The dealings of God are being accelerated in our lives. They bring to the surface the negative responses we need to repent of and get rid of.
This Walk is either going to turn out to be one of the most blessed visitations of grace, or it is going to be one of the saddest judgments a person will ever face in his life. It will never be a halfway measure; it’s too real a commitment of truth to us. Christ is coming forth within us by the Word and by everything He has created within us, but He is not coming to be betrayed again as Judas betrayed Him. He’s coming to be glorified in his saints.
During the solemn time of Atonement, wouldn’t you like to see God start uprooting things in your life and bring the deep changes you want? When we keep the Day of Atonement, we come with our hearts open, and by the design of the Holy Spirit we have a solemn assembly. We’re not keeping it, however, as they did in the days of the law. We’re concerned not with the shadow, but with the substance that is in Christ. This is what we are concerned about in any teaching.
Worship is something we do regardless of what happens to us. We may think sometimes that our worship can only be good when we are in a jubilant mood of great praise. But we should remember that when Job was stripped of everything he had, he bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” When David was afflicted, he worshiped the Lord and said, “I’ll yet trust in God, my salvation.” We must come to the place where worship is that deeply ingrained in us also, so that when we are harassed by the enemy, we bleed only worship.
The spiritual significance of a time like Atonement makes you realize that God wants to take the things out of you that are wrong responses. When you are put in a corner, do you become resentful and rebellious to the house of the Lord, or do you worship? When you’re stripped of material blessings, as Job was, do you worship or do you feel sorry for yourself?
An individual can have many different reactions. What happens when you are under pressure? What comes out? What do you bleed? Do you bleed worship or do you bleed rebellion? Let’s scratch you and see what comes out. James says, “Let the rich man rejoice when God brings him low and let the poor man rejoice when God exalts him” (James 1:9, 10). Both should react in the same way. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (I Thessalonians 5:18).
This is what God is after. He wants our worship. The further I get in this Walk, the more persuaded I am that what we thought was the devil was actually God letting something happen to us, letting Satan get at us. God is not so much concerned with Satan. Satan knows his time is short, God knows it, everyone knows it. What God is really concerned about is what comes out of you. Are you a dedicated worshiper, regardless of the battle?
With real purpose of heart I’m coming into this Day of Atonement, and a few days later into the Feast of Tabernacles, worshiping the Lord. That doesn’t mean I’m submitting to the devil—not one minute. I’m submitting to the Lord and I’m resisting the enemy, but with no sense of frustration. Let’s get rid of the sense of frustration that puts us in a corner, makes us rebellious and resentful, and brings out the things that should not be there in the first place.
You should be glad for some of the failures and mistakes you have made because they show you what is in you. You are probably the only one who doesn’t know that. Everyone else sees it—even your mother and father. The devil knows it, God knows it, the angels know it. The only person who didn’t know that all of that was in you was you. I’m not putting you down; I’m trying to explain something. If God didn’t allow some of this pressure to come at you, you’d never become worshipers because you’d never get rid of all those negative responses. Throw them away and determine to be filled with the worship of the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord so that no matter what comes against you, nothing will be found in your spirit that is unclean or defiling. Be dedicated to worship.
God is taking away the sin of His people. John the Baptist said of Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). If you were a Christian Scientist, you would just deny that sin ever existed; you would say it is just an error. If you were to follow modern psychology, you would reason that it is merely a certain animal instinct that we all have to live with. If you were a Roman Catholic, you would have to work it out and do penance for it. What shall we do? We believe the Scripture telling us that the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world. He takes it away. He removes if from us. But I think He has to make us discover it’s there before we let loose of it.
God has been removing deep sins from our lives. Let’s lift our hearts and say, “Thank You, Lord, for what You’ve done. If there’s anything more to be removed, we know You’re going to do it. And in its place will be nothing but pure worship coming forth.”