Sincerity
... In Our Preparation for the Day of Christ

Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, THAT your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 THAT ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till (with a view toward being ready for) the Day of Christ. 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

In what we’re praying this month, we’re dealing with those matters in our lives that will keep us from inheriting the Kingdom. We’re praying toward Kingdom Character being forged into our own basic character and, as it were, praying it into effect in our own lives and in the lives of whomever we hold before God’s Throne. This will be necessary if we are to overcome the anti-Christ and reign with Christ.

Through the ministry of people who pray, genuine persons can come forth, free from religious affectation, and free from habits and ways that cause others to stumble. Thus comes forth a people ready to stand in the Day of Christ.

Here are some ways of helping persons with flaws to become overcomers:

1. Love them enough to care for their well-being.
2. Hold them daily in prayer making request that Christ’s Kingdom be set up inside them.
Only from Christ’s inward rule can real change come.
3. Bear them before the Lord without pestering them to change
4. Do not grow weary!

The primary trait of character that will take us through the final conflict and bring us to the Day of Christ is the Love that has moved in upon us from the very heart of God. If we know this Love, we have a hope that will go with us through any—yes any—persecution that may enter our paths.

Romans 5:5—And hope maketh not ashamed  (hope is never frustrated or disgraced); because the love of God is shed abroad (has been poured out liberally) in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us (Who has beengiven to us, never to leave us).

Weymouth’s New Testament has quite a take on this extensive passage: And not only so: we also exult in our sufferings, knowing as we do, that suffering produces fortitude;  fortitude, ripeness of character; and ripeness of character, hope; and that this hope never disappoints, because God’s love for us floods our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us—Romans 5:3-5. Indeed! Hope, made strong in us by the Love of God, brings us to the place where we can actually find joy in suffering. The joy that God’s Spirit gives makes it so we need have no dread of going through tribulation.

FATHER, I really have not suffered very much at all on your behalf. Now there is a strange and wonderful feeling that is coming over me as I think about suffering shame for Your Name. I’m beginning to feel the anticipation of letting Your Love in me face down the anti-Christ spirits that may soon be let loose upon us.

Paul held great concern in all he wrote, that believers should make themselves ready for the Day of Christ, the time when He shall return to earth as He promised He would.

In this present time, a people are being prepared to receive the Kingdom along with Christ. Much of the preparation that goes into making us into a people ready to reign with Him is difficult, to say the least. Some of it will seem like the tribulation and persecutions that many Christians believe we will miss. But when we learn that persecution and tribulation is coming to us at the direction of the enemy, we can but know, with an assurance, that it will drive us in closer to the heart of God. As we pray one for the other, along the line of Paul’s Prison Letter Prayers, we will be strengthened to face whatever Satan may throw at us.

Here is Paul’s admonition as to how we can face the enemy:

Ephesians 6:11-12—Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (The word against occurring several times in this passage  means “face to face with.”)

 

DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER, bring me, and these I name before You, into Your secret place. Teach us to profit spiritually from the difficulties that have come upon us. Here, I call these names before You. Please use the trials they are going through to make them strong for Your Kingdom. Teach us all to reign in life with Christ Jesus even while we’re in this time of trouble. Make us people of no fear as we “face down” our enemy in the Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Probably at no time in history should Christians be praying one for the other than presently. As we wait before the Lord, we’re coming through to the place where we can pray with confidence. See what Paul said about the people for whom he held concern.

Philippians 1:6—Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

(MSG) There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.

The above passage from Paul landed in my heart well over half a century ago. Even in my darkest hours, it has held me. I received it first of all as a Word to my own heart. Gradually, it dawned on me that Paul was speaking it for the people for whom he was praying.

Being confident is from the Perfect Participle form of the Greek word peítho which means, “to persuade.” Very few may know what this means. But, let me try to explain it. A Perfect Participle describes something that has taken place already, but with a result that remains to the present. Through all that Paul went through, a persuasion had become solid in him that God abides faithful to those in whom He has begun His work. When does His work begin? It begins as soon as one turns from sin and starts believing that God loved him or her enough to send His Son to die for us all.

DEAR FATHER, I have believed You concerning Your Son. I know Your Word is true in all that it tells about Him. I know it is true because when I first turned from my sin and believed that He died for me, something wonderful happened in me. My life has never been the same. Here now are these others who have professed faith in Your Son. They are going through some hard times. I hold them before You today. Please use these trials to bring to completion the work You have begun in them.

Praying one for the other along the lines of the prayers Paul laid out in his Epistles—especially those written from the prison in Rome—may be one of the greater things we can participate in to become ready for the Day of Christ. The disciples were anxious to know about this Day. As Jesus was speaking with them one day about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, their curiosity was stirred. They came to Him where no others were around and asked Him the following question:

Matthew 24:3—“Tell us when this will be; and what will be the sign of your Coming and of the Close of the Age?”Weymouth

There are two things to note right away about the disciples’ question. First: What is the meaning of the word Coming? It is from the Greek parousía and means the presence of a great person whose coming into an area causes everything else to cease. Although they knew little about His Parousía, they did know it would eventually come to pass. They were much like many of us. Another thing to note is that the term Close of the Age, interpreted as “end of the world” in the King James Version,literally means “the consummation of the age.”

OUR GRACIOUS LORD, there is so much we have yet to learn about Your coming and the end of this age. We don’t want it to be a curiosity born out of our own souls. We want to know so we can be ready for the season of trouble before Your coming. Please work in us now. Whether we go by way of the grave or remain till You come, We simply want to be made ready to reign with You.

We share in Paul’s concern that we be made ready to partake of the glory of Christ’s inheritance.
—Ephesians 1:10-18

It is time for us to put away darkness and put on the
 armor of light.—Romans 13:11-14

As we pray, we are taking the revelation given to Paul and, as it were, praying it into effect in our own lives and in the lives of those we hold before God’s Throne. Nearly every writer of the New Testament told about the Day of the Lord. Paul told of it the most extensively in his Thessalonian Epistles. In these two Letters he made frequent mention of the Parousía of Christ Jesus.

See what he said here:

I Thessalonians 2:18-20—Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His Coming (His Parousía)? For ye are our glory and joy.

(MSG) 17-20 Do you have any idea how very homesick we became for you, dear friends? Even though it hadn't been that long and it was only our bodies that were separated from you, not our hearts, we tried our very best to get back to see you. You can't imagine how much we missed you! I, Paul, tried over and over to get back, but Satan stymied us each time. Who do you think we're going to be proud of when our Master Jesus appears if it's not you? You're our pride and joy!

Here again are two things for us to note. One is that Satan apparently did not want the people made ready for Christ’s Parousía. Another thing to note is that the people being ready for that Day would bring joy to Paul.

Seeing through this passage, we begin learning that whether someone is alive at His Parousía, or whether they have gone through death, makes no difference. This stirs us to pray much, even for those who seem close to Death’s door. What takes place in us before death prepares us for our inheritance in the Kingdom with Christ. You know, we do expect a resurrection.

HEAVENLY FATHER, here are these people all around me who are becoming quite old. I’m not sure all of them really know You as their Savior. I’m even less sure they know anything about Your Kingdom, or their place in it. Please move in my own heart. Teach me how to teach the elderly. Show me what they should know and what they should be if they are to inherit the Kingdom with Your Son.

God’s faithful people will tell about His glorious Kingdom to all generations.—Psalm 145:10-13

Only someone who has received the Love that comes from the heart of God can be one who passes judgment on another person. There is no place in the Kingdom of Christ for any judgment that is not founded in God’s Love. Take for example the woman taken in adultery. The legalists wanted her stoned to death. But, the love of God that was in Jesus knew of a higher way. If we will serve with Him in His Kingdom, we too must know this higher way to which Love will direct us in all matters of judgment.

Instead of condemning the woman to death, the Love that was in Jesus carried with it enough power to set her free from her sin. We are called to walk even as He walked.

DEAR FATHER, I cannot deny the fact that my love tends to stop short of the kind of Love demonstrated in Your Son. Please work in me to set me free from this legalistic way of regarding people who do wrong things. Show me the way of Love that will set people free when they are wrong.

Those who will inherit the Kingdom with Christ must have the ability to put matters to the test honorably and accurately. The King James Version uses these words in Philippians 1:10—That ye may approve things that are excellent... The word approve is from the Greek dokimad’so. It means to put something, or someone, to a test that is accurate. In this way, a Kingdom person will always have the ability to discern what is right, who is worthy, and what is just.

This is an operation of the pure wisdom that must be in evidence in a person who will rule with Christ. Since the Kingdom of God will always manifest the most excellent way, it is necessary that those who inherit the Kingdom will have the ability to choose what is excellent.

The word excellent in the verse quoted above is from a word in the Greek New Testament which means, “having a greater value.” A person without the ability to conduct a proper test may easily be misled into making wrong choices, with only an outward show of value. Kingdom values go to the core of a matter. They are not seen only on the surface.

Where must this quality of excellency first appear? In persons in whom there is an excellent spirit. This means true Kingdom values are not in things, they are in persons

DEAR LORD, please take these young people that I name before You today. Give them a heart to understand the excellent things of Your Kingdom. Give them a heart that searches after Truth. Give them a heart that will believe Your Word. Let Your Word and the Truth in it enter into the affairs of their lives.

Those of us who have others under our leadership must pray that those who follow us will take it as their goal to excel for Christ’s Kingdom. This means they must hold an intense desire to know the Word of God. They must learn to keep their lives ever moving toward praying without ceasing. They must hold a moral standard for their own lives so that nothing can ever disqualify them from inheriting the Kingdom.

While some ground may be gained by demanding this of those in spiritual training, much more can be accomplished by holding them before God’s Throne in prayers and supplication. This is so for ministers of the Gospel, for public school teachers, for teachers in Christian Academies, for parents—yes! Especially for parents!—for youth leaders, and on we could go.

While teaching and praying for those under one’s care are both important, it is exceedingly important that those who lead set a right example by their own lives.

II Thessalonians 3:7-9—For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.

(MSG) We showed you how to pull your weight when we were with you, so get on with it. We didn't sit around on our hands expecting others to take care of us. In fact, we worked our fingers to the bone, up half the night moonlighting so you wouldn't be burdened with taking care of us. And it wasn't because we didn't have a right to your support; we did. We simply wanted to provide an example of diligence, hoping it would prove contagious.

DEAR LORD JESUS, I praise You for the example You have set for us. Your standard is most excellent. Help me, as I follow You, to set an example for others to follow. O, Lord, You know my weaknesses. Please cause the Spirit Who worked in You to work in me. Keep me from being just “religious.” Make me into a godly person for Your Kingdom who also walks as a man/woman of God.

Paul set the example for those he was leading.
—II Thessalonians 3:7-9

It seems most reasonable that we give ourselves to be ready to withstand the evil one in a time Paul called the evil day. It is here that what we call “Ephesians Truth” must be in the fore of our understanding.

Ephesians 6:13—Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

(MSG) 13-18—Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet.

The unusual Chinese Christian leader, Watchman Nee, who died in 1972 as a prisoner of Communism, gave us a profoundly simple outline for Ephesians. Keeping it in mind, as we study this Epistle from Paul, will help us gain a hold on what he was laying out for us in the six brief chapters.

Here’s the brief outline, which is also the title of Nee’s book that covers Ephesians Truth—Sit Walk Stand. Sit—Ephesians 1:1—3:21. Here we gain an understanding of our position in Christ. We are seated with Him in the heavenlies. Walk—Ephesians 4:1—6:9. Here we learn to adjust our walk to be in line with the position we hold in Christ. Stand—Ephesians 6:10-24. Here we learn to withstand the enemy and, having come through every conflict in victory, to stand in the final Day.

DEAR FATHER, thank You for the Light You have given us in the Scriptures. Especially do I thank You for Ephesians. It is like a well of living water for me. It just keeps on flowing and flowing with Life and Light for my own dark path. Please place within these I hold before You the desire to learn what Paul laid out in Ephesians. Help me walk in the light You have given me. Help us all to withstand the attacks of the enemy that are coming at us with a greater fierceness than ever.

“The words and promises of the Lord are pure words, like silver
 refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times over.”
 —Psalm 12:6^{Amplified Bible}

Some find it difficult to receive the concept that trouble can benefit us. The Psalmist David didn’t hold this idea. Through the years, this unusual passage has spoken much to my own heart.

Psalm 139:12,13a.—Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike (to Thee). For thou hast possessed my reins…

(MSG) It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you. Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb.

The above verses come from the King James Version. In the Original, there is a different reading that can come forth. At the conclusion of the words ...the darkness and the light are both alike, the words “to Thee” do not occur. This causes the string of words to take on a very different and significant meaning. Leaving “to Thee” out, here’s how they might read: “The darkness and the light are both alike, for thou hast possessed my reins.” Because the Lord has possessed my reins, there is no difference in the darkness or the light.

“My reins” speaks of my self-awareness. Ephesians Truth alters that in us. We begin to know ourselves “in Christ.” Our self-awareness becomes an awareness of Him. Because we know ourselves in Him, and we know Him in ourselves, there is no difference in the darkness of trouble or in the freedom of light. Who we are remains the same, whether in trouble or in peace. Thus, we go through our difficult times with an awareness of who we are in Him—and Who He is in us.

DEAR LORD, I praise You for bringing me toward the place where all I know is You. You are helping me see You in others. You are helping me know You in the dark paths where trouble lurks. You are teaching me how faithful You are when there is no provision that anyone can see. Oh, my GREAT REDEEMER, how I praise Your Name!

“He predestined us to be adopted by Himself as sons through Jesus Christ
—such being His gracious will and pleasure.”
—Ephesians 1:5,6^Weymouth

The prayers we have taken from Philippians 1:9,10 wind up with concern about the Day of Christ. Paul’s concern was that the people for whom he was praying should be sincere and without offence as they were being prepared for that Day.

The conviction has been growing in me that this time of our living in this world, after we have been born from above, is the time for being groomed for the Kingdom of God. It seems that some have the idea, although it may be rather subconscious in them, that either death or the rapture will be what puts the finishing touch on us in preparation for the Day of the Lord. But, for the life of me, I can’t find a Scripture anywhere that speaks of either of these events holding within them a sanctifying power.

We do, however, have some amazing insight from Paul regarding the appointment, from the ascended Christ, of certain ministries that are to work till we all come into a unity in our acknowledgment of the Son of God. The amazing Scripture pointing to this, of course, is Ephesians 4:8-16. It is a passage so profound and rich that we might well spend our lifetime searching it out, only to realize at our end that there is more. This is because as we grow, it grows.

If you’re not very familiar with this Scripture, might I suggest that you become familiar with it. Let that same Spirit that brought again Jesus from the dead take this Word and work it into your heart. And, may He use it to direct you toward your own preparation for the Day of Christ.

Father, the Word that Your Spirit caused Paul to leave with us is deep. Some of it I can readily grasp. But, much of it is beyond my understanding. However, my heart does respond where my mind has its difficulty in doing so. Please give us understanding in all You would have us to know—and to be.

“The words of the Lord are perfect.
They are like silver made pure in a clay furnace.
They are like silver made pure seven timesover.”
—Psalm 12:6^NIRV

Both Jesus and Paul are clear in telling us that many tendencies and practices of the flesh will disqualify us for our inheritance in God’s Kingdom. That is one of the reasons we are learning to soak ourselves, and those we love, in prayer.

Sometimes when we see works of the flesh manifest in a person, we are quick to write them off as disqualified for any place in the Kingdom. But, we must remember that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is not one of us qualified to judge another. There is something everyone of us who know the Lord can do, however. And that is pray.

How do we pray for those who are living according to the lusts of the flesh? One thing is to pray that the Lord will bring the convicting work of His Spirit upon them. We may find it amazing who the Lord will convict and draw unto Himself. Let us remember from where all of us have come. The Scripture in Romans 3:9-23 lays it out very clear that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But—the passage that follows also lays it out very clear that there is justification, redemption, propitiation and remission of sins available for us all. We don’t turn from praying for anyone because they have sinned too much! That’s all the more reason for us to pray for them

GRACIOUS LORD, how I praise You for saving me! In that instant You planted the seed of Your righteousness in my heart. It grew! I’m a new person! I’m beginning to see Your Kingdom! Oh, LORD, open my eyes to see the people around me that You will save just as You saved me. Give me a heart that will yearn for them to know You in Your fullness. Give me a heart that will believe for them when I hold them before Your Throne.

Some Simple Words of Salvation.—Romans 10:8-11

With a legal right to do so, spirits sent from the anti-Christ will lay hold on any works of the flesh in us. They will use them to shake even believers who have failed to rid themselves of unclean practices. Many people call themselves Christians who continue with trouble in their lives all because of the seducing spirits that follow after them because of their carnal life-style. That’s the reason we have laid out the Scripture from Galatians 5:19-21 in this month’s accompanying article.

Look again, carefully, at verse 21. It says, …they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. This statement comes after Paul has named very clearly the works of the flesh. The words which do come from the Greek pras’sontes. This is a Present Active Participle form of a Verb that means, “to make a practice of.” Its reference is to those who are making it their practice to do those things Paul has just mentioned this Galatians passage. Because we have seen some people making it their practice to carry on with some very bad things in their lives, it is sometimes difficult to imagine some persons in God’s Kingdom.

But instead of standing away from them, let’s start believing for them, and holding them before the Lord in prayer. Those who have sinned the most sometimes make the most fervent servants of the Lord, once they are free from those works of the flesh. Some, in whose lives sin is deeply entrenched, will need deliverance.

DEAR FATHER, I have to admit it’s hard for me to believe some of the people I’m going to name before Your Throne today can ever be in Your Kingdom But, here I go. Just before You, with no one else hearing, I call their names. Let the convicting work of Your Spirit come upon them. Convince them of sin, of judgment, and of the righteousness that can be theirs in Christ Jesus.

The Heart Cry of Many a Person Who Longs to Be Free from the Bondage of some Sin—Psalm 142:1-7

When believers who know how to pray effectual prayers hold weak Christians before God’s Throne of Grace, powerful things begin taking place. First, we will see those who are holding on to carnal sins begin to ask for prayer.

This is where we see James 5:16 beginning to come into effect. Let’s look at it again. (Oh, we’ve seen it so many times! But, we can’t see it too often.) Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

(MSG) 16-18—Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn't rain, and it didn't—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.

Let’s go over it again. The word, confess is from a word that means “lay everything out in the open.” Now, it’s best if this can be done with one other person, or at least in a very small group.

Then, see the word pray. It’s the simplest word in the Greek New Testament for prayer. It doesn’t take a very eloquent person to pray for another person who wants to be free from a fault. The word translated fault means a slip-up, a stumbling off the path. What a time for the mercy of the Lord to become manifest when praying for someone who has fallen off the right path!

DEAR FATHER, let Your mercy move through me to reach these people. They’re sick, in spirit and in body, because of their fall. Let me become an agent for their healing. Let Your Spirit move through me to touch them and to restore them to the fellowship they lost.

 On Becoming an Agent of Reconciliation
—II Corinthians 5:14-18

If we are to function with Christ in His Kingdom there must be that kind of Love in us that comes from the heart of God . Because He was motivated by His Father’s Love, the power was greater in Jesus to set the woman free caught in the act of adultery, than was the power of the Pharisees who were motivated by what was right and what was wrong. Legalism is void of power—and is usually void of God’s Love.

Read II Corinthians 2:5-11. Even though the man in the church had to be disciplined because of his very wrong behavior, Paul later admonished the church to restore him as a demonstration of their love to him. Love at work in the believers brought them by a way that discounted the advantage Satan could have gained over this man who had fallen into sin.

FATHER, we are learning that the Love that comes from Your heart is greater than any tactic of the enemy to defeat us. Please let Your Love find a permanent place in my heart, especially toward these people who are quite often difficult for me to love. I give up trying to love them with my own love. I am ready for You to love them through me. 

We can read about the judgment that was inflicted on the man who sinned, but who was later restored through the Love of God manifest in the believers around him.
—I Corinthians 5:1-12  & II Corinthians 2:5-11

The ability to put a matter to the test can best be devised in us by the Holy Spirit. To test a matter, it frequently is necessary to discern the motivating spirit that operates from behind the scene. Paul gave a list of functions of the Holy Spirit that we generally call “the Gifts of the Spirit.” In I Corinthians 12:10 he called one of them the discerning of spirits. This is the ability placed in the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit to put spirits to the test.

I Corinthians 12:10—To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

(MSG) 7-11—All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful: wise counsel, clear understanding, simple trust,  healing the sick,  miraculous acts,, proclamation, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues. All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.

Why is it necessary to put spirits to the test? It is because there are often seducing spirits that drive people to do certain things. Sometimes the work of these spirits is not good, even though on the surface of the matter things seem all right. This is often the case in determining the motive behind a person’s actions, or in determining why they desire to do a certain thing, or why they wish to go to some certain place. With this operation of the Holy Spirit in place in the Body of Christ, many a person can be saved from some disastrous involvement, or from an association with someone that will lead to harm.

DEAR LORD, there are many times when I made wrong decisions because I did not heed the guidance of Your Spirit. These were acts of immaturity, or greed, or fear that I really did not want to admit were motivating me. Please set me—and these I hold before You—free from any more of these involvements, or actions.

Instructions that will keep us free from falling prey to greed—Ephesians 4:11-19

To keep ourselves free from the activity of these spirits, it is necessary that we have a close relationship with someone who is a believer to whom we can be accountable. With a person like this in our life, we can always have someone with whom we can pray.

And here is something we need to keep in mind: to be such a person to whom someone can come when they’re in need, we need to remain close enough to the Lord that we can go to prayer at any time when the other person needs us. The other thing we must maintain is that of remaining faithful and true to the person who divulges to us something that others do not need to know.

DEAR LORD, I want to be the kind of person others can trust. Make me into the kind of person in whom others can find strength and healing. Make me into a person who encourages others. Make me into a person through whom others can get to know Jesus.

“Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:
lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.”
—Proverbs 22:24,25

Making use of Love in our strategy against the anti-Christ is not to rule out the use of the Name of Jesus when we confront the spirits that come against us. Nor are we to stand by while our homes are destroyed and our loved ones are massacred before our eyes. But, we are to discover that as our lives are brought into order within Christ’s Kingdom, the authority and the power of that Kingdom will move for our protection and provision, even under the most terrifying circumstances.

Love that is energized in us by the Spirit of God will prove powerful against the spirits that motivate wicked men. God is Love. His Love demonstrated in Christ Jesus changed us. So, we can expect that His Love has kept its power and can move through us in a variety of ways to change others. By no means can His Love move through us to effect the salvation of another person’s soul. But, His Love moving through us can reach the heart of another to make that persons heart soft toward us and toward the Gospel.

What is the most effective way God’s Love can move through us? It must be in our praying. He has given us the authority to bind and to loose. (Matthew 18:18) This, mixed, as it were, with Love, can be a most effective force in any number of situations where someone needs divine aid.

FATHER, sometimes I feel my own love is on the wane. It’s difficult for me to feel that I’m loved, or that I can love others. In times like these, I desperately need You to pick me up. Come, Oh Holy Spirit! Come to me now! Let that gift that You bring from the Father become known in my own spirit so I can be a vessel through whom my Heavenly Father’s Love can move to touch other lives.

“The Lord has shown you what is good. He has told you what he
 requires of you. You must treat people fairly. You must love others faithfully. And you must be very careful to live the way your God wants you to”.—Micah 6:8 ^NIRV

“The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty enough to save you. He will take great delight in you. The quietness of His love will calm you down. He will sing with joy because of you.”
 —Zephaniah 3:17 ^NIRV

Even if we go by way of death, whatever is brought about in us by the Spirit of God while we’re in this present age will remain with us in the age to come. In fact, it is in this time that we are being prepared for eternity.

DEAR FATHER, please do all that is necessary in us while we’re still in this age to make us ready for the age to come. And work in us, not only that we might be prepared for the coming age, but that we might walk in the Light as children of the Light, even when the darkness covers the earth while this age is ending.

Kings will come to the brightness of your new day.–Isaiah 60:1-3

The earliest writing Prophet may have been Obadiah. He told of the overthrow of the descendents of Esau, twin brother of Jacob. Esau cared not for his birthright and sold it to Jacob for a mess of red lentil soup. His descendents became known as Edomites, named for that red soup for which he traded his birthright.

The trait of character that was in Esau came over on his descendents. The writer of Hebrews used them as an example of a people who give up their spiritual heritage to obtain some immediate carnal pleasure. Many today have done the same. Afterward, realizing what they have done—and what they have lost—they seek some way of undoing their carnal act, only, like Esau, to be rejected.

Thus, becoming aware that carnality lurks at the threshold of our soul, we learn to make supplication before it takes over our life and our whole life is spoiled.

Hebrews 12:14-17—Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

(MSG)—Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you'll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God's generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God's blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.

DEAR FATHER, for as long as I can remember, carnal desires have had a stronghold in my life. They have brought me much sorrow. Today, I seek Your grace. Please set a guard within me to hold me back from further degrading thoughts and sin.

“Be carefully on your guard lest there be any one who falls back from the grace of God; lest any root bearing bitter fruit spring up and cause trouble among you, and through it the whole brotherhood be defiled; lest there be a fornicator, or an ungodly person like Esau, who, in return for a single meal, parted with the birthright which belonged to him. For you know that even afterwards, when he wished to secure the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no opportunity for undoing what he had done, though he sought the blessing earnestly with tears.—Hebrews 12:15-17Weymouth

Obadiah 1:3—The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

(MSG)2-4—"Listen to this, Edom:
   I'm turning you to a no-account,
   the runt of the godless nations, despised.
You thought you were so great,
   perched high among the rocks, king of the mountain,
Thinking to yourself,
   'Nobody can get to me! Nobody can touch me!'
Think again. Even if, like an eagle,
   you hang out on a high cliff-face,
Even if you build your nest in the stars,
   I'll bring you down to earth."
         God's sure Word.

But see the Word of the Lord them:

Obadiah 1:4—Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.

 

From Esau, who became known as Edom, we learn the tragic lesson of how carnality’s rule in one life can defile and weaken generations that follow. By the grace of God, the carnal frame, that frame that has come down upon many of us from the progenitors of our family, can be broken. The lust, the greed, the disregard for others, the laziness, the selfish ambition, the shame, the low self esteem that came on us through our family line can all be broken when we’re adopted, by God’s grace, into His family.

We can come to know for certain that ...if any one is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old state of things has passed away; a new state of things has come into existence.—II Corinthians 5:17.Weymouth

From the Received Text of the Greek New Testament, we can read the above verse as: “So then if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation. The old has vanished; behold, everything has become new.” It’s amazing. The word that is two times translated “new” is kaínos. It means “something new like never before known.”

GRACIOUS LORD, a new kind of life has come into my family line. Oh, it’s late for so many of us, but Your grace can reach through to each living member of my family. I call for this, based on Your mercy and readiness to forgive. Please move by Your Spirit upon each one of us.

The Day of the Lord—it is a time of judgment and a time of mercy. It has already begun with the appearance of the Son of God Who announced, ...The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand—Matthew 4:17. It was confirmed when John the Baptist announced, ...Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world—John 1:29. Its judgment reached culmination when Jesus cried out, ... It is finished—John 19:30.

John 1:29-31—The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, "Here he is, God's Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I've been talking about, 'the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.' I knew nothing about who he was—only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God." (MSG)

Its power became available to us after He was crucified, risen and ascended to His Father’s Throne. It was then the Holy Spirit came. The judgment, mercy and power of the Day await now for anyone who, in repentance and faith, will draw nigh unto God Who loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son. That Son was Jesus. He bore within Himself the judgment of our sin and stands ready to forgive and bring us into God’s new creation.

Proverbs 4:18—“But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day”.“

(MSG) 18-19—The ways of right-living people glow with light;
   the longer they live, the brighter they shine.
But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker—
   travelers can't see a thing; they fall flat on their faces.

 

DEAR LORD, the sin that came upon me from my own family line got me well started toward my own life of sin. Only Your grace offered me any hope. I praise You for this. Now, LORD, may that grace move through me to demonstrate to others that the Day of Salvation is, indeed, upon us. Move in me that the Light of Your grace may be clearly seen. Help me bring light to the path on which others may to come to You.

Obadiah introduces us to another term important in the message of the Prophets. That is Zion. He makes this enticing statement about this place. But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness...Obadiah 1:17. Whether we understand this completely, or not, there is at least a bright gleam of hope coming through it to us who have been caught in the web of carnality. We see our hope in the word deliverance.

Many of us have carried not only the carnality of our heritage, with a good degree of shame accompanying it. David helps us here.

Psalm 31:1—In Thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in Thy righteousness.

Further in the Psalm he said:

Psalm 31:19—Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought (which You have prepared) for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!

(MSG) 19-22—What a stack of blessing you have piled up
      for those who worship you,
   Ready and waiting for all who run to you
      to escape an unkind world.
   You hide them safely away
      from the opposition.
   As you slam the door on those oily, mocking faces,
      you silence the poisonous gossip.
   Blessed God!
      His love is the wonder of the world.
   Trapped by a siege, I panicked.
      "Out of sight, out of mind," I said.
   But you heard me say it,
      you heard and listened.

The above points wonderfully to Paul’s Word in Romans.

Romans 10:9-11—That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.

Weymouth—If with your mouth you confess Jesus as Lord and in your heart believe that God brought Him back to life, you shall be saved. For with the heart men believe and obtain righteousness, and with the mouth they make confession and obtain salvation. The Scripture says, “No one who believes in Him shall have reason to feel ashamed.”

MY DEAR LORD, the shame that came on me from my family, and then, from my own failures, which I must just simply call “sin,” has followed me to this point. But what a point this is. I am now ready to look to that work which You have prepared for me. Thank You for taking my sin upon yourself and dying for me. Please now—let these others in my family discover this wonderful provision of Your grace.

There is an intriguing, and marvelous, statement at the conclusion of Obadiah’s prophecy. To relate it to the descendents of Edom is to relate it to a failed people. That’s the reason it has meaning for you and me. For it is a certain thing that we are all from a failed family line. No matter how good we think we are, nor how evil we may consider our family to be, we all stand on the same ground. We have ...all sinned and have come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

Before God, there is none better, and none worse than the other. And—there is but one way any one of us may enter into a right relationship with God. That is through His Son, Jesus Christ.

John 14:6—I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Him.

When we enter by that one Way, we come into God’s Kingdom. Obadiah introduces us to that Kingdom, but with a twist that is rather marvelous when we can understand it.

Let’s see it:

Obadiah 21—And saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the Kingdom shall be the LORD’s.

(MSG)19-21—People from the south will take over the Esau mountains;
   people from the foothills will overrun the Philistines.
They'll take the farms of Ephraim and Samaria,
   and Benjamin will take Gilead.
Earlier, Israelite exiles will come back
   and take Canaanite land to the north at Zarephath.
Jerusalem exiles from the far northwest in Sepharad
   will come back and take the cities in the south.
The remnant of the saved in Mount Zion
   will go into the mountains of Esau
And rule justly and fairly,
   a rule that honors God's kingdom.

In the Government of God’s Kingdom there will be saviors. Now, it is clear that in the Kingdom of God there is but one Savior, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. So, can we but look into this word saviors and discover why it might be in the plural form? The word, within itself, means “deliverers.” There will be many in Zion’s government who will serve the Kingdom with the ministry of deliverance. They will proclaim the Day of Christ as they bring deliverance to the many who have been caught in the web of carnality. It is these to whom Paul is directing us as we follow him in His prayers.

DEAR FATHER, there is no doubt in my own mind that many of us will need deliverance as the Day of Christ draws close in upon us. Raise these up, Oh LORD! Too many of us have lived with darkness in our souls from which we have sought to be free. We know it cannot go with us into Your Kingdom. So, please bring deliverance to us!

In one sense, the Day of Christ began when He came into the earth and announced that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. In the brief one-third of a century that Jesus lived on earth, there was evidence that His Day was at hand. Wherever He was the Kingdom was. After He went back to His Father in Heaven, however, His Day was known only in those who knew Him. His last Word before leaving, as recorded in Matthew 28:20, was “Behold, I am with you always  (all the days) until the consummation of the age. Amen.”

We must understand, however, that since He has returned to His Father in Heaven, His presence with us is known in the lives of those whom He has filled with His Spirit. The Day of the Lord as foretold by the Prophets has not yet come. But, those of us who have received the Breath of His Life can know His Day while we await His Prophetic Day. It is then He will receive the nations as His inheritance.

We have had foretastes of His glory, but the day in which the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord awaits us. Thus we are learning from Paul to pray ...that you may be men of transparent character, and may be blameless, in preparation for the day of Christ. This is our time of preparation as we are expecting the Day when ...the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14).

It shall be the Day of Christ when the promise of His Father shall have been fulfilled. His Father said to Him, ... Ask of me, and I shall give Thee the heathen (the nations) for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession. Psalm 2:8

FATHER, there is an increasing longing in my heart for the Day of Your glory. I have had foretastes from time to time of that glory, but they have been fleeting. Now my heart is longing more than it ever has for Your Day. Please work in us whatever is needed to make us ready for Your glory.

Paul was quite concerned that there were those who were teaching that the Day of the Lord had already come. While it is from Paul that we learn much about the Life and authority of Christ that is ours by right to know now, he revealed that there is much more to come before we can know the Day of the Lord in its fullness.

II Thessalonians 2:1-3—Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming (with regard to the parousía) of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by (concerning) our gathering together unto Him, 2that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the Day of Christ is at hand (has already come). Let no man deceive you by any means: for that Day shall not come, except there come a falling away (the apostasy, from the Greek he apostasía,) first, and that man of (the) sin be revealed, the son of perdition (the mature son of the destruction, the one who carries with him the eternal ruin).

(MSG) 1-3—Now, friends, read these next words carefully. Slow down and don't go jumping to conclusions regarding the day when our Master, Jesus Christ, will come back and we assemble to welcome him. Don't let anyone shake you up or get you excited over some breathless report or rumored letter from me that the day of the Master's arrival has come and gone. Don't fall for any line like that.
3-5 Before that day comes, a couple of things have to happen. First, the Apostasy. Second, the debut of the Anarchist, a real dog of Satan. He'll defy and then take over every so-called god or altar. Having cleared away the opposition, he'll then set himself up in God's Temple as "God Almighty." Don't you remember me going over all this in detail when I was with you? Are your memories that short?

Paul here begins telling of the turmoil that shall precede the prophetic Day of Christ. How necessary it is that much prayer and preparation precede that Day!

FATHER, my heart yearns for that Day in which Your only begotten Son will receive His full inheritance. I know there is much preparation needed in Christ’s Body before that Day arrives. Please send Your Spirit upon the ministries Your Son at Your right hand has appointed to bring us who are believers to our perfection. Prepare us for the time of trouble. Prepare us for the tribulation Jesus said would come before the Day of His Parousía.

After the tribulation of those days the Son of Man shall appear.—Matthew 24:21-31

HHere are some words near the opening of I Corinthians where Paul is telling again of the Day of the Lord.

I Corinthians 1:6-8—Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Weymouth—•My testimony as to the Christ has been confirmed in your experience, •so that there is no gift of God in which you consciously come short while patiently waiting for the reappearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, •Who will also keep you stedfast to the very End, so that you will be free from reproach on the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is interesting to note that the above word reappearing is from the Greek apokalúpsis.It is the same word used in the title of the last Book of the New Testament. It means the disclosure, or manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ. While Paul was very concerned about, and addressed, a number of problems that had arisen in the Corinthian church, he also included some of the richest teaching in the New Testament about how a congregation of believers should carry on. His great desire, as with the Philippians, was that they should be free from reproach in the Day of Christ.

This remains as our desire today. It makes it more firm in our conviction that this period of our being—whether we come to the end of our life by dying or by the reappearing of the Lord Jesus—we are here now to be made ready for the Day of the Lord.

DEAR FATHER, again today I present myself before You for that searching work of Your Spirit. I use David’s words: Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there by any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

“God, see what is in my heart. Know what is there. Put me to the test. Know what I’m thinking.
•See if there’s anything in my life you don’t like. Help me live in the way that is always right.”
—Psalm 139:23,24 NIRV

While there was most often a gentleness in Paul’s words to the people to whom he wrote, every now and then there comes out a severity that strikes like a pointed sword. This is the case with some of the opening statements of his Epistle to the Romans. See how pointed the following words are:

Romans 2:5—But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

(MSG) 5-8 You're not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The day is coming when it's going to blaze hot and high, God's fiery and righteous judgment. Make no mistake: In the end you get what's coming to you—Real Life for those who work on God's side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire!

Here again Paul is writing with reference to the Day of the Lord. We have noted that he is inconsistent with how he makes reference to that Day. Here it is the day of wrath. It will be a time of judgment, with the threat of severe penalty for holding on to sin. But, we can take note also that the Epistle from which the above reference comes has in it some of the most amazing reference to God’s grace. While God is severe in His judgment on sin, it becomes very clear that all sin’s penalty was satisfied in the death of the Lord Jesus. The sinner must but repent and believe.

FATHER, how great is Your Love for us who have sinned! I bless Your Name for loving us so much that You gave Your only begotten son. I want my gratitude to be manifest in the way I live for You. And even here, You have given us of Yourself to live in us. What a great God You are! Please make me able to always glorify Your Name.

We must use our bodies in a way that honors God.—I Corinthians 6:19,20

Ephesians 4:30—And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the Day of Redemption.

(MSG)  Don't grieve God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted.

It’s apparent this is in reference to a time yet to come. As we consider it in its context, we may conclude the Day of Redemption is the same as the Day of the Lord.

There is further insight into the matter of our redemption, revealed in this amazing statement from Paul in Romans.

Romans 8:22,23—For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

(MSG)  22-25 All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

These are birth pangs, creation itself in labor for its new Day. And in that Day we shall receive the fullness of the redemption for which we were saved from sin, and for which our spirits have longed. This is the Day in which we will be blameless, the Day when all creation shall be restored and every nation shall be under the dominion of God’s only begotten Son.

OUR GRACIOUS LORD, our spirits have longed for this Day. We praise You for Your powerful keeping grace. We praise You for the hope You have placed in our hearts. We praise You for the expectation that we know is real. Our spirits already are rejoicing in that which laid up in heaven for us.

In his great mercy God has given us a new birth and a hope that is alive.—I Peter 1:3-7

This is an interpretation of I Thessalonians 5:1-8 as it appears in the Message. We place this here because of its utter simplicity of expression regarding a matter that only our hearts can reach, and that by faith. This is a passage to cheer us up.

1-3 I don't think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when all this is going to happen. You know as well as I that the day of the Master's coming can't be posted on our calendars. He won't call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would. About the time everybody's walking around complacently, congratulating each other—"We've sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!"—suddenly everything will fall apart. It's going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman.

4-8 But friends, you're not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You're sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let's not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let's keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we're creatures of Day, let's act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.

DEAR FATHER, my heart rejoices in the hope that is ours. Oh, it is a hope that is steadfast and sure! We have assurance because we have already trusted Your Son as our Savior. We have assurance in our salvation because we have become new persons. We also have assurance because Your Son is our Life. We praise You! We love You!

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