THE SOVERIGN GOD

Rev 4:1-4  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.  And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

It was curious for me to note that when John arrived Heaven in Rev. 4; the first sight he saw, were not the twenty-four thrones or the streets of gold, or even the many angels in Heaven, No! He was confronted with a throne and the one that sits on it.

He only saw other thrones as he panned away from the central throne and extended his vision away from the one that sat on it. This I believe was a very deliberate rendering of events because when you think about it, it would have been easier to see the twenty-four thrones before focusing on the ONE then you will agree that scripture was very deliberate in recounting this event.

Therefore the implications of this rendering of events should not be wasted on the reader. I believe it was intentional, that God showed John this event in this order. Let's explore the implications

John seeing the central throne first, would be brought to the realization that there exists a Monarch in heaven and who rules the affairs of the heavens.  Just in case one is not aware of that fact, John's first glimpse into heaven confronts us with that stark reality.

John was called into heaven to have things revealed to him but the first revelation that heaven gave him was that of the Monarch of Heaven. The implications for John and us, is that for him or us to advance in the affairs of heaven, he/we must recognize the Lordship of the one who sits on heaven's central throne where all true authority derives from!

Secondly, the economy of heaven is only open to those who realize the Lordship of Jesus. We are only saved when we accept his Lordship and rebelling against him can only hurt us.
 
Many call Him Lord, but do not bow to His Lordship. This act not only excludes them from participation in the affairs heaven but disqualifies them from it all together. Making of them creatures that are limited to function only upon the earth.

Except we see where true Lordship comes from and respond accurately we become as mere men ruled and controlled by this world.
#TheSoverignGod

When Jesus is Asleep In Your Boat

Mar 4:37-39  And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 

 At one point or the other in our earthly existence we are faced with fierce storms. These storms beat at us from all sides and seek to drag us into the depths of despair/misery.

Human life is characterized by men either coming out of storms or getting into one. As Job said, man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. In fact, one can be fully occupied trying to calm the troubles initiated by various storms and never learn to truly find rest.

From the portion of scripture above, Jesus and his disciples were not different.Even though Jesus was with His disciples, the storms showed very little regard for his presence. The storm did not respect his holiness or his status as the Son of God. It threatened to overturn the ship and created such a fuss that would throw experienced fishermen to the brink of despair. 

Note that Jesus was WITH them, yet the storms sort to drown them! 

I have heard many quote a question posed by Apostle Paul and seem to have arrived at an answer which Paul never gave.

Rom 8:31  ...If God be for us, who can be against us? 

Have you heard people quote the above scripture? They seem to imply that this is but a rhetorical question, that concludes with the answer that NO ONE can be against! Please note that the answer to this question was never provided by Paul in his discuss but I would like to say that even when God is for you or with you, you can be sure to expect the enemy to be against you.

Some have been told that Christians do not suffer, yet have not been told that the one who authored our faith suffer and for that reason we too will experience suffering. We are however not warned not to suffer for our wrong doing.

1Peter 2:21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Lets move on in our discuss, of all the occupants of the ship one of the few people  that was most likely least accustomed to the turbulence that the sea can offer, was Jesus. He grew up in a Carpentry shed, while Peter, James and John were all accomplished fishermen. 

In fact for James and John it was a family tradition, the left their father still active in that profession to follow Jesus! I would imagine that such a storm would frighten other disciples like the tax collector and a few other too but surely not this three.

Lets draw a point from the above, the storms of life may sometimes overwhelm your ability and experience. No matter know experienced you are in the face of crisis, it is always tasking not to give in to fear, discouragement or despair. 

Please don't start a pity party over the fact that you are unable to be more courageous in the face of crisis. The bible is full of stories of great men who fare less impressively. 

Elijah that shut the heavens, held an entire nation to ransom, called down fire, and didn't think anything of dividing the river Jordan just so he could cross  gave in to despair when threatened by Jezebel.

To be continued.......