The Twelve Foundations, The Twelve Stones, and The Twelve Apostles! Part 1

Many of us may be familiar with the twelve Apostles, the twelve Stones in Revelation and some of the nature of Jesus Christ, but have you ever pondered how they all fit together? Recently, I was reading Revelation 21, where John was describing the New City or the New Jerusalem. In verse 19, he was talking about the twelve Stones and the twelve Apostles. I knew that the Stones and the names of the Apostles had a special meaning, but I wanted to learn about  those meanings - so I went searching. I found the information that I was looking for in a book written by Rev. B. R. Hicks, a well-known pastor and author. Here’s what I found:

The Twelve Foundations, the Twelve Names of the Apostles of the Lamb, and the Twelve Precious Stones unite to form one beautiful revelation of truth about the Lord Jesus Christ as the Supporting Structure of the New City. The number twelve tells us that God’s Perfect Governmental Ruling Power has reigned in every aspect of building the New City.

The first foundation in God’s Eternal Plan for the New City is the Lord Jesus Christ as the Judge, the Divine Decider of good and evil which brings to an end doubts and disputes, and He gives definite, unmistakable determination to a penitent soul so that it can stride forward in God’s Purposive Will, according to His master plan. This Foundation has the name of the Apostle Peter inscribed on it, and it is garnished with the Jasper Stone, the polished and prominent stone. Peter’s name signifies the spiritual nature or Rock-Strength and firmness of Christ that we must have in order to defend the LORD’S divinely ordained position as the Just Judge. The Jasper Stone, with its polished, prominent nature, teaches us that we are to adorn the first Foundation of the Just Judge with bright, shining gratitude, which makes His decisions prominent before others. Hebrews 10:42 says, “And He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead.”

The Second Foundation in God Eternal Plan for the New City – is Wisdom that bears the name of the Apostle Andrew – with the Sapphire Stone. Proverb 3:19 says, “The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he establish the heavens. “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get Wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” (Proverb 4:7.) Wisdom’s ministry is present to reveal the “Truth that now is,” confirming the Justice of the Just Judge, the Devine Decider. The name of the Apostle Andrew is inscribed on the second foundation of the wall. His name means - Manly or Strong. Andrew was manly, strong, forceful, and determine to protect the Living Torah – Truth from obscurity and from remaining unknown. The second Foundation is garnished with the second Precious Stone, the Sapphire. The word sapphire means to scratch, to mark, or to inscribe. When Andrew found Christ, God’s Wisdom who had been made Flesh, he used his manly strength and his Sapphire Stone to adorn the Truth about Wisdom, which he so greatly inscribed the truth in his brother Simon’s heart that he came to Christ. Unless people realize how necessary it is to have this second foundation in their heart, they will be disinterested and disinclined to make the effort to obtain it.

The Third Foundation of the wall of the New City is – Repentance. Repentance bears the name of the Apostle James (son of Zebedee) with the Chalcedony Stone – which means the Hollowing Out. Hebrews 6:1 says, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.” The name of the Apostle James, is inscribed on this third foundation because it fits with the Principle of Repentance. The Chalcedony Stone, which beautify the third Foundation, also fits with Repentance. It means to hollow out, when sin is cleaned out of the old heart through repentance, the heart is hollowed out so that there is room or a place for God’s Master Plan and Purposive will to abide.

Come back next week for more of the 12!

With all that said, let the church say Amen... and AMEN!

Yes Jesus Loves Me!

Love: Intense affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties

As children most of us sang a song that said, "yes Jesus loves me." Although many of us might think of this as a "children's song," it's important that we remember that the words of this song still hold very true today even though we are adults. The song goes on to say, "because the Bible tells me so," not only does the Bible tell us so, but the Lord also shows us everyday, in every facet of our lives that He loves us.

I know we have all heard the poem about the footprints in the sand, but let me refresh your memory, just in case:

"One night a man had a dream... 

He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord, and Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; One belonged to him, and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before them, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life, There was only one set of footprints. 

He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him, and he questioned the Lord about it. 'Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, You would walk with me all the way; But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, There is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why in times when I needed you the most, you should leave me.' 

The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child. I love you, and I would never, never leave you during your times of trial and suffering. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you."  (Margaret Fishback Power)

Jesus' love for His precious children has not changed; He still wants to carry us during our times of trials and suffering. But, He’s a perfect gentleman - He will not force Himself on us - we must allow Him to do so.

"Yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me - for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong, for they are weak but He is strong."

The Lord loves us so much; He’s just looking to show Himself strong in our lives. It doesn’t matter what the situation is - He’s only a pray away. Yes, Jesus loves YOU!

With all that said, let the Church say amen… and Amen!  

When a Man's Ways Please the Lord!

To Please: to make (someone) happy or satisfied; to make a choice about what to do, have, etc.

The Bible says, "When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Proverb 16-7). Today, let's spend a little time talking about Joshua and how he pleased the Lord. Joshua's life is a great example for us to follow and he left a profound legacy for each of us. Joshua was faithful to the Lord and his faithfulness kept the children of Israel faithful all his life. We need to be sure that we are living our lives more like Joshua - setting a good example for our children, our employees, our co-workers, and our fellow Christians.

As a result of his faithfulness, Joshua had favor with God. If we do what Joshua did, we will get the same results he got ("same God right now, same God back then" right?!). The Lord told him in Joshua 1:8, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

It's obvious that Joshua did as the word said, he was focused and obedient. We can see that by the way he went out to fight a battle. The Bible tells us that God fought for them. It also tells us of how the Lord cast down great hailstones from heaven upon their enemies, and how Joshua had favor with the Lord, so much so that when they were fighting in battle that "he said in the sight of all Israel, Sun stand thou still upon Gibeon and thou, moon in the valley of Ajalon." And my friends, the sun stood still, and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies (Joshua 10:11-13).

We may not be fighting a physical war, but we've all got some sort of battle going on - on the inside and on the outside. Some of those battles might be small and some probably feel like giants, but just as the Lord fought for Joshua and Israel - He will bless, fight, and protect us, but of course - we must stay the course! We do this by staying in His word and meditating on it day and night. We must also ask  for directions and be obedient when He directs us; i.e. we must accept the assignment He gives us. When we are pleasing unto Him, He will make our way prosperous. Remember, the walls of Jericho fell down with just praises unto God!

I’m sure that some of those in the battle were worried and that some were afraid, but the Lord took down every giant and there were no survivors. We can experience that same success and overcome our battles when our ways please the Lord. Whatever your battle might be, the Lord is saying the same to us as he said to Joshua - be strong and be courageous!

With all that said, let the church say amen... and AMEN! 

Patience is a Virtue!

Patience: the quality of enduring, the ability to bear trails without grumbling.
Virtue: a commendable quality, a particular moral excellence.

Patience is truly a commendable quality. Today, it seems like we live in this microwave generation where everyone wants everything right now. While most of us realize that we are not always going to get what we want right away, we still get restless when it feels like things aren’t moving fast enough. We start getting restless and as a result, some then start asking the Lord for patience. My friends, I’m here to remind you that patience always involves the experience of dealing with obstacles and some delays. When these situations come about, that’s what allows our patience to have a chance to grow, so once you ask, you have to learn to let it grow instead of trying to squirm out of it.

Patience is needed in our lives in order to be successful - in the working world, and/or as a spouse and a parent. One way to practice patience is by letting go of things outside of our control. This lets you live with less stress, frustration and anger. Regardless of what other people think or say, you have a choice of how you allow things outside of your control to affect you. You are the source of that frustration.

Having impatience can lead us down a road of disappointment and disgust which will eventually cause us to give up on waiting for God like Sarah and Abraham did in the book of Genesis. Patience can be hard to master but developing this skill can really help us in life. Just think, where would we be if God had not been patient with us?

When others let you down or irritate you (and they will!) be patient with them. Practice love and stillness, because those people are growing just like we are. Always bear in mind that life is a process that you can liken to a ladder - you must climb it one step at a time!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!