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 |
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
Note from Verse 4 that only a few, not all Christians, have not defiled their garments. In the Bible "garments" signify truths.
Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city (Isaiah 52:1).
Verse 5 also speaks of the overcomers, not all Christians. The white raiment speaks of His righteousness, not mine or yours. Note also in Verse 5 that we do not clothe our self but we are clothed by the Lord through the power of the Holy Ghost.
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
Who are "they" in Verse 15? clearly demonic spirits.
1 Pet 5:8-9 says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world."
If we resist the devil he will laugh at us, but if we submit our self to God and then resist the devil (or resist him stefast in the faith), then he must flee.
1 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.4 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.5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.10 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.11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.13 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.14 For many are called, but few are chosen. Matthew 22:1-14
In those days the wedding garments were furnished by the host. That is still true spiritually. Our garments are furnished by the Lord of Hosts. If we do not have on the garments supplied by the Lord, then we cannot be partakers of the wedding feast prepared for His bride. That truth is also found in Ephesians 6.
13 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.14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:13-20
Those verses are far more significant than any of us realize. In Verse 13 we are exhorted to receive the whole armor of God, not just a part. Otherwise we become a potential prey of the devil. We become subject to a "chance arrow" that could penetrate our armor that otherwise could not be penetrated.
Why do we need to keep our garments clean? so that we may be able to discern between the clean and the unclean. That may determine our eternal destiny.
Ezekiel 44 contrasts two types of ministers: those who minister to the house and those who minister to the Lord. Ezekiel 44:9-14 says that the priests who minister to the house have committed abominations, but the Lord says He will still use them. In reality the Lord uses everything and everyone for His purposes.
Ezekiel 44:15-31 speaks of the priests who minister unto the Lord. One of the functions of the priests who minister unto the Lord is Ezekiel 44:23, "And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean." In the past the Church has done perhaps a passable job of teaching the difference between the holy and the profane, but causing the Church to discern between the unclean and the clean gets a failing grade. That is easily confirmed by the tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of professing Christians in my lifetime who have been "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;" (Ephesians 4:14).
Very soon the Lord will unveil or make manifest those priests who minister to the Lord and who will fulfill all of Ezekiel 44:23. When the Lord unveils the priests, the sons of Zadok, who will fulfill Ezekiel 44:23, may we all, by the grace and mercy of God, be able to discern the true from the false prophets. In the meantime, may we all keep our garments clean.
When we begin to follow the Lord, we are quite ignorant as to what we must do or endure to continue on. We are stirred by nice sounding songs and vow great commitment and dedication to the Lord, only to soon discover that the conviction born in that time of emotion comes to very little in our adverse circumstances or when things don't go the way we think they should.
We become quite stirred up emotionally during the meeting and then go home and fuss at our spouse for being late, or for some other reason. At first, we aspire to great things, but we do so with many carnal misconceptions.
18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave commandment to depart unto the other side.19 And a certain scribe came, and said unto Him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. Matthew 8:18-19
Jesus never worked with a multitude. When you see large numbers of Christians going in the same direction, look at it carefully again. The scribe in Verse 19 did not know where Jesus had come from and he certainly had no idea where the Lord was going. Jesus destroys all self-centered delusions as He did when the mother of James and John requested her sons to sit on His right and left hand (Matthew 20:21).
In today's Christian community, many point out the apathy, the lukewarm attitude within the Church and exhort us to get on fire for the Lord. Some also point out the many divisions within the Church, even within a specific local church. Both of those two points are certainly true, but is there a fundamental flaw in our Church community that goes deeper than those two lacks? If so, what is it? More importantly, what can you and I do about it? It does not take much discernment to see "what is wrong." However, it takes nothing less than the wisdom of the Lord to be like the sons of Issachar, to know what spiritual Israel must do in this hour.
The fact is that we can do absolutely nothing (of any value) outside of Christ. Jesus said,
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. John 15:5
The truth also is, "I can do all things through [in] Christ Which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13
Some say that all we need to "do" is to love everybody. Sounds good, but what does that mean and how do we walk in that?
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.28 And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.Luke 10:25-28
In those days, a lawyer was not the same as an attorney at law in our day. A lawyer was a teacher of the Mosaic law. So that certain lawyer knew the correct answer to Jesus' question in Verse 26, but it was only a doctrinal understanding; it was not a word made flesh. Further, it is not possible to love our neighbor or to love "everybody" unless we first love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. Jesus said, "If ye love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Does that say anything to us Christians today?
Forty-some years ago, a good brother who has ministered to hundreds of churches shared a rather surprising observation with me. He said that from his personal experience every time a church started talking a lot about "love" it was a sure sign that church was about to split up.
Others say that we just need more good teaching. No one is opposed to more good teaching, but that has not got the job done in the past. I believe it is a mistake for any minister to believe that all he has to do to bring about maturity in other Christian believers is simply to teach the truth. That is no doubt necessary but certainly not sufficient. If that were true then the charismatic community would have been mature many years ago. We have been saturated with words, some good and some not so good. Paul taught day and night in Ephesus for 3 years. He also labored with tears and intercession on their behalf (Ephesians 1:17-18 and Acts 20:29-31). That adds up to at least 2000 teaching sessions from the greatest teacher who ever lived, except for Jesus of course. Although the saints at Ephesus had received all the counsel of God through Paul and an abundance of revelation concerning the Word of God, they had not yet received the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of the Lord. Only the Lord, not Paul, could give them that. It is one thing to know the written word of God; it is quite another thing to know the Author of the Word of God. Paul himself, after 30 years of ministry, prayed, "That I may know Him" (Philippians 3:10). Therefore the greatest need in the charismatic community today is not more training seminars and conferences.
What happened to the Church at Ephesus after Paul left? Exactly what Paul had warned them about ... they left their first love. The Church at Ephesus did not lose their first love, so they did go to heaven after leaving this earth. But unless they repented they forfeited the opportunity to rule and reign with Christ for 1000 years. We read in Revelation 2:5, some 32 years after Paul wrote the Epistle to the church at Ephesus (and to us), that unless they repented they were in danger of having their candlestick removed. That is proof enough that even Spirit-filled Christians need to repent! That is also proof enough that no man can ensure the maturity of believers in a local church simply by perfect teaching. Our adversary has never changed his game plan.
I have also run across several groups and individuals who have basically vowed to bring about unity in the Church and/or start a world-wide revival. Very admirable. I admire their enthusiasm but my sense is that is more emotional hype than anything else.
We do not require a glorified body in order to do the things ordained for us from before the foundation of the world. Neither the Old Testament saints nor the early apostles had glorified bodies. Moses parted the Red Sea; Elisha raised the dead; Daniel spent a night in a lions' den. Philip was a natural human being but he was caught away in the Spirit without the aid of any human means of transportation. Even the very shadow of Peter healed some folks. Paul raised the dead. Handkerchiefs from Paul healed the sick. We are able, by the power of the Holy Ghost, to work the works of Christ even now; but there is a condition, namely that which is led by the Spirit. Many more miracles will be performed by the sons of God in the day of their manifestation.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father. John 14:12
There seems to be a movement in many places to teach believers how to heal and deliver others. In Christian bookstores we can find all of the "how to" books. Who taught Peter and John and Paul how to heal and deliver people? It is true that healings and the working of miracles are gifts of the Spirit. But the flesh can never manifest these or any of the other gifts of the Spirit. God bestows His gifts freely by His grace upon whomsoever He will; all we have to do is to receive them and use them. We are exhorted to desire spiritual gifts, but the Lord determines those which we receive. Likewise, I can desire to be an apostle or a prophet or a teacher, but unless the Lord has ordained for me to be one of those specific ministries, then it will never happen. "He sets the members, every one of them, in the body as it pleases Him" (1 Corinthians 12:18). The Lord is not looking for gifts of the Spirit; He is looking for fruit.
If any man, after being born from above desires to enter the Promised Land (the Kingdom of God), then he must keep the Sabbath. But the Sabbath is no longer a certain day of the week! Jesus is our Sabbath. All who dwell in the Kingdom of God must rest and abide in Him. Man is nearing the completion of the six years of sowing our field (6,000 years) and of pruning our vineyard (our souls and spirits) and of gathering in the fruit of the Spirit. But in the seventh year (the Feast of Tabernacles) there shall be a Sabbath rest for the Lord. When we rest in Him, He sows the field and He prunes the vineyard. "That which grows of its own accord" is the work of the flesh.
Still others say we need to go out and get them saved. The evangelical movement became significant in the United States during the series of "Great Awakenings" of the 18th and 19th centuries. Dating back some 160 years or more, American Evangelicals have sent missionaries to Africa and other parts of the world to spread their version of the "good news." Now in the past 50 years many African nations have sent the same version of evangelism back to the United States in the form of literally hundreds and hundreds of churches. But evangelism only reproduces or spreads the religion of the day.
We must simply allow the Holy Spirit to work within us the nature and character of Christ. The Lord is much more interested in our character than our comfort or our good works. But there is a prerequisite to "simply" allow the Holy Spirit to work within us the nature and character of Christ. We must be broken before God. Once we are broken we will be empowered with divine supernatural energy. The anointing will be overwhelmingly evident and we will be well equipped for the Master's use. There is never a better way to live than to live in the Spirit and to walk in the Spirit. The Holy Ghost MUST be in charge of our individual lives as well as all of the proceedings in all of our assemblies, whether two or three or thousands. "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25). That is easier said than done because of the pull of the flesh and of the world.
The most important "work" for us as believers in Christ is that we always continue to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Now, what is the greatest need in the Spirit-filled community today? to know the Lord and walk with Him day by day. How can we know Him? We must cry out, "Help, Lord!" The Lord is saying to His people today that which He has always been saying, namely, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." That will be the topic of our next several messages.
No comments:
Post a Comment