10-9-2016 Weekly Message

This week’s meditation: Psalms 126:1-6

Scripture: Nehemiah 8: 9-12

Subject word: The power of  joy in the Lord given unto them that understand the word of God

          Jews, letting the Babylonians raised when both left the word of God from the priest, and the people from the king  thoroughly devastated them and burned all the walls of the temple with fire. Remembering the covenant with Abraham, the LORD God did for them repent their sins. 

         God had prepared two men to bring forth the restoration for Israel corrupted totally. They were the scribe Ezra and Nehemiah.  God had put Nehemiah on the spot to serve the king of Persia to rebuild the walls collapsed through him. God also  had prepared  Ezra the priest to bring forth the spiritual revival.

            God always has used a small number of people chosen by him  to achieve his will. God has prepared the foundation of his church through the sacrifices of the prophets of the Old Testament as well as the apostles of  the New Testament.  

             Nehemiah finally overcome through the numerous disturbance to rebuild the  collapsed the walls of Jerusalem.   Then, when all the people were gathered together as one man into the street, they spoke unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people: (for he was above all the people:) and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Yeah, the word of God is same as God himself, it is natural for them to stand up.

             And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground/ The LORD God gave them understanding of the book of the law. Upon hearing  the word of God, they repented with tears. Finally, the revival has come to Israel with repentance. In the days of King Josiah, upon finding the book of the law, he tore his clothe repenting through understanding the word of the book of the law. Nehemiah  encouraged  the people crying bitterly not to feel sorry anymore saying, “For the joy of the LORD is your strength.”  And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood  the words that were declared unto them.  

         That’s right! When not realize the will of God through the Word, there is no choice but to serve the idols in the world. But repentance is the way  to realize the word of God, and   being flooded with joy through the Holy Spirit through repentance.

        The LORD God had brought the spiritual revival unto Israel through Nehemiah and Ezra. And God himself came to the land of Israel. At that time, the religious leaders such as Pharisees and Scribes were bringing the book of the law with them, but they were not able to understand who is Jesus whose king and Messiah  prophesied in the book of the law. They rather mocked him and persecuted  him serving the Caesars of Rome as their king ended up crucifying him. 

           Jesus said unto the disciples looking at the temple saying, “There shall be not left here one stone  upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”(Matt. 24:2) It then causing devastated Jerusalem once again, according to the word of the Lord through the general Titus in the Roman Empire in AD 70. Since then they were scattered to live on  all the earth until some of them  returned to their home land in 1948. At that time, the general Titus said with arrogance, “I can demolish, and leave it as it is.” But actually, God  let him leave only one wall so they  may remember the day of destruction. They calls the wall as the wall of  mourning : still they not understand of the Lord Jesus, the Lord of the law thinking themselves keeping the law.

              But sooner or later, when the Lord Jesus Christ is coming to judge them, they shall understand that they pierced Jehovah LORD who came in the name of Jesus. There shall be the great mourning shall be spread out once again in the whole land of Israel. Prophet Zechariah prophesied of the day to come: ” And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. “(Zechariah 12:10)

           That’s right! At this time, the Lord of the law shall appear unto them visibly to their own eyes: then they shall understand  who Jesus is. As they understood  the book of the law when Ezra spoke unto them, there shall be a great mourning upon hearing from the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the Lord Jesus will rebuild the temple that was destroyed. Of the temple that shall be rebuilt by the LORD is testified in details in the book of Ezekiel(Chapter 40-46).

         Looking at the history of Israel as well as the restoration of Israel, it is the real time for us to pray for the most of the churches of God that are following the world not understanding the will of God. Nehemiah , upon hearing of the remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: and the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire, he sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven:  “And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer. (king of Persia) “(Nehemiah 1: 5-11)

            Now God is looking for those kinds of servants as Nehemiah that are looking at the churches worshipping the idols in the world compromising with the world. Even though God  judge the churches as Laodician, God will give mercy and forgiveness and restoration  through the prayer of his servants. God is looking for the servant saying here I am.   

           The Lord revealed to the Apostle Paul of  all his plan that shall be fulfilled in the future. He declared all the will of the Lord without any hesitation at all:

” Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” (Acts 20: 26-27)

          The Apostle Paul testified unto the saints that understood of the Lord Jesus Christ the finisher of the law as him  to rejoice in the Lord: ” Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.” (Philippians 3:1)

            That’s right! As the people of Israel repented to rejoice upon understanding the book of the law spoken by Ezra, we also shall have the joy in the heart of Apostle Paul when we understand the will of God, we also shall be repenting truly to understand the will of God in heaven and earth.  When he encouraged the saints to rejoice, he was in the jail not knowing when he shall be beheaded at all. But he understand the will of God for him for sure, he asked them to rejoice in the Lord, not in the jail. 

            He also testified of the kingdom of God that we have in the world saying,  “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost..” (Romans 14:17).

           When we understand the word of God, anything happening in the world against us cannot take away the joy in the Lord from us at all. Apostle Paul testified if the will of God toward us saying,  ” Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18)

             That’s right! As Nehemiah testified, when we have the joy in the Lord through understanding the will of God through the words of God, we are able to overcome the world full of sin and death and curses by faith. Amen! Hallelujah!