Blessed are you who sit alone in your loneliness for the Lord, longing and hungering for His return, constantly thinking about Him and concerned for His welfare, for His honour, His glory and justice unto His Word, always missing Him and the warmth and solace only His nearness can bring.
Blessed are you who can receive no comfort or happiness from this world and its system because great will your relief be when the Son of Man returns to rule and reign in the throne as the Son of God- great and unstoppable is your joy when He returns in His glorified body to gather you from the four winds with a trumpet call- and immense and powerful is your rejoicing for you have not only attained salvation beyond the goal of your faith, but you have achieved with perseverance your goal of the First Resurrection which begins with reigning alongside the one you love for a thousand years.
But woe to those who do not miss Him, miss Him like the very heart-ache of your soul which jealously burns your eyes to tears even as you see His very name in the word, miss Him with an urgency like farmers standing on lands stricken by drought are looking up at the cloudless sky waiting for rain- for the drought in the land is the dryness of their stony hearts which have received the word of God but have let it fall and wither away from their hearts. Their root grows to be a bitter root when they fail to worship God in Spirit and in truth- and by neglecting to live on every word that comes from the mouth of God, which are the seeds to bear fruit everlasting for the gardener’s pleasures- for the words the Father spoke to us through Jesus are Spirit and they are life, but men have stopped the flow of living water welling up within them unto eternal life like a spring of water.
Woe to they who do not hunger for the taste of the Word of God nor seek to follow the fragrance of the living God, but are well fed on words of men, lies and half-truths, for they will go hungry and they will thirst. They will come in and go out but not find pasture, they will not find satisfaction, not in this age nor in the age to come. But the days are coming when the Lord will send a famine through the land of dried stony hearts, stopped up ears, sightless eyes and disloyal spirits. Not a famine of food or a thirst of water- but a famine of real food and real water- the flesh of the Word of God is real food and His blood is real drink- it is a famine of hearing the words of the Lord (Am 8:11). NOT a famine of the words of the Lord, but a famine of the hearing of it, for those who have failed to diligently listen to the Lord the Lord and the Lord have allowed their hearing ability to decay. They will not even notice when the word “repent” is dropped from the gospel- they will not notice because they were not listening attentively in the first place, and they will not repent of it since repentance has been removed and forgotten. So they will continue to disregard repentance unto the end days as they let their pride and arrogance soar like an eagle and make their nests among the stars, but from there the Lord will bring them down. Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes- joy and gladness from the house of our God? (Joel 1:16)
As justice unto the word of God, as men have done, it will be done to them as their deeds will return upon their own heads (Ob 1:15). Their ears rejected the word of the living God, so the living word of God has rejected their ears. And so men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east (Am 8:11), running here and there to increase knowledge, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it. They cannot find it because they never knew what it was in the first place. They do not seek in the prescribed way of the Lord as the merchant of fine pearls seeks- the merchant knew what he was looking for and he knew what was of great value- but men seek without never knowing what the Word is, what it feels like when the words of Jesus hit your heart and impact your ears, the fragrance of truth when it floats across you for one moment and vanishes in the next- and they never knew the priceless value that lives in the Word of God and in the daily love of listening, obeying and putting into practice the power of the Word of God. And so the treasures of its sound, sight, taste, feel, fragrance and beauty, delight and splendour will elude them, they will not find what they seek. And because they do not even know what they are asking, they will take whatever word that is given to them- They roam like wild donkeys, ranging the hills for pasture, and searches for any green thing (Jon 39:8), and they will mistake the sea for living water. But what more has the Lord to do with idols (Hos 14:8) as the living water has to do with the sea? For there is no satisfaction and comfort found in sea water- it does not quench thirst but burns the throat, it does not give everlasting life but will drown them in its mass of darkness and lies, politics and policies of men driven by greed and power.
But blessed are you when men, especially supposed men of God, disbelieve you when you testify of the resurrection of the W/word of God, when your words seem to them like nonsense even though they themselves heard the Word and should have followed the word to be there as witnesses- for that is how they treated a true witness of the resurrection of the Lord.
Blessed are you when men call you raving mad and demon-possessed (Jn 10:19), out of your mind (Mk 3:21), and a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and ‘sinner’ (Mt 11:19), a blasphemer (Jn 10:33), when you agree and support the testimony of Jesus about the goodness of the Father and His creation and His plans to prosper us - for that is how they treated the Son of Man.
And blessed are you when you partake of your own resurrection with the Holy Spirit, and by His power and counsel resist the world’s system and all its opposite stances of God, though you may fall and stumble along the way that you may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end (Dan 11:33)- Congratulations! You are now running in the word of God for a placement in the First Resurrection.
To be a witness of Jesus and to Jesus, to be beheaded because of our testimony for Jesus and of Jesus, for the word of God and of the Word of God was never meant to be an easy task- just like it was not an easy task for the Father to make the decision to give His Son the command to lay down His life- just like it was not an painless task to be crucified in innocence- just like it is not easy for the Holy Spirit when we resist Him, spurn His rebukes and reject His instructions. The calling itself from the Lord is uncomplicated but the oppositions are strong, numerous - most come from within ourselves and some come from the house of God. But that is why we have the Holy Spirit with us, living in us, for even the Lord was baptised with the Holy Spirit when He began His ministry here on earth, so how much more do we need the Holy Spirit for the alliance of our ministry with His? How much more do we need to choose His instructions instead of silver, knowledge instead of choice gold? The Lord knew that we need the Lord for our ministry, to minister in the power of truth, which is the Word of God, and the power of the Spirit, which is the Spirit of God. Our ministry in Jesus is to testify as true, reliable, faithful expert witnesses of Him and His gospel in the powerful and authoritive fullness of His stature and likeness- any additional work beyond that is the work of the Holy Spirit, which He will set us apart for Himself. We testify in knowledge, not in faith. And we testify with power from on high, and not in meekness and weakness, for the Spirit of grace makes His power perfect in our weaknesses (2 Cor 12:9).
The purpose of our ministries in the power of the Holy Spirit is not to complete the work of the Lord, for His work of salvation is finished- to say of the contrary is to call Him a liar when He said on the cross, “It is finished”. Rather, it is to testify about the good news of the ministry of Jesus Christ – and His ministry is this: “The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Lk 22:46). The good news is that the Lord’s ministry of salvation is finished and the Scripture has been fulfilled and it can never be broken. Be careful- It is not the purpose of our ministry to finish the work of the Lord, no, but it is that our ministry will testify to the finished work of the Lord and stand with Him in His testimony about Himself and the one who sent Him. When we minister in power and testify in truth, we are the living testimonies of the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He sent- for we are called to be witnesses, to stand as sons and daughters with the Son, and back up the perfect and true testimony of our brother about our Father to Him, to ourselves, to all creation and all nations - because we believe at last- first believed that He did come from the Father and we believed everything He told us and we know that everything He says is just as the Father taught Him. We know that He is the Way, the Truth, the Resurrection and the Life, The True Vine, the Shepherd, the gate, He is God’s Son and the Christ, and we know without a shadow of doubt that He is in the Father and the Father in is Him, and we are in Him, and He is in us.
And it is this law which makes us eligible to testify alongside Him- By the Father’s authority, the Lord said: “If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him” (Jn 14:6).
So we must really know the Lord, in order to know the Father- and know personally the Father we must to testify of Him in our support of the Lord’s testimony. For if we speak of what we don’t know and have not seen, we are false witnesses, and if we merely repeat the Lord’s testimony without supporting it, we darken His counsel with words without knowledge- and it is neither legally valid or a testimony in itself, it is hearsay and is not acceptable as evidence. If we never knew Jesus, we would never know the Father, for no one comes to the Father except through the Lord. There are people to whom the Lord cries out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from.” (Jn 7:28). And there are those to whom the Lord says, “You do not know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father as well.” (Jn 8:14) So how do we know if we really know the Lord, and thus know the Father as well, making us to be eligible co-witnesses of the Lord?
As the Lord says: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father- and I lay down my life for the sheep…. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” (Jn 10:14) To qualify as knowing Him, we must have been listening to His voice and His voice alone- never follow a stranger and be able to recognise His voice from that of a stranger. We know we are His sheep already because He has laid down His life for us- but do we accept His testimony about Himself? Do we believe He came from as He said? Do we judge Him by human standards? Have we been listening to His voice as priority, and no on else’s, not even the watchman, and certainly not the thieves and robbers? And more importantly, when we believe and can accept His testimony, do we then strictly listen to His voice and follow Him and obey His commands?
For if we have done all this with due diligence and in exclusiveness of all else in the world that distracts us from our delicious closeness to Him, if we have been following His footsteps, listening to His voice, reading His word and putting it into practice - Congratulations – as surely as the Lord has said to Philip, so He will say to us individually: “You do know me, after I have been among you such a long time. Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. (Jn 14:9) From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him”. For just like Jesus with the Holy Spirit, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen. Our sword of the resurrection is to be of the same make and one heart as the Lord’s Sword, for only then are we fighting the same battles to win the same war, with minimum casualties and maximum glory for God. So now, how much important is it at this time to not only listen to His voice, but know it enough to set His voice apart from all the noises of the world, and to set ourselves ablaze in the eternal fire of the quest of knowledge to have known and seen Him and the Father? Without this pre-requisite, our testimonies would be invalid and thrown out of court to be trampled by men.
It is our ministry in Him which are unfinished, and in fact has just begun as we sit here in kindergarten as the Lord lifts our learning curve once again. Our testimonies of salvation in His name are complete as it has been preached to all nations. But our testimonies for Jesus, to Him, and for the Word of God are not complete - our testimonies of the resurrection in His name are not complete – our testimonies of the R/resurrection, the love of the fragrance of the resurrection, the opera of the resurrection of the eternities of God, the law of the resurrection and the law resurrected and much more are not complete - for in the past ages, we have merely gleaned over the knowledge about the resurrection of the kingdom of heaven. We did not answer when Wisdom called aloud in the streets, and as fools we hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, we rejected Wisdom when she called and spurned her rebukes and ignored her advice, and so when we called to her, she has not answered (Prov 1:22). The secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to the church, but the church has dropped and lost the keys to the kingdom of heaven and the experts of the law has also taken away the key to knowledge, and so have hindered those who were trying to enter into their ministry of testifying about Jesus the Resurrection, and not just the Life.
We are the Lord’s witnesses for that is our primary calling– and if we see that our work in the Lord, our sword, is our testimony in truth and in Spirit- then we can understand why the Lord says that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. To testify of what you know and what you have seen- of the truth- that yoke is easy and that burden is light. It is certainly lighter and easier than raising your own agenda to build a church of ten thousand, or to take a country for the Lord. The Lord has already built His church and the gates of Hades will not prevail (Mt 16:17), and the gospel has already been preached to all nations- so why do we have delusions of grandeur, thinking we can add onto perfection? Do not be deceived- the work of salvation belonging to the Lord is as complete as it is finished- do not think that we are called to add on or decorate or amend His perfectly finished work- but we have been called to be witnesses of it. That is it. Whatever we do, whatever we say- it is to gain honour for the Lord who sent us to testify for Him and to Him and the word of God with the Holy Spirit- who is Wisdom and the most precious gift of all because we testify in the power of truth and the truth of power which we have received from on high- to first be witnesses as disciples of Jesus to testify that salvation is good, then as sons and daughters of the Most High God to testify that creation is good, and now as the elect of the Lord who is the Resurrector to testify that the power of the resurrection and the resurrection are great. For John’s baptism of water was a baptism of repentance for restoration, but the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a baptism for resurrection. For even the Lord had a baptism to undergo and He was distressed until it was completed and He was resurrected by the power of Holy Spirit. And now if you wish to ask for the Lord, we may drink from the cup and be baptised with the baptism He was baptised with, because we are all about preparing ourselves to lose our heads for Christ and lose our lives for His testimony, our testimony of Him and His gospel.
We are like Joshua who went to battle to reclaim land for the Lord. But for us, the land is the hearts of infant sons and daughters who have allowed the enemy to distance them from the presence of God, and now the Father wants His family back. The Lord is saying to us: “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my Son gave you; do not turn from it to the right and the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of Law depart from your mouth, meditate on day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Holy Spirit the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go (Jos 1:6) … Do not be afraid of them, I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you (Jos 10:8)”
And as the Lord said to Paul, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack or harm you, because I have many people in this city (Acts 18:9)…Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” (Acts 23:11). So the Lord is saying to us- “Take courage it is I… All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me, the Resurrection… and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the world. (Acts 1:7) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Mt 28)… Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. … Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die (Jn 11:25). And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
So let us not be fearful for the sweet victory of the Lord and for the Lord is guaranteed by the word of God. The sweet smell of the victory of the Lord will surely come and we will be witnesses to that as well. Let us take courage and speak up and increase our knowledge and answer Wisdom when she calls. For blessed are those who love the Holy Spirit because He loves those who love Him, and those who seek Him find Him, He bestows wealth on those who love Him and making their treasuries full (Prov 8:20). But that is not why we love Him- we love Him because He is so lovable and worthy of love and so good to love.
Blessed are those who listen to Jesus and keep His ways, always watching at His doors and waiting at His doorway (Prov 8:32). And blessed are those who listen to the Holy Spirit for they will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm (Prov 1:33).
So what further re-assurance do we need, except that we are safe to speak up, to practise, to testify and if we suffer, we suffer in the name of the Lord to the glory of His name!
Blessed is the Lord when we obey His word and love listening to His voice, when we spurn the voice of strangers and we put only His word into practice and we testify for Him in accuracy and precision. Blessed is the Father who welcomes home His sons and daughters of the First Resurrection as they lose their heads in agreement and support of the testimony of His Son. And blessed is the Father who has His redeemed sons and daughters dressed in the royal robes of their testimony of oneness, every one of them peacemaking warriors called by His name, whom he created for His glory, whom He formed and made.
Blessed is the Holy Spirit when we leave our simple ways and respond to His rebuke- when He pours out His heart to us and make His thoughts known to us- when He sets a garland of grace on our heads and present us with a crown of splendour- when He will not laugh at our calamity, but when we laugh and celebrate with Him the sweet everlasting fragrance of the victory of justice! And blessed is the Holy Spirit when we listen to His counsel of wisdom and understanding and we are victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name, for the Holy Spirit has worked long and hard for many years to finally see the sweet victory of the fruits of His labour, and so blessed is the Holy Spirit when He rests from His labour, and He can say from the throne, “It is done!”.
Blessed are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever AMEN!
