Word at Work January 8, 2016

Word at Work January 7, 2016
January 7, 2016
Word at Work January 9, 2016
January 9, 2016

Word at Work January 8, 2016

FRIDAY, JANUARY 8
Scripture: Hebrews 8:7-12

Hebrews 8:7-12 says, “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: ‘Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’” It is interesting that our New Covenant has a primary purpose revealed in Hebrews 8. That primary purpose according to verse 11 is that, “None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.” Now the promise of the New Covenant is that we will all know the Lord. Do we know the Lord? There are several different Greek words for “Lord.” There is koo-re-os and chris-tos. Koo-re-os means, the ‘Judge of all the earth.’ Kris-tos means the ‘Savior of all the Earth.’ Right now, we could say that the church in America very much knows chris-tos. But that is not the word used in verse 11, “…’Know the Lord’ for all shall know Me.” Here, “Lord” is the word koo-ree-os, the God of judgment, Judge of all the earth. At this time the church seems to focus only on chris-tos. If we are going to have a New Testament church, it must lead us into the fullness of walking with Who Christ is, both Savior of all the Earth and Judge of all the earth. The promise of the New Covenant is “All shall know Me.” God is saying He will personally guide, direct, lead and instruct us in how to move His Hand in judgment. That is the only way we will fully receive the harvest of nations in the last days. Samuel prayed and the Philistines were subdued. Eli prayed and the Philistines subdued Israel. It is time to wake up and recognize tradition for what it is and Scripture for what it is. We need to learn who Jesus the Judge is and walk with Him. We have to turn from tradition and walk out of it to see the Hand of God subdue His enemies through our prayers. The most exciting time in a Christian’s existence seems to be just ahead of us, if we choose to get to know koo-re-os and not simply retreat into a relationship with half of Who Christ is. Isn’t it time we say, ‘Lord, I want to know all of You and I want Your fullness.’ Fullness is the key and gives us both the Savior and the Judge together and promises to show us when to move in both.