…Weeping
between the Porch and the Altar…
Joel
2:15-17 (NASB95)
15 aBlow
a trumpet in Zion,
bConsecrate a fast, proclaim a
solemn assembly,
16 Gather
the people, asanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children
and the nursing infants.
Let the bbridegroom
come out of his room
And the bride out of
her bridal chamber.
17 Let
the priests, the Lord’s ministers,
Weep
abetween
the porch and the altar,
And let them say, “bSpare
Your people, O Lord,
And do not make Your
inheritance a creproach,
A byword among the
nations.
Why should they among
the peoples say,
Leonard
Ravenhill, an English Christian Evangelist
and author who focused on the subjects of prayer and revival[2],
wrote an excellent sermon with the same title as ours today. I wish to give credit where credit is due and
acknowledge that a lot of thought went into this sermon today, and I am
grateful to be able to build upon what Dr. Ravenhill spoke about. It is as the Rabbi Sha’ul [Paul] said in 1
Corinthians 3:6-9…
7) So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is
anything, but God who causes the growth.
8) Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will areceive
his own 1reward according to his own labor.
It is true that one plants and another waters, but God
should always get the glory. I am
grateful He allows me to water today.
In His sermon, Dr. Ravenhill quoted Dr.
J. B. Phillips, translator of the
Phillips New Testament, on his comment on the “church” of Acts, chapter One:
"This is the church of Jesus Christ before it became fat and out of breath by prosperity.
This is the church of Jesus Christ before it became muscle bound by over organization.
This is the church of Jesus Christ where they didn't gather together a group of intellectuals to study
phycho-sematic
medicine, they just healed the sick.
This is the church of Jesus Christ where they did not say prayers, but they prayed in the Holy Ghost."
This is the church of Jesus Christ where they did not say prayers, but they prayed in the Holy Ghost."
There's a vast difference.” [4]
What is the difference?
Men who pray know of God; men who pray in the Ruach Ha’Kodesh [Holy
Spirit] know God.
In today’s tired and sick
world, it is no longer enough to know the Word of God
We have to know the God of
the Word.
For what does it
profit us simply to be well versed and trained in the Word, if we do not know
and understand the God that gave us this Word? What is it we have faith in? The
Word, or its Author?
Does it really
matter you might ask…
Let me put it this way. What is faith? The Word of God
states it this way:
Heb 11:1 Now
faith is the 1aassurance of things 2bhoped
for, the 3conviction of cthings not seen. [5]
Faith is not a feeling.
It is not some sort of out of this world kind of experience, some
supernatural force that invades our lives.
Faith is action, faith is a decision.
In having faith, three things must happen:
1. We must harken back to the
very first commandment of God given to Moshe [Moses]:
Exodus 20:1-2 Then God spoke all these words,
saying,
aI
am the Lord your God, bwho
brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of 1slavery.[6]
In this commandment we see the first element of faith:
Trust. Do we trust God? Is His Word true? Is He really God? Did He
really brings us out of slavery? If we
can trust Him at His word, then we move into the second element…
2. Belief. Hebrews 11:6 “… And
without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who acomes to God must believe that He is
and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him….” [7]
We have to make a decision; if we trust
His word, then we have to believe in Him. I know it sounds as if the two should
be reversed, but it does not work that way.
We first have to decide to trust the Bible, that it is the revealed Word
of God, a true and faithful witness of the Creator of all Things, and then we
must believe that He is.
3. Finally, if we can wrap
ourselves around the first two elements, we can move into the third one of
faith: commitment. We have to
commit ourselves, our lives, our hopes, dreams, fortunes, everything to the
service of this God and His Son.
So faith, true faith is this: trust, belief and commitment.
Lose one of these elements and your faith is in vain, for this is the
faith that causes change in your life, and let me tell you a truth; if your faith is not strong enough to change
your behavior, it is not strong enough to change your destiny. What that means is this…
If your life does not change, if you are only going
through the motions of this walk with God -singing songs, saying a few prays,
listening to a few sermons, going to church on Sunday or whenever – and your
life style has not changed, you are in danger.
If God and His Spirit have not broken your heart by revealing your sins,
you are in danger. If you can walk out
of church and still drink, smoke, cheat, lie, steal, lust or any such thing
without remorse, you are in danger. Your
eternal destination might not be in the presence of God, but in the lake of
fire.
So we spend a lot of time and effort teaching and preaching
the Word of God; those of the congregation go out of their way to come together
once or twice a week, maybe more, but they come to hear the Word of God, but
this question must again be asked:
Do
those that teach and preach and those that come to hear the Word of God know
the God of the Word?
This should be a sobering thought, one that makes you
search deep within your soul for the right answer, for this question determines
the reality of your faith.
Most of us come to church for fellowship and easy words.
These will not be easy words today; they cannot be. The Spirit of God is
calling out to His people, and Her words are not easy. It is time to come out
of your slumber, out of your sleep church!
Men
and Women of God – Do you know Him?
Do
you know Him as He defines Himself or do you only know of Him?
Is
your knowledge His knowledge or have you let someone else tell you who He is?
Most of us claim to know God – but the truth is we are
still strangers to Him.
In Psalm 103:6-7 the Word says:
And judgments for all who are boppressed.
7 He amade known His ways to
Moses,
In Exodus 33:7 we see Moshe [Moses] would pitch the Tent
of Meeting (the place where he would go to meet God) outside the camp of the
Israelites. In Exodus 33:8 we see:
8 And it
came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of
his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. [9]
“…that
all the people would arise and stand…” Did you catch that? In the Hebrew what this means is that
the people would begin to position themselves for the arrival of the King. Is
not God the King of Glory? He says He is. Is not Yeshua [Jesus] our King? He
says He is. They would stand and ready their hearts… should we do any less?
Verse 9:
9 Whenever Moses entered the tent, athe pillar of
cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; band 1the
Lord would speak with Moses. [10]
They knew God by the Fire at night and the Cloud by day. This was the presence of the Living God to
them. Would any of us sit still in His
presence or would we do as the people of Israel did in verse 10:
10 When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the
entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the
entrance of his tent. [11]
The Hebrew word translated as “worship” is the word שָׁחָה shāchāh: Literally, it means to
“fall down flat”. In the presence of the
Cloud the people would “arise and worship”… the word “arise” in Hebrew means to
“show honor and respect”; they did so by falling down upon the ground and
stretching themselves out flat in the presence of the Almighty God. How have we been taught to “worship”?
Verse 11:
11 Thus athe
Lord used to speak to Moses face
to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When 1Moses returned
to the camp, bhis servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would
not depart from the tent. [12]
The Hebrew
word for “friend” that is used here is the word רֵיעַ rēyaʿ. “…The basic meaning of rea˓ is in the narrow usage of the word.
A rea˓ is a “personal friend” with
whom one shares confidences and to whom one feels very close…”[13]
Rēyaʿ is also used to describe a personal relationship, that of
a brother or son.
This word, this concept of friend we will see again.
What’s the point? God spoke to Moshe face to face, while the people
stood off afar… Today, we must ask
ourselves if we speak to Him up close, or a far… The answer depends on if you know the God of
the Word.
Do you know this God?
Isaiah
45:5-7 (KJV)
5 I am the LORD, and
there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though
thou hast not known me: 6 That they may know from the rising of the
sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the
LORD, and there is none else.
7 I form the light [truth], and create darkness [sin]:
I make peace [well being and life], and create evil [sin and death]:
I
the LORD do all these things. [14]
Luke
21:20-24 (NASB95)
21 “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and
those who are in the midst of 1the city must leave, and athose who are in the country must not enter 1the city;
23 “Woe to those who are
pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for athere will be great distress upon the 1land and wrath to this people;
24 and they will fall by athe edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the
nations; and bJerusalem
will be ctrampled under foot by the
Gentiles until dthe times of
the Gentiles are fulfilled. [15]
Hosea
13:16 (NASB95)
For she has brebelled
against her God.
Their little ones will be edashed
in pieces,
God has no pity on those who
openly rebel against Him..
Jeremiah 2
1 Now the word of the Lord
came to me saying,
2 “Go
and aproclaim
in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,
The
love of your betrothals,
cYour following
after Me in the wilderness,
Through
a land not sown.
3 “Israel
was aholy
to the Lord,
The bfirst
of His harvest.
cAll who ate of
it became guilty;
Evil
came upon them,” declares the Lord.’
”
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of
Israel.
5 Thus
says the Lord,
“aWhat
injustice did your fathers find in Me,
That
they went far from Me
And
walked after bemptiness and became empty?
6 “They
did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
Who abrought
us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who bled
us through the wilderness,
Through
a land of deserts and of pits,
Through
a land of drought and of 1deep darkness,
Through
a land that no one crossed
And
where no man dwelt?’
7 “I
brought you into the afruitful land
To
eat its fruit and its good things.
But
you came and bdefiled My land,
And
My inheritance you made an abomination.
8 “The apriests did not say,
‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the law bdid
not know Me;
The 1rulers also
transgressed against Me,
And the cprophets prophesied by
Baal
And walked after dthings that did
not profit.
9 “Therefore
I will yet acontend with you,” declares the Lord,
“And with your sons’ sons I will
contend.
And
send to bKedar and observe closely
And
see if there has been such a thing as
this!
11 “Has
a nation changed gods
When
athey
were not gods?
But
My people have bchanged their glory
For
that which does not profit.
12 “Be
appalled, aO heavens, at this,
And
shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.
13 “For
My people have committed two evils:
They
have forsaken Me,
The afountain
of living waters,
To
hew for themselves bcisterns,
Broken
cisterns
That
can hold no water.
14 “Is Israel aa slave? Or is he a
homeborn servant?
Why
has he become a prey?
15 “The
young alions have roared at him,
They
have 1roared loudly.
And
they have bmade his land a waste;
His
cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.
17 “Have
you not adone this to yourself
By
your forsaking the Lord your God
When
He aled
you in the way?
18 “But
now what are you doing aon the road to Egypt,
Or
what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
To
drink the waters of the 2Euphrates?
19 “aYour
own wickedness will correct you,
And
your bapostasies will reprove you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil
and cbitter
For you to forsake the Lord your God,
And tore off your bonds;
But
you said, ‘I will not serve!’
For
on every bhigh hill
And
under every green tree
You
have lain down as a harlot.
21 “Yet
I aplanted
you a choice vine,
A
completely faithful seed.
How
then have you turned yourself before Me
Into
the bdegenerate
shoots of a foreign vine?
22 “Although
you awash
yourself with lye
And 1use
much soap,
23 “aHow
can you say, ‘I am not defiled,
I
have not gone after the bBaals’?
Look
at your way in the cvalley!
Know
what you have done!
You
are a swift young camel dentangling her ways,
24 A
awild
donkey accustomed to the wilderness,
That
sniffs the wind in her passion.
In the time of her 1heat who can
turn her away?
All
who seek her will not become weary;
In
her month they will find her.
25 “Keep
your feet from being unshod
And
your throat from thirst;
No!
For I have bloved strangers,
And
after them I will walk.’
26 “As the athief is shamed when
he is discovered,
So
the house of Israel is shamed;
They,
their kings, their princes
And
their priests and their prophets,
27 Who
say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And
to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For
they have turned their aback
to Me,
And
not their face;
‘Arise
and save us.’
28 “But
where are your agods
Which
you made for yourself?
Let
them arise, if they can bsave you
In
the time of your 1trouble;
For caccording to the number of your cities
Are
your gods, O Judah.
29 “Why do you contend with Me?
You
have aall transgressed against Me,” declares the Lord.
30 “aIn
vain I have struck your sons;
They
accepted no chastening.
Your
bsword
has devoured your prophets
Like
a destroying lion.
31 “O
generation, heed the word of the Lord.
Have
I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a
aland
of thick darkness?
Why
do My people say, ‘bWe are free to roam;
We
will no longer come to You’?
32 “Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have aforgotten Me
Days without number.
33 “How
well you prepare your way
To
seek love!
Therefore
even 1the wicked women
You
have taught your ways.
34 “Also
on your skirts is found
The alifeblood
of the innocent poor;
You
did not find them bbreaking in.
But
in spite of all these things,
35 Yet
you said, ‘I am innocent;
Surely
His anger is turned away from me.’
Behold,
I will aenter into judgment with you
Because
you bsay,
‘I have not sinned.’
36 “Why
do you ago around so much
Changing
your way?
Also,
byou
will be put to shame by Egypt
As
you were put to shame by cAssyria.
37 “From
this place also you will go out
With
ayour
hands on your head;
For
the Lord has rejected bthose
in whom you trust,
And
you will not prosper with them.” [17]
Can today’s church see
herself in the lament of Jeremiah?
One more:
Lamentations 3:41-50
Toward God in heaven;
42 We have atransgressed and rebelled,
You have bnot pardoned.
43 You have covered Yourself with aanger
And bpursued us;
You have slain and chave not spared.
44 You have acovered
Yourself with a cloud
So that bno
prayer can pass through.
45 You have made us mere aoffscouring
and refuse
In the midst of the peoples.
46 All our enemies have aopened their mouths against
us.
47 aPanic and pitfall have befallen us,
Devastation and destruction;
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 My eyes pour down aunceasingly,
Without stopping,
50 Until the Lord alooks
down
And sees from heaven. [18]
O brethren, do you know this GOD?
This Consuming Fire?
Or would you as most say
today “I could never serve a God like that!”?
But
doesn’t our God say this in Malachi 3:6…
Malachi 3:6 (NASB95)
We must pause…
We must give great though to Whom it is we stand before.
Amos 3:2-3
2Only
you I have known of all families of the land, Therefore I charge on you all
your iniquities. 3Do two walk together if they have not met? [20]
John 10:14-15
14 ‘I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and am
known by mine, 15according as the
Father doth know me, and I know the Father, and my life I lay down for the
sheep, [21]
In
many Jewish synagogues, a sign can be found above the ark [cabinet] that holds
the Torah scroll. It reads:
Or
transliterated: “Da Lifnei mi atah Omed”. It means “Know Before Whom
You Stand”.
The
idea for this comes from Moshe’s experience in the wilderness at the burning
bush (see Exodus 3:2-15). The concept behind this statement takes its place as
a reminder that when we approach God in either prayer or study, it should be
with a respectable awe and a focused, reverent attitude.
The
truth to this is that we are always in the presence of God as Paul alludes to
in Acts 17:22-28 and as Isaiah relates to us in Isa 6:1-8. If we hold this to
be true, then shouldn’t we always be aware that everything we say, think and do
is in the divine audience of the Living God?
This
ought to all believers be a sobering thought. I know it was for me. How many words have I spoken that I hadn’t
taken into account my true audience? How many idle, vain words, hurtful words,
angry words, and blasphemous words have I thought or uttered? How often have I lashed out in anger or rage,
how many great swelling words have I shouted at another in defense of one
attitude or another and not regarded who else was in the room – the Presence of
the Most High God?
Brethren,
the days in which we are in are dark; and the world where we have to live is
lawless and wicked. Men do what is right in their own eyes and stand in direct
defiance before a Holy God. They stand and say:
“We
will not believe!”
“We
will not listen!”
“We
will not obey!”
As
were the days of Noah, so are the days in which we live.
What
happens when men do this?
(Jeremiah 11:11)
Therefore
thus says the Lord, “Behold I am abringing
disaster on them which they will bnot be able to
escape; though they will ccry to Me, yet I will not listen to
them. [22]
(Jeremiah
11:22-23)
22 therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, I am about to apunish
them! The byoung men will die by the sword, their sons and
daughters will die by famine;
23 and
a remnant awill not be left to them, for I will bbring
disaster on the men of Anathoth—cthe year of their
punishment.” [23]
(Jeremiah 16:10-13)
10 “Now when you tell this people all these
words, they will say to you, ‘aFor what reason has the Lord declared all this great calamity
against us? And what is our iniquity, or what is our sin which we have
committed against the Lord our
God?’
11 “Then
you are to say to them, ‘It is abecause
your forefathers have forsaken Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and have followed bother gods and
served them and bowed down to them; but Me they have forsaken and have not kept
My law.
12 ‘You
too have done evil, even amore
than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the bstubbornness
of his own cevil heart, without listening to Me.
13 ‘So
I will ahurl you out of this land into the bland
which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will cserve
other gods day and night, for I will grant you no favor.’ [24]
(Jeremiah 18:5-17)
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me saying,
6 “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you
as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the aclay
in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.
7 “At one moment I might speak concerning a
nation or concerning a kingdom to auproot, to pull
down, or to destroy it;
8 aif that nation
against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will 1brelent
concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it.
9 “Or at another moment I might speak concerning
a nation or concerning a kingdom to abuild up or to plant
it;
10 if it does aevil in My sight by
not obeying My voice, then I will 1bthink better
of the good with which I had promised to 2bless it.
11
“So now then, speak to the men of Judah
and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am afashioning
calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh bturn back,
each of you from his evil way, and 1reform your ways and
your deeds.” ’
12 “But athey
will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of
us will act according to the bstubbornness of his evil heart.’
13
“Therefore thus says the Lord,
‘aAsk now
among the nations,
Who ever heard the
like of 1this?
The bvirgin
of Israel
Has done a most cappalling
thing.
14 ‘Does the snow of Lebanon forsake the rock of
the open country?
Or is the cold
flowing water from a foreign land ever snatched away?
15
‘For aMy people have
forgotten Me,
To
walk in bypaths,
Not
on a dhighway,
16 To make their land a adesolation,
An
object of perpetual
bhissing;
Everyone who passes
by it will be astonished
And cshake
his head.
Before
the enemy;
He changes
not. If He did this to His people Israel because they turned their backs on Him
and “…we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us
will act according to the bstubbornness of his evil heart…”; then how can we think He will
spare us in our rebellion?
If you say you
know God, then the truth is you must FEAR Him. For He is worthy to be
praised, to be worshipped, to be feared.
He
is to be obeyed.
Do not think you
can go your own way without consequence. The opposite is true though, blessings
flow when we walk in obedience. Is there sickness in your life? What about your
family?
Turn from your own way and seek
Him!
Follow His path and not your
own.
Remember what
Rabbi Sha’ul [Paul] told us:
Romans 11:21 (NKJV)
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. [26]
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. [26]
We must understand the order of things in God’s world: to
the Jew first, and then the Greeks; what happens in the natural is what is
happening in the supernatural. There was
a blessing for the Jews if they obeyed;
there is a blessing for us if we do so.
But we will reap what we sow, for God is not mocked.
God will never
change.
Do you know Him?
Everyone comes to church for some reason. Some for fellowship, some to be uplifted,
some to praise and worship. Indeed we
come to be edified; we come to encourage one another. I do not speak these
words to hurt or anger anyone, but if we come only to hear a happy message then
we are in a dangerous place. God’s words are not easy – they are full of power
and blessings, curses and fear, joy and peace.
There is just one catch:
He demands His people obey His voice and walk in His ways.
What a large part of Christianity has grown to love is not
the true God or Christ: they are in love with the image that they have made,
with the god that bests fits their lifestyle.
Most want the easy way, the way of the flow, the way that will have a
minimal impact on their ambitions, possessions, and their pleasures. We as a body suffer from the lack of the
knowledge of God, the lack of the understanding of the attributes of God. Instead of a daily diet of repentance,
self-sacrifice, carrying our cross and dying to ourselves, instead of a
steadfast plan to keep ourselves immersed in the word of God, what do we
do? We work, we worry, we stress; we
obsess over the latest fashions to “look good”, we covet, we strive, we envy,
we gossip… Because we don’t know God we
need all these little tricks of the flesh to fill in the gaps, those deep
yawning chasms of emptiness that mark a life that is without the knowledge of
God. Worse of all, we mistake grace for
license and the result is rampant sinning!
1 Corinthians 15:34 (KJV)
34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.[27]
34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.[27]
The question we must ask is “Why this lack of the knowledge
of the one true God?” The answer is
simple. We are not taught who God
is. We are told in Ecclesiastes:
Ecclesiastes 11:5 (KJV)
5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. [28]
5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. [28]
In Ecclesiastes
Solomon tells us in Chapter 11, verses 1-6, four times “…thou knowest
not…” He says in verse 2 “… Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest
not what evil shall be upon the earth…” [29]; “…knowest
not what is the way of the spirit…” and “…thou knowest not the works of
God who maketh all…” in verse 5
[ this is also translated in the Greek Septuagint as “…you shall not know the
actions of God, as much as He shall do in all things…”[30]]; and finally in verse 6 he says “…In the morning sow
thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand; for thou knowest not which
shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good…”[31]
Shame be upon us
brethren! I know we cannot know all
about Him, (Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah. 9For
as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.)[32]
Also:
Psalm 139:1-6
1O Jehovah, thou hast
searched me, and known me. 2Thou knowest my downsitting and
mine uprising; Thou understandest my thought afar off. 3Thou
searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4For
there is not a word in my tongue, But, lo, O Jehovah, thou knowest it
altogether. 5Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thy hand
upon me. 6Such
knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain unto it.[33]
But we must ask
ourselves this: why aren’t our lives so entwined with His that we share in His
most intimate secrets? In Amos 3:7 the Word of God states: “…Surely the Lord God
does nothing,
Unless dHe reveals
His secret to His servants the prophets…”[34]
Yeshua Ha’Machiach
addressed this in John’s Gospel:
John 15:15-16 (NKJV)
15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, sfor all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 tYou did not choose Me, but I chose you and uappointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father vin My name He may give you. [35]
15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, sfor all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 tYou did not choose Me, but I chose you and uappointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father vin My name He may give you. [35]
If this then is the
case, why do we “…knowest not…”? Deuteronomy 29:29 says “…“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which
are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law…(emphasis mine)” [36]
Bear with me now. To understand God’s word, we must define the
terms. Let us define “servant”. When
looking at the word in Amos 3:7,
servant is the Hebrew word (Strong’s #H5650) עבד ‛ebed eh'-bed. While technically defined as “slave” or “servant”, a broader context of
the word is “one chosen and beloved by God”.[37] In the context of John 15:15, the word for
“servant” is (G1401) δοῦλος
doulos doo'-los, which carries with it the same general connotation, along with the idea
that “…Often the service involved is voluntary, in which a person
willingly offers obedience, devotion, and loyalty to another, subordinating his
will to him…”[38] I
believe we have to look even deeper still to find the more subtle use of the
word by Christ. I deduce this from the
new name Christ uses to describe them with – the word for “friend” (G5384)
φίλος philos. Jesus Christ, by His use of this word, has drawn them into a deeper
relationship with Him, from one that is subject or bound to Him (even if
willingly), to one He associates with, the bridegroom’s friend who on His
behalf, asks for the hand of the bride and then renders to Him various services
in closing the marriage and then joining in the celebration of the nuptials.[39]
You can see my friends, how we are held in
esteem by our Yahvey Adonai. Think of
your friends – who are they to you? Dare
I say that there are few if any you hold close enough for you to send them to
the one you love to ask them for their hand in marriage to you, yet this is
precisely the distinction Christ holds us in as His “philos.”
O brethren! “…Thou knowest not!” O pastors!
Why don’t you teach who God is! O teach
upon His attributes, His infinite Glory; get to know Him! This is our eternal life! Eternal life begins not at the gate of
heaven: it starts at the regeneration of our heart! It started before the foundation of the
world! Look at how He trusts His own -
are we included in this trust? We, who
by our former natures were at such odds with Him, yet now are held by Him as עבד ‛ebed – one chosen and
beloved. O shame I say again
Christian! That we know not Him so
deeply. O how His heart must ache for our closeness, for the familiarity that
He desires, that He craves! Yes, Craves!
Our Master longs for our love, our undivided, unfettered love! How can we be so fickle, so hard-hearted as
to deny Him this intimacy that He seeks?
What holds you away beloved? Why
thou knowest not?
…O
men and women of God…
Here,
between the porch and the altar are you weeping?
Are
you weeping for your family?
For America?
Are you weeping for
yourselves?
Can you let God break your
heart?
Can we be as Daniel, crying
out for himself and Israel “..O we have sinned…”
Be not like the Pharisee and
say “I am glad I’m not like this publican…”
But plead, o cry out to God
to be merciful to us
…To have pity…
O pray our hearts have not
hardened and we say
“We
will not believe!”
“We
will not listen!”
“We
will not obey!”
Jesus
said in John 3:14-21:
14 lAnd as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so
mmust the Son of Man be lifted
up, 15 that whoever nbelieves in Him should 3not perish but ohave eternal life. 16 pFor God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten qSon, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life. 17 rFor God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the
world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 s“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not
believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God. 19 And this
is the condemnation, tthat the
light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil. 20 For
ueveryone practicing evil hates
the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21
But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his
deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been vdone in God.” [40]
Are
our deeds in the light?
Are
we producing the fruit that leads to life?
Our fruit is
the product of our faith, which comes from knowing God. What fruit do we bear?
There are only three kinds:
1. None:
We are an empty dead tree, much like the fig
tree in Mark 11:13-24.
2. Poison: Will our fruit be as thorns and thistles (Matt 7:16-18)
or the fruit of lies (Hosea 10:13)? Will it be the fruit of the flesh as found
in Romans 1:28-32:
“…And
just as they did not see fit 1to acknowledge God any longer, aGod
gave them over to a depraved mind,
to do those things which are not proper, 29 being
filled with all unrighteousness,
wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are agossips, 30 slanderers, 1ahaters of
God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, bdisobedient
to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, aunloving, unmerciful;
32 and although they know the ordinance
of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of adeath, they
not only do the same, but also bgive hearty approval to those who
practice them. [41]
3.Or
Will we produce the Good Fruit:
Gal 5:22 But athe fruit of the Spirit is blove, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness,
aself-control;
against such things bthere is no law. [42]
Again
I ask “Do we really know God?”
Does
He know us?
If we are not sure, we are in danger of hearing these
words:
Matthew 7:21-23 (NASB95)
21 “aNot everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “aMany will say to Me on bthat day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many 1miracles?’
21 “aNot everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “aMany will say to Me on bthat day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many 1miracles?’
23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; adepart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness.’ [43]
Lawlessness. The product of our own way. The result of
our bringing strange fire and strange incense before God. Without His Law, His
Torah, His way, His ancient path, He will not know us.
Jeremiah 18:15 says:
‘For aMy people have forgotten Me,
To walk in bypaths,
When we remove the ancient landmarks and stray from the
path God set before us, then we have erred and have gotten off the narrow path
that leads to life and instead have found ourselves on the broad way that leads
to destruction.
Do you know God?
How can you be sure you know
Him?
If you fear Him - you know
Him.
If you humble your heart
before Him – you know Him.
If you can surrender all you
are to Him – you know Him.
If you weep between the
porch and the altar – you will know Him.
On the altar burns your fire, but you cannot get to the
altar without weeping.
O brethren, I do not do altar calls, but the Altar of
God is calling you. If anything you have
heard today has quickened your heart, has broken your heart, come, come to the
altar and worship; come and shakaw – fall before Him today. Let your tears be seen of God – let your
cries go up unto Him!
O for your families, for your children, for your wives,
yours mothers, your fathers, your sisters, your brothers, your home, your
health, yourself… do not be ashamed to come between the porch and the altar…
Come and weep before your God…
These words I’ve spoken are not meant to do anything but
break your heart. If we do not seek His
Holiness, we will not see Him. If we will not let Him break us, He cannot heal
us. If we won’t weep, He cannot hear us.
Pastors,
teachers, brethren; God is calling.
O
let not the unbeliever say “Where is their God?”
But let us say:
“We
know where He is:
He
is in our tears
Between
the Porch and the Altar.”
Let
those in need
Come
and weep.
In
the names of Yeshua Ha’Machiach, Jesus our Messiah
Amein
a
Num 10:3; 2 Kin 10:20
b
Joel 1:14
a
1 Sam 16:5; 2 Chr 29:5
b
Ps 19:5
a
2 Chr 8:12; Ezek 8:16
b
Ex 32:11, 12; Is 37:20; Amos 7:2, 5
c
Ps 44:13; 74:10
d
Ps 42:10; 79:10; 115:2
[1] New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update.
LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]
From the article “Leonard Ravenhill” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Ravenhill
in “Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia”
a 1 Cor 4:15; 9:1; 15:1; 2 Cor 10:14f
b Acts 18:24–27; 1 Cor 1:12
c 1 Cor 15:10
a 1 Cor 3:14; 4:5; 9:17; Gal 6:4
1 Or wages
a Mark 16:20; 2 Cor 6:1
1 Or cultivated land
b Is 61:3; Matt 15:13
c 1 Cor 3:16; Eph 2:20–22; Col 2:7; 1 Pet 2:5
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update, 1 Co 3:6-9 (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation,
1995).
[4] From the article “Weeping between the Porch and the
Altar”, Copyright (C) 1994 by Leonard Ravenhill, Lindale Texas -
http://www.ravenhill.org/
1 Or substance
a Heb 3:14
2 Or expected
b Heb 3:6
3 Or evidence
c Rom 8:24; 2 Cor 4:18; 5:7; Heb 11:7, 27
a Lev 26:1; Deut 5:6; Ps 81:10
b Ex 13:3; 15:13, 16; Deut 7:8
1 Lit slaves
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update, Ex 20:1-2 (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation,
1995).
a Heb 7:19
a Ps 99:4; 146:7
1 Or deeds of
vindication
b Ps 12:5
a Ex 33:13; Ps 99:7; 147:19
b Ps 78:11; 106:22
[8] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ps 103:6–7). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
[9] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ex 33:8). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
a Ex 13:21
b Ps 99:7
1 Lit He
[10] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ex 33:9). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[11] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ex 33:10). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
a Num 12:8; Deut 34:10
1 Lit he
b Ex 24:13
[12] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ex 33:11). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
[13] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr.
(1996). Vol. 1: Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words
(42). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.
[14] The Holy Bible : King James Version.
electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version. Bellingham
WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995.
a Luke 19:43
1 Lit know
1 Lit her
a Luke 17:31
1 Lit her
a Is 63:4; Dan
9:24–27; Hos 9:7
a Dan 8:19; 1 Cor
7:26
1 Or earth
a Gen 34:26; Ex
17:13; Heb 11:34
b Is 63:18; Dan
8:13
c Rev 11:2
d Rom 11:25
1 Ch 14:1 in Heb
a Hos 10:2
b
Hos 7:14
c 2 Kin 8:12
d Hos 11:6
f 2 Kin 15:16
a Is 58:1; Jer 7:2; 11:6
1 Or lovingkindness
b Ezek 16:8; Hos 2:15
c Deut 2:7; Jer 2:6
a Ex 19:5, 6; Deut 7:6; 14:2
b James 1:18; Rev 14:4
c Is 41:11; Jer 30:16; 50:7
a Is 5:4; Mic 6:3
b 2 Kin 17:15; Jer 8:19; Rom 1:21
a Ex 20:2; Is 63:11
b Deut 8:15; 32:10
1 Or the shadow
of death
a Deut 8:7–9; 11:10–12
b Ps 106:38; Jer 3:2; 16:18
a Jer 10:21
b Jer 4:22; Mal 2:7, 8
1 Lit shepherds
c Jer 23:13
d Jer 16:19; Hab 2:18
a Jer 2:35; Ezek 20:35, 36
a Is 23:12
1 I.e. Cyprus and other islands
b Ps 120:5; Is 21:16; Jer 49:28
a Is 37:19; Jer 5:7; 16:20
b Ps 106:20; Rom 1:23
a Is 1:2; Jer 4:23
a Ps 36:9; Jer 17:13; John 4:14
b Jer 14:3
a Jer 5:19; 17:4
a Jer 50:17
1 Lit given their
voice
b Jer 4:7
1 Or sons
a Is 19:13; Jer 44:1; Hos 9:6
2 Lit grazed
b Deut 33:20; Jer 48:45
a Deut 32:10; Jer 4:18
a Deut 32:10; Jer 4:18
a Is 30:2
1 Heb Shihor
b Josh 13:3
2 Lit River
a Is 3:9; Jer 4:18; Hos 5:5
b Jer 3:6, 8, 11, 14; Hos 11:7
c Job 20:12–16; Amos 8:10
d Ps 36:1; Jer 5:24
1 Heb YHWH, usually
rendered Lord
1 Or you
a Lev 26:13
b Deut 12:2; Is 57:5, 7; Jer 3:2, 6; 17:2
a Ex 15:17; Ps 44:2; 80:8; Is 5:2
b Is 5:4
a Jer 4:14
1 Lit cause to be
great to you
b Job 14:17; Hos 13:12
2 HebYHWH, usually
rendered Lord
a Prov 30:12
b Jer 9:14
c Jer 7:31
d Jer 2:33, 36; 31:22
a Jer 14:6
1 Lit occasion
a Jer 18:12
1 Or desperate
b Deut 32:16; Jer 14:10
a Jer 48:27
a Jer 18:17; 32:33
b Judg 10:10; Is 26:16
1 Or evil
a Deut 32:37; Judg 10:14; Is 45:20; Jer 1:16
b Jer 11:12
1 Or evil
c 2 Kin 17:30, 31; Jer 11:13
a Jer 5:1; 6:13; Dan 9:11
a Is 1:5; Jer 5:3; 7:28
b Neh 9:26; Jer 26:20–24; Acts 7:52; 1 Thess 2:15
a Is 45:19
b Deut 32:15; Jer 2:20, 25
a Ps 106:21; Is 17:10; Jer 3:21; 13:25; Hos 8:14
1 Or in wickedness
a 2 Kin 21:16; 24:4; Ps 106:38; Jer 7:6; 19:4
b Ex 22:2
a Jer 25:31
b Prov 28:13; 1 John 1:8, 10
a Jer 2:23; 31:22; Hos 12:1
b Is 30:3
c 2 Chr 28:16, 20, 21
a 2 Sam 13:19; Jer 14:3, 4
b Jer 37:7–10
[17] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Je 2:1–Je 3). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
a Ps 25:1; 28:2; 141:2
1 Lit toward our
a Neh 9:26; Jer 14:20; Dan 9:5
b 2 Kin 24:4; Jer 5:7, 9
a Lam 2:21
b Ps 83:15; Lam 3:66
c Lam 2:2, 17, 21
a Ps 97:2
b Lam 3:8; Zech 7:13
a 1 Cor 4:13
a Job 30:9, 10; Ps 22:6–8; Lam 2:16
a Is 24:17, 18; Jer 48:43, 44
1 Lit eye brings
a Ps 119:136; Jer 9:1, 18; Lam 1:16; 2:11, 18
a Ps 77:2; Jer 14:17
a Ps 80:14; Is 63:15; Lam 5:1
[18] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (La 3:41–50). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
1 Or I am the
Lord; I do not
a Num 23:19;
James 1:17
2
Or have not come to
an end
[19] New
American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation,
1995.
[20] Young, R.
(1997). Young's Literal Translation. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible
Software.
a 2 Kin 22:16; Jer 6:19; 11:17
b Is 24:17; Jer 25:35
c Ps 18:41; Prov 1:28; Is 1:15; Jer 11:14; 14:12; Ezek
8:18; Mic 3:4; Zech 7:13
[22] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Je 11:11). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
a Jer 21:14
b 2 Chr 36:17; Jer 18:21
a Jer 6:9
b Jer 23:12; Hos 9:7; Mic 7:4
c Luke 19:44
[23] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Je 11:22–Je 12). LaHabra, CA: The
Lockman Foundation.
a Deut 29:24; 1 Kin 9:8; Jer 5:19; 13:22; 22:8
a Deut 29:25; 1 Kin 9:9; 2 Chr 7:22; Neh 9:26–29; Jer
22:9
b Deut 29:26; 1 Kin 9:9; Ps 106:35–41; Jer 5:7–9; 8:2;
Ezek 11:21; 1 Pet 4:3
a Jer 7:26
b 1 Sam 15:23; Jer 7:24; 9:14; 13:10
c Eccl 9:3; Mark 7:21
a Deut 4:26, 27; 2 Chr 7:20; Jer 15:1
b Jer 15:14; 17:4
c Deut 4:28; 28:36; Jer 5:19
[24] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Je 16:10–13). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
a Is 45:9; 64:8; Matt 20:15; Rom 9:21
a Jer 1:10
a Jer 7:3–7; 12:16; Ezek 18:21
1 Lit repent of
b Ps 106:45; Jer 26:3, 13, 19; Hos 11:8; Joel 2:13, 14;
Jon 3:10
a Jer 1:10; 31:28; Amos 9:11–15
a Ps 125:5; Jer 7:24–28; Ezek 33:18
1 Lit repent
b 1 Sam 2:30; 13:13
2 Lit do it good
a Is 5:5; Jer 4:6; 11:11
b 2 Kin 17:13; Is 1:16–19; Jer 4:1; Acts 26:20
1 Lit make good
a Is 57:10; Jer 2:25
b Deut 29:19; Jer 7:24; 16:12
a Is 66:8; Jer 2:10, 11
1 Lit these
b Jer 14:17; 31:4
c Jer 5:30; 23:14; Hos 6:10
a Jer 2:32; 3:21
b Is 65:7; Jer 7:9; 10:15; 44:17
1 Lit to
worthlessness
2 So ancient versions; Heb caused them to
3 Or in
3 Or in
c Jer 6:16
d Is 57:14; 62:10
a Jer 25:9; 49:13; 50:13; Ezek 33:28, 29
b 1 Kin 9:8; Lam 2:15; Mic 6:16
c Ps 22:7; Is 37:22; Jer 48:27
a Ps 48:7
b Job 27:21; Jer 13:24
1 So ancient versions; M.T. reads look them in the back and not in the face
c Jer 2:27; 32:33
d Jer 46:21
[25] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Je 18:5–17). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
b Deut 29:19; Jer 7:24; 16:12
[26] The New King James Version. Nashville:
Thomas Nelson, 1982.
[27] The Holy
Bible : King James Version. ©1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of
the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[28] The Holy
Bible : King James Version. ©1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of
the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[29] Darby, J. N.
©(1996). The Holy Scriptures : A new translation from the original languages.
Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems.
[30]
The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and
English, by Sir Lancelot C.L. Brenton, originally published 1851, ©2007
Hendrickson Publishers
[31] Darby, J. N.
©(1996). The Holy Scriptures : A new translation from the original languages.
Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems.
[32] American
Standard Version. 1995 (Electronic
edition.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[33] American
Standard Version. ©1995 (Electronic edition.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos
Research Systems, Inc.
s Gen. 18:17
u [Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15; Col. 1:6]
v John 14:13; 16:23, 24
[37]
Gesenius’ Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to
the Old Testament Scriptures, translated by Samuel Prideaux Tregelles,
LL.D., (first issued 1847) ©1979 Baker Book House Company, Grand Rapids, MI: pp
599.
[38] Hayford, J. W., & Thomas Nelson Publishers.
©(1995). Hayford's Bible handbook. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[39]
Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament, by Joseph H. Thayer, (published originally 1896), 2007
Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody MA; pp 665.
l Num. 21:9
m Matt. 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke
23:33; John 8:28; 12:34; 19:18
n John 6:47
3 NU omits not perish but
o John 3:36
p Rom. 5:8; Eph. 2:4; 2 Thess.
2:16; [1 John 4:9, 10; Rev. 1:5]
q [Is. 9:6]
r Matt. 1:21; Luke 9:56; 1 John
4:14
s John 5:24; 6:40, 47; 20:31; Rom.
8:1
t [John 1:4, 9–11]
u Job 24:13; Eph. 5:11, 13
v [John 15:4, 5]; 1 Cor. 15:10
[40] The New
King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
1 Lit to have God
in knowledge
a Rom 1:24
a 2 Cor 12:20
1 Or hateful to
God
a Ps 5:5
b 2 Tim 3:2
a 2 Tim 3:3
a Rom 6:21
b Luke 11:48; Acts 8:1; 22:20
[41] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ro 1:28–32). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
a Matt 7:16ff; Eph 5:9
b Rom 5:1–5; 1 Cor 13:4; Col 3:12–15
a Acts 24:25
b Gal 5:18
[42] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ga 5:22–23). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
a
Luke 6:46
a Matt 25:11f;
Luke 13:25ff
b Matt 10:15
1 Or works of
power
a Ps 6:8; Matt
25:41; Luke 13:27
a Jer 2:32; 3:21
b Is 65:7; Jer 7:9; 10:15; 44:17
1 Lit to
worthlessness
2 So ancient versions; Heb caused them to
3 Or in
3 Or in
c Jer 6:16
d Is 57:14; 62:10
[44] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Je 18:15). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
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