December 21, 2008

A Video Recording of this Letter

Not Before Its Time
Daniel Yordy

In recent days, I have known an assurance of relationship with Jesus like I have never known before. I am convinced of this truth: 'Until you see Him in your weakness, you will never know Him in His power.'

And so, I have wondered, “Lord, You are so real to me now. Yet, I wanted You to be this real to me all the way through. The truth is the truth. Why did You not reveal these things to us many years ago? Why all the years of heartache and failure and pain?” I'm sure you know the answer, but the question must still be asked.

But then I discover, the revelation of Jesus in our flesh does not come with sweetness alone. The revelation of His presence comes hand in hand with two companions. And these two companions are fierce. If we are not ready for His revelation, we will be unable to bear the two who come with it.

The first companion of His revelation is the savage, unrestrained opposition of the demonic realm. This is essential. We are not defeating “Satan”; we are rejecting the accuser. Read Revelation 12. The ages turn as the accuser is cast down. He knows that. There is nothing more terrifying to Satan than the revelation of Jesus Christ in the heart of any simple believer. Do not be surprised at the increase in fierceness of the voice of accusation.

But here is what I find. I hold to this primary word: “Christ is all in me.” As I do, I experience regular times of Jesus' refreshing presence, a union I have never before known. But it is not long before the opposition, the accusation, comes screaming back again. And I hold to what God says by faith alone. His word stands; all other voices fall.

That is one companion of the revelation of Jesus, the other companion is anguish for His people. Over the last few months, the most important passage in the Bible for me has been Isaiah 53. “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. . .”

Isaiah 53 has been my support because at the same time as I have come to know my union with Jesus, I have come to know this same rejection. Not a rejection of me, but a rejection of the testimony that I bear. Jesus has shared with me a tiny taste of the immeasurable sorrow that He bears as He is rejected by those whom He comes to save. And I bear that sorrow as my part in His intercession for His beloved.

Union with Jesus, 'I in you, and you in Me,' brings with it accusation and rejection, both within and without.

To know Jesus is to know unspeakable joy and overwhelming peace; to know Jesus is to know the exquisite sorrow that He bears.

The Lord knows the seasons of our lives and brings all things in their perfect time.

I am convinced that the ages are turning. Peter says, "Set your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation, the unveiling, of Jesus Christ." That grace is here, now. Embrace it in full expectation of faith, withstanding all opposition.

No one believes what they see. Rather, we see what we believe. When we believe that Jesus is revealed in our human weakness, we see Him in His power. And when we see His power in our weakness, we become what we see.

Stop looking for iniquity in your heart. If you do, you will find what you seek. See Christ alone; your heart is His throne. Know that He lives in every part of you, especially in your human weakness, and that every part of you, He carries inside Himself, especially your human weakness. Cast down all accusation; bear the sorrow that He shares with you for His people.

And kingdoms of darkness are crashing into ruin.

The revelation of Jesus is upon us. Believe it!