Great Darkness BUT the Lord Shall Arise Upon His People (Part II)

Last month’s issue reminded us of the great evil that we see in our world. Even in a lifetime, we have seen the depravity that has flooded our nation. Is it true that America is too far gone? …That there is no more hope for our nation? I declare to you that this is ABSOLUTELY not true. We will never stop believing that our God is going to bring revival back to our land! We will never stop believing that America will turn back to our great God. Amen! …But we must believe.

We read in Isaiah 60:1-2, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.” The subject here is “you”. “You arise, and you shine because the Light is come.” We know that Jesus is the Light and He has already come; but I believe that this Light, Jesus, is going to manifest in our world like never before. Notice, His glory is risen upon His people. At the same time, we see that “gross darkness” will cover the earth and the people. “Darkness” is the emblem of adversity. This darkness will envelope the whole world except where it is illuminated by the gospel. Is this what is happening in our world? “Gross darkness” is a thick vapor; a deep obscurity. I see the “gross darkness”, but I am ready to see the glory. Yes, there are pockets of glory, but I am ready to see His glory in greater ways. Is it because that we have not arisen and allow the Light to shine through us? I can assure you that those who are of the darkness are arising and boldly declaring their darkness in our nation. I am tired of it, aren’t you? Don’t you get tired of sin being flaunted through our news media. Let us arise and shine the Light, Jesus! I believe that as we do, the glory will come upon the church.

Isaiah 60:3&4 says, “And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.” The glory will be so great that it will attract the distant nations. They shall come and experience the blessings of the preached Word. Those in leadership will come to the “brightness of thy rising”. I believe that we must arise and shine, but this is talking about something different. This “rising” means

the rising that is coming upon the church -- the beams of the glory of God that comes will be seen when the glory comes upon her. People will be drawn to this glory.

Notice what happens. When this kind of glory comes upon the church, multitudes will come to Jesus. Yes, right in the midst of much trouble in the earth. Don’t stop believing for your family to come to the Lord. Notice again, our sons and daughters are coming back. I don’t know what kind of pig’s pen that our children have played in, but I declare that they will come to the Lord, in Jesus’ name! The Prodigal in Luke 15 lost all that he had, began to hunger, but “came to himself” in the pig’s pen. When he “came to himself”, he went to his father. I would hope that our children would not wait until they are at their lowest place before they come to the Father. We have a Promise in Jeremiah 31:16&17. “Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.” Declare this Promise before the Lord as you pray. Many of our children are blind to the fact that they are away from God. It is almost as if they think they can do what they want. “I don’t have to go to church. I don’t have to tithe. I don’t have to read the Bible or live by it. I’m saved and that is all that matters.” I am so concerned for our children. Please continue to pray.