The phrase which is to be the key
to our present consideration is in that chapter
which was read to us, Isaiah chapter 53
and in verse 1.
Who hath believed our report, and to whom
hath the arm of the Lord been revealed,
phrases, the arm of the Lord.
You know that the word arm is a
symbolic word in the scriptures, used very many
times, signifying that upon which man relies for
strength and support.
The larger phrase, the arm of the Lord,
just means the strength and support of the
Lord himself.
The arm represents the person.
Sometimes the person is in weakness, and his
arm is described as being weak, sometimes in
strength.
The arm is the symbol of the person,
sometimes of the people, the nation, but always
indicating the state of strength or weakness.
So this phrase, the arm of the Lord,
implies the showing of himself in power on
behalf of that which is according to his
might.
To whom will the Lord show himself in
power?
To whom will the Lord make bare his
arm?
To whom hath the arm of the Lord
been revealed?
Now while in the Bible there are very
many incidents in which the arm of the
Lord is shown, there are particular occasions characterized
by this phrase.
For instance, we have repeated
reference to the bearing of his arm, the
stretching forth of his arm in the bringing
of Israel out of Egypt.
It is referred to so often as an
outstanding occasion of the Lord showing his arm,
stretching forth his arm, bearing his arm, the
lighting down of his arm to bring them
out.
The arm of the Lord was revealed.
You read, consider that whole story of God's
dealing with Pharaoh and Egypt on behalf of
his people.
It's all gathered up in this.
That was the revealing of the arm of
the Lord.
Of course, it is but an illustration, the
emancipation of an elect people from the kingdom
of this world and of darkness.
For that, the arm of the Lord is
revealed.
Or again, Israel's deliverance from Babylon.
It was another occasion when the arm of
the Lord was revealed.
How often that is the way in which
it was regarded.
The arm of the Lord stretched out over
Babylon, brought down her rulers, overthrew her forces
in order to bring the people back from
captivity.
And again, that was symbolic, the recovery of
a pure testimony amongst the Lord's people, which
testimony had been lost.
And when the question is asked, to whom
has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Or in another tense, to whom will the
arm of the Lord be revealed?
The answer is there.
But for that purpose, in relation to that,
again, in the raising and the exalting of
Jesus, to the right hand of the majesty
in the heavens, it was indeed a revealing
of the arm of the Lord.
And still further, in those early days of
the church, how wonderful was this revealing of
the arm of the Lord.
In those first chapters of the book of
Acts, again and again, his arm was stretched
out.
When they were suffering persecution and martyrdom, few
met together for prayer, and they prayed, Grant
to thy servants boldness, while thou stretchest forth
thy hand.
And mighty signs and wonders are done.
And Herod came under the impact of that
arm.
Saul of Tarsus came under that same impact.
Many, many things happened because the Lord was
revealing his arm.
Before we are at the end of the
New Testament, the whole of that nation of
Israel has met the arm of the Lord.
The arm of the Lord is revealed in
the complete overthrow and scattering of Israel as
a nation, so thoroughly that she has never
recovered that original integration.
More still, Rome unleashed all her forces
against the Lord and against his anointing, but
met the arm of the Lord and was
completely destroyed, ceased to be an empire and
a nation.
Just a few examples in history of the
revealing of the arm of the Lord.
In answer to this question, to whom is
the arm of the Lord revealed?
Now, as you will probably have noticed, there
are several features common to every one of
these instances.
One, the exalting of world powers against God,
a common feature in every case.
The lifting up of the head on the
part of the powers of this world against
the Lord and against his anointing.
Through the emboldenment of the Lord's glory and
the Lord's purpose in a bad condition amongst
his own people was common to many of
these occasions.
It was not to the Lord's glory to
have Israel in Egypt.
It was very much to the contrary after
the covenant that the Lord had made, the
revealed purpose of his heart that he should
have the sons of Israel in bondage in
Egypt, giving their strength to the powers of
evil.
It was very much contrary to the glory
of God to have Israel in Babylon.
It was dishonoring to the Lord and contrary
to his revealed intention.
So often it was like that.
The Lord revealed his arm because of a
condition amongst his own people.
And then again, there was a cry from
within.
A cry from within on the part of
an instrument of intercession.
There was Moses in touch with God right
from the inside in relation to this situation.
There was Daniel and a few others with
him right on the inside of the situation
crying to God.
There were those prayer meetings in the book
of the Acts.
The cry of the elect to be avenged.
This was a feature common to the intervention
of God again and again.
A cry from the inside.
Now you see, in relation to all this,
some questions arise in our presence and our
day.
Is there a situation in our time which
corresponds to these situations?
In that three-fold condition, is
there a condition like that today?
Well, I think the answer is obvious.
Are world powers lifting up their heads against
the Lord?
Was there ever a time when the very
throne of God was more challenged by world
powers than today?
Is there a condition in Christianity which brings
much dishonor to the Lord?
Is the Lord's true testimony today involved in
a spiritual state which is contrary to his
mind as revealed?
The answer again is self-evident.
Dear friends, it is impossible in these days
to move about this world without meeting these
two things and being almost overwhelmed by them.
There is a tremendous force set against God.
You feel it.
You meet it.
It comes out at you everywhere.
Something evil set against God.
And if that is distressing, one does not
exaggerate at all when one says, but even
more distressing is this state amongst Christians speaking
generally, shall I say in Christianity, which is
such a contradiction to what God has revealed
as his purpose.
Oh, what a state!
We would not dwell upon it, speak about
it, but there it is.
Sometimes you are almost compelled to say that
the greatest enemy of Christianity is Christianity.
I speak, of course, very generally.
But it is like that.
The honor and glory of God is deeply
involved in a spiritual condition today amongst the
people of God which is very, very dishonoring
to him.
These two conditions undoubtedly obtain today.
What about the third?
Is there a cry from the inside?
It is difficult to say very much about
that.
Yes and no.
There is a growing sense within the heart
of many children of God that things are
not right.
There is, I think, a cry deep down
in many hearts for some changing of the
spiritual condition of the Lord's people.
A real sense that this is not what
the Lord meant.
There is that.
With all the very general satisfaction with so
little, there is within a cry, a discerning
and understanding cry, born are they knowledge that
the Lord meant something other for his church
than this.
This could never answer to God's standard.
This is a growing consciousness right at the
heart of things and perhaps it is stronger
and its expression is greater than we are
able to assess.
But it is there and even if it
was Daniel and perhaps three or four or
half a dozen in Babylon, that was enough
for the Lord.
That was enough.
It was there.
The Lord must have it.
It was there.
It was enough.
These three things surely do obtain today the
fault.
The fault.
Is it not time that the arm of
the Lord should be revealed again?
I would put a lot of emphasis upon
that last point.
Great need, the great need of a deepened
and strengthened cry to God.
I'll come back to that again presently.
To whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed?
Have we in the scriptures anything that would
justify an expectation that at the end the
arm of the Lord will again be revealed
as on these former occasions?
Is there something that would support our prayer
and our expectation?
I think there is quite a lot, don't
you?
You know on the day of Pentecost Peter
broke off a prophecy before he finished it.
He said this is that which was spoken
by the prophet Joel.
And what happened on that day for that
to which he referred stopped at a certain
point.
It stopped at the outpouring of the Spirit.
But Joel's prophecy which Peter quoted to the
end did not have its fulfillment on that
day.
Almighty things were included in that same prophecy
which was suspended from the day of Pentecost
for a later day.
You look at it again in Acts 2
.19 and see those things are held in
reserve for another time.
Again you remember when the Lord Jesus returning
from the wilderness in the power of the
Spirit went to Nazareth and the role was
given to him to read.
He opened it at Isaiah 61.
He began to read and he stopped before
he finished the prophecy.
He stopped at a point and left a
part of that prophecy unread.
The acceptable year of the Lord and he
sat down.
He did not finish with the day of
vengeance of our God.
That's suspended.
That has yet to be.
Then we have a chapter like Matthew 24.
That section from verse 29 all pointing to
what will happen at the end.
The day of the coming of the Lord.
It's full of the marks of the bearing
of the arm of the Lord.
The intervention of God at the end time.
Those things have not all been fulfilled yet.
And it's impressive, is it not, that some
of the things there in that very section
are identical in language with the remainder of
Joel's prophecy.
Things suspended for a later day.
And then what about the book of the
Revelation?
Whatever interpretation we accept of that book.
Historicist, Futurist or whatever it might be.
You cannot get away from the fact that
it all focuses upon the day of the
coming of the Lord.
And it is full of interventions of God.
In the life of the church.
In the life of the nation.
And finally in the kingdom of darkness.
The bearing of the arm of the Lord.
I think, dear friends, the answer to the
question is yes.
There's quite a lot in the Word that
would justify an expectation that there is going
to be at the end a repetition of
this.
Revealing of the arm of the Lord.
Now we're going to reserve for later the
answer to our third question.
Which would be, will be, what will be
the principles upon which the arm of the
Lord will be revealed at any time.
For any people.
Or against any situation.
My point at the moment is just this.
There is a great need for the revealing
of the arm of the Lord in our
time.
That need exists very strongly and very greatly
amongst the Lord's own people.
Indeed it becomes a personal matter.
It is a matter of very great consequence.
To whether the Lord can stand with us.
With his power.
Stand alongside of us.
With his might.
Show his arm for us.
Individually.
You can leave the metaphor and forms of
speech if you like.
And just simplify it in this way.
It is of tremendous importance whether the Lord
can commit himself to you and to me.
And say I can be with that man.
I can be with that woman.
With my strength.
I can put my power alongside of them.
That's a very important matter.
How far the Lord can show his arm
for us.
Or as companies of the Lord's people.
It is a very important thing as to
whether the Lord can put his power behind
us.
In our local companies.
The Lord can just stand with us.
In strength and say this is something I
am going to look after.
This is something that I am going to
defend.
This is something of which I am going
to exercise my power.
I am with this.
I am in this.
I say that's an ultimate question.
What's the good of anything at all?
Anything at all.
All our striving and all our teaching and
everything else.
All our expenditure.
What's the good of it if the Lord
is not with us?
And not free to exercise his power and
show himself mighty on our behalf.
What's the good of it?
I say it's an ultimate question.
What is true in the individual and in
the local and the companies.
Is true for the people of God in
this world.
See the people of God are involved, involved
in this world situation.
And nothing but the arm of the Lord
can save them.
There is nothing that can save them but
the arm of the Lord.
There is only one thing that is going
to meet this present need and situation amongst
the Lord's people.
And that is that he should make bare
his mighty arm.
There should be the lighting down of his
arm.
And if that is true in these three
senses amongst his own people.
What about this world?
This iniquitous world.
This evil, evil world.
You know it's just there that sometimes we
get nearest to having our greatest controversy with
the Lord.
I confess to you that as I have
moved again over wide ranges of this world
and seen things.
Sometimes the question has arisen in my own
heart.
Oh Lord, how can you bear to allow
this to go on?
How can you being in the position that
you occupy tolerate this?
You don't think that I'm exaggerating.
Well, I could take you in a very
few hours and show you something that would
horrify you.
And make you say, oh God bring this
creation to an end soon.
Evil, yes it's there.
And nothing, nothing but the arm of the
Lord can meet it.
It's like that.
This is a word for the hour.
And we are going to ask this question
and seek to answer it as far as
possible as the Lord enables later.
What are the principles upon which the arm
of the Lord will be revealed?
Because that arm is governed you know.
There are times when the arm of the
Lord is as it were paralyzed.
It's bound.
It cannot move.
It is not free.
Yes, the arm of the Lord.
The cry of prophets wasn't it?
That he was like a bound man in
the midst of his people.
Unable to move.
There are principles, spiritual laws which govern the
arm of the Lord.
And whether it be our own personal need
of that arm.
Or the need in local companies or in
the church or in the world.
We must understand on what ground the Lord
will exercise the might of his arm.
Will lift it and stretch it out and
do his mighty thing.
I say I'm not answering that question this
morning.
What are those principles?
That will come later.
But for the present I want to just
bring into view this whole matter.
The need for the arm of the Lord
to be revealed.
I want you to be afresh, gripped by
that need.
This word has been with me for weeks.
I have moved about, especially in the far
east.
Arm of the Lord.
Awake.
Arm of the Lord.
The need for the arm of the Lord
in this many sided world situation.
Could be put in other ways.
Oh that the Lord would do something.
Would really do something.
And if the Lord would bring this upon
us at this time, as a company gathered
together in these days.
A new sense of this need for the
arm of the Lord to be revealed.
And move us in relation thereto.
Firstly as to the cry.
And then to get into line with those
laws which govern the arm of the Lord.
These gatherings will be well worthwhile.
They will have been, I believe, epoch making.
A very real consequence.
Oh that I had the strength and ability
to impress this upon you.
You notice, of course, that I'm laboring at
the moment under an unusual handicap.
I like to speak with a strong voice
in matters like this.
I'm having just for the moment to be
very restrained, you understand that.
It may improve as we go on.
But it isn't the strength of voice.
It's the matter of spiritual perception.
You're really coming into a spiritual sensing of
the need of the arm.
Which could all be expressed in this one
phrase, arm of the Lord.
So this morning I speak of it in
this general way.
And stress the great need for this cry.
This cry.
First of all the cry against spiritual iniquity
on this earth.
Dear friends, if we could tell you just
a little of what we have seen and
heard as the result of the spiritual iniquity
that is at work in this world.
The lies stripped and wrecked and harassed, families
broken up.
Oh it's a terrible story.
First of all the cry against spiritual iniquity
on this earth.
Dear friends, if we could tell you just
a little of what we have seen and
heard as the result of the spiritual iniquity
that is at work in this world.
The lies stripped and wrecked and harassed, families
broken up.
Oh it's a terrible story.
And it's all the work of spiritual iniquity.
Evil, real diabolical evil.
Nothing but satanic ingenuity.
It's the most clever, cunning thing.
All concentrated upon ridding this world of
God and what is of God.
As represented in men and women.
It's evil.
The sorrow and the suffering that we have
met and touched day after day because of
this spiritual evil and that we know is
going on today in parts of this world
indescribable things.
Utterly inhuman language cannot express this diabolical thing
that is at work on the earth today.
Oh for a cry to heaven that will
bring the arm of the Lord against this
thing.
Cry against spiritual iniquity because it's spiritual iniquity.
I don't think man at his worst left
to himself to conceive these things.
A cry against the dishonor of the Lord
in the spiritual state of those who bear
his name generally.
There again is a terrible story.
Terrible story.
Oh yes, the difficulty, the real difficulty for
the Lord is amongst those who have on
them that name Christian.
There needs to be a cry raised to
heaven against this dishonor to the Lord that
is in what is called the Christian church.
Of course it is not that, but it's
called that.
And a cry against a too easy satisfaction
and superficial apprehension of the great purpose of
God.
I tell you dear friends again and again,
my soul has been stirred with anger.
With anger at the superficial and easy going
attitude towards the great purpose of God.
Here is revealed this immense purpose of God
from eternity to eternity.
And the attitude towards spiritual things is well,
a mere modicum satisfied.
A little, little is all that seems to
be required to bring a great deal of
gratification.
Oh, it is heart-wending.
If you have any idea at all of
the greatness of God's purpose, how it's all
just carried right away with the most superficial,
glamorous kind of Christianity.
As though just this noisy, jazzy thing corresponded
in any way to that vast purpose of
God concerning his son.
It makes you angry.
It stirs you to the depths.
There needs to be a cry against that
which is a substitute for the great purpose
of God.
Now when Isaiah, this prophet, became oppressed with
the evils within the compass of the people
of God, Israel, and with the evils in
the nations outside, he cried with a great
cry.
You have it in chapter 64 of his
prophecies.
Oh, that thou wouldst render heaven, and come
down, that the mountains might flow down at
thy presence.
As when thou didst terrible things to earth,
thou camest down.
Cry, there you are, so late in the
prophecies, chapter 64.
Oh, that thou wouldst render.
You've only to move about in this world,
and really size things up and sense things,
for that cry to be born in you.
But my point is, I bring this preliminary
word to an end.
Ask the Lord to put within you such
a cry, to make you a part of
this inside cry for the glory of God
in a day like this.
Make you part of that essential instrument and
vessel, like the Daniel company, or Esther, or
Moses, or the prayer meeting in Jerusalem, or
many such at other times before and since,
to make you a part of a vessel
that will reach heaven with a cry, and
bring that arm forth, because that is a
vital principle.
I will be inquired of for this thing
by the house of Israel.
The arm of the Lord will not just
happen.
The arm of the Lord is after all
in response to something that is crying to
the Lord.
Shall not God avenge his elect which cry
unto him day and night?
I say he will, he will, but he
must have a crying elect.
The Lord makes it like that.
This is, I know, a solemn beginning.
It may seem a bit of a heavy
beginning, but really dear friends, this is a
day for being serious, a time for facing
the real situation, not just going on as
though all were well in a fool's paradise.
God must be reached with a cry in
these days.
And I can only say this to you
out of very close touch with this great
need.
I'm sure if you had been with us
in these past months, you would have been
stirred in this way, and you would have
come back as we have with this in
your heart, oh, that the people of God
would get to crying to God about this
situation.
So I lay it before you right at
the outset, and if the Lord enables, I
hope to take you further in this whole
matter of the ground on which the Lord
will move.