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Seek God For The City: 2020

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“Seek God for the City: 2020” begins today, February 26. If you haven’t read the meditation and prayed the prayers it’s not too late.

Psalm 27:8 You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek, inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].

When confronted with Scriptures like this many are quick to remind you that no one can see God’s Face and live. Exodus 33:20 But, He said, You can not see My face, for no man shall see Me and live. Yet, we are commanded to seek God’s Face. Though, in contrast, there are those who claimed to have seen God’s Face and lived. Was God lying, or is the Scripture contradicting itself? Neither. One of the things I love pointing out to people is that Jesus was God when He walked the earth. In other words, They saw God. To which they will typically counter that argument by stating that He was simply living as a man during His earthly ministry – He wasn’t really God. To which I agree. Yet this statement is only half the truth. For following Jesus’ resurrection Jesus appeared too over 500 people (1 Cor. 15:6) as God. Was Jesus glorified as God following His resurrection? Absolutely. So how do we reconcile the differences? The differences are reconciled when you understand that in the Old and New Testaments man could not look upon the Face of the Father and live, but they could look upon Jesus’ Face. Jesus was making appearances throughout the Old Testament long before He arrived as a baby in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. Consider the following:

In Ex. 3:2 it states: The Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush…

Angel of the Lord is used exclusively in the O.T. This term is never used again in the New Testament. What escapes our notice is that this “Angel” refers to Himself as the Lord: Ex. 3:4-6 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses! And he said, Here am I. 5 God said, Do not come near; put your shoes off your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. 6 Also He said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

This Angel of the Lord spoke as God. Regarding the use of this term the Amplified Classic contains the following footnote for Gen. 16:7: “The Angel of the Lord” or “of God” or “of His presence” is readily identified with the Lord God (and other passages). But it is obvious that the “Angel of the Lord” is a distinct person in Himself from God the Father. Nor does the “Angel of the Lord” appear again after Christ came in human form. He must of necessity be One of the “three-in-one” Godhead. The “Angel of the Lord” is the visible Lord God of the Old Testament, as Jesus Christ is of the New Testament. Thus His deity is clearly portrayed in the Old Testament. The Cambridge Bible observes, “There is a fascinating forecast of the coming Messiah, breaking through the dimness with amazing consistency, at intervals from Genesis to Malachi. Abraham, Moses, the slave girl Hagar, the impoverished farmer Gideon, even the humble parents of Samson, had seen and talked with Him centuries before the herald angels proclaimed His birth in Bethlehem.”

In fact if you were to go through all of the Old Testament references to the Angel of the Lord you discover that He appears quite frequently. This Term is used in Gen.16:7-13 regarding Hagar. It is used of Abraham in Gen. 22:11-16 when he is about to sacrifice Isaac. In Gen. 22:15-16 it states: The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 And said, I have sworn by Myself, says the Lord…. You discover it in the account of Jacob wrestling with the Angel of the Lord in Gen. 31:11,13 the Angel of God said to me in the dream, Jacob. And I said, Here am I …..13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you vowed a vow to Me.

In the book of Joshua is an amazing account in which Joshua encounters the Angel of the Lord Who refers to Himself as Captain of the Lord’s Hosts. The term Lord of Hosts, Yahveh-Sabaoth, means Lord or God of Angelic Armies. How powerful is that? The other interesting thing about this passage is that angels never receive worship from man. That’s how we know that this is Jesus, and the Angel of the Lord. Josh. 5:13-15 When Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up, and behold, a Man stood near him with His drawn sword in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, Are you for us or for our adversaries? And He said, No [neither], but as Prince of the Lord’s host have I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, What says my Lord to His servant? 15 And the Prince of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, Loose your shoes from off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so.

All of this to say, when we are commanded to seek God’s Face, we are being commanded to not only seek God’s manifested Presence, but an experiential encounter with Jesus. Question is, Are you willing to turn to see?

Seeking God’s Face Day 1 (February 26): We have heard Your Voice calling to us. Yet too often we have allowed the noise of life to obscure Your call. Although we’ve ignored You before, we now hush our hearts long enough to respond to Your Voice. You are calling, “Come! Come nearer! Come seek My Face!” Our hearts answer back to You, “Yes! I’m coming! I will seek Your Face!” This really is the deepest longing of our hearts. This is what we were made for: To know You. To come near You. To love You. We seek You because You first sought us. Please keep calling us, and we will keep coming.


Confession and Declaration 5

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Revelation 12:7-9 Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels went forth to battle with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought. 8 But they were defeated, and there was no room found for them in heaven any longer. 9 And the huge dragon was cast down and out—that age-old serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, he who is the seducer (deceiver) of all humanity the world over; he was forced out and down to the earth, and his angels were flung out along with him.

A war broke out in Heaven because Jesus crucified, resurrected and ascended had entered Heaven’s Courts with His sacrificial blood. That is such a powerful statement. Once Jesus enters into take dominion – war breaks out. Jesus told His disciples: Nor will people say, Look! Here [it is]! or, See, [it is] there! For behold, the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]. Luke 17:21

If the Kingdom of God, or Heaven is inside of you, and war broke out in God’s Heaven, then you can rest assured a war has broke out in you also. The Good News? Satan is defeated – cast down and out! He is forced out and flung to the earth! Satan the adversary, who opposes, withstands, “lying in ambush” to attack. Yet, Jesus has turned the ambush of the cross, into a weapon of war to bludgeon our enemy into submission through the shout of His resurrection. This is no ordinary child, nor Son of Man. No, He is a conquering Warrior King dressed for battle.

Joshua 5:13-15 states: When Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up, and behold, a Man stood near him with His drawn sword in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, Are you for us or for our adversaries? 14 And He said, No [neither], but as Prince of the Lord’s host have I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, What says my Lord to His servant? 15 And the Prince of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, Loose your shoes from off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so.

Most scholars recognize this Prince of the Lord’s Host as none other than the pre-incarnate Jesus. When Joshua asks, Are you for us or for our adversaries? Jesus redirects Joshua’s attention away from the battle to God. How did Joshua respond? He worshipped! Worship in the midst of battle? That’s the Kingdom way.

Another encouraging picture is discovered in Isaiah 59:16-20 And He saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor [no one to intervene on behalf of truth and right]; therefore His own arm brought Him victory, and His own righteousness [having the Spirit without measure] sustained Him. 17 For [the Lord] put on righteousness as a breastplate or coat of mail, and salvation as a helmet upon His head; He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and was clad with zeal [and furious divine jealousy] as a cloak. 18 According as their deeds deserve, so will He repay wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; on the foreign islands and coastlands He will make compensation.19 So [as the result of the Messiah’s intervention] they shall [reverently] fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him and put him to flight [for He will come like a rushing stream which the breath of the Lord drives]. 20 He shall come as a Redeemer to Zion and to those in Jacob (Israel) who turn from transgression, says the Lord.

Our Lord is known as the Lord of Hosts. I remember there was a time I simply read right over that phrase assuming that I understood its meaning. I was completely surprised to learn it means, Lord of Angelic Armies. Our Savior, and God is a Warrior. Don’t forget it.Yet, if He’s a Warrior, then we are children of war. Unfortunately, most believers resemble the eagle who was raised in captivity. The story goes that when the eagle was very small, he fell from the safety of his nest. A chicken farmer found discovered the hatchling taking him to his farm to raise him among his many chickens. The eagle matured doing what chickens do. Living as a chicken, he eventually accepted the idea that he was a chicken. A park ranger came to the chicken farm to see if the story of the eagle turned chicken was actually true. He knew that an eagle is king of the sky. But to his surprise and astonishment he saw the eagle strutting around the coop, pecking at the ground, as if it were a chicken. The farmer explained to the ranger that the bird was no longer an eagle but a chicken. The ranger knew there was more to this great bird than his actions showed. He was born with the heart of an eagle and nothing could change that. Taking the eagle out of the coop, the ranger gently lifted him to the edge of the fence. The ranger spoke: “Eagle, stretch forth your wings and fly.” The eagle moved slightly, only to glance at the ranger and peer back at the chicken coop. With one leap he jumped from the fence to resume pecking and scratching at the ground. The farmer remarked, “I told you it was a chicken.” But the ranger would not be deterred. Returning the next day he convinced the farmer to allow him another attempt. Taking the eagle to the top of the farmhouse he said: “Eagle, you belong in the sky and not the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly!” This time the eagle jumped from the man’s arm onto the roof of the farmhouse refusing to go any farther.

Exasperated the ranger convinced the farmer to allow him to return for a final attempt. Returning the next morning he carried the eagle to the foot of a high mountain. Here the eagle could not see the farm, nor the chicken coop. Holding the eagle aloft on his arm the ranger directed the eagle’s gaze towards the sky, and the bright sun beckoning above. And he said: “Eagle, you belong in the sky. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” This time the eagle stared skyward into the bright sun, as something within his heart stirred. Something wild and wonderful tugged on his heart. It was as if he were awakening from a dream. Oddly he felt the urge to begin flapping his wings, hopping up and down on the rangers arm. Just then a steady breeze blew into his face the fresh smell of the meadow below, and the rocky crags above, causing him to stretch forth his massive wings. Never had he felt so alive, wild and free. As his heart began to pump faster with exhilaration his wings moved in unison. Slowly at first, then surely and powerfully, his wings flapped in the breeze. Suddenly, a surprising and unexpected, urge bubbled up from deep inside calling out from the depths of his being screeching to the sun above and the valley below. A longing rose from deep within his being to reach for the heavens and he did. With one mighty swoop he sprung from the rangers arm, screeching and calling, rising higher and higher into the warmth of the suns ray. His heart leapt with delight as he felt the updraft of a heated thermal carry him higher and higher. Soaring, circling and ascending he flew until he appeared to be only a speck to the ranger on the ground. Shedding the barnyard below, the heart of the chicken had now been replaced with that of an eagle.

The moral of this story? You were made a warrior, with an eagle’s heart. Rise up and catch the wave of God’s Spirit as you declare His Triumph and Victory!

Day 5, Declaration 5: Lord of Angelic Armies, Prince of the Armies of Heaven, I report for duty. Dressed in robes of righteousness I begin my day centering myself in Jesus, the Truth. Grant me grace, placing around the center of my life your truth, honesty and integrity. Lift the breastplate of righteousness in place over my heart, and soul. Touch my feet with the Gospel of Peace, calling me to ascend the Hill of the Lord. The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk – not standing still in terror, but walking onward, and ascending higher. I progress upon the high places of my trouble, suffering, and responsibility as Jesus places them under my feet! I lift the shield of faith to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. I pick up the helmet of salvation, strapping it firmly in place. I lift high the Sword of God’s Spirit and Word as I proclaim, Jesus Is Lord of All! Hallelujah, satan, my adversary is defeated. Jesus has won the Victory. I worship at Your feet in the midst of the fray for the battle is Your’s. Thank You Jesus – this warrior is Your child.