The Plans of the Enemy - Kikuyu Spiritual Hymns #323 [Deleted in new hymnbook version]

When you do not expect Him

So you also must be ready, 
because the Son of Man will come at an hour 
when you do not expect him.

[Matthew 24:44]

As we watch Brexit and Trump vs. Clinton and Syria and Crimea and Immigration crises and changes in the global power architecture, it seems that the world in in hyper mode. Every word in scripture must be fulfilled. The Messiah Himself made this promise: Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

What is the lesson? The greater the outer noise becomes, the greater our internal silence - stillness before the LORD - needs to be. The greater the attention on the worldly events, the more our inner eyes need to seek the glory of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, the Portion of Jacob. The bigger the cacophony of hate-mongering across the planet, the more urgent our need for the love of Christ.

If the time is very near as the Mighty Prophet of the LORD has announced repeatedly, and if he has already seen the great harlot of Revelations 17, it seems that the noise and commotion will divert attention to earthly things. We run the risk of being consumed by the wisdom of the world, the pointless philosophies and doctrines that dot the terrain of the 21st century like acacia trees in the Savannah. Men and women argue about climate change and evolution and political leanings ad infinitum. Meanwhile, the Messiah is on His way. Is it not written "run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" ? [Hebrews 12:1 - 2]. If we let our spiritual eyes off of Christ, is it not likely His coming will find us unprepared? 

Another scripture warns: 

‘Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.’ [Revelation 16:15].

Therefore, stay awake, alert, fully clothed in fine linen white and clean - without blemish, stain or tear, that garment of Righteousness that will qualify each of us to enter the banquet hall of the Wedding of the Lamb of God. [Revelation 19: 7 - 8] 

The messenger of Malachi 3: 1 is here amongst us. The voice in the wilderness calls. The watchman of Duma warns.  Do you hear the sound of his voice? Prepare quickly.

The Weight of Unbelief

Like a massive bolder of heavy rock, unbelief threatens to crush and pulverize. Unbelief drives us right into the ground, down in the direction of hell. No one can hold up its weight. Nothing can remain vertical under this massive load. No growth can occur under its influence.  Unbelief is a shortening, a flattening and, ultimately, annihilation. None can flourish or prosper under its dark shadow. Unbelief is like an airplane without wings, like a bird without feathers. You can't fly without faith.

But faith is like a super-magnet that attaches you to God. It is like a tremendous wire that taps into the power of God. It is the jet engine that propels you at supersonic speeds. It is a mighty ship that holds up the soul and the heart. 

He is a God of allegiance. He never lets down those who belong to Him. He takes all the calls. He never abandons His children. He never has a missed call on His phone.  He handles every situation. Never is He asleep. Always He remains God. Never changing. Eternal. What more would one want than a promise of life that will never be broken? In who else can we put our trust?  To whom can we surender our life except to the King of kings?

It's all about His word and His promises. Its more definite that tomorrow's sunrise or the rise and fall of the ocean tide.

And what of Christ, who do you say He is? Is He not the Lord of lords and the King of Kings? Is He not the Faithful Witness? Is He not Melchizedek, Mighty Eternal High Priest? Is He not the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega? The Prince of Peace? The Sun of Righteousness? Is He not the Word of God? Is He not the Mighty God? Is He not the Everlasting Father? Is He not God, the Creator of Heaven and earth.

But the world had placed the Messiah on a lower pedestal: not quite God. Perhaps equal to man; a little more enlightened? Even a Prophet among many Prophet's?

Apostacy has come to visit. Disbelief has come to stay; to reduce Christ, He who is called Emmanuel. To bring Him down from Heaven and equate Him to a man. To demote His Awesome Majesty. To overthrow His Kingdom. To deny His Power and His Glory.

The massive mountain of unbelief evolves into abusive rebellion. Men mock God. Men abuse Him. Men deny His existence. They actively fight Him. They join the enemy's army. They consult with sorcerers and witchdoctors. They fellowship with devil worshipers. They partake of human sacrifice and abominations, depravities unspeakable. Unmentionable. 

The crushing weight of hypocrisy is utterly destructive. It is the prescription for flawless hopelessness. The way back into darkness, depression and insanity. The way back into chaos and uncontrollable terror. A heartbeat away from lawlessness. 

Christ is Lord. He is God. He is the Everlasting Father. The King of Kings. The LORD of lords. The Ancient of Days. The Eternal. Without equal. High above the highest heaven. Far beyond human comprehension. Beyond human wisdom. Beyond science and philosophy. Infinitely beyond. He is the King of All Glory. The Holy One. Yet after all is said and done, He seeks our worship and sanctifies those who revere and honour Him. He makes them His precious possession, His elect. Citizens of His household.

Lift up the LORD. Glorify the Christ. Worship the King of Kings. He is coming for His righteous Bride. Will you be ready when He comes?

Far, Far Away?

Heaven can be very very far away. In the midst of hustling to make a living, to complete the urgent tasks, to meet the deadlines, to sort out the challenges of earthly existence, we tend to drift away on the oceans of this realm. Focused on the winds and storms of this life. Consumed by the pursuits and occupations of one's vocation. Barely time to sleep and eat. Life is so hectic...

But hang on a little. If your ship is drifting without a skipper to chart its course, have you considered that the ocean has whirlpools that may suck you into an irretrievable depth? Have you considered your communication links with heaven may become so weak, they may break altogether. Not that God lets go, but Man does. What if you let go of your end of the rope? Can you blame the Lord if you fall?

Like a synchronized machine, like a big clock on your wall, we need to calibrate regularly; synchronize with the Creator so you are on the same page as He is. He never sleeps. Never dozes off. He asks:

"Am I a God who is near," declares the LORD, "And not a God far off? [Jeremiah 23:23]

Eternity awaits. It matters not whether we have money or have none. Whether we have an American or a Kenyan passport.Whether we have three college degrees or none. Whether plebeian or aristocrat. Finally, the things of the earth will be left behind. Perhaps even its sorrows and tears. Perhaps. It all depends on how close we stay to the true Father. No wonder He has names like Ebeneezer, Strong Tower, Wings, Hiding Place, Refuge, Counselor, Comforter, Deliverer, Door, Saviour!

Father of Mercies, Sure Foundation, Fountain of Living Waters, Love, Joy, Freedom; Our Shield, Our Rock, Our Peace, Father to the Fatherless, Healer, Sanctifier, The Bright Morning Star and hence, the Harbinger of the New Day and the Usher of the True Dawn. It will be the final dawn without a sunset for ever and ever. He will be the Light and the Lamb its Lamp.

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.[Revelations 21:23]

For this reason, move near to Him. We are made in His image, therefore, like us, He too values conversation; He too honors fellowship. He prefers that His children sit next to Him. And because He is also God, Lord and Master, He desires worship and praise and thanksgiving. These are the instruments of His Communion. He loves to hear the sounds of a repentant heart as it turns from sin. That sound of true repentance is the sound of victory. The sound of resurrection.

What a God! Who compares with Him? Who creates the grains of sand as easily as entire galaxies. Who knows the secrets of life; who creates life; who authored it? Who comprehends the raw material of the soul and the spirit? Who is worthy to stand before such a God? Who can fathom His glory? Who can define His extents? He is to be worshiped and revered and greatly honored. 

Chose near, not far.

Halelluya!

YOU ARE!

Yes. Consider the facts: 

We live on a planet called earth. Some 150 million kilometers away is a big orange ball called the sun  that gives out light, heat and a storm of particles called the solar wind capable of causing geomagnetic storms on earth.

Around this  sun extending for a distance of about 100 light years is the Milky Way galaxy. It would take 100 years travelling at 300,000 kilometers per second to traverse the galaxy. Yet, the Milky Way is a relatively tiny place compared to the big galaxies such as Hercules A which is estimated to be 1.5 million light years in diameter, that is, 15 times bigger than Milky Way. Beyond and around the Milky Way is the observable universe estimated to be about 90 billion light years in diameter. It means light from the edge of this universe takes about 45 billion years to reach the earth. Even more fascinating, no one knows the extent of the universe or even, whether it has an extent at all and if so, if there are other universes and, further, what on earth (!) lies in between. And what do you call a collection of universes?

Now, if light from the edge of the known universe took 45 billion years to reach earth, it means that the observations we have of this universe may be as old as 45 billion years: What we know of the universe is historical. If our sun went off, it would take 8 minutes to find out.

If Andromeda, the nearest galaxy to our Milky Way was suddenly snuffed out, it would take earthlings 2.5 million years to find out! Where does that leave science? We must assume that the universe is stable else much of what we claim is out there may not be there at all: but it was, millions and billions of years ago... What a conundrum.

Now go the other way: drill deep into molecules and you will get past atoms into protons and neutrons and electrons. Past that into into a fascinating world of bosons, quarks and leptons....Beyond this, your guess is as good as mine. Theories seem to abound but how to prove them is quite a huge challenge. This marks the edge of science. 

The edge of science is the beginning of I AM. Here He stands and declares: 'Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?  Tell me, if you understand.' Then He asks: On what are its footings set? 

⁴ ‘Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
 Tell me, if you understand.
⁵ Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
 Who stretched a measuring line across it?
⁶ On what were its footings set,
 or who laid its cornerstone –
⁷ while the morning stars sang together
 and all the angels shouted for joy? [Job 38: 4 - 7]

Can science answer this one?  Was Job speaking as a scientist when he declared:

7 He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.[Job 26:7]

The LORD must have lifted Job up into the sky as he did Isaiah so Isaiah could declare:

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; [Isaiah 51:6]

Did he obscure the fact that his eyes were lifted up so he could see the earth below?  And where was Isaiah as he saw the vision of aircraft full of tourists going to visit Israel on its 60th birthday as a nation-state?

‘Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests? [Isaiah 60:8]

What did Paul see when he was lifted up to the third heaven? [2 Corinthians 12:1] . And what profound mystery did he pronounce by declaring For when I am weak, then I am strong?  [2 Corinthians 12:10]

Can one conceive of their own origin, can a stone understand itself? Or, instead, could we, by our intellectual weakness allow the Spirit of the God Who Created the Heavens to reveal His secrets to us? Could we step aside for a moment and allow this LORD to take the stage and expound His mysterious to an inferior species? Is the mind of Man sufficient to comprehend the enormity and the totality of the universe? Can we fathom the form of the spirit of man? Can we locate the mind of a person and measure its extents; weigh its weight; identify its colour and shape? Can thoughts be captured in a pot and stored for latter use like  garden peas and Irish potatoes?

Who can find the doorway to heaven? Who can locate its coordinates and elevation? With what vehicle can one travel there? What is its prime mover? What fuel powers it? What compass directs it? 

Is happiness and joy and sorrow and peace and kindness physical? Do they have measurable dimensions? Can they be measured with a standard measure? With what part of a person are they associated? Do mountains too have joy? Do they appreciate beauty and despise ugliness? 

What is the true scope of being? Where did our being begin? Where will it end? Is being tied to a physical body? Does it persist beyond material demise?

Is there a Creator? How big is He? How should the created approach their Creator? With what kind of honor and reverence should the created speak to their Creator? Could the creator possibly have any obligations to the created? Can the created allocate themselves rights independently of the Creator? What are "human" rights anyway? Pebbles collected from the local stream? Twigs from the old fig tree? Can eternal rights be assigned by a mortal man? What means does he have to enforce them in eternity? To what eternal principle are they anchored to give then transcendence? If no transcendence, then whence comes their power? If no power, then are they not mere breeze? A puff of air: purposeless, aimless vapour?

  True power can only emerge from the eternal source: The Creator. 

  True being can only be a piece of HIM for the mortal can not create immortality.

  True honor can only be to acknowledge the Creator

  True reverence can only be to behold the wonders of HIS hands.

  The true Man can only be they who are faithful to their Creator's will and desire.

  True humility can only be to comprehend the stature and enormity of this LORD! To acknowledge that our relationship with HIM can only be Worship! That Praise and Thanksgiving are hardly a sufficient appreciation of the gift of Life and Being and Sentience.[Revelation 4:11]

HE who has no genealogy, no father or mother, no beginning or end but instead is the beginning and end of all things; is the source of all being; all life; all all.[Hebrews 7:3]

HE is the matrix within which being can arise and prosper. [Acts 17:28]

16 for, "Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.[1 Corinthians 2:16]

Declaration

I bow down to you Precious LORD

I adore you Glorious Saviour

I thank you Mighty Redeemer

I worship you My God and Master

I surrender to Your will o My God

May your Name be praised eternally

May the heavens and the earth rejoice over Your Brilliance

May the oceans and the sky sing praises to Your Unfathomable Power

Creator, Father, Deliverer, Teacher, Preserver, Comforter: Life.

My life, my destiny, my eternity is in You.

YOU ARE. 

YOU WERE

YOU WILL BE for ever and ever.

Haleluya! Haleluya!! Haleluya!!!

Holy! Holy!! Holy!!!

Glorious! Glorious!! Glorious!!!

Amen.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, 

who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation,

 who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’ [Isaiah 52:7]