The Nation who Fears the Lord is a Wise and Understanding People
November 3, 2014
Deuteronomy 4:5-8
See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
The Nation who Fears the Lord is a Wise and Understanding People
God took this nation, the United States, and birthed it out of a persecuted people that sought to love and worship Him in spirit and in truth. He took this infant nation and protected and preserved it from the enemy that sought to destroy it. From its conception and foundation it was built upon the principles of faith in Him and His Law fashioned our laws. When we look back at the fathers of our constitution who framed and structured our government, we see in them such a spirit of wisdom. It wasn’t natural wisdom, but it was wisdom from above, because they came together and asked God to help them in this great endeavor that would impact the generations to follow. Everything in that document was formed, not to force religion upon anyone, but to preserve everyone’s right to pursue his faith and hold it in freedom of worship and expression. The other nations of the world surely couldn’t help but see the wisdom and understanding that formed this nation. Many others since have followed this model of democracy. As a result, this nation has become the most powerful and prosperous of nations in the earth. That didn’t happen because of us as a people. We are like any other people, but it happened because we made our motto, “In God We Trust.” If we depart from the secular history books and really follow the history and the documents that substantiate it we will find a rich history of God fearing men, who put their trust and reliance upon God as they lead this nation. It was because of God’s law that was set before this nation, that we have had God’s favor and blessing.
Deuteronomy 4:9-10 goes on to say, “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.”” Unfortunately, we, like the nation of Israel, have forgotten to a great extent where we came from and what is the source of our wealth, blessing and prosperity. We have grown wise in our own eyes, full of ourselves and our vain philosophies so that many think that God no longer has a place in our government, our schools or even our nation. Each generation seems to stray further from the truth. The advocates of darkness have perpetuated the lie through every medium that touches our lives and many of us have failed in taking our stand for righteousness and speaking out against this lie.
We, as a nation, now sit upon the precipice of ruin. First it will happen within and then it will happen without. We see the decay of moral values all around us. We watch them daily on the TV and read about it in the newspaper. Many of us are even the victims of it as we try to walk in the truth. These are perilous times and a time when all of us need to be fervent in prayer and in action. Soon the governments of men will end the governments will become spiritual strongholds. The battle that we fight is not one of the flesh and blood, but of the Spirit. The people of God are all that stands between this nation and its judgement. We must lift up a standard of righteousness again and no longer be a silent majority. We are soon becoming a silent minority. The greater the cloud of darkness and deception that covers our nation the brighter we must shine forth as the people of God. We must not lose our conscience, but be the conscience of our nation. Instead of our children being taught the precepts and principles of God’s Word they are now indoctrinated with humanism and every false thing. If we, the people who bear the name of the Lord, don’t make a difference, then who will?
Blessings,
#kent
The Place of Breakthrough
October 28, 2013
The Place of Breakthrough
Exodus 19:20-25
And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses [up] to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them. And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.
A few inches of snow covered the ground and the bird feeders in the backyard where we often sit and watch the birds feed in the morning. This morning, as I was gazing out of the window, a few birds began to show up, but none were going up to the bird feeders and finding the seed. Finally, one bird did fly up to one of the feeders where he began to breakthrough the snow till he found the precious seed beneath that he could feed upon. As he remained there feeding, other birds began to fly up to the feeders looking for the seed. I began to think how that snow is like our natural understanding and thinking; the true seed and Word of God so often becomes obscured by that cloud and cover of natural reasoning. Many of the mysteries of God’s Word are hidden to our natural minds and we don’t understand and comprehend them, for only the Spirit reveals them.
Moses was an interesting man. There is perhaps no greater type and shadow of Christ in the Old Testament than Moses. He had a very unique relationship with God. It is like he broke through the veil of snow or flesh that separated men from God and partake of the Seed and Word of Life like no others had. God used his break-through to reveal Himself then to His people. As precious as that was, we see it was not without limitation, because the people and even the priest could not go where Moses went in his encounter with God. Moses brought the dispensation of the Law, which was a revelation of our sin and our inability to measure up to God’s standards in our own selves. Breaking through to God in this state of sinfulness would only have brought death if the Holiness of God broke forth upon us.
Roman 8:3 says, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Moses, as great as he was, was still only a type of Christ. It is Christ who is our break-through. It is He that has broken through the natural barriers of sin and self to bring us to the mount of God. In Christ it is no longer a mountain of fearful judgement, but of grace and mercy. We know that when Christ hung on the cross the veil of the temple was rent or torn from top to bottom. This revealed the truth that there was now access to man to enter into the place that had been forbidden for him to enter into prior to the cross. The cross is the way of entry. The blood of Jesus is the only thing that can wash away our sins and give us right standing before the Father. We can be accepted into His presence when we are in Christ. When the Father looks upon us now, He sees us in His Son and He sees His Son’s righteousness in us. Praise God, we no longer have to fear approaching God in the light of our merit or worthiness. That former man of weakness and sin is dead and we are a new creation in Christ Jesus. Our approach to the Father must be in the light of that truth. The Father God has not changed His character since the Old Testament. It is not like He mellowed into this big Teddy Bear where sin doesn’t matter any more, He is not just this God of Love who now looks past and winks at our sin. Yes, He is and always has been a God of love, tenderness and mercy, but God has become no less awesome and holy in His magnificent presence, nor fearful in regards to sin. It may be somewhat obscured to us who dwell under the shadow of His wing, but it would be our great error and mistake to treat and approach our God as something common or someone who is just there to answer our prayers and meet our needs. He does that because He is God, He is love, He is goodness and He has given us His promises. He owes us nothing, unlike us who owe Him everything. We must always have the greatest reverence, love and respect toward Him. We must never mistake our grace as our license to sin, lest we greatly offend Him and the Holy Spirit that indwells us.
The point of all this is that Jesus is that light that came into the world. He became the hierarchy of divine life and truth. He was our breakthrough to bring us into the Father’s presence.
He revealed Himself and that Truth to His disciples and apostles, who in turn imparted it to like faithful ones and so that light and truth cascades down through the generations, through the written Word and through the Holy Spirit that quickens that Word and makes it no longer a dead letter, but a living, transforming dynamic in our lives. It also comes to us through the mouthpieces of God’s servants who are receiving this truth to impart. God’s truth is expanding even the more so in these last days as we press in to know Him beyond the Veil, in the most Holy Place. Where He leads others will follow. He is leading us into an ever-increasing breakthrough into Him. We in turn have to have the eyes of faith to see beyond the veil and press into what we have not yet tasted and partaken of. Like that bird feeder, once we break through these natural barriers, we tap into an endless source of life in abundance that we cannot imagine. This is the day of our breakthrough. Let us get a revelation of Him. We have a Moses access to the top of God’s mountain and God is calling us to come up.
Blessings,
kent