Children Of The Lord Are For Signs And For Wonders
Young children are known to write Valentine Day Cards, Christmas greetings, general love notes, important messages, etc. to their parents, while their parents are away. During this time of parental absence, they seal up the card and wait for their parents return. They look and wait for the parents, meanwhile the card stays sealed and at the right time the card will be opened and read in the presence of everyone! Children like that are a wonderful sign of the love that makes a home a wonderful place for family!
In the selected scripture text, the Lord hides His face from the house of Jacob. Which means that the Holy Spirit was not talking to them and what Christ would do for them on the Cross was not within their desires. That would be a social environment full of hardened hearts, not able to receive any message from God at all. They did not love God with all their heart, soul, and mind, and other things became their god as the Living God fell by the wayside.
Isaiah had a message for the house of Jacob, but he decided that he would wait to deliver that message until the house of Jacob was in a better mood to receive the Word of God. Isaiah would have to wait for the Face of the Lord to return before he could open and read the bound Testimony and sealed Law. Isaiah had faith in the future of God’s Children! He knew they were special and would be for signs and for wonders, and Israel is that today. Don’t we all look at Israel in the light of their place in the world today in relation to their status as the Children of God? They were scattered all around the world, were reunited in 1948 in Israel, and Jerusalem has just recently been recognized as the Capital of Israel. All of these events fulfilled prophecy. Israel is full of signs and wonders to the world!
Our world is full of every imaginable sort of wickedness. Here where I live, the Circleville Pumpkin Show is in progress, even as I sit and type this essay. This year, the city government solicited the services of Homeland Security due to the volatile situation here in the city. Just 3/4 of a mile from my home is a tower about 2 1/2 stories high that has the Seal of the State of Ohio on it, and is used by the State branch of Homeland Security. The tower comes complete with blacked out windows, bullet proof glass, and armed guards. A definite sign of a troubled city. We could say that the Living God hides His face from this population in Circleville. BUT, for the Children of God, there is a bound Testimony and a sealed Law from the Living God for those who accept what His Son Jesus Christ did for us on the Cross. In Christ Jesus, we know His coming is soon, and we have a Home in the New Jerusalem!
Last week in the City of Circleville, about one mile from my house, a news story describes the potentially explosive environment of Circleville. This story would explain why this very small city needs the back-up of Homeland Security. A 12 year girl was viciously attacked by a pit bull that broke her arm, badly wounded her leg, and landed her in for a few days hospital stay. The girl knew the pit bull, and when she saw it walking the street away from its home she took action. She hopped off her dirt bike that she was riding in a field near her home in a residential area. The field is used by other young girls and boys for riding ATV’s, dirt bikes, etc. I know what I was doing when I was of age 12, but the idea of playtime is much different today than then. We gradually move into the days where the Holy Spirit is not heard and the Message of the Cross is muted.
The 12 year old girl still had her helmet on and other protective gear as she tried to coax the pit bull back home…she was viciously attacked by the dog. Meanwhile, several neighbors, about five or six, came from their homes…some carrying sticks and others bringing their fists and feet to hit and kick. They hit the pit bull with fists, kicks, and sticks, but It refused to budge. A person pulled over in his vehicle with a concealed carry permit, tried to shoot the dog but his gun misfired. Meanwhile, another person with a concealed carry permit approaches the pit bull and shoots it in the head! The pit bull left and went home where it died. There was a train on the tracks that probably prevented the police car from getting there sooner, but when the police arrived the situation was over, but the police did approach the mob, looking at the mauled girl, and pulled his gun from the holster! This city is armed to the teeth, prepared to use violence, and not waiting for help from law enforcement. The City of Circleville was granted the presence of Homeland Security, by the State of Ohio, for the Pumpkin Show! The Living God hides His face from this population in Circleville. BUT, for the Children of God, there is a bound Testimony and a sealed Law from the Living God for those who accept what His Son Jesus Christ did for us on the Cross. In Christ Jesus, we know His coming is soon, and we have a Home in the New Jerusalem!
At the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, God’s face is always in plain sight for us to see! The bound Testimony and sealed Law is hanging by nails on that Cross. The only question is whether our heart is receptive to hear the Message flowing from the Cross of Christ. With Christ abiding in us, we are a sure sign and wonder to the volatile kingdom of this world. We are a sign and wonder because there is light, mercy, compassion, love, truth, and grace in us by the Spirit of Christ. The Law and Testimony is written in our spirit, within our soul, and impressed upon our mind! We are the Children of the Kingdom of God and we do not share the spirit of this world. As we accept the Law and the Testimony that hangs on the Cross, it puts the ways of the world in remission, it makes sin dormant, and we do nothing to contribute to the growing chaos in this wicked world. In Christ Jesus, we are set apart from the world, set apart from the ways of the flesh, and set apart from being used by the devil! In the Light of the Holy Spirit, we are signs and wonders to the unredeemed. The Rapture will come, we will be forever with our Lord Jesus Christ, and Christ Jesus is coming soon to reign in the New Jerusalem.
Believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord!
Scripture Text
“Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait upon the Lord, that hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.” Isaiah 8:16-18