"And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' ”
Christ will come when the Holy Spirit and the Bride of Christ, in unison, say "Come".
Christ is not coming today because, while the Spirit may be proclaiming it, the cry of most of the Bride today is not "Come." The cry heard from most of the Bride today is "Me" -- Heal Me, Provide for Me, Deliver Me, Prosper Me, Protect Me, Bless Me. In order to cry "Come", the Bride must first turn its focus off of "Me".
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Rev. 3:20-22)
It is interesting that this passage is not directed to the unbeliever, as many have used it, but it is spoken to the churches - to His Bride. While it is true that He will eat with anyone who hears His Voice, as good as that may be, it is just the foundation - the beginning of our kingdom walk. It is only those who overcome in the same way that He overcame that will rule and reign with Him on His throne.
When you and I dine together, we learn of each other through our conversation. In like manner, to dine with Him means to come to know Him in a relationship setting as our Provider, our Healer, our Deliverer, etc. - a wonderful and needful experience. But, that is just stepping inside the door with Him, occupying a seat at the dinner table in one room of the house and having Him satisfy our needs. To sit on His throne, ruling and reigning with Him over the entire kingdom, is an entirely different dimension, a different attitude that requires of us to function in this world as He did.
What, then, does it mean to "overcome as He overcame?"
"Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God." (I Peter 4:1-2)
"And they overcame…by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." (Rev. 12:11)
As long as we are pre-occupied with "Me", my needs, my wants, my desires (all to be used for God - right?) we will only be satisfying the flesh. To be an overcomer means to overcome "Me". It is to place my needs, my wants, my desires in subjection to Him so that I may concentrate on the wants, needs and desires of others. This is what it means to "lay down my life." (John 15:13)
"And he who overcomes, AND keeps My works (Matthew 25:31-46 ; Isaiah 58) until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—
He shall rule them with a rod of iron;
They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels ---
as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Rev. 2:26-29)
We who are the Bride are in training for that glorious hour when the Messiah comes to occupy His throne in Jerusalem and to rule and reign right here on earth, terra firma, for a thousand years. We who have overcome as He overcame will have the privilege of ruling and reigning with Him on His throne (again note, that dining with Him is not the same as ruling with Him). But our overcoming isn't going to just magically happen one day when He appears. If every other area of our spiritual growth is developed through the trials and tribulations we experience, wouldn't we also be developed in like manner in this arena as well? Overcoming begins with us, individually, being exercised today in resisting the temptation of the world and in laying down our lives among those we live and work around. This is our training ground, our preparation for that hour.
Most of the Bride today is pre-occupied with the elimination of rather than the embracing of the personal suffering they find in their lives. Embracing the suffering, as He did, allows us to move into a deeper and more fulfilling walk with God. As long as the Bride is focused on "Me", we will not be crying for Him to "Come." When He comes, in whatever manner He chooses, things will happen that will require us to die. If we have not been exercised in dying to ourselves in this hour, we will shrink from it in the next. Dying means to get beyond "Me." It is time to get beyond "Me." As long as we are not focused by He who lives within us to die to ourselves (I John 2:15-17), we will not be focused on His Coming.
There are those among His Bride who have captured this vision and are calling Him to "Come" today - who are (as He did) willingly laying down their lives for others today. He will have a glorious Bride, without spot and blemish. Of how many there are, only He knows. They are those who are ruling and reigning with Him over the flesh and the world in this hour and will be in the next.
"Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." Phil.2:1-3
The choice before us today is: where do we want to be seated....
merely dining or occupying the throne?
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