rise up

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth” (Isaiah 10:20).

Please give me some liberty to restate this Bible verse using Israel as a type of church. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of the church, who have escaped the church system, shall no more be abused by them; but shall be fully committed to the Lord, the Holy One, who is head of the church, in truth.”

So many Christians have been put down and let down; so many are discouraged and disappointed; some have even become skeptical and scornful. Why? No doubt they are responsible for their own spiritual life, but it doesn’t help when the church has failed so many believers in so many ways.

There are many believers who have been so much a part of a dead powerless church system that they can hardly believe God for anything. So many have been under ministers who calculate and formulate, but don’t demonstrate a Christianity that declares Christ is alive to this generation. Ministers, through their intellect have outlined and commentated on the word of God, but have failed to really believe it as they should. Studying and meditating on the word does no good if one is not going to believe it. No one can say they really believe it until they live it. “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).

Some ministers have brought forth so many of their own ideas about God that those under their leadership have no idea who God really is. We have those who preach a Jesus who is a big Santa Claus that exists just to give Christians everything they want. We have those who preach a Jesus who is ready to crush you, if you take one step out of line. We have those who preach a Jesus who still just winks at sin. We have those who preach a Jesus who will accept your works as a payment to receive eternal life.

It is one thing to hear someone mention the name of Jesus and talk about Him, it is a whole other thing to preach who the real Jesus is. He is the whole counsel of God. He is the concealed Christ of the Old Testament and the revealed Christ of the New Testament. He is the Son of the Living God. He is the Redeemer of mankind. He is the one who John saw and wrote about saying, “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength” (Revelation 1:14-16). This scene was so powerful on John that he fell at Jesus’ feet as if he was dead. That is sure a far contrast from the Jesus who some depict today as almost having a soft feminine side to Him. They preach a Jesus who you can take or leave. This world needs to see a powerful holy Jesus, who is mighty to save. Yet a Jesus who is willing to save all who call upon the name of the Lord.

Some of the preachers we have today are so dry you could use them for a dehumidifier. Some have exchanged the anointing for education, exchanged the hour of prayer for a committee meeting, and exchanged the study of the word for the study of demographics and community culture.

As long as the wrong Jesus is preached, the church will lie dormant and ineffective. As long as preachers are asleep on their post, the church will be lost in lala land. ALL I CAN SAY IS “THERE IS NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW FOR THE REMNANT TO RISE UP.”

We need some Davids who have some mighty men at their side. We need some Joshuas who can lead some obedient believers around enemy walls that need to come down. We need some Calebs who are looking for another mountain to climb and conquer. We need some Isaiahs, Jeremiahs and Ezekiels who will speak to our generation, “Thus saith the Lord.” We need some Hebrew boys who know how to walk in the fire with God. We need some Daniels who through interpreting dreams can cause kings to declare, “And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation” (Daniel 4:34).

We need some Peters who can escape shackles and walk through open prison doors, while at the same time some Pauls who can get up and shake the dust off after being stoned and left for dead. We need some remnant believers to rise up in this day, will you be one?

Actually, I want to simplify all this. You don’t need to study the lives of all these men and learn just what and how they did things. We just need some remnant to rise up who truly believe. They believe the whole word. They believe the whole truth and nothing but the truth. They believe the church is still here to turn this world upside down. They believe that God still fills saints with His Holy Spirit and fire which endues them with power to win the nations. They believe that they can do anything and everything God has called them to do through the power of the Spirit. We need this remnant to believe that the church is still God’s chosen and anointed vessel to display an all loving and powerful Christ to this world. We need the remnant to believe God and His word, even if many around them don’t. We need the remnant to hate this world, but love the soul of every sinner enough to pray they would be saved from this world.

Are you of the remnant sort? Will you rise up in this generation with a love for God, a hate for sin, a love for truth and a hate for every lie? Will you rise up to be one who worships God in Spirit and in truth? Will you rise up and give your life, to whatever extent God plans on using it, for the sake of the kingdom of God?

If you are one of the remnant, you may ask, “What can I do?” Here is a simple strategy; let’s call it the three P’s. First PRAY. Just like you do daily and sit down to eat breakfast, lunch and supper; pray often for the remnant believers all over Wisconsin. Pray they would be strengthened in the inner man, Pray for revival to come to Wisconsin. Secondly, PREACH. Preaching is the power of God unto salvation and also to those who are saved. Last of all, PARTICIPATE. Participate in searching out other remnant believers. Participate in fellowship with them. Pray with them and encourage each other. Amen!