Thursday, March 29, 2012

RESTRAIN

RESTRAIN

I Samuel 3:13, "For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made thmselves vile, and he restrained them not."

Job 15:4, "Yea, thou castest off feaer, and restrainest prayer before God."

Isaiah 63:15, "Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of Thy holiness and of Thy glory:  where is Thy zeal and Thy strength, the sounding of Thy bowels and of Thy mercies toward me?  are they restrained?"

I Sameul 14:6, "And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised:  it may be that the Lord will work for us:  for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few."

RESTRAIN is used 12 times throughout the Bible.  It is varied in its application and meaning.  Listed above are the 4 verses that I wish to give to you for our coming before the Lord. 

In David McINtrye's, 'The Hidden Life of Prayer', he shares the account of J A Bengel, a Lutheran scholar and priest.  'A person rushed into Bengel's room, and exalimed: "Alas, sir, everything will be destroyed from the hailstorm; we shall lose all!" Bengel went composedly to the window, opened it, lifted up his hands to heaven and said, "Father, restrain it!"; and the tempest actually abated from that moment.'

Andrew Murray writes: "Gaze upon His holy human nature as what He prepared for you to be partaker of with Himself, and you will see that there is something even higher and better than being kept from sin - that is but the restraining from evil."

Do we understand that nobody can restrain God.  God is God and in all His ways, He speaks and comands.  But what happens when God restrains Himself?  Why would God restrain Himself?  What purpose could cause Him to restrain Himself? 

We see the truth of this as we relate and examine each of the verses from Scripture and from the quoted authors.  We are commanded to not sin.  If we sin, we sin because we choose to sin against Him and His ways.  When sin enters in, we are commanded to restrain ourselves and those under our care and keeping from sin.  If we fail to do so, then God restrains Himself from our presence.  His desire and ability is to restrain any and all evil from our life.  His very holiness demands it. 

God has never, will never and cannot acknowledge sin.  It is completely opposite of His nature of being holy.  To allow sin is to automatically, quench the Holy Spirit from our midst.  Too many Christians today, that practice sin and refuse to repent from it, run the risk of God's wrath for two things.  One, they resist and quench and limit the Holy Spirit, thus, making them more suspectible to SAtan's devices and will.  Two, God's holiness demands a rightoues judgment upon those that continue to run counter to His holiness.  Every act sin provokes His holy nature to wrath.  But out of His restraining mercy and grace, He gives a longsuffering period of time for men to acknowledge, confess and repent of their sin. 

We see throughout Scripture, that eventually though, that time is used up.  And when the sin remains, the wrath of God is enacted to remove the evil and restore His holiness.  This is the entire story of the bible. 
1.  Sin entered this perfect world, Adam and Eve being tempted and choosing to disobey in the Garden of Eden.  This earth, since that time, has been filled with sin and evil.  Thus, corrupting every component of God's creation.  God has allowed generations to remain in the hope and means of restraining sin and restoring this broken relationship between God and man.  He offered the law, then He sent His only begotten Son to purchase the atonement for all that would 'receive Him'.  God destroyed the earth once in Genesis 6 for the evil of men.  They did not restrain themselves and He kept Noah and his sons but flooded all the others of His creation of fallen, sinful, vile man.  God will do so again at the end of the age, but this time by fire.  Fire purges everything, either to refine, or consume.  II Peter 3, tells us that all that is in this contamniated universe shall be consumed in fire and destroyed.  And God will usher in a new heaven and a new earth, that shall be holy and void of sin. 
2.  Sin infected His chosen people, Israel and we see throughout all the Old Testament their varaince in not restraining sin in their midst and finally reaping what they had sown for centuries. 

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

THE WAR ON SIN

THE WAR ON SIN

Deuteronomy 7: 16 - 26, "And thou shalt consume all the people which the Lord thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them:  neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be snare unto thee. v. 17 If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them? v. 18 Thou shalt not be afraid of them:  but shalt well remember what the Lord thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt; v. 19 The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the Lord thy God brought thee out:  so shall the Lord thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid.  v. 20 Moreover the Lord thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed. v. 21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them:  for the Lord thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.  v. 22 And the Lord thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and litte:  thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upn thee.  v. 23  But the Lord thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.  v. 24 And He shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven:  there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them.  v. 25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire:  thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein:  for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.  v. 26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it:  but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing."

The plight today to be found in the church and in individual Christian lives is found in the battle between sin and holiness.  On the side of the Lord is purity and undefiled holiness.  He is found without sin in all His ways.  On the other side is found Satan, and all his evil and maliganty of sin.  Everything against God, yea, we can say, all that is about him and for him is anti-God.  We, here of this earth, every soul born is offered a choice to make of either, 'unto the Lord' or 'unto sin and Satan'.  To reject the one, means you embrace the other.  There is no in between, there is no half for one and half for the other.  Christ taught us, 'No man can serve two masters, for either he will love the one and hate the other.'  OUr life is filled with evidence of who or Who's we are.

Once a person becomes a Christian, the battle is really on.  Satan has lost a follower and his rage is 10X greater.  He sets out to attack; and as  we should know the verse, 'Our adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.'  His desire is not to maim, or hurt, or injure, it is to destroy and devour.  He will be happy with nothing less than wrecking every Christian and every church.  He sets out to destroy all that is for God.  The battle in every Christian is not one and done. 

We know the Scriptures that teach us, our being born again is 'in a moment' we are brought out of darkness into light.  IN a moment, we are rescued from hell and granted access into heaven.  WE are no longer children of hell or darkness, but children of heaven and light.  WE are no longer sinners, but Christians, saved by grace and His precious blood.  We know the work of salvation by Christ and His atonement and the 'power of His resurrection' is found in delivering sinful flesh and soul into a translated soul where 'old things are cast away and all things become new.'  Everything is new in Him and by Him.  OUr self-righteousness is replaced by Christ robe of righteousness.  Our old ways are forgiven and cleansed by His atoning blood.  The sins of our flesh are pardoned and we are set anew in Him. 

We know all this is paradox in our daily living.  That even though we are born again in Him, yet we still live here, away from Him.  To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord; but to be present in this body is to not be present with the Lord.  And although He abides within us, yet we are still of our own.  Sin is found here on this earth, not in heaven.  And until we get to heaven, sin still remains the possiblity here on this earth in each one of us.  'My little children, sin not; but if you do sin, you have an Advocate, Whos is Jesus Christ'.  Desiring to be there with Him, yet we are here to fulfill His purpose and will.  And as Paul goes through this in Romans 6 - 8 we see the victory that even thought we be in the flesh, there is victory over the flesh.  It is that battle which I desire to look at in this reading.  The battle of sin vs. holy. 

The main verse that I wish to use here on this 'The War of Sin' is found in verse 22, "And the Lord thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little:  thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee."  The life long pursuit of a Christian is to be glorify the Lord in all our ways.  WE have the command in Deuteronomy, 'Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.'  We have the command in Matthew 5 from Jesus, in the sermon on the mount, 'Thou shalt be perfect as thy Father is perfect'.  And a Christian's simple definition is to be Christ-like.  Christ was perfect and one with the Father and that is what He prayed in John 17 for us as well.
But found in Scripture is God's supremem desire for us.  And also found is God's knowledge of us, 'They are prone to wander'; 'oh, that there was such an heart in them.' 

Here God is helping us and directing us to that final end of driving out the inhabitants of the land and making us to finally enter into the rest He intended.  Was God able to destroy and wipe out all the inhabitants of the land?  Yes, 'nothing is too hard for the Lord.'  Is God able to undo and remove all sin in our live and cause us to be holy and without sin the rest of our days?  Absolutely, God is God and can do abundantly above all that we ask or think.' 

What is the reality of most, yea, all Christians daily living?  Is sin not found in your life? Is sin not in my life? Is sin not in the church for every generation since the book of Acts?  The reality of our situation is that even though saved, still sin exists and abides within us.  The magnitutde and degrees of how much we allow or let sin have dominance over us is in direct relationship to how much we abide in Christ and allow for Him to work in us.  The more carnal, less desiring Christian will flirt and play with sin. 

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

IN THAT DAY

IN THAT DAY

112 times in the Bible with this exact phrase;  a few other close comparisons to use as well, added on 'at that day' - 11 found in Scripture.

I will more than likely complete at the end of this work the 112 times of Scripture reference 'in that day'.  As each verse will be given to you to see the refernce and relevance for our own personal lives. 

There are two types of days that we will categorize for this study in relationship 'in that day'.  There is the Day of the Lord that in that day will be a day of blessing.  There is the Day of the Lord that in that day will be a day of cursing or judgment.

Let us take a study of this phrase and make application from Scripture to our own walk and life today.

1.  Deueronomy 31:16 - 18, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the stragners of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake Me, and break My covenant which I have made with them.  Then My anger shall be kindled against them in that day and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured, and ,any evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? v. 18 And I will surely hide My face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods."

We have laid out before us the series of events that unfolded throughout all the Old Testament.  God had foretold Moses that after he died and was buried, after that generation was gone, the people would go against everything that they had been intstructed in.  What a plight!  Having spent 40 years instructing, judging, teaching, helping, delivering them, they would in one generation undo all that was done.  This is the hardest thing for me to grasp.  All the righteousness of a revival can be done away with in one generation of evil, wicked people. 

Now we know that for 40 years they grumbled and griped; yea, they murmurred at everything.  Moses knew of the hardness of their hearts toward God.  God came down to speak to them, they said, 'You speak to Him, but don't let God speak to us again.'  To have the chance to hear and see God and then dismiss it, reveals the heart desire to remove God from one's life.  Moses dealt with their sin over and over.  He saw and knew of their rebellion against God.  This is exactly why they was in the wilderness for 40 years.  They did not believe in the Lord.  They said they couldn't take the promised land.  They had giants and bars on the gates and they were unable.  Thus, God said they should be 40 years in the wilderness, one year for every day of spying the land. 

I am sure for Moses that it broke his heart to hear this revelation.  How much more for Joshua, who was getting ready to lead them!  You would not consider this to be encouragement for Joshua.  HOw defeating to know that soon the people would resort to sin and forsake the Lord.  And then to meet His wrath for punishment for what they would do.  Only the resolve to say by God's mercy, 'Not on my watch and keeping of the people will this happen.'  You can surrender to the envitable; you can quit and say, 'there's no hope'.  But God looks and loves the overcomer, that looks in the midst of such sin and folly and finds a man that trusts in Him to bring glory to His Name.  So that, 'in that day', He will be glorified and revered. 

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Matthew 7:22, "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?"  And we know the answer to these questions by our Lord, 'I never knew you.'  This is the day of meeting the Lord face to face, truly a fearful place especially for the self-rightoues and hypocrite.  We note in this verse the pluarity of how many will found here like this 'in that day' - "Many"  Few are those that enter the straight and narrow, but many go in the broad and wide path. 

IN THAT DAY

GENESIS

EXODUS
8:22, "And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth."
10:28, "And Pharaoh siad unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die."
13:8, "And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt."

LEVITICUS
27:23, "Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, even unto the year of the jubile:  and he shall give thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto the Lord."

NUMBERS

DEUTERONOMY
1:39, "Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good an devil, they shall go in thither, and unto will I give it, and they shall possess it."
31:17, "Then My anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?"
31:18, "And I will surely hide My face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods."

JOSHUA
14:12, "Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them ou, as the Lord said."

JUDGES

RUTH

I SAMUEL
3:12, "In that day  I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house:  when I begin, I will also make an end."
8:18, "And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day." 

II SAMUEL

I KINGS
22:25, "And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day when thou shalt go into an innter chamber to hide thyself."

II KINGS

I CHRONICLES
28:7, "Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do My commandments and My judgments, as at this day."

II CHRONICLES

EZRA

NEHEMIAH

ESTER

JOB

PSALMS

PROVERBS


ECCLESIASTES


SONG OF SOLOMON


ISAIAH
2:11, "The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." 
2:17, "And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low:  and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day."
2:20, "In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;"
3:7, "In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing:  make me not a ruler of the people."
3:18, "In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,"
4:1, "And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel:  only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach."
4:2, "In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel."
5:30, "And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea:  and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof."
7:18, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the lfy that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria."
7:21, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;"
7:23, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns."
10:20, "And it shall come to pass, in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth."
10:27, "And it shall come to pass, in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing."
11:10, "And in that day, there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek:  and His rest shall be glorious."
11:11, "And it shall come to pass, in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea."
12:1, "And in that day, thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise Thee:  though Thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedst me."
12:4, "And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon His Name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted."
17:4, "And in that day, it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean."
17:9, "In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel:  and there shall be desolation."
19:16, "In that day shall Egypt be like unto women:  and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it."
19:18, "In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts:  one shall be called, The city of destruction."
19:19, "In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord."
19:21, "And the Lord shall be known to Egypt,a nd the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it."
19:23, "In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians."
19:24, "In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:"
20:6, "And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria:  and how shall we escape?"
22:8, "And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest."
22:12, "And in that day did the LOrd God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:"
22:20, "And it shall come to pass, in that day, that I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:"
22:25, "In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off:  for the Lord hath spoken it."
23:15, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king; after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot."
24:21, "And it shall come to pass, in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth."
25:9, "And it shall be said in that day Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us:  this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation."
26:1, "In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks."
27:1, "In that day the Lord with His sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea."
27:2, "In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine."
27:12, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel."
27:13, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem."
28:5, "In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of His people,"
29:18, "And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness."
30:23, "Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous:  in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures."
31:7, "For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin."
52:6, "Therefore My people shall know My Name:  therefore they shall know in that day that I am He that doth speak; behold, it is I."


JEREMIAH
4:9, "And it shall come to pass, at that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of ht eking shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder."
4:11, "At that day shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of My people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,"
5:18, "Nevetheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you."
8:1, "At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusaelm, out of their graves:"
30:8, "For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:"
39:16, "Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring My words upon this city for evil and not for good; and they shall be accomplised in that day before thee."
39:17, "But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord:  and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid."
49:22, "Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah:  and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs."
49:26, "Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day saith the Lord of hosts."
50:20, "In those days, and in that time saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; for I will pardon them whom I reserve."
50:30, "Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord."
50:31, "Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lrod God of hosts:  for thy day is come; the time that I will visit thee."

LAMENTATIONS


EZEKIEL
24:26, "That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?"
24:27, "In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb:  and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the Lord."
29:21, "In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the Lord."
30:9, "In that day shall messengers go forth from Me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afriad, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt:  for, lo, it cometh."
38:14, "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when My people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?"
38:19, "For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;"
39:11, "And it shall come to pass, in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea:  and it shall stop the noses of the passengers:  and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude:  and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog."


DANIEL


HOSEA
1:5, "And it shall come to pass, at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel."
2:16, "And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call Me Ishi; and shalt call Me no more Baali."
2:18, "And in that day, will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground:  and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely."
2:21, "And it shall come to pass, in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;"

JOEL
3:18, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down a new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim."

AMOS
2:16, "And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the Lord."
8:3, "And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God:  there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence."
8:9, "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:"
8:13, "In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst."
9:11, "In that day will I rasie up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:"

OBADIAH
v. 8, "Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?"


JONAH


MICAH
2:4, "In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled:  he hath changed the portion of My people:  how hath he removed it from me!  turning away he hath divided our fields."
4:6, "In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her htat is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;"
5:10, "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots:"
7:11, "In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed."
7:12, "In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain."


NAHUM


HABAKKUK


ZEPHANIAH
1:10, "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills."
3:11, "In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed aginst Me:  for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of My holy mountain."
3:16, "In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not:  and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack."

HAGGAI
2:23, "In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, My servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet:  for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts."

ZECHARIAH
2:11, "And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be My people:  and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent Me unto thee."
3:10, "In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree."
9:16, "And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of His people:  for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon His land."
11:11, "And it was broken in that day:  and so the poor of the flock that waited upon Me knew that it was the word of the Lord."
12:3, "And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people; all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it."
12:4, "In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness:  and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness."
12:6, "In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the peole round about, on the right hand and on the left:  and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem."
12:8, "In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them."
12:9, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem."
12:11, "In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon."
13:1, "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness."
13:2, "And it shall come to pass, in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered:  and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land."
13:4, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:"
14:4, "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south."
14:6, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:"
14:8, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea:  in summer and in winter shall it be."
14:9, "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth:  in that day shall there be one Lord, and Hi Name one."
14:13, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the the hand of his neighbour."
14:20, "In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar."
14:21, "Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts:  and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein:  and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts."

MALACHI
3:17, "And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him."

MATTHEW
7:22, "Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy Name?  and in Thy Name have cast out devils?  and in Thy Name done many wonderful works?"


MARK

LUKE
6:23, "Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy:  for, behold, your reard is great in heaven:  for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets."
10:12, "But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city."
17:31, "In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away:  and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back."

JOHN
14:20, "At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you."
16:23, "And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name, He will give it you."
16:26, "At that day ye shall ask in My Name:  and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:"


ACTS

ROMANS

I CORINTHIANS

II CORINTHIANS

GALATIANS

EPHESIANS

PHILIPPIANS

COLOSSIANS

I THESSALONIANS

II THESSALONIANS
1:10, "When He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day."
2:3, "Let no man deceive you by any means:  for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"

I TIMOTHY

II TIMOTHY
1:12, "For the which cause I also suffer these things:  nevertheless I am not ashamed:  for I knwo whome I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Hima gainst that day."
1:18, "The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day:  and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well."
4:8, "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the rightoues judge, shall give me at that day ; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing."

TITUS

PHILEMON

HEBREWS

JAMES

I PETER

II PETER

I JOHN

II JOHN

III JOHN

JUDE

REVELATION

Finished

Saturday, March 3, 2012

A CALL FOR BROKEN BEFORE THE THRONE

March, 2012

Greetings,

We come into this new month with more facing us across this nation than it seems ever before.  At the beginning of this year there was a major emphasis by several Southern Baptist state conventions for a call to prayer.  I rejoiced in this.  Many groups have adopted Claude King's, 'Awaken 2012' for a 40 day prayer emphasis.  Right behind this initative was Life Action's revival emphasis, "One Cry".  One Cry is a movement to set the church to praying for God's power to come in revival and for a spiritual awakening.  All these things are needful and helpful to draw us back into a right relationship with our Lord.  There continues to be a group, a remnant, of men and women seeking the Lord for His mercy and help during these troubling times. 

In a conversation this past week, with David Ford, he has been led to hold a Keswick Convention in Phoenix.  This will be held in May 13 -19 (?) with Al Whittinghill.  The Keswick Convention was one of the things I studied in forming Broken Before the Throne.  I had received a book on the great sermons of the Keswick Convention.  Along that same time I had been reading Praying John Hyde's biography and was much moved by this man of prayer.  He had been led, due to the poor spiritual condition of the church and individual Christian lives, as well as the darkness of the Indian people to be a part of the Sialkot Convention.  These two conventions, of days gone by, was for a restoration of the basic principles that govern our Christian walk.  These principles are based on confession and repentance of sin in the beliver; exalting of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; consecration; and Spirit filled living through prayer and obedience;

My leading for Broken Before the Throne was centered a few years ago to go to these prayer conferences that were being held and learn from them.  I came away with this lesson, that most of these prayer conferences talked about prayer, preached on prayer, had great prayer warriors there but did very little in praying.  There are not as many of these conferences on prayer today as what there had been.  We are left with a people in the church who don't pray and don't know how to pray.  Pastors have confessed that they have no prayer life.  We see this across the board for denominations and churches. 

Broken Before the Throne is a time set apart before the people not just to hear the Word and the ways on prayer, but to actually be in prayer.   Speakers are given time to preach or teach on prayer by what the Spirit would have them bring and then give time to pray and cry out to God.  Ability to take part in corporate prayer, small group praying and quiet individaul time alone with God is given.  And as one service on one night makes for a hurried time, almost tempting God to work according to our schedule, we give days for God to come among us.  The disciples waited for 10 days before the Lord.  It does take time to get away from the traps of Satan in our busy life to 'be still and know God'. 

I believe the darkness is pressing fast upon us.  There needs to be an immediate response by the church.  This response is not just to have meetings, it is to go to war on our knees.  Broken Before the Throne allows for such an opportunity.  I have tried to assemble those dear, precious saints that have been a part of revival in days gone by.  Quickly those saints are dying and age is rapidly limiting them.  This generation knows nothing of those days of revival.  It does not change the fact that revival is needed and our only hope is in Him. 

I am asking you to consider praying for God to lead and direct Broken Before the Throne.  Asking for God to lead us to a place that would hosts this prayer time; asking for the right speakers to be there and assembled; asking for the saints to respond to this call to pray; and trusting in God for the finances to cover this.  All the years that we have done BBtT, there was no registration fee, we simply trusted in God and as always, He was and is faithful to provide for us. 

Please join me in prayer and let us seek the face of the Lord together.  At this time His wrath is being poured out on our nation, church and families and we should be seeking Him for His mercy and for a mighty cleansing. 

Thank you,
Until,
Dan Biser
rdbiser@live.com
http://www.brokenbeforethethrone.com


Friday, March 2, 2012

MARCH PRAYER LETTER, 2012

MARCH, 2012

GREETINGS,

Ministry Updates:
--continue to pastor at Zoar Baptist and Fox's Hollow Baptist; 5 services on Sunday, Prayer meeting and Bible study on Tuesday; getting ready to finish verse by verse study of Genesis;  Bible study and prayer time at Fox's Hollow is on Thursday, just completed Genesis and will begin Exodus up to chapter 20;
--Sunday evening bible study and prayer at the Biser house at 7 PM has continued to be a blessing with seeing new ones coming and being able to teach the prayer notebook;  2/26 we had 12 adults and 15 children;
--despite weather issues through January and February, have maintained Satuday night prayer meeting in Hampshire county for revival on first and third Saturdays;  continue to reach out to the 90 some churches were we see 24,000 population with 21,000 out of church; 
--have continued now for 8 months on 'Daily Prayer Email' to 66 individuals, 5 countries represented and numerous states around the US; 
--have been led and am seeking the Lord's will for doing another Broken Before the Throne prayer time;  have contacted Erwin Lutzer to see if Moody Church would be open to hosting;  you can find past Broken Before the Throne info at http://www.brokenbeforethethrone.com

Family
--major warfare as been these winter months against our families;  mainly attacks from without, but not without issues cropping up among us;  We settle our family issues by calling a 'family meeting' to air and direct the issues at hand;
--Satan would have my children I know that; your prayers are a shield to them and me and I thank you greatly for your prayers;
--Hannah continues her first year at Potomac State; Joshua is preparing for track season and graduation;  praying for the Lord to direct him for his future; Timothy was bumped up to varsity for basketball and after that is over, the 3 high schoolers will all be running for track, should be a good year;  trying to continue lead the younger 4 to seek the Lord now;  they have their prayer times, devotional at bed time and bible reading;  May God take them and use them for His glory;  Rebekah has been home this week with strep, our real first sickness this winter; 
--finances, wood, food all have been in way of answered prayers this winter;  'Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God'  How great is His faithfulness day in and day out.

Prayer Focus:
--families, marriages, the young people all continue to flare up around me as Satan sifts and destroys home after home; 
--have continued the notebook emphasis of the 5 circles;  the 5th circle has become dominate in my time and thoughts - "Kingdom"  all based and saturated with thoughts of fighting the darkness that is spreading across our land;  the imagery is the sun coming up in the east, and as it comes up it pushes the darkness west;  but we see the darkness pushing the light back down, so that night continues in our land;  I am moved to fight this battle in my prayers for more light to remove the darkness.  It consume me day and night. 
--One Cry has begun in a call for prayer for revival and spiritual awakening. 
--lost souls;  over 100;
-- murder/suicides had abated for about 6 weeks, but two just in this last week;
--two school deaths just this week, immediately go to arms over this demonic attack for our children;

Books:
-- my reading has been cut back drastically becuse more time has been given to writing;
Still reading, although more slowly, 'Looking unto Jesus' by Ambrose; 'Why Revival Tarries' by Ravenhill; 'JO Fraser' by Taylor; 'The Hidden Life of Prayer' by mcIntrye; 'Mighty Prevailing Prayer' by Duewel; 'Andrew murray on Prayer, 5 books in one, returned to it to read 'The Prayer Life'; 

Writing:
-- continue daily devotional blog at http://dbiser.blogspot.com  currently up to Isaiah 6; 
--continue to write sermons, articles, most recently confession at my personal blog where this is located at http://danbiser.blogspot.com

Again, if you have taken time to read this and pray for me, Thank You!  So much of the work today is found in the power of prayers that covers and maintains us all.  No prayer or little prayer means very little done for the kingdom; much prayer and deep prayer means much done for the kingdom and His glory in answering those prayers.

until,
dan biser