Agreement About the Time
Psalm 9 is an end-time Psalm, and here David gives us one of the most important pictures of God's proven history in every time of judgment the world has seen. It is important to know how God judges, because the Bible says that He never changes. God wants those who have chosen Him to be confident of who He is and what He does:
Psalm 9:8 He shall judge the world in righteousness, And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness. 9 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. 10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. 11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people.
This is one of the most simple and straightforward statements in the Bible about how God operates as He is uprooting evil from the midst of the righteous. He administers judgment uprightly...He doesn't overdo it, and He doesn't underdo it. He uses the least intense means necessary to get the result necessary. He demonstrated His nature in Egypt. When He was convincing Pharaoh to obey God and let the Israelites go, God started out with the least severe signs to demonstrate it was God talking, as Pharaoh resisted God, the signs and judgments became more and more severe, culminating in the death of the first born all throughout Egypt. God is upright in His conduct and His judgments.
The Lord is ALSO a refuge for the oppressed (v9). This is something we must know. God doesn't put love on hold to execute judgment, and He doesn't put judgment on hold to release love. God IS perfect love and perfect justice at the same time. His love requires that He judge evil to release the oppressed. Exodus, Sodom, Babylon, Nineveh, Israel...this is a partial list. God has an incredibly long track record of judging evil, and those in rebellion against His perfect ways, in order to rescue the oppressed. Whenever divine judgment meets our physical earth a couple of constants remain:
1. God relents, always, when the object of His wrath agrees with Him (repents). Nineveh, one of the most evil cities ever, repented and was completely spared the destruction that was about to be released. The king and people of Nineveh agreed with God about His right to judge them, agreed with Him about what to do, and destruction never came to them. Jonah knew God was this way, which is why he tried to avoid Nineveh in the first place.
2. God always protects those in agreement with Him in the midst of judging those rebelling against Him. When Sodom was destroyed, Lot was sent to a city of refuge nearby. When Pharaoh and Egypt were judged, God's people were protected in the land of Goshen. Noah and his family went into the ark, Elijah and those in agreement with God were protected from the drought sent to judge the wicked Ahab, Jezebel, and the prophets of Baal. God always protects His people...always .
Judgment is promised to come to planet earth, and those in rebellion against God are going to come into the fullness of rebellion at the same time those in agreement with Him are going to mature in love to become the Pure and Spotless Bride. Light and darkness are coming to fullness right before our eyes! Jesus used the parable of the wheat and the tares to explain this dynamic at the end of the age:
Matthew 13:24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
Jesus told us what the world would look like at the harvest. We are seeing the signs He described increase in frequency and intensity in a way the world has never witnessed. Geopolitical events in the middle east are confirming with incredible consistency many of the prophecies describing the time of the harvest in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Now is the time to agree with God about who He is, what His rights are as owner and creator, and what He is about to do. The book of Exodus is a down payment on the world events described in the book of Revelation. There will be places of mercy in the midst of judgment. The places of mercy, or cities of refuge, will be established based on one thing: are the people in that city in agreement with God and "seeking Him?" There is a 24 hour worship and prayer movement rising up all over the earth right now. This is a sign of the times prophesied in Isaiah, many of the minor prophets, and Revelation, but Jesus, talking about the harvest at the end of the age, described the end-time worship and prayer movement and its purpose better than anyone else:
Luke 18:7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Agreement with God about the time we live in is essential. Seeing the signs Jesus Himself described and then ignoring them, waiting to see what happens, is the opposite response Jesus described was appropriate and in agreement with Him. Now is the time for an inventory of our heart and lives. Now is the time to consider where we live. Is my city a pocket of mercy? Is my city a land of Goshen? I am going to press in and seek Him to do everything I can to make sure it is! Getting in agreement with God about 24 hour worship and prayer is one of the first steps toward making our cities "pockets of grace."
Genesis 18:23 And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” 27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: 28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?” So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it. ” 29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?” So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.” 30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.” 32 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” 33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
Psalm 9:8 He shall judge the world in righteousness, And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness. 9 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. 10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. 11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people.
This is one of the most simple and straightforward statements in the Bible about how God operates as He is uprooting evil from the midst of the righteous. He administers judgment uprightly...He doesn't overdo it, and He doesn't underdo it. He uses the least intense means necessary to get the result necessary. He demonstrated His nature in Egypt. When He was convincing Pharaoh to obey God and let the Israelites go, God started out with the least severe signs to demonstrate it was God talking, as Pharaoh resisted God, the signs and judgments became more and more severe, culminating in the death of the first born all throughout Egypt. God is upright in His conduct and His judgments.
The Lord is ALSO a refuge for the oppressed (v9). This is something we must know. God doesn't put love on hold to execute judgment, and He doesn't put judgment on hold to release love. God IS perfect love and perfect justice at the same time. His love requires that He judge evil to release the oppressed. Exodus, Sodom, Babylon, Nineveh, Israel...this is a partial list. God has an incredibly long track record of judging evil, and those in rebellion against His perfect ways, in order to rescue the oppressed. Whenever divine judgment meets our physical earth a couple of constants remain:
1. God relents, always, when the object of His wrath agrees with Him (repents). Nineveh, one of the most evil cities ever, repented and was completely spared the destruction that was about to be released. The king and people of Nineveh agreed with God about His right to judge them, agreed with Him about what to do, and destruction never came to them. Jonah knew God was this way, which is why he tried to avoid Nineveh in the first place.
2. God always protects those in agreement with Him in the midst of judging those rebelling against Him. When Sodom was destroyed, Lot was sent to a city of refuge nearby. When Pharaoh and Egypt were judged, God's people were protected in the land of Goshen. Noah and his family went into the ark, Elijah and those in agreement with God were protected from the drought sent to judge the wicked Ahab, Jezebel, and the prophets of Baal. God always protects His people...always .
Judgment is promised to come to planet earth, and those in rebellion against God are going to come into the fullness of rebellion at the same time those in agreement with Him are going to mature in love to become the Pure and Spotless Bride. Light and darkness are coming to fullness right before our eyes! Jesus used the parable of the wheat and the tares to explain this dynamic at the end of the age:
Matthew 13:24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
Jesus told us what the world would look like at the harvest. We are seeing the signs He described increase in frequency and intensity in a way the world has never witnessed. Geopolitical events in the middle east are confirming with incredible consistency many of the prophecies describing the time of the harvest in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Now is the time to agree with God about who He is, what His rights are as owner and creator, and what He is about to do. The book of Exodus is a down payment on the world events described in the book of Revelation. There will be places of mercy in the midst of judgment. The places of mercy, or cities of refuge, will be established based on one thing: are the people in that city in agreement with God and "seeking Him?" There is a 24 hour worship and prayer movement rising up all over the earth right now. This is a sign of the times prophesied in Isaiah, many of the minor prophets, and Revelation, but Jesus, talking about the harvest at the end of the age, described the end-time worship and prayer movement and its purpose better than anyone else:
Luke 18:7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Agreement with God about the time we live in is essential. Seeing the signs Jesus Himself described and then ignoring them, waiting to see what happens, is the opposite response Jesus described was appropriate and in agreement with Him. Now is the time for an inventory of our heart and lives. Now is the time to consider where we live. Is my city a pocket of mercy? Is my city a land of Goshen? I am going to press in and seek Him to do everything I can to make sure it is! Getting in agreement with God about 24 hour worship and prayer is one of the first steps toward making our cities "pockets of grace."
Genesis 18:23 And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” 27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: 28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?” So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it. ” 29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?” So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.” 30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.” 32 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” 33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
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