The Blessed

Posted on January 5, 2021 by AntiochCMI

PSALMS 1

BLESSED is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the Law of the LORD; and in His Law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a Tree, planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he does shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so; but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the Judgment, nor sinners in the Congregation of the Righteous.

For the LORD knows the way of the Righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

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Kiss the Son

Posted on January 4, 2021 by AntiochCMI

PSALMS 2

WHY do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against His Anointed, saying. . .

Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

He that sits in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision.

Then shall He speak to them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure.

Yet, have I set my King upon my Holy Hill of Zion.

I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to me, THOU art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee.

Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession.

Thou shall break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings; be instructed ye judges of the earth.

Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.

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Fairest Lord Jesus

Posted on January 3, 2021 by AntiochCMI

Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all Nature, O’ Thou of God and Man the Son; Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor, Thou, my soul’s Glory, Joy and Crown.

Fair are the meadows, Fairer still the woodlands, Robed in the blooming garb of Spring. Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer, Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine, Fairer still the moonlight, And all the twinkling starry host; Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer, Than all the Angels heaven can boast.

Beautiful Savior, Lord of the Nations, Son of God and Son of Man! Glory and honor, Praise, adoration, Now and forevermore be Thine!

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A. H. Hoffmann von Fallersieben (1842) from the German Hymn Collection: Schlesische Volkslieder (Collection of Folksongs)

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Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory

Posted on January 1, 2021 by AntiochCMI

“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword; His truth is marching on” (Julia Ward Howe, 1861).

Oh, the sword of the Lord, the sword of the Lord! The prophet, Isaiah, calls it a “sore and great and strong sword” (Isaiah 27:1). Indeed, the Lord doth wear it upon His thigh, but not for naught. With His “sore and great and strong sword,” He “shall punish Leviathan, the piercing serpent, even Leviathan that crooked serpent; and He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.”

As the poet has declared: His truth is marching on. You dragons, serpents, snakes, vipers, spies, liars, beasts and false prophets, beware; the sword of the Lord doth come for thee. It will punish you, slay you and turn you back.

The Lord shall keep His Vineyard. He says, “I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day” (Isaiah 27:3). “The Father is the husbandman and vinedresser” (cf. John 15:1). The Vineyard belongs to Him and is precious in His sight.

The “Word of the Lord is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

The Sword of the Lord is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). Therefore, you Saints of the Almighty, rejoice! Be strong, be bold, be brave. Speak the Word of the Lord, the words spoken by the prophets. Go forth in the power of His might. With your own eyes you will see the glory of the Lord; for you have be sent to turn the world upside down.

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Blessed Assurance

Posted on December 29, 2020 by AntiochCMI

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Chorus:

This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight, Visions of rapture now burst on my sight; Angels descending, bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of Love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest. I in my Savior am happy and blest; Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His Goodness, lost in His Love.

Chorus:

Fanny J Crosby, 1873 (1820-1915)

This is our story, this is our song for 2021: Assurance, Glory, Salvation, Born Again, Washed, Submission, Delight, Vision, Angels, Mercy, Rest, Blessed, Watching, Filled, Lost in His Love. Jesus!

Happy New Year from Apostello Journal!

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Is There a Word from the Lord?

Posted on December 27, 2020 by AntiochCMI

“Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to Jeremiah and took him out of prison; and the king ask Jeremiah secretly in his house: ‘Is there a word from the Lord’? Jeremiah said, ‘There is. You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon'” (Jeremiah 37:17).

In a previous post we stated, as the Scripture declares: “The Government shall be upon His shoulders” (Isaiah 9:6). The Government is established by the ordinance of God, and they that resist His ordinance shall receive to themselves His judgment (cf. Romans 13:1-2).

In the days of Zedekiah, “neither the king, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did harken unto the words of the Lord spoken by the prophet, Jeremiah” (Jeremiah 37:2). A rebellious people will never prosper under the royal reign of heaven.

Right now in our time, in this day there is a mighty battle being fought in the heavens. The royal reign of heaven is a reign of righteousness, justice and equity. The scepter of the Kingdom is a scepter of righteousness. The battle is enjoined, what shall we then do? Believe, follow and agree with the words of the prophets. They will forever speak the word of the Lord in truth, power and authority.

In the great day of battle in the days of Jehoshaphat, when Moab and Ammon came against the nation, “all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. Then upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation; and he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king, Jehoshaphat, thus saith the Lord unto you: Be not afraid nor be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s” (II Chronicles 20:13-15).

Jehoshaphat, the king, responded to the word of the Lord by saying, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, so shall you be established; believe his prophets, so shall you prosper” (II Chronicles 20:20b).

Is there a word from the Lord? Yes. What then shall we do? Pray, intercede, repent and call on the name of the Lord. What you hear from heaven speak with all the authority of His royal reign. The Government is upon His shoulders, and you have been sent to turn the world upside down.

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When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

Posted on December 26, 2020 by AntiochCMI

This morning as I was getting ready for my day, the song, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross came drifting into my spirit. Written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), this wonderful hymn would have been sung by our Founding Fathers in the Colonies and as a New Nation. As we enter the New Year, 2021, may we keep our perspective to always embrace the Crucified.

  1. WHEN I survey the Wondrous Cross, on which the Prince of Glory died. My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.
  2. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God; All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.
  3. See, from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and Love flow mingled down; Did e’er such Love and Sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
  4. Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small, Love so amazing, so Divine, Demands my Soul, my Life, my All. Amen.

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The Government Shall Be Upon His Shoulders

Posted on December 23, 2020 by AntiochCMI

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulders. . .” (Isaiah 9:6a).

The Hebrew word for shoulders is Shechem. Shechem was the first place to welcome Abram upon his entrance in the Land of Canaan; whereupon Abram built an altar and called upon the name of the LORD (cf. Genesis 12:5-7). Shechem was the place of Joshua’s final assembly of the people and where he made a Covenant with them to serve the LORD (cf. Joshua 24:1,25-27). Shechem is the first and the last, the beginning and the end; the shoulders of Israel; the place of Covenant and Government.

The Government shall be upon the shoulders of Him who was sent to establish the reign of righteousness in the Kingdom of God. Isaiah spoke further, “of the increase of His Government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His Kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth and forever. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:7).

The Prophet says the Kingdom will be established during a time of darkness, vexation and affliction. For the “people that walked in darkness have seen a great Light; they that dwell in the Land of the Shadow of Death, upon them has the Light shined” (Isaiah 9:2). Regardless of the times, seasons, or stresses upon God’s people, the Kingdom shall be established upon the shoulders of Him Who sits upon the throne, The Lamb of God (cf. Revelations 5). His “name shall be called, Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6b).

Abram made his claim by faith to the promise of God by building an altar and calling on the Name of the LORD at the Great Oak in the Plain of Moreh, in Shechem. Joshua made his claim to possession of the Land by his Covenant, Statute and Ordinance at the Great Stone, by the Oak at the sanctuary of God to serve as a witness to the Covenant so made. We make our claim to all the promises of God through the Blood of the Covenant, the Blood of the Lamb at the Cross of Calvary. We make our claim to the Kingdom and the Government of God in our Land, in our Day, in our Generation, the zeal of the LORD of Hosts has performed this. The Government has been established upon His shoulders, our Great Shechem of God. Do you believe this? Go!. You have been sent to turn the world upside down.

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Kept By the Power

Posted on December 20, 2020 by AntiochCMI

“Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).

We have previously exhorted to “Stay in Power”. There is a powerful reason to stay in Power because as the Apostle declares it is that same Power that keeps us through faith to obtain the salvation in which we steadfastly hope.

The Power keeps by, as the Greek word means: “to be a watcher; i.e. to mount a guard as a sentinel; to protect as with a garrison.” [Strongs #5432]. When we stay in Power, we are kept by the Power as though surrounded by a garrison of watchers for our souls. Kind of makes you think of the President surrounded by the Secret Service, watching the lay of the land, the surroundings for the slightest sign of danger to the “prized possession” (cf. Ephesians 1:14).

The prophet Isaiah declared, “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD keep not silent” (Isaiah 62:6). “For thus hath the LORD said unto me, ‘Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he sees'” (Isaiah 21:6). [Land of Promise/Mizpah]

The LORD has given us Power to be our guard, to be a garrison around us, to be a sentinel to protect us in the evil day. We live in the evil age, the “mystery of iniquity” (II Thessalonians 2:7) is active among us; spies who seek to destroy; but the Greater One is in us, the Power of the Most High, the dunamis, the dynamite of the Holy Spirit shall guard our hearts and keep us in perfect peace in every trial, every test, every temptation that tries our souls and tests our faith. Keep your chin up, you have been sent to turn the world upside down.

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Pen of a Ready Writer

Posted on December 18, 2020 by AntiochCMI

“My heart overflows (literal: bubbles up) with a good matter: I speak of the things touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer” (Psalms 45:1).

Jesus said, “From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). The Psalmist says his heart is “bubbling up” with good things. His heart was full of praise for his king. He is ecstatic in his praise saying, “You are fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into your lips: therefore God has blessed you forever” (Ps. 45:2).

“We speak what we know” (John 3:11), and what we know comes from the Father of Lights as we behold Him in His Majesty. We speak out of our relationship with the Father; and out of our experience with the Divine Life of the Son, the Lamb.

There are qualities of virtue and grace that are birthed in us in these times together in the Presence. We come to love righteousness and hate iniquity, as is the nature of the Divine (see 45:7). We understand that righteousness, truth and justice with meekness come from the Throne, and the reign of the Lamb is with a Scepter of Righteousness (see 45:6).

There are many who oppose the Lamb. We encounter the enemy within his domain in an age of corruption, evil and shame. Therefore, the Lord of glory is girded with His sword on His thigh, and reigns with mighty power in His glory and Majesty (45:3: Ephesians 6:11). The sword of the Lord is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17) by which our enemies are smitten and defeated before us.

We are the Royal Bride of the Lamb and reign with Him in the Highest Heaven. We rejoice and are glad as we commune with our King (45:15). Out from our communion and fellowship comes the overflow, the bubbling up, the effervescence, of words, and expressions as from the pen of a ready writer.

Speak that which you know; speak that which you have been given; speak as an “oracle of God” (1 Peter 4:11) from the manifold grace received (4:10). You have been sent to turn the world upside down.

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