Shabbat Shalom!
All morning, I keep thinking about the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. Earlier, I posted about it on Facebook and shard about how a deep sense of gratitude welled up inside me as I thought about Yeshua ha Messiah in that lonely, cold and dark place. As I went into my worship time, I sort of expected that this would be the message for today or at least a part of it. But, the Lord always has something for me which I do not expect and it is always much better. Remember what Paul said in Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
As I went face down before Him under the very, very heavy weight of His presence, I was immediately carried in a vision to a training room in Heaven. Several other people were there with me, but I could only look at Jesus. Then I heard the Holy Spirit say, “It is important to dress properly!” I thought about growing up in churches where you were expected to wear new clothes on “Easter Sunday” (I don’t use this term much anymore. I think of FirstFruits Sunday or Resurrection Day). So, this seemed a little old fashioned. As I watched, the Lord began to dress people so that they would be properly attired. He was putting three different items of clothing on each person.
First, He gave them a garment of praise. (“To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” – Isaiah 61:3) This garment was pure white and seemed to have some kind of jewels attached to it. It was something like a poncho with a round hole in the middle for the head. Jesus carefully placed this garment over each person so that praise would be at the heart of everything they did or said. We did not get to look at this for very long, because the next piece of clothing was placed over it quickly.
The second article of clothing was a robe of righteousness. (“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” - Isaiah 61:10) This robe was of a deep purple material like satin, and was very plush, soft, and smooth. It also had jewels on it, but it was covered over quickly like the garment of praise.
The third and final article, a cloak of humility, was then placed on us by the Lord. It was a very unattractive cloak of a brown material which seemed to be very old and worn. It had a hood which could be raised up over the head to cover almost every part of the body. Then the Lord said, “This is the most important article of clothing! If you gaze at the others, there is a great danger of pride coming into your heart! That is why I covered them quickly, but I want you to know that they are there! Don’t gaze on them or think much about them! Remember that they are mine. Focus on humility so that you can serve wholeheartedly! Tomorrow is one of the most heavily attended days of worship in the year. Unfortunately, my people often show their worst side on the very day the largest number of unbelievers are present.”
Then I was shown a small child saying, “Look at me! Look at me! See how pretty I look! See my beautiful new clothes!” Most of us were trained to do this from a very early age. We were paraded in front of family and friends as adults said, “Look at how nice he/she looks! Look at their new clothes!” We learned to do these things and expect to be noticed, but Resurrection Day is about keeping the focus on Jesus! There is nothing wrong with new clothes. There is nothing wrong with dressing up for the Lord on His day! The point is to keep the focus on Him. May we find new and creative ways to let the unbelievers in our midst see the beauty and holiness of Yeshua ha Messiach! May this be a time of bringing lost souls out of darkness and into the Kingdom of Light and Life! May we praise Him with all our hearts and worship Him with all our strength! May we love Him as we have never loved Him before! Amen and Amen!!!
Date: March 30, 2013
