The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Work of Restoration, #22

Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, and hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. (Ezra 4:4,5)

There will be opposition from the devil. There will be persecution. Each saint who is participating in the work of restoration learns to build with one hand and fight with the other. We are more than conquerors through Christ when we remain watchful in prayer at all times and keep ourselves under the discipline of the Holy Spirit.

There is a time for prophets to prophesy. There is a time for kings to issue decrees. There is a time for builders to build. There is a time for governors to govern. Our task is to find our unique role, not copying anyone else's role. Our own job is important and we are to give total diligence to the accomplishing of it. God's task is to restore obedience to Himself and the worship of Himself on the part of all the inhabitants of the earth.

The Temple of God shall be finished. The Body of Christ will be brought all the way to perfect unity and perfect maturity. The Wife of the Lamb will be without blemish. The work of restoration is not a humanly conceived or executed program. The work of restoration is the sovereign decree of Almighty God and will be accomplished by Himself.

The returning Jews kept the Passover. As we press onward toward the fullness of the Glory of God, the blood of Jesus becomes increasingly important to us.

Those who are engaged in the work of restoration must learn to trust and stand on the written Word of God. Ezra, the priest, had "prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it" (Ezra 7:10).

It appears the period of time just before the return of the Lord will be filled with angelic visitations from the realms of darkness. Lust, greed, violence, deception, occult activity, perversity, and every other wicked, destructive situation one could imagine will abound. It is the maturing of the tares, of lawlessness. The only word of which we can be certain is the written Word of God. That Word shall stand long after the present heavens and earth have disappeared. The Scriptures shall stand forever.

The Word of God will remain trustworthy and dependable throughout the changes that soon are to transpire on the earth. No matter what situations may occur, the promises of Scripture shall hold true. Famine and every other disaster will plague the peoples of the earth. But God shall supply all the needs of each of His saints from His abundance in glory through Christ. Therefore, we fear no tribulation.

As Ezra and Nehemiah we are to prepare our hearts to seek the Lord and His Word. Then we shall be more than conquerors through Christ in the days to come.

When we of the Church seek the Lord and His Word in utter faithfulness and sincerity, God will move on His Cyruses and the doors will be opened for the preaching and teaching of the Gospel of Christ in every inhabited area throughout the whole earth.

To be continued.