SING O HEAVENS & SHOUT O EARTH (Part 1-2)

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Eric Aboadwe
November 23, 2017 ·

SING O HEAVENS & SHOUT O EARTH (Part 1)

Brothers and Sisters, we are taking our reading once again from Isaiah:

“Sing O HEAVENS, for THE LORD HAS DONE IT! Shout, you lower parts of the EARTH; break forth into SINGING, you mountains. O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has REDEEMED Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel” (Isaiah 44:23)

In our previous study, we understood the fact that, the bases upon which Isaiah made this declaration is found in Verse 22 of the same chapter of Isaiah where God made us to understand that JESUS has “BLOTTED OUT, like a thick cloud,” our “TRANSGRESSIONS, and like a cloud,” our SINS,” and that He has actually “REDEEMED.”

When our Scripture reading says that “Sing O HEAVENS,” and it also says that “Shout, you lower parts of the EARTH,” it is because God sent JESUS CHRIST so that “by Him to RECONCILE all things to Himself, whether things on EARTH or things in HEAVEN. Having made peace through the BLOOD of His Cross” (Colossians 1:20). In other words, after JESUS took away all the SINS of the world with His baptism (John 1:29; Matthew 3:15), He shed His blood on the Cross so that He can “RECONCILE” all things both in “HEAVEN” and on “EARTH” in Him.

Therefore the reason why Isaiah proclaimed that “Sing O HEAVENS,” and “Shout, you lower parts of the EARTH,” is because JESUS CHRIST has “RECONCILE” all who dwell in “HEAVEN” and “EARTH” to God the Father, and He brought peace and stability because He has overcomed Satan the Devil who caused a “WAR” to “broke out in HEAVEN” (Revelation 12:7) and who also came down on “EARTH” to fight the mankind with SIN and to make them SINNERS.

But thanks be to our Lord JESUS, He achieved victory for us. Therefore when the Archangel Michael and his host “OVERCAME” Satan and his demons, it was said that, “Therefore rejoice O HEAVENS, and you who dwell in them” (Revelation 12:12a). But the moment Satan and his demons were hurled from “HEAVEN” down to the “EARTH,” it was said that, “WOE to the inhabitants of the EARTH and the sea! For the Devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Revelation 12:12b).

Does this then mean that only the “HEAVENS” could “rejoice?” The answer is emphatically NO! In the beginning, when Satan was hurled down from “HEAVEN” to the “EARTH,” it was actually “WOE to the inhabitants of the EARTH.” But the moment JESUS was born, and He received baptism from John for all the SINS of the world to be transferred unto Him, and dying on the Cross to shed His blood, it was no longer “WOE to the inhabitants of the EARTH,” but everything turn into BLESSING.

That’s why Isaiah declared by the power of the Holy Spirit, “Shout, you lower parts of the EARTH.” This means that now the people of the “EARTH” can also “rejoice” just like the inhabitants of “HEAVEN.”. Therefore just as the host of “HEAVEN” (Michael and his angels) overcame Satan through the POWER of JESUS CHRIST, we the inhabitants on “EARTH” can have also overcomed Satan through our FAITH in the water and the blood of CHRIST.

The Bible explains this very clearly in the Epistle of John when it says, “For whatever is born of God OVERCOMES the world. And this is the VICTORY that has OVERCOME the world – our FAITH. Who is he who OVERCOMES the world, but he who believes that JESUS is the Son of God: This is He who came by WATER and BLOOD – JESUS CHRIST...” (1 John 5:4-6a).

Here we must know that when the Bible talks about the “world,” then we should know that its “RULER” is Satan. That’s why JESUS said, “...For the RULER of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.” Here JESUS was saying that Satan is the “RULER” of this world (the EARTH). Therefore when it says in the Epistle of John that we have “OVERCOME” the world, it means that we have “OVERCOME” Satan the “RULER” of the world and the “world” itself through the water and the blood of CHRIST.

This is the main reason why Isaiah is saying that the inhabitants of the “EARTH” must also “break forth into SINGING.” It is all because JESUS has given us the “VICTORY.” The moment John the Baptist proclaimed, “Behold! The LAMB of God who takes away the SIN of the world” (John 1:29), human beings were able to “OVERCOME” the world because JESUS has fulfilled all RIGHTEOUSNESS for all the people of the world.

Also the moment JESUS uttered “It is FINISHED” (John 19:30) on the Cross by shedding His blood, we “OVERCAME” the world. In addition, the moment JESUS resurrected from the death through the POWER of the Holy Spirit, our OVERCOMING of the world was completed. This is the reason why it says in Revelation that, “And they OVERCAME him by the BLOOD of the LAMB and by the word of their TESTIMONY” (Revelation 12:11).

The “word” of our “TESTIMONY” is that, when JESUS was baptized, He took away all our SINS and the SINS of the world upon Himself. He then Shed His blood, died, and resurrected by the Spirit. This testimony is summarized by the same John who wrote Revelation. He said, “And there are THREE that bear witness on EARTH; the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as ONE” (John 5:8).

John also added, “...For this is the witness of God which He has TESTIFIED of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a LIAR, because he does not believe in the TESTIMONY that God has give of His Son” (1 John 5:9-10).

Therefore when it says in Revelation that we “OVERCOME” Satan by the blood of the LAMB and by the word of our “TESTIMONY,” then we must know that our “TESTIMONY” is according to what God Himself has “TESTIFIED” about His Son JESUS CHRIST who came by the Spirit, water and blood. This is the reason why the “HEAVENS” could rejoice and the “EARTH” could break forth into singing.

If anyone does not LOVE the Lord JESUS CHRIST, then the Apostle Paul says, “Let him be ACCURSED” (1 Corinthians 16:22).

Our study continues................



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Eric Aboadwe
November 24, 2017 ·

SING O HEAVENS & SHOUT O EARTH (Part 2)

Our Scripture reading is taken again from Isaiah where it says:
“Sing O HEAVENS, for THE LORD HAS DONE IT! Shout, you lower parts of the EARTH; break forth into SINGING, you mountains. O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has REDEEMED Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel” (Isaiah 44:23).

In the previous day, we learn how God “RECONCILE” all things to Himself, whether things on “EARTH” or things in “HEAVEN” through our Lord JESUS CHRIST who gave Himself for a one-time eternal sacrifice and disarming Satan and all the principalities and powers, bringing SALVATION to the inhabitants of the “EARTH,” and making them overcome the world and its RULER (Satan).

Therefore “Sing O HEAVENS” refers to the song of the REDEMPTION work of JESUS which propels the inhabitant of the “EARTH” to make a joyful “shout” to LORD for this amazing work which was achieved through His own sacrifice. That’s why whenever even a single soul receives the blessing of the REMISSION of SINS, our Lord JESUS said that, “Likewise, I say to you, there is JOY in the presence of the angels of God over one SINNER who repents” (Luke 15:10).

The Words of our LORD above shows clearly that when a SINNER “repents,” he or she is made “RIGHTEOUS” at once, and this is what brings “JOY” in the presence of the holy angels. But because many believers today, do not understand REPENTANCE, they are still SINNERS. They have been deceived to believe that REPENTANCE means asking for the forgiveness of SINS every day.

How can the angels of God “rejoice” if we were to beg Go for the forgiveness of SINS every day? Those who are still asking God to save them, sanctify them, and to forgive them have not yet received the TRUE salvation which brings “JOY” in “HEAVEN.” The angels sing and they make a joyful shout when a SINNER is saved, sanctified and forgiven once and for all through the body of JESUS CHRIST.

How can we “sing” and “make a JOYFUL shout to the LORD” (Psalm 101:1) if we have not been made RIGHTEOUS and HOLY to the Lord God Almighty? How can we “sing” the song “He has become my Salvation, the LORD is my strength and song” if we are still SINNERS? But many Christian in their ignorance are singing songs which they don’t even understand. They sing that JESUS paid the debt for them, but they still ask Him every day to pay it for them.

They sing “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound. That saved a wretched man like me. I was once LOST, but now I am found, was blind, but now I see.” But there is no TRUE reflection of what they say in their life of FAITH. This is how Christianity have become a Religion. Most of them go to their Churches to dance and make unnecessary “shout” at the tune of musical instruments whiles their SINS still remain intact in their heart.

Our reading in Isaiah tell us that we should make a “joyful shout” because JESUS CHRIST has “blotted out our TRANSGRESSIONS like a thick cloud” and our SINS like a cloud. It is all about being washed and being forgiven of our SINS once and for all. This is what brings true JOY. It is not a joy that is based on musical instrument. The true spiritual JOY emerges from the wells of SALVATION.

Many Christians are fond of saying, “The JOY of the Lord is my strength.” However, for most of them, this JOY is based on dancing and shaking of the body at the tune of musical instrument. There is nothing wrong in praising God and singing before His presence with musical instruments. This is because the Scripture says that, “PRAISE Him with sound of the trumpet; PRAISE Him with the lute and harp! PRAISE Him with the timbrel and dance; PRAISE Him with stringed instruments and flutes! PRAISE Him with loud cymbals; PRAISE Him with clashing cymbals” (Psalm 150:3-5).

However, this “PRAISE” must come from those who have been made “RIGHTEOUS.” God does not accept the “PRAISE” of SINNERS. The believers in the Christians communities who do not believe in the water and the blood of CHRIST are making unnecessary noise and not praising God. It will be better for such SINNERS to keep quiet and seek for the TRUTH.

It is written in the Book of Job, that such Christians, “Sing to the tambourine and harp, and REJOICE to the sound of the flute. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us, for we do not desire the knowledge of Your WAYS” (Job 21:12-14). It is very true that many people today including Christians do not desire the “knowledge” of God’s “WAYS,” but they believe in their own ways such as the Prayers of Repentance and Gradual Sanctification.

Therefore even though the book of Job says that they “sing” to the tambourine and harp and also “REJOICE” to the sound of the flute, they “go down to the grave” as SINNERS who were not REDEEMED from their SINS because they believe in false doctrines made by Religion. It is time for the entire Christian Communities all over the world to know that only the TRUTH in CHRIST can set them free.

The song, noise, and the shout that many Christians make is just like what the people of Israel were doing when they made a “golden calf” for themselves. Therefore when Moses and Joshua were descending from Mountain Sinai as the people were “shouting,” Joshua said, “It is not the noise of the shout of VICTORY, nor the noise of the cry of defeat, but the sound of SINGING I hear” (Exodus 32:18).

This noise and shout in the camp of Israel was SINFUL one. It was not the one which brings glory to God, but a perverted one. And unfortunately many Christians are making all sort of “shouts,” but it is not “the shout of VICTORY” over SIN through the water and the blood of CHRIST, but it is a “shout” of DEFEAT whereby they are not delivered from their SINS, but they are defeated by Satan. But the moment a person becomes “RIGHTEOUS” Satan is defeated in that person’s life, and this is when he or she can sing and make a “shout of VICTORY.”

The “HEAVENS sing” and the inhabitants of the “EARTH” shout as a result of the REDEMPTION work of JESUS CHRIST.

May the Name of the Lord be PRAISED!