A continuation of the prophetic statement by David Wilkerson, see parts one and two below:
Skeptics in Jesus’ day said similar things at the Crucifixion:
“This man boasted his Father would raise him from the dead. Now
we’ll see. Will it be resurrection or shame?” Jesus wasn’t deaf
to those taunts. But he knew something they didn’t: His Father would
never allow him to be put to shame. God would not fail to deliver him
for his own name’s sake. There are times when it looks as if God
hasn’t shown up — when his people will be left in shame and despair
— but the full story hasn’t been told. (The Cross was one of those
times.) What we don’t realize in the midst of the crisis is that
God’s own honor is at stake. And throughout the Bible he had a people
whose flint-like faith proved his faithfulness in the most difficult
times. These servants unashamedly committed the Lord to act, putting
his honor at stake while trusting him to deliver.
1. Consider Moses’ example at the Red Sea.Here was a humanly impossible situation. Israel
was on the run from the Egyptian army, hemmed in on one side by the sea
and by mountains on the other. It was here Moses committed God to his
promises. He had already prophesied God would lead Israel into the
Promised Land. Now the Lord’s reputation was at stake for all to see.
I can hear the reports getting back that Pharaoh had Israel trapped. All
of Egypt expected to see the Israelites brought back in chains. Parades
would be planned to celebrate Pharaoh’s victory, with golden idols
exalted over the God of Israel. What was Moses’ reaction to this
crisis? Facing the vast sea before him, he cried, “Move forward!”
Moses so believed in God’s care, trusting his word to lead Israel
into his promise, he declared, “I know the Lord is faithful. And
I’m going to act on his word.” Think about the consequences of such
faith. If the Red Sea didn’t open up miraculously, Moses would be
thought a fool. The Israelites would go back into bondage, and God
would never again be trusted. Yet we all know what happened: As Moses
stretched out his hand, the waters divided, and the people walked
across on dry ground. I tell you, no one who fully trusts in God will
ever be put to shame. He will deliver on his promise for his own
name’s sake.
2. Consider Joshua.For six days Israel had marched
around the impenetrable city of Jericho, saying, “These walls are
coming down.” To the people inside Jericho, this sounded absolutely
foolish. They must have laughed in derision. Then finally, on the
seventh day, God’s people were commanded to march not just once but
seven times. At this point, even the Israelites must have felt foolish.
They might have thought, “Nothing happened the first six days. Now
this seems desperate. We’ll be shamed if these walls don’t fall.”
But such thoughts never entered Joshua’s mind. He said, “I know what
I heard from the Lord, and I know he is able.” He committed God to his
promise, putting his glory on the line. We know what happened: “The
people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to
pass…that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into
the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city”
(Joshua 6:20). When God’s children commit him to his Word, he will
never let them be shamed.
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