“UNDER HIS THUMB”

“I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless, I live yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

PRE-AMBLE by Robert

In opening this next article, it has been pressed upon me to begin adding more of my personal walk along with the trials and tribulations I am facing. For example, the past month has been interesting. I elude to this part of the verse as mentioned earlier “and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God.” So in this portion of the verse, I was unable to recognize a glaring mistake I was committing as I had fallen for some worldly enticements placed before me.
Then, as when Paul chastised Peter for his inaction: Galatians 2 The rebuke which Paul gave him for his fault. Notwithstanding Peter’s character, yet, when he observes him thus behaving himself to the great prejudice both of the truth of the gospel and the peace of the assembly. This through the Holy Spirit is what came to me a chastening, and because I was thick emotionally, was put under the

Lord’s Thumb, (this is only a personal expression Bunnie, and I use but is an effective description), where He is able to apply pressure to gain mine or your attention.
My aim is to bring forward knowledge of how our Father can put you under His thumb on an individual basis, as no event is dealt with in generality, it becomes very personal and in the end effectively for those who are rooted deeply in their faith or in many cases causing deeper rooting.
However, each event brings forward information so we recognize and avoid activities which would cause believers to fall into Satan’s snares, temptations, and pitfalls. If your not paying attention, it happens subtly on a personal level and so unrecognizable.

The main area in my particular case I was being enticed into commenting on the world of politics, thus, was drawn back into the world. The hook was forwarding information about the attacks on the Churches around the globe. Before I realized what had happened, I was involved deeply with critique and comments in support of our provincial government and the newly elected leader. I was hooked.

OPENING PRAYER by Robert
Heavenly Father, our petition is for those who have strayed from the flock. Remove the scales of delusion so your light and truth will be seen. Bring them closer to

your bosom Father that you might wrap your wings around them to nurture and comfort them so they might feel your love. Remove the false teachings from their minds. Lord release your wisdom into their lives through the Holy Spirit. Bring them to an understanding they have strayed and are not lost but wandering and if they receive your light and word will again find the path to life and eternity. Release your Love and compassion unto them, Lord. This we pray in your name Yeshua. Amen and Amen.

OPENING STATEMENT by Robert
This article is my opportunity to do two things reveal how I strayed from the path and received a blunt reminder from the Lord, [through closing particular doors in my life, removing any monetary dependency, was drawing me back to having only my Faith in Him] I had done so. Thus I realized I was Under His Thumb. “This statement came about because my wife Bunnie Marie prayed and turned me over to the Lord as I was out of line within our marriage and my walk. And I quickly realized the Lord was summoning and very specific attention to Him was required. Recognizing the pressure in my life was due to Bunnie’s prayers at that time, which to me, felt like the Lord put me Under His Thumb.” Thus was developed this statement “Under His Thumb,” as He definitely got my attention, this time, through the Holy Spirit.

The second statement is to correct any, misconceptions about what my actual walk represents. Even though many of the articles may appear as sermons, they are not. I am not a pastor nor have at any time described myself as one. My walk is a very specific one [a Watchman] which calls for me to be in constant research of the scriptures and open to messages from the Holy Spirit of future dangerous or subtle events which will unheeded affect the future of the believers within God’s Assembly (Ezekial 33:4).
Part of the warnings is Scriptural background, as specific information for believers to discern while making informed decisions. Thus the impression of them being sermons. The reality is what’s being put forward are warnings with guidance to make sound choices.

How will I know I’m under God’s Thumb? First, you will recognize a feeling of heaviness, then certain things which were stable parts of your life, being shut down and removed without any warning. Your conscience becomes more active you become more aware of poor spiritual decisions, you struggle with prayer, meditation is difficult. These are just some of the symptoms recognized as the initial pressure you feel when under God’s Thumb. Remember this feeling is different for all as no two situations have the same symptoms. What I am relating here is just a basic template. If you ignore the initial pressure, things will get more profound, and your attention will be focused on the messages the Holy Spirit is bringing.

God always gets your attention, what you do with the information given then is up to you. Once the information is provided, the pressure is released, you now have a short period of time to respond to discern what you have just received. In my situation, the Holy Spirit filled my conscience with Scripture from Ecclesiastes 3:7, he kept reminding me, a time to rend, a time to sew, a time to keep silent, a time to speak emphasizing a time to keep silent, a time to speak. I chose to speak out about Abortions, Homosexuality, poor leadership bringing wrath against our former Premier, as I wrote about climate change without regard where these articles were leading me and why.

I realize now, all of these items, while I walked as a citizen of the world, were important to me and brought forward a desire to defend our Lord’s laws in all of them. The enemy tempted me with a sensation of accomplishment by having me describe and defend God’s laws believing I could make a difference.

Here is where the Holy Spirit brought forward “a time to keep silent, a time to speak.“ Again I chose to ignore the warning, however, in the back of my mind, I began to question why certain things were occurring on my sites. I had lost hundreds of readers and blamed it on a restart WordPress  I use to post all my articles. In one of the postings, I stated there might be those who would leave and as King “Solomon states” this was an act of vanity on my part.

Then I lost two sources of monetary support within a few weeks of each other. That was when reality set in as I have had a similar experience. The Lord was closing doors and a memory of the Holy Spirit saying a time to keep silent, a time to speak. Finally hit home of what I had done when this scripture was shown to me. “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless, I live yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Father your message is ringing in my life deep and true, I realized I had faltered by allowing myself to be unknowingly enticed back into the world. As Paul revealed to Peter in Galatians 2, We must not give place to any conduct, whereby the truth of the gospel would be reflected upon.

I now refer to Matthew Henry’s commentary on this for background information: “While we simply depend upon God for success to our labors, we should use every proper caution to remove mistakes, and against opposers. There are things which may lawfully be complied with, yet, when they cannot be done without betraying the truth, they ought to be refused. We must not give place to any conduct, whereby the truth of the gospel would be reflected upon.”
“Notwithstanding Peter’s character, yet, when Paul saw him acting so as to hurt the truth of the gospel and the peace of the church, he was not afraid to reprove him. When he saw that Peter and the others did not live up to that principle which the gospel taught. And which they professed, namely, That by the death of Christ the partition wall between Jew and Gentile was taken down, and the observance of the law of Moses was no longer in force; as Peter’s offense was public, he publicly reproved him. There is a very great difference between the prudence of Paul, who bore with and used for a time, the ceremonies of the law as not sinful, and the timid conduct of Peter, who, by withdrawing from the Gentiles, led others to think that these ceremonies were necessary.”

In conversation with a dear sister, in Yeshua, I revealed the chastise I received and why. Her question to me was can we, not walk, with Yeshua and fight political battles? My answer to her was simple. I cannot answer for others; however, I can answer for my walk and position in Yeshua. The following paragraphs I pray will explain the position as a Watchman. Who as a follower and humble servant, is just passing through this world, not as a citizen, but as a visitor observing what our Lord reveals is coming in the future for the Assemblies and believers within them who are sowing the seeds, as a message, of Eternal Love Peace and a New Life. 

We find the driving force behind the obedience and devotion within the hearts of the Watchmen God appoints. Matthew Henry expresses it perfectly: “The great gospel precept passed upon us that is, to love one another. This is the law of Yeshua’s kingdom, the lesson of his school, the livery of his family. This he represents (Philippians 2:2) by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. We are of a like mind when we have the same love. Believers should be one in affection, whether they can be one in apprehension or not. This is always in their power, and ever their duty, and is the likeliest way to bring them nearer in judgment. Having the same love. Observe, The same love that we are required to express to others, others are bound to express to us. Christian love ought to be mutual love. Love, and you shall be loved. Being of one accord, and of one mind not crossing and thwarting, or driving on separate interests, but unanimously agreeing in the great things of God and keeping the unity of the Spirit in other differences.

“We live in a world of changes, that several events of the time, and conditions of human life, are vastly different from one another, and yet occur promiscuously, and we are continually passing and repassing between them. That every change concerning us, with the time and season of it, is unalterably fixed and determined by a supreme power and we must take things as they come, for it is not in our power to change what is appointed for us.” 

And this comes in here as a reason why. When we are in prosperity, we should be easy, and yet not secure not to be secure. Because we live in a world of changes and therefore have no reason to say, Tomorrow shall be as this day (the lowest valleys join to the highest mountains). And yet to be easy, and, as he had advised (Ecclesiastes 2:24), to enjoy the good of our labor, in a humble dependence upon God and his providence, neither lifted up with hopes, nor cast down with fears, but with evenness of mind expecting every event.  

CLOSING PRAYER by Robert 

Heavenly Father, here before your throne I place my sincere gratitude and thankfulness for the answer You placed before me. I ask Lord for your specific intervention into the lives of those who have received the Trumpeters Call as your warning. Break the scales from their eyes, remove the obstacles from their ears that may see and hear your truth as it is revealed. Reveal what is amiss in their hearts that it may be rectified and changed. Bring your truth before them, Lord, so they may genuinely understand your warnings and Grace. Give me strength and fervor to stand and sound the Trumpet as your humble servant. this I pray in your name Yeshua, Amen, and Amen

CLOSING STATEMENT by Robert

I am reaching out to King Solomon’s wisdom in my closing. “Everything under heaven is thus changeable, but in heaven, there is an unchangeable state and an unchangeable counsel concerning these things. There is a time to be born and a time to die. These are determined by the divine counsel and, as we were born, so we must die, at the time appointed, Acts 17:26. Some observe that there is a time to be born and a time to die, but no time to live that is so short that it is not worth mentioning as soon as we are born we begin to die. But, as there is a time to be born and a time to die, so there will be a time to rise again, a set time when those that lie in the grave shall be remembered, Job 14:13 2.  

King Solomon states it the best He puts it out there, for all to measure: “Much is to be learned by comparing one part of Scripture with another. We here behold Solomon returning from the broken and empty cisterns of the world to the Fountain of living water; recording his own folly and shame, the bitterness of his disappointment, and the lessons he had learned. Those that have taken warning to turn and live should warn others not to go on and die. He does not merely say all things are vain, but that they are vanity. VANITY OF VANITIES, ALL IS VANITY. This is the text of the preacher’s sermon, of which in Ecclesiastes he never loses sight. If this world, in its present state, were all, it would not be worth living for; and the wealth and pleasure of this world, if we had ever so much, are not enough to make us happy. What profit has a man of all his labor? All he gets by it will not supply the wants of the soul, nor satisfy its desires; will not atone for the sins of the soul, nor hinder the loss of it: what profit will the wealth of the world be to the soul in death, in judgment, or in the permanent state?

Please, remember this is a warning from a devoted servant being a Watchman and obediently sounding the Trumpet. Being under the Father’s Thumb is not a pleasant place; however, it brings forward rewards not otherwise found or received. Blessings to all.  “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.”