“Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand.” Psalm 149:5,6
In the book of Revelation, the glorified Christ addresses seven churches located in Asia Minor. Each church has a specific need that He deals with. Regardless of the need, there is a final admonition addressed not only to every church, but also, to every believer. That declaration is very simple, and yet it brings every church and every believer to a crucial point. It is the point of knowing the victory of Christ, by overcoming the present need, or circumstances. It is the appeal and affirmation to “overcome” the hindrance or the obstacle that must be addressed if the victory of Christ, and His glory are to be revealed. All men, and all churches, are brought by these words to the point of entire devotion to Christ, and thus receiving the blessing and strength of Christ to “reign in life.” So then, what is the spiritually awakened church, or individual?
In the book of Haggai, in response to the preaching of Haggai of the Lord’s message, God would “stir up” Zerubbabel the governor, Joshua the high priest, and then the remnant of the people who truly believed God. We see that even before this time, when the prophesy concerning Cyrus, the king of Persia, would order the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, that God actually “stirred up the Spirit of Cyrus, the king of Persia.” (2 Chr. 36:22) What does this mean, to be “stirred up?” There is no doubt but that the Lord moved upon the individuals concerned, to impress upon them, even to convince them, of the necessity of agressively seeking the face of God. The Spirit of God, this One who convicts of sin, is also that One who convinces one of the truth, and confirms it to the heart. When Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the remenant of the people heard the message of God, given in the demonstration and power of the Spirit, they were not only “pricked’ in their hearts, but moved to act, to commit themselves, to obey the voice of God, regardless of the circumstances. They rose up with one heart to obey God, and finish the work on the temple.
One or two observations that we must see at this point is that the “stirring” in the heart was stronger than the “walking by sight,” and the reasoning which believed it was not time to rebuild. The power of Haggai’s words, along with those of Zechariah, were such that the false idea of it not being the time, that the time was not right, was dispelled. This was the first hurddle that needed to be overcome by the stirring of God in the heart.
Another hurdle had to do with the enemies of God, who opposed the building of the temple. The stirring of God was such that this matter was addressed, and the choice made to go forward, regardless of the opposition of the enemy. They would overcome these very real obstacles, these “mountains,” to accomplish the will of God.
When Israel crossed the Jordan River, after being delivered from Egypt and the wilderness, they were confronted by a wall, the wall surrounding Jericho. That wall was a declaration by the enemy that they refused to believe in the true and living God, and that they would have no part in Israel’s quest. They would resist, even though the glory of God had been revealed to them. The difference between the heart of Israel at this time, and the moment when they hesitated to enter the land of promise forty years prior, was that now they were “stirred up,” committed to not look at the circumstances, nor be disuaded by their enemies or time. The time had come, and they were resolutely going forward. Their commitment was summed up by their own words to Joshua: “All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us we will go.” (Joshua 1:16)
Dear Father, Awaken us today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.