08/11/12

Even in His anger shines His love and mercy

Psalms 86:14,15 - O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.


Before I get to today's message I like to expand verse 15 of today's message so that the right understanding is received. Many Hebrew and Greek words have multiple meanings in English; it is only by understanding the Bible and making sure all scriptures are in line with other scriptures that the right word can be concluded. The following words do not have their right rendering here.

'Compassion' comes from the root word 'racham' and should be 'love' here

'Longsuffering' should be 'slow to anger' for people think longsuffering means to suffer for a long time and thus associate suffering to the will of God. If God desired we suffer then He would not have sent His Son to come and become a sacrifice for us and take away our suffering.

'Mercy', the Hebrew word 'checed' used here means actually kindness here (for if 'plenteous in mercy' is used it contradicts or repeats 'gracious' for grace means all the mercy required to get the job done).

The verse therefore should be -
Psalms 86:15 - But thou, O Lord, art a God full of love, and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in kindness and truth.

On the 6th we received a message about the Lord giving wrong people to govern; then itself I knew it was for the people in the United States of America, and yesterday the message was fulfilled. Obama does have some very wrong thinking which goes against Christianity but yet we see the Lord put him in that position like the Lord put the king of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar to rule over His people when they did not keep His Instructions, when they boasted of their blessings. The Lord was with Nebuchadnezzar in the start and made him great in all the land until he started considering himself to be a god and started idolizing himself. Then the Lord made a testimony of him and he was made to eat wild grass to survive. The policies of Obama will cause a lot of anger of God to come and the people to see suffering from a front man cannot control. Yet like in the message given on the 6th the Lord will make the Christians of USA better Christians through this suffering.

Paul said, in weakness he saw the strength of God manifest most. Although God is always with His people, it is only when they totally rely on Him alone and not on their own ability and strength that they see the glory of God shine the brightest.

Today the Lord is speaking to all our American brothers and sisters in the Lord who have discernment and have called on His Name but did not get their prayer answered. He is telling them in His anger He did put them in this turmoil but even in this anger His love, His grace, His tolerance, His kindness and His light will shine.

Remember Daniel who was in captivity, yet he did great not only within the people of God, but even those whose who did not know the Lord came to know Him through Daniel. Historians record Daniel's influence throughout the various continents right unto Asia.

The Lord is telling them He is about to do something wonderful with His people there and soon we will see strong Men and Women of God rise from that land.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, You are God and good Father. You chastise your children not because You hate them but because You love them and do not want to see them perish. Lord, we thank You for the work You are to do among our brothers and sisters in USA. We know You will let problems come but will never let the problems crush them. Your grace will keep them and take them through it. You will refine them like gold is refined...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scriptures ]
2 Corinthians 12:10 - Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong

Ezra 5:12 - But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon.

Jeremiah 27:5-11
5 I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
7 And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.
8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:
10 For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.
11 But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.

Daniel 3:1-6
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

Daniel 4:8-17
8 But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying,
9 O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.
10 Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.
11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:
12 The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.
13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;
14 He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:
15 Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:
16 Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.
17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

Daniel 4:28-33
28 All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
29 At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.
30 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?
31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.
32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.

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