Zechariah is such a book of restoration and protection.
"And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand!
Then I said, 'Where are you going?'
And he said to me, 'To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.'
And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him and said to him, 'Run, say to that young man, "Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst." '
Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the LORD. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the LORD. Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon." - Zechariah 2:1-7 ESV
This book mirrors end time restoration and pits it against present day restoration. God will do things in the last days but He feels now what He will feel then. He warns us away from danger (see Zechariah 1:4f) and directs us to a city not made with hands where He is the wall of fire that protects it (see Zechariah 2:5).
Joshua the priest should be wearing spotless garments but he isn't and Satan is ripping him apart with accusations but God restores him (see Zechariah 3:3f).
"And the angel of the LORD solemnly assured Joshua, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.' " - Zechariah 3:6-10 ESV
God gives us men, anointed men, who will ooze oil and provide light
"And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left... And a second time I answered and said to him, 'What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?'
He said to me, 'Do you not know what these are?'
I said, 'No, my lord.'
Then he said, 'These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.' " - Zechariah 4:3, 12-14 ESV
Zerubbabel and Joshua were the two men in that day. Zerubbabel was a man who measured according to God's measure (see Zechariah 4:9f) and Joshua was a priest who was dirty and plagued by accusation but restored.
People who live in God's grace measure and are restored with God's restoration provide light for their generation.
God is building His church just as He was restoring His nation in the book of Zechariah. God restores lives one at a time also. The principles for the restoration of a life are the same as for the restoration of a nation. Things didn't happen all at once. There were seeming setbacks but God was with them.
Let's flee to the city with a wall of fire around it. That place is the place of our heritage. There are men who tell us it's measurements and show us restoration by their example. It is light that should not be ignored.
--
Monday, June 29, 2015
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Some Thoughts From The Baltimore Convention
June 23rd, 2015
Just a couple of thoughts from last night at the convention that I am mulling over this morning...
- Grace can become a tool that helps us forget those things that are behind us and press toward those things that are before us. As we are in the anointing God looses the moorings and those things just float away until they are out of sight. It is not something that is automatic. God does it. I am praying He will do it for people to free them experientially from their past so they can move forward by faith in freedom.
- The things we seek are 'above' things and they are just out of our natural reach but the presence of God brings them to us so we sense them and experience them. When we don't feel them we reach for them by faith. These 'above' things are throne relationship things. They are in Jesus. They are with Jesus. Jesus is with us. We won't find them with the mind alone but we find them because He has found us.
----
June 25th, 2015
A few more thoughts from convention 2015...
- What were men like Moses doing when they went down on the ground and 'fell on their face' in the OT? What did they find there? Who did they find there? Really, It was a kind of surrender but not a surrender to the circumstance or to a mortal person. They surrendered to God down there on their face.
"They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, 'You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?'
When Moses heard it, he fell on his face," - Numbers 16:3-4 ESV
No argument with people. Moses didn't just walk on ignoring the conflict. He exercised ultimate humility and meekness and submitted to God. Wow.
Jesus hung on the cross but He was a man 'on his face' doing it. He refused to give a fallen argument. Amazing.
- The beatitudes came alive to me in last night's message.
"And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.' " - Matthew 5:2-13 ESV
These are are not the declarations of self. Grace does this in a person as their new man is ignited to think with God. Grace reveals the blessing on us in our human poverty. Grace reveals and produces meekness. We have a different hunger and thirst. Grace and mercy go hand in hand. The blood purifies and is applied by grace. A peacemaking ministry is possible. We can fall on our face when reviled and attacked. Joy is coming in those times.
What a blessing the messages have been this year. I want to get the audio of what I've missed. There is a living expectation that lingers with me this morning for the prayers prayed with people. It is a unique time. What a privilege it is to be involved and present.
----
June 27th, 2015
The June convention in Baltimore has always been an interesting time of year. In many years past God has used this time to speak to me and change my life somehow. People are present that you may only see once a year... or once a decade. The conversation and messages are rich and at times just goofy and full of joy.
In years past I have prayed and asked God to speak to me, lead me or just plain heal me during convention. What He ended up doing was very rarely what I expected. This year was as unique as any other year has been.
I didn't ask God to give me anything this time and many times felt out of sync with what was going on. I would have a 'divine appointment' with someone and then minutes later I would find myself bringing a cup of coffee to someone who had gone who knows where. Ten minutes into the messages I found myself drifting and having to force my body into stillness and settle my restless legs. I liked what was being said and got some amazing gem from each message but found it hard to stay on track. Some of the music so enraptured me that I can still enter back into those moments as if they are happening right now.
God has spoken to me in many ways over the years. This year it was important to me to live in reality and not fantasy. If I got something from God I wanted it to be 'real' and not some confirmation or denial of a self contrived religious notion that would lead me down a road I was unsuited to travel on.
I hope you understand what I mean. Things can seem romantic but the glamour fades quickly when we go into things with rose colored glasses. I don't know about you but I have entered into 'faith ventures' where I have crashed and burned and it is not pleasant. You stumble from the wreckage bruised and limping and begin to flinch from the thought of ever going back. It's kind of like saying, 'I'll never love anyone again' after a terrible heartbreak. It is a stupid thing to say but if you are hurt deeply enough it sound more reasonable than getting hurt again.
Anyway... In the midst of my out-of-syncness there were these amazing moments of clarity and that is how God spoke to me this year. Much of what was said was personal and I won't share it here but a very key thing happened last night at about midnight while standing and talking to some friends in the parking lot as the band was wrapping things up and loading up equipment into their vehicle.
One of these friends is a missionary Pastor in India and He was talking about prayer and demonic activity and how much more common it is in India to see people who 'have demons' then it is here. This Pastor is a very kind rational person by the way. He isn't looking for a demon under every rock and is actually very reluctant to get involved in such cases because it is dirty business. He would rather just love people up than deal with that stuff. But, That among other things has taught Him the power of prayer and the security he has in the name of Jesus. He spoke about how prayer is so important in any venture and how he has seen first hand how afraid demons are even of the name of Christ.
I am very wary of, 'God told me I need to _________ more.' statements because I think God knows us very well and our effort is just that. It is ours and not His. He Is the Savior and we are not. But, When God shows me something I want to listen, remember and live in the reality of it. God showed me something about prayer and revealed something that goes to the root of why I can end up frustrated at times.
"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit' - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.' " - James 4:13-15 ESV
"The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit." - James 5:16b-18 ESV
It is wise to bathe our going in prayer. It is wise to mention the name of Christ liberally if we are not doing it in vanity. His nature and name are powerful. He Is redemption and we function and see fruit when things are bathed in His name and not ours.
Some things may take a lot of asking and time but in the end there will be a lot of fruit. God will do it by grace and we might even be blessed to see it happen with our own eyes.
--
Just a couple of thoughts from last night at the convention that I am mulling over this morning...
- Grace can become a tool that helps us forget those things that are behind us and press toward those things that are before us. As we are in the anointing God looses the moorings and those things just float away until they are out of sight. It is not something that is automatic. God does it. I am praying He will do it for people to free them experientially from their past so they can move forward by faith in freedom.
- The things we seek are 'above' things and they are just out of our natural reach but the presence of God brings them to us so we sense them and experience them. When we don't feel them we reach for them by faith. These 'above' things are throne relationship things. They are in Jesus. They are with Jesus. Jesus is with us. We won't find them with the mind alone but we find them because He has found us.
----
June 25th, 2015
A few more thoughts from convention 2015...
- What were men like Moses doing when they went down on the ground and 'fell on their face' in the OT? What did they find there? Who did they find there? Really, It was a kind of surrender but not a surrender to the circumstance or to a mortal person. They surrendered to God down there on their face.
"They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, 'You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?'
When Moses heard it, he fell on his face," - Numbers 16:3-4 ESV
No argument with people. Moses didn't just walk on ignoring the conflict. He exercised ultimate humility and meekness and submitted to God. Wow.
Jesus hung on the cross but He was a man 'on his face' doing it. He refused to give a fallen argument. Amazing.
- The beatitudes came alive to me in last night's message.
"And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.' " - Matthew 5:2-13 ESV
These are are not the declarations of self. Grace does this in a person as their new man is ignited to think with God. Grace reveals the blessing on us in our human poverty. Grace reveals and produces meekness. We have a different hunger and thirst. Grace and mercy go hand in hand. The blood purifies and is applied by grace. A peacemaking ministry is possible. We can fall on our face when reviled and attacked. Joy is coming in those times.
What a blessing the messages have been this year. I want to get the audio of what I've missed. There is a living expectation that lingers with me this morning for the prayers prayed with people. It is a unique time. What a privilege it is to be involved and present.
----
June 27th, 2015
The June convention in Baltimore has always been an interesting time of year. In many years past God has used this time to speak to me and change my life somehow. People are present that you may only see once a year... or once a decade. The conversation and messages are rich and at times just goofy and full of joy.
In years past I have prayed and asked God to speak to me, lead me or just plain heal me during convention. What He ended up doing was very rarely what I expected. This year was as unique as any other year has been.
I didn't ask God to give me anything this time and many times felt out of sync with what was going on. I would have a 'divine appointment' with someone and then minutes later I would find myself bringing a cup of coffee to someone who had gone who knows where. Ten minutes into the messages I found myself drifting and having to force my body into stillness and settle my restless legs. I liked what was being said and got some amazing gem from each message but found it hard to stay on track. Some of the music so enraptured me that I can still enter back into those moments as if they are happening right now.
God has spoken to me in many ways over the years. This year it was important to me to live in reality and not fantasy. If I got something from God I wanted it to be 'real' and not some confirmation or denial of a self contrived religious notion that would lead me down a road I was unsuited to travel on.
I hope you understand what I mean. Things can seem romantic but the glamour fades quickly when we go into things with rose colored glasses. I don't know about you but I have entered into 'faith ventures' where I have crashed and burned and it is not pleasant. You stumble from the wreckage bruised and limping and begin to flinch from the thought of ever going back. It's kind of like saying, 'I'll never love anyone again' after a terrible heartbreak. It is a stupid thing to say but if you are hurt deeply enough it sound more reasonable than getting hurt again.
Anyway... In the midst of my out-of-syncness there were these amazing moments of clarity and that is how God spoke to me this year. Much of what was said was personal and I won't share it here but a very key thing happened last night at about midnight while standing and talking to some friends in the parking lot as the band was wrapping things up and loading up equipment into their vehicle.
One of these friends is a missionary Pastor in India and He was talking about prayer and demonic activity and how much more common it is in India to see people who 'have demons' then it is here. This Pastor is a very kind rational person by the way. He isn't looking for a demon under every rock and is actually very reluctant to get involved in such cases because it is dirty business. He would rather just love people up than deal with that stuff. But, That among other things has taught Him the power of prayer and the security he has in the name of Jesus. He spoke about how prayer is so important in any venture and how he has seen first hand how afraid demons are even of the name of Christ.
I am very wary of, 'God told me I need to _________ more.' statements because I think God knows us very well and our effort is just that. It is ours and not His. He Is the Savior and we are not. But, When God shows me something I want to listen, remember and live in the reality of it. God showed me something about prayer and revealed something that goes to the root of why I can end up frustrated at times.
"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit' - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.' " - James 4:13-15 ESV
"The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit." - James 5:16b-18 ESV
It is wise to bathe our going in prayer. It is wise to mention the name of Christ liberally if we are not doing it in vanity. His nature and name are powerful. He Is redemption and we function and see fruit when things are bathed in His name and not ours.
Some things may take a lot of asking and time but in the end there will be a lot of fruit. God will do it by grace and we might even be blessed to see it happen with our own eyes.
--
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
A Special Brand Of 'Don't Quit!'
'Don't quit!'
I love to hear that phrase but at the same time I understand as I get older that there are several kinds of attitudes that can make living that phrase a reality.
Pride has a kind of faithfulness and steely strength that won't bend, move or stop because it will lose something or being lessened in someone else's eyes. Pride just won't be the first one to quit because it thinks it is better.
But, There is another kind of 'don't quit' this one is gentle and draws no attention to itself at all.
"For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord." - Ephesians 5:8-10 ESV
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit." - Galatians 5:22-25 ESV
I want my 'yes' to be 'yes' and my 'no' to be a big fat 'no'. I for one want to quit everything that is dark and keep in step with what is in the light. Pride won't let me quit but I must. God has given me something wondrous to say 'yes' to.
Faithfulness is the 'don't quit' I desire to live in. But, I've seen the faithfulness born or pride and not born as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is arrogant. If I point the finger anywhere it isn't going to be outward. I am the man. I am the bull who sometimes goes but knocks people over going. I am the one who won't quit because he doesn't want to be a quitter.
Oh, But then I see Jesus.
He is just over there. He is just behind the closed door. He Is worshiping in the chapel. He is standing in the place where we don't have a church yet. He is in each room looking at people and loving them. He Is with me but He Is also just over there... a few steps past me... love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are just over there waiting to born into the world.
I can't quit. I want to be there with Him. My wife needs a husband. My mother needs a son. My sister needs a brother. People need a preacher. That place needs a Church. A dead building on each corner won't cut it. They need a living Church. People need to see Him and then some will also drop their nets and follow Him once they see the power that is there in Him.
Jesus the eternal One never quits because He would have to affected by time and space and to do that. He would have to change or be discouraged and He never does either of those things. He Is ever and always faithful. Basking in His light we never need to stop. There is new life in every step.
--
I love to hear that phrase but at the same time I understand as I get older that there are several kinds of attitudes that can make living that phrase a reality.
Pride has a kind of faithfulness and steely strength that won't bend, move or stop because it will lose something or being lessened in someone else's eyes. Pride just won't be the first one to quit because it thinks it is better.
But, There is another kind of 'don't quit' this one is gentle and draws no attention to itself at all.
"For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord." - Ephesians 5:8-10 ESV
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit." - Galatians 5:22-25 ESV
I want my 'yes' to be 'yes' and my 'no' to be a big fat 'no'. I for one want to quit everything that is dark and keep in step with what is in the light. Pride won't let me quit but I must. God has given me something wondrous to say 'yes' to.
Faithfulness is the 'don't quit' I desire to live in. But, I've seen the faithfulness born or pride and not born as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is arrogant. If I point the finger anywhere it isn't going to be outward. I am the man. I am the bull who sometimes goes but knocks people over going. I am the one who won't quit because he doesn't want to be a quitter.
Oh, But then I see Jesus.
He is just over there. He is just behind the closed door. He Is worshiping in the chapel. He is standing in the place where we don't have a church yet. He is in each room looking at people and loving them. He Is with me but He Is also just over there... a few steps past me... love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are just over there waiting to born into the world.
I can't quit. I want to be there with Him. My wife needs a husband. My mother needs a son. My sister needs a brother. People need a preacher. That place needs a Church. A dead building on each corner won't cut it. They need a living Church. People need to see Him and then some will also drop their nets and follow Him once they see the power that is there in Him.
Jesus the eternal One never quits because He would have to affected by time and space and to do that. He would have to change or be discouraged and He never does either of those things. He Is ever and always faithful. Basking in His light we never need to stop. There is new life in every step.
--
Friday, June 19, 2015
The Gleanings Before Dawn blog will be on hiatus until July 2015
Due to our schedule we will not be posting a regular Monday through Friday morning blog for the remainder on the month of June. There will be posts here and there as God leads but not on a consistent basis. As of now we are planning to return to a more consistent schedule in the first of second week of July of 2015 because that is when my morning study times will consistently resume.
As we have said last year... there are a few things as a reader that you can do during this time:
May God bless you richly for the rest on the month of June and beyond!
Your Friend in Christ,
P Allan Leitner
---
As we have said last year... there are a few things as a reader that you can do during this time:
- Pray. Like any venture we undertake the desire is that this blog would be an outreach to touch people with the Gospel, introduce people who have never heard it to a finished work grace oriented approach to the Bible and edify people. This blog is a tool and we seek God's leading in how to proceed with it.
- Go back and read the archives. To date there are almost 700 entries. Pick a month and read day to day or read entries with titles that interest you. I hope the past entries will be a blessing to you.
- While you are doing that make comments on blog entries including topics that you would like to hear more about in the future, questions or any edifying comments you would like to leave.
- If you miss me then tell me you miss me... you can contact me by email at pallanleitner@gmail.com
- You can also follow me on twitter @Allan_Leitner
- I would love to hear from all of you. It is expected that we will only be aware of a fraction of the impact any ministry is having on any person's life while we are on Earth. Heaven will reveal what is now hidden. It is however a great blessing to get feedback and hear testimonies if people are led to share those things.
May God bless you richly for the rest on the month of June and beyond!
Your Friend in Christ,
P Allan Leitner
---
Thursday, June 18, 2015
The Latter Rain - Part 2
The latter rain is given to the Church and it becomes an example to Israel of what God can do with people. It gives them hope. The Church will have a lukewarm reputation in the world but God will do wonderful things in the body of Christ before the Church is transformed into His bride.
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness," - 2 Timothy 3:16 ESV
God gave promises to Israel and the Church is not Israel or an extension of Israel. The Church is a beautiful foreign bride that God has taken to Himself and called His own. God has grafted the Church into His kingdom.
"Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure' - for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints." - Revelation 19:6-8 ESV
This spring rain will prepare the Church and move the corporate structure from 'the body' into 'the bride.' It will be a last pre-marriage preparation. A marriage that will be taking place in Heaven during the relatively calm first half of the time when craziness is about to break out in mass on the Earth.
When Moses took a foreign bride (See Numbers 12:1) it provoked his siblings to jealously and this latter rain revival will serve the same purpose. God does it out of love but He also will use the political backlash caused by His choice to convert Israel to Himself.
"So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous." - Romans 11:11 ESV
"The LORD answered and said to his people, 'Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations... Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.' " - Joel 2:19, 23-32 ESV
Israel will be provoked to jealousy saying, 'How come they knew God and we don't? Remember what happened with the vilified Christian's before they vanished? Maybe God will save us also?'
God will send the latter rain on us to ripen His crop and then He will send rain to them in the midst of great trouble. Young people will be converted in the midst of Israel and those young people will be witnesses during that dark time.
"After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, 'Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.' And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:" - Revelation 7:1-4 ESV
God has the angels stand waiting and holding back while those witnesses are being converted. These are the young who will 'see visions' as the old men 'dream dreams.' Israel's conversion will happen in part because of the Church's last days revival. The bright light of the grace message will shine in the memories of those surviving daily calamity surrounded by lies and propaganda.
"Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless." - Revelation 14:1-5 ESV
They will sing a new song no one else can sing because they were saved from what no one else has gone through. We sing our 'grace song' and they will have their glorious song.
God will use the Church to send grain, wine and oil to Israel and then God will redeem them in a like manner in a dramatic accelerated way similar to how He once delivered them from Egypt.
(FYI. If you want a good resource that goes into end times events in depth check out 'Things to Come' by Dwight Pentecost)
In a way our lives are a microcosm of all these things. Each of us living through different tragedies and experiencing different triumphs. Some of us live relatively controversy free lives and others seem to have trouble swirling around them all the time (or for extended seasons.) The love God has for us and our response to it has an impact on those around us. Perhaps it has a larger impact then we realize.
We can have a visible relationship with God that provokes people who don't have it to jealousy. Peace that passes understand by is available to us.
"I, the LORD, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day;" - Isaiah 27:3 ESV
As individuals we can live in constant hydration knowing that God will do what He does inside us and more for His Church publicly some day soon.
--
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness," - 2 Timothy 3:16 ESV
God gave promises to Israel and the Church is not Israel or an extension of Israel. The Church is a beautiful foreign bride that God has taken to Himself and called His own. God has grafted the Church into His kingdom.
"Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure' - for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints." - Revelation 19:6-8 ESV
This spring rain will prepare the Church and move the corporate structure from 'the body' into 'the bride.' It will be a last pre-marriage preparation. A marriage that will be taking place in Heaven during the relatively calm first half of the time when craziness is about to break out in mass on the Earth.
When Moses took a foreign bride (See Numbers 12:1) it provoked his siblings to jealously and this latter rain revival will serve the same purpose. God does it out of love but He also will use the political backlash caused by His choice to convert Israel to Himself.
"So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous." - Romans 11:11 ESV
"The LORD answered and said to his people, 'Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations... Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.' " - Joel 2:19, 23-32 ESV
Israel will be provoked to jealousy saying, 'How come they knew God and we don't? Remember what happened with the vilified Christian's before they vanished? Maybe God will save us also?'
God will send the latter rain on us to ripen His crop and then He will send rain to them in the midst of great trouble. Young people will be converted in the midst of Israel and those young people will be witnesses during that dark time.
"After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, 'Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.' And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:" - Revelation 7:1-4 ESV
God has the angels stand waiting and holding back while those witnesses are being converted. These are the young who will 'see visions' as the old men 'dream dreams.' Israel's conversion will happen in part because of the Church's last days revival. The bright light of the grace message will shine in the memories of those surviving daily calamity surrounded by lies and propaganda.
"Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless." - Revelation 14:1-5 ESV
They will sing a new song no one else can sing because they were saved from what no one else has gone through. We sing our 'grace song' and they will have their glorious song.
God will use the Church to send grain, wine and oil to Israel and then God will redeem them in a like manner in a dramatic accelerated way similar to how He once delivered them from Egypt.
(FYI. If you want a good resource that goes into end times events in depth check out 'Things to Come' by Dwight Pentecost)
In a way our lives are a microcosm of all these things. Each of us living through different tragedies and experiencing different triumphs. Some of us live relatively controversy free lives and others seem to have trouble swirling around them all the time (or for extended seasons.) The love God has for us and our response to it has an impact on those around us. Perhaps it has a larger impact then we realize.
We can have a visible relationship with God that provokes people who don't have it to jealousy. Peace that passes understand by is available to us.
"I, the LORD, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day;" - Isaiah 27:3 ESV
As individuals we can live in constant hydration knowing that God will do what He does inside us and more for His Church publicly some day soon.
--
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
The Latter Rain - Part 1
"And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil." - Deuteronomy 11:13-14 ESV
There were to be two rainy seasons in Israel and these two season have different Hebrew words associated with them. Yowreh (Strong's H3138) is the early rain and malqowsh (H4456) is the latter rain. God designed the topography and climate of Israel. It is a unique place in the world and God uses even the climate to speak to us.
Notice that the rains of Israel were linked to the obedience of Israel. The early rain was good for getting crops going and the later rain provided a final watering for things like fruits, grapes and olives. So the wine and oil relied heavily on this later rain.
The two rains speak of two distinct provisions for the completion of a project. One rain gives the resources needed to start the project and the later rain (or Spring rain) provides the things needed to complete the project with a last final push of effort.
"Therefore the showers have been withheld, and the spring rain has not come; yet you have the forehead of a whore; you refuse to be ashamed." - Jeremiah 3:3 ESV
Israel was disobedient and began to lack this finished energy. They started well going into the promised land but could not take the land that God had given them. Many projects went like that for them. They had energy to start but not to finish. Sound familiar?
"But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." - Mark 4:29 ESV
"So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped." - Revelation 14:16 ESV
It is easy to see the parallels between Pentecost and the early rain. Unlike Israel the Messiah was obedient and we rest in His obedience. A latter rain is coming for the Church before the great harvest of souls in the last days of this age. It won't be just like Pentecost. Pentecost was needed to start the Church. This later rain will be used to hasten the ripening of the grapes and olives. The term 'Corporate Pentecost' is used to describe the church at the time of this great revival.
This later rain will provide a great harvest of souls but it will also water the 'grapes of wrath' that will be crushed in the tribulation period. Those who refused to respond to grace will experience the anger God has for the angelic host that rebelled again Him. There is a point where the lines are drawn and sides have been chosen. Those foolish enough to align themselves with deception instead of truth will experience the opposite of comfort and security. To say it won't be fun is an extreme understatement.
On a personal level we can expect a later rain in our lives also. For those who have believed it will be a great blessing.
"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:3-8 ESV
God completes what He begins in us based on the work Christ has done. He watered us at our salvation and conversion and He will water us again and again until the last season of our life because of what Christ has done.
Perhaps you think that your fruitful days are behind you. If you have life and a risen Savior you can be fruitful again and again if you continue to sow because God sends the April rains to water what we sow by faith.
"Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him." - Psalm 126:4-6 ESV
--
There were to be two rainy seasons in Israel and these two season have different Hebrew words associated with them. Yowreh (Strong's H3138) is the early rain and malqowsh (H4456) is the latter rain. God designed the topography and climate of Israel. It is a unique place in the world and God uses even the climate to speak to us.
Notice that the rains of Israel were linked to the obedience of Israel. The early rain was good for getting crops going and the later rain provided a final watering for things like fruits, grapes and olives. So the wine and oil relied heavily on this later rain.
The two rains speak of two distinct provisions for the completion of a project. One rain gives the resources needed to start the project and the later rain (or Spring rain) provides the things needed to complete the project with a last final push of effort.
"Therefore the showers have been withheld, and the spring rain has not come; yet you have the forehead of a whore; you refuse to be ashamed." - Jeremiah 3:3 ESV
Israel was disobedient and began to lack this finished energy. They started well going into the promised land but could not take the land that God had given them. Many projects went like that for them. They had energy to start but not to finish. Sound familiar?
"But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." - Mark 4:29 ESV
"So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped." - Revelation 14:16 ESV
It is easy to see the parallels between Pentecost and the early rain. Unlike Israel the Messiah was obedient and we rest in His obedience. A latter rain is coming for the Church before the great harvest of souls in the last days of this age. It won't be just like Pentecost. Pentecost was needed to start the Church. This later rain will be used to hasten the ripening of the grapes and olives. The term 'Corporate Pentecost' is used to describe the church at the time of this great revival.
This later rain will provide a great harvest of souls but it will also water the 'grapes of wrath' that will be crushed in the tribulation period. Those who refused to respond to grace will experience the anger God has for the angelic host that rebelled again Him. There is a point where the lines are drawn and sides have been chosen. Those foolish enough to align themselves with deception instead of truth will experience the opposite of comfort and security. To say it won't be fun is an extreme understatement.
On a personal level we can expect a later rain in our lives also. For those who have believed it will be a great blessing.
"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:3-8 ESV
God completes what He begins in us based on the work Christ has done. He watered us at our salvation and conversion and He will water us again and again until the last season of our life because of what Christ has done.
Perhaps you think that your fruitful days are behind you. If you have life and a risen Savior you can be fruitful again and again if you continue to sow because God sends the April rains to water what we sow by faith.
"Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him." - Psalm 126:4-6 ESV
--
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
A Happy Ending After A Dark History
If you are believer and read the Bible then you know that hard times are coming. You read of future judgement and not humanistic triumph. It will eventually get worse before it gets better. It is not all a fairy tale ending for our cultures and civilizations. People who adopt non-biblical philosophies can live believing that man might destroy himself by greed or save himself and this planet through diligence, altruism and hard work but believers know this isn't true.
History has already been written and the future is available to us in broad strokes if you just know where to look in the scriptures. The scripture foretold the coming of Messiah and the time frame of the cross and the destruction of the temple in Israel in 70 AD (see Daniel 9). It foretold the triumph and apostasy of the Church (see Revelation 1:11-3:22). The world as we know it will change and it won't be for the better. It needs saving just as we needed saving and the same One who saved us will save it when He returns.
When we talk about such things it comes across as negative and pessimistic. We can even take on a pessimistic attitude to life because of this knowledge. Why save for retirement if the tribulation is right around the corner? Should we raise children if we know the world will be harder for them then it was for us? On and on it goes.
The following thought pattern is very possible for any person who knows of future judgement but has no grace balance.
"If I say, 'I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,' there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot'... Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, 'A son is born to you,' making him very glad. Let that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon, because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb forever great. Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?" - Jeremiah 20:9, 15-18 ESV
Grace sustains us in hard times. Grace gives us hope.
"Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." - Joel 2:23-28 ESV
God has a provision in the midst of trouble. The light that remains always appears brighter in the darkness. God will pour out His spirit on us before the end. There will be grassroots revival in the Church before we are taken away. Just as Pentecost came before Rome destroyed Jerusalem a kind of Pentecost will come in the Church before the day of Jacob's trouble. A corporate Pentecost will come that won't be reported on CNN but it will be as real as Peter preaching before the crowd and seeing multitudes turn in his day.
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you..." - Jeremiah 29:11-14a ESV
This is a promise given to Israel but it is also for all who trust in the God of Israel. We are strangers and pilgrims in a strange land but we sow and reap. We have children and take wives. We do business and invest. We also have a mental bag packed and ready to go because we are all missionaries. God can send us or take us as He pleases.
Our message has good news in the midst of bad news. The world will get darker but Jesus saves all who turn to Him. Life will get harder with brief respites at times because God is merciful but we don't need to be negative or to shut our mouths about it. God is good.
"Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit." - Ecclesiastes 7:8 ESV
The best is yet to come. We will see broken dead people come alive. We will see God restore all that had to be destroyed because there was no fixing it.
"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:" - Job 19:25-26 KJV
Rejoice. We have a real Resurrection to look forward to.
--
History has already been written and the future is available to us in broad strokes if you just know where to look in the scriptures. The scripture foretold the coming of Messiah and the time frame of the cross and the destruction of the temple in Israel in 70 AD (see Daniel 9). It foretold the triumph and apostasy of the Church (see Revelation 1:11-3:22). The world as we know it will change and it won't be for the better. It needs saving just as we needed saving and the same One who saved us will save it when He returns.
When we talk about such things it comes across as negative and pessimistic. We can even take on a pessimistic attitude to life because of this knowledge. Why save for retirement if the tribulation is right around the corner? Should we raise children if we know the world will be harder for them then it was for us? On and on it goes.
The following thought pattern is very possible for any person who knows of future judgement but has no grace balance.
"If I say, 'I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,' there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot'... Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, 'A son is born to you,' making him very glad. Let that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon, because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb forever great. Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?" - Jeremiah 20:9, 15-18 ESV
Grace sustains us in hard times. Grace gives us hope.
"Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." - Joel 2:23-28 ESV
God has a provision in the midst of trouble. The light that remains always appears brighter in the darkness. God will pour out His spirit on us before the end. There will be grassroots revival in the Church before we are taken away. Just as Pentecost came before Rome destroyed Jerusalem a kind of Pentecost will come in the Church before the day of Jacob's trouble. A corporate Pentecost will come that won't be reported on CNN but it will be as real as Peter preaching before the crowd and seeing multitudes turn in his day.
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you..." - Jeremiah 29:11-14a ESV
This is a promise given to Israel but it is also for all who trust in the God of Israel. We are strangers and pilgrims in a strange land but we sow and reap. We have children and take wives. We do business and invest. We also have a mental bag packed and ready to go because we are all missionaries. God can send us or take us as He pleases.
Our message has good news in the midst of bad news. The world will get darker but Jesus saves all who turn to Him. Life will get harder with brief respites at times because God is merciful but we don't need to be negative or to shut our mouths about it. God is good.
"Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit." - Ecclesiastes 7:8 ESV
The best is yet to come. We will see broken dead people come alive. We will see God restore all that had to be destroyed because there was no fixing it.
"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:" - Job 19:25-26 KJV
Rejoice. We have a real Resurrection to look forward to.
--
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