A Thousand Hills
Many of those who are seeking God, or interested in doing so, do not actually understand the type of relationship it is meant to be, between God and mankind.
Ps 8:4-6
4 What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet, NKJV™
Hebrews 1 and 2 picks up this passage, and considers it in comparison to God’s relationship with His angels, which is not the same. It is Scriptural that there must some similarities [see Matt 22:30]; but from the discussion in Hebrews we realize that there are also substantial differences.
We are, by design, weak. Our egos may not have caught onto that fact yet, and we may live like we are something more than we truly are. But, soon enough we all wither up, like a leaf when the tree is done with it, and fall to the ground, done with the lie of being mighty. We are born in weakness, and we die in weakness; but most of us live out our lives in between as a dream of grander things.
For most those dreams fade, and the reality of life sets in, to one degree or another. Some may achieve more than this, and maybe even leave a bit of a legacy. But, after one is dead what control do they have upon whatever worth they may think they have left behind? Often as not,
whatever fortune or name which was left is either not remembered long, or split up and divided amongst the dogs who soon enough appear, as over a corpse; Ecclesiastes 12 says it very well, especially when considered along with Micah 6:8 and John 4:23.
The real problem is that we just don’t know what our relationship is supposed to be with our God; so we really don’t know what to make of this one pass we are all given in this place, called "the land of the living." Because of this lack of knowledge, we most often don’t know how to make the most of our now very shortened lives. They weren’t always so short; but maybe we got the Lord a little bit upset in our lack of understanding how to live our lives before Him, and resultant problems [see Gen 6:3, 6]. But evidently, once we get things straightened out in our ways before Him, and begin walking out our correct relationship before Him, we will again live longer lives [also see Ezek 36:27]:
Isa 65:20
20 "No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,
Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;
For the child shall die one hundred years old,
But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. NKJV™
But, I wonder if we just better understood what we really were supposed to be before our Father in heaven, and our Lord, Jesus, that it might help us to begin walking out this short life in a manner which speaks better to that relationship, and maybe even fosters an improvement in it. And, what we were always meant to be was companions to our Lord:
Gen 2:18
18 And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." NKJV™
Like a bride to be, we are not all that different from our Lord, Jesus, the King of kings. He alone is Lord; but we still are made in His image. We should have acted more like people who would end up in the courts of heaven, and people who would actually be more appealing as real companions of the Maker of universes. When Scriptures show someone being prepared for such a kingly encounter, that person goes through extensive tending and preparation, full of symbols speaking to our own preparations [see Dan 1; Esther 2:8-18; Ruth 3:3; Eph 5:26-27; Mal 1:14]
It is true that we are called to be servants before our Lord God, "helpers" according to that passage in Gen 2, if you correctly take it to be prophetic. But this title, of being servants before the throne of God, is far more an excuse just to be there, allowing us the validity to even go before His face [Neh 1:11; Esther 4:15-5:3]; it s no small thing to stand before the living Lord God. We are confused to believe that we can actually contribute anything to Him, that He needs our service, or our offerings and tithes; anything we may have, or which we are able to do comes by His Spirit anyway, and not by our own powers [Zech 6:4; Is 66:1-2].
Ps 50:9-15
9 I will not take a bull from your house,
Nor goats out of your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
12 "If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God thanksgiving,
And pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." NKJV™
But, service is really all we now have left, since we have made such a mess of being His "companions." And this day He is most assuredly going to expect His people to really lay it down when it comes to that service [John 21:15-19]. It is not enough to have an emotional reaction to the conditions of this world, and all it’s sufferings [most of which are actually rooted in the failings of God’s people anyway]. Like the little girl of 2 Kings 5:1-4, who had insurmountable personal circumstances she faced, yet still compassionately served her very real enemy [who thus became her brother in the kingdom], we must come to recognize that this sort of service always was expected of us, from the Judge we will all soon face [Matt 20:28]. Like Philip, who prophetically walked away from the things of this world (a good symbols study discussion), and willingly submitted to the Lord’s afflictions of the desert time, we also must not turn away from God’s refinements, and back to the "comforts of Egypt", as we have always done [Acts 7:39]. In times past we have viewed desert times as not being blessed by God, when in reality {as set forth in Scriptures}, it is His way of preparing us to be blessed. But in those times past we were unwilling to trust Him enough to wait upon the Lord, so those blessings never came. Once we learn to truly submit to the refining ways of God, only then will we finally begin leading people to being born again, which we have not been doing in truth [Luke 4:27, and the menstruation bloodguilt study from the study series].
Most often God’s people have fallen to the temptation of Satan, as prophesied in that encounter with Jesus, in Matt 4 and Luke 4. Matthew says it this way:
Matt 4:8
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. NKJV™
As God moves His people out into the deserts of life, often stripping them of many of the normal pleasantries of this life, then will come Satan’s temptations: that is what this prophecy says. So for instance, when a new woman appears, to replace the one God took away, why should that surprise us? But, instead of calling it tempted, we look at it as God’s blessing, or an "answer to prayers" [because we are not content in where God had placed us (1 Tim 6:8)]. It may be the same scenario for business, or other things of this world, all of which are under this same category of temptation set forth here in Scriptures, and which our Lord warned against:
Luke 9:62
62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." NKJV™
This is why the churches are filled with people going on with life in this world, proclaiming the name of the Lord, but who are far from truly serving Him, or suffering for His name, in reproach with Him, outside the camp. [see also Matt 7:21]
And while we do that "service," He also expects another thing from us: that we properly recognize and honor the Phenomenal God that He is; not that He needs our praises, but because it is the simple truth, and it is way past time for us to stop living the lies of our misunderstandings about His divinely royal nature [Jer 32:39-40], as opposed to our now more evident shame. It is time for us all to begin preparing ourselves to be in the presence of our Lord, finally humbled and meek.
That "desert time," as uncomfortable as it can be, becomes pivotal in the development of our relationship with the Lord, because through it we not only are broken, but also finally become true companions of our Lord, in His sufferings. For some, escaping with our lives is the most we should expect, if that much [Jer 45:5; John 21:19; Judges 16:30] Yet, it is stunning how much closer we become to our Lord, and more correctly dependent upon Him, as we willingly let go of the comforts and protections of this world, and learn to accept very real afflictions He entrusts to us, to suffer for His name.
In my example, He allowed the enemies to attack my respiratory system with a fungus affliction which nearly killed me [if that were possible!]. Man has no cure for this particular disease anyway, so I must wait upon the Lord; He becomes my only hope, which is how it was always supposed to be anyway. He also gave me a massive stroke, paralyzing my entire left side; try typing with a totally numb left hand; and I am His called writer! Sometimes I feel like I might loose my mind for all the typo mistakes; and how hard it is now, for me to handle so much intense thinking with my newly weakened mind. But the process has all but melted away the lies of my arrogant pride, which only divided Us before He began that process. And the loss of all my financial resources has forced me to look to His hand for my every next provision, something completely foreign to many people raised in this capitalistic world we now find ourselves in. Will He now entrust His mighty Spirit to me, now that I no longer have the god of gold to lean upon, which is exactly what Peter witnessed personally, after the disciples finally walked away from serving mammon, and truly began serving God [Matt 6:24; Matt 4:20; John 21:3; John 21:19, 22; Acts 3:6]? But when we set our hearts to escape the afflictions of desert life, and to return to the pleasantries and comforts of Egypt and it’s ‘fertile Nile valley,’ then we forsake the heavenly flow, which always was written to be waiting for us out in the wilderness, with Him [Ps 104:10; Ezek 47:1-12; Is 66:12; Ex 17:6; Num 20:11; Rev 22:1; Gen 25:34]:
Heb 13:13
13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. NKJV™
To get to this level of understanding there are some issues we must first deal with, truths we must face; and then there is the pure language of God, the ways He speaks, as demonstrated in Scriptures, to even know what these issues are. It is all already in the Bible, waiting for us this day. Indeed: the Lord has already provided everything [Gen 22:14]; all we have to do is come to the table and partake in the feast, learning all we need for this special day.
Matt 22:1-13
1 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding."' 5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7 But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.' 10 So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 "But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' NKJV™
It is our duty to learn this language art form He uses in His Word. When we come to understand His Word, and then submit to it, this will glorify the Word of God, which is the whole plan of God [John 17:1-17; Luke 24:13-35]. And, after we deal with this short moment of shame we must face, and the resultant service He will expect from us this time around, the rest is just cake.
And, never again shall we be so arrogant as to think we are more than we truly are, nor again become confused, and misunderstand what an incredible privilege it truly is to even know God lives, let alone that He would allow us to serve Him, or anything it takes just to be in the presence of the Holy One Of Israel [Dan 4]!
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