Most Holy Call to Pray (CTP, 7th April, 2021)
Topic: Unveiling the Two Works of God’s Love
Minister: Rev. Kayode Oyegoke
“Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.” (Isa. 28:17). Line is judgement while plummet is righteousness. Plummets are used to get an accurate alignment of a house so it does not wobble. To properly raise a house, the plummet must be aligned, and the line must also be in place.
For a man to become a sure house, he must begin with the foundation stone i.e., he must be found on Christ (Isa. 28:16). Then, such will move on to being raised as a spiritual house or a temple of the Lord (1 Pet. 2:5). And finally, such will grow into becoming an habitation for God (Eph. 2:20-22).
“But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked” (Isaiah 11:4). The poor speaks of those who are willing to obey the gospel. The Lord will smite the earth with the rod in His mouth. The Lord will quake the earth of those who are earthly dwellers. He will shake the heavens and the earth. He will slay the wicked. This operation of the rod is a reign with judgement. This shows that the power of judgement is higher than counsel or knowledge. It also tells us that judgement comes after the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is what births judgement. Whosoever is approaching the judgements of God must have attained the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and this wisdom is judgement.
When a man has been made of a quick understanding, then he will develop the nature of the fear of God. This fear nature is an everlasting nature. Everything about the Holy of Holies is calibrated in fear, and so whosoever will arrive in this realm must have actually become a fear being. The spirit of judgement will not wholly rest on someone who has not developed a fear nature. So, the Son of God is a fear being. This is why we should fear Him because He also fears God.
“And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.” (Psalms 45:4). This righteousness is born out of fear of God. In the same vein, this meekness is not that which is obtainable in the Holy Place, but that which can only be found in the Holy of Holies and beyond. It is a meekness of the throne of God. This is a meekness in reward (i.e., Eternal Life).
It is only a godly man that can be taught the judgement of God. A man who has been weaned from the world will gain godliness. And this godliness is of a great gain because of what it commands – the judgements of God (1 Tim. 6:6). On the other hand, the ungodly are not ordinary beings. They are the juggernauts of this earth or the princes in this world.
A godly man has a hope that he would enter into. The reason why God will raise a man to be godly is to later teach him judgement. The realm of judgement is called the congregation of the righteousness (Psa. 1:5). This is the righteousness of God (or everlasting life) that is attained by the judgement of God.
A godly man is raised to fear God; such is the man whose heart can tremble when judgement begins to come to him. The landing point for the judgement of God is a heart that trembles (Isa. 66:2). Anyone whose heart is not trembling will not be saved. God uses judgement to appropriate salvation to man. Except the godly man, no other kind of man can use (and not abuse) God’s judgement. The godly man knows the purpose of the judgement of God coming to him. This is why a natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit of God that searches the deep things of God (1 Corin. 2:10, 14). So, it will take a spiritual man to discern the things of God.
“Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;” (Titus 1:1-2). The purpose of being godly is for the hope of Eternal Life promised by God. The faith of God’s elect is the faith of Christ or the faith of the Son. Faith is not the only truth, but it is very necessary. Faith is often separated from the rest of truth because it is the key that opens the rest of truth. You cannot know truth when faith has not been taught. The rest of truth are Hope and Charity; and these things of truth are all tailored towards godliness.
The world of Eternal Life is a world of judgement. In scriptures, judgement is not used for revelations outside Eternal Life. Eternal life is an Elohim thing; it is complex and one would need judgement to discern it. You cannot stand in God's presence when your thought pattern is not weaved around God’s judgement. Judgement is a high spiritual thought.
The gospel is not simple. The Apostles often described its content as things that are hard to be understood (2 Pet. 3:16, Heb. 5:11). The gospel of Christ is not a herald of bread and butter, i.e., things that only meets the eye. The gospel is an authentic training in the spirit that can bring man into places in God. We should not play with your land or plot in the spirit. Our emphasis or labour on earth should go beyond academic training; we should pursue the learning of God.
God is God and our Father (Eph. 1:1-2). His highest connection to us is that He is our God, and His closest connection to us is that He is our Father. So whosoever takes Him as God only is denying himself or herself of His completeness. And men often do this because they lack judgement. These identities of God and the Father are the promise of Eternal Life (Col. 2:2).
The Father is everlasting life while God is Eternal Life. Our attainment of godliness is in hope of Eternal Life; that is, in hope of receiving God and the Father.
No man can come to the Father without acquiring all the spiritual blessings in Christ (Eph. 1:3). It will take these blessings to make a man spiritual. God ordained faith for us to be able reach Him and it is an honourable thing to receive what we are given. Whosoever receives faith will receive deliverance from the power of darkness. Such will receive forgiveness of sin and inheritance amongst them that are sanctified (Acts 26:18).
We need both plummet and line to come to God’s rest. God wants us to rest through His judgement. No one comes to the righteousness of God without having judgement.
"Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous." (Psalms 1:5). It is clear that anything that is weightless cannot stand in judgement (of God). Whosoever will attain judgement must have been weighed in God’s balance. God cannot admit anyone who does not have weight in the spirit into the world of His judgement. It is judgement that separates the godly men from the ungodly.
When a man comes to judgement, such a person has come to the realm of God as the Father, whose name is El' Shaddai (the multi breasted One). This is the Father who tutored Abraham, Isaac, and raised Jacob. Even though Jacob loved God, God still had to remove some evil skills he possessed. We come to God with different evil operations in our souls; but God will deal with each and every one of us at the appointed time. And by the time God is done with us, we will all be clean, holy and humble. No man will learn God and still be standing rigid in self. Whosoever learns God will be given a staff to lean on (Heb. 11:21). A staff is not an ordinary thing in the spirit; it signifies the ability to lead others. A soul with this prophetic rod is one that is attaining rest.
To lean on a staff is to actually lean on God's rule, and not on your strength. Men with everlasting life do not lean on their own strength; they have been dealt with such that their hope and trust is only in the Lord. Their strength is in the Lord. They came into judgement so that they can trust God.
The breath of the Almighty communicates the judgement of a life called Everlasting life. You know everlasting men by their weight in the things of God. Everlasting life is weighty; it is the life of the fatherhood in God. That was why God made His intent known to Abraham when He met him; which is His desire to make him a father of many nations (Gen. 17:4). God communicated another life to Abraham -- one that was not common to every other man in his days. God was opening him up to the world of everlasting life.
Everlasting life is an everlasting rest, and it is glorious (Isa. 11:10). All the teachings and commandments of everlasting life are meant to bring us to a point of rest in God. When God gives wisdom, He quickens you to find rest. A natural man cannot see rest. Abraham was taught rest by the delay in childbirth. An ordinary man will pity Abraham’s state; but God was teaching him rest.