View source for The Heavenly Jerusalem 6

==The Heavenly Jerusalem, #6==
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And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (I John 3:3) <br><br>
If Christ were to call to Himself the Church of today it would be unprepared. A great deal of sanctifying and consecrating must take place in our personalities before we will be prepared to dwell with the consuming Fire of Israel. (Isaiah 33:14). <br><br>
The time for the marriage of the Lamb has come and the Bride must make herself ready. We have to make ourselves ready for eternal union with Christ. We must purify ourselves. <br><br>
The Holy Spirit is ready now to assist us in every detail of the sanctifying, the purifying, of our words, our motives, our imaginations—of our whole personality. <br><br>
The Lamb is the Husband. The Church is the Wife, the complement. The Wife becomes reconciled to the Lamb and brought into absolute union with Him by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. This is the marriage of the Lamb. <br><br>
Today the Church has commenced the program of reconciliation to Christ. God has declared us to be righteous because of our faith in the blood of the Lamb. Also, we have been born again of the Spirit of God. <br><br>
It seems, however, that most Christians have not as yet been reconciled to God through Christ except in the legal sense of imputed (ascribed) righteousness. Few are willing to forsake their self-interests so Christ may have full dominion in every area of their personality and behavior. <br><br>
Are you willing to give yourself to Christ in all you are and do? In all you are and do? If not, you are not as yet reconciled to Christ. <br><br>
If you are not as yet willing to give yourself to Christ you are not as yet abiding in the Kingdom of God as you should. You are not as yet ready to descend from Heaven as an eternal part of the holy city, the Wife of the Lamb. You still are part of the problem, not of the solution. <br><br>
How soon you will be ready depends to a great extent on how willing you are to be pruned by the Lord. <br><br>
Are you ready to be brought into union with the Lord Jesus Christ? If you are not, the Holy Spirit will bring you to this point if you will allow Him to do so. Do not quit when the way becomes difficult and demanding. Your end will be glorious if you do not draw back from the dealings of God. <br><br>
And I heard a great voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. (Revelation 21:3) <br><br>
Perhaps this "great voice" is that of an archangel whose eternal residence is in Heaven. <br><br>
What we need today is a "great voice" speaking to us from Heaven, from the Throne of God Almighty. <br><br>
God is able to whisper. When God does speak, He speaks loudly enough to be heard by everyone whom He is addressing. In the passage we are studying the Lord wants the whole world to know what is taking place. So God has the archangel speak in a loud voice. <br><br>
"... the tabernacle of God is with men". <br><br>


''To be continued.'' [[The Heavenly Jerusalem 7]]