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November 2003
HINDS’ FEET IN HIGH PLACES
Part 22
“He makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
and sets me on my high places!”
(2 Sa 22:34)
For all with seeing eyes, hearing ears, and an understanding, obedient heart, the Lord reveals a clear and rewarding path to His “High Places”. He does not say it is an easy course, but that it is the ONLY WAY! Let us read it now from Isa 58.
“Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice as a trumpet! Show My people
their transgressions and tell the house of Jacob their sins! They (outwardly)
seek Me daily and express delight in knowing My ways, just as if they were a
nation who did righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God!
They request My ordinances of justice, and take delight in approaching God!
They say to Me, Why do You show no recognition of our fasting, and why do
You not take notice when we afflict our souls with humility?
But I say to you, Behold, O Israel, on your days of fasting (when
you should be grieving for your sins) you make business profits;
and instead of stopping all work, as the Law clearly implies that
you and your workmen should do, you extort from your hired
servants a full amount of labor. Behold, you fast only for strife
and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness! Fasting as
you do today will not make your voice be heard by your Father!
Did I choose your kind of fast, when a man afflicts his soul for
a day, by hanging his head down like a bulrush, and spreading
sackcloth and ashes beneath him? Will You call this a fast and
an acceptable day to the Lord?
This is My chosen fast for you:
- undo the bands of wickedness,
- loose all heavy burdens,
- liberate the oppressed,
- break every yoke of bondage,
- share your bread with the hungry,
- bring the poor and outcast into
your own house,
- cover all nakedness when you see it,
- no longer hide yourself from men of
your own flesh!
This is your reward:
- Your (Christ) Light shall break forth as the morning;
- Your restored health shall spring forth speedily:
- Your (Christ) Righteousness shall go before you;
- The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
- You will call, and the Lord shall answer;
- You will cry out, and He shall say, Here I am!
Then if you remove from your midst::
- the heavy yoke of oppression,
- fingerpointing at others,
- speaking out vanities!
And instead:
reach down deep in your soul to share your own sustenance
with the hungry, and satisfy the needs of other afflicted souls;
Then it will come to pass:
- your Light (of Christ) will rise from obscurity,
- your darkness will become as the noonday,
- the Lord will guide you continually,
- He will satisfy your soul in drought,
- He will fatten your bones,
- you shall be like a watered garden,
- you shall be like a spring of unfailing water,
- your posterity will rebuild the old waste places,
- you will raise up the foundations of many generations,
- you will be called, Repairer of the breach, and
Restorer of paths to be indwelt.
Finally:
- if you restrain your foot from traveling on the Sabbath,
- if you refrain from doing your pleasure on My Holy Day;
- if you call My Sabbath Pure Delight, as well as honorable,
and the Holy Day of the Lord,
And if you HONOR THE LORD by:
- NOT GOING YOUR OWN WAY,
- NOT SEEKING YOUR OWN PLEASURE,
- NOT SPEAKING YOUR OWN WORDS,
Then:
-You will be satisfy yourself with the delight of the Lord;
-I will make you ride on the earth’s HIGH PLACES!
-I will feed you with the heritage that I promised for you
to your father, Jacob!
And all this shall come to pass because
the Mouth of the Lord has spoken it!”
These words are not to be taken lightly, beloveds; they are the Lord’s clear instructions for ascending the High Places. Here are “19” acceptable ways to deny our flesh, followed by “19” glorious life-changes! The significance here is that, in Scripture numerics, “19” means FAITH! This reveals that ONLY BY FAITH can our spiritual man overcome our vile, profitless flesh nature; and ONLY BY FAITH can our spiritual man receive His promised Inheritance. But this Scripture does not refer to man’s human faith, it speaks of CHRIST’S PERFECT FAITH! Indeed, it is the Christ’s Faith in us that enables our spirit to overcome the weaknesses of our flesh! Therefore, as we are empowered to surrender our weak faith to the infilling of Christ- i.e., the Anointing of God, we are then blessed to begin receiving the glorious Promises of our Royal Heritage in the Kingdom of God. Only in this way can Christ receive all the praise, honor and glory due to His Holy Name!
[TO BE CONTINUED]
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