I have a message that I believe is going to touch the heart of many of us this morning entitled, "Still on the Throne". Isaiah 6:1 says, "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up and the train of his robe filled the temple".
Father God, we thank you this morning that you are in this place. We thank you not just for your presence but because you are here. Lord, let this word have its way in us. May we decrease and may you increase, in Jesus name, amen.
Isaiah had an incredible revelation that changed his life forever. He saw it with his own eyes, he got a glimpse into heaven and what he saw absolutely amazed and overwhelmed him. As we begin to read throughout the book that he wrote, it began to strengthen him like never before in his life. From that point forward, Isaiah the prophet was never the same again. What he saw then is exactly the same thing we would see today if we were to get a glimpse into heaven and that is this, God is still on the throne. It hasn't changed. He isn't going anywhere, he is right where he should be and right where he belongs. He is is right where we need him to be, right on the throne of heaven, still in control and still all powerful. He is still able to save, deliver and heal.
God is still God, he hasn't changed and he isn't going anywhere. This is important to know and to understand because increasingly people are finding themselves in situations or relationships that they believe can never have a turn around. As long as God is still on the throne and still in control there is no situation in our life that is too difficult for him and its impossible to walk through without him at our side.
We need a fresh revelation today that God is still God, that he is still on the throne and that he hasn't gone anywhere. More and more, Christians are faced with doubts about God's willingness and ability to help them. We've been challenged. Some circumstances have become so knotted and complex that we cannot tell the end from the beginning. How many have been in that situation before? Things that are so hard that we can't even tell the truth from fiction anymore. The things that we've walked through or the things that our mind has played out that we really think have already happened. We don't even know what is real or imagined anymore. The truth is that many have grown so frustrated waiting on God that they believe he won't come through and have begun to take matters into their own hands because they've forgotten that God is still on the throne. I've got a word for you this morning: He is still all powerful and almighty and he loves each and every one of us more than we will ever know.
The fact that he is all powerful and is the God of all creation does not diminish his ability to be able to understand every situation that you and I face and to care for us in the midst of it. The fact that he is God means that he is able to love us and is more able to care about the things we're going through than we could ever deal with ourselves. My prayer is that every Christian will have a fresh revelation today that God is still on the throne. He always has been, always will be and he isn't going anywhere. The devil, principalities, kings, kingdoms and people have all tried to dislodge him and uproot him from the throne but he's still there. As a matter of fact, their assault on God's absolute rulership has never been a problem for him and it hasn't even been a challenge to him. "Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world".
Lamentations 5:19 says, "You, O Lord, remain forever, your throne from generation to generation". I believe that this generation needs that same revelation that Isaiah got, that God is still on the throne. What God has done for our parents and grandparents in the past is the same God that is here today from generation to generation. He has not changed. Not only do we need that revelation as adults but our children also need that same revelation today. It's important more than ever before to know who God is. He doesn't need a break or a vacation.
One of the scriptures that I enjoy the most is when Elijah is calling down fire from heaven when he had been challenged by the prophets of Baal. After he had set up an altar, those prophets of Baal set one up and Elijah told them to go first and call on their God. Hour after hour they called on their God and nothing happened. They got more intense and began to cut themselves, cry and dance and nothing happened. Sometimes in Pentecostal churches we start acting like the prophets of Baal. We think we have to dance, do this and do that in order for God to hear us. God hears us the moment we speak. In 1st Kings 18:27 we see what Elijah says to them, "So it was at noon that Elijah mocked them and said "Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened". After all that time that they cried out, nothing happened. Elijah said, take some water, pour it on the altar and keep pouring water on it. Your God couldn't hear you when all you had was a dry altar, now see what my God is going to do. All he did was pray and fire came from heaven and began to consume that sacrifice. When everything was on the line all he had to do was prove that God was God, all he had to do was put God to the test and pray and God came through. God is always available and God is there for you, he's there for me and he hasn't gone anywhere.
Psalms 121:3-4 says, "He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep". That means that when you and I need to get rest, God is still on duty. He's still on the throne. Our father is still looking over us and hasn't gone anywhere. His power isn't diminished because he needed a break. He is in control. From the vantage point of his throne, God sees all and he knows everything. There is nothing that is hidden from our God. I know there are times we preach this when it deals with sin because in the new testament it says, "everything that is hidden will be revealed". But there is not one thing that we face, not one moment that we go through, not one day that we walk this earth that we are not seen by God. He sees our hurts and he knows our pain. He knows the beginning from the end because he is the alpha and the omega and everything in between. Because of that he knows exactly what we need, when we need it.
One of the things that the enemy has been assailing believers with is that somehow God has missed what is going on in their life. There are some of you that have been going through some very difficult situations. There was a time you thought you knew that God would never leave you or forsake you but maybe you find yourself now where the enemy has placed the thought in your head that somehow God has been with you all your life but right now he is missing what you're going through. I've got a word for you, he hasn't missed one thing. He sees it all.
Psalms 33:18-19 says, "Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his mercy, to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine". I wonder if there is anyone in this room who has made Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior, who has accepted him into their life? If you know Christ, his eye is on you. He hasn't stopped looking, like a parent watching their children, our heavenly father watches us.
This scripture is one of the greatest promises that we will ever have in the word, "The Lord is our keeper. His eye is on those who fear him". Not on those who are afraid of him, not those who feel terror of who God is, not those who are afraid that God has forgotten them, not those who are afraid that God is ready to do them harm every moment, but on those who have a great reverance that he is God, who have an awesome awe of his mercy and goodness, those who have tasted and seen that God is good and have watched God come through time after time and know that his mercy is everlasting. God keeps us through times of spiritual, natural and physical hurt and trial. I want to ask you, do you believe that he's able to keep you? Do you believe that he loves you and cares for you? Or has doubt begun to creep in? Do you know that he is a God of mercy and kindness and that he has the ability to deliver and heal and it is his desire to do that?
Isaiah 66:1-2 says,"Thus says the Lord, heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house that you will build me and where is the place of my rest? For all those things my hand has made and all those things exist, says the Lord, but on this one will I look, on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, who trembles at my word". Those who have need and those who have trouble and those who will depend on his word are those that God is looking out for. Those who are humble in heart, who will trust in the Lord no matter what it is that they are going through, God is still on the throne. Do you trust God? Do you know that he sees you and that his hand is ready to reach out and touch your life or to set you free? Those who need help from God can call on him in faith and expect his help. When you pray, do you expect God to do what you ask? When you have a need, do you believe when you ask that God is going to come through? Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us therefore come boldly before the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need". So many think that the throne of God is just a throne of power and authority. It is that but it's also a throne that you can come to because not only is God available, he is approachable. You can come to him anytime you need him.
On Friday night when we came here for prayer meeting, God moved powerfully as we sought his face. Just before I got here, Dawn had called me from home and said, "I just came home to let the dog out and her face is swollen". We've got a dog that's a lab and pit bull mix but Dawn said, "right now our dog looks more like a pitbull than a labrador retriever. There's something not right, her head is twice the size of what it should be". I told her we're just about to start prayer meeting and we can't do a thing about it. We called the vet and he was closed so I told her to lay her hands on the dog and God will heal her. She said ok and layed her hands on the dog and I went to prayer meeting. Some friends of ours next door said they could be right over and by the time they arrived the dog's head had already stopped swelling and by the time I got home every trace of the swelling had gone. If God cares about my dog, Lola, then he's going to care way more for you.
God says to come boldly before his throne. We didn't hesitate and think that God would think that dog was too small a thing for him to care about. That dog means a lot to us, she's part of the family and God cares about her. He touched her immediately. I want you to understand that when you need grace and mercy and favor from God, when you need lovingkindness and help that is beyond your strength, we can go and get it at the throne of grace. All we have to do is boldly come and God says that those who ask in faith will receive what they asked for. All you need to do is walk in faith, believing, and God will touch it. If you don't believe that you're going to receive what you asked then you won't go to the throne. If you don't believe that God cares then you will hesitate. As a matter of fact, it won't be the first thought on your mind, it will be the 2nd, 3rd or 4th and maybe it won't even cross it at all. If you don't believe that he is a God of mercy who loves you and cares for you then you will come like a trembling person who has no right to be there, but those who come before the throne in humility, expect and know that he cares for you and that you will receive what you ask. He is not only available but our God is approachable and when we go to him we will receive mercy.
I remember growing up as kids when we were dealing with a situation that was bigger than us. How many have played that game "Mercy"? Somebody would grab your hand and bend it back until you cried "Mercy". The truth is this, when you get to that place in life when the enemy has got you in kind of a lock, instead of crying out "I give up", call on the father and say, "Lord, at this moment I need your mercy. This is too much for me and I don't have the strength to face it or have the ability to handle it on my own. I can't do it in my own strength". If you would approach the Lord with that kind of humility and certainty that he's willing then you will receive the help of God.
Because he is on the throne, God knows best and we must wait for him. He is God and we are not. When you come to the throne there may be a moment where you have to wait for the breakthrough and have to wait for the answer. Psalms 33:20 says, "Our soul waits for the Lord. He is our help and our shield". What we do when we can't see a way out, when we have reached a dead end and there are no answers, what we do in that time is absolutely vital. Wait on God. Don't try and fill that time when things haven't happened with some kind of activity that will take it into our own hands, just wait on the Lord. In your marriage, if you're waiting for the breakthrough and its not happening as fast as you want it, wait on God. With your children, wait on God; In your job, wait on God. If he is God and he knows the right time and the right way at just the right moment to do it then it's worth the wait.
For those who have hurt for a long time and are ready for the hurt to end, I've got a word for you, God is still on the throne. God will come through in his own time. Waiting on God may sound like crazy theology but it is the only way out of the hurt that you're in and it is the only way that you will be healed because only God can do the work in you and for you that you so desire. Many times we ask, why am I having to go through this? Why is my cry not being heard? Why is my broken heart not being fixed? What did I do to deserve this? Why am I having to endure this and hurt so badly for so long? I've got a word for you when you're asking this question, God is still on the throne. Those are ok questions to ask and God is never offended by them but I believe a better question is, what did I do to deserve the blessings that I already have? What did I ever do to have all the good that God has done for me already? Some of you may be going through a hard time right now but in the midst of that thing that's going on in your life there are still many good things that are going on around you. While you are waiting, I challenge you to count your blessings and enjoy the good that God has brought into your life instead of rehearsing your trouble. Take your trouble to the Lord, wait on God and trust him. Know that he is still on the throne and that he's going to come through. Begin to look around you and realize everything that God has blessed you with.
We used to sing a song, "Count your Blessings, name them one by one". There's some good theology in that song. I was going to read that to you but I didn't print it out and I don't know all the lyrics. The man who wrote that got it through his head while he was going through some hard times that he was going to start taking inventory of what was right in his life and to begin to thank God for everything that's good, for all the blessings he's given him in the past and for all that he's experiencing now. The truth is this, once you realize that God has been on the throne and is still on the throne blessing you then you will be able to follow him because you know he's going to still be that authority, goodness, kindness and mercy in your life and you can continue on with all that you've got to face and endure, in his power and his strength. Count your blessings and start to take inventory of them.
When we come to God with pain and hurt, one of the things that we must do is reverence his position as God. I've begun to notice something happening more and more in my ministry as I counsel and help people through their difficulties. I have seen people that are so tired and confused in their pain that they become disrespectful with God. Being disrespectful with God is way different than being angry with God. You can be angry with God and still not sin. You can get angry at your husband or wife every once in awhile but you still love them. You can get angry at God and still love him. But I have watched some Christians that have grown frustrated with God and turned that anger and confusion into disrespect and to dishonor. As a matter of fact, their anger and their questions now turn from frustration to rebellion. They move from unbelief to rebellion, like Job's wife who looked at him and said, "Curse God and die". These people who once trusted God and knew God become so angry that they begin to curse God and begin to take matters into their own hands. They say, ?Forget God's way, it's too long and too hard. I'm not going to do it that way. I'm tired of waiting, I'm going to do it my way and what seems right".
I want you to listen to me, Christian, God cares for you. He knows your heart and he knows the trial that you're in but do not make things worse by falling into the trap of the enemy. When we begin to do things in our hurt and our fear and anger as we stop trusting God then we move into pride and arrogance. God will not be challenged. Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. But all of those who will humble themselves before God even in the midst of their pain will receive the blessing of God, but the enemy's trick is to turn those who trusted God into those who are disrespectful to God. Don't fall into that trap because soon you will have God against you instead of for you and that's a bad place to be.
I understand that you hurt and that you have pain and so does God but don't allow your flesh to take you away from him. Maybe you're here this morning and have been ready to give up on God. Maybe you've asked, "God, where are you?" But you haven't asked out of humility, you've asked with gritted teeth with a fist raised in his direction. I don't understand all that God does. If I were God and I'm glad I'm not, I would do things in different timing than he does but we know that his ways are perfect. I want you to encourage you to love him. I pray that everyone of us would humble themselves before him.
There have been times in my life where I have hurt so bad and I have felt that same temptation and that same urging from the enemy. I've heard that voice in my head that if I would just stop doing it God's way it will all go better but that's a lie. I've got a word for you this morning, you may be going through that hurt and pain but God is still God and he's still on the throne. He hasn't given up loving you, he is still for you and if you will just wait then he will come through. When we have trusted in God and waited on him then we will be rewarded with rejoicing, with rest and with help.
Psalms 33:21-22 says, "For our heart shall rejoice in Him because we have trusted in his holy name. Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us just as we hope in you".
I want you to get this revelation, our hope in God feels to him just like his mercy feels to us. In the midst of our trial when we're experiencing that need of healing in our life, when we give God our hope and our trust we begin to bless him. Now what you have is relationship because not only are you receiving from God what you need but you are blessing God with the hope that you've placed in him. Out of that God says, "I will give you rest, I will give you joy and I will change your life". When we trust in Him there is that promise. It is not the ignorant, cluelessness of a religious bliss in the midst of a thing where people say, "It's going to be alright and I'm ok because it all feels good and go around singing hallelujah while everything is falling apart. True faith says this, "I have placed my hope in God and although it doesn't feel good or look good, God promised in his word that on the other side of this is rejoicing and in the midst of this there is rest and peace and he is coming through". I've got a word for you this morning, God is still on the throne.
Maybe you've been going through one of the hardest times you've ever faced but the Holy Spirit can move on hearts. Maybe these things you're dealing with are out of your control but you can't control it anyway. While you're waiting God is doing stuff behind the scenes that you might know nothing about and all of a sudden when you see what God is doing after you've waited on God, it's like that curtain lifts and you watch how he's put everything in perfect order right in it's place. I've got a word for you, God is still on the throne. Someone in this room needed to hear that. I believe everyone of us need to walk like that.
The truth is that there will come a time when you're going to face some stuff where you don't know what to do but you've got to remember that he's still on the throne. Christian, you who are helping people through some of the most difficult situations in their life, you need to know that he's still there because I've watched Christians give counsel that is absolutely contrary to the word of God. They begin to look at the situation and say, "I don't know what to do with this either". Yes you do, you point them to Jesus. If you're beginning to help someone and the situation looks bigger than you know what to deal with or you have no idea how to see deliverance out of it then you point them to Jesus. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to do the work of God. All it takes is someone who knows who their God is, to know where he is and to know that he's not going anywhere. If they can't boldly go to God then you grab them by the hand and say, "Brother or sister, I'm going to take your hand and show you right where he is, I want you to have that revelation too". When you minister like that it changes everything. He is still on the throne.
