And now a word from Stamps….
After seeing this (in my email) up here in Boston, I thought it ought to be on the web site….
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” John 15:9-12
As a lucky few of us have been learning in Lon’s theology class, “holiness” isn’t simply another word for righteousness. To be Holy is to be sanctified or set apart. The “otherness” of the God we serve is best summed up in the whisper and thunder of this word that has been spoken throughout the ages: “HOLY!”
Because HE IS, everything our Lord touches becomes holy. Jesus spoke of a “joy” that is entirely His own, and therefore entirely holy, altogether different from the delight we know on this earth- the pleasure bound to events and circumstances and temperaments. Our Good Shepherd chooses to deposit His holy joy into His followers. His joy is perfect, meaning “whole” and “complete.” His joy is entirely satisfied and self-sustaining. In His joy there is no shadow of sin. Our failings do not threaten it. Our weakness does not hinder it. Our forgetfulness does not quench it. But we must make way for it through obedience. Only a holy vessel can contain holy substance. In the temple, even the most mundane articles were carefully cleansed and purified for their holy function. Otherwise the offering was defiled, a putrid stench in to God. It is true that our best works are filthy rags to God, but I’m not talking about our works. I’m talking about God working through us, and not hindering the Holy Spirit’s work. It is those who do the will of the Father who see the Kingdom of God. Let nothing distract us, good or bad, from this spiritual dynamic!
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 4:30-5:2
Here we are as a church entering a season of Awakening. This is not wishful thinking or speaking something into existence. Revival has begun to reveal itself in the breadth of testimony of the gospel’s power to save, redeem and heal those who are desperate and broken. Take a few minutes to reflect upon the things you’ve seen and heard lately. If you’re coming up blank, call up someone and ask them for a summary of the mighty acts of God this month. In November alone we have been witness to bold evangelism, dramatic conversion, true-life transformation, prodigals forsaking their swine buckets, miraculous healings, starting the service at 10am :-), and many, many prayers directly answered. If what we are seeing is not the beginning of Revival, then what is?
The Lord has chosen this house for His dwelling. By God’s sovereign grace and reckless sense of humor, Lamb of God has a critical role in the prayer movement currently taking place in Northern New Jersey. The Cry for Awakening is one aspect to this movement, but it is not all the Lord is doing with us. The persistent prayers offered up in the smaller gatherings throughout the week is evidence to the Spirit’s desire to heal this land, an of His empowering work in our lives. (It takes a move of God to get His people praying!)
Jesus said that to abide in His love is to keep His commandments As His presence increases, we must decrease. Can we, as a church commit ourselves to a season of repentance and letting the Lord win greater territory in our hearts? Can we dream God-sized dreams in the face of the Accuser? Can we take by force the unity that Jesus prayed for before He was delivered up to death? Will we make a way for the HOLY JOY of God to reign in our gatherings, our workplaces and our inner-life?
Thanks for reading and praying,
Ben