6/30/2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, follow Him on white horses. And from His mouth proceeds a sharp [double-edged] sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19.9)

“The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD. His name will be the only name.” (Zechariah 14.9)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Yesterday, I alluded to Mark using a particular word in his writing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It reflected the very impetus of Peter’s ministry whose reflections and remembrances Mark was recording for future generations; as many as there would be before Jesus returned as “King of kings and Lord of lords over the whole earth.” It may only be that one generation in which he lived serving Peter and Christ. It may be a second generation which would be bounded by John the Presbyter, the beloved disciple of Jesus who recorded this Revelation. I may be 250 generations covering a thousand years or 500 generations spanning 2000 years and bring us to today where we find ourselves. Where are we now two thousand years later? We are still waiting for and serving Jesus the Christ as His followers commanded to make disciples of every nation. We should be motivated be that same word which filled Mark’s gospel- immediately. It was a word of “urgency” not “emergency.” Yes, the early Church was facing a crisis of conscience in the midst of the world. Their world was complicated by the Empire of Rome and its godless rulers as well as the Temple leadership of Israel who continued to pronounce the efficacy of their version of Judaism. Both were enemies of the Church wherever the Church was found. Still, the gospel must press on with an urgency of completing the mission given to it. It was not for Rome or Jerusalem to judge their purpose or their production. It was only for God to judge over all. This God would do by the measure of Jesus as the Christ. You see, the true Church was the image of Christ on earth. Those who were, and are, His disciples would be seen and known by the commitment to pursue, implement and run the course of being His disciples. He was their standard of life on earth as He was their standard of life in Heaven. It would be their reward, though not their intention to receive a reward, for God’s word over them to be “Well done, My good and faithful servant in whom I AM well-pleased.” It was an urgent mission. Urgency means “in this moment what we are doing is of the highest priority.” It was not a matter of survival but obedience which served the greater good. This is different from “emergency.” Emergency is a response in a crisis situation to survive in the moment for yourself and others. It has no sense of the future beyond that moment. It is reactive far more than proactive. Emergency actions are necessary in the world on earth. We are surrounded by them and ought to respond accordingly with courage, intentionality and in many occasions with sacrifice. But, that sacrifice comes best with a sense of the “urgency” which motivates our actions. This “urgency” looks to the future believing that “no one should be lost forever.” Wasn’t this the very ministry of Jesus? He said, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19.10) He emboldens that declaration with three stories concerning “the lost” and the impetus of living with a sense of urgency. That “urgency” is a focus on honoring God before all else. It is with a sense of urgency that He waited to claim His ministry after thirty years. It was with a sense of urgency that He sabbathed with His disciples for three years. It was with a sense of urgency that He maintained the course in the last week of His earthly life to keep the pace of preaching, teaching and preparing the disciples for the days that would follow. It was with a sense of urgency that He bore the cross for our salvation putting to death the reign of terror which eternal death waged against the people of God. It was the same urgency which lead Him to pour out His Spirit on those disciples and charge them with a future that was secured for the glory of God in that age; the Age of the Church.

But, in Revelation, the age of “urgency” was coming to a close and indeed was closed. Those who were obedient and faithful (covered in their weakenss by the Holy Spirit which made them strong) to producing and proclaiming the gospel before the world living on earth with the same hope as they would in Heaven were now receving the fullness of their redemption. Jesus was returning not with a sense of urgency nor emergency. There was nothing left to save. Jesus came to clean house and ride the earth of the sin-festation once and for all. It wasn’t “about time Jesus did something about all this mess.” It was about Jesus coming to claim His Bride, the Church, and take her with Him to His Father’s House which was renovated to include their place together forever. This time Jesus would come not to the shouts of the people as on the day He entered Jerusalem that final week on Palm Sunday where they said “Hail to the Son of David, king of kings and lord of lords.” This time He came into the world with the name emblazoned on His robe and His thigh: King of kings and Lord of lords. It was with this name that every knee left on earth as it was with those now in Heaven to bow and understand fully what Zechariah prophesied: “The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD. His name will be the only name.” There would be no more stammering, hemming, hawing, excuse giving or blame pointing. The ground was now leveled and the “playing field” was all-encompassing. Everyone knew exactly where they stood, or kneeled, in that moment. There were no options, there were no choices. There can be and will be “only One.” Mighty ones of God, this is the truth we are facing now in light of the signs of the times. We are to be filled with a sense of urgency and not emergency. The Church cannot continue to run around like a chicken with its head cut off saying “the sky is falling, the sky is falling.” It is gospel-time and the hammer is coming and I don’t mean “M.C. Hammer.”

A PRAYER FOR TODAY:

You are our God and we shall be Your people in spirit and in truth. Continue to dwell among us. Let the revelation by Your Holy Spirit inspire us to greater service in a more refined identity. We do not live as ourselves for ourselves. Rather, we live in Christ as He lives in us. We declare it with all the elders and angels in Heaven, saying “Holy, holy, holy is He who was and is and is to come.” In Jesus’ name we live, serve and pray. AMEN.