Morning, brothers and sisters.
It is interesting. Cain did not know what I was going to share on, but the thought of full salvation is really, in many ways, upon my heart. I would not have picked those words, but really, the desire we have in the days that we are living in is that we rejoice not only at our initial salvation—the great grace of God that was shown unto us, that transferred us out of a kingdom of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son.
But that is only the beginning. The Lord wants us, throughout this life, to enter into the fullness of the salvation that we have been brought into. His full salvation culminates when that bride has made herself ready: a full salvation with purpose, a full salvation that God has had upon His heart from eternity past, that we would all enter into.
As we gather together in the days we are living in, as we see things becoming more and more uncertain in the seen realm, we know that the only thing that is certain is our Lord’s solid foundation and the Lord’s solid, eternal purpose that He will bring each and every one into as we yield unto Him. So this, in many ways, is the desire of my heart this morning.
We were thankful, as we gathered last week, for how the Lord shared with us through our brother the reality and much of the spirit of the Lord’s table. Again, there is a fullness there that we will spend our time upon this earth entering into.
Really, every aspect of the Lord, wherever we touch Him, we never get the fullness here. But there is a fullness that we will enter into one day, when that precious bride has made herself ready and that great wedding occurs.
So we want to continue on this pathway of pressing on to fullness and not being led astray from the simplicity and purity of our devotion to Christ. That is what He is calling us to in this hour: pressing on. We heard that last summer, and the Lord is still wanting us to press on to know more and more of Him.
Lord, we are so grateful for this full salvation that You have called us into. Lord, as we gather this morning, there is a fullness of Christ, a fullness of enabling of the Holy Spirit, and a fullness of Your life that has made provision for this time as we gather around Your Word.
Lord, we offer ourselves unto You—spirit, soul, and body—that You would be able to speak, that You would be able to accomplish, that You would be able to fully release all that is upon Your heart during our time, and that we would receive and respond.
Lord, just as Mary responded as she poured out her life upon You, Lord, this morning, as we have gathered around Your table and continue in Your Word, we would pour out our lives upon You, that You would be able to fill us to the fullness that there is in Christ Jesus.
Lord, we are thankful again for Your precious Word, and we commit this time into Your hands, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
I would like for us to turn this morning to 2 Corinthians 11.
Paul, as we know, had such a dear relationship with those in Corinth. He had spent eighteen months there, laboring with them. We see how Paul wrote to these dear ones in Corinth twice in these two letters, and he poured out his heart to them over and over again.
If you could categorize it this way, we could say that some of the greatest chapters in the Bible are included in these letters to the church in Corinth. In many ways, it is quite a contrast, because when we look at Corinth, we see a lot of problems: ones pursuing their own way, doing their own thing, sin abounding, lawsuits amongst them, and divisions amongst them.
Yet Paul had such a heart for them. He had such a jealousy for them and such a relationship with them. We are thankful for how Paul wrote to these dear ones. Just as he was writing to them, he is writing to us in this hour.
As we come to 2 Corinthians 11, let us look at these first three verses. Paul says:
I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me.
For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy:
For I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.
But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness,
Your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
Paul had this upon his heart as he was bringing this letter to a conclusion. As he had known these dear ones, he was so thankful for what the Lord had done, how the Lord had brought them unto Himself, and how they had been betrothed—engaged—to Christ. There was a great purpose in their salvation there in Corinth.
Paul also knew that those in Corinth, just like ourselves, were prone to wander, prone to leave the One they loved. How we find ourselves in that condition.
It is interesting—this love letter that he was writing to these ones. We see his heart as he says, “I have such a concern for you.” We have to remember that, because Paul was writing with this great concern to a group in Corinth where some had initially said, “No, we do not like Paul. We like Peter. We like to hear Peter. We want to hear Apollos. Paul is okay, but he is big in his letters, does a lot of boasting, but in person he is not much of a man.”
Yet Paul did not allow even the things that people said about him to affect his love, because Paul was first captured by the love of Christ. Because Paul was captured by the love of Christ, he allowed the love of Christ to be shed abroad in his heart toward all those in Corinth.
As he was getting ready to leave these dear ones, unsure if he would see them again, writing this concluding letter to them, he said, “I am really jealous, because I have this concern upon my heart for you. I have this concern that, after all the time I have spent with you, after all that I have written to you, you still need to be aware that you might be led astray.”
The enemy is so crafty. The enemy is so deceitful. You need to be aware that he is out there, and he is trying to lead you astray from the simplicity and purity of your devotion to Christ.
Praise God, Paul had brought them back, and they were returning to this simplicity and purity. But he said, “Now that you are there, do not be led astray from it. Keep this in mind.”
In many ways, what we are sharing on this morning ties in greatly with what our brother opened with on the matter of first love. Paul was reminding these dear ones in Corinth: How do you maintain that simplicity? How do you maintain that purity of devotion to Christ?
You remember that you are betrothed to one Husband. You are betrothed to Christ. In that betrothal, in that engagement, there is this tremendous first love that is holding you, guiding you, and directing all your steps. If you can stay in this simplicity of first love, you will be able to triumph over whatever is ahead of you.
It is interesting when Paul says in these verses, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy.” Quite often, when we think of jealousy, we think of it as a negative. We teach people, teach our children, teach ones, “Do not be jealous. Do not be jealous.”
But jealousy in itself is a neutral term. It is related to the object. In Scripture, we see how there is often a little word used to differentiate the two.
Paul was jealous for the Corinthians. The Lord was jealous for Jerusalem; He was jealous for Zion. This is not jealousy like Joseph’s brothers, of whom it says that they were jealous of him. There is a jealousy that is self-interest. They are trying to take what someone else has and get it for themselves. They are jealous because someone else is getting the higher place or position, and that jealousy drives them in a negative way.
But here we see that Paul was jealous for Christ to be formed within them. He was jealous for Christ. We see our Lord, when He was upon the earth in the Gospel of John, zealous for the house of God. The zeal, the jealousy, for the house was consuming Him, and that was driving Him on.
Paul was captured by the love of Christ, and because he was so jealous for Christ to be formed in these dear ones, he was pleading with them. In order to be jealous, there has to be a relationship. In that relationship Paul was saying, “Oh, look, I am so jealous. I do not want you to be led astray. I want you to come into all that the Lord has for you.”
“You have been through some tough times there in Corinth. You have experienced many difficulties, but I am so jealous for you that you would enter in and stay in that place of simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”
Why was Paul jealous for them? Because Paul realized, knew, and had conveyed to them that they had been saved with a purpose. They had been brought into the purpose of God.
They had been saved, and in that salvation they were betrothed, or engaged, not to a husband—not to any husband—but to one Husband: Christ Himself. Paul desired that they would be controlled by the reality that they had been betrothed to Christ.
Today, in the society we live in, we do not treat engagements so seriously. Quite often somebody gets engaged, and after a few months says, “Well, that was a mistake,” and they just break it off.
But back in those days, engagement or betrothal was just as good as marriage. It was a time of preparation that people went through so that they could enter into the blessing of marriage. This was not a haphazard thing as it can be today. It was a binding commitment.
Just as we have been, when we were born again, betrothed to Christ, one day we will enter into that great marriage feast. Paul was conveying to these dear ones in Corinth, “Look, you were in all this horrible condition, and yet God, in His mercy, reached down and touched your life and took you out of that.”
In that full salvation that He has called you into, the culmination is that great marriage. But during this time, you are in a period of being betrothed unto Christ. You are in a period of engagement, and during this time you are making yourself ready.
We see it in a very weak way upon the earth whenever there is an engagement, because suddenly everything gets shifted. When someone gets engaged and there is going to be a marriage, the whole perspective changes, and everything is focused upon getting every little detail right for that wedding.
Every little detail—even down to what color napkins you are going to have on the table, or what color shoestrings the guys are going to have. They do not worry only about the big things; they worry about every little detail.
Brothers and sisters, in the same way—though really it is a far greater way—the Lord is concerned about the details within our lives. So often, we take this matter of preparation for the coming of the Lord, preparation of the bride making herself ready, as a very careless thing. But it is a very serious call.
Paul was waking up these ones in Corinth, that they would wake up, because he did not want them to be led astray in any way.
Recently, in our devotions, we were reading through the Old Testament. If you read through Exodus, you see all the detail related to the tabernacle. The Lord was very precise when He told Moses, “You go and make this tabernacle.”
He told Moses about every little piece, all the curtains, all the pegs, and every string that would be on the high priest. There was detail there because the Lord was concerned about the details. It was all showing forth the glory of Christ.
Just as the Lord was concerned about the exactness, holiness, and details within that tabernacle, Paul was conveying to these dear ones in Corinth that the Lord is concerned about the very character and life of Christ being formed within you.
Because of His concern, dear brethren, do not be led astray from the simplicity and purity that there is in Christ.
The enemy is so crafty. As it says in verse 3, Paul was very fearful that, just as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, their minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
He was trying to wake them up to the craftiness and the various little ways that the enemy works. Brothers and sisters, we need to be awake in the hour that we are living in, aware of all the craftiness and all the wiles of the enemy.
Sometimes we go about this life and can be so naïve. We just go along in that que sera, sera spirit. Since Liz was here from France, we had to throw a little French in for her there.
I do not know if it is French or not. Spanish? Okay, all right—it is close. Spain and France, all right. I am just seeing if you are listening, really. I could see everybody in the room who knew French kind of whip around: “Wait a minute.”
See how easily we get led astray.
We need to allow the Lord to keep us and hold us in the very steadiness of His life. We were reading in Proverbs the other day. In Proverbs 7, it speaks of one who is just going along, a naïve one, so simple.
The warning is there: allow the Word of God to keep you. Allow His life, His Word, all His teachings, and His commandments to hold you, that you not be led astray.
But there is this one who is so naïve. He just wanders along, thinking everything is okay. Then the harlot cries out with a voice, “Come over here.” In that naïveté, he just goes along and gets led astray. It looks like it is okay, but it is a pathway to death.
In the days we are living in, one thing I have been thankful for lately is the great shaking that this country is going through. This economic shaking is really the mercy of God to us in this hour, if we will allow it to wake us up.
The Lord tries many ways to wake us up. This is His mercy, as He is trying to wake us up so that we do not just go on in the naïveté of life, but would allow the very freshness of His life to hold us in that devotion that we have in Him.
He is the only thing that is going to remain. Everything else will pass away, but He is there. We thank the Lord that we are in Him.
What I would like us to consider during this time is this whole matter of Paul’s concern for the Corinthians and how it can be applied to our lives. In this day and time, where that which can be shaken will be shaken, and that which does not remain will go away, while that which remains will continue on, Lord, would we see what Paul is calling us to in this hour?
Just as Paul had great concern for those in Corinth, the Lord has great concern for us, that we not allow other rivalries, other attractions, and other things to occupy our time; that we not be naïve ones who end up being led astray from the simplicity and purity of our devotion to Christ.
Paul said to those in Corinth, “I presented you as a pure virgin.” During this period of time, there is a purity that you have been called into. I desire that you maintain that purity, that you would not be led astray or corrupted.
Brothers and sisters, there is a purity that the Lord desires for us to testify of as well. His life is within us, but so often we get led astray.
Purity is an absolute word. In this day and time, we love relativity, but purity is an absolute word. Ivory soap used to advertise that it was ninety-nine and forty-four one-hundredths percent pure. Well, on God’s standard, that is impure.
Too much of our lives, we would say, “Well, I am ninety-nine percent a good Christian.” Most of us would be pretty pleased. But the Lord desires an absolute purity.
Now, as we talk about purity, let us be clear: we are not talking about sinlessness. We are sinners saved by grace, and we are purified by the blood of the Lamb.
As we sin, the grace of God through the blood of the Lamb is always there. As we confess, He washes us and cleanses us afresh and anew, that we can continue on in the purpose of God. We thank the Lord that He recognizes that and knows us, but He is calling us to maintain the purity of this testimony.
So often, as we look throughout history and throughout the days we are living in, we have to ask the question: Have we lost our spiritual chastity? Have we lost our spiritual purity?
Are we allowing the Lord to hold us and bring us back to being occupied with that one thing that was so upon Mary’s heart as she was at the Lord’s feet? She was occupied with one thing. Nothing else mattered.
She poured her heart, her life, and her alabaster out upon the Lord. She was captured by Him and constrained by the love of Christ. There was that singleness of heart, that one purity, drawing her on.
Are we, in this day and time, allowing the grace of God to keep us in that place of purity? We cannot keep ourselves pure. We cannot. But by the grace of God, He has made provision that we can stand in all that He has done for us, and we can live a life of purity and simplicity unto Him.
Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to work within us, to prepare us for that bride making herself ready? Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to do this work from the point of being engaged to that great wedding?
Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to prepare us, to say, “No, this part is not right. That you cannot do; that is not right. Your Bridegroom is not happy with this. This does not match up to His life. It does not match up to His character.” We need to allow the Holy Spirit to work.
Praise God, we were able to fellowship about the Holy Spirit last month, and we see all the great work He is doing in preparing us and making us ready.
As I was thinking about how the Holy Spirit makes us ready, I thought about Peter’s life. At the end of the Gospel of John, as the Lord is sharing those final words with Peter, He tells Peter, “Peter, now you go where you want to go. But as you get older, you will be led where you do not want to go, and you will do what you do not want to do.”
Really, that is a snapshot of our Christian life. In our own selves, we want to go this way. We want to maintain and keep some of what we could call immaturity. We want to maintain some of our own self-desires.
But there comes that point, as the Holy Spirit is working within, when He says, “You are not going to continue going the way you want to go. I want you to go this way. I want you to grow up a little bit. I want you to let this go.”
“It might have been okay when you were younger to do this, but now, as I am working within you and conforming you into the image of My Son, you need to lay that aside. You need to enter into more of what is upon My heart and be occupied with the things that are in your Father’s business.”
Putting aside those lesser things and coming into those areas within each of our lives that the Holy Spirit is speaking to us—do we have ears to hear what He says to us?
Because He said, “Okay, you can do that,” do we take that as carte blanche for our whole life? We all know there are things in our lives that we could do, but then there comes that point when the Lord says, “Now you need to let that go. You need to put aside those things.”
“I want you to grow up a little more and allow My life to lead you into a fuller expression of Christ.” That is maintaining that simplicity.
Are we really allowing the Holy Spirit to make us ready? We thank the Lord that there is still such a wonderful time, still a call today, that every day we can present ourselves unto Him and allow Him to do this great work.
We can allow Him to search us, allow Him to try us, and find out if there is anything within our hearts that is not pleasing to Him. Praise God, there is still a call today. We have that time, that opportunity, and we can allow Him to touch us and return us, so that our affections are set upon Him.
So often, as the Lord works within us, we do not realize how much our affections are set on other things until suddenly the Holy Spirit says, “Okay, I want to touch that little area in your life now.” Then we find out, “Wow, I was a lot more attached to that than I thought.”
But as He leads us on, what is His motivation? Is the motivation merely giving that up? No. The motivation He shows us is, “Behold My Son.” The more we see of Christ, and the more we see of the love of Christ, the affection for these other things decreases, and we gain a greater and greater affection for Him.
Praise God, it is still a call today, and we can do that. May we pray that we would not be led astray from the simplicity and purity of our devotion to Him.
What is the opposite of simplicity? We could say that the opposite of simplicity is being complicated. One thing about things that are complicated is that they are always confusing.
I have been a CPA for over thirty years. One of the great things about our business that the government helps us in is that whenever the government says, “We are going to simplify taxes,” that is wonderful for business, because it just complicates things more and more.
As I work with Medicare, they say, “Oh, we are going to simplify Medicare.” That is wonderful for business because, again, it just gets more and more complicated.
It is like the spirit of this world. When they try to simplify something, it just gets more complicated and more confusing. Thus, those of us who make our living off government, it works out really nicely. It is sad that it does.
But we see this world and its spirit. The world looks down upon simplicity. They refer to people as “simple-minded.” The world looks down upon it.
It is tragic today. The world is so complicated and confusing; we can expect that. But even within Christianity today, we have gotten so complicated, so confusing. Overall, we are being led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
In Christ, simplicity is essential. This word “simplicity” means a singleness of heart: a singleness of heart that is attracted and drawn to one thing. We speak about the eye of the dove, seeing that one thing.
The simplicity here is that singleness: the singleness of affection, the singleness of devotion. That was what was within Mary’s heart as she poured that alabaster flask out upon the Lord. There was a singleness of devotion.
Brothers and sisters, even as our brother shared last week about the Lord’s table, so often we can get far away from the simplicity and purity of the Lord’s table. We can lose the whole spirit of it, and it can become such a ritualistic thing. It can become so complicated.
The Lord is simply saying, “Remember Me. Enter into this place of communion with Me. Testify of Me.” It is found in Him, and there is this call to return to simplicity.
So much within Christianity today is that we are adding things to Christ. It is Christ plus something else. It is as though, if you really want to be a Christian, you have to have all this other stuff.
We see even in Scripture, when Paul was writing to the Colossians and in different places, that there was always something else people said was needed to enter into. Brothers and sisters, is Christ enough for us? Is Christ’s heart and Christ’s purpose enough for us, or do we need something else?
Is Christ enough, or do we need a certain form of meeting, a certain type of meeting, certain signs being done, or certain traditions? Oh, the Lord wants us to know the beautiful simplicity that we have in Him.
If you look at 2 Corinthians 11:4, Paul gives examples of things that were coming in and trying to lead them astray. The same thing, the same spirit, the craftiness of the enemy, is trying to lead us astray.
For if one comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached,
Or you receive a different spirit, which you have not received,
Or a different gospel, which you have not accepted,
You bear with it.
You are tolerating this. You are going along with it. In this age of everything being relative, in this age of being tolerant, are we embracing other so-called Jesuses? It is not the Christ we know.
Are we embracing other spirits? Are we embracing other gospels? Out of the spirit of tolerance, out of the spirit of so-called open-mindedness, are we allowing these things in?
Paul is saying that we need not be led astray from the simplicity and purity of our devotion to Christ. There is one Christ, and you know Him through His Word and through your fellowship with Him.
There is one Spirit—His Holy Spirit. There are many spirits out there, but there is one Holy Spirit. There is one gospel to bring you into full salvation. There are many other gospels that try to bring us into different experiences, but there is only one true gospel.
This is what our Lord Jesus wants us to be clear on and to know about: that we not be led astray and caught up with these things. Those in Corinth were tolerating them.
It is tragic, the spirit of tolerance within Christianity today. It is a clear example of how the spirit of humanism has infiltrated the church. In humanism, you want to be open-minded and open to things.
Within Christianity today, people say, “Well, that does not quite sound like what I heard Jesus say, but it is close enough, so that is okay. He never uses the word Jesus, but he uses the word God, so that is okay. We will be open to that.”
“That spirit does not work like the Holy Spirit that I know from Scripture, but it says it is the Holy Spirit, so we should be open to it.” It is a spirit of humanism infiltrating everything and trying to lead us away from the simplicity and purity of our devotion to Christ.
The Lord in this hour is calling us back to continue on. Are we willing to bear the way of the cross in this hour, to be misunderstood—not by the world, but by other believers—as we stand for the testimony of Jesus?
This is what Paul was calling those in Corinth to stand for. He said there are many forces trying to come in. Are you willing to stand? Are you willing to continue on and allow the life of Christ to lead you into the purity of being espoused to that one Husband, Christ?
Oh, brothers and sisters, I have to confess: one of my jealousies in life is not a jealousy to be holy. It goes so contrary to everything within me. But the Lord is calling us into this holiness.
As we see the holiness of Christ, we see that it liberates us from our old concepts and mindsets of holiness. Our concept of holiness is black and dark and somber—hymns that take an hour to sing even though they have only two verses, because they have to be sung so slow and somber.
We have this false concept of holiness. But there is joy in the Lord, for when the holiness of His life and the purity of His life are expressed, that liberates us from ourselves.
This is what Paul was encouraging in these dear ones in Corinth. He is calling us in this hour to come out of confusion and return to the simplicity that there is in Christ.
What I would like us to consider together, to help us see this in a more tangible way—because, being the accountant I am, I like to see things—is a beautiful picture in the Old Testament.
We see the people of God in the Old Testament. The Lord brought them out of Egypt and into the promised land. Through David and Solomon, His kingdom was established. The tabernacle had been given through Moses, the temple was completed through Solomon, and the glory of God came upon the earth.
What a testimony of what was upon His heart.
But then we know that because of the unfaithfulness of the Lord’s people, they were taken into captivity in Babylon. In the Old Testament, what does the word Babylon mean? It means confusion.
The opposite of remaining in the simplicity of Christ is confusion. Babylon is confusion, and the people of God were taken into that captivity.
But praise God, we know that in His wonderful mercy, being a God of purpose, after seventy years King Cyrus made a decree that anyone who had a heart could return to Jerusalem for one purpose: to build a house of God.
We are thankful that there were fifty thousand or so who made that choice. Tragically, there were millions who stayed in Babylon because they were enjoying all the goodness, beauty, and pleasures of Babylon. They could even enjoy their religious life.
But there were those who knew God’s heart. They knew that in order to return to the simplicity and purity which God had originally purposed, they needed to return to Jerusalem. We see the history of it in Ezra and Nehemiah: those who returned to Jerusalem to build the house of God.
The first thing they did when they got back was set up the altar. Jerry has already been sharing with us on the matter of Abraham’s altar. The altar testifies of the cross, the foundation for all things in this Christian life.
Even though the Jews could have a religious life in Babylon, the one thing they could not have in Babylon was the cross, the altar. They could set up, read the Scriptures, have meetings in the synagogue, and gather together, but there was no altar.
It was a crossless religion because there was no altar. In the days we are living in, brothers and sisters, much of Christendom is suffering today because there is no altar. There is a crossless Christianity, and it leads to much confusion.
When there is no cross, the life of Christ is not expressed, and the life of man is released more and more, which leads us to greater confusion.
The Lord in this hour, just as He called those ones to return to Jerusalem to build the house of God, is calling us in the same way. They set up that altar and started building.
The Lord called His people out of confusion, out of Babylon, to return to simplicity there in Jerusalem. Why were they called back? They were called back with purpose. They were called back to build the house of God.
They were also called back to prepare the way for our Lord’s first coming. They might not have been aware of all that concerning His coming, but they were called back with purpose.
Brothers and sisters, why is the Lord calling us today? He is calling us in the same way, that we would be involved in building the house of God. We have His precious promise:
I will build My church.
We want to be those found cooperating as we return to Him, allowing Him to build us into the house of God that He desires us to be.
There is also the purpose of preparing the way for our Lord’s second return, allowing the Holy Spirit to work within us and mature us to that place where the bride has made herself ready, so that the Lord can return.
Just as they were called with purpose during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, we are called with that same purpose, because it has always been and is upon His heart.
We are thankful that, in the days and time we are living in, many have returned. Many have had this heart’s desire to return to that simplicity and purity.
But tragically, as we look back in Ezra and Nehemiah, what happened after they started building? The time started getting a little tough. There was a little opposition, and they stopped building. They stopped building for about fifteen years and then started building again.
Why did they start building again? They started building because the Lord, in His mercy, raised up two prophets: Haggai and Zechariah. Through these prophets, He stirred their hearts.
They rose and started building the house of God again, and it was completed within a year or so. Thank God for Haggai and Zechariah. The Word of God was spoken into the situation.
The situation itself did not change. A lot of the circumstances did not change. There was the same opposition, but the Word of God went into their lives. They rose up, were stirred up, and continued building the house of God.
After they finished it, we can see at the end of the Old Testament, about a hundred years after Ezra and Nehemiah, that the Lord had another prophet named Malachi. He raised Malachi up to speak into the condition of the people at that time and to challenge the remnant who had returned.
They were going through a lot of outward motions, but they were missing the very spiritual reality. They were not entering into all that the Lord had for them. As Timothy wrote, they were holding to a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.
Thank the Lord, there were those who gathered together in Malachi’s day, who had this heart, who were touched by Him, and who had this heart to continue praying for the Lord’s interest.
After Malachi, it is called the four hundred silent years. It might have been silent verbally, but we know the Lord continued to work. In the opening of the Gospel of Luke, there were those waiting for the Lord’s first coming: Elizabeth and Zacharias, Joseph and Mary, Anna and Simeon.
We know there were others too, because Anna went out and spoke to them and shared about Christ.
Through these dear three prophets—Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi—the Lord spoke into the lives of those who had returned to Jerusalem. Through this, He was preparing the way for the Lord’s first coming.
What I would like us to do in our next times together, whenever I will be sharing, Lord willing, is to look at what these different prophets said: to look at Haggai, to look at Zechariah, to look at Malachi, and to see not only what they said but how it applies to our lives.
The Lord used these dear ones to lead the people of God out of confusion, to raise up those who had come out but had stopped building. He used these words to encourage them all to continue on.
Through Malachi, He encouraged those who were going through all sorts of outward ceremonies to return unto Him.
It is interesting, as we look at these three, that each one deals with the matter of first love. It is always an issue of first love, just as we opened this morning.
Haggai says, “Consider your ways.” Consider again. Zechariah says, “Return to Me, and I will return to you.” In Malachi, the Lord says, “I have loved you.”
They were going through so many motions that He said, “I have loved you,” and they said, “How have You loved us?” The Lord said, “You have despised My table.” They said, “How have we despised Your table? We have it every Sunday.”
There were so many outward things they were going through, but the Lord was calling them back to that purity and simplicity of devotion to Him.
I have it upon my heart that the Lord would use this in a way in my life that would prepare me for these days ahead, for the shaking that we are going through, and for everything that is going on.
May the Lord awaken us and allow us to know the simplicity of this life that He has called us unto. May He stir our hearts so that we can be preparing, because we know that the theme for the summer conference is “Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.”
As we consider this matter of how much the Lord’s return is upon His heart, would He awaken us and give us His perspective, His desire, and show us how much He desires to return?
It is interesting, as we look at these three prophets—Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi—that the audience to whom He speaks had made a choice to leave Babylon and return to Jerusalem to build the house of God.
In many ways, we could say they were the right people. They were God’s chosen people. They were in the right place: Jerusalem. They were there for the right purpose: to build God’s house. But they had stopped.
The right people, in the right place, with the right purpose—but they had stopped.
As I was meditating upon that, I said, “Lord, we are Your right people. We are believers. We are Christians. Just as they were God’s chosen ones, we are God’s chosen ones. We are the right people.”
We are in the right place because we are in the church. We are in the right place because we are where He has us to be. We have a desire to be here for the right purpose: to build the house of God, to be that testimony unto Him.
But Lord, would You awaken us in this hour? Awaken me to really see the call that You have upon us. Even though we are the right people, in the right place, with the right purpose, that alone is not going to accomplish it.
It is entering in and responding, being constrained by the love of Christ, and allowing Him to lead us into the fullness of all that He has.
It is interesting when the Lord spoke through these prophets. I enjoy these prophets. I do not understand all of them, but I enjoy them. It is interesting how, when the Lord speaks, He is speaking to those in Jerusalem.
After they went into captivity, He was not speaking through a prophet who went back to Babylon with these three. He spoke to these ones in Jerusalem. But God’s heart was still for all those in Babylon. God’s heart was still for all His people.
He desired that, through those in Jerusalem who were really about His business, this message would spread through visitations, correspondence, and word of mouth, so that those still in Babylon would hear of what God was doing in Jerusalem.
Brothers and sisters, in the days that we are living in, when we talk about being a testimony, we have a desire that the Lord has spoken to us and that we have responded in a small way. We have so much more to enter into.
But we have this desire: that the Word of God, the truth that God is calling His people to in this hour, would really go out through many, and that many would hear.
We would be those who are a testimony in the midst of a dark place, in the midst of confusion. There would be that testimony of Jesus, and someone would say, “Wait a minute. What am I doing here in Babylon? I hear of all that God is doing there in Jerusalem.”
In spite of all the opposition, there were ones raised up, and they built the house of God. Later in Nehemiah, in spite of all the opposition, there were those whom the Lord raised up, and the wall was completed. They had a glorious ceremony.
“What am I doing here in Babylon? What am I doing in all this confusion? Why do I not return to that place of simplicity?”
This is what we are looking for in this hour: that there would be those amongst the people of God who would continue; that we would stay in a place of simplicity; that we would continue to allow the Lord to work within us.
More and more would return to this place of Christ being enough, of Christ being our all and in all.
This morning, I planned on doing Haggai, and that was going to be my introduction. But it looks like it is about five minutes to twelve, so I will probably just stop here. It was a little more of an introduction than I thought I would have.
But may we really hear what the Lord has upon us in this time. We often hear how the Lord wants to wake us up. Would we really hear the wake-up call of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to draw our hearts back?
This is a heart issue. This is not an outward thing. This is a heart issue.
As we considered the Lord’s table, one of the things that came out in our Friday night time was how much it is a heart issue. This table is taken all over the world, and just the outward act of it is not the issue. It is the spirit and reality of it within our hearts.
Brothers and sisters, maintaining the simplicity and purity of our devotion to Him is not judged by our outward actions. It is judged by our heart attitude and response.
It is precious how David in the Psalms testified, “Whom have I in heaven but You?” When we ask that question of ourselves, our list can get pretty long. I know mine does.
But what we want is for our affections to be set upon Him in such a way that we would allow Him in this hour to hold us and keep us.
In the midst of all the opportunities we have to encourage brothers and sisters, to be a testimony in the workplace, and to be a testimony in our neighborhoods of the reality of Christ, are we those standing in the good of all that He has done?
Or are we simply fading away, fainting, and getting caught up in all the confusion of this world?
I pray that, as we look at these three prophets—Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi—they would not merely be historical, but that the Word of God which prepared the way for the Lord’s first coming would work within our hearts in a way that prepares for the Lord’s hopefully soon second coming.
Lord, we are so thankful for how You continue and continue to call us unto Yourself.
Lord, when we see our own lives in the light of Your light, it is overwhelming. But Lord, we thank You for Your love that reaches out and draws us back. We thank You for the blood of the Lamb that cleanses us.
Lord, we pray that our eyes would be open to all the craftiness and all the deceitfulness that the enemy has out there, how he is trying to work within and without our lives, and that we could be a people of God who would not be led astray.
But may we return to that place and stay and abide, rest in that place, of simplicity and purity of our devotion to You.
May our devotions not be set upon other things, but may our devotions be set upon You. May our devotions be set upon Your heart—Your heart for Your house to be built.
May our devotion be set upon Your heart for that bride to make herself ready. May our devotions be set upon Your soon return. In Jesus’ name, amen.