The Royal Apparel

Est 5:1-2 "1 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. 2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre."

After the period of prayer and fasting Esther approaches the king as he sits upon his royal throne facing the entrance, he then he sees Esther appear in it. She presents herself in the court in front of the throne for him to see she wishes audience with him, she is dressed as the queen in all the Royal Apparel.

This brings to mind that how we present ourselves to the King of Kings is very important especially when we desire His favor, there is for us the wearing of “The Royal Apparel”. I want to say something about our own approach to the King of Kings. If we are born-again we are cleansed and made pure by the blood of Jesus and it gives us boldness to enter the throne of grace, clean pure and white. However, as we see, Esther is not just entering clean and white she is wearing the royal apparel which is gold, blue, purple etc. This visit by Esther is not a simple "I wish to visit with you and be in your presence" visit; this is going to be the most serious request any queen can make of her king and it will mean the lives of many.

We will need to spend some time on this royal apparel because there is a beautiful spiritual truth here that relates to a believer as they seek Gods favor. This truth concerning the Royal Apparel is going far beyond basic salvation message and being clothed upon with white robes. There is a beauty that is created by this Royal Apparel and it will cause Esther to find great favor.

In our own experience there is a favor that comes unmerited, it is simply because we are covered in the blood, however, there is a favor that goes beyond this, it is the favor that comes upon an obedient son or daughter who has pleased their father, this is the favor we are addressing as we speak of the Royal Apparel (not only unmerited favor but favor due to great beauty of character). Esther is going to find such favor with the king and as a result he will extend his Royal Scepter to her and offers to her half of the kingdom.

Esther comes to the king in Royal Apparel and in true humility. This act of humility and beauty is going to produce favor which is going to spare not just herself but an entire kingdom. This is not the influence of one who has just experienced salvation but this is the intervention of a mature saint who has been clothed upon with the Royal Apparel. This is not basic garments but they are royal garments.

The Royal Apparel:

These garments produced beauty in Esther and caused her to find favor with the king. We are speaking in typology here as it relates to these garments because God is a Spirit and is impressed with spiritual garments more than earthly ones.

This truth concerning the Royal Apparel is a truth that speaks of the garments the Bride of Christ is clothed with when she takes on the characteristics of Christ. We need to understand that in the natural these are not the garments Esther was born with in the house of Mordecai but rather the garments she was clothed with when she was brought into the royal house. They were provided for her by the king and she was made worthy of these garments during the time of her preparation and so when we build a spiritual truth on these garments it must be understood they are not garments we are born with but rather ones given to us over time by the Holy Spirit.

This truth needs to be embraced by the Bride of Christ if she is to become the Bride without spot or wrinkle (Eph. 5:25-27), we are not clothed upon with such royal garments simply by being saved we must go through periods of cleansing, purification and preparation. As we submit to the preparations of God in our lives He clothes us with such garments.

On at least one occasion I had my eyes opened in the Spirit and I saw a minister clothed upon with spiritual garments. What I saw was priestly garments of the Zadok priesthood, it was a white robe a white bonnet and the breastplate of judgment and over his head appeared the word "Zadok". I understood by this that this man was a faithful priest in the kingdom of God. So these spiritual garments are very real. Spiritual garments are talked about many places in the Word of God.

• Rev 3:4 "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy."
• Rev 16:15 "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame."
• Jud 1:23 "And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh."
• Isa 61:3 "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified."

Let us consider the message in these Royal Garments:

1) Blue – in typology this speaks of the Word of God (Num.15:38-39 – blue was to remind them of the commandments), or even the prophetic word. We are clothed upon with the color blue in our spiritual garments as we walk in obedience to the Word (commands) and allow the Word of God to fill us, to work in us, to do this we need to feed perpetually on the Word of God.

This walking in obedience includes keeping His commandments and walking in his statutes and judgments; they are the Word of God and then we are clothed in blue as we obey His Word. We will see in Verse Two that as a result of this Royal Apparel the king will extend His scepter of favor to her. This is only done to those who walk in His commands and are obedient. The Word will clothe us and the prophetic aspect of the Word will work in us (as we see in Joseph - until his word was fulfilled the Word tried him Psa 105:17-19). I have encountered many a saint over the years whose relationship with the Word of God was causal at best, their obedience to it was tepid. This will not do. Col 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." We want to be so clothed with the Word of God in so much that there is a prophetic anointing on what we say. We will want to develop this garment by having a more than superficial relationship with the Word of God. By being clothed in this blue garment it is reflecting that the saint is clothed with the Word of God, they are walking in obedience to it. Jas 1:22 "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

The idea of having this garment clothe us means also that we have experienced the Word, we have been dealt with by the Word of God and our hearts have been exposed: Heb 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." We can consider Joseph where the Word of the Lord tried him (See Psa 105:17-19) or Mary whose walking in obedience to the Word over her life pierced her own heart (See Luke 2:34-35). Joseph was given a prophetic promise and it caused him to suffer in order to be prepared. We must be willing to pay the price to fulfill the word God has spoken over us. Mary, what a price she paid to fulfill Gods promise and the Word of the Lord over her. Her heart was pierced as many accused her of raising an illegitimate child (the hearts of many were indeed revealed as they pointed the finger and accused an innocent woman). We need to allow the Word to work in us and deal in us in order for us to be clothed with this blue garment that plays a part in finding great favor with the King of Kings.

2) White - this speaks of purity and it too is a garment that should clothe us. There can be two aspects of white garments. This first has to do with being covered with the Blood of Jesus and being clean before God the Father because of the blood that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. However, this, I feel goes beyond that point to the place where we are more than simply forgiven but that we have been cleansed deeply from unholy desires that are common to the old man. This I believe is a pure heart (moral purity) not just a forgiven one. What is written upon our hearts before we come to know Christ (and residues can remain long after we know Him) are the flaws of the fallen nature that pertain to body, soul and spirit. The desires of the world and the flesh which can, if we are not careful, give license to the devil to come in and manipulate our lives even as a believer.

Believers must not naively think that the devil can have no influence over their lives. In some cases those believers who have serious character flaws can be greatly manipulated by the devil. Peter was not a man who was disobedient or sinful and yet Jesus, speaking to Peter, warned him twice about the devil. Once when He said the devil desires to sift him as wheat and once when he said "Get thee behind Me Satan" and was addressing Peter who inadvertently spoke for the enemy. Let us be wise to this fact and be careful; God wants to so work in us that even our very desires have changed from corruption to holiness. Purity is the antidote, it makes us untouchable by the devil. Jesus, in the Beatitudes, said "Blessed are the Pure in Heart for they shall see as God" (Matt 5). The goal of the Holy Spirit is to erase the sinful desires we were born with and replace it with the laws of God (Writing His laws on the fleshly table of our hearts is what the New Covenant is all about, See Jeremiah 31). The beauty of this truth on purity is that it is a component of the Temple of God, we see this in the Temple of Solomon where God commanded lilies to be represented (See 1 Kings 7 & 2 Chronicles 4), lilies speak of purity and the truth is this that God’s temple (which we are) is a place of purity. God desires purity in His sanctuary, He desires His saints to be pure. God wants to make us pure on the inside and as this work is completed we are clothed upon with these white garments.

We are informed that without holiness no man will see the Lord. Oh, this needs to be our life long quest, our passion. When we speak of purity and holiness they are synonymous. Esther went through a period of cleansing and purification and this made her worthy to wear white garments:

Est 2:8-9 "8 So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king's house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. 9 And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens, which were meet to be given her, out of the king's house: and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women."

3) The Golden Crown - This speaks of having authority but also of the divine nature. Gold is a material that speaks of divinity and the crown rests over the head (The head governs the whole body). It is a crown which speaks of authority and it is made of gold; those who partake of the divine nature are also crowned with authority.

Out flowing from the working of Hegai the chamberlain (in type, The Holy Spirit) Esther found favor above all the other maidens and as a result she was crowned with the golden crown: Est 2:16-17 "16 So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti." This puts us in mind of the Proverbs 31 woman: Pro 31:29 "Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all."

We must understand this crown was not a right Esther had, it was an honor bestowed upon her because of the favor she found with the king. This favor was obtained because of the meekness and humility she possessed during her time of preparation; she allowed the work to be done, she paid the price required in her preparation, it was an act of submission of her will. I do believe that some Christians feel they have a right to the authority and advantages of the crown without paying the price (The price is simple, in humility and meekness obey the scriptures and allow the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives - this we represented by the Blue and White garments we looked at first).

It is true that we are the heir apparent through Christ and will wear a crown Christ and the grace of God purchased for us but bear in mind what Paul says about the heir apparent: Gal 4:1-2 "1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father." He is under tutors and governors and is no different than the servants, he must submit to them during this time of preparation. This tutelage and govern-ship is where the Word of God works in us and the Holy Spirit makes us surrender areas that might not be pleasing to the Lord. This is where the meekness and humility come in, we can reject His dealings and chafe at it but then the work does not get done and we should not expect to find favor with the King nor wear the crown that endows us with a certain authority.

One of the foundational problems Calvinism has it is declares there is no price for us to pay Jesus paid it all and all we have to do is claim it (we understand this today as Hyper-Grace) They suppose Jesus paid it all and we will not have to pay any price. One little verse deals a fatal blow to this doctrine as Jesus Himself says "buy of Me gold tried in the fire". The message He is conveying is: allow me to take you through trials that you may learn the lessons of overcoming: Rev 3:18  "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." When we begin to think that we are entitled to the throne and the crown with no dealings or outworking of grace in our hearts then we err considerably and will fall short of God plan for our lives. Gods plan is to crown us indeed and make us worthy to wear it.

4) Fine Linen - This would have been part of the Royal Apparel and spiritually we already have the interpretation of this garment. Revelations 19 informs us this is the righteousness of the saints. Rev 19:7-8 "7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." Fine Linen is the righteousness of the saints, this is an imparted righteousness that is a part of their garment. We have some organizations that are so worried about their works being interpreted in connection with their salvation that they down play the works of the saints but this should not be a fear we have; God is looking for us to have righteous works, it is a reflection of the Christ within and should be visible.

Whilst the message is clear, our works will not save us, yet it is incumbent upon us to work the works of God as an indication that He is in us and works through us. In that spirit let me say that this Fine Linen represents just that, the righteous works of the saints. It is what has been worked out in them as the Life of Christ is more fully realized in them. They are not only standing behind the righteousness of Christ (as one who sins but hides to prevent punishment) but rather they have come to the fullness of the stature of Christ, which is the goal. Rom 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." Eph 4:13 "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"

This is a classic truth and very well understood. Imputed versus imparted righteousness. Imputed righteousness is talked about in the book of Romans (Rom 4:3-8) and it is a righteousness that we obtain at salvation when Jesus Christ took all the punishment that we deserved upon Himself and we believed in that sacrifice and accepted it. This form of righteousness was made very real to me on a flight from Chicago Illinois, we had reached altitude when I was aware of the Lord in the plane, He had come to me and I felt the joy of having the Lord with me on the plane. He drew very near to me and I knew it was for me that He had come. Oh the joy of Him being so near but my joy was turned into public weeping (I had to turn my face toward the window to maintain my private weeping) when these words came out of my spirit, I could not restrain them, the Lord willed for me to say it: "Punish Him for my crimes". I could hardly believe this came out but I could not refuse to say it. As I did I realized that Jesus Christ had been beaten tortured and killed for my sins, for me personally. The hardest part was that the penalty I deserved, it was my crime and it was my punishment He took upon Himself and I could go free without wrath, without punishment although I had been the offender. I hid behind the sacrifice Christ bore for me. It was heart breaking and yet it could be no other way.

Imputed Righteousness - This is how we start the journey and is accounted to us, we do nothing to merit it, we simply believe Jesus Christ died for our sins and we receive it. Rom 4:3-8 "3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. 6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."  This righteousness is imputed, no works. This is saving grace, it is how we start off in this race. The work of God is to believe (Joh 6:29). However, there is a greater work of righteousness and it is imparted righteousness, this is conveyed through the Bride of Christ.

Imparted Righteousness - this is what is being identified in Revelations 19 and the truth associated with the linen garments of Esther. The Bride, who, like Esther in her fine linen garments has made herself ready and is clothed in the Royal Apparel. She is clothed upon with righteousness that has been imparted to her by the king. She is not simply standing behind the righteous sacrifice of another, she has put away sin and disobedience and stands in the righteous garments provided to her by the king. She has put on righteousness, she possesses this quality and stands in righteousness before the king and all of heaven. Those who make up this bride will be clothed upon with the same righteousness that Christ is clothed with. There is no unrighteousness in her, she is not standing behind the righteousness One, she is clothed with the righteousness of Christ.

Justification - This same thought is conveyed to us in the Book of Romans where Paul talks about being justified by faith (Rom 5:1 KJV "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"). This thought of justification is twofold, first it is instantaneous then it is also progressive. We are justified by faith without works and yet God wants to so work in us to make us straight and so the work of justification is ongoing. This is best understood by several scriptures:

In Hosea 14 the backsliding nation will return the Lord and say: Hos 14:8 KJV "Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found." As it says in verse one, "I will heal their backsliding and I will love them freely. God has brought them back but He has also dealt with the sins that led off the path in the first place. Not just covering for their sin but removing it altogether.

We are told in Isaiah that Jerusalem's iniquity is pardoned and yet there is a further work whereby God deals with her wrong ways. God makes straight in the desert a highway for God, this has a natural application but the spiritual application is the best; the highway of God is in our hearts and the way must be made straight. Isa 40:1-5 KJV 1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. 3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."

5) Purple (See Jdg. 8:26; Lk. 16:19; Jn. 19:1-3) - this color speaks to us of royalty, not just in title but clothed upon with royalty or in other words character, behaving like a king or queen (Esther's behavior was impeccable, obedient to authority, submissive, pleasant, etc...).

The idea that we are the “Kings kids” and can remain His royal children while unchanged by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit is not quite true. God wants us to mature in Him to grow up and learn to walk in a way pleasing to Him, to put on the character of Christ. All of the attributes of the Holy Spirit (Fruits of the Spirit) mentioned in Galatians 5 correlate in one fashion or another to the qualities of the Royal Apparel. Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,  (23)  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  (24)  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  (25)  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” We must not remain as babes. Jesus Christ did not suffer, die and resurrect in order to produce a kingdom of babes; He wants true Sons and Daughters. He wants to give us the power to become the sons of God (Joh 1:12).

When we are born again the Father listens to all His children’s prayers but the man or woman of influence such as the modern heroes of faith we read about in our books; those like John Wesley, William Booth, Hudson Taylor, George Whitefield, William Carey, Elizabeth Elliot, Brian J. Bailey and countless others whose lives impacted the nations are men and women who have been refined and polished by the Holy Spirit and they are men and women of great influence in heaven. They were not babes but men and women of great distinction and influence.

We can also add Meekness to this list of Royal Qualities because Esther, we are told, required nothing other than what was provided by the king (Est 2:15). This is beautiful description of meekness, no demands, no criticism, not needy. This is beauty in the eyes of the King. We have confirmation of this in the Psalms: Psa 149:4 "For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation." These garments produced beauty in Esther and caused her to find favor with the king. We are speaking in typology here as it relates to these garments and the believer because God is a Spirit and is impressed with spiritual garments more than earthly ones.

In conclusion to this study on the Royal Apparel we will make this comment. The book of Leviticus was considered a hand book for the priesthood because it showed the way of approach to a holy God. The spirit behind these royal garments can be found in that great book because both these messages, the approach of Esther to Ahasuerus and the approach of the priest to God Himself in Leviticus reveal that God desires to cloth His people with spiritual garments as they approach a holy God. Let us not think, as many do, that we can come just any old way. That is fine for salvation but as we grow and mature in the Lord He expects the bride to make herself ready.

I Found Him, I held Him and I Would Not Let Him Go!

Let Thy Mantle Fall of Me

Let Thy Mantle Fall of Me

A Double Portion of Your Spirit Lord

Let Thy Mantle Fall of Me

(Floyd W. Hawkins)

Songs 3:4 - I Found Him, I held Him and I Would Not Let Him Go!

The last few weeks God the Father has been moving upon my heart and has wrought in me almost an unprecedented victory. I say almost because many times I have had victory in the past only to be knocked down again by self-interest and the willful nature in me so this is familiar ground to me. It began about the time I had a vision of the Father, I did not see His face but rather His form and His left hand, my whole focus was on His left hand which was at chest level, He slowly moved His hand towards His chest just as one would if they were beckoning someone to come closer. I recall having a sense of pleasure in my spirit as I saw this. Whilst we remember the right hand of God as the hand of blessing there is something about His left hand that made me feel as though He was drawing me to Himself, it gave me a sense of warmth and love. There are, of course several verses that come to mind about the left hand. There is the portion in the Song of Solomon where Solomon’s left hand was under the Shulamite's head and with the right hand he embraced her Songs 2:6 “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me." I am not saying this is literally what God does with us I am simply implying it is a sign of closeness and affection much like we see as John leaned on the breast of Jesus. The left hand is also indicated in the priesthood to have a certain function, there is the cupped left hand of the priest which held the anointing oil. It became the reservoir the priest used to dip his right hand into and so the left hand is associated with the anointing. Lev 14:15  "And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand:" ; Lev 14:16  "And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD:" Ever since this experience Gods hand has been heavy upon me and I am seeking Him almost night and day for fresh experience, a fresh breaking, a fresh release and a fresh calling. It has been very dear to me but always, always in the back of my mind is this thought, "Take care Frank, you have been here before and the old nature has ruined it and His precious presence has left"

Remembering our past failures is a good thing in this sense, the failures of the past give us zeal to stay on the right path in the future. When we fall down we take note of what it was before we fell down that led to our declination and defeat. We consider our behavior, our thoughts and even our speech. All of this effort is to avoid the potential failures of the future. Here is what I have observed, sin is like a speeding train on a railroad track going the wrong way, once we jump on, it takes us very far, very quickly away from our goal. Many times we have a long wait before we can get back to where we started when we got off the right path. There is a chorus to a song written by Harold McWhorter "Sin Will Take You Farther" that goes like this:  "Sin will take you farther than you want to go, slowly but wholly taking control, sin will leave you longer than you want to stay, sin will cost you far more than you want to pay." It means that once we get off the right path we cannot always just change our minds and turn back into the right path, we will go through different states before we feel again the drawing of His Spirit. It can be very costly! Using our train metaphor we may have to strive to get back jumping from train to train, station to station to get back where we were; we search and search and search, sometimes seemingly in vain that God would bring us back to where we were before we stepped out of line. This is the experience the Shulamite had when she rejected the Lord in the Song of Solomon Chapter 5: When she rejected Him out of her own selfish desires, she eventually came to her senses and ran to the door to meet Him, He was gone and she searched and searched and could not find Him. She went about the city and had a rough time of it as the watchmen smote her while she looked for her beloved whom she did eventually find and clave to.

I recall a sermon I preached once in my home church, it was on this portion of scriptures from the Song of Solomon 5. I struggled in my spirit with the Lord about this message, I said to Him: everyone who is going to be in church Sunday morning is on the right path, they will feel I am saying they are not. Nevertheless, the Spirit compelled me to give this message on backsliding and how long it can take to return, I could feel inspiration on nothing else. Even as I was on the platform I was struggling and feeling uncomfortable about the message when in walked a young man who had walked off the path many times in spite of many warnings. He came in sat down, then I realized God had fashioned the message for him, we had not seen him in quite a while and there was no reason for me to expect him to be there but there he was. This is what the Lord said to Him, it came out in the message though it was not in my notes (It was used in support of an illustration on the Prodigal son, not directed directly at him but I knew it was God speaking to him, I felt it): "Take care, because you have left the path It is going to be a long, long time before you will get back to the sense of My presence" It was because he had selfishly gratified himself instead of remaining faithful to the Lord and he had done it many times. Sadly, he did not find the grace (as many do not) and God has removed him and sent him onto a lesser path with a lesser vision. 

The point is this, when God calls us to Himself He wants us to stay close to Him. He does not want us to be drawn away by selfish desires, by worldly desires or sinful desires. Right now God is drawing me (and I hope He is drawing you too) and I am putting all my efforts into knowing what He wants from me and asking for the grace to do it, I am remembering my past failures and taking steps to avoid them. As I have been seeking Him He has been pouring out His grace and I want it to continue. My hope is that the selfish things that took away my victory in the past will be dealt with and the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father will compel me to ever follow Him more and more so that we can walk together in a new sense of communion and fellowship.  Let me conclude with the title of this message and may it be our most earnest desire: Songs 3:4 - I Found Him, I held Him and I Would Not Let Him Go!

Christ Formed In Us!

The message of the kingdom of God is not always completely understood by the Church; it is not just a message of salvation from hell but rather it is a message of Christ Likeness, a message of the great hope of being changed from a corruptible creature to a holy man or woman of God. Not holy in ourselves but holiness which comes from a total conversion to the nature of Jesus Christ. Some today are content to hold onto their salvation without embracing the full message of Christ Likeness.

Generally it is because in order for Him to come forth in His fullness we have to die to ourselves. It is very easy to say "We are embracing the Great Commission" and feel as though you are being a great Christian, however, Jesus Himself cuts this down as the litmus test when He rebukes the Ephesian Church (which was fulfilling this commission, See Rev 2:2-3) for losing their first love. Also, He demonstrates this is not the full message when He tells of the Great White Throne Judgment: Mat 7:21-23  "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Let's consider some opening verses to support these comments:

Col 1:27 "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"

Gal 4:19 "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,"

Rom 13:14 "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."

Christ in you... Until Christ be formed in you... Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. It is one thing to have Christ birthed in us at salvation but another thing altogether to have Him formed in us (developed, matured, strong in us). Sin wants one thing but Christ wants something altogether different. Sin (in us) wants to be satisfied and is powerful bending our will at times to its demands, even as believers. As a pastor I have had good men and women break down and weep in front of me because they could not get the victory over sin. Christ and the Holy Spirit, however, have only one objective and it is to completely break sin so that we may walk in all pleasing before our heavenly Father as He did. This is only possible in reality as sin is defeated and Christ is formed is us. Our very calling is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (See Rom 8:29), the only way this is possible is to have Christ formed in us, strengthened in us and developed in us. Consider the following verses which support this:

Rom 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."

Eph 4:11-13 "11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"

In the text from Romans 8:29 we see we are called to be confirmed to His image. A calling which Paul charts for us through Romans Chapter 6 (The Crucified Life); Chapter 7 (The Old Nature and the Law); Chapter 8 (The New Life in the Spirit). We are conformed to His image first by exposure of old nature which does not reflect Christ, the old nature is exposed through the law in Romans chapter 7. Then, crucifying that same old nature by the cross in chapter 6 of Romans. Finally, coming forth as mature sons of God reflecting Christ in chapter 8 of Romans. This is the process whereby Christ is formed in us AND the old man is put to death (the two should be synonymous). 

In Ephesians he tells us that we might come to the fullness of the stature of Christ. Neither one of these states (conformed completely to His image and coming to the fullness of His stature) happen at salvation but indicate growth and development and so Paul says in Galatians 4, I travail until Christ be formed in you. From time to time we observe different levels of maturity, for some it very well may be that Christ had never developed beyond the infancy stage He was born in them at salvation but they have never let Him develop or form in them (little children, young men and father's -  1 John 2).

Let's consider this another way using the mathematics given to use in Matthew 13. We have three divisions, 30 fold, 60 fold and 100 fold. Let's consider these as measurements of influence, how influenced are we by Christ who is "The New Man" and how influenced are we by the fallen nature who is the "old man"?

·         Little Children - 30 fold are 70% old man and 30% new man - they are the least fruitful

·         Young Men - 60 fold are 40% old man and 60% new man - a more fruitful category.

·         Father's -100 fold are 0% influenced by the old man and 100% influenced by the new man, this is the most fruitful category.

This really is a question of mixture, what are we most influenced by? Christ and the Holy Spirit or the old man? Paul gives warning about mixture, mixing our walk with Christ and with idols or the world or humanistic thinking. These are things that will impede the development of Jesus Christ in one’s life. Let's consider one final verse to close: 2Co 6:16-18 "16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." Verse 18, the Father and son/daughter relationship is not based on the act of salvation but is based on coming out or being sanctified. Let’s embrace a fuller scope of the kingdom of God, not just salvation but having Christ come to fullness in us, eradicating the old man and under the complete influence of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

The Existence of God

Job 28:12-13 "But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living."

Man speaks of the big bang theory and seeks to take us back to a point of origin, they come up with lengthy scientific explanations for all that we see and they are content with the organic explanations of how life developed but there is one aspect of life they cannot explain organically and that is where did consciousness and wisdom come from. How did the organic cellular life become self aware and learn wisdom? We are told where wisdom comes from, it comes from the mouth of God. Pro 2:6 "For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding."

Wisdom which is intangible and a product of consciousness and thought are evidences of a Creator. One posted on a blog that wisdom just happened, it was the natural growth of experience. This does not quite solve the problem, how did anyone know we needed to develop this wisdom, how could consciousness and thought develop on their own. Are we saying that the bacteria on my arm, if given enough time and experience will develop conscious thought and eventually obtain wisdom? We cannot get away with saying things just happened; everything we know has a place of origin. The only thing that breaks this rule is God Himself because He is eternal, He always was and always will be. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God (John 1:1).

The world cannot explain origins and where all the matter has come from or why the Big Bang (Their pet theory) happened. Christians too, if we are honest, cannot explain the beginning of God; He just always was and we cannot explain it. And so we are both faced with an impossible beginning. Now what do we do? It becomes an argument of credibility, which story is more credible (it matters not to God since He does not need to justify Himself; it matters only to us mere mortals). In order for the "God is alive" argument to be valid there has to be only one single evidence of His existence. One single evidence proves He is real and throws the weight of credibility in His favor (again, He does not need our help to prove His existence; this argument is for carnal man). In order for the evolutionist to have the weight of credibility he needs to disprove every existence of God, one evidence of a Creator and his whole argument breaks down. This burden is on them because our "God" argument can produce every evidence the evolutionist uses to explain their theory but the evolutionists position cannot explain any evidence of God, they must eliminate Him entirely. In other words if God exists then we can explain everything else plausibly though creation but the evolutionist has nothing in his theory that explains God. So, in order for their theory to work they must totally and completely eliminate God, every trace, every evidence of Him in every corner of the universe (by the way, it is an impossible task for them because the greatest evidence of God is in their own theory. The particle and energy it took for the alleged Big Bang to happen, someone had to create them).

This impossible position the evolutionist comes from was explained to me this way once (and I like it): "If one says there is no gold in the earth then they must search every inch of this planet to prove their theory of no gold but if I say there is gold on the planet I only need to produce one small nugget of gold and my theory is the correct one." This is the battle the evolutionist faces...it is an impossible position because there is evidence of God everywhere, they cannot even disprove God using their pet theory of the Big Bang because someone has to create the particle and energy it took to make it happen. Then there are the intangible things which cannot be explained organically such as thought, conscience and wisdom. God is everywhere and to deny His existence is a special kind of madness that, through intentional blindness, seeks to deny what is obvious. 

Jesus lived, this is a historical fact. He dies for the sins of the world and then His corpse is buried. Three days after His burial He is resurrected and is seen by over 500 witnesses, no one during His era disputes this, it is accepted as fact. We are even told of a conspiracy to cover it up but it fails abysmally. I only need one fact to prove the existence of God, rising from the dead satisfies this requirement. Some say, there is a "kinda dead" explanation whereby Jesus was not really dead but only seemed dead. They are immediately faced with another problem, these same witnesses saw Him physically ascend into the clouds; this dramatic event was well witnessed and well documented. If I can produce one evidence of God then my theory is the correct one; this will not, of course, satisfy the nay sayers who choose to keep their eyes shut never the less it is truth and it must be faced.

The next conclusion we need to make is that if there is a God then there is a heaven and there is a hell and when we die we will go to one or other of these places. The way to heaven is charted very clearly in the scriptures; it is through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He came to pay for our sins and through this very death and resurrection overcame death for us all and purchased for us our salvation. If God is real and by extension heaven and hell are real then we must make sure we end up in the right place (heaven). I encourage you to accept the free gift of Gods Son (nailing our sins to His cross) and make your eternal home heaven.  

Gems, Gold and Silver Are Not in the Clouds

Job 28:7-10 "7 There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen: 8 The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. 9 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots. 10 He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing."

This is not that path the eagles soar in nor do the young lions trod there because it is subterranean; it is in the depths of the earth where it is cold and dark. In one’s life there are the high places, triumphs where they soar as overcomers above the trials of life then there are the deep dark experiences where they shiver from the cold and cling in desperation to hope. This latter description is the path that is being described in Job 28 and it represents a place where one is forced to go beyond the superficial realms in their relationship with God.

But it is in this deep dark place where every precious thing is buried. The gold, the silver and all the precious stones are not found in the clouds but in the depths of the earth. It is in the hidden mines and in the darkness that they are found. When God takes us through painful and dark experiences we have opportunity to see these gems (if we do not become bitter or resentful). This is what is being spoken of when it is said "...and his eye seeth every precious thing."

What is it like in this dark place? There are many who suffer in silent darkness and few discern they are there. They alone hope in Gods mercy and they alone bear the weight of the darkness and they alone will emerge with the gems of the earth as the fruit of their trial. Life goes on around them and people are many times oblivious to their struggle (not that people are intentionally unkind or mean; God simply has not opened their eyes to see). Take hope in this dark place dear one because like Job you will come forth to the light with great treasures from your darkness. Did you ever meet anyone who has suffered? Many times they possess some richness of character, some depth of compassion that others can only admire. Where did they get that depth from? It was from the darkness they experienced.

This is the place Job is in; his friends are around him they see his trial from a different vantage point and they cannot offer him kind words of hope to ease the pain because they do not see it is of God. He is in full light of his friends and yet they are oblivious to the dark trial he is in. Standing right in front of him they cannot comfort him with one word.

Being Fed By His Hand

Son 1:7-8 KJV 7 "Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? 8 If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents." 

Tell me where you feed, where can I find your provision and be hand fed by you? Like Solomon in this passage God does desire to hand feed his flock, He desires to feed us and give us food specifically suited for us; that which we personally need to make us strong spiritually. The bride states here that she desires to feed from his hand and not that of a stranger. ("...why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions [someone other than you]"). We want always to feed from the hand of our Good Shepherd. We should desire to be fed from His hand, eating only His provision. 

What does eating from Gods hand represent to us? It is feeding upon His word, meditating on His thoughts, especially those thoughts He quickens to us, this is feeding from His hand. Jesus had this kind of a relationship with His Father, feeding from His hand: John 4:32 KJV "But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of." Jesus was eating from the Fathers hand. Speaking prophetically of Christ we see this feature predicted years before He was even born of woman: Isa 50:4-5 KJV 4 "The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. 5 The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back". 

Additionally the book of Isaiah gives us a very important clue and identifies what He wants to feed us: Isa 7:15 KJV "Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good." Eating butter and honey helps the child of God choose the good path and refuse the evil path. Butter and Honey are significant, they represent the richest portions of His word and revelation from the Holy Spirit. Butter - It requires a lot of milk to get a small amount of butter so that speaks to us of the abundance of Gods word but butter particles are small rich particles in milk and you must labor long (churning) to get it and so it also speaks of the richness of Gods word obtained though much labor or seeking. Honey - this speaks to us of the revelation of Gods word, the opening of our eyes to things we cannot see ourselves. Kings Saul's son Jonathan's eyes were enlightened by honey and in type this reveals to us this truth that honey (revelation) enlightens the eyes (1 Samuel 14:27). Therefore, we want to fill ourselves with His provision from His hand and not feed on the food of a stranger (false religions, philosophy, psychology and the like) or fill ourselves up with thoughts of our unruly fleshly mind (envy, strife, jealousy, hatred, lust and the like). These are bitter foods and they make one sick spiritually. 

I love this beautiful portion of scripture where the Shulamite is asking Solomon where he feeds his flock and his response is as the echo of God to His child. He says to her, this is where I feed come and eat and if you do not know the way then go to the shepherds tents and eat there. The meaning is clear, hear from Me and feed from Me but if you do not yet now how then go to my shepherds to be fed. We are to seek Him ourselves and if we cannot hear directly God will speak to us from the mouth of His shepherds and so we should expect to hear from Him in the House of the Lord so we must frequent the house of God if we expect to learn to hear from Him.

Rejoice In This- That You Know Me!

Psalms 22:10 "I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly."

"...thou art my God from my mother belly [womb]." This is interesting because it says that Gods hand was upon him from his mothers womb, even from before he was born. This is an important fact to know when we struggle in life. God knows who will serve Him and who will not, even from the womb and because of that He has called to the righteous and brought them into His kingdom to live with Him. This gives us something we can always rejoice in no matter how bleak life becomes, that He called to us even from the womb. The prophet Jeremiah understood by his gift that he himself was called to the ministry from his mothers womb: Jer 1:4-5 KJV 4 "Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." 

 There is another scripture of interest along the opposite line where the scripture speaks of those He knows are rebels even from their mothers womb, they are estranged from Him before they are born and they go astray as soon as they are born: Psa 58:3 KJV "The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies." How unfortunate that this is within them even in their mothers womb, it is a heart that will reject Him and is in danger of never knowing Him. Another interesting point is this, that although God knows they will be estranged from the womb he does not hinder their birth and their life. Such is the humility of God that even though they may never come to know Him He does not interfere with them. He does not create a race of those who will only serve Him and bless Him but allows even those who are estranged from the womb to have life, grow and have the same opportunities as one who will serve Him. 

 There are several places in the Word of God where we are told to rejoice that we know Him and you can see from these verses what a wonder it is that we know Him, that there is something within us that reaches out to Him, even from the womb, that needs Him and creates a posture where faith can be born in us and salvation through faith. Both in the Old Testament and the New we are told to be thankful because we know Him (and perhaps more to the point, He knows us):

 1. Jer 9:23-24 KJV 23 "Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD." 

2. Luk 10:17-20 KJV 17 "And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. 18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." 

 When we are feeling down because of struggles we face and it is hard for us to life up our heads for the weight of worries and the threat of troubles, it would do our hearts good and release us to praise Him in the midst when we know that he has chosen us from the womb to know Him and to be His child and nothing we face can change that. He looked upon us in the womb, laid His hand upon us because He saw we would serve Him. How wonderful and no matter what pain we face our eternity is with Him because He knew us from the womb.

Peace on Earth and Good Will To Men

Luke 2:8-14 "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

This is my absolute favorite passage in the scriptures of the birth and arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ and it is one of the premier sections of Christmas verses as well. It embodies the joy in heaven at the birth of Christ. And the question we ask is "why such joy in heaven"? It is because God has come down to man, to live among him to walk among him and to express, not harsh penalties or stern words but He is come down with a Good Will. He is arriving to bless and to save man from the sting of death and hell and from the cruel grave. It brings God no pleasure at all to be exacting or harsh or demanding with mankind, God genuinely wants man to be well, He has a good will towards man. In fact, if God had His true desire all men would be saved from the harshness of penalties and judgment. It is only when man is disobedient and self-willed that he need fear anything harsh at all. It is only when man rejects the free gift God has provided in the death and resurrection of His Son that God has any issue with man at all, He seeks peace and reconciliation with man, it is the very purpose for which he has come down and He has come with a good will. His desire is that man would accept His good will and accept His free gift of salvation.

We understand a dignitaries function by the title they bear, consider the titles of the Lord God and you will understand that He has come as an ambassador or peace: Isaiah 9:6-7  v 6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. v 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."

Considering the names that He is known by you will understand all that is embodied in these verses in Luke about a good will. This Christmas season why not open your hearts to Him and ask Him to come in your life with good will and accomplish everything in you He desires, all things that pertain to peace and reconciliation.

Merry Christmas!

The Anderson's

Do Not Hesitate In Doing The Will Of God

Ecclesiastes 11:4 

"He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap." 

What this verse is saying is that one who observes the conditions before sowing will invariably come to the conclusion that they cannot sow because the conditions are not just right (as a result they will not reap any fruit either). Solomon is not commending them for their practicality or prudence in actual fact he is chiding them for paying too much attention to the conditions. He is chiding them because those conditions are preventing them from sowing (when they should). We want to apply this verse to doing the will of God. Let me re-state this verse in that context: "He or she that observes conditions will hold back from doing the will of God and will not obey because of those conditions" People, over the years, have observed the impediments of doing the will of God. Some of the reasons are very practical. "I will wait until I have enough money in the bank", or "I will wait until my family has grown up and my children are older" or "I am not a good speaker" or "I do not have enough education". There can be a host of reasons why one observes the wind or the clouds and does not sow. One of the biggies is the money issue, they cannot move in the will of God because they will not have enough money; it may require they move to an area of lower income or leave their career which is providing a good income. Years ago when God asked me to move my family from my home state to Bible School He knew this would have been a struggle for me so He mercifully removed me from my job through a work related injury so that it would not be an issue. Since then I have learned that you just commit to do the will of God and finances take care of themselves. I suspect this is a struggle for many but if only we could learn that obeying the voice of the Lord it is a righteous act and God upholds the righteous. 

There is another verse that comes to mind and we want to apply it here: Proverbs 11:24 KJV "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." We observe that those who hold back become weak in spirit, weak in faith, weak in resource and tend to poverty but those who disregard risk and simply obey prosper and increase. We should have a zeal to perform the will of God (once He has revealed and burdened us with what His will is). We should disregard the wind and the clouds and simply obey. Bear in mind the following verse and you will see the wonders of God performed in your life: 2 Chonicles 16:9 KJV 9 "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him..."

Forgive Our Sin and Heal Our Broken Land!

Job 12:23 "He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again."

All the striving of the nations are but a wave by His hand, He raises one up and He brings down another. When there are wars and conflicts it is God who decides the outcome. It is God who increases a nations and it is He who diminishes the nations. We must not think, however, that this is an arbitrary activity designed by the whim of God (As portrayed by the Greek writers of old, Homer and Virgil in the Iliad the Odyssey and the Aeneid.  These books malign the nature of the true God by making the mythical gods appear petty and arbitrary). Our God has very specific criteria for those He raises up and those He uses for a good versus an evil purpose (and this applies to the individual as well as on the national level). What is the criteria that God uses to raise a nation up or to bring them down low, to bless them or to bring on them a curse? We can find the answer to that in the book of Deuteronomy:

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 KJV 1 "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God." The lifting up of the nations is not speculative nor is it on a whim; we are clearly told in Gods word, in the book of the law that those who keep His commandments and listen closely to His word to keep it will be lifted up above all other nations and will enjoy the blessing of the Lord on their land. As you read through the first half of chapter twenty eight of Deuteronomy then you will see all the great blessings that will follow. This is encouragement for us to follow in His ways and to keep His commandments. We should pray for our nation that God would magnify His law again that we would be a people who would please Him and walk in His ways, that is the way to be lifted up above other nations. It is not a secret nor is it complicated, walk in his ways and you will be blessed.

Contrariwise, we have the other side of the spectrum where a nation is broken down and becomes cursed. Deuteronomy 28:15 KJV "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:" As you read through the remaining verses of Deuteronomy twenty eight you will see how a nation is brought down low, it is by disregarding His commandments and not listening to His words. This is the deplorable state of many nations today and therefore the entire earth is in a terrible state making the godly to long for the millennium, a reign of peace. Those of us who believe Gods word are moved to pray for our nation that God would bring a revival that will make His Word honorable again; that we would please Him with godly judgments and godly laws to govern us. The primary example is walking in his ten commandments and keeping His judgments and statutes but also that all our laws that govern us civily would be laws that bring Him pleasure and not displeasure.

O' God, forgive our sin and heal our broken land!