A Remnant

(Matt 24)

God has always preserved for Himself a remnant.  After the fall, Adam and Eve could have experienced physical death immediately.  They did not.  God provided animal skins to cover their nakedness, to cover their shame.  While it is not plainly written words, I think that communication with the Lord continued in some measure.  I think this because God had conversation with Cain before he murdered Abel.  The Lord saw it coming and sought to turn Cain from the sin that was crouching at the door.

Following, we know that men began to call on the name of the Lord.  Enoch walked with God and others had experience of the Lord.  Methuselah and he are in the family of Noah.  We know how Noah and His family were the remnant of their day, of the entire human race.  What a sad and sobering time.  We have been hearing more lately of the words of Jesus regarding Noah, when asked by the disciples concerning the end of this age.  Jesus had just spoken about the temple, the physical one, and that not one stone would be left on another.  In response to that statement of Jesus, He is asked, “When?”  His response is a significant and His often referenced discourse follows.

Jesus said it would be as it was in the days of Noah.  How much has been said on this!  Life was continuing as always but Noah was walking with, and listening to the Living God.  Noah was knowing Him as Father, as director, as keeper.  He and his family would be preserved as he built a vessel that would preserve them and the animals that the Lord brought to them.  So it will be at the end of the age.  As I have written before, Paul writes to the Thessalonians of those who will be alive and remain at His return.  The Matthew 24 discourse includes the disciples’ question, “What will be the sign (the indicator) of your coming?” They were aware of His return.  The Lord will have a remnant alive and waiting, looking to heaven, for the bridegroom to appear.

These are the ones who love Him, who love His presence, who love His appearing more than anything else.  Anna and Simeon are representative of the Lord’s remnant.  In Elijah’s day, the Lord told him that He had kept for Himself 7000 who had not submitted to Baal.  Today the Lord has His remnant who are not yielding to the god of this age.  He is refining a nation of kings and priests for Himself.  This is the bride of Christ, His true body, with the eyes of a dove, returning His gaze.  She allows the fire in His eyes to do it’s work in searching her inner parts.  He tests our motives and refines them so that all that we do and say reflects Himself.  If we say He abides in us, we ought to walk as he walked.  So were Enoch and Noah.  More than they so is Christ in His people conforming our image and our walk to His.

I recently heard the testimony of a wonderful, matured man of God who had a powerful, Spirit-driven experience.  In the 1980’s, the Lord used this man and a team of mature intercessors to release apostolic anointing that had been bound by strong religious spirits.  If we consider the accelerated maturing of many true disciples since that period, we can recognize the increase of the release of the Lord’s authority in the earth.  We stress this is the authority that belongs to Christ, and that He commissions.  It is dangerous for us to move in presumption.  Yet when He sends, men and women move in great authority and the kingdom of God advances.  I find myself praying for all believers to have boldness to speak as we ought to speak.  This was Paul’s own request and we honor him as a true bond-servant of Christ.  He is making us an apostolic people, not in name but in truth.  It is a dangerous practice to take the name apostle to ourselves.  Let us see ourselves rather as humble servants, like Christ Jesus, simply desiring to do the will of Father in heaven.  Such are those who are His remnant.

The Lord’s House – Part 3 – A Heavenly Building

(Malachi 3:16-18, Revelation 21:14-21)

We are not built on the earth.  We are built in heaven.  We are individually and corporately formed in His presence.  Having received His Spirit and a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, we grow.  Christ is now seated at the right hand of the Father and we are seated with Him in that heavenly realm.  It is a spiritual reality, not an idea, and we experience His presence.  This is what Jesus defined as eternal life in John 17:3, that we would know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.  I am troubled by so-called teachers who teach true principles apart from a revelation of Christ Himself.  I acknowledge that true principles are expressed but without a reality of the cross of Christ, I consider them deceived.  I have been accused of being religious and too narrow but, without Jesus Himself, we are easily sidetracked at best and truly deceived at worst.

The prophet Malachi spoke of those who were distressed at the state of God’s people in his day.  God called them His jewels.  (See Malachi 3) The Lord considers it precious when we are grieved with His Spirit over the state of things in His house, among the people called by His name.  So it often is with us.  We see failures in leadership, in other believers, and in ourselves.  We pray and repent.  We talk about situations but we do not want to gossip.  Should we not talk about it?  Can we pray together about it?  We need to speak the truth in love.  Some things need to be addressed.  The key is that our hearts are in tune with the Son of God who is over all of His house.

I emphasize that word all.  If we think the place God has plugged us in is His house apart from other gatherings in our region, we are immediately missing the truth.  The Lord’s way is a way of sowing seed.  We are the seeds He would spread around.  I have recently prayed in the morning, “Lord, I am yours.  Where do You want to sow me today?”  I am learning new levels of consecration and simply losing my agenda.  I find recently, He often says to me, “Stay with your plan.”  Such direction comes when we have submitted ourselves to Him.  Most important is that we hear direction from Him.  Do you know what a check in your spirit is?  I often stop in the middle of a conversation to be sure I should continue.  He is polishing us as His jewels.  We must learn to pray for one another and be careful with our critical statements.  We must also learn to speak the refining words as the Spirit gives us to speak.

In this way we build with Him.  We work with Him in His work of redemption.  We read in Revelation that the foundation stones of God’s city, the heavenly Jerusalem, are the apostles.  Interesting that John, who had these visions, was himself one of those stones.  We read on and hear that the walls of the city are like gold but like clear glass.  Transparent.  And they are compared to precious stones, to jewels.  The city has many colors.  A variety of jewels are mentioned.  Dare we use the word diversity.  Simply because the world’s view of diversity includes a wide spectrum of ungodly differences, we know that God has created wonderful diversity naturally and spiritually. (See 1 Corinthians 12)

We are the stones in the walls of that city built upon the apostles and prophets.  The Lord is yet polishing us as transparent jewels so that His glory will shine through.  Hear God’s words through Malachi.  The entire portion of chapter 3 speaks of the Baptist coming, preparing the way of Christ.  And it reveals Christ, the messenger who came to the temple, to the people of His day to refine and purge them.  Some followed the Lamb and were refined and others fell away.  And some rejected Him totally.  Simeon and Anna were part of the remnant of that day.  So were the 12, and I would think the 70 who were sent out by Jesus.  And the two on the road to Emmaus.  We all desire to be part of His remnant.  These are His true followers, true disciples, who allow and submit to all His working and refining.  Ultimately, His remnant are those who endure to the end.  That final end will see His full appearing and the remnant will be those who are alive and remain.