Jesus told us we would be known by our love for one another. The Holy Spirit sent by the Father and Son into a hurting world produces love. But the wounded heart doesn’t recognize love, and the wounded heart doesn’t recognize the disciples of God. That is the reason the enemy attacks our hearts so fiercely. Jesus came into the world born out of the love of God for us; God so loved. And we were so wounded that we attacked and killed Him. It is no different for the disciples of Jesus Christ. With all the cries for help, we do not recognize the help when it comes. We kill the voices of those God has sent, and listen to the doctrines of the lost and of the hired shepherds leading without direction.

Now as the ark of the LORD came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart (2 Samuel 6:16). David loved the Lord and worshipped Him with all of his heart. Michal could not understand, and thought David to be less of a king because he showed his love for the Lord publicly. Michal could not recognize the man after God’s own heart. She was being used by the enemy to attack David’s praising of the Lord.

When Jesus came to the earth the priests did not know who He was. In the late night and early morning, after they had eaten the Passover meal, the leaders of the temple came looking for the Lord our Savior. They did not recognize the Lamb of God, with the Passover lamb still in them. As the city of Jerusalem was preparing to start the days of fasting from yeast breads, they hung their sin offering on the cross. As the sun was setting they took down His body and quickly put Him away in a tomb, to be done before the High Sabbath began. On the morning when the priests offered a wave offering of the first fruits to God, a few women who loved the Lord found the tomb empty. One of the women, named Mary, saw the Lord and did not recognize Him until He called her name.

This wounded world did not recognize the Savior, but still a few believers waited in Jerusalem for a promise. Fifty days after the Lord walked out of the tomb, the Holy Spirit came to this world. The Father spoke a promise through the prophets; the Son came to the earth the very Word the Father spoke; the Holy Spirit is now here to do the work in our hearts. “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28). But we do not recognize that we are the “sons and daughters” and we are the “old men” and the “young men”. We are now in the first month (Abib), but we do not recognize the times. This is the time of the latter rain.

The scriptures tell of a prophet who would come to turn the hearts of the fathers and of the children; a prophet being sent by God to bring to repentance the hearts of the fathers and the hearts of the children. If the hearts do not turn, there will be a time of woe on the earth like never before and like never will be. Will anyone recognize the prophet? He will be a disciple of Jesus Christ, and can be known by the Love of God. But our doctrines on love leave us empty. As disciples we do know the voice of God, but we teach hearing the voice with our doctrines and produce deaf prophets and blind seers. “Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed” (Isaiah 6:9-10). But God sent Jesus Christ to rescues us – to turn our hearts to the Father. The answer is the Gospel – Jesus came to be the voice, and give us sight and to set us at liberty.

© 2010, Tim D. Coulter Sr.