THE LIFE OF FAITH AND THE GLORIOUS CHURCH
december 24th
THEY
OFFER - AT BEST - BAND-AID SOLUTIONS TO THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE AND, THUS,
CAUSE THEM TO SEEK THEIR SOLUTIONS AND THEIR ANSWERS IN THE WORLD
...."Ask rain from
the Lord at the time of the spring rain - the Lord who makes the storm clouds;
and He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man. For
the teraphim speak iniquity, and the diviners see lying visions, and tell false
dreams; they comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, they are
afflicted, because there is no shepherd. My anger is kindled against the
shepherds, and I will punish the male goats; for the Lord of Hosts has visited
His flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like His majestic horse in
battle"....
Zechariah 10:1-3 NASB
As the Lord speaks
through the prophet Zechariah in this passage the "rain" spoken of
here refers to the Holy Spirit. Now is the time of the great outpouring of the
Holy Spirit upon all flesh, through the vessels which the Father has prepared
in the midst of His people. The "teraphim" and the
"diviners" are representative of all of the "error" in the
church - and indeed ALL that has its root in Satan rather than God. The word
states, "they comfort in vain". Why do they comfort in vain? Because
without the love of God dwelling in one's heart and without the power of the
Holy Spirit - that is the Anointing of God - they will in no way be able to set
the captives free. They offer - at best - "band-aid" solutions to the
needs of the people and, thus, cause them to seek their solutions and their
answers in the "world". The church of the Lord Jesus Christ should
not be seeking her answers in the world, they should be seeking "all"
of their answers in the Word of God - having come to the knowledge that EVERY
need [or problem] that could befall them in this earth has already been met and
provided for in Jesus Christ in the shedding of His Blood at Calvary. Any time
we do not acknowledge God and His Wisdom in ALL of our ways we exercise a
"certain" [definite] mistrust of Him! Therefore, we must bring every
thought captive to His Word at all times and, thus, allow the Holy Spirit to
shed the love [character] of God abroad in our hearts. Faithfulness and
diligence in this matter will cause our "every" heart motivation to
have His love [righteousness] as its source.
"THEY
ARE AFFLICTED BECAUSE THERE IS NO SHEPHERD"
This is the result
of the "compromised" word of God being presented to the people. The
"distorted" [corrupted] Word of God - that has been put forth in many
areas of the church - is devoid of God's life and power. This impartation of
death and darkness through unholy vessels only fuels the unbelief and
self-desire that continues to dwell in the hearts of those who still desire to
live for "themselves" to ANY degree. The traditions and doctrines of
men being put forth from many pulpits cause many to wander about like lost sheep
- seeking answers where there are none! Let it be clearly understood that there
is no "true" leadership or authority apart from the Word [Will] of
God - and, therefore, let EVERY child of God be found ordering their entire
lives with their eyes focused ["fixed"] on Jesus Christ alone - in
order that they might not be deceived and, thus, led astray from the true
purposes of the Father! For it is only in this way that they shall be enabled
to "rise above" the error and traditions of men and doctrines of devils
that - up until this time - have both weakened and hindered "true
service" in the church!
LET
IT BE CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD THAT ALL THOSE WHO ARE CALLED TO LEAD THE PEOPLE OF
GOD [INTO THE FULLNESS OF THEIR INHERITANCE IN CHRIST] MUST RELY UPON THE HOLY
SPIRIT FOR ALL THINGS - AT ALL TIMES
...."My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the male
goats; for the Lord of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, and
will make them like His majestic horse in battle".... vs.3
The
"shepherds" referred to here are symbolic of those people who are
called to lead and minister to God's people. The house of Judah is symbolic of
all those people whose hearts are turned toward the Lord. From this passage, we
are able to see clearly that God has a purpose for His people. He desires to
make us "like a majestic horse in battle". He desires to make us a
distinguishable people in the earth - a people who operate solely upon His life
and power. But without the Holy Spirit dwelling and abiding within us, and
without our reliance upon Him at all times, then it is certain that the
multitudes shall remain, to some degree, in an area of affliction [bondage].
Let it be clearly understood that all those who are called to lead the people
of God [into the fullness of their inheritance in Christ] MUST rely upon the
Holy Spirit for ALL things - AT ALL TIMES. For the way of the Kingdom is to do
and say NOTHING apart from Christ.
Related
Scriptures: Acts 2:17-21; Proverbs 3:5-6; Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians
4:29; John 15:5;
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