It is a new year, and a new day. It is a time of new beginnings, and so I turn to the beginning, Genesis 1, to share some insights with you:

“…and God divided the light from the darkness.” Gen 1:4

Throughout the earth, a separation is occurring. Have you noticed? Things are shifting. Politics is becoming more polarized. Racial tensions are on the rise. Religions radicalized. Evil is becoming more heinous. Righteousness is ridiculed and met with intolerance at every turn. Even creation itself is reeling, groaning like a woman in travail awaiting to deliver and be delivered (see Romans 8:18-22). As it was on the first day, so shall it be on the last; God is dividing the light from the darkness.

Satan is evil, and his wickedness cannot be restrained much longer. Although it is clearly a futile fight, so great is his self-deception that he actually believes he might win. Emboldened, he is increasingly aggressive and vicious. As it was during the time of the crucifixion, his wickedness will blind him to the point that he will play right into the hands of God. His schemes are destined to become a part of God’s triumphant plan.

Of course none of this has caught God off guard; neither should we be. This is an expected part of the landscape in the days we are living in, even as was prophesied. While there are many battles to be fought in this war to end all wars, I want to take a minute to speak to just one. It is the battle of the Family.

You see, the Devil has the institution of the Family in his crosshairs. Everything about the family has come under intense bombardments. From skyrocketing divorce rates, to absent fathers, to teenage pregnancies…why, even the very definition of the family has come out of the trenches with its hands up. When I was young, a popular storybook called “Are You My Mother” told of a baby bird which hatched while its mom was away catching a worm to feed to it. Anxiously the bird asked a dog, a cat, a cow, and even a steam shovel if any was his mother. Little did I know that this question would be fretfully asked in our time every day, but not by little birds anymore.

The result of the separation, and ensuing confusion? Multitudes of people have been bloodied with an irreparable wound. And although some will surrender to the new definitions, and capitulate to and accept new “norms”, still others will grow increasingly wearied by all this newness. They will refuse to accept the dog or the cow, and keep searching, all the time saying in their hearts “something’s not right here!” To these:

“The Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in His wings” Mal 4:2

This chapter, the last in the entire Old Testament leading down to the very last verse, reminds us that just when things seem most desperate, God has prepared the means of full recovery. In the midst of this separation, two distinct outcomes are foretold. He says “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” something will happen.

First note that this is both a great day, and a dreadful day. You might be thinking, how can this be? Well, it is great for some, but dreadful for others, which of course is determined by which side we go to during the division of light from darkness. For those who choose light, something completely sovereign and miraculous is going to take place. The little bird will hatch, and go looking for its father. And the father bird will suddenly be consumed with such love for that little bird that every pursuit will be left behind in order to return to the side of his chirping offspring. For the chapter continues, and concludes with these powerful words:

“And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” Mal 4:5-6

Beloved, if you have not discovered it yet, let me tell you a piece of VERY GOOD NEWS. Satan’s attack on the family is being met by an even greater counterattack. The enemy’s conventional weapons will pale before the arsenal of God’s nuclear force. Hearts are being turned by the same power that conquered the grave. And the Sun of Righteousness is arising to heal all those who were once considered DOA. So beloved, let us not underestimate the greatness of God in these things and grow discouraged. When God arises, His enemies still scatter (PS 68:1).

There was a time when the darkness came in hues of grey. But as darkness gives way to gross darkness, some will awaken and flee towards the Light. We must be ready! This too was foretold, signaling the beginning of the greatest harvest the world has ever known. Those desperate for healing will then come to the Light, the Sun, the only way to be healed in body, mind, or heart—through His blood and mercy. When all hope seems lost, He will arise. And when He does, we will witness the Church’s finest hour.

“For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
and deep (gross) darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory shall be seen upon you.
The nations shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.”
IS 60:2-3

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” JN 10:26

I week ago I had a conversation with one of the wealthiest men in Asia as we were honored guests at his home for their weekly “family dinner”. Due to several members of his family have become Christians, he wanted to hear my thoughts about hearing the voice of God, of which he was very skeptical. I shared a few good examples from my own life and have been praying for God to water this seed in his heart that he might come to faith. But it also left me questioning; had I done better, would this man have become a Christian that night?

This is such a key part of each one of our stories. One day we could not hear the voice of God; the next day we could. Once we were not one of His sheep; now as His sheep it is normal for us to hear the voice of the Shepherd. If we can convince people that God has spoken to us, they are much more likely to believe God can speak to them as well. There really is a part of every man which yearns to commune with his Creator. You may not have thought of this, but Allah will never “speak to” a Muslim, nor will a Buddhist statue ever talk. Hearing God speak to us is something which sets us apart.

In reality, their skepticism is often justified. Some people who “hear God’s voice” are just plane flaky. Others speak of hearing God as though it is something mystical and otherworldly, something the average person out there either can’t relate to or doesn’t want to be a part of. There are also examples of people who have rashly or arrogantly declared what “God spoke to me” only to have it not happen as they said–or worse yet, have them live in such a way that is completely inconsistent with the message. Or how about two Christians saying God said exactly opposite things! We have a lot of misinformation or bad testimonies to make up for.

Whole books are written on this subject, but I want to stir up a desire in you to hear, and hear well. This is not an “elective” course, neither is it one that we want to get a C, a D, or God forbid an F on, as Christians. When God speaks it is creative, powerful, life-giving, and it brings peace. By God’s word we are directed, and corrected; we are strengthened and made courageous. Sometimes it comes to us with the force of lightning, while at others it’s like a like a gentle nudge.

When my host asked me “how do you know?” I told him that it often comes completely outside of ourselves, not being something that we would have even remotely had in mind, like Jonah being told to go to Ninevah. When God told me to go to Taiwan 26 years ago it was like that, since I had never had this thought, or interest, nor did I know anyone there, nor did it occur to me that there was anything for me to do there. And yet as I went in obedience, all the doors opened up before me as naturally yet supernaturally as could be!

As a young Christian I had suffered a horrible neck injury which meant I was forced to use a traction device morning and night. I had done this faithfully for a year and a half when one day I was removing it from my suitcase when God spoke to me “put it away, you will not be needing this anymore.” I was healed instantly of the affects and symptoms of my injury and never did use the traction device again.

During my reading through John this past week, I realized hearing is an underlying theme throughout. Let me highlight a few phases or aspects of hearing the voice of God that I noticed as I was reading through chapters 14, 15, and 16. You might consider these fave as moving along a gentle to intense, like increasing the volume, progression. Most days all of these are operating in my life:

• REMINDING: God may have spoken a word to me, or I may have heard it being preached, or it popped out to me on the page of the Bible, but in an instant this “voice” is dropped back into our hearts instantaneously and directly, like a reminder.
• GUIDING: The voice of God guides me, through peace, or signposts, or a confirming conversation with someone so that I do not wander aimlessly.
• TEACHING: More personalized and direct than guiding, this teaching brings some instruction with it. It is a very amazing thing for God to teach me something which I could not learn on my own but for which I have a definite or desperate need.
• CONVICTING: This can be an “oh oh”, or even and “oh, no”!. This can come to us gently, but also with a force, like an inner shout to our spirits, creating a pressure from the inner man to rise up for right, or stand up against sin or evil.
• DECLARING: “He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” JN 16:14. There is no ambivalence here! Sometimes it is just plane hard NOT to hear the voice of God, for God knows how to make it plane.

Beloved, if you are not hearing Him, today is the day to start turning that around. If you have NEVER heard Him, then frankly you might have to simply kneel and make sure that the issue of your salvation is settled now, once and for all. If you SELDOM hear him, then I hope I have stirred up that desire to hear the Lord’s voice, for desire is no small factor. God rewards the thirsty. Then finally, I want you to do something which seems almost antiquated. Just ask Him to talk to you! In 1 Sam 3 we have the story of how God raised up young Samuel to be a prophet. But first he had to learn to hear the voice of the Lord, which happened after Samuel said this simple prayer: “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (v. 9)

Jesus spoke to His disciples in the clearest of terms: “My sheep hear My voice.” May we hear, and hear well. May His voice remind, guide, teach, and convict us. As we respond to and obey these ways He speaks, expect him to “take of what is His, and declare it to you”. The fact that we can hear God speak is one of the greatest treasures of life, and one of the most amazing and attractive thing about being a Christian. May God help us to quiet the skeptics, and to woo our friends and acquaintances as we tell our story. Think about it, the God who created all things, speaks to people like little old you and me. That’s a story worth telling over and over.

“Now when Peter heard that it was the Lord,

he put on his outer garments and plunged into the sea…” JN 21:7

I was in a meeting last week when the Lord began to show me some pictures and speak something deeply to my heart.  First I saw Peter leaping out of the boat and into the waters upon hearing that Jesus was standing on the shore.  I could see the reckless abandon in his eyes as he plunged with all his might, caring not for what the others might think.

Immediately, the picture shifted to a scene 1000 years earlier.  I saw David stripping himself of his kingly vestments as he wildly danced with everything in him before the ark of the Lord, showing no regard for what  family or friend might say about his flailing.  Just at that moment I felt the Lord say that He was raising a standard in our midst:  the standard of the fear of man.  “Look well upon this standard, for it is in conquering it or succumbing to it that I will deem you worthy of carrying the ark of My presence to the place of My choosing.” 

In that moment I realized that the same spirit which had led Peter to jump was in David to make him dance.  In that instant, I realized there was something in these two men separated by so many centuries which attracted God like a magnet; men who were deemed worthy to be carriers, hosts, and agents of the great things that God was about to do.   I let this thought incubate until I came into the presence of the Lord the next morning.  I picked up my pen and wrote the following as one moved:

Be careful lest you stumble over the fear of man.  Many who would have been used to bring greater manifestations of My glory fell here.  Their tombs litter the grounds of past awakenings which never came to their own. These heard the rumblings, they saw the signs like lightning foretelling of the approaching rain, but stopped short of ushering in the fullness because they chose their dignity over the freedom for Me to move as I choose. Rather than bow the knee to Me and Me alone, they turned aside to bow at the altar of the fear of man, not knowing the smoke of this offering would rise to Me as strange fire.  I have turned My face from these who began well so many times, but I cannot violate Who I am.  I resist the proud but give continuous grace to the humble. 

Turn not aside to this altar!  Fear not, My son, My people.  Stumble not upon this rock lest the power you seek, the change for which you cry out, the manifestation for which you have labored, begins well only to end in a puff of smoke.  For lo, I am a jealous God.  I will not share My glory, neither can I abide long with those who turn aside over appearances and the opinions of others.  For the bringing of My ark to the place of My choosing is costly. Like Uzzah, some will not make it, and though mistakes be made, press on, press in.  Prepare well your people for the sacrifices offered along the way will be many and hard.  Beware lest the eyes of contempt and the voices of criticism, or by means of disdain or hidden jealousies you become discouraged.  For there will always be Michals looking down from their lofty places who will never understand your passion.  How they come with the voice of reason!  They question your motives.  They raise the banners of doubt.  Rebuke her early, yeah, turn not aside to the altar of the fear of man. Say to her, “I will be even more undignified than this, and I will be humble in my own sight”. 

You can hear the thunder clapping in the distance. Occasional strikes in the sky have lifted your eyes in anticipation.  At times you have even smelled the coming rain.  I am coming, and when I do, it will be as the opening of the heavens.  Be wise, yeah, be careful, lest the opinions of man cause you to stumble.

I have been privileged to experience significant “outpourings” first hand, including being swept into the Kingdom during the Charismatic Renewal in the 70’s, the amazing demonstrations of God’s miraculous power upon the coast of China in the 80’s, and the Toronto as well as the Brownsville wells which opened up in the 90’s. 

The Spirit of the Lord is stirring in me.  I know He wants to move, and His eye is running to and fro, seeking after those whose hearts are so yearning, who are moved by the same convictions which made the Davids and Peters of old to LEAP.  He is looking for those who seek not just to experience His boundless blessings, but who can steward them as well.  May we be deemed worthy!  Yes, may we heed the call, and guard our hearts with all vigilance lest we stumble over the standard He is raising before He moves; the standard of the fear of man.

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,

but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.”       PR 10:9

I was raised a Yankee fan. I remember watching Mickey Mantle play. The four boys in my family were all Yankee fans, though my parents rooted for Boston. Our family survived the rivalry : ) In my adult life I haven’t cared much, though I am aware whether they have a good season or not.

Nowadays, sports stars typically make the news for the wrong reasons. Few handle the spotlight well. They live in excess. They often have run-ins with the law, and sport after sport has been tainted with illegal use of drugs. Recently, the beating of wives and abuse of children has embroiled the NFL in controversy. In these darkest days of professional sport, Derek Jeter played his last year as a Yankee being honored with accolades and gifts at every turn. In this age of moral chaos, even skepticism about the very definitions of right and wrong, even the world is standing up and recognizing that a life has been lived well. Though he wasn’t the greatest player to ever play, he is being hailed as one who lived above reproach, who gave 100% for every game, who always put his teammates above himself, and seemed to do it without the slightest cockiness. In fact, his image conjures up a man with a cap, and a smile.

Turns out the world is still looking for a hero. Not just one who can jump the highest, run the fastest, or plaster every opponent on the matt. Jeter is being honored for WHO he is more than for WHAT he has done.

Beloved, the world IS watching. Your disciples and friends ARE watching. Your teammates and colleagues WILL follow excellence. Most importantly, God knows those who have served well; honor and accolades await those who walk in their integrity. Thanks, Derek, for the reminder that even in this day of gross darkness in the earth, that there is still great value in being good.

“I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12

Now that is one audacious statement. Do you suppose he really meant it? I mean, maybe he just meant that he has some really good ideas that can really bring some light, i.e. understanding and wisdom, to the rest of us. Maybe he meant that there are many lights out there, like stars in the sky, and he was one of them, maybe even one of the brighter ones?

Tonight is the Harvest Moon in the Western world. In China, it is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Chinese all over the world will light handheld lanterns and go out to enjoy the moonlit sky while eating “mooncakes”. I told them in a service yesterday, Jesus is NOT like our little lanterns, helping us to see our way in the dark. While he certainly does that, we have missed something horribly important until we understand that he has no rival. He is not one among many. He is more like the moon, completely surrounded on all sides by utter darkness, a lone source of light for all to see. But even this analogy falls far short. “He is the True Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (JN 1:9). He is the Source of all light, so that when we are finally translated into the realm of eternity, there will be no moon, or sun, or any other light.

More Chinese every year are not just gazing at the moon at Mid-Autumn Festival, and carrying candlelit paper lanterns; they have met the True Light, which is for every people of every time, and they now carry the light of life in their hearts. Hallelujah!

I met a few of them that I would like to highlight for you in the past couple weeks. There is “Jacob”, a man whose countenance was like that of an angel. In a room full of people I found my gaze constantly turning in his direction. Then one day I discovered why: Jacob had been raised from the dead.

I met Min, a sister who had been raised in a poor village which had experienced a remarkable outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Like many in those days, she was never able to attend past elementary school. Though she had never studied music, and could not read even a simple score, by the Holy Spirit she began to write songs, and more songs, and more songs. The people liked them so much they began to sing them when they gathered in their homes to worship, or when they went to work in the fields. Preachers who went out from there, or who had passed through on their way to other regions, carried the songs with them. After many years, Min’s songs were written into a hymnal comprising nearly 1000 of them. They are sung all over the Chinese world, and adored. You can check out more of her story at http://waysoflife.info/Canaan%20Hymns.html

I met “Brian”. A lawyer in one of China’s largest law firms, Brian met the Lord 20 years ago when he had gone overseas to study. Despite pressures and persecution for his faith, he has never shrunk back from testifying of the Lord’s goodness to him. At first his colleagues were not so sure, but one by one, upon request, 700 of the 1000 people in his law firm now subscribe to his china style blog known as We Chat.

Only one person in the world can truthfully say, I am President of the United States. So if it comes from anyone else in the world besides Barack Obama, that person is a liar, or a deceiver, or mentally troubled. But if Obama says it, he is not bragging. He is just stating a fact.

Without a question, Jesus meant what he said. He is the Light of the world. He is not a light. He is not a lantern. For anyone else, that would have been an audacious thing to say. But Jesus was just stating a fact.

The moon is rising. I am going to light my lantern, sit down with my family and hundreds of other Chinese families, and chew on this amazing truth over some mooncakes. I wish you could join us.

“Solomon went up from there to the bronze altar before the Lord…

and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.”                2 Chr 1:6

We must not forget the primacy of worship. We must prioritize and personalize worship. God deserves it, and we can’t afford not to give it to Him. Sometimes it costs us dearly. Solomon knew this, so on this day he offered one thousand burnt offerings. Soon after, when he brought the ark back to the completed temple, he offered more sheep and oxen “that could not be counted or numbered for multitude” (5:6). Then at the dedication of the temple, the extravagance of his worship was on display for all generations to see: 22,000 bulls, and 120,000 sheep over a one week period.

Solomon learned this from David. When three of his mighty men risked their lives to get him a cup of water from the well in Bethlehem, he considered the cost of their lives and dared not drink the cup. So he poured it out as an offering to the Lord. Beloved, when we read the Psalms maybe we think David wrote them when he was sitting around watching the sheep. Some were, it’s true. But one of the things which stirs me about this man is that even when he was king over one of the most expansive empires in Israel’s history, he never stopped writing songs. As king (“the king will rejoice in God”, v.11) he penned words such as “O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for you…” PS 63:1.

We often read the scriptures without really stopping to think about them. The setting, the culture, the fact that it was thousands of years ago, all inhibit us from really engaging with the text, and truly benefiting from it. If we thought there was gold in the ground beneath us, we would dig with abandon. David said that the law, statutes, and commandments of the Lord are more to be desired than gold. If we believe that, beloved, we ought to be digging!

So what is 2 Chr 1:6 speaking to us today? For context, Solomon was just beginning his reign as King. These were not required offerings, but were offered of his own free will, out of gratitude, and as a way of saying to God, “I am nothing apart from You. You are great, and hold all authority. I acknowledge you, I thank you, and I invoke Your name as I take on this solemn responsibility.” Then, he offered an average of one sheep or cow per minute for the next 17 hours. What expense! What dedication!

Worship Jesus. If you haven’t told Him you love Him today, take some moments and do it right now. God forbid that we relegate our worship to God to 40 minutes of singing on Sunday morning! Tell Him in prayer. Tell Him in a song. Tell Him in your service. He deserves it. You need it. Nothing else will truly satisfy the people we are called to reach. Yes, Lord, give us a revelation of those whom we are touching now will worship You for an eternity at our sides. Set aside some focused, undistracted time for your Lover. Yes, worship Jesus.

“And the Lord said to him, ‘Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.’” Jud 6:16

We cannot serve the Lord effectively without confidence. The enemy knows this too, so of course he also attacks us in this vital area. We have to know this and resist him, and learn this simple lesson from Gideon in order to stay and stand strong in our callings.

There are several keys here, but let me just highlight a few:

1. Gideon heard what the Lord said about him. He said he was a “man of valor!” We are constantly tempted to see ourselves through our own eyes, and judge ourselves on the basis of our weaknesses or the areas in our lives where we are vulnerable. Though Gideon was far from perfect, the Lord chose him because he saw something amazing in him. God has not chosen you by accident or mistake, and if the Angel of the Lord was to appear to you today, he may well call you a man (or woman) of valor too. It is up to you to believe what HE says about you.

2. “Have I not sent you?” Great question. God COULD have sent many others more “qualified”, talented, even “spiritual”. The fact that He did not speaks volumes of how He thinks of you. Answering this question with a “YES!” (and not just a “yes”) is critical to your confidence quotient. It is worth spending some moments on your knees until you can get this settled.

3. “Surely I will be with you”. Check it out, ALL the people God uses throughout the Word hear this promise spoken personally to them. Have you heard it for you? Because if you have, if you know that God will be right by your side, that He will not leave you or forsake you, your confidence level has just gone through the roof. The fact that he adds “surely” seals it. This is a word of finality, like absolutely or without a doubt. Hebrews 6:14 calls it a swear word. I know, you thought God doesn’t swear, right?! For Him, swearing means He will do it not matter what.  Heb 6:15 says it is “an oath for confirmation…and end of all dispute.”

4. The promise of victory. In battles there are ebbs and flows. In life there are highs and lows. Sometimes we feel strong, at other times weak. Knowing the outcome, having that assurance that our victory is a done deal, causes us to walk tall with our heads high and to press through difficulties and not to give up even when there are setbacks. Before Gideon even lifted a sword, he had heard God say “you shall defeat the Midianites as one man”. By the strength of this promise, Gideon exuded confidence even when God had shrunk his army down to 300 men to face the Midianite hordes.

Beloved, now is a good time to do a heart check. How is your confidence quotient? Are you hearing what the Lord is saying about you, or are you listening to the voice which constantly reminds you of your flaws and defeats? Take some moments to affirm His call and His presence in your life, and watch the confidence meter rise some more. Finally, take up a pen and write down His personal promise of victory to you. You might start with “I know I will be victorious because…” As you confirm it in writing, you are giving another boost to your confidence, deepening and broadening the foundation for standing tall under your feet.

Confidence. If you lack it, go back and lock it in by these few simple steps. The time it takes to raise your confidence quotient could not be time better spent.

“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble…” 2 Peter 1:10

“Arise Shine! For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
Behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory shall be seen upon you.”
IS 60:1,2

So much of IS 59-60 is a reflection of our time that it is hard to believe that these words were penned 2800 years ago! Like many of the words of the prophets, though they had an application at the time when they were written, and apply in some ways to every generation, parts are also sealed up until a time of complete fulfillment. That time is now upon us.

Though there has most certainly been “darkness”, even “thick” or “gross darkness”, in every generation, the degree and scope of darkness has become pervasive, ominous, and global in our day in an unprecedented way. Without going into the details of my beliefs on the End Times (my B.Th. thesis was on Paul’s Eschatology), suffice it to say that we should expect greater and greater extremes and contrast to unfold as the End draws near. So while increase in wickedness, opposition, and delusion are inevitable, we must not allow ourselves to be caught unawares. For even as the darkness thickens, light and glory are also being released to us in ways never seen before. The dark will get darker; the light will get lighter. As evil becomes grosser, glory is poured out on us in ways never seen since the world was fashioned.

Thick Darkness Shall Cover the Earth

“But you, brethren, are not in darkness,

so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.” 1 Thess 5:4

Indeed, we are to expect and embrace “the Spirit of glory and of God” to rest/fall upon us (1 PT 4:14). Joel describes the period of the greatest outpouring of God’s Spirit as the “great (or awesome) and terrible day of the Lord” (2:11;31). So is it a great day or a terrible day? Yes! It is a terrible day for some, but it is an awesome day for us. It will be a time of judgment, but also of God bestowing better gifts on His children. In that hour, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (v.32). Nations and Kings who are longing for righteousness will recognize it in us, and will “come to your light…and to the brightness of your rising” (IS 60:3).

We desperately need to hear this. As the persecution and marginalization of Christians becomes more pronounced, and the name of Christ is maligned, as liberties are removed, as aggression against righteousness heightens, something inside of us should be screaming “Hallelujah!” cause we know what this is a sign of, and how it is going to turn out in the end. Yes, it signals a call to Arise and Shine.

“You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, as you please, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring.”     Esther 8:8

Did you ever wonder why God does not just deliver?  It’s not like He is not able!

Haman, the wicked enemy of the Jews, had issued a decree to annihilate the Jews on a given day.  According to the law of the Medes and the Persians, this decree could not be reversed.  As the day approached, hope of survival had grown dim.  Without Divine intervention, the Jews were doomed.  Or were they?

In much the same way, the Enemy has unleashed his evil schemes against us.  While God clearly has the power, ability, and interest to deliver, He doesn’t, or at least not directly.  Instead, He says, “I’ve got a better plan; you do it.  Go ahead, make a decree, as you please, in my Name, and then seal it with that ring I put on your finger.”  God’s intention was never to simply reign; His plan is for us to reign with Him.  We are not just subjects of the Kingdom, we are his co-regents.  God does not just want to show His power to us, He wants to show His power in and through us.

The story of Esther is a great object lesson in the way that God delivers.  Haman represents Satan, or the enemies which are set against us as God’s people, those who oppose us to walk in our destinies, callings and potential.  They seem to have the advantage.  They have influence, and resources, and numbers.  They have become aggressive, arrogant, emboldened.  We can easily become defensive as circumstances pile up against us, which threaten us to bow to discouragement, weariness, or fear.

In many ways, this is also an accurate picture of the culture war we are fighting in many parts of the world today.  We as God’s people are living in increasingly hostile environments.  We face discrimination, injustices, oppression.  Like the Jews of Esther’s time–disdained, underprivileged, rights-deprived citizens of the Persian Empire–we feel the squeeze.  Things which we once took for granted we now have to contend for.  We dream of the old days when churches were a center of social and spiritual life in communities, a time when those who were in the ministry were held in esteem, when the Bible was acknowledged as a standard and compass for how to live, for values, for light.

God, keep us from discouragement, or lips that complain about our circumstances.  We cannot look with nostalgia on the things of the past.  We must not fall prey to the lie that we are losing the battle.  We must not grow passive;  we must not compromise.  We also must not sit around and wonder why God just doesn’t do something.  For if we really understand His ways, we know that none of these things have escaped His notice.   He has not lost some of His strategic advantage.  Despite appearances, His Kingdom is definitely not under threat!  On the contrary, God is the Great Architect, the Conductor, preparing us for greater testimonies, greater wonders, and greater deliverances.  “The meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (PS 37:11).  Our role in this will not be as spectators.  It will not even be simply as participants.  Though Satan may bruise our heel, we are going to crush his head!  These words of Jesus will not fall to the ground:

“Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do…that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”  John 14:12-13

He is moving us into a place where we, like Esther and Mordecai, will step up into a places of authority, of displaying His power, of being instruments of great deliverances, and winners of hard-fought battles.  His word will be fulfilled, in order that the Father may be glorified.

If we are expecting God to just stretch forth His hand and strike down our enemies, and scatter them like smoke before the wind, we do not understand the wonder of His plan which is unfolding before our very eyes.  As it was in the days of Esther, so shall it be again in these Last Days.  God wants to show the world how awesome He is, in us.  He wants to show that He can defeat the many by the few.  He wants to show how the weak will shame the strong.  He wants us to trust in and then use the Spiritual tools and weapons He has given to us to do great exploits.  We cannot look to governments or to the systems of this world any longer to do what the Church is destined to do.

Let us stand in the favor of Esther, and wear the signet ring of Mordecai.  Let us decree those things the Lord shows us and see what God will do to lead us in triumphal procession in Christ Jesus.  Like the mighty cross of Christ, the gallows Haman imagined would mark the end of his enemy became the place where he was hung.  We live in the shadow, legacy, and power of this cross today.  Satan sure thought that he had won, only to discover that God uses the foolish things to confound the wise.  It was not the first time, nor was it the last, that Satan’s “victory” left him “disarmed”, and a “public spectacle” made of him (Col 2:15).

So, beloved, let us never sit around and wonder why God has not yet delivered us.  Romans 8:19 says the creation is earnestly expecting and eagerly awaiting the revealing of the sons of God.  Come on, Church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15), this is your finest hour.

“Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven
is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
Matt 13:52

Jesus’ words here are so powerful, so prophetic! May they ring in the ears of this generation, and among a people who are so fixated on the now and on tomorrow that regard for, respect for, and attention to the things of the past is dismissed. Look at how our politicians treat the Constitution if you don’t believe me! Consider that we appear to have learned nothing from 9/11, even though it was less than 13 years ago; how much less are we instructed by Hitler and WWII!

The problem is not just in politics, or our schools, beloved. It’s in our churches! To put it another way, we should not expect to find honor for things old in the world when it does not exist in the church. Jesus spoke these words first and foremost to us. Let the world see His wisdom in and through us, and then let them follow.

I am not suggesting our women get out their Victorian dresses, that we put away our lights and light up the candles, or speak in King James English! Though it is true that there are those who are stuck in the past, or insist that old things are better, it is also true that there are many who can’t sing any song that wasn’t written more than five years ago, and know nothing of the price that has been paid by the missionaries of the past to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth. God help us to have both, to embrace both, to seek both, things new and things old. Lord, help us to keep both in balance, that we might be good householders, and see your Kingdom manifest.

China inspires the historian in me. We know of the Great Wall, or the Terra Cotta Soldiers, but there are signs of China’s past all around if you only take a moment to look behind the skyscrapers, literally. I recently worshiped at an altar where the One True God was worshiped since before Christ came to earth. I also drove by an irrigation system in a remote part of China, still in use today, which was built more than 2500 years ago causing a region where over 100 million people live today to become China’s breadbasket.

Chinese recorded history begins somewhere between 42-205 years after the Tower of Babel. The long string of dynasties existed right up until 1911, just over one hundred years ago. Amazing! It shouldn’t surprise us that the prayers for the annual border sacrifice starting from those first Emperors read like parts of Genesis, or even the prophets:

“When The Lord had so decreed, He called into existence heaven, earth, and man. Between heaven and earth, he separated men from all other things, and placed them under the canopy of the heavens. I, his unworthy servant, ask for His favor, to enlighten me as his minister, so that I may ever appear before Him who dwells in the Highest Heaven.”

God has spoken to us about bringing out treasures from “things old”, reminding China of her roots, and calling her back to her destiny. Emperors from China’s most prosperous dynasty, the Tang, had embraced Persian and Syrian missionaries who came to her, to trade, and to preach, along the Silk Road. They became spiritual advisors to Emperors, military leaders, renowned architects, even as the gospel spread to over one hundred cities, yes, funded out of the royal treasuries! A huge monument recording their beliefs, parts of their history, and their activities was commissioned by one of these Emperors and placed on the grounds of China’s ancient palace in Chang’an (Xian) in 781 AD. I have personally visited the monument three times (The Nestorian Stele).

Historian John Stewart writes of this period of missionary expansion:
“Whole peoples with their rulers had become Christians and it seems certain that there were few places in the whole Asia that were not reached at some time or other as the outcome of the marvelous activity of that wonderful church which extended from China to Jerusalem and Cyprus, and in the eleventh century is said to have outnumbered the Greek and Roman churches combined.”

These “old things”, of the influence of Christianity in China, are like a buried treasure which has been buried under the belly of one of her many dragons. Genghis Kahn’s daughter in law, and mother of his grandson Great Kahn Mongke, who became a powerful Emperor himself, was a Christian. Wikipedia says:

“Nestorian Christianity was the primary religious influence in the Empire, and this also carried over to Mongol-conquered China, during the Yuan Dynasty.”

The seed of the Word had been sown in Chinese soil. Many great sacrifices have been made, with missionaries burying their loved ones, even with their bare hands. The blood of many a martyr has been shed. I could say much more, of the wave of missionaries who came influenced by J. Hudson Taylor, and others, until there were more than 20,000 foreign Christians serving in China during the 1920’s. God has not forgotten. We stand and remind Him of past promises given, of inheritances long stolen.

Even as we look forward, we look back. This would be a good time to recount what God has done for you, for your family, in and for your own personal history, as a nation, as a church, as a people. This is sound wisdom, spoken by the Master Himself. We would do well to heed it, that His Kingdom would come to us, until it fills the earth as He has said that it would. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Amen.

http://www.atour.com/religion/docs/20011114a.html#Church%20of%20the%20East%20Worship%20Scripture%20and%20Mission