Isaiah´s prophesy of God's offer of grace in the New Covenant, and of His forming of the Christian Church

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1. God's offer of grace in the New Covenant.

Isaiah 40:1-2 "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins."
Isaiah prophesied here more than 700 years before the New Bloodcovenant began about God's giving of grace in New Testament time. This promise of God is only fulfilled after the death on the cross and the resurrection of the Lamb of God on Golgotha, where the unrighteousness, caused by the sins of man, is reconciled, and satan[1] is defeated and conquered by the death and resurrection of the Lamb of God.
Pardoned man then is doubly pardoned by YaHWeH after his repentance unto God: His sins are forgiven, and he is delivered from them; He receives from God's hand the new Christ-life, the divine nature.
2 Peter 1:3-4 "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
This prophecy then shows the way to how this divine gift of mercy is given to the sinner.
Isaiah 40:3 "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
This divine voice tells us that we are to prepare the way to and in our heart for YaHWeH, that we are to open the wilderness of sin in our heart unto Him, and make a straight path, a road, to the wilderness of our thinking and heart. Then He shall come in unto us in forgiveness of our sins, washing us in His blood.
Psalm 24:7-10 says the same:
"Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah."
We must open unto Him the eternal gates of our body (our ears), of our soul (our will), and of our spirit (the love for God). Then He shall bring His victory over satan and sin into our thinking, heart and life (verse 8), and He shall let us partake in the Body of Christ, in so doing making us part of His divine army, of which He is the divine General; an army that will fight and win the victory over satan, and that will take from him his spoils, the sinners who are in his power.
We also read this in Luke 11:21-22:
"When a strong man armed (satan) keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he (God's anointed servant in the power of God's Holy Spirit) shall come upon him (satan), and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor (destroys all his power) wherein he (satan) trusted, and divideth his spoils (takes the redeemed souls into God's kingdom)."
Let us return to Isaiah 40:4-5:
"Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
We see here Jesus Christ's work of mercy in the thinking, heart and life of redeemed, repentant man. Verse 4 tells of His work of salvation. All that sin worked in our thinking, heart and life, will be removed by Him: the valleys and mountains of committed unrighteousness, even all that is crooked and rough (the small sins). In the place thereof He shall make a valley, a paradise.
In Isaiah 40:5 we read that He shall clothe us, inwardly and outwardly, with His own glory, the glory of YaHWeH, and all people shall see this glory in the nature and the life of the Bride of the Lamb of God.
Isaiah 60:1-3 "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising."
Isaiah 61:10 "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."
Revelation 21:11 "(The Bride of the Lamb) Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone (a diamond), clear as crystal."
We see here that this prophecy of Isaiah's will only be fully fulfilled in the end-time.
Isaiah 40:6-8 "The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."
Here God's prophecy warns us that we cannot receive this deliverance from sin and satan, and the renewal in Christ, in our own, human strength or by doing our best, but that this must happen by His redeeming and healing Word, which He will speak through His called, anointed servants.
All that man does, however beautiful in men's eyes, will have no eternal value. His Spirit must Itself implant this Word in our spirit, our soul, and in our body.

2. The forming of the Christian Church.
Isaiah 40:9-10 "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid, say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rulefor him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him."
He shall also form workers from among the people He shall call and anoint hereto, who will proclaim His redeeming and creating Word. These must thereto climb upon a high mountain. This mountain is the great power of the Holy Spirit, of His anointing unto the labor, His clothing with divine power; which, by His Word as a two-edged sharp sword, through His servants, will defeat satan's power; and will destroy satan's power in the body, soul and spirit of the people who will repent, taking them into God's Kingdom.
Isaiah 40:11 "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead them that are with young."
Then YaHWeH Himself shall through His eternal Son build His Church and make her into the New Jerusalem.
Matthew 16:16-19 "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock (petra) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Here, Peter stands for all His servants, that He called hereto, and whom He shall strengthen with the keys to His kingdom to open the doors thereof for the converts, and to lead them further inwards into His Holy Place.

Amen.

By E. van den Worm

[1] We write the word satan not with a capital, as it is not a name, but a word meaning opponent or adversary, accuser.

Isaiah´s prophesy of God's offer of grace in the New Covenant, and of His forming of the Christian Church.

LUKE (Chapter 5) - The Church, a royal priesthood, people won out of sin

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Sinners are cleansed by the Word of the cross, and sanctified to be members of the Body of Christ that they may bear fruit (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Luke 5 verse 1-4: "And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesareth, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught (of fish)."
Here Jesus Christ brought God's Word to the gathered people listening to Him. He brought this Word in the power of the Holy Spirit. It was like a fire that burned away the sins, and renewed man, and changed him (inwardly) according to His will. When the basic principles of the Word have also been established in us, then He will also say to us that which He said to Simon: "Launch out into the deep, and cast out your nets for the catch." For we, after we have received the basic principles of Christianity in our heart and in our thoughts, must obey the following command: "Launch out into the deep", "Give also the depths of your own heart over to the Son of the living God". He wants to cleanse of all carnal and spiritual pollution also the depths of our inner being. He wants us to come to the prayer: "Search my inner being, Lord, that by You all darkness in me be truly removed, and I be purified of all carnal and spiritual defilement(s)!" A hunger, a thirst must arise in your and my inner being to be completely delivered from all that is not from and of Him. This with the purpose to, in priestly service, "cast out our nets" to "catch" people in His Name.

Luke 5 verse 5-11: "And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both their ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him."
The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is brought to (the people of) the world, and it builds a pure and spiritual body out of sinners, a new humanity, of which each person has an active part in the whole. Each member of the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ shares in the work in the divine Kingdom, great and small, from apostle to the smallest helping hand; all help with the calling, after the inner working of the Spirit of God and His gifts, to come to the fulfillment of what God wants; of that which He intends. A (large) army of witnesses must be created (here: be prepared).
Do not all members of our natural body work together for the maintenance and perfecting of this body; unto the finest muscular tissues, no matter how simple each part's function? In the same way each person in the Body of Jesus has his own work. But all and all things work – and work together – to perfect the Body of Jesus by the power and wisdom Christ gave us. Each one must come to active co-operation under the mighty leadership of God's Holy Spirit, namely to witness. In our profound joy we can't help witnessing. The verb says: What the heart thinks, the mouth speaks. Is it not the most natural thing for an apple tree to bring forth apples, and a cherry tree cherries? In the same way, by the inner working of the Spirit, this testimony life will grow naturally in a healthy Christian life, and we will bring forth fruit, and help to form the Body by the power of Jesus Christ, by the inner working of the Spirit, and by the gifts He gives. So we "catch" people and lead them into the Kingdom of God; each one after the calling and after the measure of the gift of Christ.
Beloved, let us have an active part in this Kingdom of God. Let us be prepared to lose (the power of) the old and sinful in our heart and life by the power of the Word of the living God and the blood of the Lamb. By this Word let Jesus Christ truly come alive in us. Let His Kingdom in us be formed by the justifying power of no one less than Himself! When we discover something within us which is not entirely according to His will, let us then hand it over to Jesus Christ that He may completely purify and sanctify us, and baptize us with His Holy Spirit, and fill us to all His fullness.
In the preceding part we viewed the Body of Christ as a whole; namely the Body consisting of many members, each with his own calling and work; now we will have a close look at such a member; at the justification of his soul, his body, and his spirit.

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 5) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

Living and working in the spiritual sabbath´s rest (peace) of God

Psalm 92
Psalm 92:1-3 "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy Name, O most High: To shrew forth Thy loving-kindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound."
The psalmist sang this psalm on the Sabbath and exalted YaHWeH with his song. In the Old Covenant God, according to His law, commanded for the Sabbath day to be kept holy.
Deuteronomy 5:12 "Keep the Sabbath day (the seventh day, with us the Saturday) to sanctify it, as the Lord Thy God (YaHWeH) hath commanded thee."
In the Old Covenant God expressed His will through a day of rest, which his people had to sanctify. God wanted to teach His people to dedicate their thoughts, works and their lives to Him alone, in order that He, through the inspiration of His Spirit, could fill His people with His will and His Word, so that they, being delivered from the influence of the enemy, could learn to rest fully in His will and Word. Even now, under the New Covenant, He wants this; He wants us to do this continuously, and not to desecrate this rest in Him.
In order to teach man this in the Old Covenant, He commanded in His law (the ten commandments), that His people should rest from their labors once a week, namely on the Sabbath day, and that they should sanctify this day by dedicating it to Him. In the Old Covenant He had to express His spiritual purpose for man through a shadow image, because man then could not yet understand His will, because the Rebirth of God did not yet exist; for only a bornagain person can conquer sin in His power and grace, and rest in His will and Word. This was really God's purpose when He introduced the Sabbath day in the Old Covenant.
Colossians 2:16-17 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holiday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."
In the Old Covenant this was still to come, but now the Body of Christ must fulfil God's true purpose, namely to rest always in His will and Word, and must not desecrate this rest by falling into sin again. If, in the Old Covenant, God commanded this for ONE day, for us, under the New Covenant, we should dedicate EVERY day to Him, and rest in His will and Word continuously.
Romans 14:5-10 "One man esteemed one day above another: another esteemed every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regarded the day, regarded it unto the Lord; and he that regarded not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and gives God thanks. For none of us lived to himself, and no man died to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge Thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought Thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ."
The psalmist sanctified the Sabbath day, according to the Mosaic law, and he sang YaHWeH's praises and confessed Him to be the Most High in his life. We usually do this on the Sunday, but also EVERY day of the week. Let us then judge no one, whether he wishes to dedicate a specific day to God, or whether he wishes to honor Him every day. The same applies to food and drink. The one may not eat or drink in honor of God, the other does. The Lord Jesus said in
Matthew 15:11 "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth (our speech, when we judge or slight someone), this defileth a man."
Acts 10:15b "...What God hath cleansed, that call not thou (Peter) common (impure)."
Let us then judge no one, whatever he eats or drinks, because God cancelled these legalistic rules of the Old Covenant as they are symbolic of spiritual matters of the New Covenant. This also applies to the eating of black pudding. Everyone should be fully assured inwardly/in his or her own heart on the basis of God's Word (Colossians 2:16-17).

Psalm 92:4-5 "For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work: I will triumph in the works of Thy hands. O Lord, how great are Thy works! and Thy thoughts are very deep."
If we walk and live on the Way of YaHWeH's grace, and no sin or sinful state will accuse us anymore in our conscience, then there will be JOY in our hearts, poured in there by YaHWeH, and we will thank, honor and praise Him, and we will often accompany our praise with musical instruments.
Psalm 92:6-7 "A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed forever."
We praise His works and thoughts, but the unconverted people and fools are blind to these. They neither see nor understand. They do not seek God's will, but they seek worldly profits and carnal lusts and pursue pride/fame and power over people. If they continue in this they will be lost in God's condemnation, for they live and think thus in enmity with God and let themselves, unknowingly, be inspired by satan[1] in their king, their speaking and their works.
Romans 8:5-8 "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."
We all did walk as they do (in the flesh, according to our own will), but we have now turned to God and are willing to enter into a deep and permanent relationship with Him (YaHWeH) in His heavenly Kingdom, also now that we are still on earth.
Ephesians 2:1-6 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."
The sinners, who do not convert to God and do not confess their sins to Him live outside/without God, even if the go to church and behave religiously, but God (Jesus Christ) does not see them, and does not hear their prayers/supplications.

CLICK HERE if you want to read more – the study is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

[1] We write the word satan not with a capital, as it is not a name, but a word meaning opponent or adversary, accuser.

LUKE (Chapter 4) - Jesus, God’s High Priest, tried and despised by many, but... accepted by others

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God's High Priest tried

As we know the Lord Jesus Christ is the revelation of the NEW MAN in his perfection. He is the First Citizen of the NEW CREATION and as such is also the High Priest of God. The NEW CREATION begins in us when we are reconciled with God, on the basis of our faith in the dear blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, and when we – in and by the Holy Spirit – come into relationship with the risen Christ, in order to live a priestly life, a life that is in complete service to God.

The Gospel after Luke reveals both to us, Jesus as the High Priest Himself, as well as the royal priesthood, namely Christians as priests of the most high God, whom He bought from sin with His sacrificial blood (His blood shed for our sins as an offering [a ransom]), by His excellent grace. We got to know the first three chapters as a good and necessary basis of the repentant life God wants to establish in man. It is God, Who comes to us and calls us to repentance. And it is this repentance, together with the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified, which, as we have seen, forms the gateway to this NEW LIFE in God. Now we will look at this NEW, pure, priestly LIFE in all its facets, which God will give to those people, that, in repentance and faith, long for it intensively here. Long to share His death and resurrection (see Romans 6:3-5), which Jesus' baptism in the Jordan (river) points to. We will first look at the trial of Jesus, the High Priest, Himself; thereafter at His rejection by the one, and acceptance by the other. In the next chapter we will be able to look at the royal priesthood; these are all Christians who followed Him in His death and resurrection, and who could walk after Him by the inward working power of His relationship.
Jesus Christ, our High Priest, after He was baptized with the Holy Spirit, was tried; as also each priest of God, when he must stand in his (divine) ministry, is tried; namely herein: whether he be willing to do God's will in his life. Of a priest it is demanded that he count all of his own will and life as nothing, in order to be able to do that wonderful will of God in his life. All of one's own will, all hobbies, all desires of one's own, the social job; in short: all we have and are, what we as a human being want and desire; all these must be laid on God's altar of (burnt) offering. God must be able to do with his priest what He, in His sovereign (almighty; independent of any higher authority) Love, wants and desires. Do not we pray: "Thy will be done in heaven, as also in the earth"? Beloved, this then is God's demand for a priestly ministry, in any degree and of any nature. Hence, in regard to this demand, a priest is tried by God again and again. We are confronted with the choice again and again whether to choose the (sinful) enjoyments of the world or His pure will and service, because He calls us to a voluntary priesthood in His purity and holiness. Should we fail in our choice, and if we choose to do our own will, then God will not continue with us until we will have learned to lay off this stubbornness; until we humbly begged the Lord to deliver us from all reasons which cause us to be stubborn... Let us learn to obey and fulfill His will heartily, then we can proceed like that spiritual racer from Philippians 3:14 in increasing revelation of this NEW LIFE in our everyday life; ready to lay down all that hinders us in the race to that goal in Christ.

4 verse 1: "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,..."

It is the Holy Ghost Who leads us into trials and puts us opposite the foe! The enemy tempts us with all the "beauties" of this world, and the Holy Spirit puts us before the choice whether to obey God's Word or... to choose that which is the enemy's. After all, He calls a voluntary people that is willing to serve faithfully and as a priest, being completely in God's service.

4 verse 2a: "(Jesus) Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing..."
For forty days Jesus was tempted by the devil! God Himself allowed this to happen. The High Priest, God's own Son, had to prove His faithfulness and willingness in His service as High Priest.
4 verse 2b: "...and when they (the forty days of fasting) were ended, he afterward hungered."
Here is a forty-day fast, prompted by the Holy Spirit! Jesus' fasting was proof of His desire to only fulfill the will of the Father in His life. One is only moved to such fasting by the work of God's Spirit. Then all hunger disappears; then the spirit experiences an intense relationship with the Holy Spirit, and we will experience His sweet dominion over us. Thus it was with Christ.
"Sacrifice and offering thou (God) didst not desire; mine (Jesus') ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I (i.e. Jesus), Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:6-8). Then the Spirit suddenly takes away His strength from Jesus; the Spirit's protection falls away, and the Man Jesus is set before the tempter; as a result of a forty-day fast He now feels a gnawing hunger in His body, and the tempter comes to Him with all the fullness of his demonic cunning and force of temptation. This temptation really was a trial for Jesus! He was truly Man; He was the second Adam. But, He did endure and overcome; He proved to really want to serve God the Father, and not Himself, not in any respect!
He proved to be willing to be God's Servant unto the fulfillment of the sacrifice on the cross, the offering of His own life! So Jesus knew intense hunger that hurt his body! And in that situation satan[1] came to Him.

4 verse 3: "And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread."
In other words: "Use Your creative power if You are God's Son; make from this stone bread to satisfy your hunger; what stops You?"

4 verse 4: "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."
The Lord Jesus beat off this temptation. No, He did not want to make bread out of that stone. He first had to continue this fast until God told Him that He could stop; He wanted to live by the Word of God only; to be completely obedient to the will of God. This was the temptation of Jesus after the body. He was put before the choice to either continue serving God or to give in to His stomach's cry. A temptation of the body with the one is whether to give in to the stomach,
with the other to a different physical desire, against God's will.
Will we resist him when he comes to us in his satanic power of temptation, as Jesus resisted the devil herein? Will we let God's pure will take the upper hand in our life or... will we give in to the (strong) desire of our senses, of our body, when temptation makes it hot for us? Whom or what will we choose then? Let us follow the example of our High Priest and say, that man shall only (truly and eternally) live by every Word of God! Jesus was not to be tempted on the physical level, and the devil departed to prepare a new attack of satanic temptation.

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 4) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

[1] We write the word “satan” not with a capital, as it is not a name, but a word meaning opponent or adversary, accuser.

Give Jesus your heart

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For a threshingfloor, for the personal purification of your old man/person, in order that you do not fall under His judgment.

2 Samuel 24:20-25 "And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people.And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee. And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel."

God came with judgment over Israel on account of the sin of the census, which David had organized. It was a sin of pride of life. God answered this committed sin by sending pestilence over Israel, as a result of which 70,000 Israelites died.

In these last, sinful days God's anger will, in ever increasing measure, also come over the world and unrepentant Christianity. God's wrath is to come over The Netherlands too; this country that leads the world with its sinful laws, such as the laws of the homosexual marriage, euthanasia and other wicked practices.

David had to appease God's wrath with a burnt offering which he was to bring on Araunah's (or Ornan's) threshingfloor. A burnt offering is a voluntary sacrifice and is a type of the voluntary offering we have to bring to God for the deliverance of our sinful heart and life on the basis of Jesus' sacrifice on Calvary, in order that we no longer should live under His burning wrath, and that we might be protected from His judgments.
A burnt sacrifice had to be completely burned to ASHES. Nothing was to be left. This means NOTHING is to be left of our sinful heart and life. Everything has to be burned away in the Fire of God's Holy Spirit if we want to escape His judgments.
In 1 Corinthians 5 verses 6-8 it is written: "a little yeast (sin) will spoil the whole dough (new life)." All sin must be burned in the Fire of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 3:11-12 "I (John the Baptist) baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor (of our heart and life), and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

On a threshingfloor chaff was separated from the corn/wheat. Chaff is the type of the old, sinful, natural life we have to lose to Jesus; and corn/wheat is the type of the New, Divine life we will receive from Jesus. We have to be completely delivered from our natural, i.e. sinful being: the sinful state of the natural man/person.

Ephesians 2:1-3 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience; Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."

1 John 2:15-17 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."

A person consists of body, soul and spirit. The sins of the body (flesh) are: the desires (lusts) of our flesh which we commit with our five senses and which we then misuse and make as many idols of. The sins of our soul are the desires of the eyes: the pursuit of luxuries, property, money and wealth; of material things.

The sins of the spirit are: the pride of life, pride, arrogance, conceit, dominance over other people. We have to lose all these sins to Jesus by confessing them, by surrendering them to Him.

We find bible verses that deal on this subject in:

Proverbs 28:13-14 "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief."

Isaiah 59:1-2 "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."

1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

The need of deliverance from the sinful nature.

Besides confession and surrender/subjection we also have to undergo the working of His Spirit's Fire. It is necessary, but not enough, for the deliverance of our sins, to believe in His offer and in His power to deliver from sins.

John 3:36 "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

It is also necessary, but not enough, to have ourselves immersed in His death and resurrection through the (water)baptism. Our redemption from sin does NOT happen AUTOMATICALLY after we have done all these things. We also have to be willing to be baptized in His Fire by the Holy Spirit.

We did read Matthew 3:11-12; we will now go to Malachi 3:1-4:

"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord as in the days of old, and as in former years."

Our surrender, as Arauna's (or Ornan's), is to be complete (100%), in order that He burn away our old life unto the foundations thereof.

Isaiah 61:8 a "For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering (namely a burnt sacrifice that is not completely burned up)..."

A milder statement than the burning in His Fire, is the washing in His Blood, but this, in fact, means the same thing. We are to undergo voluntarily the Spirit of purification, because we have a free will and God will not go against this free will of ours. We are to carry/bear our cross voluntarily; this means: we must be willing to die to our personal sins, which sins we are to overcome in Jesus' strength.

Jesus defeated satan through His sacrifice on the cross, He gained the victory over him, but we have to overcome our personal sins and our sinful life ourselves with the help of Jesus, and on the basis of our faith in His sacrifice on the cross. For this purpose we are to take up our cross voluntarily; this means we are to be willing to die to our sinful being.

Luke 9:23-25: "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?"

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study – that is to long for the Blog – further.

By E. van den Worm

LUKE (Chapter 3) - Wanting to live in a continuing disposition of repentance

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The active effect of the Word unto repentance.

In this chapter we will study the Word of repentance active in us. We have looked at it in its "before-state"; we have studied it in its birth, and now in its active working in the life of the person who is willing to open up to this purifying and justifying power which is in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The power of repentance must first of all be active in our personal life, and then also in the Church for it to be effective outside; for it to bring this word of repentance to outsiders.

It goes without saying that there has to be an interaction: We must be willing to repent, to accept Him as the Prince of our further life; We must be willing to conform to the word of repentance; We must be willing to turn our back to the powers of sin; We must be willing to resist the urge of worldly lusts in our flesh and the worldly standards and requirements; We must now turn more to God and His Word; We must now ask: "Lord, what are your standards, what do you want me to do?" Then He will give us the strength to actual repentance which is in Jesus Christ.

This word is directed to all, but in particular to the young people of these last days wherein satan works in an extraordinary measure. In our days the (strong) inclination is seen to shake off standards of life, while these standards have mostly come from the Holy Scriptures. One regards as hypocrisy the keeping of these standards. One wants "the truth", and in the case of sinful man: letting oneself go in sinful lusts and desires, while man should comply to the will of his Creator instead. Let us realize the situation, especially the young ones among us. It is only when man is willing to comply to God's standards, that God can give him what He wants to give him: strength to continue to choose His will, and above all a sharing of Himself!

Luke 3 verse 1-2: "Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tuberous Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch (prince over one quarter of the Roman province of Palestine) of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness."

Here we get to know a working of the Word of God. Precisely determined, measured in time, the Word of God came to John. John had already been called by God, but... had not yet been sent out on an actual ministry. Now, at that exact point in time, the power of God's Word came over and in John, and took control of him, because he was a spiritual channel, which had been fully prepared to receive this divine Word; to be taken over by this Word. John then became the personification of that "living word unto repentance!" Glory to God! And if this Word of repentance has completely "taken over", filled us completely; when we have become the personification of this Word, then, it is true, we have become insufferable for the world, but irresistible for those who are willing to repent. Then we will pull them out of the world's pool of sin, out of God's fiery judgment! To God be the glory!

Luke 3 verse 3-6: "And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As is written in the book of the words of Esaias, the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

Here we see the divine working of the Word to repentance. Once it is in us, it is irresistible, and it does not need any propaganda. For this divine Word then is like a light in the darkness, as a fire which consumes the dry wood. The appearance of John, in the valley of the Jordan, worked like a bright flash of lightning in those areas. It was seen by everyone, everyone came to him; drawn as it were by a magnet.

No propaganda is necessary for the Spirit of God if He is active. A true Holy-Ghost revival was going on here, which was powerfully effective in that area. Without any "propaganda" the whole country knew John the Baptist in no time at all. So was the Lord Jesus Christ's action too. Therefore, beloved, if you want a Holy-Spirit revival, pray and beg for it, and be willing to be cleansed, sanctified and used by Him yourself. Seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and offer yourself to become His instrument; let Him be, and remain, your Master so that God's anointing work through you. Pray earnestly about this. It may cost you everything; you must dare to pay the price for it. Let God work, give Him a free hand and you will see that the anointing of God will make an instrument of you and me which will bring many out of this world unto voluntary repentance and subjection to God. Beloved, let us seek this, for the end-time (= the end of times or the last days) requires such laborers; laborers who allow God's anointing to work through them. Then you will see that, in a short time, the work will surpass that of many years. Be sanctified in Him that the anointing can work freely through you; that the anointing will not be hindered by our hobbies, pet subjects, habits (good and bad). If we then have allowed this Word of repentance to work in us, we will see that God's power in us, as an introduction to His full grace, will prepare the way hereto: namely to the union with His anointing, with the full Word of God, with the living God Himself, Who is a consuming Fire, but also an enchanting Love-fire. Then all valleys – the sinful pits in our being – will be made smooth; all mountains and hills – all stubbornness and proud desires – will be made low by God's powerful and recreating Word. Then the crooked ways in our life will be made straight. Let Him do all this in your being; long for it. However strange this may sound, but in this light it is understandable: Long for the cross...; love your cross... Long for it, that all works of the flesh, which, naturally, are always sinful, be killed by the works of the Spirit (Romans 8:13); also praying for His strength to undergo all this. This "Way of sorrows", it is true, is a painful affair for our flesh, but He will be with us, and will make this sacrifice of our flesh a joyful, holy feast after our spirit. Remember, that the Israelites had to travel three days out of Egypt to offer the Lord a sacrificial feast there (Exodus 5:1-3). For us, too, this sacrifice of self will be a spiritual feast of joy and peace and justice in Christ Jesus!

So all flesh shall see "the salvation of God". If we are prepared to bring this sacrifice, then we will receive this promise we have read about in verse 6. All flesh that had "itself crucified" will see and taste the salvation, the glory of God. Let us be willing to be purified from al the old and sinful in us by the Word of repentance, so that we will be different people, NEW CREATIONS of God, new men, new women, Jesus-men and Jesus-women, who have truly and completely given up the old life, who have been found willing by God to pay this price. Glory to God!

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 3) – that is to long for the Blog – further.[1]

By E. van den Worm

[1] For Chapter 1 and 2, see our Blog at 10 November and 10 December 2009.

Three reasons that will bring us joy in the Lord

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Three reasons: Mentioned in Isaiah 9

We live in the end-time, a time full of God's judgments over manhood because of its many sins. This is why it is good for God's children to learn how to be able to live in His spiritual joy in order that they might live in His joy, His strength, in spite of worldly problems. Nehemiah 8 verse 11 says:

"The joy of the Lord is your strength."

Let us first read Isaiah 60 verse 1-2:

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord (YaHWeH) is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord (YaHWeH) shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee."

The Netherlands, as it were, defy God with their laws, their homo marriage and euthanasia laws, their abortion law, their attitude toward life. Isaiah 8 verse 21-22 and 9 verse 1 speaks about these dark last days:

"And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness. Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the natoins."

The world of the last days force God to judge it.We read further in Isaiah 9 verse 2:

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."

When we are plunged in great social and political darkness God will shine a GREAT LIGHT of His Spirit and His Word over us, as a result of which people's consciences will be strongly convicted of sin, and they will be converted; that is to say: the wise among us.

Let Isaiah 9 be our guide further. I will quote the next verse from the literal translation of the original Hebrew text, because the translation we have differ from it.

Isaiah 9 verse 3: "You have multiplied the nation (a great revival took place because of God's light of Word and Spirit), the joy You have not increased. NOW they rejoice in Your sight. They rejoice in the harvest the way one does, when the spoil is divided."

Many will be converted because of God's light. But there will only be spiritual joy in their hearts if they obey the three reasons, conditions, the three "FOR"s Isaiah's prophecy mentions in the following three verses.

The first "FOR":

Isaiah 9 verse 4: "FOR thou hast broken the yoke of his (satan's)[1] burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian."

The Lord fulfilled this on Calvary. There He broke satan's power of sin for ever. He worked an "eternal redemption" there .

Hebrews 9 verse 12: "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."

We have to firmly believe in this victory over satan and, always/at all times. We should keep this in our hearts as a firm promise of God.

2 Corinthians 4 verse 10-11: "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh."

Thus, we must stay focused on Calvary! One also must BELIEVE that Jesus has the power to deliver us from all power of sin.

1 John 3 verse 8: "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested,that he might destroy the works of the devil."

The second “FOR”:

Believing in His offer for us, however, is not enough. This happened nearly 2000 years ago, but NOW, now that we are converted to Him, He must be able to fulfil this finished work in our personal lives. The sin in our hearts and lives still has to be defeated. For this purpose we must open our hearts and lives to Him so that the King of Glory could come in and wage war with us against every (power of) sin that reigns in our hearts, thoughts and lives.

Revelation 3 verse 20: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

Then He will have SUPPER with us, which means that He will work in us His death and resurrection, His victory over the power of sin and over satan. He must be allowed to do away with, and burn away, our sins and our sinful state; He must be allowed to wash them in His blood.

Isaiah 9 verse 5 tells us the same. And this is the second "FOR" that will make us rejoice in the Lord.

Isaiah 9 verse 5: "FOR every boot of the trampler is with shaking and the coat rolled in blood shall even become burning, fuel for the fire" (literal translation of the original Hebrew text).

Every act of ours that steps on our neighbour mercilessly, and every way of life, every tongue that kills/murders our neighbour, every sin of body, soul and spirit in relation to material or neighbour, as well as all labor for the Lord that we did in our own strength, must be burned away by the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit and of God's Word. We must be delivered of any stain of the old sinful life through participation in His death, in His victory over sin; we must be purified in His blood.

Again, this being freed from sin is not enough. We must also receive from Him the NEW divine life in this sinful world, and continue to walk in a fresh, living RELATIONSHIP with Him, our King and God.

The third “FOR”:

This is the third "FOR" through which we may receive joy in the Lord. Being delivered from the old, sinful life, we may also take part in His resurrection life. In that life we first are born again, and are then allowed to grow therein unto completeness, perfection, until the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ nature. In the process our relationship with Jesus Christ, our King and Lord, also grows into completeness.

First He is born in our heart:

Isaiah 9 verse 6-7: "FOR unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

He, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, has been given to us for an ETERNAL Friend

John 14 verse 16: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever."

In this NEW LIFE we must be willing to obey our Leader and King under the discipline of His precious Word, and we must continue to walk circumspectly/carefully.

Psalm 2 verse 10-12: "Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth (we must OBEY the Son). Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling (we must SERVE Him). Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him (we must LOVE Him).”

We must continue to SERVE Him and to LOVE Him, and stay within the FEAR of the Lord lest we fall back into sin. Then He shall lead us with His wonderful counsel, and prove Himself our strong God. He shall be a Father to us and a Prince of Peace, and He shall be our King from NOW until eternity.

Let us also take the next verses to heart:

Matthew 5 verse 8: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall SEE God."

Psalm 16 verse 11: "...in thy presence is fulness of joy..."

Now the purified person can pursue the perfect relationship with the Spirit of the Lamb, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Philippians 3 verse 10-14: "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Our old person must participate more and more in His suffering and death. The New in us, the divine nature, must in ever greater measure have a part in His resurrection Holiness, Glory and Power...! Amen.

By E. van den Worm

[1] We write the word satan not with a capital, as it is not a name, but a word meaning opponent or adversary, accuser.

Three reasons (mentioned in Isaiah 9) that will bring us joy in the Lord