TUESDAY, JANUARY 28
Scripture: Matthew 11:12, Isaiah 11:1-4

Matthew 11:12 really turns Isaiah 11:1-4 into a reality in our hearts. Isaiah 11:1-4 says, “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.” Unless we believe Matthew 11:12, we probably will not ever tackle Isaiah 11:1-4. If we believe Matthew 11:12, we can actually tackle Isaiah 11:1-4. Verse 4 makes the reality of Christ’s Judicial Hand very clear, “…with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.” Is the Rod of Iron in our mouths? Do we use it to deal with the resistance of the harvest of nations? There are leaders in our nation that show an antichrist spirit. Do we put the Rod of Iron in our mouths? Does the very breath of our lips slay the resistance to our harvest? If it does not, then we allow worldly leaders to help fill the cup of iniquity and steal our harvest! Will we allow the enemy to steal our harvest, because we are too timid to read, understand and act on God’s Word? If we make a covenant, we had better be sure it is with people willing to read, understand and act on the Word of the Lord. Sometimes believing and acting on the Word takes courage. Do we have enough courage to believe the Word? Do our covenantal brethren have the courage to believe the Word? Is Matthew 11:12 a reality to us? Is it a reality in our church? Do we really believe that from the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it? The Greek word translated “take” is har-pad-zo. Har- pad-zo means, ‘Rapture.’ There is coming a greater display than the rapture and that is what the church does to the enemy! Do we want to be part of that group? The door to this realm is open. What will we do?