7th April, 2021
God is speaking some things ahead and we have to journey to catch up with the understanding that these words bring. Firstly, we need to believe that there will be a performance of the things that are being spoken in our lives. We need to stay in believing because a level of grace will be brought upon us by the reason of the words being spoken.
A good heart is one that can stay believing. A good example is Nathaniel who believed Jesus because of the words spoken to him (John 1:47-50). And Jesus told him that he would see greater things because he believed. Our heart disposition must be to stay in faith and not doubt, even when we do not understand the things that are being spoken.
It’s too dangerous to doubt the things we are hearing in this season. In the Old Testament, God had to warn Moses about the angel that was around them. He mentioned that the children of Israel needed to be careful about how they conduct themselves. As humans, our minds want to be able to have a full grasp of anything new that is coming to it. This is why the initial milk of the word is designed to go against or cripple our minds, so that we can give ourselves more to the spirit. This is where we are trained to confess positively even when our minds and bodies tell us otherwise - when we are sick for example. The mind still knows how to bring subtle manifestations so that we will not go far with the Lord; but with the heart, we can believe the Lord.
The revelation of Jesus (or His appearances) has phases, but we begin by believing the words of this revelation. “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:” (1 Pet. 1:8). ‘Seen’ here speaks of full comprehension. The Church that Apostle Peter was writing to had not come into full comprehension of Jesus Christ, but yet they loved Him. We are privileged to hear the things of everlasting life because of the measure of love that we had for the person of our Lord Jesus Christ; although, we may not yet have a full comprehension of His revelation yet. The appearance of Jesus Christ as a Son of God is in three phases: praise, honour and glory (1 Pet. 1:7). Glory speaks of the season when His appearance has come into a full-blown measure.
A man has come into the glory of Christ when he comes into a full understanding of faith, hope and charity. Apostle Paul spoke of a time when we would be seeing (or comprehending) in parts (1 Corin. 13:9). We must not only believe but rejoice even when we are yet to have full understanding of the things that are being spoken.
The realms of God’s glory are realms of dread. This is why God is also careful of how we see because He knows the implication of seeing these realms. The Father is eager to make us see; but He is careful in the administration of these things. It is dangerous to hear things of Eternal Life and not love it (2 Thess. 2:10). We must increase in our love for the things we are hearing. However, it is not easy to love things of everlasting life because of our human frame or infirmities.
It is a great work for a soul to fall in love with what is being spoken even when he is not having a full comprehension. We cannot love the things of God just by emotions. The warfare of the adversary against the seven Churches in the book of Revelations were designed against their love for the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Love is a commandment (Rev. 2:4-5). It is a great victory (to our account) if we can love the things that we are hearing. It can be said that we are loving what we are hearing when they are taking a place in our hearts. What a man loves cannot be put anywhere else but in his heart. A man will always put efforts towards the things he loves.
As the appearance of Jesus Christ is approaching, iniquity is also gradually appearing. Iniquity is much more than works of the flesh such as fornication. Jezebel who seduced God’s servants to lay with her was a figure of iniquity (Rev. 2:20).
Though John the Baptist saw the Spirit resting upon Jesus, he still doubted him later on (Matt. 11:3). There is something about the soul: it would usually need more than one evidence to believe. We cannot come to a place of seeing (or comprehending) our Lord Jesus Christ if we do not love His appearance by revelations. We will also face a spiritual type of Thomas’ temptation, by choosing to believe before we see, or not (John 20:25).
It was the love in the heart of Mary Magdalene that qualified her pppmpmmmp
ppto entertain the first appearance of the resurrected Lord Jesus among all the brethren. She stayed back at the tomb of our Lord Jesus, weeping and looking for Him (John 20:10-13). She stayed back, not because she understood the mysteries behind the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, but because of the love in her heart. This is what qualified her to be a first partaker of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus physically.
The essence of hearing the revelation of Jesus Christ is to trigger a love in our hearts for Him. We should not leave any physical meeting without a work being done in our hearts. We must all be holy seekers and loving enquirers. Seeking the Lord is a work. Praying and listening repeatedly to messages is part of seeking Him. Many times, we will get a higher interpretation of some commandments that we are familiar with when we move forward in the spirit.
“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” (Rev. 14:12). The faith of Jesus is the testimony of Jesus. It is not the (Holy Place) faith that purifies but the faith of the Most Holy Place (Jude 1:20). Faith and love evolve. Love of the saints is Charity at the level of the milk of the word (Eph. 1:15). Charity, service, faith and patience are the works that the Church of Thyatira had carried out (Rev. 2:18 -19). This Church had first and last works and these are works of the Son of God.
The understanding of faith differs with the level of the light of our Lord Jesus that is being shone or revealed. There is an understanding of faith with the light of the candle stick in the Holy Place; and there is also that of the light of the sun in the Outer Court. Faith becomes very fine and more refined with higher judgments. At the realm of everlasting life, the understanding of faith becomes very clear because you are using the light of the glory of God (in the Most Holy Place) to see it.
The light of the sun (in the Outer Court) cannot show us the details of what faith is. There is an understanding of faith, hope and love, in the Outer Court. We can’t see all the works (of righteousness) that we are meant to exercise ourselves in with the light of the sun. When the soul moves into the Holy place, the faith work becomes sanctification. With a higher light, the power of faith becomes stronger.
When God gives a commandment that is in favour of our brother, it is usally to deal with a wrong work in us. Nothing should stand in our way when it comes to obeying God’s commandments, not even our physical body.
To have understanding of truth is not to be able to explain scriptures. Rather, understanding is interpreted as ay of life; it is how a man lives. A man cannot claim to be seeing or having understanding when his lifestyle or conversation is not in line with the understanding he claims to have.
There is a season when we are not seeing or having a full understanding of the revelations of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, we would eventually come to a season where we would receive the commandments of what we are hearing. We would have to engage these commandments in obedience in order to come to a place of hope. Hope speaks of a season that is before a full appearance.
There is a service (to God) that a believer can do in the realm of the Outer Court but there is a kind of service you cannot do except you enter the Sanctuary. When we enter the Sanctuary, we see other services to be done that could not be done in the Outer court. A man can be obeying faith, love and patience in Outer Court but later on, God will gradually show him the manner of the same service that is obtainable in the Holy place, and (lastly) in the Most Holy place. Most Holy faith works are the commandments of God that must be kept. It is a faith that must be obeyed for a man to be perfected. God’s instruction to Abraham to send Ishmael out was a faith instruction. But Abraham’s obedience to God’s instruction to kill Isaac was a higher faith instruction.
As we journey in God, we would see the same faith but with greater light. It was an everlasting light that was shining on the faith of the seven Churches and prescribing the work that must be done by them. As they keep obeying the works, they will own it. Faith can be taught at different levels and we can know the level of a faith by the commandments around it. The commandment to offer Isaac could not have been given to Abraham many years earlier than the time God gave the commandment.
“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” (Rev. 14:12). These saints are in the Most Holy Place. To overcome the dragon is to overcome the beast. It is the people who overcome the operations of the spirits of antichrist that will overcome the dragon. The beast has the same working with the antichrist but with different manifestations. The workings of the beast are meant to take men to the lake of fire. We can only overcome the workings of Satan by the patience of the saints and faith of Jesus. This faith of Jesus is not the faith of Christ, but a faith in God. Jesus was raised by the operation of the faith of God, which is the Most Holy faith (Col. 2:12).
Every man loves his own life. When we love our lives, evil spirits see it as an advantage to them. The commandments of God come to place a demand on the love we have for our life. It will come as faith instructions to us. We should trust God completely when things look bleak, and God is instructing us. God will lead us against the sanity or wisdom of men. The manner of God’s commandment to us in this season will make people persecute us. However, we would also grow in longsuffering through this everlasting light. This is because we would understand how God sees faith, love and patience.