|
Speak Lord, Your Servant is Listening RESTORATION of Israel and the Church
The Lord spoke through Isaiah the prophet concerning the future
restoration of Israel when He said:"In the time of my favor I will answer you, and
in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a
covenant for the people, to restore the land and reassign its desolate inheritances, to say
to the captives, 'Come out,' and to those in darkness, 'BE FREE!'" (Isaiah 49:8-9a)
"Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord
comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. But Zion said, 'The
Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.'
Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget, I WILL NOT FORGET YOU! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my
hands; your walls are ever before me. Your sons hasten back, and those who laid you waste
depart from you." (Isaiah 49:13-17)
This is what the Sovereign Lord says: "See, I will beckon to the Gentiles, I will lift up
my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on
their shoulders…. Then YOU will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be
disappointed…I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save."
(Isaiah 49:22, 23b, 25b)
Not only did Isaiah prophesy about the future restoration of Israel, but in this same chapter
he also prophesied concerning Israel's coming Savior, their Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.
"And now the Lord says – He who formed me in the womb to be His servant to bring Jacob back
to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has
been my strength – He says: 'It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the
tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the
Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth'"
This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel – to him who despised and
abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: "Kings will see you and rise up, princes will
see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen
you." (Isaiah 49:5-7)
Restoration is no longer "in the future." Restoration is NOW! God is restoring His chosen
people not only to their land, but unto Himself. Recently, while "watching" in prayer and
intercession, I began to shout "Awake, Awake, Awake! Awake O Israel, Awake O church, Awake,
Awake, Awake!" Natural Israel and spiritual Israel has been asleep far too long;! And the
Lord God of Israel is shouting, "AWAKE, AWAKE, AWAKE!"
Later, when I opened the Word, I wasn't too surprised to read these words: "AWAKE, AWAKE!
Clothe yourselves with strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days gone by, as in generations
of old…." (Isaiah 51:9a) The Lord has roused Himself from His Holy dwelling and He is
saying: "AWAKE, AWAKE, AWAKE!"
"AWAKE, AWAKE! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup
of His wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes men stagger."
(Isaiah 51:17)
"Therefore hear this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine. This is what the
Sovereign Lord says, your God, who defends his people: 'See, I have taken out of your hand the
cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again.
I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, 'Fall prostrate that we may
walk over you.' And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked over."
(Isaiah 51:21-23)
"AWAKE, AWAKE, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O
Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. Shake off
your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. FREE YOURSELF FROM THE CHAINS ON YOUR NECK, O
CAPTIVE DAUGHTER OF ZION." (Isaiah 52:1-2)
Clothe yourselves in righteousness O Daughter of Zion, for this is the Year of the Lord's
Favor. How do I know this? Because:"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because
He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim FREEDOM for the captives and release for the prisoners, to PROCLAIM
THE YEAR OF THE LORD'S FAVOR, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and
provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of
despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the DISPLAY OF
HIS SPLENDOR." (Isaiah 61:1-3)
This verse speaks not only of the year of the Lord's favor, but of the day of vengeance of our
God. The day of vengeance of our God will surely come, but for now, it is still the year of the
Lord's favor. The Apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, urged them not to
receive God's grace in vain. For the Lord says: "In the time of my favor I heard you, and
in the day of salvation I helped you." (2 Corinthians 6:2) "NOW IS THE TIME OF GOD'S FAVOR,
NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION."
On 9-11-06, the Lord gave me this Word. I believe it is His Word to His people for this
hour: "I the Lord have called you in righteousness, I will take hold of your hand. I
will keep you and make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open
eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeons those who
sit in darkness. I am the Lord, that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my
praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I
declare, before they spring into being I announce them to you." (Isaiah 42:6-9)
And then the Lord spoke these words to me:
Northern Lights
Like unto the Lord
Flashes of color and golden hues
I am the Light of the world
My Light shall be seen
Shall be see by ALL
The Light child
The Light is STILL SHINING
For all the world to see
The Light will pierce the darkness
After speaking these words to me, the Lord confirmed them through His written Word:
"Then Jesus said to them, 'You are going to have the LIGHT just a little while longer. Walk
while you have the LIGHT, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does
not know where he is going.'" (John 12:35)
This sums up everything I have written. This is the Lord's heartbeat for this hour. He is
shouting to all people everywhere, "AWAKE! AWAKE! AWAKE! Clothe yourselves in righteousness!
Jesus is our salvation and our righteousness! He says in His Word, "I am the Light of the
world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
(John 8:12) Jesus is the Light of the world, and The Light IS STILL SHINING for all the
world to see. Look up! Your Redemption draweth nigh.
"Come let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured
us but He will bind up our wounds. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will
restore us that we may live in His presence.
Let us acknowledge the Lord (Jesus Christ); let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as
the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains
that water the earth." Hosea 6:1-3
"If you repent, I will restore you..." Jeremiah 15:19a
Shalom
|