by
General Overseer R. E. Howard
Awake!
Awake, awake;
put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the
holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised
and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem:
loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus
saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed
without money. For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into
Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. Now
therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for
nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name
continually every day is blasphemed. Therefore my people shall know my name:
therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it
is I. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good
tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that
publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen
shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall
see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy,
sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his
people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the
eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation
of our God (Isaiah 52:1–10).
Awake
Visualize
the scene here. Jerusalem is described as a captive in the dust at the feet of
her enemies, wearing ragged, mourning clothes of slavery. But God is calling to
her to awake and rise up out of her slumber, her captivity, and her filth. She
is commanded to put on her strength and to put on her beautiful garments again.
Though the domination of the enemy seems absolute over Zion, the prophet is
declaring that Jerusalem will rise up out of captivity and will, once more,
receive strength and restored splendor.
The
command rings out, “Put on your strength!” With the force of the Word of God,
the very announcement carries with it the power of fulfillment, and the eye of
faith at once sees Zion rising strong, bold, confident, and courageous once
more.
The
command rings out again, “Put on your beautiful garments!” Once more, the Word
comes with power to accomplish; and by faith, the mind pictures the glory and
splendor of Jerusalem fully restored as in the days of Solomon or David or even
Hezekiah.
Faith
rises through the words of the prophet. Grace surges at the stated intention of
the Father. Heavenly hosts take their place for the realization of God’s
deliverance. The captive daughter can rise. The dust and filth can be shaken
off for good. The bands of bondage around the neck can be broken. The seat in
the dust can be traded for the restored seat of favor and authority. The
uncircumcised influences can be crushed, releasing Zion from their unclean
curses. The ragged dress of mourning in captivity can be exchanged for the
glorious robes of royalty. The frail weakness of starvation and deprivation can
be replaced with strength of eternal dimensions.
Yes,
faith rises, and a song comes to the lips—the song of Isaiah: “Therefore the
redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion; and
everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy;
and sorrow and mourning shall flee away” (Isaiah 51:11).
The
song continues from Isaiah: “Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste
places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed
Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (52:9, 10).
An
Awakening from heaven is always a joyous sight, though it often comes through
great tears and heavy burdens. In this Assembly, we declare that the sound of
the voice of God is, once again, bringing a declaration to His blood-bought
people of the earth. God’s voice is thundering, “Awake, awake, church of the
Living God!”
Yes,
we confess that the church in the West has been pushed out of the center of
culture. Her salt has been cast out of the courts, stamped out of the
universities, thrown out of the media, evicted from the government halls, and
scorned under the feet of the social elite and the politically correct. The
Beloved Lady has become the only institution in society that it is culturally
acceptable to offend without fear of reprisal. She has been for years the
target of hatred and bias from those who want to be free from her calls to
righteousness and godly standards. And she has not been without guilt through
the years. Her legalism cost her the title of servant of love; her isolation
cost her the power of compassionate influence; and her complacency cost her the
key to changing the world.
Nevertheless,
God’s voice can be heard with growing intensity: “Awake, awake, church of the
Living God!” His time has come. He will have a Gospel-preaching church. He will
have a bold, faith-filled church. He will have a church that is anointed “to
preach good tidings unto the meek; to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our
God; to comfort all that mourn; to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of
joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; a church
that raises up trees of righteousness. . . . He will have a church where he is
glorified in every corner of the earth.”
God’s
command is ringing out for those who have ears to hear: “Put on your strength O
church of the Lamb of God!”
The Strength of the Church Is Prayer,
the Ministry of Intercession.
What
can defeat a church on its knees? All over the world, God has rekindled the
passion and call to prayer, saying, “My house shall be called of all nations a
house of prayer!” “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they
were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they
spake the word of God with boldness.”
The Strength of the Church Is the
Gospel.
Like
a mighty army, the Church of Christ Jesus is moving, holding forth the Word of
life, the sword of the Spirit, the transforming, life- changing power of the
Gospel. Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the
power of God, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” God has activated a
harvest movement today like the world has never seen.
The
strength of the church is her praise. As the church praises her Savior and
Lord, the saints are raptured into His presence, [The Lord inhabits the praises
of His People.] As the church praises her King the enemy’s weapons fall
powerless, [Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered.] As the church praises
her Worthy Lamb, flesh is conformed to His image. [Let the people praise thee
oh God, let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase
and God even our own God shall bless us. God shall bless us and all the ends of
the earth shall fear.”]
The Strength of the Church Is His Grace,
“and great grace was upon them. . . .”
The Strength of the Church Is His Holy
Spirit, “but ye shall receive power. . . .”
The Strength of the Church Is His Word,
“the word of God is quick and powerful. . . .”
God’s
command is ringing out for those who have ears to hear: “Put on your strength O
church of the Lamb of God!” His voice again resounds, shaking the hearts that
are prepared to hear: “Put on your beautiful garments O church of Him who is holy
and righteous!”
The Beautiful Garment of the Church Is
Purity.
The
world cannot duplicate a blood-washed church. The Elder of Revelations said,
“These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before
the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that
sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more,
neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For
the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead
them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes” Revelation 7:14–17).
The Beautiful Garment of the Church Is
Love.
The
world is looking for the church of Love. History records of the New Testament
church, “Behold how they Love.” Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye
are my disciples. . . .”
The Beautiful Garment of the Church Is
Unity.
The
world cannot deny the church when she is united. Jesus prayed, “Neither pray I
for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their
word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that
they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me”
(John 17:20, 21).
In
the awakening cry, God is calling, “Put on your beautiful garments O church of
Him who is holy and righteous!” Yet in reality, at the deepest level, what is
the strength of Zion, and what is the beauty of the Bride? The Word of God
testifies faithfully that Christ is our strength, and Christ is our beauty. He
is the Head of the body.
“For
by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth… all
things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by
him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the
preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell”
(Colossians 1:16–19).
“Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every
name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians
2:9- 11).
“For
we preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants
for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5).
“I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and
which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. . . . I am he that liveth, and
was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell
and of death” (Revelation 1:8, 18).
Even
in Isaiah’s writing, this awakening call of Isaiah 51 and 52 is actually a
prelude to the greatest messianic chapter of the Old Testament—chapter 53.
Isaiah’s call to awake literally points us to the Christ so graphically
described with Isaiah’s next words. Isaiah understood that Messiah is our
strength. Christ is our beauty.
“Who
hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he
shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground:
he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty
that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him;
he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and
carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and
afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we
are healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to
his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah
53:1–5).
Church,
the call of this hour is to awake to Christ.
The
old, Christian anthem says the following:
My
hope is built on nothing less
Than
Jesus’ blood and righteousness. . . .
On
Christ the solid rock I stand