What Shall This Man Do? (Part 11)
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| In loving memory of my father Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023 |
In Part 10, we described the natural-level need for man to "do" something. We are primarily concerned with priorities. What is the Lord waiting for us to do? More specifically, who is waiting for whom? to do what?
About 7 years ago in one session of an "intercessor" conference, the woman conducting the conference stated that she sensed that there were a number of believers present who seemed to be waiting for the Lord to do something in their life. She said, "If that is true of you, please come forward because I want to pray for you." At least 85% of those present went forward to be prayed for. However, let us consider the following.
In the first part of the verse above, the Lord is waiting; in the last part of the verse, we wait for Him. Now the question arises, who is waiting on whom? If I am waiting for you and you are waiting for me, we have a stalemate ... nothing happens. That is quite significant because unfortunately that is our present day spiritual predicament. As in all Scripture, the order is significant. The Lord is first of all waiting for us to do something because He has already made available to us all things in Christ. What is He waiting for us to do? If we do not know the Lord, He is waiting for us to repent of our sins and ask Him to come into our heart and be our Lord and Savior. If we already know the Lord, He is waiting for us to cease from our own carnal ways and works, rest in Him, do the will of God, and walk in the works which He has prepared for us before the foundation of the world; in other words to press into the fullness of the kingdom of God. We must understand that the Lord is omnipresent and omnipotent, but not simply to do good things for us. We exist for His pleasure, not the other way around. He is also much more interested in our character than our comfort or our works. Furthermore, the Lord waits patiently for the fruit of the Spirit to be made manifest in our life. After we do His will, walk in the Spirit, and walk in His ways, then we wait for Him.
The following verses describe the omnipotence of the Lord and how He will empower those who wait for Him. That power is in the Holy Ghost. Waiting for the Lord does not mean that we sit back and do nothing. It means that we cry out to Him, trust in Him, hope in Him, and look solely to Him.
Those who wait upon the Lord are promised four sure results: we shall (1) renew our strength (or rather, renew strength, because it is not our strength but His strength within us); (2) mount up with wings as eagles; (3) run and not be weary; and (4) walk and not faint. As always, the order is significant. At first glance, logical reasoning would say that maturity in Christ means we walk first, then run, then mount up as eagles and soar in the sky. But the Holy Ghost never makes a mistake. God is very orderly. The order is correct as stated. What the Lord is after as an end product is that we are able to walk with Him on a daily basis, as did Enoch.
But let us be much more specific than that. Again, what, specifically, is the Lord waiting on us, the Church, to do in this hour? We all know the verse,
The love of God is unconditional; His love is simply based upon His nature, for it is His nature to love the world. After all, He created the world and mankind; He said it was good and very good. Why should He not love that which He has created? The Lord desires that none should perish. Most normal parents love their own children. How much more so does God love His children! When we accept that unconditional love of God, as demonstrated by the sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary, we enter into the initial stage of salvation. Most would say that then we are saved or perhaps "born again." As long as we do not repent of accepting His unconditional love, we will "go to heaven" one day.
However, everything after that initial acceptance of what Jesus has done for us is conditional! It is conditional upon what we "do." That is the difference between being saved and the kingdom of God. Have you ever noticed the little word, "then," in Scripture? The word "then" occurs about 2,200 times in the Bible and is usually preceded by another little word, "if." One of the more widely known "If ... then" scriptures is,
The above verse, written some 3,000 years ago, is timeless and just as applicable today as when it was written. Does our land in America need healing? Do we need forgiveness of our sin? Do we need the Lord to hear us? Then we, the Church, need to do four things. Did anyone say that their ways are not wicked? What is wicked in the mind of God is not necessarily wicked in our minds. Does God consider us doing our own thing as being wicked? Does God consider as wicked all of the contentions, divisions, strife, vain imaginations, merchandising of the gospel, and on and on?
Leonard Ravenhill, a well-known and respected 20th century revivalist said:
A. W. Tozer, another highly respected 20th century revivalist, said:
What is the Lord specifically looking for? The answer has been clearly written in Scripture in several places for more than 2,000 years ... before what we call the New Testament was ever written.
The two keys on the part of the spiritual remnant
One set of verses that is critically specific and applicable today (and even yesterday) in terms of what the Lord is waiting for us to "do" is found in Joel 1:1 - Joel 2:17 (and many other scriptures). Those verses, which represent the "If," not only describe the conditions in the Church today, but also what the Lord is waiting for us to "do." The "then" follows in Joel 2:18. If we "do" those things described in Joel 1:1-2:17 then the Lord will do everything else. Note that from Joel 2:18 through the end of the book, there is no mention of anything that we must do. It is all the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes!
In Joel 1:2-2:17 we see that things have never been as bad as they are right now. The darkness is covering the earth and gross darkness the people. The United States is fast becoming Sodom and Gomorrah. Economic collapse is on the horizon. The church and the world are filled with greed, idolatry (you might be surprised), worldly entertainment, politics, and every abomination under the sun. And what shall we do? Those same verses contain the specific answer.
The above verses speak of two things ... deep repentance on the part of all priests (identifying with the will of God) and true intercession, accompanied by groaning in the spirit, weeping over spiritual Jerusalem, crying out to the Lord for mercy and help, and identifying with the heart of God that His people might be set free from every bondage and come forth in maturity. Neither the repentance nor the intercession can be something which is mechanical; both must be born of the Spirit. Although neither the word, "repent," nor the words, "intercede" or "intercession" appear per se in the Book of Joel as they pertain to us, the body of Christ, the essence of repentance and intercession is unmistakeably clear.
We hope to go into great detail about those two actions in the next words in this series; actions which are required on our part before the Lord brings about His restoration. We strongly believe that these two keys are what the Lord is waiting on us (or at least a remnant) to do. Who participates? He who has eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand.
What then shall this man do?
About 7 years ago in one session of an "intercessor" conference, the woman conducting the conference stated that she sensed that there were a number of believers present who seemed to be waiting for the Lord to do something in their life. She said, "If that is true of you, please come forward because I want to pray for you." At least 85% of those present went forward to be prayed for. However, let us consider the following.
And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him. Isaiah 30:18
In the first part of the verse above, the Lord is waiting; in the last part of the verse, we wait for Him. Now the question arises, who is waiting on whom? If I am waiting for you and you are waiting for me, we have a stalemate ... nothing happens. That is quite significant because unfortunately that is our present day spiritual predicament. As in all Scripture, the order is significant. The Lord is first of all waiting for us to do something because He has already made available to us all things in Christ. What is He waiting for us to do? If we do not know the Lord, He is waiting for us to repent of our sins and ask Him to come into our heart and be our Lord and Savior. If we already know the Lord, He is waiting for us to cease from our own carnal ways and works, rest in Him, do the will of God, and walk in the works which He has prepared for us before the foundation of the world; in other words to press into the fullness of the kingdom of God. We must understand that the Lord is omnipresent and omnipotent, but not simply to do good things for us. We exist for His pleasure, not the other way around. He is also much more interested in our character than our comfort or our works. Furthermore, the Lord waits patiently for the fruit of the Spirit to be made manifest in our life. After we do His will, walk in the Spirit, and walk in His ways, then we wait for Him.
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until He receive the early and latter rain. James 5:7
For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Hebrews 10:36
Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me: for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day. Psalm 25:5
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. Psalm 27:14
1 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation.
5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him.
Psalm 62:1, 5
I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Psalm 40:1
The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-26
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:19, 23
The following verses describe the omnipotence of the Lord and how He will empower those who wait for Him. That power is in the Holy Ghost. Waiting for the Lord does not mean that we sit back and do nothing. It means that we cry out to Him, trust in Him, hope in Him, and look solely to Him.
28 Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of His understanding.29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength [for defense].30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength [to endure]; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31
Those who wait upon the Lord are promised four sure results: we shall (1) renew our strength (or rather, renew strength, because it is not our strength but His strength within us); (2) mount up with wings as eagles; (3) run and not be weary; and (4) walk and not faint. As always, the order is significant. At first glance, logical reasoning would say that maturity in Christ means we walk first, then run, then mount up as eagles and soar in the sky. But the Holy Ghost never makes a mistake. God is very orderly. The order is correct as stated. What the Lord is after as an end product is that we are able to walk with Him on a daily basis, as did Enoch.
But let us be much more specific than that. Again, what, specifically, is the Lord waiting on us, the Church, to do in this hour? We all know the verse,
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
The love of God is unconditional; His love is simply based upon His nature, for it is His nature to love the world. After all, He created the world and mankind; He said it was good and very good. Why should He not love that which He has created? The Lord desires that none should perish. Most normal parents love their own children. How much more so does God love His children! When we accept that unconditional love of God, as demonstrated by the sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary, we enter into the initial stage of salvation. Most would say that then we are saved or perhaps "born again." As long as we do not repent of accepting His unconditional love, we will "go to heaven" one day.
However, everything after that initial acceptance of what Jesus has done for us is conditional! It is conditional upon what we "do." That is the difference between being saved and the kingdom of God. Have you ever noticed the little word, "then," in Scripture? The word "then" occurs about 2,200 times in the Bible and is usually preceded by another little word, "if." One of the more widely known "If ... then" scriptures is,
If My People, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
The above verse, written some 3,000 years ago, is timeless and just as applicable today as when it was written. Does our land in America need healing? Do we need forgiveness of our sin? Do we need the Lord to hear us? Then we, the Church, need to do four things. Did anyone say that their ways are not wicked? What is wicked in the mind of God is not necessarily wicked in our minds. Does God consider us doing our own thing as being wicked? Does God consider as wicked all of the contentions, divisions, strife, vain imaginations, merchandising of the gospel, and on and on?
Leonard Ravenhill, a well-known and respected 20th century revivalist said:
Oh God send us prophetic preaching that searches and scorches! Send us a race of Martyr-preachers - men burdened, bent, bowed and broken under the vision of impending judgment and the unending hell of the impenitent ...Preachers make pulpits famous; prophets make prisons famous. May the Lord send us prophets - terrible men, who cry aloud and spare not, who sprinkle nations with unctionized woes- men too hot to hold, to hard to be heard, to merciless to spare ...We are tired of men in soft raiment and softer in speech who use rivers of words with but a smidgen of unction. These know more about competition than consecration, about promotion than prayer. They substitute propaganda for propagation and care more for their church's happiness than holiness ... (From "Why Revival Tarries").
A. W. Tozer, another highly respected 20th century revivalist, said:
If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation, it must be by other means than any now being used. If the Church in the second half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting. Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes (and I pray God there will be not one but many), he will stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds dear. He will contradict, renounce and protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom. Such a man is likely to be lean, rugged, blunt-spoken and a little bit angry with the world. He will love Christ and the souls of men to the point of willingness to die for the glory of the One and the salvation of the other. But he will fear nothing that breathes with mortal breath. ("The Size of the Soul," pages 128-129).
What is the Lord specifically looking for? The answer has been clearly written in Scripture in several places for more than 2,000 years ... before what we call the New Testament was ever written.
The two keys on the part of the spiritual remnant
One set of verses that is critically specific and applicable today (and even yesterday) in terms of what the Lord is waiting for us to "do" is found in Joel 1:1 - Joel 2:17 (and many other scriptures). Those verses, which represent the "If," not only describe the conditions in the Church today, but also what the Lord is waiting for us to "do." The "then" follows in Joel 2:18. If we "do" those things described in Joel 1:1-2:17 then the Lord will do everything else. Note that from Joel 2:18 through the end of the book, there is no mention of anything that we must do. It is all the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes!
In Joel 1:2-2:17 we see that things have never been as bad as they are right now. The darkness is covering the earth and gross darkness the people. The United States is fast becoming Sodom and Gomorrah. Economic collapse is on the horizon. The church and the world are filled with greed, idolatry (you might be surprised), worldly entertainment, politics, and every abomination under the sun. And what shall we do? Those same verses contain the specific answer.
5 Awake ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine.8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers.13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God.14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord. Joel 1:5, 8, 11, 13-14
1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God.15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly;16 Gather the People, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy People, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Joel 2:1, 12-13, 15-17
The above verses speak of two things ... deep repentance on the part of all priests (identifying with the will of God) and true intercession, accompanied by groaning in the spirit, weeping over spiritual Jerusalem, crying out to the Lord for mercy and help, and identifying with the heart of God that His people might be set free from every bondage and come forth in maturity. Neither the repentance nor the intercession can be something which is mechanical; both must be born of the Spirit. Although neither the word, "repent," nor the words, "intercede" or "intercession" appear per se in the Book of Joel as they pertain to us, the body of Christ, the essence of repentance and intercession is unmistakeably clear.
We hope to go into great detail about those two actions in the next words in this series; actions which are required on our part before the Lord brings about His restoration. We strongly believe that these two keys are what the Lord is waiting on us (or at least a remnant) to do. Who participates? He who has eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand.
What then shall this man do?
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