Remnant in The Bible is always a two-sided word. In the first instance it speaks of disaster and loss ahead.
But there is promise found in it too. It will not be a total catastrophe, for there will be a divinely preserved remnant." Gods People are His Remnant!
Is 37:31 .... And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:
Paul defined this preserved believing remnant of Israel in
Rom 2:29 A Jew( Gods Remnant) is one "inwardly (by) circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God." Not trying to impress anyone but God!
The remnant is preserved by God himself God always has a Remnant that have not bowed the knee to Baal. Who are Circumcised at The Heart
Rom 11:5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice... Were A Remnant by Gods Grace
Never throughout the long history of Israel did 100 percent of the nation worship God , there has never been a time where all of Gods People were all in, there will always be two types of people in our churches ... Those that Jesus described in
Matt. 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me... God .
Secondly we see in Gods People the characteristic of a deep… Conviction... Ps 119:57 “Thou art my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Thy words. I entreated Thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to Thy word.”
The word … Portion In Scripture was normally used to describe ordinary pleasures.
Here it is used to describe A Rest and Satisfaction that is so complete that it leaves nothing else to be desired.
The psalmist says here he has received in the Lord everything to satisfy his heart. For us as Christians our portion is found in a… Person.... Jesus is there portion
Lamentations 3: 24 says; “The Lord is my portion says my soul, therefore I hope in Him.”
Psalm 16:5 “O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my Cup; You maintain my lot.”
Brothers and Sisters when you find Jesus as your portion, you will find He is all you need.
Deut 32:9 For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance, He’s my beloved, my Beloved is mine His Banner over me is love!
Many times we find ourselves in a situation where all we have left is the Lord, and discover;That He is all we needed anyway.
Always only a remnant was faithful to Him. God always preserved a remnant, it was a remnant of those which came out of Egypt that entered the land.
Practically the entire generation that came out of Egypt died in the wilderness. It was their children who entered the land. God preserved a remnant.
In Elijah’s day God had a faithful remnant. Elijah was very pessimistic. There’s nobody like that here Though!
He cried, 1 Kings 19:10 “Lord, I only am left”. But God told him, “You aren’t the only one; I have seven thousand in these mountains who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
The remnant is a living reflection and continual reminder of the unmerited favor of Almighty God.
The number of the remnant is always small. In Zechariah 13:8 it is a third of all Israel.
In Isaiah 6:13 it is only a tenth of the total and in Ezekiel 5:3 the remnant is pictured as only a few hairs wrapped in a fold of a garment.
Is 10:22... For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
Never throughout the long history of Israel and what we find recorded in The Bible did 100 percent of the nation worship God , there was always a faithful Remnant ... ( Turn and tell your Neighbor he’s talking about Me)
What were the Characteristics of That Remnant ?
They Remained and Trusted God, They were there They stood fast to God And faithful to His Word
In the Book of 2 Kings Gods People had a Wicked king and Wife Jezebel threatening to destroy the Church
Elijah got depressed , wanted to quit because he Thought he was alone .... and god told him that he had 7,000 that had not bowed the knee to Baal, which has not Kissed ...
We kiss what we cherish e.g. they cherished nothing more than God ,
Phil 1:21 For me to live is Christ and to die is Gain , but it wasn’t a cliche It was A Lifestyle
The love of the World was not an issue for them and the desire for Worldly Possessions did not hinder their consistency and faithfulness to the Things of God.....
They learned to balance their commitments and learned to give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is Gods
Even Jesus understood what was required to Survive on earth, So Jesus said go ahead and Give to Caesar , But don’t you dare give to Caesar what belongs to God!
And that’s what separates the remnant you can tell by what they give to Caesar and what they give to God...
How much of our Time, Talents and treasure is Given to God and how Much to Caesar... To kiss was as sign of allegiance and surrender to an idol or King
Some people give more allegiance to other things than to God .......
The Remnant again is what God has always used to Get His work done just a Few in Judges with Gideon the remnant was separated by their lack of fear
Also They were Men who were Watchful, alert they knew they were in Battle and were ready to fight with little Comfort they were willing to Sacrifice Comfort
They were soldiers who understood The times that they were living in and ;They remained Watchful they knew when it was Battle Time and when it was Time to rest...
1Ch 12:32 - talks about The Men from Issachar, Men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do—200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command
This is not the Time for the church to Hold Back “ We are the Church” I believe two things are about to Happen There will be a great revival but also what the apostle Paul Called The Great falling away...
If there was ever a time not to get comfortable its now, God is looking for warriors who understand the Times ... Folks were in the Last Day! And Gods Remnant understands that...
The Remnant has developed a Relationship with God, One of the greatest pieces of advice that I’ve ever received was “Never lose your Morning devotion Time” e.g. Never stop communicating with God Talking to Him and Hearing from Him.....
And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:
We need for our roots to go deep with God and in return we will see fruit , my fruit would be to see this place fill up with unsaved people and getting them saved and discipled and serving God.....
Gods remnant are disciplined in their devotions with God , I think I can say that we all hit and Miss but we always get back to it because we understand our Need for God to be in Our Mix ...
We need God all up in our Kool aid! Gods Remnant has a conviction of there Need for God.....
Usually the remnant is what’s left over from a battle or catastrophe , they’ve been thru some battles they can take a licking and keep on ticking They know how to weather storms they understand That storms and Battles come along with the territory , but they also trusted that God would carry them Through...
Some of us have faced some giants Fought some Battles been in a storm “ But life is not about waiting for the storm to pass but rather “ It’s about learning how to dance in The Rain” ...
God carried them Through...
I am What I am by the Grace of God.... its not by Power or might But by His Spirit... I can do all things Through Christ Jesus who strengthens Me... They know from whence cometh their Strength .... It comes from God ...
John 15:5 ... He is the vine and we are the Branch, some of us are the stick that was snatched out of The Fire
Zec 3:2
God is The Portion of The Remnant
Luke 15:11- 24 A Story of a son who wanted his portion now and the father gave it To him and he went out and Squandered it didn’t turn out to be what he had thought it would be ...
The Bible says when he came to his senses and said The only Portion I need is where my Father is at .... So he ran back to that place where he Realized he could find all he Needed
The Father was waiting with Open Arms and took him right Back .... Is God your Portion, what portion are you Chasing? ..... Ecc 1:14... I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind...
IN CLOSING..
King David said Psalm 17:14 Deliver my life from the wicked … from men of the world who have their portion in this life:
David recognized that one characteristic of Gods enemies was that they looked much more to this life than they did to eternity. 1 John 2:15 , Phil 3:17-21
And, they may very well have some satisfactions in this life: David describes them as having full Belly’s, satisfied with their Children, they leave an inheritance for their children....
And yet he says Psa 17:15.. As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
As for me: David here set himself in contrast to his enemies, who looked only to this life and not to eternity.
verse 14, David is saying "I do not envy their domestic happiness, but my hopes and happiness are of another nature..
I will see His face: David was confident not only of life after death, but that he would one day see the face of God.
Gods Remnant Lives with Eternity in Mind, God is there portion and they Shall not Want.....
In the crushing song......
