Behold, thou shalt not let thine eye fail to see the vision afar off. Thou shalt not turn thine heart away from the Words which the Lord speaketh unto thee of these days. For the Lord has spoken of glorious things and has set before thee a day like unto which men have not walked in before. Thou shalt not turn aside from them. Thou shalt not be fearful of oppressions. Thou shalt not shrink back because of the battle.
Behold, thou shalt not doubt nor waver in thy mind, for the Lord thy God seeketh a people who shall be strong in faith to believe the Words of the Lord. They shall believe the promises of their God. They shall walk with confidence before the Lord. They shall overcome everything that shall rise up against them. Nothing shall defeat them; nothing shall cause oppression against them, for they shall put their trust in the Lord their God.
Open thy heart unto the Lord, for many have cast aside their hope. Yea, many have heard the Word of the Lord; but as the battles have waxed hot against them, they have forsaken the Words that the Lord has spoken. But let it not be so with thee. Open thine heart to believe all the Words that thy God has spoken.
Meditate upon them day and night, for the Lord shall make thy way prosperous (Joshua 1:8). Thou shalt see it gloriously before thee, for the Lord shall give thee even a zest for the battle. The Lord shall make it thrilling unto thee to behold how the strongholds shall fall.
Thou shalt rejoice how that many are snatched from the hand of the enemy. Thou shalt rejoice in every brand that is plucked from the burning (Zechariah 3:2).
Thou shalt rejoice when the Lord turns the battle. For the tide of iniquity and sin that have covered the earth has been great, and the people of the Lord have been so oppressed; therefore, rejoice that the tide doth turn. Yea, and rejoice how that thou shalt be even an oppression unto Satan. Thou shalt rise up against principalities and powers. No wonder the enemy doth hate thee so. Rejoice in the victory that the Lord giveth. Rejoice in the authority that the name of Jesus shall have over all of the power of the enemy; yea, rejoice in it.
Observe carefully the household of God, and thou shalt see in one season they that appear to be like small boys before thee; thou shalt mark how God shall deal with them for a season. Then thou shalt look, and behold, they are no more children. They have become men that are able to bear the weapons of war before the face of the Lord. It is the day that the Lord shall not suffer children to remain immature long within the camp. He shall cause them to arise and move into perfection. He shall bring them into maturity.
Thou hast beheld the house of the Lord how it has languished because there were no men. There were none that could quit themselves as men and stand before the people of the Lord with faith and boldness. But the day is upon thee in which thou shalt no longer behold the protracted infancy of the people of the Lord; but thou shalt behold how speedily they shall leave the days of their childhood, and they shall move into the maturity of faith. Thou shalt behold how that they shall no longer move as children envying one another, carnally looking unto human leaders. Thou shalt behold how their diet shall change; they shall rise like men to do the labor of the Lord. Therefore, be ye strong. Be men; yea, arise and enter in. For the Lord thy God shall bless thee; and the dealing that He giveth unto thee—though it be grievous for a little season—behold, it shall cause thee to strengthen thy limbs in the Lord (I Peter 5:10). It shall exercise thee unto godliness that thou may be strong before the face of the Lord.
Behold, the battle has been great in the land; and thou hast seen how that many have turned aside, and the Word of the Lord that has come unto the multitudes of believers has been rejected. For in the time of needing endurance, when they must endure great afflictions, they have turned aside from the Words that they have received. Yea, but wonder not at it, for the Lord thy God shall have a remnant in the land, and they shall have the grace of God to pursue after the straying. Yea, they shall pursue after those which are wounded grievously unto death. Thou shalt even behold how they shall pursue after that which seemingly is already dead, and the Lord thy God shall give resurrection; He shall give life. He shall cause those that are chosen, even the elect of God, to be restored. By the grace of God thou shalt restore them.
The day is upon thee when thou shalt carefully consider how thou shalt pray and bear the burden in thine heart for thy brothers and thy sisters, lest thou should lightly dismiss him whom the Lord thy God loveth—him whom He has chosen to walk before Him in this day. Love him with all thine heart; yea, be slow to cause thy mind to forget him and say, “Behold, this one is lost forever.” For the Lord thy God shall give thee weapons mighty in the grace of God to pursue after and to recover the lamb that strayeth. Even the wilfull soul shall be brought low, and the Lord shall cause him to come even to the mercies and the grace of God afresh.
Look thou unto the Lord. Faint not because of these things that do befall thee, but strengthen thyself, O house of God. For after this manner of testing there shall be another manner; after one plane of schooling, there shall be another. If thou shalt rise up to the place that God has chosen for thee, there shalt thou know how mighty is this day that the Lord bringeth forth unto thine heart.
Look unto the Lord. Yea, look unto the Lord. Let not thine heart fail to look to Him, for the Lord is able to give thee great deliverances. The Lord is able to strengthen thee. O how the Lord shall fill thy heart with joy! In the midst of adversity, the house of God shall be filled with rejoicing. Yea, the Lord saith, “Reject from thy spirit the very fearfulness and gloominess that would possess thee.” Let there be no hesitancy within thee to declare that thy God liveth and that His Word is forever true. Believe the Words of the Lord that thou shalt be established. Yea, trust in the Word of the Lord that thou shalt be delivered. For behold, after a moment this light affliction shall pass; and thou shalt rejoice that it hath wrought in thee an eternal weight of glory.
For all things are for your sakes, that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. II Corinthians 4:15–18.
The day comes in which thou shalt be able to rejoice in the Lord. Behold, even the angels of the Lord shall rejoice with thee; and you shall behold how the heavens are opened, and how the angels of God shall sing with joy for those things that thou art declaring. They shall rejoice with you over the victories that the Lord bringeth forth. Thou shalt see them with thine eyes and thou shalt rejoice in what thy God causes thee to know. The heavens shall be filled with rejoicing, and in the earth shall the songs of the Lord be heard. For the song of the Lord shall be heard on many lips. Thou shalt behold how the Lord shall take unto Himself the redeemed and His elect from every tribe and every kindred; from every nation shall they lift up their voices together to praise the name of the Lord. Thou shalt behold how it all shall come. For the heavens shall again be opened; yea, the heavens shall be opened unto many and they shall perceive it.
Hast thou wondered at this? Yea, and thou hast marveled even as did the disciple of old when he was called to serve the Lord; he marveled and wondered that he was seen even under the fig tree afar off. The Lord said unto him, “Thou shalt see greater things than these. Thou shalt behold the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man” (John 1:47–51). Yea, did He say it for him only, or was Nathaniel also a type of these who are to live in this day? For the Lord saith, “The heavens shall be opened, and thou shalt marvel not only at the revelation that cometh now of how thy God can perceive and declare through the mouth of His servants these things that only thine own heart knoweth; but thou shalt also see how the heavens shall open, and thou shalt behold how they shall minister unto thee as it is appointed of the lord. The ministers of fire shall come to these who are heirs according to the promises of the Lord” (Hebrews 1:7, 14).
Rejoice and enter into His presence. Let joy fill thy heart, for this thing that thy God doeth is not done in a corner; neither-is it done on a little scale. But behold, He who fills the heaven of heavens, He whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, yea, He whose ways are past finding out, whose might and strength know no end—it is He that bringeth forth this that thou shalt see and behold with thine eyes. Thou shalt walk in it, for the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9). Yea, shalt thou wonder, “Is it afar off?” when thou knowest that even in these days that are appointed unto thee, even in this generation, these things begin to spring forth unto thee.
Stevens, John Robert: This Week, Volume XII (1981). North Hollywood, CA. : Living Word Publications, 2007, S. 1372