"Fear God, Love God, Serve God": "Look Up"

"And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away

from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to

another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see

this thing which is come to pass, which the

Lord hath made known unto us."
(Luke 2:15)

"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm

in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the

land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh,

for it is nigh at hand."

(Joel 2:1)

The patriarchs of the Bible learned one thing quickly, and they learned it well ... Moses did it; David did it; Daniel was a master at it; Jeremiah wept while he did it; Esther stood firm while she did it; Deborah's eyes blazed as she did it, Wise men did it; Shepherds did it ... we all must do it, and before long, the world will be doing it ... the more the earth trembles and shakes beneath us, we'll be forced to do it ... Do What? "Look Up!"

Daniel in the lions' den

"Look UP!" You say, "That's what you always say." Yes, and I always mean it! Look UP! Daniel did it; he knew from whom his help cometh. Everything dead and dying is down; Don't you know that Rainbows are UP; the Lord is UP - towers are UP; Eagles are UP; the bright light from God is UP; the angels we loose are UP; the Holy City that draws us is UP; the answers to our problems are UP; the ONE who saves us is UP; Glory is UP; and the righteous will very soon be ... Caught UP!

The Apostle Paul

Sooner or later, "everybody" will Look Up. Paul was knocked to the ground by a bright light, and you got it; he looked up! There are two kinds of people in this world: those who receive their direction from "Up" and those who receive their direction from "down." The song says, "You're gonna' serve somebody; it may the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna' serve somebody." There are two characteristics of human nature in earth: good and evil. We all fall into one of those columns. You say, "But, we're not just one or the other; we could be a little of both." "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." You can't be a witch on halloween and an angel every other day. You say, "Well, that's just a costume." Exactly! What "costume" do we present to the ONE who is Up? Remember, He IS Superman; He's sees through the costume ...

The Hebrew name "Zechariah" means "God remembers." The Prophet Zechariah told the people to "turn back from their evil ways; and if they did, God would remember His promise to them." Zechariah started his prophecy in 520 B.C., probably in November or December. Zechariah had eight visions; these were to encourage the people in their work for God, which was at that time to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. One of his visions was about myrtle bushes, which were in a valley, a deep place, or a place of trouble. Are you in a place of trouble; do you need help? The first thing to always remember is that sin in our lives hinders God from helping us and hinders us from receiving help. We must, daily repent and cleanse our hearts, so that the "circle" is complete; we pray; the Lord hears, and sends back the answer. In Zechariah's time, God wanted to take His people from the place of trouble to a good place, to Zion. Zion is a hill, (and represents the Church). God always wants to take people to Zion! Do you have a Church, an anointed, powerful, loving, tabernacle of direction, Joy and peace? You need one; we all need one; it's God's plan. It's Zion for a hungry world, and it all started with a Virgin girl, a manger, and God born in flesh to save mankind ....

Blow the trumpet in Zion all ye inhabitants of planet earth! It is written, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5:14) While the world is looking up, Zion, they're seeing You! The Church was sent to sow the seed of the Harvest, and give the world The Savior. Our trumpet of the gospel of Jesus Christ should be loud and clear, heard in the neighborhoods, the cities, the states, the nations ... the world! Be encouraged, children of the Lord Jesus Christ; You are the first step, the city on the hill, the first light the people see when looking up ... Zion, the light of the world, will grow brighter and brighter until the "Come hither" trumpet sounds and we go "Up."

David

King David, the word-meister, knew the value of looking up. He spent his time in the pasture, as a young lad, singing psalms, playing his harp, protecting the sheep from lions, and adoring the Lord. As the sheep were calmed in their fields of slumber by strums of the harp and lilts of worship, the breezes carried David's songs through the winds of time to His listening God. David knew nothing else, but to look up and serenade the ONE who held his heart. The trees and willowy grasses seemed to dance in motion in the dark moonlit nights, as the cadence of verses echoed through the lands of grazing. The longer David praised, the more intense his heavenward gaze became; he was drawn by the Spirit of a hungry God longing for more loving words from a young imaginative dreaming mind. So, David looked up, and up, and up, lost in the Spirit and his desire for his home beyond the stars. He knew the stars well ... his eyes were Up; his heart was Up; his love was Up; and His words were, and still are, a glorious beauty soaring in every heart that reads them, lifting us, buoying us, Up, in the everlasting arms of Jesus Christ our Lord.

"And 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."

The seven spirits that are before the throne dwell in that ethereal place that is UP, but we can dwell around that throne, even while we're in earth, if we pray for those seven spirits to abide in us. The throne of God can dwell in earth, "in earth as it is in heaven." "Up" is where all good things exist!

Everything we need is Up; everything we should want is Up; the billboards should be pointing Up; your strength is Up; your song in the night is Up; Your very existence is drawn Up. So, why not "give it up" ... fall on your knees before the Lord Jesus Christ, repent deeply of all of your sins; be filled with His Spirit and speak in tongues as His Spirit touches you and gives you utterance; and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. Then ... you know what to do; hold fast to your sword, even as the Shepherds held fast to their staffs, and ... Look Up!