12. “For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told”

Habakkuk 1:5  “‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour. They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!”

Ezekiel 12:25-28    For I am the LORD; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord GOD.”  And the word of the LORD came to me:  “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’  Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord GOD.”

Daniel 9:12    He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem.

Acts 13:40-41    Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:  “‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”

Look at these words; “For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told”, “I am raising up”, “For I am the LORD; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed.  It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house”, “None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord GOD.”, “He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity”, “‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish”.   Pride has a way of blinding people from their sin and the need for Jesus Christ the Redeemer.  Their hearts are hardened and their reliance is in the might of their rulers boasting and perceived power.  They scoff at God and willingly choose to defy Him.  They deny He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present.  They trust in worldly things and what the world has to offer without giving thought to the consequences of their actions before God.  It is easy for us to call out their disrespect for God.  Are we guiltless?  Do we lean more toward what society is approving and calling out things that are alright to do but God’s Word clearly speaks against?  Do we listen to worldly wisdom over the wisdom and truth in God’s Word?  Do we pretend we are alright before God?  Do we perform acts, not out of faith but rather out of hoping it will make our lukewarm neglectful complacent lives right before God?  Oh, that our hearts and minds sought after God with all our soul and strength.  Oh that our hunger and thirst for His Word would be exponentially greater than the time and energy we spend seeking after what this world has to offer.  Oh, that our eyes would be opened to see the difference and our ears would be opened to clearly hear Him speak into our lives.  We are not guiltless unless Jesus Christ is our Savior, Redeemer, and King of our lives for every minute of every day.  Live to honor and glorify the KING OF KINGS.

Depart from Me, I never knew you!

“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

Psa 50:“Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers. “You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. “Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!

Isaiah 48:22    “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”

Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins.  Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.  ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.  Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.  Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD?  “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Matthew 7:22  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

This is what God says: “For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.”  “But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. “Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!” and “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”  Do we see these comments directed at us or someone else?  Do we look intently into our heart with God’s word and seeking for Him to expose our luke warmness toward humbly serving, honoring, following and obeying Him?  Do we choose to hear His voice through His word?  If we are not choosing to spend time in His word how will we recognize Him speaking to us?  How will we know how to humbly serve, or honor, or trust, or glorify, or follow and obey Him?  Do we think for a minute that this comes through osmosis?  No we must dedicate ourselves to it, desire it, and recognize the culture we live in is trying to (and easily does) pull us away for meaningless matters that do nothing for our soul and robs us of our purpose for God.  Choose this day to make a change.  Choose to spend time in His word and encourage others to do the same.