Why did God create man?

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

I am sure that many people, including some Christians, have grappled with the question of, "Why did God create man?" Scripture answers that question, as we will see. 

26 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. Genesis 1:26-27

We need to understand the difference between Verse 26 ("Let Us make man in Our image") and Verse 27 ("So God created man in His own image"). The word "make" is a totally different word from the word "created." Those two words (create and make) represent two different processes in God's plan and purpose for man. Scripture indicates a specific process involved in the "making" of man into that which God has designed. Both the creating and the making are all of Him ... He creates and He makes, provided we cooperate with His Spirit and allow Him to make us. It is like what men call the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. After we are born from above, by His grace, we must repent and ask Father to "make" us into that which He desires.

Who [God] hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 2 Timothy 1:9

The calling of God is according to His own purpose and grace. It is no accident that His purpose comes before His grace, so unless we understand and cooperate with His purpose for creating man, then we will always interpret God's work as it benefits and relates to us. God knew from the very beginning that Adam would fall into sin (disobedience). So God's ultimate purpose is not simply redemptive in nature. Note that His purpose was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: Isaiah 14:24

The Father will have what He wants, with or without you and with or without me.


10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him:

11 In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will:

12 That we should be to the praise of His glory, Who first trusted in Christ.

Ephesians 1:10-12

If we desire to be firmly rooted and grounded in our Sure Foundation, we need to understand something about the plan and purpose of God. Many of us Christians seem to have a selfish outlook on life. We want to interpret the Bible as it relates to US ... salvation for us, blessings for us, healing for us, deliverance for us, gifts for us, ministry for us, safety for us now, and a ticket to heaven for us in the "sweet by and by." This approach gives us a distorted view of the Bible, of life, and its meaning. This approach will also lead to doctrinal errors. Man wants to begin everything with himself, but the Bible begins with God: "In the beginning God ..." We need to see everything as it relates to God and His purposes.

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:11 

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Does that Verse still apply if we respond to His call but only for MY purpose? If you had one son in whom you found unspeakable delight, would it not be normal as a father to want many more? So it is with Abba, Father, Who by His nature and choice has desired and purposed to have a vast family of human-divine sons who are made in the image of His only begotten Son. Christ in you, the hope of glory.

It was the Father's original intention that man was first to be a created son, enjoying all that God by creation could give him. His intention has never changed and will never change. God then designed before the foundation of the world for man to become a mature son ... to enter into a living union and enjoy sonship by a relationship with Christ ... to be IN Christ. God has planned for man to share many things from Himself as the son by faith appropriates them in his life. Further, we were designed to become heirs and joint heirs of God provided that we choose to suffer with Him.

For it became Him, for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Hebrews 2:10

God our Father wants a family of children who will grow up to be mature sons, co-heirs with Christ, and joint-reigners with Him in the government of the universe. He WILL have such!!!

It is also VERY important to see that God's eternal purposes, existed BEFORE He created anything! Ephesians 1:4, as well as other verses, verifies that truth. In order to appropriate our Sure Foundation, we need to start with God and who He IS. In most churches the emphasis is placed on the works of God rather than on His person. That was the major battle when Jesus walked the face of the earth. Human nature has never changed so that is still the major battle today. Although many could accept His works, the religious elite of the day refused to accept who He was!

The Father's purpose is to give to the Son a glorious Body in which to express His very life, and a family of brothers with whom He might enjoy fellowship. The Father also has declared that in all things the Son shall have pre-eminence.

We have attempted thus far to describe the general purpose that God has always desired for man. But God also created each one of us for a specific purpose. We need to be careful, however, that our specific purpose does not overshadow our general purpose.

Man tries to copy everything; man copies books, houses, cars, food stuffs, computers, cell phones, and much more. Man has even learned how to clone some animals. Some copies are good, some not so good. Man copies Bibles; man even copies sermons. But God copies nothing. No two snowflakes are identical; no two grains of sand are identical; no two human beings are identical. There is no such thing as an identical twin. It is somewhat mind-boggling to think that of all of the billions and billions of people who have ever lived on earth, no two are identical and no two have ever had identical, specific callings.

We are all equal in terms of God's general purpose for us. But it is NOT true that we all have the same ministry or gifts. Not everyone in the body is a hand, not everyone is a mouth, not everyone is an ear, not everyone is an eye. 1 Corinthians 12 speaks of some of the various specific purposes.

The early apostles recognized that truth. Peter was a mouth; John was a heart. In Acts, Chapters 1-8, Peter and John were always together ... they were constant companions. But in the Book of Acts not one verse records that John ever said anything. Do you think John was jealous of Peter because Peter was always the spokesman? Do you think that John ever asked Peter, "Hey, Peter, why don't you let me say something sometime?"

The eye sees much better than the hand; the ear hears much better than the nose; Why? simply because God has ordained it so. So I need to know the specific calling, not only in my life but also in the lives of other members of the Body of Christ. That is where the true operation of submission enters in. John, a heart, submitted to Peter, a mouth, because he recognized both of their specific callings. The same must be true of each believer. To try to function in a place where we have never been called is to invite disaster. Fortunately, the Lord is gracious and full of mercy.

The specific high calling for the Apostle Paul was to write much of the New Testament. God's plan and purpose for Esther was to intercede for the Jewish people. Even the little maid (2 Kings 5:2) had a high calling to introduce Naaman, the leprous captain of the host of the king of Syria to Elisha, so that Naaman might be healed of his leprosy for the glory of God. John said,

"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). 

As long as we fulfill the purpose for which we were created, we will all receive the same reward, whether we are the greatest apostle who ever lived or we are a little maid who cleans the house.

What is the reason why God has foreordained His purpose for each one of us? That in all things, God might be glorified! What an honor and privilege it is to know, understand, and fulfill our specific calling on earth! How can we know, understand, and fulfill our specific purpose? only by the power of the indwelling Holy Spitit.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

19 What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

How do we glorify God? By our life! By fulfilling the purpose for which we have been called. By walking in the works that God has prepared for us before the foundation of the world. For on the seventh day, God rested from all of His works. Jesus said,

I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. John 17:4

We must always remember that the number of natural years we are allowed to live on earth does not enter the picture as to whether or not we glorify God by fulfilling His purpose for our lives. The prime example of that is Jesus Himself, who was crucified at the age of thirty-three.

Why must we know weakness, impotence, worthlessness, nothingness, on the side of our natural life? Emphatically, that His strength may be "made perfect in weakness." And what is His strength? "The exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead" (Ephesians 1:19-20).

A true revelation of the worthlessness of the natural man in God's sight has always been a necessary prelude to anointing for service. The "I cannot" of Moses, the "Woe is me" of Isaiah, the "I am but a child" of Jeremiah, the "I am a sinful man" of Peter, the "In me ... dwelleth no good thing" of Paul, are typical of all who have been the called of God, and these expressions are the result of the application of the true meaning of the Cross. As long as we "know how to do something" or "know what to say" we are no earthly good.

May each one of us press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, such that one day we will hear the Lord say, "Well done thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of Thy Lord."

What Shall This Man Do? (Part 14)

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

What Shall This Man Do? (Part 14) 

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

This word, the last in this series, gives a brief summary of what has gone before. We also add one additional aspect to what we have received as the answer to, "What Shall This Man Do?"

The natural tendency of man is to want to "do" something. The question is, who is waiting on whom to do what? Haggai, Chapter 1, speaks of the "problems" of the remnant of the tribe of Judah, the judgment of God as a result of their lethargy, apathy, and self-centeredness, and the answer as spoken through Haggai the prophet. That is current events as well as history. We shared briefly the significance of Luke 12:42-48 and the critical need for the Spirit-filled community to lay hold of the holy fear of God. Next were some thoughts from the Book of Zechariah which are pertinent to us today, particularly how the pots in the Lord's house are to become as the almond bowls (pure gold) before the altar. Then we mentioned a few thoughts from the Book of Malachi, particularly deception and some conditions for the parousia (second coming) of the Lord.

Then we shared the need and commandment to prepare the way of the Lord and what we do to prepare the way of the Lord. We need an expanded vision in this hour; we need to know where we are going and how to get there! We focused on Colossians 1:27-28 and a few thoughts about the glory of God.

There are two keys as priorities on the part of the spiritual remnant ... repentance and intercession. There is a need for repentance but what does that mean for a Spirit-filled Christian? Likewise we need to understand the level of intercession which the Lord is looking for in His remnant.

This final word describes the attitude and action on the part of a spiritual remnant which is necessary to satisfy and please the Lord. In reality,

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 

2 Corinthians 11:3

What is this simplicity that is in Christ? Our hearts must be attuned to His heart and will, we listen for and hear His voice, and we are obedient. He does the rest. He then makes the Word to become flesh within us.

Suppose we decide to take a trip in our car. We know our starting point and we know the name of our destination. But we do not have a map; neither do we have a GPS. Further, we have never been to our destination point before so we are not familiar with the roads and cannot rely on our past driving experiences. But nevertheless we start out on our journey. We know the general direction that we must take, but not the specific routes. So what do we do? Hopefully we will stop and ask for directions to get to each of the intermediary towns along the way. We must trust the directions that are given to us by the people we meet. Then finally we arrive at our destination. You could say that we have to have vision to know where we are going. We must persevere. We must trust the directions given to us, and we must obey those directions. We may run across a few minor detours along the way, but our faith, trust, and obedience allows us to get to our desired location.

So it is in our walk by faith as believers in Christ. It is worth repeating that we have never been this way before. Every new day, Your glory unfolds; filling my heart with Your treasures untold.

 

22 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

The Lord desires that we become totally dependent upon Him and the directions given to us by the Holy Spirit. We must trust and obey. If we need to know what to do, where to go, or any other question, the best way to get His perfect answer is simply to cry out to the Lord and say, "Help me, Lord!" We do not need to wait until we get into a helpless situation. We can and should cry out to Him every day for His guidance and directions.

There are literally dozens, perhaps hundreds, of verses in the Bible when the chosen people of God found themselves in great trouble, affliction, sickness, or very difficult situations. Only then did they cry out to God for help and deliverance. One of the most notable such events was when the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt for 400 years.

23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.

24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. Exodus 2:23-24

Then the Lord raised up a deliverer named Moses to lead His people out of bondage and toward the promised land. In essentially every case, as soon as the Lord heard a heart-felt cry for help, the Lord responded to their cry and poured out His great grace and mercy. Why did it take 400 years for the chosen people of God to cry out to the Lord? How many years of bondage and captivity will it take for the Spirit-filled/charismatic community to cry out to the Lord for deliverance today?

Instead of re-reading some of the multitude of such patterns in Scripture, let us consider Jesus when He lived on earth as a Man.

6 As He saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

7 Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him That was able to save Him [out] from death, and was heard in that He feared; Hebrews 5:6-7

It is unfortunate that most translations of the Bible say, "save Him from death." The Greek word translated as "from" is ek, which means, out from. The Man, Jesus, was never afraid of death or dying. Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto the Father Who was able to resurrect Him (and did so).

The Greek word for "feared" is eulabeia, which means, caution, reverence, godly fear, or holy fear. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, says that eulabeia means "that mingled fear and love, which, combined, constitute the piety of man toward God." That word appears only twice in the New Testament ... once in Hebrews 5:7, above, and in Hebrews 12:28, below.

28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve [minister to] God acceptably with reverence [awe] and Godly fear:

29 For our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:28-29

In other words, all believers should have that same fear of God that Jesus expressed in Hebrews 5:7. Further, all believers should have that same trust and faith in the Father, Who is able to resurrect us out from death.

Returning to Hebrews 5:7, "he offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto" the Father. For whom or what was He praying? He was praying for those who crucified Him. We believe Jesus was also praying for us.

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted His raiment, and cast lots. Luke 23:34

27 And there followed Him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented Him.

28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

31 For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? 

Luke 23:27-31

Jesus was (is) the green tree; we are the dry. If Jesus cried to the Father on our behalf, can we do less?

To cry out and not hide out is the mandate from our Father God. When we cry out to Him, we acknowledge our need for His divine intervention in our lives. A healing process also takes place as we admit our need before our Lord in prayer. There are many echoes in our spirit when this cry is heard in our own ears and before the throne of God. We must not hide out and continue to deny the ache in our hearts, becoming more and more numb as time marches on. Let us make known the unspoken desire of our heart ... that which we may think is even too big for the Lord to address. We must "cry out" and make this cry a habit that will change us and enlarge the kingdom of God within.

Please read 1 Samuel 1:1-20, which is the story of Hannah when she was in great tribulation, not having a son. Hannah finally cried out to the Lord in her desperation for a son and pledged her son to the Lord's service if He would open her womb. Little did anyone know at the time that the Lord would not only answer her cry, but give her that great prophet Samuel of whom it is said that the Lord did not let any of his words drop to the ground. Because of Samuel's faithful obedience to the Lord, Samuel was allowed to anoint David as king. So we can see the far reaching effects of Hannah's cry. Her time of real communion with the Father and the honoring of her vow to Him was greatly used to further the Lord's purposes. We must realize that our cry to the Lord will be used in like manner to further the plans and purposes of the Lord in the earth. We must "cry out" and seek the Lord's answer rather than the desires of our flesh, which would prefer to accept an easier response or the world's answer.

The rock-bottom surrender to the Lord's provision in our lives is always honored by our Lord. When we cease to move in our own strength, then the Lord is able to show Himself mighty on our behalf. It is then that He answers our prayer. Through this process we acknowledge that we need a Savior, a Faithful Guide, a Father God that is more powerful and greater than ourselves to meet our need. The more we focus on the Father's provision and ability in our lives, the more we will find rest in Him.

Maturity is the goal of the Father's answers to our prayers. The upward call of the Lord Jesus to know the "higher ways" of the Father cause us to see clearly the depravity of our flesh nature. We must each choose to cry out to hear and see and perceive the Lord's ways in our lives. Then we must obey His voice. We must decide to go on to maturity for there is nothing else that will satisfy our heart hunger to know and please our Lord.

As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness. Psalm 17:15

Let is because we posses such a hope that we write with such boldness.

Every new day Your glory unfolds, Filling my eyes with Your treasures untold.

The beauty of holiness brings worship anew. My greatest love is You.

Call me deeper into Your grace, the river that flows from the Holy Place.

Wash over me, cleansing me through. My greatest love is You.

What Shall This Man Do? (Part 13)

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

What Shall This Man Do? (Part 13) 

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

Who participates in the "doing" that the Lord is looking for? Who participates in the deep repentance and intercession for the Church? those who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches today. They will all have a measure of discernment and have understanding of what Israel must do in this hour; they will understand the ways of the Lord, not just His acts.

From the Book of Joel, priests and ministers of the Lord are called to participate. If you believe in the priesthood of all believers, then EVERY Christian is called to participate! They will not have positional authority but they will have spiritual authority because they have been tried in the furnace of affliction and proven in the wilderness. If they have spiritual authority, they can no longer hold on to their positional authority; they of necessity must cast down their crowns before Him.

10 The four and twenty elders fall down before Him That sat on the throne, and worship Him That liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. 

Revelation 4:10-11

They will all be jealous for the Lord ... jealous that He might have His way among men.

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them [graven images], nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me. Exodus 20:5

So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. 

Zechariah 1:14

Paul said,

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:2

9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 1 Kings 19:9-10

Do you get angry when you see or hear modern-day preachers who always preach about what "we" get from Christianity? Who is jealous for the Lord of Hosts? NO MAN can interrupt that eternal, unbreakable covenant between the Father and the Son. But who is jealous for the Lord that NO MAN seek or get the glory that belongs only to God? and that NO MAN water down the true gospel? Who is jealous for the Lord of hosts that He has HIS way, that HIS plans and purposes be fulfilled?

Another in-worked characteristic of those who participate is that they will have a compelling passion or zeal to please the Lord, to glorify Him above all else, to magnify Him, to seek His face, to hear His word, to fulfill His will. They have found the Master Key: not my will but Thy will be done. They will identify with the zeal of the Lord.

Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9:7

For the zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up. Psalm 69:9

They will be like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.


31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; ...

32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures? Luke 24:31-32

They will have the intensity which Stephen and Paul had. In short, they will have been ignited by the fire of God, spoken of by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11. The following verse was certainly a reality within Stephen and Paul.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Revelation 12:11

"And they loved not their lives unto [the] death" does not of necessity imply they will be physically crucified or tortured. It simply means they have their priorities straight. They put the will of the Father above their own will in all things. They have allowed the cross to work within them to bring forth "Christ in you the hope of glory."

The participants will have the same attitude as the prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch in Acts 13. We believe that they were so caught up with ministering to the Lord, that the fasting was just a natural follow-on event.

As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, ... Acts 13:2a

Note that Scripture does not record that the teachers brought forth their best teachings; neither does the Scripture say that the prophets uttered their best prophecies. We do not know if any of the teachers taught anything; neither do we know if any of the prophets spoke forth the word of the Lord. If they did, which we believe was not likely, it was of no major importance, because they were only concerned that the Lord would be glorified and magnified. There is no record that the word of the Lord came through any man; that way, no man could receive any glory or get puffed up. If certain true prophets and teachers were assembled together today and they were in one accord as those in Acts 13, what would the Holy Ghost say today?

This is not a word simply to be talked about or discussed or analyzed. This is a word which requires action. However, no man can tell you or us how to implement this word. This word, like all others, must be inspired by the Holy Ghost as a rhema word and implemented as led by the Holy Ghost.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 

James 1:22

The Real Key: the Sovereignty of God

In a previous word, we described the two keys on the part of (Christian) man, as recorded in the Book of Joel. However, the real key is the Lord Himself. It is only by the grace and mercy of God that we can do anything. We cannot even take our next breath, except by the grace of God. All we really can do is to cry out to the Lord, Help, Lord!

As stated earlier, it is crucially important to understand what the Holy Ghost says to us from the Book of Joel, which, like all of Scripture, is timeless and independent of culture, geographical location, gender, and everything else. There are three main points in the Book of Joel:

(1) The catastrophic state of God's people who are not walking, daily, in a state of repentance. That state gets increasingly worse as we are lukewarm and continue to do our own thing.
(2) God requires two major things from His people: true repentance and identification with His intercession on behalf of His people. The latter requires vision and an identification with the heart of God.
(3) The sovereignty of God takes care of all the rest! ALL the rest! There is absolutely NO mention from Joel 2:18 through the end of the book that we, as God's people, do anything. In the beginning, God ... in the end, God ... everywhere in between the beginning and the end, God. Further, God even arranges all of our circumstances to help us to cry out to Him. It is the love of God in action when He sends His great army, described in Joel 2:1-11, to bring about great persecution and tribulation among His people, just as He did in Acts 8. That will leave the Church no alternative except to cry out from the depths of our being unto Him.

Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. Luke 20:18

Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name. But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. Jeremiah 20:9

May the word and call of the Lord in this hour burn within the very depths of our hearts. Selah.

What Shall This Man Do? (Part 11)

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

What Shall This Man Do? (Part 11) 

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

In Part 10, we described the natural-level need for man to "do" something. We are primarily concerned with priorities. What is the Lord waiting for us to do? More specifically, who is waiting for whom? to do what?

About 7 years ago in one session of an "intercessor" conference, the woman conducting the conference stated that she sensed that there were a number of believers present who seemed to be waiting for the Lord to do something in their life. She said, "If that is true of you, please come forward because I want to pray for you." At least 85% of those present went forward to be prayed for. However, let us consider the following. 

And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him. Isaiah 30:18

In the first part of the verse above, the Lord is waiting; in the last part of the verse, we wait for Him. Now the question arises, who is waiting on whom? If I am waiting for you and you are waiting for me, we have a stalemate ... nothing happens. That is quite significant because unfortunately that is our present day spiritual predicament. As in all Scripture, the order is significant. The Lord is first of all waiting for us to do something because He has already made available to us all things in Christ. What is He waiting for us to do? If we do not know the Lord, He is waiting for us to repent of our sins and ask Him to come into our heart and be our Lord and Savior. If we already know the Lord, He is waiting for us to cease from our own carnal ways and works, rest in Him, do the will of God, and walk in the works which He has prepared for us before the foundation of the world; in other words to press into the fullness of the kingdom of God. We must understand that the Lord is omnipresent and omnipotent, but not simply to do good things for us. We exist for His pleasure, not the other way around. He is also much more interested in our character than our comfort or our works. Furthermore, the Lord waits patiently for the fruit of the Spirit to be made manifest in our life. After we do His will, walk in the Spirit, and walk in His ways, then we wait for Him.

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until He receive the early and latter rain. James 5:7

For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Hebrews 10:36

Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me: for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day. Psalm 25:5

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. Psalm 27:14

1 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation.
5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him. 

Psalm 62:1, 5

I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 

Psalm 40:1

The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-26

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:19, 23

The following verses describe the omnipotence of the Lord and how He will empower those who wait for Him. That power is in the Holy Ghost. Waiting for the Lord does not mean that we sit back and do nothing. It means that we cry out to Him, trust in Him, hope in Him, and look solely to Him.

28 Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of His understanding.

29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength [for defense].

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength [to endure]; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31

Those who wait upon the Lord are promised four sure results: we shall (1) renew our strength (or rather, renew strength, because it is not our strength but His strength within us); (2) mount up with wings as eagles; (3) run and not be weary; and (4) walk and not faint. As always, the order is significant. At first glance, logical reasoning would say that maturity in Christ means we walk first, then run, then mount up as eagles and soar in the sky. But the Holy Ghost never makes a mistake. God is very orderly. The order is correct as stated. What the Lord is after as an end product is that we are able to walk with Him on a daily basis, as did Enoch.

But let us be much more specific than that. Again, what, specifically, is the Lord waiting on us, the Church, to do in this hour? We all know the verse,

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

The love of God is unconditional; His love is simply based upon His nature, for it is His nature to love the world. After all, He created the world and mankind; He said it was good and very good. Why should He not love that which He has created? The Lord desires that none should perish. Most normal parents love their own children. How much more so does God love His children! When we accept that unconditional love of God, as demonstrated by the sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary, we enter into the initial stage of salvation. Most would say that then we are saved or perhaps "born again." As long as we do not repent of accepting His unconditional love, we will "go to heaven" one day.

However, everything after that initial acceptance of what Jesus has done for us is conditional! It is conditional upon what we "do." That is the difference between being saved and the kingdom of God. Have you ever noticed the little word, "then," in Scripture? The word "then" occurs about 2,200 times in the Bible and is usually preceded by another little word, "if." One of the more widely known "If ... then" scriptures is,

If My People, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

The above verse, written some 3,000 years ago, is timeless and just as applicable today as when it was written. Does our land in America need healing? Do we need forgiveness of our sin? Do we need the Lord to hear us? Then we, the Church, need to do four things. Did anyone say that their ways are not wicked? What is wicked in the mind of God is not necessarily wicked in our minds. Does God consider us doing our own thing as being wicked? Does God consider as wicked all of the contentions, divisions, strife, vain imaginations, merchandising of the gospel, and on and on?

Leonard Ravenhill, a well-known and respected 20th century revivalist said:

Oh God send us prophetic preaching that searches and scorches! Send us a race of Martyr-preachers - men burdened, bent, bowed and broken under the vision of impending judgment and the unending hell of the impenitent ...

Preachers make pulpits famous; prophets make prisons famous. May the Lord send us prophets - terrible men, who cry aloud and spare not, who sprinkle nations with unctionized woes- men too hot to hold, to hard to be heard, to merciless to spare ...

We are tired of men in soft raiment and softer in speech who use rivers of words with but a smidgen of unction. These know more about competition than consecration, about promotion than prayer. They substitute propaganda for propagation and care more for their church's happiness than holiness ... (From "Why Revival Tarries").

A. W. Tozer, another highly respected 20th century revivalist, said:

If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation, it must be by other means than any now being used. If the Church in the second half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting. Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes (and I pray God there will be not one but many), he will stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds dear. He will contradict, renounce and protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom. Such a man is likely to be lean, rugged, blunt-spoken and a little bit angry with the world. He will love Christ and the souls of men to the point of willingness to die for the glory of the One and the salvation of the other. But he will fear nothing that breathes with mortal breath. ("The Size of the Soul," pages 128-129).

What is the Lord specifically looking for? The answer has been clearly written in Scripture in several places for more than 2,000 years ... before what we call the New Testament was ever written.

The two keys on the part of the spiritual remnant

One set of verses that is critically specific and applicable today (and even yesterday) in terms of what the Lord is waiting for us to "do" is found in Joel 1:1 - Joel 2:17 (and many other scriptures). Those verses, which represent the "If," not only describe the conditions in the Church today, but also what the Lord is waiting for us to "do." The "then" follows in Joel 2:18. If we "do" those things described in Joel 1:1-2:17 then the Lord will do everything else. Note that from Joel 2:18 through the end of the book, there is no mention of anything that we must do. It is all the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes!

In Joel 1:2-2:17 we see that things have never been as bad as they are right now. The darkness is covering the earth and gross darkness the people. The United States is fast becoming Sodom and Gomorrah. Economic collapse is on the horizon. The church and the world are filled with greed, idolatry (you might be surprised), worldly entertainment, politics, and every abomination under the sun. And what shall we do? Those same verses contain the specific answer.

5 Awake ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine.

8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers.

13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God.

14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord. Joel 1:5, 8, 11, 13-14

1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.

12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God.

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly;

16 Gather the People, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.

17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy People, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Joel 2:1, 12-13, 15-17

The above verses speak of two things ... deep repentance on the part of all priests (identifying with the will of God) and true intercession, accompanied by groaning in the spirit, weeping over spiritual Jerusalem, crying out to the Lord for mercy and help, and identifying with the heart of God that His people might be set free from every bondage and come forth in maturity. Neither the repentance nor the intercession can be something which is mechanical; both must be born of the Spirit. Although neither the word, "repent," nor the words, "intercede" or "intercession" appear per se in the Book of Joel as they pertain to us, the body of Christ, the essence of repentance and intercession is unmistakeably clear.

We hope to go into great detail about those two actions in the next words in this series; actions which are required on our part before the Lord brings about His restoration. We strongly believe that these two keys are what the Lord is waiting on us (or at least a remnant) to do. Who participates? He who has eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand.

What then shall this man do?

What Shall This Man Do? (Part 10)

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

What Shall This Man Do? (Part 10) 

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

 

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 

Acts 2:37

And he [Paul] trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? Acts 9:6

And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Acts 16:30

And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. Acts 22:10

Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? John 21:21

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Luke 18:18

The human nature of man is to "do." Men are always looking for the answer to, "What shall I do?" When Saul of Tarsus was first apprehended by the Lord, he asked that same question (Acts 22:10). God's people have usually been concerned with what we must "do" primarily when circumstances seem difficult, critical, or urgent. Generally speaking, because the Church in America today sees nothing critical or urgent, we are very lukewarm concerning what we must do. For the most part, the Church still enjoys apparent prosperity and blessings, so why rock the boat? Some say that we need to move on in the Spirit and that this is no time for business as usual; nevertheless, the actions of the Church, particularly by the leaders of the Church, make it clear that business as usual is just fine. "All is well" is a heart-warming, popular phrase. However, consider the news that Ahimaaz brought to King David after his son Absalom was killed. When Ahimaaz ran with news to David, the first words out of his mouth were, "All is well" (2 Samuel 18:28). But Ahimaaz had not seen anything. He simply told David what he thought David wanted to hear. Does that have any application to us today?

Contemporary Christians tend to be predictable traditionalists merely tweaking the methods and means that they have been taught and trained to use. Typically speaking, the contemporary Christian is too busy to spend time with God in order to bask in His glorious presence, too busy to study the word of God in order to know the mind of God, too busy to have altar time with God to be consumed by holy fire, and too busy running from the demands of God to be running with God, knowing the miraculous will of God. Many contemporary Christians lack the vision and passion to build the Kingdom of God. Rather, they build the "Chapel of Self." (Author unknown)

What specifically is the Lord waiting on us, the Church (or at least a remnant), to do in this hour? There are many "good" things that we can "do," but we must first of all preach the gospel with our life. Words mean little to the unsaved today, and very little to charismatics. However we are concerned with what must be the number one priority for the body of Christ today.

We respectfully disagree with the growing number of would-be and pseudo "prophets" who warn us to prepare in the natural realm for the coming disasters in the United States. An increasing number of "big names" and "wanna-be big names" tell us to store up several month's worth of food and water and plan where to go when nuclear attacks come. They also tell us to keep our gas tanks in our cars full because we may have to travel some distance to escape the coming disasters. In other words, those "big names" tell us to carefully design our disaster recovery plan. A disaster recovery plan in the natural realm cuts across the spirit of my Bible. Do we live by the faith of the Son of God or do we live by our natural, logical reasoning? Jesus said,

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Matthew 6:19-20

What about the poor widow woman who cast into the treasury two mites, which was all that she had, even all of her living (Mark 12:42-44)? Do you think that the Lord did not provide for her after that sacrifice? Did she have to beg for food to stay alive after that?

What about the widow woman in the time of Elijah (1 Kings 17:10-24) who only had a handful of meal and a little oil in a cruise? Because she was willing to give it to Elijah to eat, the barrel of meal did not waste, neither did the cruise of oil fail until the Lord sent rain upon the earth.

What about the woman in the days of Elisha (2 Kings 4:1-7) who had lost her husband and was about to lose her two sons to the creditors to be bondmen, because she could not pay her debts? As long as we pour out our oil into empty vessels, the oil will keep flowing just like Elisha and the widow. As long as they sought empty vessels there was oil. When they stopped seeking empty vessels, the oil stopped.

Furthermore, consider the following.

16 A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.
18 The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. Psalm 37:16-19

Instead of planning on how to preserve our life in the coming days of famine, we do much better to concentrate on maintaining the righteousness of God within us. For if we do that, then the Lord promises that we will be satisfied in the days of famine.

In summary, do we want to trust ourselves to provide for us, or do we want to trust the Lord to provide for us? Jesus said,

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek): for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Matthew 6:31-34

Yes, we are aware that the Lord used Joseph to store up food for seven years in Egypt in order to preserve life for His people. But that was a "rhema" word to Joseph, not a "logos" word to every one of God's people. In the final analysis, "Whatsoever He says to you, do it." But we need to be very careful with trying to implement what man says to us.

Christian men frequently look for a "cause" to which they can give themselves. The different types of causes are virtually unlimited. We would never even think about being judgmental about any of the various causes. Each person must answer to the Lord when it comes to, "what then must we do?" At the most fundamental level, we are all unique and God created us for a unique purpose. Ultimately we are called to glorify God. But what does that mean? Jesus answered that question in John 17 when He said,

I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. John 17:4

In Scripture, we need to pay close attention to the use of a colon. What follows a colon always explains or amplifies what has just preceded. Jesus glorified the Father on the earth by completing the work which the Father had given to Him. As long as we, as believers, fulfill the purpose for which we were created, then we all receive the same reward. John the Baptist likewise fulfilled the work given to him to do.

And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not He. But, behold, there cometh One after me, Whose shoes of His feet I am not worthy to loose. Acts 13:25

Paul said the same thing

But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24

Now let us consider what Jesus said to a multitude of people (including His disciples).

And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Luke 6:46

Was Jesus saying that we need to do some things? If so, what things?

35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and saying,

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

Matthew 22:35-40

The words in the above verse that Jesus spoke are taken from three different sets of verses in Deuteronomy in the Old Testament.

12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and His statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? Deuteronomy 10:12-13

5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: Deuteronomy 6:5-6

5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. Deuteronomy 30:5-6

Let us note two things. First, the verses in Deuteronomy were given as commandments, under the law. They speak of, "Thou shall do this and thou shall not do that." No man, except Jesus, was ever or is ever to keep the law. Also note the progression from the verses in Deuteronomy 10 to those in Deuteronomy 6 to those in Deuteronomy 30. The progression is from "thou shall do this" to "these words shall be in your heart" to "the LORD thy God will circumcise your heart so that you will be able to love Him with all of your heart and soul." Thus there is a progression from what "we" do to what the Lord desires, to what the Lord does. The verses in Deuteronomy are forward looking to the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, the verses are a commandment; under the New Covenant, the verses are a promise ... you really will love the Lord with all of your heart and soul and mind (provided you simply allow the Lord to work that love within you).

Second, none of the verses in Deuteronomy speak of "loving thy neighbor as thyself." Further, we cannot find one verse in the Old Testament which says that we are to love our neighbor as our self. Why did Jesus add that "second" commandment? Catholics, as well as many Protestant Evangelicals, are very strong on feeding the poor, on helping our neighbor in natural ways. We believe that a higher interpretation of "our neighbor" refers to the body of Christ, which concept was not a part of the law.

In 1967, shortly before the Lord apprehended me, I became somewhat "desperate" because of some downturns in my life and talked with the pastor of the Methodist Church where we were attending. I said, "I feel like my life is wasting away. Can you help me?" In essence, that pastor said, "No, I cannot help you. Why don't you go and talk with Sam Jones (not his real name)?" Sam was another "lay member" of that Methodist Church. The pastor also told me that if I "get right with men then I will be right with God." How tragic! Hindsight, it is obvious that he did not know the Lord. Further, no amount of "loving our neighbor" will ever get us to the place where we love the Lord our God with all of heart, and soul, and mind. It only works the other way. Whenever we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us the nature of God, Who is love, then by default we will also love our neighbor as our self. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son ..." (John 3:16). Not long after that, the Lord sovereignly apprehended me.

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God Whom he hath not seen? 

1 John 4:20

For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: Ephesians 5:29

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 

John 15:13

Instead of us "doing" something for the Lord, the higher priority is that the Lord wants to do something within us. That does not mean that we sit back and do nothing.

What then shall this man do?

What Shall This Man Do? (Part 9)

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

What Shall This Man Do? (Part 9) 

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

This word focuses on the need for an enlarged vision within the body of Christ. Before proceeding further, we need to state very clearly what vision refers to.

2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Habakkuk 2:2-3

Many folks have "a" vision, but "the Vision" is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Make it plain upon tables" speaks of tables of the heart, so we are to have the reality of Jesus Christ written upon our hearts. Every "vision" must relate to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and to His ways, His purposes, and His plan for each one of us.

The Lord always wants to challenge His people. Whatever our vision of the Lord is, it is too small! We must always remember that none of us can see anything except it be given to us or revealed by the Holy Spirit. The Lord says to His people,

2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Isaiah 54:2-3

8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. Revelation 4:1

Jesus prayed,

Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world. John 17:24

Can we all agree that Jesus ALWAYS prayed in the will of the Father? He prayed that we might be with Him where He is. Where was Jesus when He prayed that prayer? In the realm of the Spirit. Where is Jesus now? Exalted and glorified at the right hand of the Father.

Sometimes Spirit-filled Christians pray to the effect of, "Lord come down and heal my brother or sister." Anyone who prays that kind of prayer may be very sincere but needs an enlarged vision and understanding. We don't want to pull Christ down to where we are. He wants us to rise up to where He is!

"Gideon's Army" started with 32,000. But the Lord pared them down to 300, based on the choices of the men themselves. Many are called but few choose. The Lord told Gideon that by those 300 men He would deliver them from the Midianites. Three hundred represents a tenth of a tenth ... a tithe of a tithe ... one percent of the original.

And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house. Nehemiah 10:38

Under the Old Covenant in the time of Nehemiah a tithe of a tithe (in the natural realm) was brought into the natural, physical treasure house. This speaks prophetically of the end times, when a tithe of the tithe spiritually shall be brought unto the spiritual house of our God, into the spiritual treasure house. Hallelujah!

The 300 men were those whom the Lord actually used to conquer the Midianites. These 300 men represent the overcomers, the remnant, those believers who will participate in these end times in the real work of God. Let us go back and see the battle plan that the Lord had for Gideon and those 300 men. Each man had trumpet in his right hand, a pitcher in his left hand, and lamps within the pitchers. Please note that NO mention is made in scripture that they had swords or any natural weapons of war. They surrounded the camp of the Midianites one night when it was very dark. At Gideon's signal, all 300 men broke the pitchers, which allowed the lamps to be suddenly seen, blew the trumpets, and shouted, "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon" (Judges 7:16-20). The Midianites slew one another, cried, and fled. Gideon and his army of 300 then pursued after and cleaned up the rest of the enemy. Trumpets are used to herald the coming of a king. In the modern day Gideon's army, the tithe of the tithe will blow trumpets to signal the coming of The Great King, even Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. The significance of the sudden revealing of the lamps inside of the pitchers is described as follows.

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. Romans 8:19

The word "manifestation" can more descriptively be translated "unveiling." So at the Lord's timing, the pitchers will be broken and the lamps will shine forth ... the sons of God will be revealed or manifested or unveiled, just as a Master Craftsman removes a covering to unveil His work of art. That event has not yet occurred but surely will come to pass.

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a necessary, but not sufficient, step toward joining Gideon's army. The Church at Corinth all experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit and had every spiritual gift in operation (1 Corinthians 1:7). Please also note that the Church at Corinth was filled with contention, strife, discord, and confusion in the assemblies. What is this? the MIDIANITES!!! Paul calls them carnal and not at all ready to participate in the real work of God. Now, what work do these 300 do besides engage in spiritual warfare? Part of their work is described in Revelation, Chapter 12.



1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.

2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne.

6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score days. 

Revelation 12:1-6

The woman in the above scriptures represents the body of Christ, the real church. The man child represents the Lord Jesus Christ, but also represents the overcomers, the tithe of the tithe, Gideon's army of 300 who have been prepared by the Lord to minister to the rest of the body in the wilderness. The 300 (not a literal number in the end times) will have been ostracized, persecuted, and branded as fanatics by the charismatic 9,700 who went back. But God worked compassion and real agape love in the hearts of the 300 to the extent that they, in the end times, returned love to the very Christians who had persecuted them.

Now, just in case any of you are somewhat skeptical concerning the existence of the Midianites in our Christian churches today, please consider this. Many long years ago I heard a brother say that there were more than 500 denominations in the Protestant churches. Only the Lord knows how many there are today. Someone told me recently that now there are 10,000 varieties of churches, fellowships, etc. If we as Christians would spend more time allowing the Spirit to break us and mold us into the image of Christ, rather than arguing about doctrine and trying to bring about unity in the body of Christ, we would soon see some fantastic results!

And so once more, the Lord speaks to His people to "come up higher." There is nothing about the Christian walk that is static in nature.

Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33:3

Let us consider only ONE aspect about Moses.

1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him [Moses] that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. Exodus 2:1-2

In like manner, the Lord has been "hiding" a company of men who shall come forth in these latter days to be a company of deliverers for the church.

And saviors [or deliverers] shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's. Obadiah 21

In Old Testament times God raised up prophets to speak His word to the people. When the prophets spoke, it was largely (but not altogether) a word of exhortation to repent and return unto the Lord. Have you ever noticed the first verse in five of the books of the so-called "minor" prophets? Five, of course, symbolizes the grace of God. So it was, and is, the grace of God to raise up prophets to SEE and hear a word from the Lord and to warn His people. The Lord also used the Old Testament prophets, at times, to speak a word of comfort or encouragement to His people. The book of Isaiah has many such words of comfort.

The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jereboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. Amos 1:1

The vision of Obadiah ... Obadiah 1:1

The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Micah 1:1

The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. Nahum 1:1

The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. Habakkuk 1:1

So five of these minor prophets were allowed by the Lord to SEE something that the Lord wanted them to convey to His people.

(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.) 1 Samuel 9:9

The prophet Isaiah speaks about "the burden of the valley of vision" (Isaiah 22:1). When we are in a valley, we cannot see too much. We need to rise up to the mountaintop to see more of the Lord and His ways.

John the Baptist, speaking about Jesus, said,

He [Christ] must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30

Far too many times that scripture has been quoted backwards as saying,"I must decrease but He must increase." The order of scripture is significant. I can decrease and still not allow Christ within me to increase. But if He increases within me, then by necessity I must decrease. Not my will but thy will be done, O Lord. 

My wife loves to work in the yard, with shrubs, plants, flowers, trees, and grass. The Lord has given her many revelations about our Christian walk from analogies in the yard. One such revelation She received had to do with how to keep the lawn (grass) healthy and get rid of weeds. We need to concentrate on feeding the roots of the grass because strong healthy grass will choke out the weeds. We don't need to concentrate on the weeds themselves. Likewise if we concentrate on the increase of Christ within, then the acts of the old nature will decrease.

A number of years ago as I was reading Isaiah 6, I "heard" a new and different interpretation of the first verse.

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Isaiah 6:1

At that point in time I had read that verse probably 30 times, as a minimum. But on that day, I found myself reading that verse as follows:

In the year that king SELF died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Isaiah 6:1

Now "Uzziah" does NOT mean "self." But sometimes the Holy Spirit has a way of putting into context some things that normally are not in context. In any event, the latter interpretation is true. The very essence and basis of sin is to put self in the preeminent place of God. Sin is when a man worships or is obedient to himself instead of God. Whenever "king self" dies we can see the Lord high and lifted up.

Vision and hearing are twins which go together in many scriptures. In almost all of these scriptures, vision comes before hearing. This is also true in the natural realm. We SEE lightning before we hear the associated sound. If a supersonic jet aircraft passes overhead, we SEE the plane before we hear the sonic boom. The speed of light is much faster than the speed of sound.

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. 

1 Corinthians 2:9

When Paul was apprehended on the road to Damascus,

3 .. and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:

4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? Acts 9:3-5

Here we see that vision precedes hearing. Jesus had the same experience. He SAW the Spirit of God descending upon Him and then He HEARD a voice from heaven.


16 And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him.

17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3:16-17

I have searched the scriptures rather carefully and I have found only one place where hearing seems to come before seeing, where Paul tells the saints at Philippi,

Those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. Philippians 4:9

Why is the order in this one verse reversed from all of the others? In all of the other verses vision precedes hearing. Everything starts with the Word of God, then vision and hearing, then faith and obedience, then righteousness and holiness, and finally the Word becomes flesh within us. The order is that way because that order reflects REVELATION from the Spirit of God to us and within us ... how the word becomes flesh. But Paul in Philippians 4:9 speaks of the way of teaching ... from man to man, not direct revelation from the Spirit. So Paul starts with those things which the Philippians have learned. We frequently learn from good teachers before revelation of the Spirit sheds light in our hearts. Paul then speaks of the things that the Philippians have received in the way of accepted doctrine and teachings. Paul goes further than that. He tells the Philippians to do those things that they have heard and seen in him. A good teacher must demonstrate in action in his daily life the truth which he expresses in words. Now we know that NO man is perfect. When all we see of a teacher is his teaching ability in a formal meeting of believers, we tend to put that man on a pedestal. How does his life measure up in the day-to-day activities, particularly when things do not seem to go right for him? That is the true test.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Matthew 7:20

We should not be impressed by what a person "knows." Rather, we should be impressed by who they ARE or who they have BECOME. That requires much more effort. We must always remember that the objective is NOT to hear some nice, polished sermon or teaching. The Lord's objective for us is that the Word become flesh within us ... "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

A number of years ago in a gathering of believers in our area, a visiting minister of the Lord asked us to read together out loud the first chapter of 2 Peter. We went around the room and each person read a verse. Then the visiting minister asked us what we had heard through those verses. Several people commented on several verses, but I had heard nothing new or different from the many times I had read that chapter. I decided to go back and re-read the entire chapter while others were commenting. When I read (silently) verses 18-20, one word just jumped off the page.

18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount.

19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 2 Peter 1:18-20

The word that I saw for the first time was the word "UNTIL." Most Christians believe that the "more sure word of prophecy" mentioned in verse 19 refers to scripture, as indicated by verse 20. So scripture is "more sure" than our hearing the voice of the Lord because any of us can, at times, miss hearing the voice of the Lord or (more likely) misinterpret what we hear. Verse 19 says we should "take heed" to scripture "as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, UNTIL the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." In other words, UNTIL that word becomes flesh in our hearts. Does that mean that AFTER that word becomes flesh within us that we no longer take heed to scripture? NO! The difference is one of perspective and motivation, We STILL need to take heed to scripture, NOT because it is written in scripture, but rather because it is written on our heart ... that word has become flesh within. That word has become supernaturally "natural". We obey the word as easily as we have learned to walk or drive a car or any simple, natural event.

So by seeing the Word of the Lord, hearing His voice, being obedient by faith, and allowing His righteousness and holiness to be made manifest within, the word becomes flesh in some area of our life. The process then repeats for another area of our life. The end of this process is,

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3:2

What then shall this man do?

The body of Christ hungers for preachers and teachers who practice what they preach.