Wednesday, December 10, 2014

A NEW THING

Is the Lord done working? Did He stop working after He created man on the sixth day? I have heard lots of views along this line. I have heard people say that since the Bible tells us that God rested on the sixth day, it means he stopped working. And I have believed that myself for a while until the light came on. You see, we don’t rest because we wouldn’t work again. That isn’t the purpose of resting. In fact, that wouldn’t be resting but giving up! But then, we rest every day, after the activities of the day, we all go home and sleep at night in preparation for the next day – that’s the meaning of rest. We rest to work again or continue our work, as the case may be. Let me state here that work is never a bad thing at all. It wasn’t a result of the fall. It is a good thing – a blessing! We were meant to work from the place of rest, just as God does. Work is about fulfilling a purpose and we all have a divine purpose to fulfil here on earth. God never and has never stopped working since creation! He has a purpose for the earth that must be fulfilled and He isn’t about to give up on His purpose and plan for the earth. There was a reason why He created the earth and put man in it to govern it. In fact the Lord Jesus declares in John 5:17 “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” Also 2 Corinthians 5:19 tells us that “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself...” (AMP). God has been at work on the earth! You see, there are two dimensions to the creation of the earth – the direct and the indirect. On the sixth day, God simply finished the direct creation of the earth and rested, not because He was tired, but because He was done with that phase of creation. This was also to show His Man the need for rest. We don’t only rest because we are tired, rest is very important if we must keep our productivity intact. Rest is so important to man that God gave the law of the Sabbath to the Israelites. The earth God created directly (in Genesis) was the seed-earth. Understand that many things God created between Genesis 1 and 2 were in their seed form. Even man (Adam and Eve) was the seed for populating the earth with human beings like you and me. The earth God created was simply the blueprint for man to continue the creation of the earth. God was going to continue with the next phase of creation – the indirect creation through His man. He created Adam in His own image, as a speaking being to speak forth new things into being just as He did in His direct creation. God put His creative ability into His man to continue His creation upon the earth. In other words, Adam was not the end of God’s creation, but a means to the end of it. That was actually the next phase of God’s work and He is still at it till date, as long as this earth remains. That is why the earth has been constantly advancing. Today, we are in a technology age. It hasn’t always been this way! When you do a proper study of Genesis 1 and 2, from God’s purpose for creating man and His instructions to him, you’d clearly see these facts. However, when sin entered the world, this plan was interrupted. Man fell short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 tells us “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (NKJV). Influenced by the devil, men started using this creative ability from the Lord to accomplish their selfish and evil purposes. Unfortunately, this is still happening today among the unsaved. But thank God, through Jesus Christ, He reconnected us back to the original plan. Today, every man that is born again is a New Creation in Christ. The New Creation is God’s new thing upon the earth. It changed everything! Now, the glory of God has been restored back to us! When the Glory of the Lord is upon a man, he produces new things! He becomes a wonder to the world. We’ve become New Creatures in Christ and have been empowered to keep God’s agenda for the earth in motion (2Cor. 5:17, Eph. 2:10). Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].” (AMP). Praise God! The Lord declares in Isaiah 43:18,19 “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” So, we often sing: “Do something new in my life, O Lord” and we go to bed unaware that this would happen in partnership. When we recognize the power that has been divinely vested on us, we’d rather start creating new things through our words in the same way God did in the creation of the earth. Do you want to see a new thing in your life? Then declare a new thing into your life and the power of God would make it happen! God is actually waiting on you. He is waiting for your words to establish it. Job 22:28 declares “Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” Glory to God! Therefore, we’ve got to recognize our roles in the things the Lord is presently doing on the earth. Just like God worked through the Lord Jesus Christ while on earth to reconcile the world to Himself, He wants to walk through you to bring about new things on the earth. I speak to you, in the Name of Jesus: Get ready for new things! New things are going to spring forth for, from and through you. Great things never seen or heard of before would show up through you! When men hear what the Lord is doing in and through you, their ears would tingle. All these would happen because the glory of the Lord is upon you! Concerning you, it shall yet be said: “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children.” (Isaiah 66:8 NKJV). You are going to birth new things never heard of before. Keep those divine visions and dreams alive because they would come to pass in grand style. Like the Psalmist, you’d yet say “I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.” (Psalm 71:7). Glory to God! Watch out for it. Give God the praise. Glory!