What am I Pursuing?
What are you pursuing in this hour? If you think it's possible that Jesus is returning, there is only one acceptable...biblical... response to that reality:
Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was,
2“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
When the kingdom is near, repentance is the right response. God calls His own to repent, not the world. He didn't send John the Baptist to Rome, Babylon, or Egypt to preach repentance, but rather to Israel.
Jesus is coming to the Church, that means the Church desperately needs to repent. She claims to want Him and to be ready for Him...but claiming it is different than actually being ready. Humble is ready. We are far from humble. We are far from ready.
James 4:8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
This is a message to the Church. Jesus is coming.
Are you regularly meeting with a group of people repenting... mourning... and getting ready?
If you are, the answer to this preparation is: JOY!!
You cannot mourn and not have it produce joy. It's impossible to mourn in agreement with Jesus and not have Him reward you with joy. Otherwise, His word would be untrue. That means you cannot give yourself to repentance and not be rewarded with gladness. It is counter-intuitive, but God's ways aren't like ours.
Isaiah 24:12 The city is left in ruins,
its gates battered down.
13 Throughout the earth the story is the same—
only a remnant is left,
like the stray olives left on the tree
or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.
14 But all who are left shout and sing for joy.
Those in the west praise the LORD’s majesty.
15 In eastern lands, give glory to the LORD.
In the lands beyond the sea, praise the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
16 We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth,
songs that give glory to the Righteous One!
But my heart is heavy with grief.
Weep for me, for I wither away.
Deceit still prevails,
and treachery is everywhere.
Right now, the Earth is beginning to languish under the weight of its own sin. The worldly Church will languish right along with it, unless she repents... Unless she comes out.
Jesus isn't calling us to point out how everyone else is wrong. He is calling us to weep and sigh over the abominations in the Holy places... Then we will be spared as He increases judgment.
Ezekiel 9:1 Then the LORD thundered, “Bring on the men appointed to punish the city! Tell them to bring their weapons with them!”
2 Six men soon appeared from the upper gate that faces north, each carrying a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man dressed in linen, who carried a writer’s case at his side. They all went into the Temple courtyard and stood beside the bronze altar.
3 Then the glory of the God of Israel rose up from between the cherubim, where it had rested, and moved to the entrance of the Temple. And the LORD called to the man dressed in linen who was carrying the writer’s case.
4 He said to him, “Walk through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of all who weep and sigh because of the detestable sins being committed in their city.”
5 Then I heard the LORD say to the other men, “Follow him through the city and kill everyone whose forehead is not marked. Show no mercy; have no pity!
6 Kill them all—old and young, girls and women and little children. But do not touch anyone with the mark. Begin right here at the Temple.” So they began by killing the seventy leaders.
7 “Defile the Temple!” the LORD commanded. “Fill its courtyards with corpses. Go!” So they went and began killing throughout the city.
It takes the same energy to criticize everyone around you, especially in the world, as it does to mourn that you are 'a person of unclean lips and you live among a people of unclean lips.'
What do we practically spend our time doing in this critical hour of human history?
One magnifies darkness, the other brings light into the darkness. I want to be a lamp, not a magnifying glass, in the dark.
Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was,
2“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
When the kingdom is near, repentance is the right response. God calls His own to repent, not the world. He didn't send John the Baptist to Rome, Babylon, or Egypt to preach repentance, but rather to Israel.
Jesus is coming to the Church, that means the Church desperately needs to repent. She claims to want Him and to be ready for Him...but claiming it is different than actually being ready. Humble is ready. We are far from humble. We are far from ready.
James 4:8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
This is a message to the Church. Jesus is coming.
Are you regularly meeting with a group of people repenting... mourning... and getting ready?
If you are, the answer to this preparation is: JOY!!
You cannot mourn and not have it produce joy. It's impossible to mourn in agreement with Jesus and not have Him reward you with joy. Otherwise, His word would be untrue. That means you cannot give yourself to repentance and not be rewarded with gladness. It is counter-intuitive, but God's ways aren't like ours.
Isaiah 24:12 The city is left in ruins,
its gates battered down.
13 Throughout the earth the story is the same—
only a remnant is left,
like the stray olives left on the tree
or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.
14 But all who are left shout and sing for joy.
Those in the west praise the LORD’s majesty.
15 In eastern lands, give glory to the LORD.
In the lands beyond the sea, praise the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
16 We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth,
songs that give glory to the Righteous One!
But my heart is heavy with grief.
Weep for me, for I wither away.
Deceit still prevails,
and treachery is everywhere.
Right now, the Earth is beginning to languish under the weight of its own sin. The worldly Church will languish right along with it, unless she repents... Unless she comes out.
Jesus isn't calling us to point out how everyone else is wrong. He is calling us to weep and sigh over the abominations in the Holy places... Then we will be spared as He increases judgment.
Ezekiel 9:1 Then the LORD thundered, “Bring on the men appointed to punish the city! Tell them to bring their weapons with them!”
2 Six men soon appeared from the upper gate that faces north, each carrying a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man dressed in linen, who carried a writer’s case at his side. They all went into the Temple courtyard and stood beside the bronze altar.
3 Then the glory of the God of Israel rose up from between the cherubim, where it had rested, and moved to the entrance of the Temple. And the LORD called to the man dressed in linen who was carrying the writer’s case.
4 He said to him, “Walk through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of all who weep and sigh because of the detestable sins being committed in their city.”
5 Then I heard the LORD say to the other men, “Follow him through the city and kill everyone whose forehead is not marked. Show no mercy; have no pity!
6 Kill them all—old and young, girls and women and little children. But do not touch anyone with the mark. Begin right here at the Temple.” So they began by killing the seventy leaders.
7 “Defile the Temple!” the LORD commanded. “Fill its courtyards with corpses. Go!” So they went and began killing throughout the city.
It takes the same energy to criticize everyone around you, especially in the world, as it does to mourn that you are 'a person of unclean lips and you live among a people of unclean lips.'
What do we practically spend our time doing in this critical hour of human history?
One magnifies darkness, the other brings light into the darkness. I want to be a lamp, not a magnifying glass, in the dark.
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