Ephesians 5:25-28, “(25) Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (26) That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (27) That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (28) So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.”
We’re going to a wedding…
A harvest of souls and spiritual renewal (revival), has always been preceded by, and maintained through, intercessory prayer.[1]
Once the wheels of intercession are set in motion, cause and effect drive that assembly into a season of reaping and multiplication.
There has never been an accidental revival, or an unintentional renewal.
All growth in a Church follows four principles:
Tonight, I want to cover that first principle, PRAYER, and specifically The Divine Call for Intercessors in this hour.
1 Kings 18:41-46
(41) And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. (42) So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, (43) And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. (44) And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. (45) And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. (46) And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
James 5:17-18
(17) Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. (18) And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
1 Timothy 2:1-4
(1) I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; (2) For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. (3) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; (4) Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Hebrews 7:25, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
Intercession is one of the most needed ministries of the last days.
The Church will reach its full level of harvesting power when the intercessors stand in the gap.
Intercessory prayer occurs when we are in perfect agreement and alignment with God, because God is praying through the intercessor.
It is not you praying, but God. You are the channel, conduit, tributary God flows through.
All He requires is that He finds a willing and available vessel.
A Divine Call for Intercessors
Romans 8:26-27
(26) Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (27) And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Those who answer the Divine Call have crucified themselves with Christ:
Galatians 2:20, “(20) I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 5:22-25, “(22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (24) And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. (25) If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Notice three things (F.J. Ellis):
Prayer is the passionate hope of Jesus.
It was his prayer request to us.
He did not seek for musicians, big buildings, or new programs (those all have their place); But, Jesus simply had one request, “Pray.”
This glimpse in the heart of Jesus Christ heart reveals to us the answer to the need and dilemma of our day.
He is calling you to pray
Matthew 6:5-13
(5) And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
(6) But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
(7) But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
(8) Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
(9) After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
(10) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
(11) Give us this day our daily bread.
(12) And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
(13) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Do you want to align yourself with the will and purpose of God?
PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!
1 Timothy 2:1-4, “(1) I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; (2) For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. (3) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; (4) Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
2 Chronicles 7:1
(1) Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.
2 Chronicles 7:14
(14) If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
What happens in intercession?
Intercession is a divine burden that drives you to seek the will of God and pray until the answer comes, or there is a release in the Holy Ghost.
Back to our text:[3] 1 Kings 18:41-46
Don’t be surprised when the level of spiritual warfare you face increases as you answer The Divine Call to Intercede:
Matthew 4:1-11
Mark 1:12-13, “And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.”
[1] Primary Source: F. J. Ellis. Intercession-Key of Spiritual Warfare. (n.d.)
[2] Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. G4726 & G4727.
[3] F.J. Ellis
Matthew 5:13-16, “(13) Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. (14) Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. (15) Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. (16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.“
I highly recommend this three-part series “Interrupted Ministry” regarding Moses and Elijah taught by Pastor Harold Hoffman of First Church (Stirling Heights, MI).
“…and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish” (Job 8:3b)
If you do a cursory google search for the phrase “I can’t stand hypocrites” you’ll find all kinds of results, from the shocking to the mundane. In fact, I use to say, quite emphatically, “I can’t stand a hypocrite!”
However, I’ve come to appreciate the necessity of those poor souls, and I can now stand hypocrites because of what they reveal.
Andrae Crouch wrote a line in the song “Through It All” that reminds me of the necessity of hypocrites:
So I thank God for the mountains
And I thank Him for the valleys
And I thank Him for the storms He’s brought me through
For if I’d never had a problem
I’d never know God could solve them
I’d never know what faith in His word could do
Albert Barnes’ note on this passage: “That there were hypocrites even in that early age of the world. They are confined to no period, or country, or religious denomination, or profession. There are hypocrites in religion – and so there are in politics, and in business, and in friendship, and in morals. There are pretended friends, and pretended patriots, and pretended lovers of virtue, whose hearts are false and hollow, just as there are pretended friends of religion. Wherever there is genuine coin, it will be likely to be counterfeited; and the fact of a counterfeit is always a tribute to the intrinsic worth of the coin – for who would be at the pains to counterfeit that which is worthless? The fact that there are hypocrites in the church, is an involuntary tribute to the excellency of religion.”
Hypocrisy is actually a compliment to the authenticity of the Christian life. So, in a sense, we should thank God for the hypocrite. They remind us of the value of the true and the faithful.
So, I thank God for the hypocrites, for if I’d never met one then I’d never truly know the value of the authentic in comparison to the fake.
I can stand a hypocrite for that reason…
Zephaniah 3:14, “Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”
Opening Text: Exodus 33:18-19
(18) And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
(19) And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
Glory = “glory, honour, glorious, abundance, riches, spendour, dignity, reputation.”[1] “Properly weight.”[2]
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 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” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).
Ancillary Text: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
(26) For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
(27) But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
(28) And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
(29) That no flesh should glory in his presence.
(30) But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
(31) That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Delight in God’s Glory[3] = Glory in the Lord
Main Text: Jeremiah 9:23-24
(23) Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
(24) But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
The best way to enjoy God forever is by glorifying Him now.
We have begun to delight in God when we determine to use every part of us – “…heart, soul, mind and strength…”[5] – to serve and follow Him.
Jonathan Edwards[6] – To delight in God’s Glory is enjoy a relationship with Him that is so complete that we have a:
Faith arises from the Principle of Divine Love:
[Love]…Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things (1 Corinthians 13:7).
The Principle of Divine Love contains the Power of Perseverance[7]
It bears through all things, believes through all things, hopes through all things, endures through all things.
Not just “IN” all things, but “THROUGH” all things.
When you truly delight in God your loving relationship with Him is so exact and trusting that you know without a shadow of a doubt will get through whatever life brings your way.
Your relationship with God demands a faith – a persevering faith
The initial act of believing faith was a seed.
The continual act of faith is perseverance – letting the seed grow and mature in and through all things.
“…He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”
Our faith and delight in the glory of God is realized completely when we no longer glory in ourselves, but entirely on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then we will delight in what He delights in:
[1] H3519. Kâbôd. Brown-Driver-Briggs.
[2] H3519. Kâbôd. Strong’s.
[3] John Piper. (2015). The Supremacy of God in Preaching. Grand Rapids: Baker.
[4] Jeremiah 9:24. John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible.
[5] Mark 12:30
[6] Notes from the writings of Jonathan Edwards.
[7] John Piper. (2015). The Supremacy of God in Preaching. Grand Rapids: Baker. ISBN: 978-0801017087.
[8] H2617. Chesed. Brown-Driver-Briggs.
[9] H4941. Mishpâṭ. Brown-Driver-Briggs.
[10] H666. Tsedâqâh. Brown-Driver-Briggs & Strong’s
Text: John 8:31-38
(31) Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
(32) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
(33) They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
(34) Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
(35) And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
(36) If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
(37) I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
(38) I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
“All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom; justice; honor; duty; mercy; hope.”
-Winston Churchill
We call it the Fourth of July, July 4th, or by its proper designation, Independence Day. It is the celebration of citizens of the United States as they commemorate:
…The Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America.
The Founding Father delegates of the Second Continental Congress declared that the Thirteen Colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain, King George III, and were now united, free, and independent states. The Congress voted to approve independence by passing the Lee Resolution on July 2 and adopted the Declaration of Independence two days later, on July 4.[1]
On July 3, 1776, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail:
The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.[2]
Truth leads to freedom: “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
There is a difference between being set free and to make free = you can be free physically, but bound. Prisoners who have been in prison for many years are now put in classes to help them transition from the mindset of a prisoner to that of a free man when the date of their release gets close. Some people don’t know how to handle freedom.
“…The truth shall make you free…” Knowing Jesus – The Way, The Truth, and the Life – will make you free.
Free from the prison of guilt, slavery of evil desires, immoral tendencies, and debased opinions.
The condition of a sinner, or anyone who hasn’t given themselves completely to King Jesus, is that of a captive…a slave to sin.
Romans 6:16-22
(16) Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
(17) But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
(18) Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
(19) I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
(20) For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
(21) What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
(22) But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
The effect of the Gospel is to break this hard bondage to sin and to set the sinner free. We learn from this that obeying the Gospel and serving Jesus is not slavery or oppression. It is true freedom.[3]
Often, in life, people are mistreated and find themselves bound by others.
Moreover, people find themselves bound by their own choices.
Jesus sets all people free.
Reminds me of a chorus I heard when I was young:
Jesus breaks every fetter, Jesus breaks every fetter, Jesus breaks every fetter, For He sets me free!
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”[4]
I am certain that there is someone here who has been battling with something that has robbed you of your peace of mind.
You can’t seem to get the rest you need because of it.
You feel bound by it.
It is not a sin, but it has put chains on you and you want to be free.
Jesus breaks every fetter, Jesus breaks every fetter, Jesus breaks every fetter, For He sets me free!
“Joseph was a type of Christ in the Old Testament. The famine was an event designed to bring the brothers to repentance and a saving knowledge, both physically and spiritually. The tragedy of the famine created the circumstances that led to freedom for these men, for they had been in bondage to a wicked crime against their brother for many years. It was forgiveness from Joseph that led to that freedom.”
-Os Hillman
Let Freedom Ring
Genesis 37:26-36
(26) And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
(27) Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
(28) Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
(29) And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
(30) And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
(31) And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
(32) And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.
(33) And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
(34) And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
(35) And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
(36) And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.
Decisions that stick with you
Good ones
Bad ones
These brothers lived years in the knowledge of what they’d done and it effected every part of their life, UNTIL they heard of the salvation available in Egypt.
Their bad choice, with all its years of negative consequences and grief was about to be reversed and where bondage was there would now be freedom.
John Bevere, Killing Kryptonite:
My freedom didn’t come until I changed my priorities. In the beginning, I wanted God to set me free because I was worried my sin would get in the way of my ministry. But then my heart shifted, and I began to focus on how my decisions were affecting my intimacy with Jesus. I started caring about how my sin affected God.
Duke Ellington’s Four Major Freedoms to Live By and Enjoy (4-29-1969):
August 28, 2023 will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech.[5] In this seminal speech, King addressed the inequalities and injustices that severed, and still sever, the black citizens and white citizens of the United States of America from one another. His dream was for that division to end and true brotherhood to begin, which is why he would say:
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: in the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny, and they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied [applause] as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating for whites only. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia), the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification,” one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning: “My country, ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!”
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that: Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”[6]
[1] Entry for Independence Day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States). Accessed: 7/1/2023.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Paraphrase of Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Entry for John 8:32.
[4] John 8:36
[5] Read Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in its entirety. Accessed: July 1, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-speech-in-its-entirety.
[6] I Have A Dream. https://www.marshall.edu/onemarshallu/i-have-a-dream/. Accessed: 7/1/2023.
James 3:13-18
13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Earthly, Sensual, Devilish Wisdom / Spirit of Jealousy[1] (vs. 14-16):
The earthly, sensual, devilish wisdom, which is contrary to the Wisdom from Above, is like an octopus living beneath the surface.
It will tend to protect the pride and ego of an individual (their treasure), by wrapping its various tentacles around what it desires to have by earthly, unspiritual or demonic means.
This particular spirit needs to be CAST OUT of the individual and at times even the Church itself.
Opposite of Jealousy is Edification (to build up, establish, or strengthen a person).
Wisdom from Above (vs. 17):
It takes humility to be able to admit when one has wronged another through jealousy, but this wisdom from above will bring peace to the lives of such people.
It will also produce the fruit of righteousness because the wisdom from above key to living a righteous life.
James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
Remember this American Proverb: “A full ear of corn bends its head; an empty ear will stand upright.”
[1] Frank & Ida Mae Hammond. Pigs in the Parlor. p. 31. Accessed: 6/22/2023. https://ia601006.us.archive.org/8/items/PIGSINTHEPARLORByFrankIdaMaeHammond/PIGS%20IN%20THE%20PARLOR%20by%20Frank%20%20%20Ida%20Mae%20Hammond.pdf
Picture Credit: Tarik Tinazay / AFP – Getty Images file
Originally compiled on May 25, 2006.
I’ve taken the liberty to capture some screenshots of the various quotes attributed to Carl Gustav Jung and collected in the video above, which was made by Quotes.
The Pillar and Ground of Truth 