go entirely unpunished.
Is 66:8 For I, the Lord, love justice.
Eze 34:16 I will shepherd the flock with justice.
Eze 34:30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and they they, the
house of Israel, are my people. You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are
people and I am your God.
Hos 2:19 I will betroth you to me forever, I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in
love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge
the Lord.
Jer 31:3 I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-
kindness. I will rebuild you up again, and you will be rebuilt.
Am 5:4 Seek me and live.
Am 5:25 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!
Matt 5:3 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.
Lk 18:7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day
and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get
justice, and quickly.
Jn 14:28 You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you’.
Jn 16:20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will
grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
Jn 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.
Rev 1:17 Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead,
and behold I am alive forever and ever!
Rev 3:7 Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will
he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is
coming out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.
Rev 16:15 Behold! I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his
clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.
Rev 22: 7 Behold, I am coming soon!
Rev 22:12 Behold, I am coming soon!
Rev 22:20 Yes, I am coming soon!
Rev 3:14 These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
Rev 18: 5 Praise our God, all his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Amen Holy Spirit.
20 September 2003
A Curse on Him Who is Lax in Doing the Lord's Work! (Jer 48:10)
A new command I give you: Love one another.
Amen Holy Spirit
Today I am starting with John 13:31. Jesus said to his disciples at the eve of His crucifixion:
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this ALL men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
Then the Lord said to them in
Jn15:9 As the Father has loved you, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remained in his love. My command is this: love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I call you friends, for everything I learned from my Father I have made known to you. This is my command: love each other.
The Lord said that if we do what He commands, He calls us His friends, we are no longer just servants who are only doing our duty because what we do, we do out of love for Jesus and His gospel and the kingdom of God. It is a promotion that is a treasure and is meant to be treasured.
And the Lord’s command is this: That we love each other as He loves us, so that the world will know through our unity in faith and knowledge based firmly in His unfailing love, that we are the disciples of the Son of the Most High God, whom the Father sent into the world so that it will not perish.
In following the Lord’s command, our love for one another in Him is a testimony to the world that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it because but whoever does not believe already stands condemned because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Jesus says in Jn 6:29 that . The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent He had said to this the crowd- to people who do not know him. How is it evident that those people did not know him? Because in the next sentence, they asked the Lord, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe it? What will you do?” But these are people who have already seen His miraculous sign because Jn 6 writes for us that they were the ones who were there at the feeding of the 5,000. The Lord says to them “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” They still asked for more signs for their hearts were hardened and they had not understood nor turned. To these people, Jesus said that the work of God is to believe. He did not impose any more burdens on them.
But to us, whom He chosen and appointed to go and bear fruit- fruit that will last- so that the Father can once again enjoy his vineyard and his garden and walk in it in the cool of the day. So that the Father does not have to say, “For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?” But let the Father Sing about a fruitful vineyard: “I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it”: Is 27:2. Our fruitfulness comes from the Lord and the Lord alone because He is the true vine and we are the branches. (Jn 15:1) “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” For is not love the first fruit of the Holy Spirit? Amen Holy Spirit.
Our fruitfulness comes from obeying His commands as it is our delight and our good pleasure, our treasure on earth and in heaven. The Lord says in Jn 14:15 If you love me, you will obey what I command. And for the purpose of today’s word, His command is that we love each other. The Lord is our first love, our most love, but I am not talking about our love for the Lord today, except to obey His command to love one another as He loves us. It is important because This is to the Father’s glory, that we bear much fruit, showing ourselves to be His Son’s disciples. We are not seeking glory for ourselves; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. This is something that we can all do because we have the love of God in our hearts and we accept Jesus who comes in the Father’s name. We not only accept Him, but love Him and breathe His Holy Spirit. And His word is our daily bread which comes down from heaven, bread that we eat and will not die. We listen to Him, and He teaches us to love one another as a testimony to the world that the Father’s glory that fills the earth is the glory Jesus had with Him before the world began. Jesus brings glory to the Father by completing the work the Father gave Him to do. And now, we as Jesus’ disciples, doing His will and submitting to His purpose, must ensure that we follow His every command because whatever Jesus says is what the Father who sent Him commanded Him to say and how to say it. The Father’s command leads to eternal life. Jesus wants the world to know that we are His disciples so that the Father’s name will be glorified again and again.
So now, let us pay attention to our own deeds and conduct, and first take the plank out of our own eye, so that we will see clearly to remove the speck from our brother’s eye. And let us follow the command to the precise degree and standard so that what the Lord has purposed for this command may not be lost, rather restored to the Lord with passion and fervour, so that the fullness and power of His purpose laid in His word will be revealed in all its glory, and the Lord can receive the full extent of our love for Him. The degree and standard is not to love one another as we would, but love one another as the Lord loves us. For in the imitation of Jesus, we are to also imitate the way He loves others. It is a different command from the one He gave to the people when He said in Mk 12:29, “Hear O Israel…‘Love your neighbour as yourself’. The new command to love one another was given to the disciples the last night before the crucifixion, for they had already known Him after spending time with Him, and they had to know Him in order to love one another as He loved them.
The prime purpose of the new command is not so that we can have a warm, fuzzy fellowship, but so that whatever plans He has for the fulfilment of each single command may be brought forth into the light - that the light will shine into the darkness, bringing out the treasures of the darkness and riches stored in secret places - so that all may know that He is the Lord and apart from Him there is no other, and it is He who summons us by name (Is 45:3). For He says (Is 45) “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things”.
The Lord’s command leads to eternal life, and eternal life is knowing the Father and the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Everything that the Lord says and does and writes carries with it layers of His purpose and plans and timing and eternal pleasures, that if we bury it in our prejudice and our self-righteousness and worldly wisdom, we will never find the hidden treasure that is behind His every thought, gesture and command. There is no command too small or seemingly trivial because we tend to judge by mere appearances. A simple command as “Take away the stone” to Martha may seem ludicrous to men, but a simple following of the command brought forth life out of death for He is the resurrection and the life. So too, a simple command “Love one another as I love you” can be so simplistic that we may casually dismiss it or worse, casually follow it, and by doing that, burying deep the plans and purposes that the Lord has for its fulfilment. By doing so, we deprive the Lord the pleasure and the glory, casting away His perfect plans from His river of delights.
Paul says that the weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds: 2 Cor 10:10. Just as the love Jesus has for the Father and the world which the Father loves caused Him to overcome the world and He is now sitting enthroned at the right hand of God- the love that blossoms from us through remaining in Him and by following His commands about love:
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.
2. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.
3. Love one another as I have loved you.
and the purpose that He has destined for the united fulfilment, is the most powerful weapon the world has yet to see - a weapon that cannot be demolished nor imitated, but a weapon so bright and righteous, deadly yet non-violent, that the enemy will be scattered and divided just by being in its presence, and as it manifests through us by the power of the Holy Spirit, all people will bow down and confess that He is?
Did not the Lord say to us, “Love your enemies”’? Do we see now that the layers of His plans and purposes are hidden in His every word, and it is up to us to receive them and bring them forth in His Holy Name?
Amen Holy Spirit
Amen Holy Spirit
Today I am starting with John 13:31. Jesus said to his disciples at the eve of His crucifixion:
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this ALL men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
Then the Lord said to them in
Jn15:9 As the Father has loved you, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remained in his love. My command is this: love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I call you friends, for everything I learned from my Father I have made known to you. This is my command: love each other.
The Lord said that if we do what He commands, He calls us His friends, we are no longer just servants who are only doing our duty because what we do, we do out of love for Jesus and His gospel and the kingdom of God. It is a promotion that is a treasure and is meant to be treasured.
And the Lord’s command is this: That we love each other as He loves us, so that the world will know through our unity in faith and knowledge based firmly in His unfailing love, that we are the disciples of the Son of the Most High God, whom the Father sent into the world so that it will not perish.
In following the Lord’s command, our love for one another in Him is a testimony to the world that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it because but whoever does not believe already stands condemned because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Jesus says in Jn 6:29 that . The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent He had said to this the crowd- to people who do not know him. How is it evident that those people did not know him? Because in the next sentence, they asked the Lord, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe it? What will you do?” But these are people who have already seen His miraculous sign because Jn 6 writes for us that they were the ones who were there at the feeding of the 5,000. The Lord says to them “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” They still asked for more signs for their hearts were hardened and they had not understood nor turned. To these people, Jesus said that the work of God is to believe. He did not impose any more burdens on them.
But to us, whom He chosen and appointed to go and bear fruit- fruit that will last- so that the Father can once again enjoy his vineyard and his garden and walk in it in the cool of the day. So that the Father does not have to say, “For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?” But let the Father Sing about a fruitful vineyard: “I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it”: Is 27:2. Our fruitfulness comes from the Lord and the Lord alone because He is the true vine and we are the branches. (Jn 15:1) “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” For is not love the first fruit of the Holy Spirit? Amen Holy Spirit.
Our fruitfulness comes from obeying His commands as it is our delight and our good pleasure, our treasure on earth and in heaven. The Lord says in Jn 14:15 If you love me, you will obey what I command. And for the purpose of today’s word, His command is that we love each other. The Lord is our first love, our most love, but I am not talking about our love for the Lord today, except to obey His command to love one another as He loves us. It is important because This is to the Father’s glory, that we bear much fruit, showing ourselves to be His Son’s disciples. We are not seeking glory for ourselves; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. This is something that we can all do because we have the love of God in our hearts and we accept Jesus who comes in the Father’s name. We not only accept Him, but love Him and breathe His Holy Spirit. And His word is our daily bread which comes down from heaven, bread that we eat and will not die. We listen to Him, and He teaches us to love one another as a testimony to the world that the Father’s glory that fills the earth is the glory Jesus had with Him before the world began. Jesus brings glory to the Father by completing the work the Father gave Him to do. And now, we as Jesus’ disciples, doing His will and submitting to His purpose, must ensure that we follow His every command because whatever Jesus says is what the Father who sent Him commanded Him to say and how to say it. The Father’s command leads to eternal life. Jesus wants the world to know that we are His disciples so that the Father’s name will be glorified again and again.
So now, let us pay attention to our own deeds and conduct, and first take the plank out of our own eye, so that we will see clearly to remove the speck from our brother’s eye. And let us follow the command to the precise degree and standard so that what the Lord has purposed for this command may not be lost, rather restored to the Lord with passion and fervour, so that the fullness and power of His purpose laid in His word will be revealed in all its glory, and the Lord can receive the full extent of our love for Him. The degree and standard is not to love one another as we would, but love one another as the Lord loves us. For in the imitation of Jesus, we are to also imitate the way He loves others. It is a different command from the one He gave to the people when He said in Mk 12:29, “Hear O Israel…‘Love your neighbour as yourself’. The new command to love one another was given to the disciples the last night before the crucifixion, for they had already known Him after spending time with Him, and they had to know Him in order to love one another as He loved them.
The prime purpose of the new command is not so that we can have a warm, fuzzy fellowship, but so that whatever plans He has for the fulfilment of each single command may be brought forth into the light - that the light will shine into the darkness, bringing out the treasures of the darkness and riches stored in secret places - so that all may know that He is the Lord and apart from Him there is no other, and it is He who summons us by name (Is 45:3). For He says (Is 45) “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things”.
The Lord’s command leads to eternal life, and eternal life is knowing the Father and the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Everything that the Lord says and does and writes carries with it layers of His purpose and plans and timing and eternal pleasures, that if we bury it in our prejudice and our self-righteousness and worldly wisdom, we will never find the hidden treasure that is behind His every thought, gesture and command. There is no command too small or seemingly trivial because we tend to judge by mere appearances. A simple command as “Take away the stone” to Martha may seem ludicrous to men, but a simple following of the command brought forth life out of death for He is the resurrection and the life. So too, a simple command “Love one another as I love you” can be so simplistic that we may casually dismiss it or worse, casually follow it, and by doing that, burying deep the plans and purposes that the Lord has for its fulfilment. By doing so, we deprive the Lord the pleasure and the glory, casting away His perfect plans from His river of delights.
Paul says that the weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds: 2 Cor 10:10. Just as the love Jesus has for the Father and the world which the Father loves caused Him to overcome the world and He is now sitting enthroned at the right hand of God- the love that blossoms from us through remaining in Him and by following His commands about love:
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.
2. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.
3. Love one another as I have loved you.
and the purpose that He has destined for the united fulfilment, is the most powerful weapon the world has yet to see - a weapon that cannot be demolished nor imitated, but a weapon so bright and righteous, deadly yet non-violent, that the enemy will be scattered and divided just by being in its presence, and as it manifests through us by the power of the Holy Spirit, all people will bow down and confess that He is?
Did not the Lord say to us, “Love your enemies”’? Do we see now that the layers of His plans and purposes are hidden in His every word, and it is up to us to receive them and bring them forth in His Holy Name?
Amen Holy Spirit
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