Joel 2:27-28
27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. 28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
God had abundantly blessed Judah, but the people had taken God and His blessings for granted. Their faith had degenerated into an empty formalism and their lives into moral decadence. "Under divine inspiration Joel told the people that the locust plague was a warning of a greater judgment that was imminent unless they repented and returned to full fellowship with God. If they did, God would abundantly pardon them, restore the health of the land, and give them again the elements needed to offer the sacrifices. The ceremonial system was designed to express a heart relationship with God. By their sin they had forfeited any right to religious ceremony"
The above words come from Al Maxey who is commenting on this minor prophet. As I read his word it made me stop and think about the ways in which I may be take God and His blessings for granted. Have I in any way reduced my relationship with God down to empty formalism? This is not the place that i desire my relationship with God to be. I do not want anything in my life to hinder what God is trying to in my life or with ministry of The Compass.
So here are my questions for you as you consider this scripture during your meal fast.
1) Are you taking God for granted?
2) What are the areas in your life that you need to repent of?
3) Could any of your actions be hindering the ministry of The Compass?
As you pray today and wait to hear from God. Please pray for God's continual direction of our ministry together. Hold up the need for our weekly location. As well we need God to provide Kingdom Labors so that we can do the work that our Lord has set before us. As always if you have any comments or feel God pressing anything on you about our ministry please use the comment button below. May God bless you during this fast.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Shame comes to the people of God when their Power is lost and the results of their efforts cannot be distinguished from the results obtainable by the people of the world. God's power (i.e., His Spirit) is lost when God is not in the midst of his people, and this is not His will.
In the Old Testament, God's Power was only granted to a single, chosen prophet or leader. All this Power was concentrated in only one individual and the force of the chosen one's actions or words carried the full force of God's Spirit. In these end times, however, as God has "poured out His Spirit on all men," the Spirit is diluted unless combined within a community of saints. The members of this community, this holy nation, this royal priesthood should each expect to receive all that God ever provided to His chosen spokespeople in the Old Testament: visions, prophecy, dreams! However, the Power of such revelations will only be magnified to the point where they have a noticeable effect as such manifestations are shared in community and strengthened in combination.
As a royal priesthood, called for such a time as this and placed in a location such as this, we are to pray down the Kingdom of God. We are to walk before the Lord, preparing the way and announcing His coming presence. This is accomplished through a joint effort in prayer, faith, speech and action. What of God's Kingdom do we want to call down for the East Side? Provision? Protection? Government? Peace? Unity? It is all available if His people will act in their called capacity as priests of the Most High.
We need not worry about the things that the Gentiles seek after: clothing, food, money, position, power, etc. In the midst of end time uncertainty and instability (e.g., wars, floods, earthquakes, financial crises, etc.) do we lack anything? Are we not well fed, clothed, secure, and safe? We must be about the work of the Lord. This "work" is not just "evangelizing" - or getting people to pray a prayer of salvation. This is ushering in The Kingdom! This is preparing the way by means of asking, seeking, and knocking.
"Ask and ye shall receive.
Seek and ye shall find.
Knock and the door shall be opened unto you."
That for which we ask will be granted! However, it won't just be hand delivered as if UPS or DHL's services were ordered. We must actively go about seeking that for which we've asked - questioning ourselves and others, "Where has the Lord delivered that which we have requested?" When we find a possible location of that for which we've asked the Lord, we must knock; we must announce our presence: "Here we are to collect that which the Lord has provided!" If the door does not open, although we might even see something that is exactly like that which we are looking for sitting just inside the doorway, we have not found the particular thing that God has provided specific to us. Our seeking must continue. However, when we find that one door that opens after we've announced our presence, we can be certain that we have located that for which we've asked and that for which we've been seeking. The Lord will not fail to meet the requests of His children. (If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? - Matt. 7:11)
Fear not; fail not!
Respectfully submitted by R. Fox, July 1, 2008.
Post a Comment