18-03-2018
"Be holy because I am holy."
Be assured that His presence is with our family.
We're living in the end times. We are living in critical times--dangerous and exciting.
1) Prepare ourselves for the great shaking.
Prepare for the trials and testings that are coming our way.
Run to God or run away from God. He Himself is shaking the heaven and the earth. There is no escape from it.
2) Prepare ourselves for revival.
Unreached group, majority group. Multitudes of people will come into the kingdom of God. This revival has to do with our holy living. It is at our doorstep.
3) Prepare for His second coming back.
Our very lives must be aligned back to the possibility of His coming back.
John, when he was with Jesus on earth, was so close to Jesus. In Revelation, he saw the resurrected Christ in His glorious form.
Revelation 1:7 New King James Version (NKJV)
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
4) Give an account of our lives to Jesus. Our attitude, behaviour, motivation.
On the day of judgment, Jesus Christ Himself also casts people into hell. "Depart from Me you evildoers!"
We are living in the last of the last days.
God will bring His redemption plan to a closure.
Judgement begins in the House of God.
Because He says so, you and I must believe it as children of God.
Seek after the things that cannot be shaken.
Turmoils and uncertainties are taking place on a worldwide scale. Wars and rumours of war are happening.
What if one day you wake up and suddenly your accounts are set to zero? Can you still come to church to worship the living God?
Darkness is all over the nations.
Yet God has a plan for His church. He must begin to chastise His church and expose the conditions of our hearts, our self-righteousness, our secret and dark sins.
God wants us to come into complete obedience unto Him.
Come back to Him wholeheartedly. Otherwise, our wealth, career, ministry will be shaken. He is using it to purify His church. God will show you whether you are of God or not of God.
Many will fall away. The remnants will spearhead the genuine revival of God in this country.
God is looking for men and women who will count the cost of following Him, whose purpose in their hearts to walk holy and righteously before God.
In this coming trials and testings, many Christians will renounce Jesus. But the overcomers will carry out His will and purposes.
We must know His mind, His heart and His purpose.
If we remain our usual Christian lives, we may not live a life of an overcomer.
Allow God to confront the issue of your heart and the issue of sin in our lives, in our family and in our churches.
The Israelites came out of Egypt into the Promised Land. They had experienced the signs and wonders. They experienced the Red Sea experience. They tasted the heavenly manna in the dessert. They had the blessings and favour of God but not the ways of God. They were still evil in the eyes of God and it broke the heart of God.
God is not in the business of touching our lives. He wants to change our lives.
God could do great things for us but He could not to great things in our lives.
In the New Testament, the disciples had Jesus, they had the Word. But they did not allow God to deal with the issue of their coveteousness, greed and pride.
Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
Peter denied Jesus Christ.
Deep within, many are still stuggling the issue of sin in their lives and in their family. Wordliness is increasing in the church day after day, year after year. The condition of our heart remains the same. We don't experience the reality of God in our lives.
Return to God wholeheartedly. We need the life and resurrection power of Christ in us.
Jesus didn't go to the cross to bless us or prosper us. Jesus died on the cross to bear our sin and to give us a resurrected life. When He comes into our lives, we will naturally thirst and hunger for Him and not the things of this world.
God's presence is critical for our worldly survival. We bear the testimony of Jesus Christ, not our personal testimony.
Today, many Christians and churches have the ark but never realise that His presence has left us. We even struggle to read the Word of God.
1 Samuel 3 New King James Version (NKJV)
Samuel’s First Prophecy
3 Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. 2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, 3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle[a] of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, 4 that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” 5 So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”
And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.
6 Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!”
So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.)
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.”
Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them. 14 And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
15 So Samuel lay down until morning,[b] and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!”
He answered, “Here I am.”
17 And he said, “What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.” 18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”
19 So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
In their sinning and in their abomination, they had assumed God's presence was still with them.
The Israelities went to war with the Philistines. 4000 soldiers were killed and they lost the battle.
1 Samuel 4:1-11 New King James Version (NKJV)
4 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.[a]
The Ark of God Captured
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. 2 Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. 3 And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. 6 Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. 7 So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. 9 Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!”
10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
Without the ark, 4,000 died. With the ark, 30,000 were killed.
They didn't realise that God's presence has left them.
Today, Satan is making an all out war to drag us all to hell.
Our proclaiming how awesome God is doesn't work. Christians have no regard for God and His Word, yet have the cheek to hold on to our ark, our programmes but live in abomination and deceitful lives--unforgiveness, greed, lust. Worship had become a form instead worshipping God in spirit and in truth.
Do you think it is easy for a rich man to lay down his life for God?
Our children are under attack.
Our lives are under attack.
We promote a cheap grace today where everything goes and there is no repentance.
1 Samuel 5 New King James Version (NKJV)
The Philistines and the Ark
5 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon[a] and set it by Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again. 4 And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon’s torso[b] was left of it. 5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6 But the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors,[c] both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.” 8 Therefore they sent and gathered to themselves all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?”
And they answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried away to Gath.” So they carried the ark of the God of Israel away. 9 So it was, after they had carried it away, that the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction; and He struck the men of the city, both small and great, and tumors broke out on them.
10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. So it was, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!” 11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people.” For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 12 And the men who did not die were stricken with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
1 Samuel 6 New King James Version (NKJV)
The Ark Returned to Israel
6 Now the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it to its place.”
3 So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but by all means return it to Him with a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”
4 Then they said, “What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?”
They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of you and on your lords. 5 Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land. 6 Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, did they not let the people go, that they might depart? 7 Now therefore, make a new cart, take two milk cows which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them. 8 Then take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go. 9 And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us—it happened to us by chance.”
10 Then the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 11 And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors. 12 Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.
13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14 Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the Lord. 16 So when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron; 18 and the golden rats, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and country villages, even as far as the large stone of Abel on which they set the ark of the Lord, which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
19 Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men[a] of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.
The Ark at Kirjath Jearim
20 And the men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?” 21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up with you.”
Our God is sovereign. Our God is sovereign. He cannot be captured!
The condition of our heart before God:
1) Surrender our heart to God.
1 Samuel 7:2-4 New King James Version (NKJV)
7 Then the men of Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord.
Samuel Judges Israel
2 So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.
3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths[a] from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths,[b] and served the Lord only.
God knows it takes a long time to change us.
Seek His presence. Get rid of the Ashtoreths and the Baals.
2) Acknowledge the sins in our lives. Pour out our hearts to God. Seek God's face.
1 Samuel 7:5-6
5 And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted that day,
Learn it well. Teach our children.
3) Make right the conditions of our heart with God. Live holy lives.
1 Samuel 7:7-13
7 Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 So the children of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”
9 And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. 10 Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car. 12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer,[c] saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”
13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
Get our lives right with God. The presence of God is real.
There is reality, power and presence of God. At the end Christ is exalted.
Our everlasting God is with us. We have nothing to fear.
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