Stammering Lips And Another Tongue

Isaiah 28:11-12

For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people. To whom He said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

The Holy Spirit manifests in the believer in many ways. He will inspire us to verbalize our own divine prayer language. He enters our hearts to turn them from stone to flesh, and to write all of God’s commandments there.[There are far more than ten of them. We should be very grateful we are justified by faith.] He helps us to pray with confidence when our souls are uncertain or deeply troubled. He teaches us the deeper wisdom of God, drawing us away from the milk to eat the meat. He inspires our hearts and souls to go deeper with the Lord Jesus Christ; to follow Him further into faith. He never talks about Himself, only about the Lord. He energizes our human spirits, and encourages our souls. Listen carefully, and praise the Lord for the gift of the Holy Spirit! As it is written,

John 14:15-18

If ye love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

See also Latter And Former Rain; The Mystery of the Gospel; The Holy Spirit

Related Scriptures: 1Corinthians 14:1-15; Ezekiel 36:24-28; Romans 8:26-27; 1Corinthians 2:1-16; John 16:7-16; Jude 1:20-25

Broken, And Snared, And Taken

Isaiah 28:13

But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

As we continue deeper with the Lord, there will be a process that just does not seem as though it could come from Him, but it does. When we go forward without His prompting, there will be a falling backward; we will be broken, snared, and taken. This is to prevent us from much greater harm, and to build us up on the True Foundation, the Word of God. Like a stonecutter, He will take the edges off that do not fit with the Head of the Corner, and we will be shaped. It is all part of being perfected in the image of Christ, a process that will follow our submission to Him as Lord. As it is written,

Matthew 21:44

And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

See also Precept Upon Precept; Fall Upon That Stone;

Related Scriptures: Matthew 21:33-44; Philippians 3:8-15; Hebrews 10:1-25; Psalm 118:1-29; Romans 8:26-31

Smite The Shepherd

Zechariah 13:6-7

And one shall say unto Him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then He shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends. Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, and against the man that is My fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn Mine hand upon the little ones.

When we open our hearts to those closest to us in the sincere love of God, we are wide open to the possibility of wounding. Inevitably the wounding comes. This is God presenting us with an opportunity to become like Christ. It is up to us what we do with this opportunity: either we can let it scatter us, or we can stand strong in intercessory prayer and be perfected in the image of Christ. When we purpose to follow Him, He will continue to present the tests until we pass, and greater challenges when we respond appropriately. That's right, prayer and fasting do not change Him: that is how He transforms us into His image. As it is written,

Romans 8:29

For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

See also Watch Ye Therefore; He Magnified His Word; Building Spiritual Houses

Related Scriptures: 1John 3:16-24; Isaiah 53:1-12; Hebrews 7:13-28; Romans 8:28-39

The Spirit of Slumber

Romans 11:8

(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

The dispensation of God was suspended in order that the fullness of the Gentiles might obtain the salvation offered by the Lord Jesus Christ. Daniel’s seventieth week is approaching, during which time the LORD God will gather His elect out of Israel and bring them into the eternal Promised Land. The former and latter rains of Joel are in progress, and will soon accelerate. Watch for the signs that the nation of Israel is awakening from the spirit of slumber. The Lord will pour out His Spirit upon them liberally at the end of the Great Tribulation, when He brings the third part through the fire. As it is written,

Zechariah 12:10

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

See also Prophesy the Breath of Life; Eye to Eye; Walking With God Through the Blood

Related Scriptures: Isaiah 29:1-24; Romans 11:25-36; Daniel 9:1-27; Joel 2:12-32; Zechariah 12:1-14; Zechariah 13:1-9

The Third Part Through The Fire

Zechariah 13:8-9

And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on My name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

The landscape of the human heart is cluttered with the cumulative effects of iniquity, transgression, and sin. Before the Lord fulfills His Word to restore hearts of flesh to us, He pulls up the stones and prepares the soil. The remainder is passed through the fire to be purified and sanctified to the Lord. The LORD, He is our God! Call on His name in the midst of the fire, as it is written,

Jeremiah 33:3

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

See also Search The Heart; Make Up the Hedge; Living Stones

Related Scriptures: Exodus 34:1-17 (KJV); Exodus 34:1-17; John 16:7-11; Matthew 3:11-12; 1Corinthians 1:1-9; Psalm 18:1-50

In Power and In the Holy Ghost

1Thessalonians 1:5-6

For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:

The power of God comes into our lives through the gospel of Jesus Christ, and is conveyed by the Holy Spirit. It is sound doctrine, but it is also far more: it is the Word of God that releases both the authority and explosive power of the Creator into our world to shape our circumstances. When affliction rises up and we walk in the power of God, the joy of the Lord will overtake us and we can rejoice in the middle of tribulation as the Kingdom of God manifests through us. Thanks be to God, Who fills us with His power, and equips us to walk as witnesses to the risen Christ! As it is written,

Acts 1:8

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

See also It Shall Stand Forever; The Mystery of the Gospel; Spirit, Soul, and Body

Related Scriptures: John 14:12-31; Hebrews 6:1-20; Luke 24:44-53; Acts 1:1-12; Romans 14:1-23; 1Corinthians 15:34-58

The LORD Shall Roar

Jeremiah 25:30

Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

The Lord poured out His soul unto death to redeem the nations of the earth. He will bring this age to a close before long. The LORD has a controversy with the nations, and He will plead with all flesh. He will execute judgment on all flesh, for vindication or for punishment. Vindication will have already occurred for the Church when this shout is heard. The rapture has occurred prior to fulfillment of this prophecy, and the Lord is coming as the treader of grapes. He will glean some out of the Tribulation, and the rest will be gathered in the Valley of Jezreel. As it is written,

Joel 3:14

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

See also God Poured Out; Treader of Grapes; Watch Ye Therefore

Related Scriptures: Jeremiah 25:13-38; Isaiah 17:1-14; Joel 3:1-21; Hosea 1:10-11