The Day of the Lord

The Bible says in Isaiah 2:11 and 2:17 that the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. So we see, if we want to walk in the Day of the Lord, we must allow God and only God to be exalted in us.

Now it is high time to awake out of sleep. Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh (Romans 13:11-14).

How will we see the Day of the Lord? There must first come a falling away in us (1 Thessalonians 2:3-4). 1 Peter 1:24 says “ For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:” Anything within ourselves that we glory in must fall away. Anything born of the flesh will die. “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace (Romans 8:6).

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall

not come, except there come a falling away first, that

man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is

called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God

sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is

God.

Knowing that we are the temple of God (2 Corinthians 6:16), let us ask ourselves

what are we allowing to sit in us and declare itself to be God? Whether or not we realize it, we often exalt things above God in His temple. If we worry about a problem, we have exalted that problem

above God. Think about it, if we really exalt God above all, how could we

possibly be worried about anything? If we truly believed that our God is bigger than everything else, why do we sometimes feel stressed out? Which is bigger – our problem or our God? This is just one example. There are many things that we allow to be exalted above God. That is why it is so important for us to have that falling away in us. It is not a falling away from God; it is a falling away from ourselves. The further away we get from ourselves, the closer we get to God.

Is it realistic to think that we can walk in a realm with God where He alone is exalted in us? Absolutely! Abraham saw the Day of the Lord (John 8:56-58). How did Abraham see the Day of the Lord long before Jesus was born? Jesus said “Verily, verily I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM” John 1:1 says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So, we can see that it has been Christ all along. Even though Jesus walked the earth a couple of thousand years ago, Christ has always been. Before anything was, He says I Am!

Abraham saw the Day of the Lord and Jesus said when he saw it, he was glad. In the 7th Chapter of Hebrews, the Bible says Melchisedec met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him. Melchisedec walked in the Day of the Lord. He was such a great man that Abraham paid tithes to him. The Bible says that Melchisedec blessed Abraham who had the promises. And without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the better. If Abraham had the promises of God, how could he be blessed of the better in Melchisedec? Abraham had the promises, but Melchisedec had attained to the promises. Therefore, he was already walking in the Day of the Lord. He had already had a falling away from himself and allowed his soul (mind, will and emotions) to be dissolved in God.

The Apostle Paul understood this departure that Melchisedec experienced. Paul had a desire to depart and be with Christ. Remember, Abraham was blessed by the better when he was blessed by Melchisedec. Paul said to depart and be with Christ would be far better. It was Paul’s desire to be one with Christ, to walk in the Day of the Lord, to get past the elementary things of Christ, and to move on into perfection (Hebrews 6:1-2).

However, he knew that for the sake of the Church, he had to abide in the flesh. The Church, as a whole was not ready to enter into the realm of God that Paul longed for because of their lack of understanding. Paul had many things to say about the relationship Melchisedec had with God. But because the Church had become dull of hearing, he could not. (Hebrews 5:10-12).

Therefore, as the Body of Christ, we must get past the principles of the doctrine of Christ and go on into perfection. Our personal relationship with Christ is the most important thing we have. However, we must remember that we are members of His Body.

God doesn’t want a deformed body.

Can you imagine seeing a man with one muscularly-developed arm and the rest of his body out of shape? If the body has deformities, it cannot function in the way God intended. This is also true in the Body of Christ. Jesus healed people who were sick in their natural bodies. He still does. But more importantly, He wants to heal the Body of Christ spiritually so that we can function as He intended us to. God wants every member of His Body to be strong and healthy. If the Body is weak or unhealthy, it is unable to lift up its head. If the Body of Christ is weak or unhealthy, it too cannot lift up its Head, which is Christ (Colossians 1:18).

Paul was willing to abide in the flesh because it was more needful for the Church, or the Body. He was willing to do so because he understood the importance of the whole Body being brought into perfection. But instead of asking someone to stay behind with us, it would be so much better for us to move on in God with them.

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