Summer 1992

A New Day
Nancy Warner

"Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall
prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in
the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his
paths straight" Mark 1:2b-3.

As John the Baptist was prepared to become the voice of one crying in the wilderness of his day, the Lord is quietly preparing a voice for the critical hour in which we live.

The Lord is moving upon those who are constraining Him to abide with them. He is looking for those whom He can enlighten in a Scriptural understanding that will enable them to walk with Him into the new day that is before us. As a Bride, these are being adorned to be at His side. As Sons, they are being prepared to partake of His purpose for our day, and for all eternity. In order to know Him in this measure, we must spend much time in His presence.

There is a depth of knowing Him that can only come by being with Him.

As we spend time with Him, a love and appreciation for His presence will grow within our hearts. The privilege and delight of continually abiding in the full manifestation of His presence and glory is only understood as daily we experience glimpses of what this means. As we receive these touches of His presence, the desire to be with Him in the full manifestation of His presence in the age to come, will grow in our hearts until we say with John, "Even so come Lord Jesus."

We are incapable of fully appreciating what was lost when man sinned. We receive glimpses in the Word of the coming day in which God Himself and the Lamb will lighten the earth and there will be no more darkness or evil. This is beyond our minds' ability to comprehend, yet it stirs within us a desire for the Lord which diminishes our desire for earthly things. We rejoice, even as the heavens rejoice, at the coming Day of our Lord.

This expectancy will carry us through the transitional period that is before us. Before God's presence can fill the earth, there must first be a cleansing of the heavens and of the earth. Various layers of judgment stands between the present day of Grace, and the day of the Kingdom.

"And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God
and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall
serve Him: And they shall see His face; and His name shall
be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there;
and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the
Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever
and ever: Rev 22:3-5.

There must be in our day those who so understand the Lord's workings that regardless how dark it becomes, they will rise up to give Him thanks. These will stand with faith and expectancy in the coming day of His power as they have been prepared to both hear and obey.

When Jesus left the tomb, the disciples were not there expectantly waiting for the stone to be rolled away. Rather they were scattered, confused, and unbelieving. Yet when Jesus ascended, they waited in one place, and in one accord for the promise of the Father. A knowing Him, and an understanding of His ways had finally come, and the expectancy of the hour held them.

We must ask the Lord to enlighten us that we might understand the Scriptures that relate to this critical time. Where will we be when the earth is trembling, and all is dark? Will we be found waiting expectantly because we know Him and have an understanding of His purpose? "When the Son of Man cometh, will He find faith on the earth?" Or will we be confused, wandering, and disbelieving His words as only an idle tale to our ears?

We must become acquainted with a personal God in a personal way. The Lord desires that we constrain Him because we desire His presence in our lives. We must ask ourselves, do we miss Him when He is not manifestly present with us? Do we recognize the difference when He is personally present, and when He is not?

The Holy Spirit has been given that we might know Him, and the hope of our calling. Paul prayed that we would be given "the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." We will find Him when we seek Him. He will reveal Himself to us. As we KNOCK, understanding will be opened unto us.

We must become grounded in his Lordship. He is in charge. He holds the keys of hell and of death. The times and the seasons are in His hands. We do not need to figure it all out. We need only to come to that place of knowing Him and becoming prepared, even as John the Baptist was prepared, to be used in whatever capacity for whatever amount of time the Lord desires.

God is seeking for those who desire not only to have their sins forgiven, but who will choose also to submit to his Lordship. These who are willing to be "processed" are being changed into His image and likeness, a Bride being made ready for the marriage supper of the Lamb.

He longs for us to become involved in the preparations to become a part of His Bride. All else is in His full control, but these must come by their choice. In His time, through these He will bring forth His glory. The travail of His soul will be satisfied when a people, born of His Spirit, washed in His own blood, made Kings and priests unto our God, begin to worship Him eternally in the fullness of His presence.

We can choose to become a part of His higher purpose for our day and for all eternity, or we can remain in the comfort of our present spiritual experience.

Let us choose rightly.