November 2002

Christ:
The Landscape of Life

Part Thirty-nine

“LO and BEHOLD”

“Guarding our garments” (D)

                When you ask God’s counsel, be sure you say what you mean and mean what you say! You may think you want God’s Will on a matter..till..you hear His Will! But if Divine Instruction is not to your liking; you may find that you are not really ready, willing or able to obey His Word! The prophet Jeremiah addressed God’s people saying, “O remnant of Judah (Heb 3063 praise) the Lord said to you, Do not go to Egypt; but now I testify against you that when you asked me to seek the Lord for you, you swore to obey whatever He said! But you deceived your own hearts; for you have not obeyed the Lord your God...therefore now you can be sure you will die by the sword, and by famine and by pestilence in that place (Egypt) to which you desire to go!” (Jer 42:19-22)
               When God tells His people to stay in praise, it is vital to His Purpose and to our spiritual well-being- for going to Egypt typifies seeking carnal sanctuary in this world of sin and death! The Hebrews Moses led into the wilderness lusted for the few comforts they left behind in *Egypt. [*Heb 4693: “A limit, besieged places, fortified defense”; (4692) “Hemmed in, distress, tower, bulwark, fastness, mound of besiegers, fenced; (6696) “Cramped, confined, formative, hostile; assault as an adversary, beset, fortify, enclose, and put up in bags.” Crudens Concordance adds: “A hollow, hidden, black land of depression.” Bondage to the mind of flesh is indeed depressing! Enslavement to rigid restraints, strict customs and social pressures is an assault on every soul. But Christ releases us from the “letter of the Law that kills” to the “Spirit of the Law that gives Life!” (2 Co 3:6) “When we lived in the flesh (mere physical lives) sinful passions were aroused by what the Law calls sin, ever working in our bodily organs- our fleshly, sensitive appetites and wills, to make us bear the fruit of death! But now we are free from the Law; ending all intercourse with it; and are dying to that which once held us captive! No longer slaves to the old letter of the law; now we obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit that produce the Fruit of Life!” (Ro 7:5-6) And these Fruits of the Spirit [“Love, Peace, Joy, Long-suffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness and Temperance”; Gal 5:22-23] which are the beautiful Offspring of Jesus Christ and His Church, elicit high praise from the hearts of those Fruit-bearers! Only they are able to praise the True God!
               Most women who have experienced motherhood know the exhilaration of first seeing and holding their tiny newborn! No other human joy can compare with it. I know with my six birthings praise for each precious child came easily and instinctively! Likewise when Mother Church beholds her Christed Manchild, profuse praise spontaneously pours forth! I have misgivings about any who claim to be members of the church, but are not enthralled with Revelations of Jesus Christ! Only the carnal mind is threatened by the emergence of Messiah! Only the man of sin is offended by Grace! Only the lawless one is intimidated by the Law of Love! Only a blind heart without understanding sees the Word of Truth as a Stumblingstone. Only self-will would deny or defy the sovereignty of God’s Will! Only a child of the devil- that “murderer from the beginning” (1 Jn 3:8;15) would so hate the Son of God that he is unmoved by the sight of His Bloody Cross!
               What is praise? PRAISE is acknowledgment of worth! To praise anything or anyone is to honor essential excellence! Scripture provides ample justification for all to praise the living God. Isa 35:1-2 says, “The wilderness and the solitary place will be glad for the people of God; as the desert rejoices and blossoms as the rose. It will blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joyous singing The glory of Lebanon, and the the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, shall be given to it! They shall see the Glory of the Lord and the Excellency of our God! So strengthen weak hands and bolster feeble knees; and say to those with fearful hearts, Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with (merciful) vengeance and recompense. He will come to save you! Then blind eyes will be opened; deaf ears will be unblocked; lame men shall leap as the hart; and the tongue of the mute will sing; for waters will break forth in the wilderness, and there will be streams in the desert! There will be a highway, and a way, called the Way of Holiness which the unclean can never traverse...however the redeemed shall walk there! The ransomed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with songs of everlasting joy upon their heads! They will obtain *joy and gladness and all sorrow and sighing shall disappear forever!”

*Eccl 9:8 advises, “Let your garments always remain white ( pure); and never let your Head (“Christ” 1 Co 11:3) lack Anointing Oil(-of JOY, Isa 61:3; and -of GLADNESS, Heb 1:9)!”]

Isa 51:3-9, “The Lord will comfort Zion (Christ’s Church) and all her waste places! He will revive her wilderness as Eden; and restore her desert as the Garden of the Lord! Joy, gladness (God’s Anointing) thanksgiving and the voice of melody will be found there! Therefore hear Me, My people; listen to Me, O My nation! A Law shall go forth from Me that will establish My Judgments as a Light for the people! My Righteousness is near; My Salvation has gone forth; My arms shall judge the people; the isles shall look for me; and all will lean on and trust My arm! So lift up your eyes to (the new) heavens and look down on the earth below! The (former) heavens will disappear like smoke; the earth will age as a garment, and its occupants die in like manner; but My Salvation abides forever; and My Righteousness will never be abolished! So hear Me all you who know My Righteousness; you people in whose heart My Law is written; do not fear the reproach of men nor their revilings; for the moth shall devour them like a garment; and the worm will eat them as wool; but My Righteousness will be forever; and My Salvation from generation to generation! So Awake, Awake! Put on My Strength, O Arm of the Lord! Awake!”

[TO BE CONTINUED]