“When I AM Lifted Up” – Now Think On This by Steve Martin
“And I, as I am lifted up from the earth, will attract everyone to me and gather them around me.” John 12:32, THE MESSAGE
During the time I worked with Derek Prince Ministries (1987-1990 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and again 2000-2005 in Charlotte, North Carolina), Derek being one whom I consider being one of the great Bible teachers of all time, he received a prophetic word from another that went something like this.
“I saw several ships travelling down a river, heading toward a bridge up ahead. Each of the ships had a mast. Some of the masts were large, some small, depending on the size of the boat. They each also had a flag flying at the top of the mast, indicating their country, name, or whatever else they were wanting people along the shore and waterway who they were and represented. Most of them had the name of the captain on them.
As they approached the bridge, due to its low overhang, they had to decide if they were going to lower their flag or not. If they did, they would make it under the bridge without damage. If they didn’t, their flag would be broken off. The decision was made by each.”
When the word was received, as it is common with all men, a decision had to be reached as to what this was saying to them individually. As for Derek and his ministry, he felt the Lord was speaking to him directly, and he was going to make that decision. But others disagreed.
“If your name is lifted up, where is My Name? If people see you, how do they see Me?”
He carefully and truthfully took the time to consider this word. As for Derek, it was always his heart to lift up the Name of Jesus, not his own.
As we took consider whose name we lift up, one should wonder who are we trying to draw men and women to. Our name? Our ministry? Our way?
Or Jesus’, Yeshua’s, way? His Name or ours?
“Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘ Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.” John 12:27-24, NASU
There is a message given by Charles Haddon Spurgeon called “Stand up! Stand up for Jesus! (He was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the “Prince of Preachers”. Born: June 19, 1834, Kelvedon, United Kingdom Died: January 31, 1892, Menton, France.
The message states whose banner, flag, we should be lifting up.
“Stand up! Stand up for Jesus!
Ye soldiers of the cross!
Lift high his royal banner;
It must not suffer loss:
From victory unto victory
His army shall he lead,
Till every foe is vanquish’d,
And Christ is Lord indeed.
“Stand up! Stand up for Jesus!
The trumpet-call obey;
Forth to the mighty conflict,
In this his glorious day;
Ye that are men, now serve him,
Against unnumber’d foes;
Your courage rise with danger,
And strength to strength oppose.”
(from Spurgeon’s Sermons, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
In these days of popular ministers, teachers, politicians, heroes, popular worship leaders, entertainers in all fields of entertainment and sports, and all those who we highly esteem, as we should honor and respect, let us not forget the Name of the One Who sits on the throne above, the Creator of all, and acknowledge Him, as we live our daily life.
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4”8-12, NKJV
His Name is Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah. Yeshua HaMashiach.
Today we must choose to lift high the Name of Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, the Name above all names.
Then He, the Living God of All, the One Who alone can save, will draw all men to Him.
Now think on this.
Ahava and shalom,
Steve Martin, Founder/President Love For His People, Inc.
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Now Think On This #498 – in the year of our Lord 04.03.2020 – “When I AM Lifted Up” – Friday, 7:45 am in Charlotte, NC USA
I'm sure there are other reasons which could be listed. However, regardless of the reasons, no honest person can refute the fact that most leaders in the Church have disengaged from public involvement in politics and national moral issues. While I respect my peers in the Body of Christ and understand the challenges facing them in today's polarized and volatile culture, I fear that our choice of silence on many issues has come at a devastating cost. 
Can the fruit of America's sin and the Church's silence be reversed? Yes and no. Just as those who were killed by the Nazis could obviously not be brought back, we obviously can do nothing to undo the deaths of 60 million aborted babies. But we, like the allied forces of WWII, can stop the senseless killing and heal the land (2 Chronicles 7:14). This pro-death scourge on our nation's history need not continue.
