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THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW THEIR GOD
As I was seeking the Father's heart and guidance for the New Year, Isaiah 43 was laid strongly on my heart. Not having a clue what that verse contains, I went to the word with a great deal of interest.
There are many precious promises in the word that God spoke through the prophet Isaiah. But for many years I didn't know how to 'rightly divide' that book. Because there are also many dire warnings against unfaithful Israel, and of 'the day of vengeance of our God.' (Isaiah 61:2)
When Jesus quoted that verse, He proclaimed 'the acceptable year of the Lord,' but omitted the reference to the day of vengeance. They were looking for a messiah to bring the vengeance of God, they couldn't receive Him when He brought instead the Love of the Father. Two thousand years on, and many are still preaching the vengeance of God, rather than the Love of the Father. They fail to understand the 'mystery of the gospel', and they fail to rightly divide the word of truth.
Although God gave the prophets insight into things to come, they had no understanding of 'the dispensation of Grace.' - that Paul calls 'the mystery' in Ephesians 3:3. That God would freely give love, acceptance and forgiveness to all those who believed in His son: "For by grace are you saved through faith…. not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Eph 2:8&9) The promise of the Holy Spirit to anyone who desired it (Until Jesus came, certain people had the 'spirit upon' them, but He dwelt in none of them.) The right to come boldly into the Holy of Holies, the presence of God, through the blood of Jesus; the individual priesthood of every believer, with the gifts of the spirit for 'whosoever;' salvation for the gentiles - these were all part of 'the mystery.' When Jesus quoted only part of that prophecy, He was rightly dividing the word. As 'spiritual Israel' in Jesus, and children of Abraham, (Gal 3:13-29) we qualify for all the promises, and while the rebukes and warnings through Isaiah are beneficial in that they cause us to examine our own heart attitudes, we are the redeemed! Anyway, back to Isaiah 43:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you." Verse 5: "Fear not, for I am with you."
Someone once said: "Security is not the absence of danger, but the presence of God." We live in exciting and challenging times. A time of destiny, and with the dawning of a new millenium, people are more aware of it. But whatever challenges or trials we have to face, we can be confident that we will rise to the occasion, because He will be with Us! We're on the winning team! We are only overcome when we allow the circumstances to become so large in our focus that we forget who is with us, and surrender or compromise.
In 1Samuel 30 David and His men had gone to fight alongside the Philistines, but they had refused their assistance. When they returned to Ziklag they found that the Amelekites had destroyed it with fire and carried away captive all their wives, their sons and their daughters. David and the people wept bitterly, and then in their distress they turned on David, |
Threatening to stone him. "But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.' (Verse 6) The Hebrew word 'strengthened' is 'chawzaq' and means: to fasten upon, strengthen, to bind. Literally he fastened upon, bound himself and strengthened himself in Jehovah his Elohim. Jehovah the eternal one, the covenant keeper who watches over His word to perform it, and Elohim the Creator and Father, who made man in His own image, to be His children. We know that when Saul doubted David's ability to fight Goliath, David told him: "The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from this Philistine." (1Sam 17:37) This man David had an unquenchable sense of destiny and the purposes of God. And he knew that while it was he himself that had fought the lion, and the bear, it was Jehovah that had given him the strength and ability to overcome.
After encouraging and strengthening himself in the Lord, David called for the priest and the ephod and inquired of the Lord: "Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?" And He answered him, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them, and without fail recover all." (1Sam 30:8) Not only did David recover that which was stolen, but all the plunder that had been stolen from the Philistines as well. What brought David through to Victory was his knowledge of God, his living relationship with Jehovah his Elohim.
Back to Isaiah 43:10 "You are my witnesses," says the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He… I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no saviour." In the same way that God delivered David from the Lion and the Bear, God wants to show himself strong on your behalf. That you may: a) know Him, & b) believe Him. David knew his God, therefore he was able to overcome fear. It gave him the courage to take action. "But the people who know their God will display strength and take action." (Daniel 11:32) They do not fear, because they know that He is with them. The strength they display is not their own, but that which He supplies. Pursuing and overtaking our Divine Destiny will take us through waters, through rivers and through flames. They are irrelevant. What matters is where we are going - our vision, what we are pursuing, and the one who is going with us, who will help us.
Imagine yourself David, coming home to find it burned and his wives taken! Everything of value that he wasn't carrying had gone! The people blaming him, murmuring against him and threatening to stone him! Don't allow the circumstances to make you faint and cave in! There's more at stake here than just your comfort! More than just a few bills, or sickness coming your way! You have a Divine Destiny that's on the line. A calling to know Him, and to believe Him, that we might be witnesses - that they may see and know that God is with us! I believe Isaiah 43 speaks of God gathering His people, so that He can work mighty miracles and healings in their midst. To let these miracles be examined by the nations, by the authorities, and proven an act of God. To cause them to acknowledge: it is truth! And to be ready to let go the old ways and flow with the New Thing He is doing!
-Steve & Jenny
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