And the People Love it So!

As usual my brethren, I am not real sure where this message will go, so please forgive me if it jumps around somewhat. Also know that my heart and spirit is with all of you "out there" in this pathless wilderness, where only the sound of His voice and His Word lead us from moment to moment, and place to place. Our time will come dear saints. The sands of the hourglass marking the end of this present age are falling little by little now, and His coming is imminent; I can almost feel it in my bones if you know what I mean.

I pray that this message finds you strong and patient dear brethren, and that you are redeeming the time with much prayer and petition and seeking Him with all thirstiness in this barren wilderness. Oh that He might refine and prepare His own, as did David his mighty men in the dark caves of mystery leading up to his manifestation to all Israel as their rightful king. Let us not be tempted to expedite the arrival of the glorious reign before the time of readiness, as did those who would have readily dispatched Saul into Sheol; for the times and seasons, my friends, lie with the Lord -

Our place is not with this world and its kings; with its wisdom and ways; with its lofty words and hollow rhetoric! For the illegitimate reign of Saul (Satan) will soon be at an end, by the Lord's hand and not ours. Our hope must not be bound up in the empty promises of those who know not that this present world has already been judged, and that the sword has already been drawn from its sheath, ready to strike at His word. There is no future for the nations as we know them, nor for anything wrought in this day of Adam, this day of man -

Yet now is the time for those loyal to the future King to do great exploits in the spirit; to prepare for battle against the "world the flesh and the devil" with all provision and preparation, for the days are evil, and all that is presently veiled in mystery and hidden from men (including most believers sadly), will soon be made manifest -

My prayer for you in this dark and final hour is that of the Apostle Paul, who knew intimately that we are the "mighty men" of this age, and that the enemy before us is great; not only the Canaanite in the land, but all those among the redeemed who follow Saul, and seek the scraps from his table -

The hour is close is my friends, and our hearts must be set on His soon coming, and being prepared in all readiness in the Spirit. The fig tree (Israel) is in bud (Luke 21:29-33), as are the other nations (those nations around her and especially mentioned in the prophecies related to the closing of this age), and this generation will by no means pass away until all things are fulfilled according to His Word. Dear friends and saints - His Word cannot and will not fail us! Yet we can most certainly fail Him! Let that not be so among those who love Him and love His appearing; those who seek a place at His table in His Kingdom; those who are running the race so as to win that crown of righteousness for all those found worthy at His seat of judgment.

If this be so brethren, that His words will by no means pass away, why is it that so many of us so readily, so casually it seems, set His words aside and trust rather in the empty claims of men - (men of science, politics, religion, philosophy, etc), who have no power whatsoever to bring it to pass? It is as though Christians today (the majority anyway) want so much to believe that there is a future for their particular nation, or the world at large, when such an investment of hope is foolish and contrary to everything recorded in the prophetic word of scripture.

A WORD OF EXHORTATION - FOR THOSE WHO WILL RECEIVE IT

I want to exhort all of you who name the name of Christ Jesus, in the Spirit and the love of Christ, to hearken to the Word of the Lord. For if we refuse to acknowledge and take to heart what became of His people Israel, and fail to understand the message to our generation - then we may very well suffer the same loss and rejection at His Coming (please read that again and ask the Lord, by His Spirit to impress this truth upon your heart).

Consider the word given to Jeremiah, for example,

Here we have a most deplorable condition among those blessed as the very apple of Jehovah's eye (Zech. 2:8), and yet the very worst part of this is not so much that the priests and prophets (spiritual leaders in the land) had abandoned the Lord and His Truth (this is sad enough to be sure), but that the...

THE PEOPLE LOVE IT SO!

Folks, as I drive around my community here in the mid-west USA, and behold these colossal (christian) "mega" churches springing up in so many former corn fields, with false teachers "teaching falsely" and "ruling on their own authority", it mystifies me that so many of our Heavenly Father's blood-washed children actually join themselves in spirit to these worldly bodies.

Now we know, of course (or should know) at the end of this age that the tares must proliferate among the wheat, and the leaven must permeate the lump, just as our Lord assured us. Yet the degree to which His own; those precious sheep for whom He gave His very life, would so readily, so casually, and so willfully forsake His Word for the scraps at Saul's table is positively alarming to this observer.

Astounding! Incredible! Rather than tremble at the Word of God, and come to see it as the path to all blessing and life, the people of Judah utterly rejected it. It became, as the scripture says, a "reproach to them". They took no delight in it, and for that reason they failed to understand the work of the Lord in their lives, and the path to glory. Now there were many false prophets in Jeremiah's day as there are in our own, and just as Judah was quick to receive these smooth and easy words, so the many in the church today seek those who will flatter and tickle their ears.

BEWARE MY BRETHREN!

Do not be deceived when you feel that light and wispy sensation tickling your ears and puffing up your heart and mind. For such words are not from the Lord at all but from somewhere else. This is not the time for the easy way, but to be tested in the harsh wilderness and caves, such that we might be found worthy at the inauguration of the TRUE and RIGHTEOUS KING! If we, like David's mighty men, are to reign with the King we must also suffer His rejection and testing. The Kingdom of God and of His Christ has been won most certainly; yet it lies in mystery for an appointed time (and this time is close my brethren, real close). And during this time the King is training, testing and hardening all those who will rule with him in His kingdom as His officers. He must not only prove their love in this hour but also their loyalty and steadfastness. He must know as a certainty that they will never leave Him nor forsake Him, nor discount His Word, regardless of what happens around them. They must be found faithful, not living by bread alone, but by every word breathed into the world by their Heavenly Father and His Son -

Oh how I pray you will receive this dear ones, for it is not this writer's opinion but the truth of the Living God to be sure! His Word is food and it is life!

And to reject His Word is to rebel against Him, and rebellion is not something the Judge of all the earth sniffs at or takes lightly. It makes Him angry! Yes angry at His own people! It is as reprehensible to Him as witchcraft, and a rebel will never hold a place at the Master's table.

Indeed, had Judah, remaining in the land of promise, hearkened to the Word of the Lord and considered His judgments, they would have been severely admonished by what happened to their brothers in the north a short while earlier. For the house of Israel became wholly given over to idolatry and willful disobedience. They had effectively closed their ears and hearts to all that the Lord wanted to give them, and they would not receive correction, but chose rather to stiffen their necks and reject the Lord who bought them at such a price. This is important brethren, so I am inserting here the whole sad conclusion of the matter as provided in 2 Kings 17 -

Note: I would strongly encourage you to read all of the chapters leading up to this one in 2nd Kings, and again ask the Lord to make it real and alive to you, in terms of its message and application. I was practically trembling as I made my way through this sordid history of rejection, abandonment and scornful rebellion shown by those who had been so blessed at the Lord's hand.

So, despite the mournful pleading of the prophet Jeremiah, who came to them crying, "Hear the Word of the Lord", Judah scoffed at the Word and hardened their necks to anything the Lord had to say. In fact, by this time their spiritual condition had become terminal, as evidenced by Jeremiah's prophecy -

And lest you think that this was describing but a few in the land; a minority perhaps, think again -

Everyone, from the least to the greatest, my friends, and to make matters worse, they were most especially confident and content in their condition. After all were they not God's chosen people; His elect? Had He not brought them out with a high hand from bondage in Egypt, and did He not dwell among them in the house they had built for Him?

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.'

Such things mean nothing to He who searches the heart and knows our true condition. And just to draw this cord a little tighter if I may, perhaps it would be helpful to translate this verse for our own days; something like this perhaps -

Thus says the LORD Jesus Christ, King of King and Lord of Lords: "Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to sit on my throne with Me in My kingdom. Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The church of Jesus Christ, the church of Jesus Christ, the church of Jesus Christ are these.'

Now the house of Israel (the ten northern tribes), removed from the land over 2700 years ago, have never returned, and will not until the Shepherd of Israel draws them home. They were accounted unworthy to retain the promises in that day. And although there is a Jewish population in the land of Israel today, they reside there in unbelief, before the time, and their current spiritual condition and response to the Word of the Lord has not changed from what it was in the time of Jeremiah.

Consider therefore, my brethren the "goodness and severity" of the Lord, and that these things are so; and that for whom much is given much more will be expected -

Followers in Christ Jesus in this age of grace (while the kingdom is held in abeyance, and the King, although anointed, suffers rejection by the many) have the bloody example of the children of Israel fleshed out before them, and, although many feel that the Lord expects less of us than He did the people of the land, the very opposite is true. And further, although there are many who believe that there is nothing we can do to forfeit our inheritance in His Kingdom, saying effectively "peace, peace", the very character of God stands against this heresy, as does the entire counsel of His Word. Be not deceived dear ones, for the gift of salvation by faith in the shed blood of the Righteous Lamb is merely preliminary to the prize or reward of entering His Kingdom once He assumes the throne of heaven and earth.

Note: if the concept of being accounted worthy to enter into the Kingdom is a new concept to you, a good place to begin is here. Also, I would suggest becoming acquainted with the writings of Robert Govett, D. M. Panton, Watchman Nee, G.H. Lang, Arlen Chitwood, etc (linked on this site and elsewhere).

And so I put this to you dear reader - How do you presently receive the Word of the Lord when it is brought to you? Do you receive it gladly, with delight, or do you scoff at it, privately despising it in your heart for the many ways you feel it constrains and binds you?

If the Word of the Lord demanded hard things, or in some way challenges you, or exacts a cost from you, how do you handle this? If the Word of the Lord was to open your eyes to error or idolatry within your heart or even your local church (or denomination), would you immediately dismiss it? Or would you follow it wherever it leads; whatever the price? If the Lord was to ask you to give up all that you possess in this life; all that defines and clothes you - home, family, security, king, country, etc - how might you respond to this? If like Jeremiah, all that the Lord permitted you to possess in this life was Himself and His Word, would that be enough? Or is your life yours alone, to define and determine?

What, in the end, is your attitude towards obedience to every Word the Lord has breathed into the world? Do you see His Word, in fact, as the animating principle of all life; even your own? Do you understand what the scripture means when it says - "In the beginning was the the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"?

Can you say with psalmist -

and..

Is the word of the Lord something you hold in your hand or in your heart?

When His Word offers the way of direction do you obey it readily, and when it offers the promise of things unseen, do you you believe heartily?

Have your eyes been opened, beloved of the Lord, to behold the many wonders and precious treasures contained in His Word; or is it mere orthodoxy, scholarship, moral injunction, dusty history?

And if proving faithful and obedient to His Word will invariably lead to persecution, affliction and rejection by the many, how will this affect your response to it? Will you therefore lay it down, or maybe in some sophisticated way convince yourself that it wasn't really for you anyway?

Interesting questions to ponder most certainly, and I leave them with you, as the Lord has laid them before me. We must all decide dear saints, what we do, and how far we will go on behalf of He who awaits His Kingdom and Glory. And as I have perhaps said far too much here, I will end with something else for you to consider, and it is this -

Why in 2 Samuel 23, is not Joab, David's trusted general and confidant for many years, not listed among his mighty men?

Hmm.

What is the lesson for you and me that in 1 Kings 2:34, it is told that Joab died "in the wilderness"?

I will leave this message there for now and pray that the Lord will bring it home to your hearts in His grace and mercy. In Jesus Mighty Name. Amen.

---

Please pray for us here at Living-Walk, that we would watch and see the Master at work, and understand what He would have us be and do.

Your friend and servant in Christ Jesus,

W.E. Smith