"When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel (governor of Judah) and to the heads of the families and said, 'Let us help you build because like you, we seek your God...' " Notice they said your God, not their God. Who said they wanted to help build the temple? Enemies!
"But Zerubbabel, Jeshua (the high priest) and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, 'You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the LORD, the God of Israel...' " Thank the Lord for the gift of discernment. They recognized whoever these people were they were deceivers, they weren't truly seeking Jehovah God so they didn't give them entrance into the work.
"Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans..."(Ezra 4:1-5)
There are some huge lessons here for us who desire to see the kingdom of God move forward.
1. The enemy hears and seeks entrance into the work. May the Lord give us discernment to love people but hate the enemy and not give him a foothold of any sort. He comes only to destroy. When there's a lot of work to do and we receive an offer to help, let us be cautious who we are enlisting.
2. When the enemy himself is not given access to our lives and our ministries, he will use people around us to bring discouragement, fear and frustration, always in an attempt to stop the kingdom from advancing. Did you get this? They even hired people to work against them! The enemy is serious about his work, are we?
An extremely sad verse on down in Ezra 4:24,
"Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill..." God help us!
Go with me now to the book of Haggai, the prophet (spokesperson) of God! The book opens,
"...the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel (governor of Judah) and to Joshua (the high priest): This is what the LORD Almighty says, "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.' Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 'Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?'
Now this is what the LORD Almighty says, 'Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little...Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,' says the LORD. You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why? declares the LORD Almighty. 'Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.' "
Why is the house of God important? Because our Creator God takes pleasure in it and it is a place we meet together to honor Him. Sadly, many of us allow the house of God and the work of God to go undone while we are "busy with our own house!" (Let's also keep in mind that spiritually speaking this "house" can also be symbolic of our own bodies, the temple of the living God.)
"Then Zerubbabel...Joshua...and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him...
Then Haggai, the LORD's messenger, gave this message of the LORD to the people: 'I am with you, declares the LORD. So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel...and the spirit of Joshua...and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God..."
In chapter 2, the LORD came to Haggai again and listen to this amazing promise:
"Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD, and work. For I am with you, declares the LORD Almighty. This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear...
In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD Almighty...
The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house, says the LORD Almighty. And in this place I will grant peace, declares the LORD Almighty.
Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. From this day on I will bless you."
What a promise!
What amazing thing(s) have you seen God do in the past? What miracle(s) have you witnessed or read about; what life transformed? Whatever glory we have seen or heard in the past, God promises the glory of "this present house" will be GREATER than the glory of the former house!!! Did you get that? "From this day on...I will bless you!!!"
Are you looking for it? Are you watching? Are you seeking the glory of the Lord in your life and work? Don't miss it! Lord, stir up the spirit of your people as we follow the example of Zerubbabel, Joshua and the remnant who "obeyed the voice of the LORD their God" and do Your work!
STIR US UP!!!!! And, Father, show us Your glory!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Jehovah-Nissi
“This is my prayer in the harvest” (2009)”…I know I’m filled to be emptied again. The seed I’ve received I will sow.” The words to a great song introduced to the world last year. I love it! I love being sown into and I love to sow. Which is one of the reasons why I really enjoy blogging. I pray something touches someone supernaturally.
A friend shared a book with me recently that is SO touching my life. I read something in it today that so clearly pictured what God has done recently in my life and I want to share it here. It refers to God's Name Jehovah-Nissi, our Banner. I know Him (to some degree) by that Name but not fully. I will need my new heavenly mind to fully perceive Who He is in all of His glory. But, maybe you can relate to this prayer of blessing like I did:
“God promised to be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation. The context of the story (of God revealing Himself as Jehovah-Nissi) is of Moses having to lead his people into battle when they weren’t ready to go to war. They were attacked by the Amalekites. As he lifted his hands to the Lord, the Lord warred on behalf of Israel.
I bless your spirit with knowing when to war and when to lift your hands to the Lord. There will be seasons when God calls you to use the greatest of your strength. There will be seasons when God presses you to the wall and yet expects you to work hard, like Israel had to make bricks; then they had to make bricks in a harder way without straw. Then they had to march during the middle of the night to escape from Egypt. There will be times when God will celebrate the gifts that He has placed in you, when He will celebrate your strength. At times God will place you in a context where every talent and ability that you possess can be brought to the front and be used to make changes in the kingdom. That is good. That is fine. That is excellent. That is the will of God.
But there will be times, when God will very specifically put you in a place where everything that you have is not good enough, where you have to do something you have never done before. Enemies that you have never irritated will seek to attack you just because they are opportunistic. I bless you with having the courage not to depend on a skill set that is inadequate but to have the courage to lift your hands up to God on the mountaintop and ask Jehovah-Nissi to war for you. Because where you are inexperienced against any enemy, Jehovah-Nissi has the experience of the ages. Where you don’t know how to do it, Jehovah-Nissi has done it endless times. Where you have not walked that way before, Jehovah-Nissi has worn a path with the mighty tread of His feet. (Hallelujah!!)
Jehovah-Nissi has promised and recorded in Scripture that He cannot lie, that He will be at war against the opportunistic coyote, the spirit of Amalek that prowls around. It never attacks directly but takes advantage of your vulnerabilities, takes advantage of the opportune times of transition when you are not ready for war. Jehovah-Nissi has promised to war on your behalf.
I bless you with finding profound security in Jehovah-Nissi, celebrating your giftedness while always knowing that Jehovah-Nissi is there for those battles that He permits which you don't anticipate. He anticipates the battles that blindside you on a path that you've never walked before. Israel did not know the desert area. The Amalekites lived there. Israel didn't know the safe places, the high places, the hidden places. They didn't know how to craft an effective war strategy. They just went out and bumbled around while Moses stood on the mountain with his hands lifted high.
Celebrate your areas of strength, but when you are in a new area and the enemy attacks you and you don't know what to do or how to do or where to do it, go to the mountaintop. Lift your hands and let Jehovah-Nissi war on your behalf. I bless you with knowing Jehovah-Nissi experientially in your generation. I bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.”*
*From Blessing your Spirit by Sylvia Gunter & Arthur Burk
A friend shared a book with me recently that is SO touching my life. I read something in it today that so clearly pictured what God has done recently in my life and I want to share it here. It refers to God's Name Jehovah-Nissi, our Banner. I know Him (to some degree) by that Name but not fully. I will need my new heavenly mind to fully perceive Who He is in all of His glory. But, maybe you can relate to this prayer of blessing like I did:
“God promised to be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation. The context of the story (of God revealing Himself as Jehovah-Nissi) is of Moses having to lead his people into battle when they weren’t ready to go to war. They were attacked by the Amalekites. As he lifted his hands to the Lord, the Lord warred on behalf of Israel.
I bless your spirit with knowing when to war and when to lift your hands to the Lord. There will be seasons when God calls you to use the greatest of your strength. There will be seasons when God presses you to the wall and yet expects you to work hard, like Israel had to make bricks; then they had to make bricks in a harder way without straw. Then they had to march during the middle of the night to escape from Egypt. There will be times when God will celebrate the gifts that He has placed in you, when He will celebrate your strength. At times God will place you in a context where every talent and ability that you possess can be brought to the front and be used to make changes in the kingdom. That is good. That is fine. That is excellent. That is the will of God.
But there will be times, when God will very specifically put you in a place where everything that you have is not good enough, where you have to do something you have never done before. Enemies that you have never irritated will seek to attack you just because they are opportunistic. I bless you with having the courage not to depend on a skill set that is inadequate but to have the courage to lift your hands up to God on the mountaintop and ask Jehovah-Nissi to war for you. Because where you are inexperienced against any enemy, Jehovah-Nissi has the experience of the ages. Where you don’t know how to do it, Jehovah-Nissi has done it endless times. Where you have not walked that way before, Jehovah-Nissi has worn a path with the mighty tread of His feet. (Hallelujah!!)
Jehovah-Nissi has promised and recorded in Scripture that He cannot lie, that He will be at war against the opportunistic coyote, the spirit of Amalek that prowls around. It never attacks directly but takes advantage of your vulnerabilities, takes advantage of the opportune times of transition when you are not ready for war. Jehovah-Nissi has promised to war on your behalf.
I bless you with finding profound security in Jehovah-Nissi, celebrating your giftedness while always knowing that Jehovah-Nissi is there for those battles that He permits which you don't anticipate. He anticipates the battles that blindside you on a path that you've never walked before. Israel did not know the desert area. The Amalekites lived there. Israel didn't know the safe places, the high places, the hidden places. They didn't know how to craft an effective war strategy. They just went out and bumbled around while Moses stood on the mountain with his hands lifted high.
Celebrate your areas of strength, but when you are in a new area and the enemy attacks you and you don't know what to do or how to do or where to do it, go to the mountaintop. Lift your hands and let Jehovah-Nissi war on your behalf. I bless you with knowing Jehovah-Nissi experientially in your generation. I bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.”*
*From Blessing your Spirit by Sylvia Gunter & Arthur Burk
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