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.
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| In loving memory of my father Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023 |
This is the third in a series of messages on "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord." In our previous message we said that in order to prepare the way of the Lord we must first prepare our heart. One of the things that every believer should have in common is the attitude of our heart. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." The Lord will visit those willing to yield to Him. We must keep humble and little in our own eyes. If we get built up by a sense of our own importance, we are gone. The Lord has always sought humble people. He can use no other. There is much need always for heart preparation, in humility and separation, before God can consistently come to us. Our first priority is always to glorify God, first of all in our heart, and then outwardly as the Holy Spirit gives us unction.
About seven years ago a good Christian friend of ours, named John, told me about a sermon the pastor of the Episcopal Church that he attended preached three times one Sunday. I will call that pastor's name Sam (not his real name). Sam was a very conservative preacher and highly respected and sought after by the conservative segment of the Episcopal Church. In his rather amazing message that one Sunday he said that very difficult times were soon coming to the church in America. He continued that he believed that many in his church were not prepared to live in the difficult times ahead, but that he did not know how to help them get prepared. We can admire Sam's honesty and his sincere desire for the welfare of those present that Sunday.
We can also admire his humility for saying what he said. But we are somewhat disappointed that he did not know how to help those professing Christians. So I asked our good Christian friend, John, to try to set up a meeting for me to talk with his pastor, Sam. John told me that would be hard to arrange because Sam was so busy. But after two or three months John arranged the meeting. So John, Sam, and I met in Sam's modest office for about one hour. I do not remember everything that I shared with Sam, but I do remember sharing one thing. I said that one of the biggest reasons for the lack of maturity in Sam's church was because they had no real prophetic ministry. Therefore their vision was too small. A prophet was formerly called a seer. The major purpose of a true prophet is not to prophesy but to help to enlarge the vision of the members of the body of Christ. We are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone.
Our first step is to prepare the way of the Lord. You do it ... I do it ... we do it. Make ready for the coming of the King of kings and Lord of lords. This preparation does not end when we are born again and/or baptized with the Holy Spirit. That is only the beginning. If you know that a secular king or president or any other dignitary is coming to your house for dinner, you will undoubtedly make haste to (1) clean your house thoroughly, (2) wear your best clothes, and (3) prepare your best meal for him/her. How much more shall we prepare for the Lord Himself?
How do we clean our house spiritually? by making sure that the enemy has no foothold in our life. We must get clean before the Lord; repent and bring our darkness to the light of the Lord. Nothing else we do in the natural realm will matter if our spirit is not right with God. This is the key for us to be able to hear the voice of the Lord. Many will not get past this point because they are very comfortable with their sin or have rationalized their sin away. The hidden sin that is in our life must be exposed so it can be washed by the blood of the Lamb.
David said, in Psalm 19:12, "Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults?" Psalm 51:2, "Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."
Jesus said, "Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me" (John 14:30). As long as we abide in the Vine, the prince of this world has nothing in us either, for the Lord is our shield.
After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. Genesis 15:1
This is not automatic. It takes action on our part to take His shield upon us.
Next, we must wear our best clothes. We must keep our garments clean. We have previously shared about keeping our garments clean. We speak, of course, of our spiritual garments that clothe our soul and spirit. Under the Old Covenant, the garments of the priests were natural garments.
2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.4 And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.5 And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.Exodus 28:2-5
Note, in Verses 3 and 4 above, the purpose of those garments ... so that the priests may minister unto the Lord. "Minister to the Lord" does not equate to what men call praise and worship in gatherings of His people. Those verses in Exodus 28 are still true in the spiritual realm under the New Covenant. The New Covenant spiritual counterpart of the garments of Aaron, the high priest is,
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:13
Verse 13 is an exhortation to take, or put on, the whole armor of God, not just part or most of that armor. Christ in you, the hope of glory! For what purpose? so that we may be able to stand in these end times.
15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near to Me to minister unto Me, and they shall stand before Me to offer unto Me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:16 They shall enter into My sanctuary, and they shall come near to My table, to minister unto Me, and they shall keep My charge.
17 And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.18 They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.19 And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.23 And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. Ezekiel 44:15-19, 23
Verse 23 is an amazing verse! How can any man cause another man to discern between the unclean and the clean? But Paul said the same thing. Ephesians 3:8-9, "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:"
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.8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. Revelation 19:7-8
So the Bride, the Lamb's wife must make herself ready. How? by obedience to the faith of Christ ... by keeping His commandment ... by keeping oil in our lamps ... by being a wise virgin (Matthew 25:1-13) rather than a foolish virgin. What is the portion of the foolish virgins (who likewise represent born again Christians)? They must come out of great tribulation.
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:9-14
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. Revelation 16:15
4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white: for they are worthy.
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels. Revelation 3:4-5
Matthew 22:1-14, "And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen."
In those days the wedding garment was furnished by the host ... the bridegroom. "Garments" speak of righteousness, but "all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). So the man who was cast into outer darkness had trusted in his own righteousness, rather than the righteousness which comes only from the Lord.
Once clean, pray for guidance from the Lord. No natural plan that we can come up with will carry us through the severe shaking that soon will be upon us. When the world-wide economy fails, we will have hyper-inflation and riots in the streets. They will shut down the Internet and we might lose our telephones and other utilities. I personally have no disaster recovery plan. Only obedience to the voice of the Lord can carry us through.
Third, we must prepare our best meal. That which we serve to the Lord must be the fruit of the Spirit. The spiritual food that we prepare, eat, and serve to others must be the truth as illuminated by the Holy Spirit, not what our carnal mind understands through our reasoning, logical thinking, or traditions of men. One of the greatest causes of doctrinal error and lack of understanding comes about by trying to interpret Scripture in the natural realm, using our natural minds and logical reasoning.
12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.Hebrews 5:12-14
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. Hebrews 9:28
Malachi, which means, "My messenger," was most likely the last prophet of the Old Testament era. Many believe that the Book of Malachi was written exactly 400 years before the first coming of Jesus. That seems quite consistent with the ways of the Lord. Just as the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt for 400 years, so there was a famine of hearing the words of the Lord in Israel for 400 years just prior to the first coming of Jesus. The Bible speaks of 10 specific famines, but Jesus said there will be famines (plural) in these last days. Scripture is also clear that the Lord, not mother-nature, sends the famines (e.g., Jeremiah 24:10). We also know, from Amos 8:11, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:" This famine is not because the Lord is not speaking; it is because we are not hearing. The foremost characteristic of the present Church age is ... words. We have been and continue to be supersaturated with teachings and conferences. Yet we live today in the last spiritual famine. How long has that famine already been going on? Only the Lord knows.
1 Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.2 But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: Malachi 3:1-2
Those Verses speak of both the first and second coming of the Lord to earth. In order for the Lord to come for spiritual Israel's redemption, she must repent. The Lord is not returning to the earth for millions of immature, baby Christians. Continuing in Malachi 3:16,
16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name.17 And they shall be Mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. Malachi 3:16-18
Those verses emphasize the necessity for the proper fear of the Lord within His people. Note that the fear of the Lord is a prerequisite for returning and discerning between the righteous and the wicked and between him that serves God and him that does not serve Him.
In Malachi's time, the people no longer had a fear of the Lord because they had become apostate .... everything had been reduced to a form, a ritual, a tradition. These two events go together ... apostasy and a lack of a fear of the Lord. Moreover, when there is no fear of the Lord, the door is opened to all manner of sin, off-center doctrines, and worse. That is what happened to the Church at Corinth. That is what we see TODAY in the church ... sin, off-center doctrines, and worse. Could it be that we have lost the reality of the fear of the Lord? Perhaps the most important key to understanding the ways of the Lord is the fear of the Lord.
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will shew them His covenant. Psalm 25:14
There is a clear relationship between the fear of the Lord and discernment, as stated in Malachi 3:18. Discernment is sadly lacking in the body of Christ today. All you have to do to verify that is look at all of the tens of thousands of charismatic believers who have been pulled into one off-center doctrine after another. Many genuine believers have been sorely wounded because of their participation in so many off-center doctrines and "movements."
Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein. Hosea 14:9
The Book of Hosea, like most other books in the Bible, is about two things: (1) the judgment of God, which is steadfast and sure to all those who willingly and knowingly disobey Him, and (2) the love of God for His people. Of course, no pastor wants to speak about the judgment of God lest he lose some of his members. God's wrath can be terrible but His mercy is beyond understanding. God's love is always extended, for this is His very nature, but His forgiveness is conditioned upon the attitude and response of men. Without repentance and return there can be no forgiveness. God forgives when the conditions of forgiveness are met.
Compare Hosea's day with our own. Replace the altars of Baal with the modern idols of materialism, sensualism, secularism, humanism, religious liberalism, compromise, and mixture. We have allowed foreigners who worship other gods to live with us, mix with us, and compromise our original, true, God-centered country. Is there a call to repentance? If so, is there a positive response to that call? How long can any nation survive when the foundations are undermined by godless living? The Christian community has been out of God's order for many long years. Ephesians 2:20 says that we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. We have changed that verse to say we are built upon the foundation of the pastor and the chief cornerstone is self.
Hosea emphasizes very clearly at least seven great truths. A wise man will take heed to all of these.
(1) Idolatry of any sort means the transfer of primary affection from God to some other object or person, and constitutes spiritual adultery. (Hosea 4:12; 9:1)
(2) Sin carries the seeds of judgment within it and always bears negative fruit. No one can play with sin with impunity. (Hosea 8:7; 10:13)(3) God punishes sin ... especially sin in the hearts of His own people. The high privilege which He has bestowed upon us demands a corresponding sense of responsibility on our part. (Hosea 4:1-6)(4) There is no easy road to forgiveness and restoration. Only sincere and wholehearted repentance can pave the way to a renewed fellowship. (Hosea 14:1-4)(5) National apostasy and idolatry will inevitably mean national disintegration and destruction. (Hosea 9:1-7)(6) God will never be satisfied with superficial, formal, external ritual. (Hosea 6:6)(7) God's heart is filled with a tender, gracious, inexhaustible love. (Hosea 2:15, 19-20;6:4; 11:8; 14:4-8)
Despite all of the failures of men, Christian men, Spirit-filled Christian men ... But God! The Lord will have His way, with or without you and with or without me! Amazing grace and compassionate mercies! God loves us so much that He will continue to accelerate the natural disasters, economic collapse, persecutions, tribulations, etc., to help us to break out of our apathy, lukewarm attitude, and self-centeredness, and to cry out to the Lord for help.
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