Summer 1996
Vision
Wade E Taylor

We must respond to the Lord in obedience to His will, if we are to enter new plateaus of spiritual life and experience.

"Where there is no vision, the people
perish" Prov 29:18a.

If we understand that there is something that we can obtain which is beyond our salvation experience, then our capacity for God can be enlarged.

"Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let
them stretch forth the curtains of thine
habitations: Spare not, lengthen thy cords,
and strengthen thy stakes: for thou shalt
break forth on the right hand and on the
left" Isa 54:2-3a.

As this spiritual enlargement takes place, the Lord will impart to us more of His Divine nature. This increased capacity within will enable us to "weave" our Bridal garment, which is to be worn when we appear at the "marriage supper of the Lamb."

"The king's daughter is all glorious within:
her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall
be brought unto the King in raiment of
needlework" Psalm 45:13-14a.

This overcoming quality of a willing obedience is expressed in Rev 19:7b.

"For the marriage of the Lamb is come,
and His wife hath made herself ready."

There are two different garments that relate to those who are redeemed. The first is the garment of salvation, which we freely receive through identification with the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross. Here, it is our robes which are washed.

"These are they which came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes,
and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb" Rev 7:14b.

The second is the garment of the overcomer, that which we ourselves weave.

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man
will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow me" Matt 16:24.

"And to her was granted that she should array
herself in fine linen, clean and white; for
the fine linen is the righteous acts of the
saints" Rev 19:8 NASB.

This garment of the overcomer is woven by our life experiences as we die to our ways and take up our cross by choosing to overcome.

"To him that overcometh will I grant to
sit with Me in My Throne, even as I also
overcame, and am set down with my Father
in His Throne" Rev 3:21.

It is the Bride who sits with the Heavenly Bridegroom in His Throne. Each of us have been offered this opportunity to "weave" our Bridal garment through our overcoming experiences, that we might be prepared to sit with Him.

Our Lord is at the door knocking. It is up to us to open the door. "If any man will ..." There is a responsibility on our part to respond to God. This response begins with the yielding of our will to Him. He will do the rest, as we take up our cross daily, and follow Him.