15. A Herald to Jesus of Nazareth's Bride

The Church in this country is at a time in which there will be no Isaiah 64:1-3 without Joel 2:13 first.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

This is episode 15 of my version of an audiobook of the book that I wrote titled A Herald to Jesus of Nazareth Bride in the United States of America. This chapter is titled The Solution, of course, to all the issues I've already dealt with, the Twelve Stones. This is in Matthew chapter 3. In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah. This is Matthew talking. A voice of one calling in the desert, prepare the way for the Lord and make straight paths for him. John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist, his food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan, confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. But when they saw but when he saw that many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them, You family of snakes, who warns you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Do not think you can say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, that's power, and with fire, that's purity. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. I want to remind you of the difficult and unpleasant assignment forerunners have, that in the words of my older half brother, the surgeon, we cut people in order to heal them, for we hope that there will be some response to the cutting in the form of serious and deep conviction that ignites real repentance. And yet, forerunners are considered by the church to be like Elijah, a troublemaker, 1 Kings 18, 17, despite the fact that his intentions are godly and his message is right. For the forerunner's entire consuming purpose is to make the bride beautiful for her bridegroom, to whom the bride belongs. For centuries, Jesus has somewhat allowed some things to go on in the church that he really does not like. I call these Ishmaels, things men come up with in which the Jesus had no part. Those days are over. Jesus will not have anything to do with Ishmaels any longer. The church will do things his way or he will walk away. So here's the obvious solution. Repent. Turn from the evil, the worldliness, the compromise, the lukewarmness, etc. The issues of the twelve stones, and turn toward loving Jesus and showing that love by obeying him. Stop doing what you're doing with the stones and go the completely opposite direction. For the church in this country has got to stop putting band-aids on broken bone issues. She's got to stop covering up or explaining away or simply ignoring all the many warning signs that is that she is incredibly wrecked and in critical need of major repairs. For those who put away their stupid, shallow, and worldly ways, for those who wake up, see the warning signs, pull over, and cry out to the chief mechanic for real help, for to those who do this there will be some possibility that the Jesus will respond with real help. For those who keep on ignoring the check engine lights of their life while continuing to put on a charade, they and those who agree with them are headed off a cliff to their destruction. Jesus said in Matthew 24, watch out that no one deceives you. Many false prophets, leaders, will appear and deceive most people. I'm not knowledgeable in subjects like math and science. However, I did learn something from algebra. In fact, maybe the only thing I learned from algebra. Make one tiny little mistake at the beginning, and one's final answer is way off. This is what I call the algebraic conundrum. Here's an example. The problem is two plus three times four minus one plus three to the second power. If you don't do this do the the next line to be two plus three times four minus one plus nine, you know, three to the second power, your answer is way off. If you ignore that and just keep going from left to right, your answer at the end is 484. The correct answer is 22. Whether you know which equation is correct or not, note the huge difference between the two answers. As I said, in algebra, one doesn't miss the right answer by just a few digits. One small error at the beginning causes one to be way off in the final result. Here's another example. Two men walked into a bar. The barkeep asked, What do you have? First man said, A tall glass of H2O. The barkeep served him his drink. The man guzzled it down and said, Thanks. The barkeep then asked the second man, What do you have? This man said, I'll have some H two O two. The barkeep served the man his drink. He also guzzled it down, and then dropped dead. Why? Well, H twoO is of course water. H two O two is hydrogen peroxide. Just one additional atom makes water into poison. For millennia, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel, the one true living God, focused his attention on a very specific spot on the earth, Israel. He did some things in some other areas, like Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, etc., but always relating his actions to Israel and to his people who live there. And Yahweh didn't just focus his attention on this part of the world. He actually dwelled there, for he promised to always be upon the Ark of the Covenant that was supposed to be placed in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle of Moses. In short, Yahweh was literally present among his people. And yet it wasn't very long before this incredible blessing was taken for granted, and the ark was treated like a lucky charm. Here's a little of that story. The Philistines were giving Israel problems. Having had enough, Israel decided to go to war against the Philistines. Unfortunately, this was a time when Yahweh was not happy with his people. Why? Simple, the usual stuff. Israel was living a compromised life. So when Israel went out to battle the Philistines with their lucky charm, the Ark, Yahweh did not go with them. As a result, they got their butts kicked. The butt kicking was so bad, the Philistines even captured the ark. Israel went home with their tail between their legs, and the Philistines went home parading the ark to show their victory. However, it wasn't long before the ark began to cause problems for the Philistines. Their butts began to blister and bleed. And it didn't take long for even these dull pagans to realize that it was the presence of the ark that was causing their affliction. So the Philistines had a meeting and decided to send the ark back to Israel. But since nobody wanted to volunteer to take it back, they decided to put the ark on a cart hitched to two cows and to send the animals off in the direction of Israel, figuring at some point some Israelites would see it and take it back. Well, some Israelites did see it. Hey Moisha, is that the ark coming down the road? wonders Eliasar. Nah, it couldn't be, says Moisha, quinting to get a better look. I think it is. It sure looks like it, says Eliasar. Eliasar and Moshe stopped the cows and see that it is the ark on a cart. Whatever you do, do not touch that thing, cautions Eliasar. It'll kill you quick as lightning. What should we do with it? asked Moisha. I don't know. Maybe we should ask Abinadad if we can put it in his garage. He's got a nice big garage, suggests Eliasar. But isn't the ark supposed to be in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle of Moses? Queries Moisha. Yeah, I think so, says Eliasar. Well, shouldn't we take it there? says Moisha. We're too busy. Let's just take it to Abinadab and be done with it, advises Eliasar. This is the Ark of the Covenant, with the actual presence of the living God, and Israel decides to put it in this guy's barn, throw a tarp over it, and essentially forget about it, going about their lives without it, without him? Sound familiar? It should. And if it doesn't, you're in a very, very bad place. Quite a long time later, when David becomes king of Israel, he is quite OCD, if I can say it that way, about having the presence of the living God with him. This is my favorite Psalm. I've prayed this over my children for the moment, my wife conceived them. I asked the Lord to give them the heart of David. This is it. Psalm 27 4. One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, the beauty of the Lord, and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 132. David swore an oath to the Lord. He made a vow to the mighty one of Jacob. I will not enter my house or go to my bed. I will allow no sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the mighty one of Jacob. And after an initial attempt to bring the ark into Jerusalem that failed rather badly, David finally succeeded in bringing the ark into his city, putting it in a big tent he set up on some property he purchased, basically his backyard. David threw open the flaps of this tent and said, Who's with me? Let's go in and worship Yahweh in his presence. His buddies, guys like Asaph, the sons of Korah, maybe Nathan the prophet, must have just stood there frozen in fear and wondering if David was crazy. David says, Hey guys, let's go in and worship Yahweh. Pausing, seeing no intention to respond. What are you waiting for? We've got the actual presence of the living God in there. Come on, let's do this. Asaf may have said, David, that's the ark. You know, only the high priest and only one time a year. We'll all die in there. Maybe that's when David said, If I die, I die. I've got to have the living God. Again, who's with me? Let's go for it. Maybe David's buddies looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and said, What the heck? If we die, we die. For we too have to have the living God. And what about the tabernacle of Moses? Oh, it was up and operational just a few miles down the road from Jerusalem and David's tent without the presence of the living God. There are the priests and they're rotating shifts, doing all the sacrifices, doing religion. Well, David and his group are relating directly in the presence with Yahweh himself. This is definitely a lesson to the church in this country. Do we really want the dead religion of the tabernacle of Moses? Or do we want the actual presence of Jesus by his spirit in David's tent, which James pointed out in Acts 15 is going to be rebuilt. I wrote a booklet about this. At Pentecost, the actual presence of the Holy Spirit was poured out. This was profound. People were undone and overwhelmed by it. There were all sorts of manifestations of the Spirit's presence. But in time, people once again seemed to take for granted this awesome gift, the gift of the actual presence of Jesus of Nazareth by his Spirit. Inside people of His Spirit, inside people, developing this Jesus' character, as well as upon them, anointing them to do ministry in and with his power. In short, the complete opposite of what religion does. So as a result of being ignored, the Spirit moved out of Israel and moved into Asia Minor. Asia Minor then became the center of his presence and what he was doing. But again, the people forgot this blessing and with and he withdrew, moving into Europe. It wasn't long before things repeated themselves yet again, and yet again Jesus turned his back and moved out of Europe and on to this country. When people take the Spirit's presence for granted, when they don't respond to him, when they make the sacred and the holy secular in common, when they compromise with the world, he moves on. Oh, he'll try to reach them to convict them of what they're doing, but at some point, if at least some of the people fail to respond to the way he expects, he will move on. Thus there is no location on earth, no group of people in which Jesus has done more for and given more to than to the church in the United States of America. Again, the Spirit has given and done more to the church in this country than to any other people in any other place at any other time since Pentecost. That's a good thing, except that it comes with expectations. Luke 12, 48. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one who's been who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Has Jesus' standard changed? Is the bride here so arrogant as to think herself to be so special that Jesus wouldn't move on to some other people who desperately need him and deeply want him? Yes. This is exactly the attitude of the church in this country. Well, I have some news for you. The Holy Spirit has left this country. And neither is he coming back. He moved on. Something he's done many times throughout history. I know. You've heard some little things here and there on the internet, but it's just fluff. It's like cotton candy. It pops up, everyone gets excited for a few weeks, and then it's over. Mercifully, he has left a remnant. There are a few people in a few places, very few, in this country where he's still involved, but not many. For as much as he has given to his wife here, as much as he has done for his wife here, just in the number of revivals, renewals, outpourings, and resources, etc., the majority of his bride in this country is not responding and is not doing what he expects. Again, to whom much is given, much is required. So Jesus of Nazareth is done here. He's moved on to a people who really do want him. People who live in countries that the people of this country look down upon, thinking we're better than they are. The first will be last, and the last will be first. In short, Jesus' wife, not the general godless population in this country, upon whom he has lavished more wonderful things than any other people at any other time in history, in any other location on earth, has been unfaithful to him. Jesus' wife, not the general godless population in this country, has loved herself as well as other gods instead of loving and thus obeying her husband. And she is now suffering the consequences of her choices, the loss of the wonderful and awesome presence of the Spirit. Sadly, many multitudes don't even recognize or realize the Spirit's absence personally or collectively. Like the priests of the Tabernacle of Moses, they merely go through the lifelessness of church unity. Having said this, there may be some possibility that Jesus will have some response to some people who rend their hearts. The following provides some detail as to what this rending or tearing means. As the research and data from Barna and Rayner showed, most people who consider themselves to be Christians are into churchi entity, not apostolic Christianity. And these two things do not mix. Use whatever metaphor you like, new wine and old wineskins, darkness and light, the living God and idols, etc. The bottom line is that if you want the real Jesus, you will have to come out of churchi unity. I'm talking to the person who is not satisfied with what satisfies most, for it is right to want the presence of the Spirit over churchianity or the tent of David over the tabernacle of Moses. So when I say come out, I mean literally. If you want Jesus of Nazareth by his Spirit, you will not find him among those doing churchianity. It truly is true that those who have been enlightened, those who have tasted the heavenly gift, those who have shared in the Holy Spirit, those who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God, and the powers of the coming age, that's Hebrews 6, simply do not fit in with those who have not experienced Jesus of Nazareth by his spirit, and thus prefer the ritual of religion, the flamboyance of theatrics, the lifeless emptiness of churchianity, and the poisons of worldliness. Most Christians in this country will choose the wide road and will build their lives on sand. Only a few will find the narrow way and earnestly seek to build their lives on a rock. This is what Jesus said would be the case. This is just the way it is. And this is why Jesus and Paul could no longer or would no longer enter the synagogues. What they had was not wanted by the majority of the people. This is still true today. Most people actually prefer the deadness of churchanity over the presence of Jesus of Nazareth by his spirit. Don't try to change this, it will not change. Jesus said so. This is Matthew thirteen. The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the wheat sprouted or formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner's servants came to him and said, Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from? An enemy did this, he replied. The servants asked him, Do you want us to go and pull them up? No, he answered, because while you are pulling the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them. Both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters, first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn. Jesus of Nazareth is not going to fix churchanity. He's going to allow it. Those who want the presence of the Spirit need to connect with others who are in pursuit of the bridegroom king. Those who have received the Holy Spirit are now the house of the Lord. That's first Corinthians three. For he no longer dwells in buildings but in people. So it's not about going to church, it's about being the church. I'll stop there.

SPEAKER_02 23:10

And the people say, Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord, and the people say, Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, everyone, praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord. See the people, people say, Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the law, let the people say to the Lord, praise the Lord Let the people say the people say the men sing, sing it out. Sing the women, everybody, everybody, everybody.