Be Ye Encouraged!

The church of Jesus Christ is largely sleeping, like a great bedroom and you have all the Christians in bed and they’re all sleeping ... and they’re saying "Please, don't wake me up! I want to sleep on!" And of course when God starts to operate a revival people cannot sleep, you can't sleep in church when the Spirit of God awakes the people. Look at the 1st verse of this 52nd chapter..."Awake! Awake! Put on strength!" Wake it up! You're sleepy Christians! Awake thou that sleepeth, Arise from the dead! Christ will give you life!Ian PaisleyAh, the contrary ways of God! The stern, haunting words of Mr. Paisely. Had all but forgotten that like many a misunderstanding of intent even this strong word and message at it's completion is tempered with love borne out of deep concern.For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; "Awake! Awake! Put on strength!" Rise up early, pray and mine the scriptures, mine the scriptures and pray! The treasures waiting to be found. There is but one desire I have towards all here, perfectly encapsulated in the above verses.Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, Select Selah (pauses). Every notice this in our reading mingled with prayer? To be struck with a pausing moment to consider? Some things we have heard so many times that their impact I fear gets lost, we can read right on past them...the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.that in all things he might have the pre-eminence; or might be the first and chief over all persons, angels, and men; having a superior nature, name, and place, than the former, and being the firstborn among many brethren designed by the latter: and in all things he is the first, and has the precedence and primacy; in sonship, no one is a Son in the sense he is; in election, he was chosen first, and his people in him; in the covenant, he is the surety, Mediator, and messenger of it, he is that itself; in his human nature, he is fairer than the children of men; in redemption, he was alone, and wrought it out himself; in life, he exceeded all others in purity, in doctrine, and miracles; and in dying he conquered death, and rose first from it; in short, he died, revived, and rose again, that he might be Lord both of dead and living; and he ought to have the pre-eminence and first place in the affections of our hearts, in the contemplations of our minds, in the desires of our souls, and in the highest praises of our lips. (!) John Gill

For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:"Enemies in your mind" The last stronghold or the first?Every thought captive to the obedience of ChristBut, the work to be done, with a goal in mind; to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight. Surely He has done it, through death, but note the warning; If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;That principle of motion, continuance, steadfast, grounded, For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.Isa 50:7 whereof I Paul am made a minister; Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:Oh how can you not love the insanity of Paul! Beaten and bloodied, misunderstood, tough and compassionate and not one without the other. Abounding and abased and content! An understanding and willingness to fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake ... which is the church (!) It seems to speak that whatever it is that is still behind, I am willing to take on that as well. (Being misunderstood also? That's speculation of course, regardless, his care and concern is always evident) And do note, "With rejoicing"!Wesley draws out;Col 1:24 - Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up - That is, whereby I fill up. That which is behind of the sufferings of Christ - That which remains to be suffered by his members. These are termed the sufferings of Christ, Because the suffering of any member is the suffering of the whole; and of the head especially, which supplies strength, spirits, sense, and motion to all. Because they are for his sake, for the testimony of his truth. And these also are necessary for the church; not to reconcile it to God, or satisfy for sin, (for that Christ did perfectly,) but for example to others, perfecting of the saints, and increasing their reward.[/i]Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles;which is Christ in you,the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Warning and teaching, again with that same goal in mind,that we may present every man perfect in Christ JesusWhereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. Col 1:9-29Labour, striving, work! Yet, according to His working! It's both\\and. Have we not yet found the impossibilities of living this life alone, on our own strength? Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can donothing.True? I don't know about you, but I am helpless, weak and often confused. My opinions stink often enough and ultimately are worthless anyway, it's not self-effacing, it's death to it all! The further into all this, the more sheeding of Light, the more the understanding comes that I know next to nothing ... Ah, how to express it adequately? Surely we know some things, but do we know Him? Is this yet all that matters?;Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Phi 3:12-14

So much, too much preoccupation with ourselves and our opinions. Misunderstandings and misconceptions, the distractions of this present world, it's ways and it's Prince, tossing and turned by every wave of doctrine. It's wrongheaded philosophies and even the saints get caught up in it's wake.1Co 6:7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Why not? And more so, without bitterness, without pride, without a repugnant smugness. Dastardly things, and they creep in unaware don't they? Things get under our skin, our tounges can be forked, we do the opposite; Instead of casting down evil imaginations, we harbor them and they take on a life of their own, a false life to be sure. How many are there? And may we have missed just what they might consist of? Is it only the overt, the "large" things, the obvious? What of the day to day assumptions that are projected even before they have come to pass?There is a brother here who had the rare honesty to admit;"I don't know what the Lord is doing"Isn't that wonderful? Do you? Do I? Surely in the grand scheme of things it is reconcilling all things unto Christ. But right now in this moment. Do we still find the great mystery of faith appealing? Have we any expectation of just what the Lord might do? Is this not our dependance, a coming to an end of oursleves and our self sufficency? And to really dwell on it, while there is a work to do on our part, doesn't it take a great deal of the air out of our anxiety to relax a bit and ... "Whew...Thank God, He knows what He is doing"Will the Lord send revival? Do we really want it? Oh, the Lord must do it! We have proven ourselves incapable by our cleverness to bring forth little and as it rightly is, it will always be so. I am glad for it. Something that God alone brings, even if He uses these failable, mixed up children of His in part by whichever means He chooses. To be a part of it ... does it matter? Honestly, no. Just that it comes. It seems we are more ripe now than ever before. Are we not at an impasse of confusion? Of apostacy? Of mans proclivities and natural abilities in place of the only power that exsists to truly change and transform, give new life for for the one built on a faulty constitution?Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. Hate your life in this world? Lost it yet? Suffered wrong while yet recognizing much wrong still dwells and needs to be rooted out? There seems to be a place of 'even-ness' that I have but begun to taste and have taken notice of it in older saints, that have tarried long with the Lord. It seems to say "Yes, this is true, it is terrible, it is awful, it is wrong. But that's O.K. (not the wrongs), I do understand." To suffer a hundred misunderstandings, patiently, from loved ones, from the unconverted, even from the Brethren. And they are able to go forth with that peace that passes all understanding, that weathers all the storms that beat against it. It is not without indignation when it's called for, but it's proper, timely, wisely, Gods thought in Gods moment. This is a goal in itself and my hunch is that it is derived from; There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Heb 4:9-11So it comes full circle. And note that seemingly paradoxical sentiment ... labour therefore to enter into that rest I love the language of the scriptures! Surely there is both a principle here that is the same as one might feel after a long hard days work, that peace and sense of accomplishment. Yet also the tension and 'struggle' if you will suggested by the same example of unbelief. My thoughts carried me to the unbeilef of the Isralietes in not crossing over into the promised land, though all my commentaries seem to suggest otherwise.But does it not come down to faith? And to prayer?Luk 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? Luk 18:5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. Have we been causing God enough weariness with our prayers? Enough to send revival? Relentless...Mat 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Have always wondered about this verse, had a hunch or two...Mat 11:12 - The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence - The tax-gatherers and heathens, whom the scribes and Pharisees think have no right to the kingdom of the Messiah, filled with holy zeal and earnestness, seize at once on the proffered mercy of the Gospel, and so take the kingdom as by force from those learned doctors who claimed for themselves the chiefest places in that kingdom. Christ himself said, The tax-gatherers and harlots go before you into the kingdom of God. See the parallel place, Luk_7:28-30. He that will take, get possession of the kingdom of righteousness, peace, and spiritual joy, must be in earnest: all hell will oppose him in every step he takes; and if a man be not absolutely determined to give up his sins and evil companions, and have his soul saved at all hazards, and at every expense, he will surely perish everlastingly. This requires a violent earnestness.Adam ClarkeLuk 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Shall He? Oh to stir ourselves up to this High Calling! What purpose and privelage we have! To be called children of the Most High!"Awake! Awake! Put on strength!" Wake it up! You're sleepy Christians! Awake thou that sleepeth, Arise from the dead! Christ will give you life!