What Shall This Man Do? (Part 13)
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| In loving memory of my father Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023 |
Who participates in the "doing" that the Lord is looking for? Who participates in the deep repentance and intercession for the Church? those who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches today. They will all have a measure of discernment and have understanding of what Israel must do in this hour; they will understand the ways of the Lord, not just His acts.
From the Book of Joel, priests and ministers of the Lord are called to participate. If you believe in the priesthood of all believers, then EVERY Christian is called to participate! They will not have positional authority but they will have spiritual authority because they have been tried in the furnace of affliction and proven in the wilderness. If they have spiritual authority, they can no longer hold on to their positional authority; they of necessity must cast down their crowns before Him.
They will all be jealous for the Lord ... jealous that He might have His way among men.
Paul said,
Do you get angry when you see or hear modern-day preachers who always preach about what "we" get from Christianity? Who is jealous for the Lord of Hosts? NO MAN can interrupt that eternal, unbreakable covenant between the Father and the Son. But who is jealous for the Lord that NO MAN seek or get the glory that belongs only to God? and that NO MAN water down the true gospel? Who is jealous for the Lord of hosts that He has HIS way, that HIS plans and purposes be fulfilled?
Another in-worked characteristic of those who participate is that they will have a compelling passion or zeal to please the Lord, to glorify Him above all else, to magnify Him, to seek His face, to hear His word, to fulfill His will. They have found the Master Key: not my will but Thy will be done. They will identify with the zeal of the Lord.
They will be like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.
They will have the intensity which Stephen and Paul had. In short, they will have been ignited by the fire of God, spoken of by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11. The following verse was certainly a reality within Stephen and Paul.
"And they loved not their lives unto [the] death" does not of necessity imply they will be physically crucified or tortured. It simply means they have their priorities straight. They put the will of the Father above their own will in all things. They have allowed the cross to work within them to bring forth "Christ in you the hope of glory."
The participants will have the same attitude as the prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch in Acts 13. We believe that they were so caught up with ministering to the Lord, that the fasting was just a natural follow-on event.
Note that Scripture does not record that the teachers brought forth their best teachings; neither does the Scripture say that the prophets uttered their best prophecies. We do not know if any of the teachers taught anything; neither do we know if any of the prophets spoke forth the word of the Lord. If they did, which we believe was not likely, it was of no major importance, because they were only concerned that the Lord would be glorified and magnified. There is no record that the word of the Lord came through any man; that way, no man could receive any glory or get puffed up. If certain true prophets and teachers were assembled together today and they were in one accord as those in Acts 13, what would the Holy Ghost say today?
This is not a word simply to be talked about or discussed or analyzed. This is a word which requires action. However, no man can tell you or us how to implement this word. This word, like all others, must be inspired by the Holy Ghost as a rhema word and implemented as led by the Holy Ghost.
The Real Key: the Sovereignty of God
In a previous word, we described the two keys on the part of (Christian) man, as recorded in the Book of Joel. However, the real key is the Lord Himself. It is only by the grace and mercy of God that we can do anything. We cannot even take our next breath, except by the grace of God. All we really can do is to cry out to the Lord, Help, Lord!
As stated earlier, it is crucially important to understand what the Holy Ghost says to us from the Book of Joel, which, like all of Scripture, is timeless and independent of culture, geographical location, gender, and everything else. There are three main points in the Book of Joel:
(1) The catastrophic state of God's people who are not walking, daily, in a state of repentance. That state gets increasingly worse as we are lukewarm and continue to do our own thing.
(2) God requires two major things from His people: true repentance and identification with His intercession on behalf of His people. The latter requires vision and an identification with the heart of God.
(3) The sovereignty of God takes care of all the rest! ALL the rest! There is absolutely NO mention from Joel 2:18 through the end of the book that we, as God's people, do anything. In the beginning, God ... in the end, God ... everywhere in between the beginning and the end, God. Further, God even arranges all of our circumstances to help us to cry out to Him. It is the love of God in action when He sends His great army, described in Joel 2:1-11, to bring about great persecution and tribulation among His people, just as He did in Acts 8. That will leave the Church no alternative except to cry out from the depths of our being unto Him.
May the word and call of the Lord in this hour burn within the very depths of our hearts. Selah.
From the Book of Joel, priests and ministers of the Lord are called to participate. If you believe in the priesthood of all believers, then EVERY Christian is called to participate! They will not have positional authority but they will have spiritual authority because they have been tried in the furnace of affliction and proven in the wilderness. If they have spiritual authority, they can no longer hold on to their positional authority; they of necessity must cast down their crowns before Him.
10 The four and twenty elders fall down before Him That sat on the throne, and worship Him That liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.
Revelation 4:10-11
They will all be jealous for the Lord ... jealous that He might have His way among men.
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them [graven images], nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me. Exodus 20:5So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
Zechariah 1:14
Paul said,
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:29 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 1 Kings 19:9-10
Do you get angry when you see or hear modern-day preachers who always preach about what "we" get from Christianity? Who is jealous for the Lord of Hosts? NO MAN can interrupt that eternal, unbreakable covenant between the Father and the Son. But who is jealous for the Lord that NO MAN seek or get the glory that belongs only to God? and that NO MAN water down the true gospel? Who is jealous for the Lord of hosts that He has HIS way, that HIS plans and purposes be fulfilled?
Another in-worked characteristic of those who participate is that they will have a compelling passion or zeal to please the Lord, to glorify Him above all else, to magnify Him, to seek His face, to hear His word, to fulfill His will. They have found the Master Key: not my will but Thy will be done. They will identify with the zeal of the Lord.
Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9:7For the zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up. Psalm 69:9
They will be like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.
31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; ...32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures? Luke 24:31-32
They will have the intensity which Stephen and Paul had. In short, they will have been ignited by the fire of God, spoken of by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11. The following verse was certainly a reality within Stephen and Paul.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Revelation 12:11
"And they loved not their lives unto [the] death" does not of necessity imply they will be physically crucified or tortured. It simply means they have their priorities straight. They put the will of the Father above their own will in all things. They have allowed the cross to work within them to bring forth "Christ in you the hope of glory."
The participants will have the same attitude as the prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch in Acts 13. We believe that they were so caught up with ministering to the Lord, that the fasting was just a natural follow-on event.
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, ... Acts 13:2a
Note that Scripture does not record that the teachers brought forth their best teachings; neither does the Scripture say that the prophets uttered their best prophecies. We do not know if any of the teachers taught anything; neither do we know if any of the prophets spoke forth the word of the Lord. If they did, which we believe was not likely, it was of no major importance, because they were only concerned that the Lord would be glorified and magnified. There is no record that the word of the Lord came through any man; that way, no man could receive any glory or get puffed up. If certain true prophets and teachers were assembled together today and they were in one accord as those in Acts 13, what would the Holy Ghost say today?
This is not a word simply to be talked about or discussed or analyzed. This is a word which requires action. However, no man can tell you or us how to implement this word. This word, like all others, must be inspired by the Holy Ghost as a rhema word and implemented as led by the Holy Ghost.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
James 1:22
The Real Key: the Sovereignty of God
In a previous word, we described the two keys on the part of (Christian) man, as recorded in the Book of Joel. However, the real key is the Lord Himself. It is only by the grace and mercy of God that we can do anything. We cannot even take our next breath, except by the grace of God. All we really can do is to cry out to the Lord, Help, Lord!
As stated earlier, it is crucially important to understand what the Holy Ghost says to us from the Book of Joel, which, like all of Scripture, is timeless and independent of culture, geographical location, gender, and everything else. There are three main points in the Book of Joel:
(1) The catastrophic state of God's people who are not walking, daily, in a state of repentance. That state gets increasingly worse as we are lukewarm and continue to do our own thing.
(2) God requires two major things from His people: true repentance and identification with His intercession on behalf of His people. The latter requires vision and an identification with the heart of God.
(3) The sovereignty of God takes care of all the rest! ALL the rest! There is absolutely NO mention from Joel 2:18 through the end of the book that we, as God's people, do anything. In the beginning, God ... in the end, God ... everywhere in between the beginning and the end, God. Further, God even arranges all of our circumstances to help us to cry out to Him. It is the love of God in action when He sends His great army, described in Joel 2:1-11, to bring about great persecution and tribulation among His people, just as He did in Acts 8. That will leave the Church no alternative except to cry out from the depths of our being unto Him.
Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. Luke 20:18Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name. But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. Jeremiah 20:9
May the word and call of the Lord in this hour burn within the very depths of our hearts. Selah.
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