“A Voice for the Gathering Saints”
Duane Stewart
“We have heard – God is with you”
Matthew 4:16-17, “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned. From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.
We are living in today’s world where conditions exist that are creating events and certain situations which are resulting in a cry coming forth from mankind that is ascending before God. These times are determining the daily pressures being placed upon created mankind which results in a needed answer to the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Herein, mankind is being positioned to respond with a certain answer to God’s demand, “Choose you this day whom you will serve”. This demand coming forth from God, with authority, places man in the position of standing before God Almighty with a need to respond. In this, mankind must see and know that with all God’s many promises, a change is surely taking place according to that which God is demanding. This change is a change that even now affects both the heavens and the earth, as it is to eventually touch all of creation on every level of life.
With God’s judgments already among us and His wrath standing at the door, a great time of separation is now come. This separation is a change that is putting God’s remnant people into a place of redeeming the time as they are being separated to become the true house of God. Therefore, unto God’s remnant people His word comes forth to state, “But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days, says the Lord of Hosts, for the seed (of peace) shall be prosperous, the vine shall give its fruit, the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew. I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these. And it shall come to pass that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong”. (Zech. 8:11-13). God is speaking of change, not only to natural Israel, but likewise a change to be fulfilled in and among spiritual Israel, the church which becomes the true seed of Abraham. This is a change from being a cursed people, because of rebellion and idol worship, to becoming a remnant people who receive their increase from God alone.
When speaking of the visible church that exists in the earth today and as it is looked upon by the peoples of the world, just what is it that the world sees? It has been declared by the many from every arena of society that the church as society looks upon it, in general, is useless and of no value. With this type of mind-set, they that are of the worldly societies, desire to replace that which scripture calls the church; to become only a meeting place for mans philosophies, his carnal mind-sets of self improvement programs and their general practices which are doing away with God by replacing Him with self and all selfish promotions. In their promotional campaigns they purpose to remove God, as portrayed in His word, as an unneeded fable that can and should be replaced. Thus, promoting an educational campaign to reverse man’s need for God with self-improvement programs which promote man and his ability to rule over self in all arenas’s of life.
In utilizing these self-improvement mind-sets the Christian community seems to be foremost in denying the power of God while promoting all manner of forms and fashions, carnal entertainment and such, in becoming a god unto themselves. Because the Christian community, in general, continues to reject, in large numbers, the purposes of God for selfish gain, herein the promises of God, to the true seed of Abraham, the true church, are hidden away from the eyes of this community and the public in general. But never the less, among all this, the true saints of God hear and rest in the promises of God as they remain steadfast in the time of their coming forth. (Read Deut. 27:3-10). Obedience shall and is even now coming forth from behind the walls of the true saint’s physical houses to become the manifestation of God’s purpose in all creation. That is, a people who shall become the visible manifestations of the invisible God. The fulfillment of God’s promises rest on God’s statement of Zech. 8:8, “I will bring them back, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem (the true church). They shall be my people and I will be their God, in truth and righteousness”.
God’s statement from Zech. 8:13 above declares, “You shall be a blessing” refers to Abraham and his spiritual seed of today as spoken in Gen. 12:2-3, “I will make you a great nation, I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed”. This word “bless” is the Hebrew word “BARACH” and used by God to mean “He is the one blessing, the One who gives the capacity for living a full, rich life”. This means man, being blessed of God now becomes the one doing the blessing. That is, they take that which has been received and give it unto a crying world.
As Zechariah speaks of Jerusalem being restored to become the city of God, likewise today’s church world, which has also fallen into ruins, has been promised a like kind restoration. This restoration, coming through judgment, that which separates the true spiritual church from the fallen ruins of the carnal church, is to be accomplished. This, according to God’s promises, is even now finding an appearance taking place as God’s remnant are beginning to stand up to be counted. In this, God will have for Himself a true pure undefiled church, full of righteousness and peace. All the corruption that exists within the carnal church shall be washed from God’s remnant so they might stand in the holiness of God. This pure church shall stand even as declared by God through Paul in Eph. 5:27, “that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish”.
God’s true glorious church, hidden for the most part from the eyes of the world, but one that is still alive and continually maturing as they have received the many spiritual rains from God over the years. From her beginnings in the upper room, she being planted in the earth, the earth called men who receive; these rains have caused spurts of spiritual growth, according to its continual growing process. These rains, while falling from time to time as early and latter rains are now being brought forth at the same time during this season, for is it not the time for God’s great harvest. This harvest shall be one that receives the enablement of both the early and latter rain in the same month. In this a remnant of the first fruits appears to manifest the glory of the latter house of God. A house of maturity in the glorious life and liberty of the first born Son. These people are those in whom Jesus prayed for as He prayed to the Father in John 17:1-2 & 22-23, “Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: Father, the hour has come, glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. …And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and you in Me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them as you have loved Me”.
In these above verses we can see a people, a remnant who ascend, through maturity, to stand in union with the Father as He dwells in the throne-room Holy of Holies. This remnant is separating from the carnal lukewarm, rebellious, and blemished church and is now to stand in God’s holy presence. These are receiving from the Father the fullness of God’s promises as they become the visible manifestation of God’s holy glory. These become God’s ensign, placed in the earth, to become God’s purposed allurement that shall draw forth the nations as they recognize the God that dwells and is present within this remnant. Zech. 8:20-23, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, let us continue to go and pray before the Lord, and seek (BAQASH = to diligently look for, to search earnestly until the object of the search is located) the Lord of hosts. I myself will go also. Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man (true church), saying, let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you”. The word “men” as used in this verse is the Hebrew plural word “ENOSH” which speaks of men morally depraved, physically frail and weak. A word coming from “ANASH” meaning to be sick, wretched, weak and it also denotes the inability to be strong and good morally. Thus, a world unable to help themselves, full of corruption and rebellion, they are finally beginning to recognize that God alone and not they themselves as being the source, but that source is God and His remnant people who are being raised up in this hour of worldly despair.
For this cause, let the materialistic carnal church set up and take notice. The worldly methods that the Christian community has incorporated into their church systems have not been found to be approved by God. Therefore, love, grace and mercy are now demanding an audience. They, God’s remnant, now being revealed and standing up to be recognized and noticed, why, because a cry is coming forth for their appearing. “We have heard that God is with you”. What is it that the world of carnal minded men begin to see? What is it that they are beginning to hear? Zech. 12:7-9 states, “The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the House of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not be greater than that of Judah. In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem”.
God’s true church, His remnant now fully matured, are now to be observed as being victorious over all enemies of corruption as they manifest the nature of God before all their enemies. This presence of God shall, as the destruction of every system of man’s own making crumbles; the people began to see the true Christ in the land. God’s kingdom is come and the world shall suddenly realize the futility of their man made kingdoms. They shall, those that choose to now serve God, began to take hold of the house of the Lord with the expressed desire. “We have heard that God is with you”.
Friends, can we not hear the cry coming forth from the world? Is not the world even now reeling and rocking in turmoil for lack of true purpose? Because the world has forsaken the one true God, they have lost their way, and have entered into that great struggle to find a purpose. All activity, outside of God, is out of balance and God is beginning to move in response to the ascending cry. His response is to release His presence and anointing to the house of David, God’s spiritual house and dwelling place. These are sent forth as messengers of full salvation to all who dwell in the earth. In this, all the kingdoms of man shall cease to be as they are brought down. God’s kingdom of His presence, which is to dwell in the purposed Christ, both head and body, is now being established. First, in the remnant first-fruits which shall, with the Father, bring forth His new heaven and earth? To this we say yea and amen as the world’s only hope is appearing and the world is now beginning to declare, “We have heard and now see that God is with you”. In this we declare, “come forth my Christ come forth”.
