Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
As we prayed for the saints of God here in my office one evening, the Spirit spoke through me in tongues, and the Lord interpreted it in English, commanding these four things to me, or through me, to all of us here. And now, to you:
I hope that Jesus will enable us to accomplish all those things. Paul said in Colossians, that he was filling up the sufferings of Christ for the saints in his body. Jesus did all the suffering and dying that he was required to do and that he could do in a human body for the children of God. But there is more suffering and dying to be done for God's people, to perfect us and to wash us in the healing blood that Christ is still shedding upon those who believe. Those who would minister the grace and knowledge of God to His people must pay a price. May God use some of us to be able to do that!
Concerning this, one brother wrote the following:
Pastor John:
I have some
questions. There must be a difference between crying and weeping? Can you tell
us what it is? I suspect that weeping is a deeper feeling than crying, sort of
like dying is a deeper state of being than hurting? I take it that by "dying for
God's people", it is not a physical death, but rather the putting to death of
our "old man"?
Brother Mark
=============
Hi Brother Mark:
Good
questions. My feeling, when the holy Ghost was speaking these things
through me, was that the Lord meant "cry" in the sense of "crying out". In Isaiah's
prophecy of John the baptizer, we have an example of this. It is a prophecy
of God's commandment to John, and John's earnest request that the Lord would clarify
His commandment, much the same way that you are asking me to clarify what I
mean by the word "cry". Here is my rendition of Isaiah 40:6:
"The Voice
commanded, 'Cry!'"
"What shall I cry?"
"All flesh is grass, and all
the loveliness of it is as the flower of the field.
The grass withers;
the flower fades, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it."
This is true! The people are grass. By saying, "Cry for my people" as we were praying the other night, I felt that the Lord was pleading with us to make a new and greater effort to cry out against the things that have ruined the fellowship of the saints. The love of God compels us to get this message out to His precious, divided people.
As for "Die for my people", I can only say that my impression
was that the Lord was calling us to die physically for His people, or
at least be willing to. But even if that did happen, that sacrifice would be worthless
unless we die to ourselves and to sin first; so, I suppose you could say
that the Lord was calling us to both.
Pastor John