Live For Tomorrow Today
Sung by Bernie Knee
Music-Marcello j Garzillo
Lyrics- Grace Garzillo
Live For Tomorrow Today
We Will be Shaken Out of Our Slumber
Many of us may not have realized it but we were all in a spirit of slumber. When we come to understand the love God has for us, then we will hear and see God as He intended for us to hear and see Him as He planned from the very beginning.
Romans 11:8, ( According as it is written, “God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear ) unto this day.”
This was not only written by the Apostle Paul but it was first stated by Moses in the book of Deuteronomy, 29:4. This statement by Moses was written to the Nation of Israel at the time of the Exodus.
Deuteronomy 29:4, “Yet the Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.”
At the time of the Exodus, the people are referred to as His people, the people who did not have a heart, eyes, or ears, were the children of Israel.
Romans 11:7, What then? Israel hath not obtained that what he seeked for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
Who are the Elect?
To understand who the Elect are, we need to go back to the Book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 65:1, “I am sought of them that asked not for Me; I am found of them that sought Me not: I said, Behold Me, behold Me, unto a nation that was not called by My name. 2, I have spread out My hands all the day unto to a rebellious People, which walked in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; 3, A people that provoked Me to anger continually to My face; that sacrificeth continually in gardens and burneth incense upon altars of brick.
Skipping down to verse 8 we read:
Isaiah 65:8, Thus saieth the Lord, “As the new wine, (see our article The New Wine vs The Old Wine) is found in the cluster, and one saieth, ‘Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it;’ “So will I do for My servants sakes, that I may not destroy them all. 9, And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob and out of Judah an inheritor of My mountains: and Mine elect shall inherit it, and My servants shall dwell there.”
It is apparent from Romans 11:7 above says that the nation of Israel did not inherit anything of God. Why? An inheritance is not granted until a death has occurred. During the days of Israel, the nation was divided into two houses, The House of Israel was made up of ten tribes and the House of Judah, consisted of two tribes. The House of Israel were divorced by God, Jeremiah 3:8, and scattered throughout the world. To this day they don’t know who they are. The House of Judah, along with its religious leaders rejected Jesus, John 1:11, as the Son of God, and crucified Him. Only those who are called the elect shall dwell in His Holy Mountain and be called His servants. The people who provoked God continually were those who worshiped God on altars of brick, meaning through their own man made religion. Man is made of the dust of the ground, when combined with moisture forms clay and clay is formed into bricks, this is the worshiping of God through the devices of men. God’s altar is a golden altar, Exodus 39:38; Revelation 8:3.
The word elect used in Isaiah 65:9 is number 977 in the Hebrew Dictionary and means to try, to select. When did this trying or selecting occur is a subject to be explained at a later time.
The Grape Cluster
Isaiah 65:8 mentions a grape cluster as the new wine. At the marriage of Cana, John chapter two, when the wine ran out, Jesus changed the water into wine. We all have a death sentence placed upon us because of Adam’s sin, Romans 5:12. When our natural life runs out, pictured by the wine running out, Jesus immediately grants us His new wine, pictured by a new life, His eternal life.
John 2: 10, And saith unto Him, “Every man, at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast keep the good wine until now.”
Scriptures tell us in Matthew 9:17 and Mark 2:22, that Jesus the creator of the new wine, as His Mother says, needs to be put into new wineskins. The wine represents the life of Jesus Christ being poured into us as vessels of the Lord.
2nd Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.
Christ As The Vine.
We read in John 15:1 where Jesus says that He is the true vine.
John 15:4, “Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.
We can only produce good fruit if we are attached to the vine. What is Jesus referring to? He is referring to the cluster of the vine, as stated in the Book of Isaiah who have a heart to be led by Him, and those who have a heart to know Him.
The Joker And The Shaking
The song mentions the Joker. This is a reference to Satan. Satan is God’s adversary and can never do anything without God’s permission. See the Book of Job, chapters 1:12; 2:3.
In 2nd Corinthians 4:4, he is called the god of this world. He also has the power of death in the Book of Hebrews, 2:14. And it is God who allows him to shake us out of our lethargic attitude or wake us up. Jesus defeated death and so, with the leading of God’s Spirit and the willingness on our part, we will defeat death also. He uses the Joker to buffet His people, to move them in the direction of blessings for themselves as well as others. This is the love of God, not to hurt, but to help us bear more fruit, John 15:2. God will shake heaven and earth, Hebrews 12:26, as well as one of His children, so they will be able to build upon a solid foundation. Because of the love He has for His children, God wants to give us of His life. He is able to stop any storm. As He gives us the faith to believe in Him, we will be happy, content and secure.
But unfortunately, He also knows that there are a countless number of people who pray/speak to Him on altars of brick. That altar is made up of man made religion, ideas, tradition and customs. These are those who will be shaken, or awakened because they don’t have a sure foundation or are not standing on the Rock.
1st Corinthians 10: 1-4, “And did all drink of the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”
If any Church or organization doesn’t feed you the same way as Jesus and His Disciples fed the multitudes, you will be shaken, not because you’re an enemy, but because He loves you and wants you to have life and have it more abundantly, John 10:10.