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PrepareTheWayToday
A Biblical Perspective on Preparedness and Crisis
By Al Coulson
Our dear friend, Al Coulson, is a diligent student of the Word and an ardent worshipper of Jesus Christ. He has composed this article as a study on the joy of the Lord in times of great trouble. We feel that everyone would be wise to study this subject in light of the difficult times that may lie ahead. - Chuck Reber
Joy in the Lord
Habakkuk 3:18
1. We should expect times with great trouble:
• The foundation of this country is Jesus Christ and a covenant with Him. When the nation moves away from Jesus then we move away from His protection for this country.
• Christians in this country have enjoyed the great blessings of God. We have come to be disconnected with the great trouble that is happening to Christians in much of the world. The Bible however tells us that we should not always expect times without great trouble.
• The LORD gives and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD! (Job 1-21)
Job 1:21 He said, "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD."
• Shall we accept good from God and not accept adversity?
Job 2:10 But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
2. Jesus wants us to abound in great love for Him and to rejoice in our sufferings
for Him:
• Jesus asks the Father that the believers prior to the Cross would have fullness of joy and that they not be taken out of the world but to be protected from satan. He also asks that the love with which the Father loves Jesus would be in the believers.
John 17:13-15 13 "But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14 "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 "I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
John 17: 26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
• Praying for joy and peace in believers so that they will abound in hope.
Romans 15: 13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
• We are to rejoice in our persecution for Him.
Matt 5: 10-12 10 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
James 1:2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
1Peter 4:13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
3. The Lord provides strength for what God calls us to do.
• We are to be witnesses for Jesus, to live with a thankful heart, forgive others as we are forgiven. We are to walk without fear walk and to be in great joy. We can not in our strength, walk as He would have us, when loved ones are dying and when we see great persecution, but the Holy Spirit can give it to us, if we ask. The early church had great troubles, they had not seen the living Messiah, but Peter describes them as rejoicing with joy inexpressible and full of glory, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
1Peter 1:8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
• Our strength comes from our joy in Him.
Nehemiah 8:10 ... for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
4. There was great persecution in the early Church:
• The Apostles rested in the sovereignty of God and went where the Holy Spirit led them. All but one was martyred. They sang and rejoiced that they had been considered worthy to suffer for Jesus.
Acts 5:41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.
Acts 16:25-26 (NAS 95) 25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.
• So many of the early Christians were killed for their faith, that the Greek word for witnesses, used in the New Testament, came to denote one who witnessed for Jesus by death, a martyr.
Word wealth - New Spirit Filled Life Bible: witness, martus (martoos); Strong's #3144 Compare "martyr" and "martyrdom" ... The word in itself does not imply death, but many of the first-century witnesses did give their lives, with the result that the word came to denote a martyr, one who witnesses for Christ by death.
5. Heaven rejoices as Jesus opens the scroll and begins to reign:
• Everything that can be shaken will be shaken on earth but we need to rejoice, as heaven is rejoicing, in these times as the Lamb takes the scroll and begins to open the seals.
Revelation 5:9-14 9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth." 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." 13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever." 14 And the four living creatures kept saying, "Amen." And the elders fell down and worshiped.
• The 144,000 Messianic Jews will sing a new song, as judgment is released.
Revelation 14:3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth.
• The Spirit and the Bride, God's people, cry come!!!
Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
6. We are to rejoice as Jesus begins to reign, and release end time judgment:
• Jesus dances for joy over His people and over Jerusalem. His people rejoice over Him. He will have a Bride equally yoked to Him. Jesus died for us and He will have a Bride that will endure to the end, for Him.
During end time judgment, God's people, not knowing if they will live or die, are there dancing for joy. Habakkuk ties song, the joy of the Lord, and the releasing of the judgments.
Hab 3:12-13,17-19 12 In indignation You marched through the earth; In anger You trampled the nations. 13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For the salvation of Your anointed. You struck the head of the house of the evil To lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah. ... 17 Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, 18 Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. 19 The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, And makes me walk on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments
• The Hebrew word gil describes and intense joy, dancing, and rejoicing. It is used to describe God's people rejoicing over Jesus in the end times and the age to come. It is also used to describe Jesus rejoicing over His people and Jerusalem.
Word wealth - New Spirit Filled Life Bible: Hab 3:18 joy, gil (geel); Strong's #1523 To joy, rejoice, be glad, be joyful. Gil contains the suggestion of "dancing for joy", or "leaping for joy", since the verb originally meant "to spin around with intense motion". ... God dances for joy over Jerusalem and because of His people (Is. 65:19; Zeph. 3:17). The righteous Messiah shall rejoice in God's salvation with an intensity that the psalmist cannot find words to describe (Ps. 21:1). In turn, His redeemed citizens are joyful in their King; they praise Him with dances of, with instruments and with singing (Ps. 149:2,3). Although everything is wrong in Habakkuk's external world, he is leaping for joy over his fellowship with Yahweh.
• End time context, with Jesus rejoicing over Jerusalem
Zeph 3:16-17 16 In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: "Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. 17 "The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
Is. 65:19 "I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.
• End times context that ties Israel releasing God's judgment with great joy.
Psalm 41:16 "You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, And the storm will scatter them; But you will rejoice in the LORD, You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
Is 9:3-4 3 You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence as with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
Is 41:11-16 11 "Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish. 12 "You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent. 13 "For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’ 14 "Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you," declares the LORD, "and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. 15 "Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges; You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them, And will make the hills like chaff. 16 "You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, And the storm will scatter them; But you will rejoice in the LORD, You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
• End times context, with Jesus releasing judgment.
Matt. 3:11-12 11 "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 "His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
• Messianic Psalm: The kings of the earth are instructed to rejoice in Jesus.
Psalm 2:11-12 11 Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling. 12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
• New Heavens and New Earth: rejoicing over Jerusalem
Is 65:17-19 17 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. 18 "But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness. 19 "I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her the voice of weeping and the sound of crying.
Our dear friend, Al Coulson, has composed this article as a study on the joy of the Lord in times of great trouble. We feel that everyone would be wise to study this subject in light of the difficult times that may lie ahead.
Joy in the Lord
Tuesday, March 24, 2015