OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES REBELLION

The book if Ezekiel chapter 12 verse 13 says this;

I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die. 

The prince in Jerusalem  was under judgement to be taken captive and go to Babylon.

He and the others in Israel were to suffer this fate because they were rebellious and the refused to see and refused to hear.

And thus the judgement of exile came upon them.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WARNS THOSE WHO PRACTICED BLOODSHED OF IMPENDING JUDGEMENT

Ezekiel chapter 11 verse 9 says this;

I will drive you out of the city and deliver you into the hands of foreigners and inflict punishment on you.

In a vision seen by Ezekiel the prophet, the leaders of Israel in Jerusalem were devising their strategies in the face of foreign invasion and had decided that because their had recently built their houses in the city, they would entrench themselves therein and be, as it were, the meat in the pot.

Ezekiel chapter 11 verse 3 says it this way;

They say, ‘Haven’t our houses been recently rebuilt? This city is a pot, and we are the meat in it.’ 

Ezekiel was instructed by the Lord to prophecy against these leaders to inform them that their plan to remain in the city would fail and instead, would be driven out of Jerusalem and that they would meet their punishment  at the hands of foreigners at the borders of Israel.

Because they had not followed the law of God and they had caused bloodshed in the land, they would denied the option to fortify themselves in the city of Jerusalem and they would be cast into open country and there, they would meet what they feared most: the sword of judgement.

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OUR FATHER WHO IS AWESOME

Psalm chapter 1 verse 4 says this;

Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.

This verse advises God's people to live in the fear and reverrence of the Lord. We are not to sin in view of the glory of our God that must not bring to shame.

The verse continues to counsel us to practice introspection when we repose on our beds.

In silence, we should examine our own hearts and consider our position in light of the awesome glory of the Lord.

As Psalm 46 verse 10 says;

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE REIGN WILL BRING TRUE PEACE ON EARTH

The book of Isaiah chapter 11 verse 7 says this;

The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together,  and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

This verse, part of a passage that speaks of the Messiah's second arrival on earth to save the remnant of his people and establish His reign on the earth, illustrates the effect that His reign will  have on the natural world.

It discusses how the animal kingdom will be altered so that it no longer operates on the tooth-and-claw (prey and predator) principle but rather on a model of coexistence and cooperation.

The devourers of the realm are rendered harmless and this can be extended to be an illustration of how the devourers of the spiritual realm will being neutralized as threats.

Amen.

10

OUR FATHER WHO KEEPS MEMORIALS

The book of Hebrews chapter 9 verse 4, discussing the things that were inside the most holy place of the temple, says this;

 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 

There were two primary items in the sacred space behind the second curtain. These were the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant.

The ark of the covenant which was like a chest and it contained a number of sacred articles; the golden jar of manna from the time the children of Israel survived in the wilderness on angel's food provided daily by God.

The ark also contained the rod of Aaron (Israel's first high priest) which was a branch from an almond tree, which, though dried up, grew new leaves, grew flowers and even had almonds ready..

The last inventoried items were the two stone tablets that the Lord had instructed the ten commandments be written on back on Mount Sinai.

These articles are a witness  to the history of the Lord's miraculous walk with Israel.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO LIFTS US WHEN WE FALL

Psalm chapter 13 verse 4 says this;

and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

After suffering a defeat and succumbing to attacks that came against him, the psalmist cries out to the Lord to help.

He is full of sorrow and regret and he asks the Lord not to give up on him.

The psalmists reasons with the Lord that if he completely falls away and dies, the enemy of his soul would have the opportunity to exult over the fact that he fell.

In the end, he puts his trust in the unfailing love of God and the gratitude for the salvation that the Lord has provided evokes songs of praise. As Psalm 13 verses 5 - 6 says, 

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO MARKS A REMNANT FOR PRESERVATION

The book of Ezekiel chapter 9 verse 4, recording the words of the Lord directed at a man who came from heaven with a writing impliment at his side,  says this;

and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”

The man from heaven had been summoned with a loud voice to report to the temple in Jerusalem.

He was given the instruction to go to every part of the city and use the writing tool  to mark the foreheads of the people who were grieved by the things being done there.

This mark on their foreheads excluded them from the judgement of death that was coming to the city.

Six other men were summoned with weapons to bring judgement on the whole of Jerusalem but if they came across a person who had been marked on the forehead, they were to spare that person.

When the prophet Ezekiel lamented to the Lord about the judgement that was falling upon the people who were already but a remnant of the people of Israel, the Lord told Ezekiel that the judgement was brought upon the people because they had cultivated injustice and bloodshed.

The few of those in the city who were aghast over the injustice and bloodshed were the ones left as a remnant of a remnant.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENDS US PROPHETS TO WARN US OF WHERE OUR CONDUCT WILL TAKE US

The book of Ezekiel chapter 3 verse 11 says this;

Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.”

This verse is the instruction that the Lord gave to the prophet Ezekiel to speak to the children of Israel and to warn them about their rebellion.

The Lord commanded Ezekiel to speak  to the people the word of the Lord whether they listened or not.

This the almost the  same admonition that Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 2 which says;

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO STRENGTHENS US

The book of Isaiah chapter 59 verse 10 says this;

Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes.

At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.

This verse is part of a description by the prophet Isaiah of our desperate human condition without God.

Without the light of the Lord, we are like sightless people groping our way through life trying to feel our way along any solid structure to  find an opening.

Even when there is bright illumination in the middle of the day, we remain unseeing and stagger as though we were in darkness.  

Our spiritual senses are inoperative and we are unable percieve the spiritual realities that we are immersed in.

It is also in this context that we are weak and helpless in the arena of the spirit where were are almost powerless against influences from the spiritual realm.

It is only  through our regeneration through Jesus Christ who redeemed us that we gain sensory awareness of the things of the spirit and we get stronger by the Lord who, as the book of Philippians chapter 4 verse 13 says;

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO UPHOLDS US AS WE MOVE FROM DEATH TO LIFE

The book of Ezra chapter 4 verses 9 - 10 says this;

9 - Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates—the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,

10 -  and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.

These verses are the introduction portion of a letter that Rahum and Shimshai wrote to Arterxerxes, king of Persia.

Rahum and Shimshai were administrative officers overseeing the Samarian and areas west of the Euphrates river that were regions of the Persian conquests.

At the time of the letter, Jerusalem was being rebuilt  under the authorization of Cyrus king of Persia.

Rahum and Shimshai were concerned that the rebuilding of Jerusalem would create a problem because of the history of sedition and  rebellion against rulers.

They felt that once Jerusalem was completed, the people therein would cease paying tribute and establish a platform for resistance.

In their letter to king Arterxerxes, they urged him to halt the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Artaxeres concurred which them and issued an order to have the construction efforts stopped.

The rebuilding of Jerusalem was thus halted until the time of the reign of the king Darius of Persia.

When we are saved, our souls and minds need to be rebuilt but sometimes, letters are drawn up by the enemies of our souls to delay the reconstruction project in our lives citing our history of rebellion.

We then find ourselves stalled in the process and unable to gain traction in the furtherance of our Christian walk.

It was only until the prophets Haggai and Zacharaiah gave word to start work again that the reconstruction of Jerusalem resumed under the leaders Zerrubabel and Joshua.

The question of the legitimacy of the rebuilding project arose again among the Persian administrators of that region and they approached the leaders of the project to ask them under whose authority they were undertaking the project.

As the work continued, a letter was sent to King Darius of Persia to get verification that the rebuilding of Jerusalem was lawful.

The letter refferenced the original decree issued by King Cyrus that released men and resources to return to Israel to rebuild the temple.

When we find our reconstruction project held up by spiritual resistance, we can wait upon the Lord to hear a word that galvanizes us to resume our rebuilding process. We can get this from prophetic voices in our midst and upon getting our impetus to continue pressing forward, we can reference the original authorization of our salvation that set us free and gave us the resources to rebuild our souls through the finished works of the Lord Jesus.

Amen.

3

OUR FATHER WHOSE GLORY IS DECLARED BY THE HEAVENS 

Psalm 19 verse 3 (Amplified version) says this;

There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars]; Their voice is not heard.

In describing how the heavens continuously declare the glory of the Lord and how the skies proclaim the works of God's hands, this verse states that the broadcasts of such knowledge are silent and occur without audible words.

This counterintuitively silent mode of the transmission of knowledge from the heavens to the earth suggests the existence of a discreet spiritual channel that is spiritually discerned and spiritually decoded.

Amen.

3

OUR FATHER WHO FREELY OFFERS A COVENANT TO THOSE WHO WOULD BELIEVE

The book of Isaiah chapter 55 verses 3 - 4 says this;

Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live.

I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.

See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples.

This passage, written to those who would believe in the promise of salvation of the Lord, advises them to incline their ear towards God to hear the message of life.

The message is of an eternal covenant that the Lord makes with those who put their  trust in Him and the covenant is through the promise made to king David whose throne was going to be established as the throne for the One to come as ruler and commander.

Those marshalled under the covenant of the  kingship of the promised One will be endowed with the splendor of their God and the whole world will be blessed through them.

As Isaiah chapter 55 verse 5 says;

Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.”

There is a limited time during which the covenant may be joined and there are conditions to fulfill in order to join the covenant as spelled out in Isaiah chapter 55 verses  6 - 7;

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER WHO WILL RESTORE HIS PEOPLE

The book of Isaiah chapter 54 verses 3 - 4 says this;

For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.

“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.

You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

This verse captures the reassurance that the Lord our God gives to His bride.

He lets her know that  he will increase in descendants will disposess  the kingdoms of the earth that are controlled  by the powers and rulers in high places.

He also assures her that the times that she lost her way and suffered defeats and humiliation would fade from memory and she would permanently be favored by her Husband.

These who are part of God's bride are those who walk in faith and in the Spirit of God. They are the ones who sought the One who saved them from darkness and who then loved their God through travails and griefs until the day of His appearing and He restored her to Himself.

As Isaiah chapter 54 verse 9 says;

“To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again.

Amen.

3

OUR FATHER WHOSE DAY OF JUDGEMENT WILL INDUCE DREAD part 3

The book of Isaiah chapter 34 verses 1 - 2 says this;

Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples!

Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,  the world, and all that comes out of it!

The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath is on all their armies.

He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter.

The judgement of God upon the peoples of the earth and all the nations will be heralded to alert everyone of the coming destruction.

They are warned that the Lord is angry with the nations and that His wrath is aimed at their military might to render them defenceless.

The Lord will then bring absolute destruction upon them from which they will not recover.

The spiritual kingdoms that had hithertofore governed the territories of the nations, after the entire geo-political order on earth has been destroyed by the Lord, will now be dismantled and all the powers, authorities and rulers in high places will dry up and fall to the earth like dead foliage. As Isaiah chapter 34 verse 4 says;

All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine,  like shriveled figs from the fig tree.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHOSE DAY OF JUDGEMENT WILL INDUCE DREAD part 2

The book of Isaiah chapter 13 verse 7 says this;

Because of this, all hands will go limp, every heart will melt with fear.

Continuing with the judgement that shall fall upon Babylon because of their arrogance and rebellion against God, this verse details the physiological and psychological responses that the Babylonians would suffer when they witness the catastrophic events that are brought upon them.

First, all the people, great and small, in the face of the unimaginable phenomena occurring around them, will lose all their strength and their hands will just hang helplessly at their side. They will be unable to muster any physical reaction to the scene that will play out before them.

Second, fear will completely engulf every person observing the oncoming disasters which will cause them to lose the ability to form cogent thoughts and responses to what they are seeing.

The judgement of God is fearsome.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE DAY OF JUDGEMENT WILL INDUCE DREAD

The book of Isaiah chapter 12 13 verse 13 6 says this;

Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.

This verse captures the dread that will envelope everything when the day of the Lord arrives.

Witnesses of that day will cry uncontrollably for they will see the destruction of all the works of darkness that the civilization of Babylon had built.

Terror and agony will afflict those who hoped in the splendor and marvels of Babylon only to see her struck down to nothing before their eyes.

The day of the Lord will bring the schemes and plots of the kingdom of darkness to an abrupt halt and all her cities will be rendered permanently uninhabitable.

The day of the Lord is a fearsome and awesome day. 

5

OUR FATHER WHOSE SPIRIT GIVES POWER TO LIVE IN GOD

The book of Isaiah chapter 11 verse 2 says this;

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

This verse, speaking of the Messiah who was foretold, details the nature of His spiritual endowment.

The Messiah would first have the Spirit of the LORD rest upon Him which was fulfilled when the Holy Spirit rested upon the Lord Jesus Christ after His baptism in the River Jordan.

The Spirit of the Lord, working in the Lord Jesus Christ, would express the Spirit of Wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and might, the Spirit of Knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

The ministry of the Lord Jesus would demonstrate all these manifestations of the Spirit of the Lord from the great  miracles that were performed to the teaching that conveyed great wisdom and knowledge.

And by the Spirit, the Lord Jesus, in the Spirit of the fear of the Lord, maintained a life of absolute obedience before His father.

Such was the expression of the Spirit of God through the life of the Lord Jesus.

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER WHO REDEEMS HIS PEOPLE FROM THE OPPRESSOR

The book of Isaiah chapter 19 verses 4 - 5 says this;

I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and dry.

The spiritual kingdom of Egypt is a system of authority established by deception, political oppression, tyranical control over its subjects and ultimately, total enslavement.

This system, modeled by pharonic Egypt's marginalization and enslavement of the children of Israel, works to gain control of God's people in order to reduce their numbers and influence. This type of system inflames racial and cultural animosity and then works to eradicate disfavored groups of people.

In contemporary times, this pattern is repeated on a global scale in order to subjugate populations that were formerly free.

Against this back drop, the Lord, in Isaiah chapter 19, intervenes to save His people from oppression and bondage like He did when His people were being held captive in the land of Egypt.

Like in the land of Egypt, multiple avenues of intervention will be used to loosen the grip of spiritual Egypt over God's people.

Verses 4 and 5 describe two paticular conditions that spiritual Egypt will suffer.

Firstly, as the Egyptians struggle to gain dominance, they will find themselves under the rule of a cruel and brutal master.

The people of kingdom of Egypt will lose heart under the violent and harsh rulership of their new king and they will have to endure the same cruelty and harshness they inflicted on God's people.

Concurrently, the supplies of water needed to quench the thirst of their arid land will dry up and they will be parched by the judgement of a drought that will completely drain their main river.

In the end, Egypt's efforts will add up to nothing and God's people will be set free.

Amen.

6

OUR FATHER WHO EXALTED HIS SON

From Psalm chapter 2;

On My Holy mountain

You're crowned King of Zion

Today I'm Your Father

And You are My Son

Ask Me for the nations

I'll give You to rule

Blessed are they

Who take refuge in You

3

The Lord our God declared to His Son

I  have installed you as the king on Zion, my holy mountain.

 You are my son;  today I have become your father.

Ask and I will make the nations your inheritance

I will make the ends of the earth your possession.

Let us serve the Lord with reverence

Let us celebrate His rule with trembling

For blessed are those who take refuge in him.

4

The nations of the earth ( both spiritual and earthly ) conspired against the Lord and against the annointed Son of God.

They schemed to shake off the rulership of God and sovereignly determine their own path.

But God the Father declares that the highest throne has been given to the Son of God and that all nations and every territory on earth will be brought under the authority of the Son of God.

The Lord counsels the kings and rulers of the earth ( both spiritual and earthly ) to reverence the One whom God has installed as King because He has been given enough power and authority to shatter all the nations and bring destruction  to the conspirators.

Psalm 2 (NIV)

1 Why do the nations conspire

    and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth rise up

    and the rulers band together

    against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,

3 “Let us break their chains

    and throw off their shackles.”

4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;

    the Lord scoffs at them.

5 He rebukes them in his anger

    and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

6 “I have installed my king

    on Zion, my holy mountain.”

7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

8 He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.

Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You will break them with a rod of iron[b];

    you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;

    be warned, you rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fear

    and celebrate his rule with trembling.

12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry

    and your way will lead to your destruction,

for his wrath can flare up in a moment.

    Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

OUR FATHER WHOSE EXTENDED THE DOMINION OF HIS SON TO THE WHOLE WORLD

The book of Isaiah chapter 49 verse 12 says this;

See, they will come from afar—some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan.”

In the chapter, God the Father, speaking to the Son of God, tells Him that the salvation of Israel would be too small a thing but that the sacrifice of His own life make him a light to the gentiles and His salvation would be available to the entire world.

The dominion of the Son of God would extend to the whole world where kings and princes would honor Him.

The desolate inheritances in long-lost territory would be restored and the captives in these lands would be called out of darkness and set  free.

The barriers that impede the approach of all the people of the world to the Kingdom of God are removed and the redeemed people would come from distant lands to be part of the Kingdom of God.

See, they will come from afar—some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan.”

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER WHO BRINGS FORTH THE HARVEST 

The book of Ecclesiates chapter 11 verse 4 says this;

Whoever watches the wind will not plant;  whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

This verse, speaking of the cycle of sowing and reaping, reveals a principle that governs the auspicious time to plant and to harvest.

A person who watches the wind to try to discern when to plant his crop does not know the course of the wind and therefore cannot  predict the correct conditions as verse 5 says;

Just as you do not know the way and path of the wind or how the bones are formed in the womb of a pregnant woman, even so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.

Similarly, looking at the clouds to decide when to put in crops will yield nothing because when clouds are full, they drop rain on the earth which would be optimal for crop growth but when the planting should be underway, there may not be a cloud in the sky and to withhold sowing when there are no  clouds visible would be a mistake.

The metaphor can expanded to mean that in the same way that the path of the wind cannot be known, the way of the Spirit of God cannot be predicted by men and so the advice that the Apostle Paul gives Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 2 is;

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Whether or not we sense the presence and activity of God, we should always sow the seeds of the word of God that they may yield a harvest in their time.

As 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 7 says;

So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

Amen.

5

OUR FATHER WHO SCATTERS THE KINGDOM OF BABYLON

The book of Isaiah chapter 13 verse 14 says this;

Like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd, they will all return to their own people, they will flee to their native land.

This verse, speaking of the world-dominating Babylonians, details the response of the agents of Babylon when the judgement of God is brought to their civilization.

 Whereas the Babylonians sought to stamp out any reference to the God of Israel and to establish their own mode of existence, they are caught by surprise when the power of the judgement of God tears down their systems of rulership and scatters them.

Their entire goverment system over the whole world is uprooted and its administrators and enforcers are scattered like sheep and they run for safety back to their home lands from where Babylon extracted them for service.

Thus haughty Babylon falls under the judgement of God and is utterly and permanently destroyed.

6

OUR FATHER WHO CAUTIONS AGAINST DELUSIONS OF SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Psalm 49 verse 11 says this;

Their tombs will remain their houses forever,  their dwellings for endless generations,  though they had named lands after themselves.

The psalmist, speaking of those who trusted in their great wealth, declares that the great wealth they boasted of will be of no help to them.

They sought honor and tried to gain eternal notoriety for themselves by naming lands after themselves but they could not escape death any more than poor men could or even animals. Their wealth would not spare them from being entombed forever.

To pay the ransom for a single life so that that a person is spared destruction and brought into eternal life, as the psalmist says in verses 7 - 9, is extremely costly and no man, even one of extreme wealth, can pay this price.

No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—so that they should live on forever and not see decay.

What is impossible for man, however, is possible for God and God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, not only paid the ransom for a single man but paid enough by sacrificing Himself to die upon a cross to bring salvation to many sons across the world.

The eternal life that wealthy men searched for and could not buy, was in fact given as a free gift to whomever would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and the death He suffered for our sake.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO IS OUR SHIELD AND GLORY

Psalm 3 verse 3 - 4 says this;

But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.

When king David was on the run from his son Absalom who had attempted to usurp the throne of Israel, he cried out to the Lord for help. 

He first recognized the Lord as his shield and protector. He understood the Lord was between he and his enemies and that none could harm him.

He then recognized the Lord Himself to be his glory. David saw that it was the Lord presence in his life that had conferred on him the honor of king of Israel. 

It was the Lord who had elevated David to be a king over Israel and who had lifted his head above all the other sons of Israel to reign over the nation.

Because David had been given these promotions by the Lord, when he called out to God when he was in jeopardy, the Lord heard him and responded to him from the administrative headquarters of the kingdom of God.

Because, as believers, the Lord has made us kings and priests in His kingdom, He gives us protection from threats. He also  confers a measure of glory and honor upon us and lifts our heads to operate in the authority of His presence.

The Lord is also able to hear our calls to Him and to respond to us from His holy mountain.

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER WHO IS AWESOME

From Psalm 47;

Clap your hands all you nations

Shout to God with cries of joy

He reigns from His righteous throne

He is awesome in power

God has ascended amid the shouts of joy

Amid the sound of trumpets did He rise

He is the King of all the earth

Sing to Him a psalm of praise

For the Lord is greatly exalted

The kings of the nations gather before Him

He gives an inheritance to all He loves

For the whole earth belongs to Him

10

OUR FATHER WHO SET A TIME FOR EVERY CONTRAST TO OCCUR IN CREATION

The book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verses 4  - 5, says this;

 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

This passage is an excerpt from the widely known listing of contrasting events under the sun for which seasons and times were set.

When the Lord took the strip of time out of eternity and programmed it to be the theater where the lives of men would play out, the parameters were set to allow for a full range of responses and demands upon men to occur.

Life for men on earth is thus experienced as the ups and downs where situations change and we are placed under varying stressors and graces over the course of our lives. 

In the changing scenarios, circumstances bring grief and sorrow that cause men to weep while other periods of relief and celebrabration bring occasion for laughter.

Some times are tragic and we mourn while other times align to be hopeful and we dance in lightness of heart.

These ranges of experience test the hearts of men and measure their capacities and resilience.

Other times test our judgement and disernment. There are situations where scattering stones is the correct thing to do while other times are best served by gathering them. To percieve the difference and act accordingly reveals the faculties of tactical judgement we have developed.

There are situations that arise where interpersonal judgement is needed. There are times when we need to embrace and times when embracing is inappropriate. The interactions we have with others are measured in how we interprete the occasions and how we then calibrate our personal conduct.

Amen.

10

OUR FATHER WHO JUDGEMENT OF THE NATIONS IS INESCAPABLE 

The book of Isaiah chapter 15 verses 9 - 10 verse 9 and chapter 16 verse 1 says this;

(15-9) The waters of Dimon are full of blood, but I will bring still more upon Dimon—a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon those who remain in the land.

(16-1) Send lambs as tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela, across the desert, to the mount of Daughter Zion.

This passage describes the harsh judgement that will fall upon the people Moab where even though the waters are full blood, more judgement is brought upon them. A devouring lion is released upon them who are escaping as refugees from Moab and upon the those who opted to remain in the their land.

As the great destruction falls upon them, they are advised to send a tribute offering of lambs to ruler of land to the country of Zion.

In this time of desperation, their prayers to their own gods on the high places avail nothing and their only hope is in the intervention by the king of Zion.

They ask the neighboring nation of Zion to give shelter to the refugees from Moab and to conceal them from the destroyer. Nevertheless, their judgement leaves them devastated and feeble.

As Isaiah chapter 16 verse 14 says;

But now the Lord says: “Within three years, as a servant bound by contract would count them, Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised, and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”

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OUR FATHER WHO GAVE THE MESSIAH TO BE A COVENANT FOR THE PEOPLE

The book of Isaiah chapter 49 verse 9 says this;

to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’  and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ “They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill.

This verse, speaking of the promised Messiah, declares that He was given to be a covenant for the people whose role would include restoring the land, reassigning the desolate inheritances, releasing the captives and  liberating those in darkness.

The result of the ministry of the promised One would result in the people, likened to a flock of sheep, finding plentiful pasture along the roads on every barren hill.

They would lack nothing and be protected as verse 10 says;

They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.

He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.

Psalm 23 verses 1 and 2 mirrors this scenario almost exactly but from the point of view of the sheep;

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul;

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO TEARS DOWN THE WORKS OF FALSE PROPHETS

The book of Ezekiel chapter 13 verse 11 says this;

therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. 

This verse, a prophetic word to the false prophets in Israel whose  spiritual  guardianship over the nation of  Israel was flimsy but who had disguised their flimsy defences as robust defenses by covering up their lack of substance with false assurances, warned them that their weak defenses would be destroyed by the Lord who would use rain, hailstones and violent winds to bring the false edifice down.

In their role as the prophets of Israel, the men should have been steadfast in their pursuit of the truth but instead were declaring visions that they did not see and prophesying peace that was not coming.

As a result, Israel's defences were weak and  left them vulnerable and this brought the judgement of the Lord on the false prophets themselves and on their false works.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO IS OUR HELP IN TIME OF DANGER

Psalm 53 54  verse 9  3  says this;

Arrogant foes are attacking me; ruthless people are trying to kill me—people without regard for God.

This verse is referencing the people who were hunting David at the behest of  King Saul.

David was in hiding and even though he had been chosen to be the king of Israel by the Lord, Saul was still ruling the kingdom and had undertaken to kill David.

David described those who sought kill him as arrogant, ruthless and godless.

Inspite of having the full power of the government being brought to bear against him, David trusted in the Lord for his safety saying in verse 4;

Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.

Amen.

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