Return of The King - - The Breath of The Lord

 

    Isaiah 40:7

The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of The LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.

        THE BREATH OF THE LORD

    The breath of The LORD has power. David's song of deliverance in 2 Samuel 22:16 tells us, "The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils." That's a mighty strong breath: the channels-the valleys beneath the sea, the seabeds-were exposed. This is just a mere chiding of The LORD's breath. 

    Moses sang a song of deliverance, as well, after Pharaoh and his army were destroyed. Exodus 15:8-10 "At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up; like a wall the currents stood firm; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’ But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters."

    The LORD's breath can both deliver and destroy. Job 4:8,9

" As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same. By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed."

    The breath of The LORD creates winter. Job 37:10 "By the breath of God the ice is formed and the watery expanses are frozen." 

    The breath of God burns. Isaiah 30:33 says, "For Topheth (a place of burning, of cremation; a city near Jerusalem) has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze." 

    Job 33:4 "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of The Almighty gives me life."

    With His breath God speaks life and death. Life to the people who love Him, honor Him, believe His Word and receive His Son. Death to the people who rebel against Him, deny Him, disobey His Word and receive not His Son. Life to they who seek His face and not just His hand; who want to be near Him, not just want something from Him. Death to they who refuse to enter His presence and deny that anything they have, including every breath they take, comes from God. 

  

    With His breath God created the earth and everything in and on and around it. Genesis 1. Psalm 33:6 "the stars". Psalm 104:5-30 "His works, creations". 

SALVATION A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

    Most of us know the story of the dry bones, but have we ever paid attention to what God told Ezekiel? Read Ezekiel 37:1-14 , specifically verse 9 for our study today, "Then He said to me, “Prophesy to The Breath; prophesy, son of man, and tell The Breath that this is what the Lord GOD says: Come from the four winds, O Breath, and breathe into these slain, so that they may live!” (italics mine). 

    Without The Breath of God, The Spirit of God, there cannot be Life. Jesus informed Nicodemus (John 3:5) that without water and Spirit no one could be born again. It is The Spirit that gives life (John 6:63). Christ is The Word. The Spirit is The Life. The Word cannot speak unless The Spirit, The Breath, makes it possible (John 5:16-30). 

    In the baptism of water we make a confession of faith in Jesus Christ. In the baptism of fire we receive The Breath of life from God, His precious Holy Spirit. 

    I need The Word and The Spirit. The Word gives Life Eternal and The Spirit is that Life. I am nothing without both. I am just dry bones, dry bones lying in a desert wilderness. But I saw the Light and repented of all my sins against God. And The Word gave me Life when I believed God and trusted God. 

    You can have Life, too. All you have to do is believe God's Word is True and Faithful. Repent of your sins against God, turn away from doing those things and do the things which God wants you to do. Receive The Holy Spirit, The Breath of God, into you by the power of God's Word, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ and begin to live this new life which God has birthed into you. 

BREATH OF GOD 

     

    

    

Return of The King - - Glory Revealed

 

    Isaiah 40:5

And the glory of The LORD will be revealed, and all humanity will see it. For the mouth of The LORD has spoken.

    Exodus 40:34

Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of The LORD filled the tabernacle.

    Revelation 15:8

The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God  and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

    We've never seen the full glory of God. Our humanity is too weak to handle it. As we read in Revelation 15:8, no one will see the full glory of God in His temple until the seven plagues are completed. And even then only those who have believed that Jesus Christ is LORD will be able to see Him in all His glory. But what a sight that will be! 

GLORY REVEALED 

    

Change Coming

 

    Isaiah 40:4

Ever valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.

    At first glance this appears to be merely discussing landscape rearrangements. But a deeper study shows this to be more than a topographical rearranging and more like a personal change. 

    With this in mind we read in Isaiah 42:16, "I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them." Jesus is the Light in the darkness. When we follow Him faithfully (keep Him near to us), we are able to walk where He walks. 

    Who is more blind than the person who walks in darkness?And, yet, we who walk by faith in Christ Jesus, walk where we cannot see. But Jesus sees what is before us and leads us where He desires we go. 

    Where we see an impassable river, Jesus sees a stream. We climb mountains only to discover these were mere hills. We run through wide open valleys only to realize these were but paths. We trip on boulders that are actually pebbles; but we get back up and move on. 

    The status quo is about to change. 1 Samuel 2:8 "He raises up the poor out of the dust, and lifts up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and He has set the world upon them." 

    In Matthew 22:1-14 we read of a banquet that is being given. The invitations have gone out but the recipients chose, for one excuse or another, to not go. So the king invites everyone else. It is written that he sent his servants out into the streets to invite people in to the banquet. 

    These people were raised to the level of respected invitees. The people who had been invited and refused to attend were killed off. But, really, who are all of these people? 

    The second group is the believers, the born again through the blood of The Lamb and the baptism of The Spirit. The ones who refused to attend are the unbelievers. Which group do you want to be in? 

LION/LAMB - Josh Leventhal

I'm Telling You Now

 

John 14:29

"And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe."

Matthew 24:23-27

"And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible. See, I have told you in advance.

So if they tell you, ‘There He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man."

Out of the hundreds of prophecies in the Old Testament, most of them regard the first coming of Christ: His birth, His life, His death, His return. We know that most have come to pass. Because the Word of God Is Faithful and True, we can believe It. The Word does not contradict itself.

But as Jesus tells us in Matthew 24, the people who will be around to see those events happen need to be careful in what/who they listen to and guard their hearts.