Beloved Family… I’d like to draw attention to a vitally important element – a telling indicator that reveals whether a person is a genuine disciple of God’s Living and written Word, or merely a pretender. This is something that we will all struggle with. But sooner or later, if we want to fulfill our calling, we’ll have to wholeheartedly move into the fullness of this element. So what is this telltale indicator? It is a deeply embedded, habitual, wholehearted attitude of total awe and respect for God that moves us to give total submission to His Living and written Word. For example, ponder the level of wholehearted respect and compliance required by the following commands that God gave to His chosen people:
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might!These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Emphasis added.)
Isaiah 66:1-2
“Thus says the Lord, “Heaven is My Throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord. But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My Word!”
For people who live in modern Western societies like ours, this level of awe filled respect is extremely difficult even to understand, much less to accept and do. Israel has always struggled with this. And according to Scripture, they failed to comply and meet God’s awesome standards. This is because all of mankind, Jew and non-Jew alike, is trapped for the time being in mortally wounded, weak and perpetually needy fallen flesh. Thus, compared to Almighty God’s Infinitely complete Nature and His Perfect Standards of Righteousness, Justice and Truth, even when we’re at our best, we all fall far, far short of His mark.
But fallen flesh that is born, raised in and conditioned by the humanism embedded within Western Hellenistic culture has an even greater handicap! We have been deeply influenced and affected by the arrogant views of Humanism, a religion in its own right, which, by nature, is the worship and adoration of radically independent Self. Humanists claim that Man’s human perspectives, ideas, opinions, passions and desires are to be placed in the ultimate position of supremacy, far above any other consideration, to the exclusion of any other god!
Elevation of Man
So our modern culture conditions us, for the most part, to unconsciously and automatically rate ourselves as being preeminently superior and special beings. Humanism’s main dogma is this: ‘Man is the measure of all things.’ Thus they reserve for themselves the supreme level of importance. They place themselves and their personal interests and feelings even above God and whatever He has revealed and commanded. So such people are born, bred, conditioned and hard-wired, to think and act as gods unto themselves.
Humanistic people automatically assume that nothing could be of higher importance than Man. In other words, Man is the supreme center of everything… and the human intellect is the ultimate judge and assessor of all things. That’s one reason why we place so much emphasis on ‘democratic principles’ and on ‘getting a good education.’ Those things give us an elevated level of status and importance in our society that assures us of being able to occupy the ‘highest places’ and upper echelons of power and wealth.
But, at the heart of this mentality there lurks an infection that Almighty God judges to be totally unacceptable… the cancer of radically independent pride and arrogant self-worship. If you look closely, you’ll see that the symptoms of this cancer are becoming increasingly blatant in our era, no matter where you look. It oozes out of the elite of every social class and profession and occupational category. It is the prime motivation for most heads of state and politicians at every level. It is rampant within the arts and entertainment world, and has infested the communications media and the halls of academia. It’s even embedded within organized religions and it is at work even at the lowest, most impoverished and deprived levels of modern society!
Humanistic “Worship”
Even when such people deign to acknowledge the God of the Bible, the concept they entertain of the Supreme Being depicts Him as being a Genie-like Servant… attending to the needs of Man, or an angry tyrant that is ever ready to thwart humanity’s expectations and best interests. The prayers of such people often consist of ‘to do lists’ that they place before their deity, assuming it is his or her sole duty to please and gratify and fulfill their desires. Thus even in their religious pursuits, they assume the role of masters who are always in the lead and their gods are expected to be the servants that must do their bidding.
Most of us would not dare to admit this in public… but our attitudes and unconscious postures and the way in which we react to what happens to us, and around us, gives us away. Here are some examples of that ‘It’s up to me to decide everything’ kind of attitude that creeps into the way we think and react to things:
“How could I be expected to believe and worship an all-powerful God that allows horrible, brutal outrages to happen to innocent people?”
“God… can’t you see what is being done to me? How can you remain silent and allow this to happen? When are you going to do something about this?”
“I know this is one of the commandments… but I also know that if God is really God, He would be the first to understand and agree with me and fully understand why I must choose to disregard this commandment and why it does not apply to me in this case.”
God’s Viewpoint
Many of us think and act in similar ways. We assume that because we possess such a special level of innate worth and importance, we have a right to be treated in a special way, and be given enormous latitude and consideration because we are so special. And, because we place ourselves in such a lofty position, we assume that God shares our viewpoint and agrees with whatever we may choose to think, judge and operate. But nothing could be further from the Truth! I ask you to ponder what God actually says to us:
Isaiah 55:8-9
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Jeremiah 17:5-10
“Thus says the Lord, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant!
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.
“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.”
Hebrews 12:25-29
“See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from Heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a Consuming Fire.” (Emphasis added.)
1 Peter 1:24-25
“For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER!” And this is the Word which was preached to you.” (Emphasis added.)
Matthew 24:34-36
“Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,but the Father alone.” (Emphasis added.)
Luke 6:46-49
“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”
Romans 12:1-3
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
Matthew 7:24-27
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on The Rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on The Rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
One of the things that struck me in my younger years after I began to be much more serious concerning God’s written Word and its importance was the enormous difference that exists between the mentality of our Western Greek Humanistic perspectives, attitudes and assumptions, as compared to the Semitic perspectives and attitudes revealed in the Scriptures of God’s chosen Hebrew people. An enormous chasm of difference separates those two worlds and mentalities. Only when we begin to see that difference are we able to see more of God’s true meaning concerning what He tells us about Himself and His ways, and what He says about us.
The Culture God Chose
God deliberately chose to reveal Himself and His nature and His ways, through the Middle Eastern family that descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And, because He chose the Hebrew language and culture and Middle Eastern milieu through which to reveal Himself instead of choosing our Western type of humanistic culture and democratic mentality, we must face this sobering reality: we Western people who are imbued with the humanistic ways of modern times, are hobbled by an enormous cultural handicap when it comes to understanding what God is really saying to us!
Beloved, once we begin to see how different those two mentalities and cultures are, we’ll also begin to feel the impact and significance of knowing that we’re at a disadvantage. God chose to reveal Himself through a culture that is enormously different from everything we know and with which we are familiar. And when we see that, we’ll begin to understand what God is really conveying to us in His Word. Then we will see the human race in a much different, more accurate light. We’ll see how far removed most Western Hellenized peoples are from realizing their true spiritual state. And our true position in relation to the Eternal Standards of God’s Righteous Nature will open our eyes to the real meaning underlying God’s command to REPENT!
The Culture God Didn’t Choose
God knew in advance that all future generations would be influenced and ‘hard wired’ by the global influence of the Serpent and how he gets humans to mistrust, doubt and rebel against God’s Word. Hellenism and the thinking that it spawns totally ignores and bypasses the God of the Bible. And so it gives rise to all the false perspectives and teachings of so many of the world’s false man-invented religions and philosophies.
God knew how far removed from His ways the worldly ways and attitudes of democratic thinking and modern society’s Man-centered, relativistic perspectives would be. He knew that our self-adoring thought patterns would twist us into the very opposite of His own image and likeness. And, knowing all of that, instead of choosing a culture and mentality that would be similar to, and compatible with, the prevailing mindset of the twenty first century Western world, He deliberately chose the cultural milieu of the ancient Eastern Hebraic world, with its attitudes, viewpoints, nuances of meaning and priorities and mannerisms that are so different from everything we know and uphold. This is how God chose reveal Himself and His ways, to us. And this will prove to be of enormous significance to all flesh… now that this fallen world is entering the Era of the Last Days… and approaching God’s Final Judgment!
Culture View of Authority
One major difference between the culture of the ancient Middle East and Western twenty first century Humanism is in the way those two cultures view and react to Authority, whether it is God’s Authority or the authority that is entrusted to human world rulers and leaders of societies. Let me offer one example for your consideration. I believe that if we ponder it, we’ll be able to better see the vast difference between how God views His Authority over all of His Creation, as opposed to the way we understand authority, including God’s, and how we assume it may apply, or not apply, to us.
2 Timothy:1-5
“But realize this, that in the Last Days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these!”
Marco Polo
Years ago, I saw a movie about the medieval Italian explorer, Marco Polo. He accompanied his father and uncle, who were wealthy merchants in Italy, on an arduous expedition to China. Marco’s father and uncle had been to that region before, and they had established a rapport with the great Kublai Khan, who established the Yuan Dynasty and ruled over vast portions of China, Korea and Mongolia in the 13th Century. The movie depicted the period after Marco had grown to be a young man. At that time, when his father and uncle decided to return to China, they took Marco with them.
I vividly remember two incidents portrayed in that movie. I assume their content came from the journal of his travels that Marco Polo left for posterity. The first incident took place when their expedition had entered the outskirts of the Great Khan’s Empire. They set up camp one evening and retired for the night. But early the next morning, when they awoke and stepped outside their tents, they saw that they were completely surrounded, by a fierce-looking contingent of Oriental cavalrymen who had silently encircled their encampment while they slept. As the Europeans casually emerged from their tents, they were stunned to see that this host had surrounded them and were now sitting quietly on their mounts, glaring at them. At that moment, it appeared as if this poor band of travelers was hopelessly doomed. But then something amazing happened.
Safe Passage
Marco’s father stepped forward and approached the apparent leader of the cavalrymen. He took out a leather pouch that was hidden in his tunic and took from it a black stone that was shaped like a modern day cell phone. Some Chinese characters had been cut into the stone. And when he handed it to the leader of those troops, the man read the words and instantly, the expression on his face transformed… from fierce suspicion and deadly intent… to humble compliance, respect and deference!
This was because that stone was a token of safe passage that Kublai Khan had given to Marco’s father during his first trip to China. It ensured that whenever he was within the borders of the Great Khan’s Empire, all he had to do was show that object to whoever he encountered, and the authority behind that stone was just as if the Khan himself was physically present! And the same degree of deference that those men would have given to the Khan had he been before them in person, was the same deference, protection and service they bestowed upon this party of traders… for the sake of the Khan.
God’s Authority
So, the Polos had a military escort that took them safely all the way to the city where the Great Kublai Khan resided. The token of safe passage the Khan gave to Marco’s father was a symbol of the Khan’s absolute authority and the total respectful obedience that the people of that region were expected and compelled to render to their Khan. And beloved, that is the same kind of culture and mentality that God chose through which to reveal Himself, and His Authority, to the human race!
So this provides a view and understanding of the Magnitude and Majesty and Absolute Supreme, Reverent Awe that is due to Almighty God throughout all of Creation! And it tells us of the Absolute Authority of the Living and written Word of our Awesome God and Lord. It also gives clear indication of the reverence and respect that is due to the human emissaries and messengers that God has chosen to serve as the bearers of His Living and written Word!
Exodus 19:3-6
“Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My Covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.” (Emphasis added.)
1 Peter 2:9-12
“But you are a Chosen Race, a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a People for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of Darkness into His marvelous Light; for you once were not a people, but now you are The People of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the Day of Visitation!”(Emphasis added.)
Behavior in the Presence of Authority
And the second incident from that movie I’d like to share took place after the Polos were brought to the city of the Khan and had already passed through the gates of the vast compound that surrounded his enormous palace. The visitors were told to wait at the base of the long flight of stone steps that led up to the palace doors. Then, an elegantly attired palace official descended to where they were waiting. He told them, in their language, that he would escort them into the Great Khan’s presence. But first he had to prepare and show them how they must behave whenever they were before the presence of the Great Khan. This is what he said:
“After we enter the palace, I will take you to the inner chamber where the Great Khan will see you. But… when I lead you through the doors into his chamber, you must, from that point onward, KEEP YOUR EYES FIXED ON THE FLOOR! DO NOT LOOK UP! DO NOT LOOK ON THE GREAT KHAN’S FACE! If you dare to do that, you will be IMMEDIATELY EXECUTED!”
Eastern v. Western Decorum
Beloved friends… I relate these movie depictions because they help to underline the enormous difference between the awe, respect and deference that the Eastern mentality entertains toward authority, as opposed to the sloppy attitudes and antagonistic mindsets that we modern Westerners entertain in our hearts toward anything or anyone that dares to presume to be above us. By comparison, people of our modern Western societies are incredibly lax and clueless in their attitudes and behaviors.
We know very little about manners and decorum and discipline and respectful civility. We tend to be arrogant, rebellious, self-adoring and we demean others, even our legitimate authorities. So, compared to the way we normally think, act and react, God’s ways truly are not our ways, nor are His thoughts, our thoughts. And if we do not realize this vast difference… we will be in for a most jarring and devastating SHOCK when our Resurrected Messiah returns to the Earth!
With this in mind, just imagine what the atmosphere must have been when Moses and Aaron had to face the Pharaoh of Egypt, or what it was like when Daniel and the other young Jewish men had to face Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And consider what it must have been like for Paul, when he was taken before Nero, the emperor of the Roman Empire. The men of God that are mentioned in the Bible had to deal with the very same mentality and electrifyingly dangerous atmosphere that surrounded the Polos when they were taken into the presence of the great Kublai Khan!
Then: Exalted Potentates
So I ask you to ponder the difference between that, and what we see taking place so often today. How would those ancient potentates have reacted to the behavior and public remarks that people of today so frequently and arrogantly put forth in public when they speak, or joke about, or put down those who exercise legitimate authority over them?
The difference between those ancient exalted potentates and how they demanded to be regarded and treated, as opposed to the way many modern people behave and speak and act toward their presidents, prime ministers, and exalted government officials would be like the difference between night and day, wouldn’t it? People of today would be instantly hunted down and slaughtered by the forces of those ancient rulers… if they dared to do and say in their hearing, what they so readily and commonly do and say in the view and the hearing of those that currently hold authority over them!
Now: Protesting Mobs
Think of the attacks that so many protesting mobs heap upon modern day leaders and authorities that are responsible for the effective running of our societies. Consider the often vile, crude, foul-mouthed protests and grossly disrespectful signs, placards and chants that people shout concerning their heads of state and other governing authorities. Think about the rebellious, disrespectful things people write in newspapers or on the Internet, or what they do and say on TV talk shows, and throughout the world of so-called ‘entertainment.’
What do you think would happen to anyone that would have dared to speak and behave like that within the realms of those ancient rulers we read about in Scripture? What would have happened to anyone of that time, had they behaved against Kublai Khan, the way many moderns behave toward their presidents, prime ministers, and other heads of state… not to mention the way they think, act, react and interact in the very Presence of Almighty God?
Fear God, Not Man
It was in the dangerous, tension-filled presence of such kinds of exalted Far Eastern and Middle Eastern supremacy that prophets such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah and all of the others who served God were forced to operate. Their God-given commissions required them to speak out against some of the most powerful, cruel and barbarically destructive potentates of world history! God’s people were entrusted with the task of speaking to such men in the Name of their Almighty Living God! And their knowledge of their God was so great that they did not fear, nor were they impressed by any earthly potentate they encountered! They only feared and served One… the True, Living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – the Supreme Lord of all lords that the rest of the world consistently refuses to see or recognize or heed!
Exodus 33:17-23
“The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.” Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your Glory!” And He said, “I Myself will make all My Goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the Name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”
“But He said, “You cannot see My Face, for no man can see Me and live!” Then the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My Glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My Face shall not be seen!” (Emphasis added.)
Matthew 11:25-30
“At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Emphasis added.)
The worldly idols, super stars and wielders of the highest levels of worldly fame, authority and power are not willing to hear or heed anything the true Living God has to say. They care nothing of Him nor will they acknowledge Him or His True, Eternal and Absolute Authority over all of Creation. But yet, instead of squashing those people like bugs, or torturing and depriving them of life… the one True Living God of the Universe continues to maintain them in existence. He mercifully provides for them and patiently continues to reach out to them in any way possible to win their hearts… while there is still time for them to repent… and still time for Him to cleanse, regenerate and transform them into His own image and likeness!
An Insensitive World
But most of the people of this world remain spiritually blind and deaf to their own Creator. Thus they rebel against, or worse, totally ignore His Living Word and Holy Spirit. So the rebellion of this fallen world continues to this day. And that is what the disciples of the Last Days must face and deal with. Now… in this Last Days Era… just as God has warned, people are becoming increasingly virulent and hard-hearted. And that is the kind of world that you and I, beloved Family, are going to have to deal with and reach out to.
Matthew 10:16-20
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. FOR IT IS NOT YOU WHO SPEAK, BUT IT IS THE SPIRIT OF YOUR FATHER WHO SPEAKS IN YOU!” (Emphasis added.)
Beloved, ponder the words I underlined above… in the light of that ‘token of safe passage’ that Marco Polo’s father showed to the leader of that mounted unit of the Khan’s cavalry. That token was speaking the words of the Great Khan himself! And that military leader recognized this, and he and his troops reacted accordingly. So, from Father’s standpoint, this is how emissaries of God’s Word are to be viewed and accepted and treated as well.
God’s Authority Backs Us Up
Father is telling us that He’s sending His people into this fallen demon-possessed world to speak His Word to everyone that is around them! He’s telling us that when we obey God and speak forth His Word as commanded, the Absolute Authority of Almighty God’s Word will be backing us on every level! And that is why we are not to be afraid of this world, not even of those who occupy the highest, most exalted positions. We are to act respectfully, but we are to deliver our message truly, accurately and faithfully, no matter what opposition we encounter and regardless of what the consequences may be. Beloved, eternal salvation is at stake. And there is no consideration in the universe that is more important than that in the sight of God!
Matthew 10:16-22
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. You will be hated by all because of My Name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”
Exodus 5:1-3
“And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.” Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, otherwise He will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword!” (Emphasis added.)
Daniel 3:13-18
“Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the goldenimage that I have set up? Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn,flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, youwill immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace ofblazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”
“Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Emphasis added.)
In The Last Days
Beloved friends, this is the kind of pressure we’ll be up against as the Last Days reach their Ultimate Crescendo of violent upheaval and turbulence. The ultimate level of pressure will be exerted upon the generation of the disciples who will be called upon to serve and testify to the Lord as the Last Days reach their conclusion. The pressures they will have to face and endure will be more intense than anything any previous generation has had to deal with in the past. And that’s why we must allow the Holy Spirit to equip and prepare us for what lies ahead… to the fullest possible extent.
But that preparation process cannot and will not take place, nor will it be fully complete in us… UNLESS… we are able to know our awesome God and Lord as He really is. We must come to know Him in advance, before our times of testing overtake us. We must know Him so intimately and personally and experientially that the knowledge of Him will be so great and so vast and intense that we will hardly be aware of anything or anyone else. The Glory of God must become so real to us, and in us, that He and He alone will be what will fill the entire scope of our mental viewing screens. And everything else, any person or thing or circumstance that is created, will be blotted out and removed from before His ever-increasing Advance!
Psalm 8:1-4
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your Name in all the earth, who have displayed Your Splendor above the Heavens! From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established Strength because of Your adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease. When I consider Your Heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?”
Isaiah 6:1-5
“In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood aboveHim, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said,
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts,
The whole Earth is filled with His Glory.”
“And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts!”
Acts 9:1-9
“Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a Light from Heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.” The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” (Emphasis added.)
Knowledge of God Gives Us Strength
When people truly know our God as He really is… they will from that point onward stand in awe of Him and Him alone. The apostle Paul is a perfect example of that Truth. Once he came to know the Lord personally and intimately at such proximity, nothing was ever able to take his attention away from His glorious Lord and Master. Yeshua’s Greatness, Majesty, Glory and Absolute Authority blazed continually in Paul’s heart from that time forward. The Light of the risen Messiah shone so brightly in his heart that everything else paled into insignificance!
So will it be for us, once we too come to know Him like that. And then, despite what may be going on all around us in this fallen world, regardless of what the fallen flesh of unbelieving, spiritually blind people may try to do to terrorize, extort, pressure and intimidate us… those of us who know the Lord at the level of disciples, like Stephen and Paul and so many others, will be able to stand and hold our God-given Covenant Ground. And, even though the world around us gnashes its teeth and tries to cover its ears, we will continue to proclaim the Truth that God has revealed to us through His Word and His Holy Spirit. And because we will continue to proclaim and radiate the One who abides within us, God will continue to speak His Living Word to them, through us.
Acts 7:51-60
“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the Law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”
“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into Heaven and saw the Glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the Heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
“But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.” (Emphasis added.)
Beloved, can you see how important the message was that the writer of the letter to the Hebrews sent to his fellow disciples during the violent, tumultuous first century days in which they were called to serve the Lord? Can you see why he said these words to them?
Hebrews 12:1-3
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, FIXING OUR EYES ON JESUS, THE AUTHOR AND PERFECTER OF FAITH, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Emphasis added.)
No, the disciples of the Last Days will not grow weary; nor will they lose heart. They will persevere and overcome. And the Lord will pick up His Spirit-filled Blood Covenant friends and place them by His side, as He shares the Throne of Almighty God with His Heavenly Father. And from then on, they too will be filled with His Spirit, and they will be so as one with Him, as He is one with His Father! And God and His people will all be one with each other, in the Resurrection Glory of their Messiah!
Ephesians 2:19-22
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the Corner Stone, in whom the whole Building, being fitted together, is growing into a Holy Temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a Dwelling of God in the Spirit.” (Emphasis added.)