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Being the Salt
and Light by Walking in the Truth
by Rick Joyner
www.MorningStarMinistries.org
It is crucial to not just know the truth, but
to love the truth. Today I am going to take it one more step to
walking in truth. Knowing the truth is important, but not enough.
Loving the truth is important, but not enough. We must live what we
believe if we are going to be true. Jesus did not come to just be the
Way or just be the Truth, but He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
If we are going to truly know Him and follow Him, He must be all three
to us.
The harvest that is the end of the age is the maturing of everything
that has been sown in man, both the good and the evil. This is why it
will be the fulfillment of Isaiah 60:1-2, "Arise, shine; for your
light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For
behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples,
but the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you."
Here we are told that at the same time the great darkness is coming
upon the peoples, the glory of the Lord is appearing upon His people.
This is the time that we are coming to, and to walk through the great
darkness that is coming, we are going to need the greatest light.
Character and Power
Before the very end of this age, it will require both the character of
Christ and the power of Christ to prevail. This is the Lord's
intention - to compel us into the Light. The lukewarm will not make it
through what is coming. The clear differences between the light and
darkness will continue to increase. For this reason it is inevitable
that increasing division will come all over the world. The lines are
being drawn, and the sides chosen by all who live on the earth. This
is the great "valley of decision" (Joel 3:14).
It is for this reason we should all be committed to the truth of
Proverbs 4:18 in our lives, "But the path of the righteous is
like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the
full day." If we are still on "the path of the righteous" we
should be experiencing more light and understanding each day. Those
who are on the path of the righteous will have a hunger for the truth
and a conviction to obey the truth and will walk in it. These are two
basic issues that we should always be watchful of in our lives. This
becomes increasingly important as we proceed toward the end of this
age and see Hebrews 12:26-29 coming to pass:
"And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised,
saying, 'Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the
heaven.' And this expression, 'Yet once more,' denotes the removing of
those things which can be shaken, as of created things, in order that
those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we
receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by
which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and
awe; for our God is a consuming fire."
Everything Seems to Be Getting Less and Less
Stable
The long trusted institutions are showing
great cracks in their foundations. Even the governments that once
seemed so strong are beginning to totter. This is because of the
shaking that is already beginning to take place. The Lord, in His
mercy and patience, is allowing it to come upon the world gradually,
in increasing waves, just as contractions come upon a woman in labor.
As we get closer to the birth of the new age in which Christ will
reign over the earth, the contractions will become more intense and
more frequent.
However, we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and if we are
building our lives on it we will not shake either. This is leading to
a place where Christians will become the only stable ones on the earth
and all others will be increasingly disconcerted and fearful. Every
life will become either full of increasing light and faith, or filled
with increasing confusion and fear.
We are coming to the time when the economy, schools, banks, police,
and even some of our most trusted governments, are going to become
less and less stable. This is not something that should surprise us,
but something for which we need to prepare. This is, in fact, already
the case for most of the world. There are many countries where it is
hard to determine who will be in power from day to day. Police
departments are corrupt, supporting the ones who offer them the most.
The economies of these countries are based more on the black market
than on the stock market. However, these are also the places where
some of the strongest Christians are found in the world. In some of
these places the Christians are turning their shaky, national
governments into strong, stable ones. These still may not be up to the
standards enjoyed by some countries over the last few centuries, but
great progress is being made. This is from the Lord.
Right Foundations
The nations that are stable today are mostly the ones who are
benefiting from strong Christian foundations. These too will be
tested, but to the degree that they are built on the right foundation
they will stand the test. Therefore, it is one of our purposes as the
salt of the earth and the light of the world to help steer them to
that which alone can stand the testing that is coming.
It is for this reason that if we are blessed to live in a democracy
where we cannot only speak the truth, but also vote for righteous
leaders, we are failing in our purpose if we do not do so. Many
well-meaning, but deceived Christians think that it does not matter
who they vote for because God is going to put His people in office
regardless. This is not the case. As we are told in Psalm 115:16,
"The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given
to the sons of men." This means that He has given man the
authority for what happens on the earth. As it has been well said, the
only thing required for evil to prevail in a place is for the
righteous to do nothing. If it happens on our watch, then it is us who
have allowed it.
It is because the Lord has given the authority over the earth to men
that He will not intervene on the earth until we pray. He knows what
we need even before we ask Him, but He will even Himself comply with
our authority, and only give us what we ask for. That is why the Lord
Jesus continually referred to Himself as "the Son of Man." He could
not redeem the earth as God, but had to do it as a man. Until He
returns and sets up His throne on the earth, He has given the earth
His church as the salt that preserves and the light to show the way.
The Power of Prayer
Because prayer can move the hand of God, there is nothing more
powerful that we can do on this earth than pray. Therefore, an
intercessory prayer meeting can accomplish more for the good of the
earth than the United Nations and all congresses and parliaments
combined. However, this does not mean that we are wasting our time
voting or participating in the political process. As we are discussing
walking in truth, walking involves touching the earth. If we are going
to walk in truth, we are going to stand for truth in every way that we
can touch the earth. This is one way that we can effectively be the
salt and light we are called to be. To not take advantage of such an
opportunity is a dereliction of our duty as citizens and Christians.
As Christians, we should be far more devoted to our duty to the church
and the kingdom of God, but that does not negate our duty as citizens.
In the next United States Presidential term, there will likely be many
judges appointed, including Supreme Court judges that can have a very
basic impact on the moral direction of the nation. Not only the
President, but the Congress, as well as many state officials, will
have a major say in who these judges will be. It was not the Congress
but the courts that removed prayer from schools, legalized abortion,
and have in many other ways flagrantly opposed the standards of
righteousness and justice established in the Scriptures. In most
Western nations it has been proactive judges who were used to try and
remove the Word of God from having any influence in our culture. We
should be praying for all government officials and using our vote to
put in office those who will not only lead well, but place in other
appointed positions the ones who will be righteous. This is part of
our responsibility on earth that has been given to us.
There will be nations that have been built upon a strong foundation
according to God's standards of righteousness and justice that will
stand the shaking that is coming. If our nation does not pass this
test, it is because the Christians in it were not the salt and light
that they were called to be. To be the salt and light that we are
called to be, we do not want to get overbalanced in our devotion to
the natural, but neither do we want to neglect anything that we can
do. Vote, and vote according to the Lord's standards of righteousness
and justice.
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A Personal Note From Rick
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We are expecting our Harvest Conference this year to be another
historic event. This year it will be held at "The King's Arena," on
the grounds of the former "Heritage USA." We are confident that a
message will go forth from this conference that is critical for the
times. Make your plans now to be there. It will be for six days,
September 21 through September 26, and the registration is still only
$50 per person. There will be a children's conference also running
concurrently.
Some of this year's guest ministries will be Todd Bentley, John Chacha,
Jack Deere, Phil Driscoll, T.W. Hunt, Ricky Skaggs, and others. For
more information, or to register, call our t.oll f.ree number at
1-8.0.0-542-0278. Space is limited, and it is likely that we will be
booked up before the conference begins, so please do not come without
pre-registering. |
