Prescription for Restoration of the Church

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.

November 10, 2022

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

A year or so ago I shared several messages about restoration as it pertains to the church. This message on restoration is quite different. A few thoughts in this message came through a solid man of God 50-some years ago. However, the only thoughts that matter are the Lord's thoughts. 

Isaiah 55:8-9, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Jesus, as the Son of Man on earth said to the Jews, in John 8:38, "I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father." Jesus also said, in John 6:63, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

1 Corinthians 14:10, "There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification," where "without signification" means "dumb" or "silent" or "speechless."

Let us briefly consider a few types of voices which are heard in our modern-day Christian community, particularly the larger congregations. 

The first type of voice is motivated by a consistent "all is well," "don't rock the boat," "we are all going to heaven one day," "keep everybody happy," "blessings and prosperity," "your breakthrough is right around the corner," "just love everybody," and so on. This is undoubtedly the most prominent voice and is preached in most denominational and mega churches. Many christians hear that voice over and over on Sunday mornings.

Another voice is the voice of silence ... hearing no voice except our own. That is the self-centered voice of a carnal Christian. Then we could mention the voice of the world, as prompted by our adversary. 

The highest voice is the voice of the Lord Himself. Scripture speaks of the voice of the Lord many times. For example, Psalm 29, verses 3 through 9 speaks of the voice of the Lord 7 times. Sadly, His voice is probably one of the least heard of all voices.

However, from time to time I believe that the Lord has commissioned His Ezekiels to "speak forth the voice of exhortation to measure themselves with the Lord's way or the pattern." That is recorded in Ezekiel 43:10. That is the voice of this message. It is a voice that is rarely heard, but a voice that must be heard sooner or later. 

In the medical field one thing is essential in order to practice medicine. That thing is composed of three different parts. First of all, we must diagnose the problem. The doctor asks you about the symptoms, perhaps checks your blood, and makes a diagnosis based on his findings. Second, he prescribes. For the prescription to be successful, it must take care of the immediate problem. Third, it should hopefully prevent that problem from occurring again. For the doctor to check you over, he must get very close to you - so close that he begins to see you inside.

Now let us try to apply that same three-fold principle to our modern-day church community. We, the church, have a problem. Our doctor is the Great Physician. Our doctor is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Healer. We don't need any type of insurance to consult Him. His services are free. He is available 24/7 and we don't need to make an appointment with Him. He knows all about our problem and He has all the answers. As a good sister in Christ said to us years ago, "Doctors study the body, but the Lord made the body." What an amazing body the Lord has given to us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Further, God is not a man that He should lie. His diagnosis and prescription for our problem is always perfect. Therefore, we must always ask Him what we should do. Then by faith we take our first step based on what we believe we heard.

Problems are not solved by talking about problems. They are solved with answers. However, before we can embrace an answer, our eyes must be opened to perceive the problem.

Throughout many years the Lord has been revealing to His servants the great desolation, the great wilderness that is within Christendom and the great need for restoration. I do not believe there will be any more revivals on earth, but one great, final restoration is on the horizon. That restoration will take those who are willing back to what was in the mind of God before the world existed. Even among the presbyteries sadly there is a tremendous lack of identification with the Spirit of the word of God and only a superficial understanding of the Lord Himself and His ways. Actually, what makes us relate to Him is what we understand of Him. Everything, our fellowship, our ministry of the word, even our conversation. As servants of the living God if we are to serve Him efficiently, we must allow the veil to be removed from our eyes and begin to look at things from the Lord's perspective.

The church has little effectiveness in the world. That is an absolute truth because the state of the world always depends upon the state of the Lord's chosen people. To understand these things, we have to compare, and we must do this through the scriptures. Yes, some people are coming to the Lord Jesus, but the question is, are they coming to the Lord Jesus because of the Lord Jesus or because of something else? In other words, like the fish ... if you remove the bait from the hook will the fish dare to bite the hook? We have too many breech births. The Head needs to come first.

Try to put into perspective all the things that are happening in the church today. Granted, if you have only been to a few churches in your local area, it is very difficult to see the state of the greater body of Christ. I for one can only try to judge properly the problem that is in the church today from what I have seen and experienced over the past 55 years.

One of the things that I have seen involves the local church. Whether the people are young or elderly doesn't matter. God doesn't measure people by their age. The local church is where 2 or 3 are gathered in His name. Jesus said, in Matthew 18:19-20, "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Unless the Lord is in our midst, we only have a man-made church.

I don't know of anything that has more activities than our larger churches have - committees for this and committees for that, programs for all ages, pony rides and Easter egg hunts for little children, softball teams, gymnasiums, cafeterias and book stores within the church building, free coffee and doughnuts before the Sunday service, anything and everything for all age groups to keep us happy. Lord, help us. The first thing that some do in the church is to stand at the door and greet the people, shake hands, and smile, but that is still some sort of activity. Perhaps someone becomes an usher or sings in the choir or is in charge of the audio/video equipment. That is supposed to be working for the Lord. But I have a little difficulty trying to find any scripture about those types of activity. There are many other things that we are doing that we may think the Lord is pleased with.

The next thing that happens is that one day within the local church, wherever it might be, a Christian may say, I have a desire within my heart to serve the Lord. The pastor says, "Wonderful, let's see if we can arrange to send you to Bible school or a seminary," rather than to gather him more than ever before. Alternatively, the newly excited Christian decides to train to be a minister.

Within 6 months after the Lord sovereignly apprehended me, the Lord made it very clear to me that I was to be a Christian minister. Therefore, I researched the most conservative seminaries I could find because at that point in my walk with the Lord, I thought that the only way to become a Christian minister was to go to a seminary. I received seven amazing confirmations that I was to go to Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. Therefore, I applied in the Spring of 1968 to attend that seminary in the fall of 1968 and was accepted. Then we put our house up for sale, but we also put a fleece before the Lord. We said, Lord, if you want us to go to that seminary, please sell our house before our daughter is born in May. A number of folks came by and admired our house, but no offers came. We put a "For Sale" sign in our front yard and the wind kept blowing it down. Then our daughter was born on May 31, 1968. When I came back from the hospital, a nice couple and their real estate agent were waiting at our doorstep. They had a contract made up to buy our house. All I had to do was sign. But I had to tell them that our house was no longer for sale. I tried to tell them why, but I doubt that they understood. I told them that if they had come yesterday, the house was theirs. Saved by the sovereignty of God. I did not understand why I had received so many confirmations, but then the Lord said, "No." At that time I was an elder in a New Testament house church. When I related my consternation to the other elders, one man said, "I can tell you what happened and why." He said that some time in the past the Lord woke him up at 3 o'clock in the morning and told him to get out of bed and go downstairs to his dining room. When he went to his dining room, he said, "What now, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "Nothing, go back to bed. I just wanted to see if you would obey my voice."

The point that I want to stress now is very important. I believe that this is where we see the decline of the church. Rather than holding that person and coming together with the presbytery of the church desiring to discern the Lord's body, we just pack him off to a factory that will make a minister out of him. Alternatively, the newly inspired Christian may decide all by himself to attend a Bible college or a seminary. That is what I did, but the Lord sovereignly saved me from that snare. What kind of ministry comes out of the Bible school or a seminary?

Years ago, a good brother said that one saying that really speaks about the problem is: "Son of a leopard has spots." What is the thing that comes out of the Bible school or seminary? Everyone is from the same mold. Everybody is a pastor. Do you see? Only the Lord, not a Bible school or seminary, makes a pastor. What Bible college or seminary did Peter, James, and John attend? 1 Corinthians 12:18. "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him." Where is the variety of ministries? Where is that multi-membered body?

We must understand how the congregation looks at pastors and how they have been a stumbling block. For centuries we have witnessed a repeat of Exodus 20:18-19, "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die." It is the same today in our churches.

Fortunately, many pastors are not deliberately a stumbling block, but ignorance is no excuse and human nature never changes. Jeremiah 50:6-7, "My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace. All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers." 

We need to see our precedents, our background, our origin. As we begin to look into these things, we will find out why we the church are in our current state. If we dare to look at these things objectively as a doctor would look at a problem, we shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free.

We must know the call of God before we "go on to serve the Lord." We must discern the body of Christ. Yes, we can serve the Lord, but most of the life in the ministry is following after the pattern. What is the pattern in the modern-day Christian community?

The leadership patterns the church or gives shape to the church. Whatever the leadership prepares and sends forth is what is going to be seen in the world. This is a harsh way of presenting the situation, but anyone who cannot see this is just trying to cover it up. This is a problem. How does the leadership determine the pattern? For the most part, based on what he (or they) has already experienced, with perhaps a tweak or two here and there. Everyone is familiar with the mechanics of the pattern. First, we must have a nice church building, hopefully with a lot of amenities, such as a good-size parking lot, comfortable seats, pleasant temperature settings year-round, good lighting, and so forth. Modern-day versions of meetings of the saints were set in motion by Constantine, back in 310 A.D., when he instituted the operation of the church to be like that of a theater or play production, with the performers on a stage and the spectators as the audience. Then, if we don't like the performance, we just go to another theater. This results in a clergy/laity mindset, which the Lord says He hates, in both Revelation 2:6 and Revelation 2:15. The clergy/laity division is called Nicolaitans, which literally means "people conquerors."

Now, in terms of the operation of the typical local church, as we stated before, the pastor determines the format and most of the content of the gatherings. Almost every church follows the same routine every Sunday ... opening prayer, singing, scripture reading, a message from some leader, followed by socialization. Some pastors believe that all they need to do is to preach a good message every Sunday and, over time, the saints will mature. Of course, it never works that way. A good example was the relationship between Paul and the church at Ephesus.

The function of a pastor, like all of the so-called five-fold ministers listed in Ephesians, chapter 4, is to bring us to the place where we know that the Lord, not a man, is our Shepherd. In other words, the purpose of those five-fold ministries is to minister themselves out of a job.

It is in this reality that we need to look at the church today. Why does the church in general cause such little impact in the world? Compare it with the church in the book of Acts. We have to judge it from that point of view. The early church turned the world upside-down. Today, the world has turned the church upside down. What a great difference we see today in the visible church as compared to the early church, as recorded in the book of Acts. In the book of Acts we see a really genuine experience. One thing that amazes me about the Bible is not the miracles or healings, but Jesus - that drawing that His life had, just by seeing Him. Just His appearance attracted Simeon and Anna. Just His appearance attracted John the Baptist, who proclaimed, "Behold the Lamb of God!" You can't go wrong with that. Something pulled from the heart of John the Baptist that very confession - that Jesus was the answer for all mankind.

Let us look at Acts 2:42-47 to see a comparison.

42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Scripture is very orderly. There is a reason why some things are mentioned before others. In general, that which is listed first is of higher priority than that which is listed second. Verse 42 lists four activities of that early church, presumably because they were/are the most important four activities for believers over all of time. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' (plural) doctrine. Today we each continue steadfastly in our own personal doctrine. There are at least three reasons for that. First, because true apostles today are few and far between. About one year ago, a woman who had been part of our New Testament house church back in the 1970's sent me an email and asked me if I knew an apostle in her new geographical area. She said that she needed an apostle. I tried to find such a man, with no success. Of course, what came to my mind was "consider our Apostle and High Priest, Christ Jesus." (Hebrews 3:1). He knows no geographical bounds. Second, because we have read so many books, listened to so many preachers, both in person and on DVDs and TV, that everyone does what is right in his own eyes. Finally, what about the apostles Peter, Paul, and John and their writings in the New Testament?

Next, from Acts 2:42, they continued steadfastly in fellowship (koinonia, or communion). John said, in 1 John 1:3, "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ."

Today, we continue steadfastly in socialization. True fellowship or communion is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, in the realm of the Spirit. Fellowship has little or nothing to do with the natural realm.

Third, they continued steadfastly in breaking of bread. That is a figure of speech which signifies that they ate (natural) meals together, but they spoke of the glory, the preeminence, the centrality, the supremacy, the sovereignty, the all-sufficiency of God. Today, we occasionally have a meal together, but what is the topic of conversation?

Next, they continued steadfastly in prayers. That word, prayers, conveys the thought of praying earnestly, supplication, or worship. I have become convinced that very few believers know what true intercession is, much less practice it. Many churches recite what is called "the Lord's Prayer" faithfully every Sunday. Christians repeat, "Thy will be done ..." but sadly have little idea what the Lord's will really is.

Back to Acts 2 and verse

43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

"Fear came upon every soul;" EVERY soul. Is there any fear in any soul today? I have heard several solid men of God say that they were not too concerned with what they have done; they were concerned about what they missed of the will of God. 

Malachi 1:6, "A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is Mine honour? and if I be a master, where is My fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise My name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised Thy name?" 

Jesus said, in Matthew 10:28, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." 

There is only One who is able to destroy both soul and body ... the Lord Jesus Christ.

Continuing in Acts 2:43, "and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles." In my lifetime, I have met many men who either called themselves an apostle or were called an apostle by others. No one would question that Paul was an apostle. Perhaps I have too high of a standard, but I have never met one man who performed all of the functions that I read about concerning Paul, including myself. We also need to be careful because just because we see wonders and signs through a person, that does not necessarily mean they are an apostle.

Back to Acts 2.

44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

In the past, some professing Christians have tried to implement those verses in the natural realm. They either end up as a cult or disband after some period of time. I have seen it happen twice. However, if the Lord implements that oneness, as He did in the early church, only good things result.

At that point in time there were at least 3,120 believers. Therefore, the primary meaning of these verses is in the spiritual realm ... they were in one accord. Seven times in the Book of Acts, scripture says the early believers were in one accord. We can be in one accord about many things; for example, that we all like pizza and ice cream. But the only verse that tells us what the early believers were in one accord about is found in Romans 15:5-6, "Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." The phrase "with one mind" is the same Greek word as "in one accord."

Isaiah 66 speaks of the culmination of time as we know it ... the time when Zion is brought forth and then the time when Zion brings forth her children (the body of Christ, in the wilderness).

Isaiah 66:7-9, "Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith Thy God."

In Verse 7, "she" is the woman, the body of Christ. But the body of Christ does not travail; the body of Christ does not bring forth the man child. The Lord Himself is and has been in the process of, bringing forth the man child (the remnant, the overcomers, spiritual Zion, etc.). It is a hidden work which the Lord will unveil soon, just as the Lord prepared Moses in the wilderness for 40 years. It corresponds to the manifestation of the sons of God. It has nothing to do with the visible church that we see today. 

16 When the LORD shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory.

17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. 

Psalm 102:16-17

The word, "prayer," which occurs twice in Verse 17, means intercession or supplication.

"Destitute" means "poor;" but not poor in the natural realm ... poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3).

Isaiah 66:1-2, "Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: where is the house that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest? For all those things hath Mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word."

In turn, spiritual Zion will travail to bring forth the body of Christ. That travail has not yet happened, but will happen soon. Those verses in Isaiah 66 correspond to Revelation, Chapter 12. They also correspond to Joel 2:17-18, which are two of my favorite verses. 

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?

18 Then will the LORD be jealous for His land, and pity His people.

Verse 18 will not be fulfilled until Verse 17 is fulfilled. The "ministers of the Lord" in Verse 17 does NOT speak of the visible ministers today who minister to the house (Ezekiel 44). It speaks of that remnant, the overcomers, the very elect, spiritual Zion, the sons of God who will be made manifest, those who will rule and reign with Him for 1000 years.

1 Corinthians 1:29-30, " ... not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep."

What happens when we don't discern the body of Christ? Some are sick, some are weak, and some sleep. I believe that these symptoms do not speak simply about natural or physical sickness. I believe that it speaks about spiritual sickness, weakness, and lethargy.

When someone presents a more spiritual interpretation of the word of God, some professing Christians might say, "I cannot receive that. It is not the way that I was taught." Who cares about the way that you have been taught? The question is, Is it in line with the word of God? In some churches the preacher speaks about the streets of gold, etc. That is called a "heaven-minded" Christian, not a Christ-centered or God-conscious Christian. That is called sky religion - way beyond the blue. Further, I believe that almost anyone can present a good teaching. All it takes is a Bible, a concordance, and some time.

We must see these things objectively. Our purpose is not to criticize or to just get involved in the problem but to determine why the church has declined. We have been up to here with what man has to say about God and the Bible. If we know that, there is a call on our lives. Unless we want to see history repeat itself, there is only one recommendation that we can make.

The first thing we need to do is to get back to the word. Not just to be filled with facts and knowledge and to be able to deal with the letter, but actually to allow the Spirit of the living God to bring Christ from behind the letters which are written in the bible. We need to understand that the word of God is a living word. Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Isaiah 55:11, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

Note that it is not what the preacher says, but just that word itself that proceeds out of the mouth of God. There is something exciting about reading the scriptures when the Holy Spirit causes that word to come alive. Then that written word becomes a word spoken by the mouth of God. It is not the paper that speaks to us. Furthermore, the Spirit of God speaks one thing. Jesus said that "when the Comforter comes, He will speak of me."

So the first thing that we see is that the word which goes forth out of the mouth of God shall not return to Him void, but it shall accomplish that which He pleases. It will do exactly that, but it will not stop there - it also shall prosper. There shall be an increase - the word will grow.

We need to look at the problem and diagnose the problem. The cure for the problem is the word of God. It will heal. He sent forth His word and delivered them from their destruction. We need the word, not only to take care of the present situation, but also to take care of what lies ahead. However, that does not necessarily equate to "more good teaching" through the leadership. Rather, it speaks of the pure word of the Lord as revealed by the Holy Spirit, as we individually seek Him.

Psalm 12:6, "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times."

That pure word of the Lord will increase within our hearts. That word is not a sound; that word is the living Christ! That Word that became flesh and dwelt among us.

Proverbs 29:8, "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." 

The law is the law of the Lord.

Where there is no vision, the people perish. Actually, the essence of that verse is that the people are being made naked.

Back to Acts, chapter 2.

46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

The first recorded "break" of the early Christians with the Jewish synagogues occurred with Paul, at Ephesus.

Acts 19:8-10, "And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks." 

Back to Acts, chapter 2 and verse 47.

47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Do we, the church have favor with all the people? Today, the church, primarily evangelicals, try to add to the church by going out to get them saved, but only the Lord can save. When we do our part, the Lord will do His part.

Now, assuming that the listener can receive at least part of this message, the important question is, "what do we do from here?" That is why multitudes, multitudes are in the valley of decision. Moreover, if only one or two can hear this message, this time tonight is an amazing success.

May we all cooperate with the Lord as He restores His church without the sound of a hammer, and may the Lord be glorified in all things. Amen and amen.

The Glory of God

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.

September 30, 2020  

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

In our previous messages we shared some of the wonderful truths of the grace of God.

Now we want to share with you several messages concerning the glory of God. This first message will be a definition of the word, glory, followed by an introduction to the glory of God. 

Thirteen different Hebrew words in the Old Testament and 10 Greek words in the New Testament used in the original manuscripts are all translated by the one English word "glory." So the word "glory" has many shades of meaning. Therefore we need to be rather careful when we read scripture verses that contain the word "glory." The word, "glory," signifies the essence or nature of something or someone.

When God created anything, He said that it was good. But after creating everything, He said it was all very good (Genesis 1:31). Everything that God created has a glory associated with it simply because everything was made by God, but there are different types and levels of glory. 

40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:40-44

Proverbs 20:29, "The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head."

1 Corinthians 11:7-9, "For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man."

Today, almost all worldly people, and even some professing Christians, would say those last three verses are nonsense. When did the so-called Feminist Movement begin? It all started with Eve, who was deceived by the serpent and unilaterally decided to disobey God without ever consulting her husband. The so-called Feminist Movement or Women's Lib came to the forefront in the western world in the late 18th century and has gone through three waves, the latest of which has emphasized women's place in politics and, of course, a woman's right to have an abortion. Only the Lord knows how many babies have been aborted (or murdered) in the world, but the number is undoubtedly in the millions. I recently read that there are 127 female Congresspersons in the United States government. Of course, the place and function of women in the church is a topic that no pastor wants to talk about. That is a "no-no" because it generates anything from disagreement to bitter animosity within the world and even within the church. But for now, let us continue with the different types and levels of glory.

Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; Matthew 4:8

Even the kingdoms of this world have a glory about them. When the Jews came out of Egypt they still had a glory about them, even though they had the fallen nature of the first Adam.

19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.

20 Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.

Psalm 106:19-20

Because man has free will, he can always choose to diminish his level of glory. That happened for the first time in the Garden of Eden. But man can never on his own power increase his level of glory. Further, all the glory is due unto Abba, Father, because He created everything. For Thine is the glory.

Scripture is silent as to when God created angels, but it is reasonably clear that He created angels before time began and before He created Adam. Scripture is also very clear that Lucifer and one-third of the angels chose to diminish their level of glory when they rebelled against God.

I believe that before the fall of Adam, man was originally covered with a much greater measure of the glory of God. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God (sinned) they lost that covering of the glory of God and were therefore naked (had no covering). God then covered them with coats of the skin that all human beings currently have (not the skins from animals). Now there is a glory of man, but it is greatly diminished and only temporary.

24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.

The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. 1 Peter 1:24-25

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23

Now, all true believers hope to be clothed upon once more in the future with the glory of God.

1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By Whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

The Glory of God

First of all, we need to understand that the glory of God is nothing to be played with or made light of. Neither is the glory of God a nice blessing to be received without paying the price. What is the glory of God? We need to define it, if that be possible. But how does a finite mind comprehend our infinite God? Suppose someone asked you to explain the glory of God. How would you answer?

I suspect that any number of believers have written a complete book about the glory of God. That topic is infinite in nature, rivaled, perhaps, only by the grace of God. Perhaps God's glory is like a wondrous tree ... the Tree of Life, of which His grace is the fruit. The glory of God speaks of His nature, His inherent Person, His character, Who He is. His grace is His nature expressed and extended outward to all men. If it were not for His grace, we would never know anything about the glory of God! It was/is the grace of God that saves us. His grace is like the leaves extended to His chosen people. "The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations" (Revelation 22:2). It is by continuing to walk in a state of His grace that we are later allowed to understand and see His glory! To God be the glory!

The following scenario came from a blog on the internet. I do not remember the author's name. If there were a sudden demonstration of God's glory right now where we are, a great earthquake along with thunder and lightning, a huge cloud resting above our head, fire coming down from heaven, along with 10,000 angels, and a radiance so bright that it would blind us and cause us to fall on the ground by reason of the splendor ... if these things were to occur in front of our eyes, we would probably give the subject our undivided attention, would we not?

And if the very Voice of God Almighty were to speak to us out of that cloud, I doubt that we would only half-listen. No, I am sure under those circumstances we would all be spellbound, our mind and spirit intent on everything the Lord had to show us, every word He had to say.

But if we had no such visible or audible manifestation of the glory of God, does that make the subject any less important? Is it less worthy of our interest because the Holy Spirit has chosen to reveal the glory of God through the Scripture and by His Holy Spirit? ... end blog.

Psalm 84:1, "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly."

God will give both grace and glory, not one without the other. But note the condition that we must walk uprightly. We receive His grace initially because of Calvary. "By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is a gift from God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Of course we must then continue to walk in and by His grace. It is certain we are saved by His grace; the reason is so that we might enjoy His glory forever.

When used with respect to God, "glory" signifies the nature and acts of God, Who He essentially is, what He does, and His manifestation to everyone and everything in the universe which He created, usually with physical phenomena or power. However, that seems somewhat inadequate. The glory of God exists whether or not we ever see it or experience it. For us, there is a present glory of the Lord (already revealed) and a future glory of the Lord, yet to be revealed to those who are looking for Him.

The word 'Shekinah' does not appear in the Bible, but the concept clearly does. The Jewish rabbis coined this extra-biblical expression that literally means the "dwelling" or "settling," signifying that it was a divine visitation of the presence or dwelling of the Lord God on this earth.

The Shekinah was first evident when the Israelites set out from Succoth in their flight from Egypt. In the Old Testament, the glory of God (or the Shekinah) dwelled in the ark of the Tabernacle of Moses, then in the temple built by Solomon. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is the dwelling place of God's glory. Colossians 2:9 says "in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." When He returns to earth, we will see the Lord God in all His glory and the Shekinah will no longer be veiled (1 John 3:2).

10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

11 For Mine own sake, even for Mine own sake, will I do it: for how should My name be polluted? and I will not give My glory unto another. Isaiah 48:10-11

The LORD will not give His glory unto another. But He will let us share in His glory provided that we remain steadfast in Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to conform us to His image. 

16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

17 For He received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.

18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount. 2 Peter 1:16-18

7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:

8 How shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious?

9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

Needless to say, the glory of God far surpasses the glory of anything else in the universe. There simply is no comparison. The Greek word "excellent glory" in 2 Peter 1:17 and "the glory that excelleth" in 2 Corinthians 3:10 means "the greatest possible glory."

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. Isaiah 6:3

The whole earth has always been full of His glory. Unfortunately men are not aware of or have little or no experiential knowledge of the fullness of His glory. In general we have not experienced such a presence of the glory of the Lord in our gatherings. We may have seen miracles in our gatherings and may have experienced many emotional highs, but the manifest presence of the Lord Himself is another level.

Leonard Ravenhill, a noted 20th century evangelist once said, "I'm sick to death of the so-called Christianity of our day. What's supernatural about it? When do people come out of the sanctuary awed and can't speak for an hour because God has been in glory there? Dear God, as soon as they get out, they're talking football, or sports or something or there's going to be a big sale downtown or somewhere. We are not caught up into eternity!
When did you last tip-toe out of the sanctuary? When you couldn't say a word to anybody because you were so overwhelmed with the glory of God?
God wants to bring us into a glory we know nothing about."

The glory of the Lord accompanied the announcement of another supernatural gift sent by God from heaven ... the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. His second coming (parousia) will be similar to His ascension. After the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, Christ ascended in a cloud (Acts 1:9). He will return the same way.

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Luke 21:27

When shall the Lord appear in His glory? No man knows the day or time. The closest verse that answers that question is in Psalm 102:16, "When the LORD shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory." The Lord is even now in the process of building up Zion, His dwelling place, but Zion is not a natural mountain in a geographical location called Jerusalem.

3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. Isaiah 40:3-5

 

6 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;

7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

8 The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, saith the LORD of hosts.

9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

Haggai 2:3-9 

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Matthew 24:29-30

Paul said, concerning the Lord Jesus Christ,

Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; Whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to Whom be honour and power everlasting. 

1 Timothy 6:16

John likewise said, in John 1:18, 

"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. "

When Jesus came to the earth as a Man, He set aside much of His glory; He could be in only one place at a time; He limited Himself.

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

5 And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. John 17:4-5

Jesus prayed, in John 17:24, 

"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. "

Note that Jesus prayed that we might be with Him where He was, not where He would be. Where was Jesus when He prayed that? on earth but in the realm of the Spirit. The very first miracle Jesus performed (in Cana) "manifested forth His glory" (John 2:11). Also, Jesus is the brightness of God's glory, and the express image of His person (Hebrews 1:3).

Even though all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, we rejoice in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That hope shall be fulfilled one day, for the Lord Himself has declared it so.

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 

2 Corinthians 3:18

Great is the glory of the Lord. Psalm 138:5

The glory of the Lord shall endure forever. Psalm 104:31

Paul said, "When Christ, Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. Colossians 3:4

Peter wrote that he was "A witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. 1 Peter 5:1

Moses wrote, "As truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord." Numbers 14:21

Where are the wise men of today who will enter into the level of intercession required for the glory of the LORD to fill the house of the LORD once more? That will be ushered in by the fulfillment of,

Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, spare Thy people O LORD ... Joel 2:17

That will result in the manifestation of, "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
Then one day,

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14

In our next message we will consider the rise and fall of the glory of God upon and within man from an historical and prophetic perspective.

Until then and continuing everyday, may the Lord be glorified in all that we do, say, and become. Amen.

Why Some Churches Become Ineffective

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.

Why Some Churches Become Ineffective

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

I would like to share a few things both from personal experience and from what the Lord has revealed to me over past 48 years ... so that hopefully you and your church groups will not make the same mistakes we did in the New Testament house church in Northern Virginia back in the late 1960's into the very early 1980's. 

We have been very blessed by the Lord to experience some things in the church world that few have experienced. 

The house church that we were part of for about 11 years came the closest to the early church as recorded in the Book of Acts of any church I have ever seen, before or since never had ...

The house church functioned amazingly well for perhaps 7 years, and exposed to much good teaching thru many good men. From 1970 thru perhaps 1975 we were on the cutting edge of what the Lord was/is after for local churches. That was verified around 1974 by Derek Prince, one of the foremost teachers in the US at that time. Somewhere in 1978 the Lord made it clear to us personally that we would have to leave that house church or else the ministry that the Lord put me into could not be fulfilled. We still had to wait on the timing of the Lord, which came on May 30, 1980. 

The Lord gave me much wisdom as to how to announce at an elders' meeting that we had been called to function in other ways outside that house church. 

I cannot tell you what freedom and liberty I sensed after the Lord released us from that house church. This was also the fulfillment of a vision that a true prophet had received and spoken to me around 1973. He told me he saw the Lord slitting the soles of my shoes such that my toes would have room to wiggle around. I received the significance of his vision immediately. 

That house church totally disintegrated in 1981, although 1 or 2 home meetings continued for a little while longer. The Lord revealed to me several reasons for its demise, but I want to share with you what seem to have been the major reasons: (1) the proper foundation was never laid by man, although it is more than possible that the Lord sovereignly laid the foundation in a few folks; and (2) substance was overtaken by form. This is by NO means a criticism of house churches in general. Rather, it is an exposer of the flesh ... human nature, along with our lack of understanding at that time. I want to share with you what I understand IS the proper foundation and how it can be and must be laid in the hearts of men. How to avoid Substance being overtaken by form.

Matthew 7:21-27

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Verses 21-23 is one set of many Scriptures which clearly distinguishes the difference between someone being born from above as compared to qualifying to walk in the Kingdom of God. In our old house church, I never recall anyone talk about that difference. The "many" in Verse 22 are NOT heathens, but believers who have lost their proper focus. Verses 24-27 set forth the prerequisite for obtaining the proper foundation ... our house must be founded upon the Rock ... which is Christ. Easy to say, not so easy to implement. First of all, no one can build a lasting house on rubble or sand. 

Nehemiah 4:10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.

Jeremiah 1:10-12

10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.

12 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it. 

1 Corinthians 3:9-15

9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Ephesians 2:19-22 

19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. 

In natural-level education, when we go to school, from kindergarten thru university-level graduate study, we have teachers and professors who present to us certain facts which we are supposed to memorize. Later we are asked to call those facts back up from our minds on tests and quizzes. The better we have memorized what has been presented to us, the better the grade we receive. Students who later become teachers then go through this same process of presenting the same facts to their students ... a never-ending cycle.

In the church world we have a corresponding cycle that also never seems to end. Someone called a pastor or teacher or minister or priest or rector or preacher, etc., teaches us Christian believers about Christianity and Christian doctrines. For the most part our spiritual teachers are good men who may indeed love the Lord to the degree they know how, but they teach what they have been taught, with possibly some minor adjustments here and there. Christian ministers turn out cookie-cutter disciples who have memorized what is and is not supposed to be correct Christian doctrine. Over time some of these teachings may be exposed as really being based on traditions of men. (I could share with you a number of those off-the-mark teachings.) But the cycle rolls along.

I believe it is a mistake for anyone in a church leadership position to think that he can bring about maturity in the lives of believers through much good teaching and preaching. This is necessary but not sufficient. Maturity in believers also requires a church leader to pray earnestly, as did Paul,

"that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." Ephesians 1:17

There is a big difference between knowing written word of God and knowing the God who is the living Word. Every believer, in the fear of God, must cry out, "Help, Lord! I want to know You!"

Even the great Apostle Paul said, 

"that I might know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death." Philippians 3:10-11

This knowing is not merely factual but experiential! The word must become flesh!

Another reason our house church back in the 1970s disintegrated was because Substance was overtaken by form.

2 Timothy 3:1-8

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

Who are the "men" in Verse 2 that Paul refers to? heathens who have never known the Lord? That could be true, but the characteristics that Paul speaks of in Verses 2-5 existed in worldly men long before Paul was ever born. Paul in these verses speaks of that which will happen in the future, after his days. So Paul here must be speaking of the tares which are masquerading as true believers within the church. Jesus said deception will be so great in the last days that if possible even the very elect might be deceived.

In Verses 2-5, there are 20 different characteristics of the "tares". The Lord has allowed me to see and hear, first hand, pastors who are clearly lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, unthankful, and false accusers.

The word, reprobate, in Verse 8 is same word translated as castaway in 1 Corinthians 9:27 when Paul said, 

"But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway"

We want to emphasize Verses 5 and 7 ... having a form of godliness but denying [not allowing] the power thereof: and ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Our house church 40 years ago never had a written program, but we certainly developed an unwritten program: routine rarely changed and the Spirit of God left us to our own devices, which allowed some bad doctrine to creep in. New believers learn the right language, the right words to say very quickly. Of the many phrases we learn to say is, In the Name of Jesus Christ. So what is wrong with that? Perhaps nothing at all; it is very scriptural. 

Acts 3:6 " ... in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk."

 

Even a non-believer can say those words. HOWEVER, there must be Substance behind that phrase! Form is not sufficient!

Acts 19:13-15

13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.

14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.

15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?

Moreover there can be a tendency to learn new things via new revelation of Scriptures, but not learn of Him. The Church at Ephesus in Paul's day probably attained the highest spiritual state of any of the churches. But in Revelation 2, the message to the angel of that church was, You have left your first love. 

If we can learn from the experience of others then the exhortation is two-fold: 

(1) Do not make the mistake of thinking that a lot of new revelation of Scripture equates to more maturity. It does not! Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Keep your focus on the Giver rather than the gifts; the Lord is not looking for gifts; He is looking for fruit.

 
(2) Allow the Holy Spirit to be in control in your gatherings. 

Easier said than done. It is good if a group of people ask the Lord what songs to sing on Sunday morning. It is good if the pastor seeks the Lord as to what message to bring on Sunday morning. But what happens if, on Sunday morning, the Lord says to sing something else (or maybe nothing at all)? What happens if, on Sunday morning, the Lord says to change the message to another word (or nothing at all)? In other words there must be a spontaneity about our gatherings.

To continue to follow the same general routine in each gathering without being sensitive to the Holy Spirit during meeting time, invites a relegation to the vast sea of religious mediocrity. I have seen it happen too many times. I could share with you many examples that I have experienced when the Lord was about to move in a mighty way but those "in charge" took it right back to the routine. All I could do was to groan in my spirit and wonder what we had missed!

Even Moses, the mighty man of God said,

Exodus 10:26 "Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither."

Any time any man knows exactly what is going to happen next in our gatherings, the Holy Spirit is no longer in control.

Israelites were set free by the power of God from bondage in Egypt. That speaks of being born from above or the initial salvation experience. They then started their 40-year trek towards the Promised Land. They had never seen the land which they traversed, so each day was a new adventure. But because they murmured and complained, descended into idolatry, tempted Christ, committed fornication, and thereby did not trust the Lord or have faith in Him, only 2 adults over the age of 20 actually made it into the Promised Land. So it is with us today. We have not been this way before. Each day should be a new adventure with Christ, trusting Him and obeying Him.

Who is ready to launch out into the deep and trust the Lord to bring about that which He desires in our gatherings and in our life on earth?

Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord: Why do we Prepare the Way of the Lord

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

We are continuing our messages about "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." Why do we, you and I, and every professing Christian need to prepare the way of the Lord? for several very good reasons. First of all, that is a commandment, as we stated in our previous message. Let us state once more that there is a distinct difference between being born again and walking in the kingdom of God. There can be little doubt that the Lord will return to earth very soon. Now some may say, well brother, believers have been saying that for 2000 years. True, but who can doubt that the world is rapidly going from darkness to gross darkness? (Isaiah 60:2). But from Isaiah 59:19, "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him." What or who is that standard? the manifestation of the sons of God ... the very elect, the remnant, the overcomers.

The enemy has been coming in like a flood for many years and it will get worse. Coming in to where? to the church, the body of Christ. The Church at Ephesus was perhaps the most spiritually mature church in Paul's day. Paul warned the elders of the Church at Ephesus in Acts 20:29-31, 

"For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears."

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

"That stone" of course is Jesus Himself. Unless we are broken of all traces of self, we cannot walk in the kingdom of God. But unless we are walking in the Kingdom of God, we will suffer the consequences of great tribulation. If we are walking in the kingdom of God we will still go through the great tribulation but it will not affect us. The so-called "rapture" out from the great tribulation is a myth. It runs totally counter to the spirit of the Bible. More detail on that in a later message.

Jeremiah 13:16-17, "Give glory to the LORD your God, before He cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, He turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD'S flock is carried away captive."

In the time of Moses, God's chosen people were in bondage in Egypt (one captor) for 400 years. In our day, many (dare I say 'most'?) of God's chosen people are in bondage to one or more of eight captors (Isaiah 11) and don't know it. Isaiah 11 is a good topic for another word.

Only the Lord knows if our 400 years of bondage is about up. But it is time to cry out to the Lord for deliverance.

Isaiah 11:11, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea." 

If you are interested I will be happy to email to you the significance of each of those eight captors, as the Holy Spirit revealed to me a number of years ago.

When the Lord returns, the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25 will be fulfilled. All ten of them represent true born-from-above Christians. Five were wise and five were foolish. The five wise virgins were prepared with an ample supply of oil in their lamps, but the five foolish virgins had no oil for their lamps. The five wise virgins speak of the bride of Christ; the five foolish virgins speak of the rest of the church ... those who neglect to prepare the way of the Lord.

This generation ... our generation ... has had access to more scriptural light than any other generation in history. We have heard many good teachers, read the Bible many times, read all of the good Christian books, listened to all of the tapes and DVDs, and have been bombarded with many TV evangelists. But what has all of that produced? a visible church that is very close to apostasy. Pity poor Abraham and a multitude of other Old Testament saints. They never even had a Bible to read. They had to depend upon what the Lord said to them.

Hebrews 12:18-29, "For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire." 

It is true that God is love. It is also true that God is a God of judgment. When is the last time you heard the judgment of God preached from any pulpit?

Why is the Lord shaking both earth and heaven? And why must that shaking increase in intensity? God's biggest problem under the Old Covenant was the nation of Israel ... His chosen people. What is God's biggest problem under the New Covenant? His chosen people ... the church.

It is time for us, the church, to wake up, man up, stand up, speak up, or shut up and fold up. It is time to get our thumb out of our mouth. It is time to get off our pablum diet and start chewing some meat. It is time to be potty-trained, time to get rid of our diapers. It is time to put away our childish ways ... time to understand and walk in His ways. It is time to cease all debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, and tumults: (2 Corinthians 12:20). A house divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25).

Joel 1:5, "Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth." 

"Drunkards" and "wine" have nothing to with the natural realm. New wine cannot be put into old wineskins. Old wineskins are not flexible and resist change. New wine speaks of fresh revelation from the Lord.

Ezekiel 47:3-5 says, "And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over."

Today, far too many of us professing Christians haven't even got our feet wet. A few more are wading in the kiddie pool. We tend to believe that the vast majority of professing Christians put ourselves on a slightly more mature spiritual level than our brothers "over there." After all, we are born again, baptized with the Holy Ghost, go to church regularly, give money to the church, lead a morally good life, etc. But Paul said, in 2 Corinthians 10:12, "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." We must compare ourselves with Jesus. Who among us is perfect?

We need to remember that the kingdom of God existed before God created man, before God created angels, and before God created the world. In the beginning, God. For some unknown time period, or perhaps we should say in eternity past, God reigned in His kingdom. Then, from Isaiah 14, Lucifer fell from grace with his five "I wills." He rebelled against the rule of God and persuaded one-third of the angels to join him in that rebellion (Revelation 12:4).

Then comes an untold number of years between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, for in Genesis 1:2, "And the earth was [became] without form and void." The earth became a wreck and a ruin because of the rebellion of Lucifer. The earth has always been a reflection of the spiritual state of the inhabitants. From Isaiah 45,

For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. Isaiah 45:18

So in Genesis 1:2 we have the ruin into which the earth fell. We are not told how, when, or how long the wreck and ruin lasted. When geologists have settled how many years they require, they may place them between Verse 1 and 2 of Genesis 1. From 2 Peter 3:7 we live in the heavens and the earth which are now. Both are set in contrast with the "new heavens and the new earth" of 2 Peter 3:10-14.

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

Paul said in Colossians 1:27-28, "To whom [His saints] God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:"

Note the priority order ... (1) preach Jesus, (2) warning every man, and (3) teaching every man in all wisdom. Particularly note that warning every man comes before teaching every man in all wisdom. Which of the three functions dominate charismatic assemblies? the third priority of teaching every man; but is our teaching of every man done in all wisdom? Further, how many times a day or a week do you hear a warning from a minister? probably very few.

Hebrews 3:12-13 says, "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called to day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." 

Exhort one another daily ... who did you exhort today? and who exhorted you today? How many Sunday morning sermons have you heard which contained words of exhortation?

In Revelation 1:7 we read, "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen."

The "clouds" in that verse do not speak of those white puffy things we see in the sky. It speaks of a cloud of witnesses ... those saints who have gone before. "Every eye shall see Him" speaks of the natural realm.

The following two verses speak of those who see Him in the realm of the Spirit BEFORE every eye shall see Him in the natural realm.

Hebrews 9:28, "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation."

Isaiah 8:17, "And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him."

The "house of Jacob" speaks of the natural man or the carnal Christian ... those who are not looking for Him. So a very important question for you and me and every professing Christian is, "Are you looking for Him?"

There is at least one more huge reason why we all should prepare the way of the Lord ... that is if we have any desire to rule and reign with the Lord Jesus on earth for 1000 years, usually called the Millennium. 

1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Revelation 20:1-6

Verses 4 and 5 clearly indicates that not all born-from-above Christians will participate in the Millenium. Why not? because of the decisions and choices that each of us must make during our time on earth. Verses 4 and 6 refer to the Bride of Christ; Verse 5 refers to the rest of the Church. Revelation 19:7, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready." In the next Chapter we will see the Scriptural pattern which defines how we make ourself ready to be part of the Bride of Christ.

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

That Verse does not contrast the Christian with the non-Christian. The contrast is between those who have been born from above and those who have been broken and walk in the Kingdom of God.

Now only the Lord knows who will become part of the Bride and who will be content to "go to heaven one day." However, there are many Scriptures that give us a general idea. Let us consider the Tabernacle of Moses. The area of the outer court was 5000 square cubits; the area of the holy place was 200 square cubits; and the area of the Holy of Holies was 100 square cubits. The outer court had no ceiling or covering; it was subject to the natural light of the sun. The light in the holy place was the golden lampstand (not a candlestick because a candle consumes itself); the oil in the lampstand had to be sustained every day for the light to shine. The Holy of Holies had no natural-level light "for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (Revelation 21:23). Both the holy place and the Holy of Holies had a ceiling or covering and were not subject to natural weather. We believe that the outer court speaks of those who have been born from above; the holy place speaks of those who have been baptized with the Holy Ghost but who must continue to be filled with the Spirit on a daily basis. The Holy of Holies speaks of those Christians who are walking in the Kingdom of God ... the very elect, the remnant, the overcomers, the Bride of Christ. The comparative areas of the three compartments are: Holy of Holies - 2%; the holy place - 4%; and the outer court - 94%.

Other Scriptures indicate similar percentages. Those who entered Noah's ark were eight souls out of perhaps two million inhabitants on earth at that time. Yes, that comparison may perhaps be between Christians and non-Christians, but it still indicates, as Peter states ... wherein few were saved by water. Gideon's army speaks of 300 out of 32,000 or less than 1 percent. Nehemiah 10:38, which does not speak of money, speaks of a tenth of a tenth or 1 percent. And then Jesus said that many are called but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). Why are few chosen? because few choose.

In this message we have tried to emphasize the necessity to "prepare ye the way of the Lord." In our next message we hope to share with you the scriptural answer to the question, "How do we prepare the way of the Lord?"