About the Author 
In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023
Paul said, "For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by [or through] me" (Romans 15:18). Peter said the same thing in 1 Peter 5:10, although we have to read that Verse very carefully to see that fact. That simply means that any minister must minister out from his experience. It is very easy for anyone to look up a few scriptures and give a nice-sounding presentation on some Biblical principle. But unless that word has been made flesh within the minister, then I doubt that the Lord will allow much fruit to be made manifest through the hearer or reader. That is what I call the normal Christian life.
I want to make it abundantly clear! I have never claimed to be perfect or to understand all the counsel of God or all the ways of God or all of Scripture. We know in part and we prophesy in part. Anyone who claims otherwise should be avoided. What I share in this book is simply that which I believe the Lord has made real to me over the past 50+ years. I believe in progressive revelation. Historically, that has always been true.
I am one of the most apolitical persons in the world. I have never been interested or concerned about politics in this world. I have never advocated the American Democratic Party, nor the Republican Party, nor the Tea Party, nor any other political party. We are citizens of another country. Our citizenship is in the New Jerusalem, the heavenly kingdom, Mount Zion ... the place where we have no vote ... where the Lord is Ruler over all. Nevertheless I do not judge those believers who do get involved in politics. The Lord is our Judge.
The Lord delights to use His chosen vessels to minister unto us. But I found out some 50 years ago that the Lord can save people all by Himself; He can heal people all by Himself; He can deliver people all by Himself. He can also reveal the meaning of Scripture all by Himself. How do I know? Because He did all of those things for me, sovereignly, in the first 6 months after He apprehended me. He continues to work within me sovereignly. That does not make me special in any way. That is what I call the normal Christian life.
I believe that Scripture teaches that the Lord's original desire was (and still is) that each believer should hear His voice for himself. ("Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it." John 2:5) But historically and scripturally most men have decided that they would rather hear the word of the Lord through a man instead of directly from the Lord Himself (Exodus 20:19 and Deuteronomy 5:27). That is called human nature. Pity poor Abraham (and a great multitude) ... he never had a Bible to read; he had to depend upon what the Lord spoke to him.
I know how Peter felt when he denied the Lord three times. It happened to me when I was three weeks old and had, at that time, received no teaching. I know how Elijah felt when he said he was jealous for the Lord God of hosts. I know how Jesus felt when He overthrew the tables of the moneychangers because about 10-12 years ago I came within a hair-breadth of doing the same thing in a charismatic church nearby. I became very angry when a "wanna-be-prophet" was selling his wares in that church ... a common event today. I know how Jeremiah, Ezra, and Nehemiah felt when they wept over Jerusalem and the chosen people of God. I know how Paul felt when he wept for the church at Ephesus. I know how Jesus felt when He wept over Jerusalem. I can't tell you how many times I was supposed to share a word and all I could do was stand up and weep for several minutes. The first time I experienced passing through the valley of Baca (Psalm 84:6) was in a large, Sunday gathering of several house churches in the Washington, D.C. area around 1972 or 1973. I could not believe the lack of maturity and lack of spiritual understanding that came forth in an "elder's" meeting prior to the regular service. By the time the regular service started, I could not sing a song; I could not stand up; all I did was to sit and weep the entire 2 hours.
I have believed for 50 years that there should be fresh manna to come forth in every gathering of believers ... something that no one has ever heard before. I have seen it happen a number of times. I have also seen a number of times when a fresh word could have come forth, but the scheduled routine of man prevented it. Many years ago the Lord gave me a very vivid dream of that kind of unfortunate event. None of the above makes me special in any way. That is all part of what I call the normal Christian life.
My maternal grandmother was a real intercessor. She always prayed for all of her family members, undoubtedly on a daily basis. She always wanted a son but she had three daughters and no sons. She was a lot like Hannah. I was her first grandson. After she went to be with the Lord I found one of her favorite bibles, in which she had written many words of wisdom. On the day I was born, she wrote in her bible, "Lord, make him Your minister." About two years ago my first cousin sent me my grandmother's diary for the year 1937. I never knew it existed. On my sixth birthday in 1937 she wrote in her diary, "Lord, make him Your messenger." I had nothing to do with that.
The Lord has taken me to many different churches in my lifetime ... perhaps more than 100. That includes about 25 denominational churches, several Hispanic churches, one Portuguese church, one Catholic church, one Unitarian church, about 20-24 predominantly black churches, and a variety of charismatic/Spirit-filled churches, including a number of different house churches. In many of those occasions I never said a word. The Lord just told me to go and sit on the back row. He then asked me, "What do you see and what do you hear?" Believe me, it has not been a pretty picture. I will not go into any detail, but the Lord has allowed me to see almost every off-center tangent imaginable. However, quite a number of years ago the Lord told me to stop talking about the state of the visible church. Instead, He challenged me with, "What are you going to do about it?" That should be a rhema word to each one of us ... what are you going to do about?
Very early on Sunday, June 13, 1976, twenty-one days before Independence Day, the Lord woke me up about 3:30 a.m. and told me to get out of bed and go down to our living room and read the "restoration" books ... Daniel, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah. At some point I read the following.
And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. Ezra 6:14
Now when you read that Verse, very likely you will receive no rhema word from the Lord. Note that it was the elders of the Jews who prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. That does not speak of natural-level prosperity. If those in leadership positions prosper spiritually, with understanding and wisdom and in the revelation knowledge of Him, then all of the people will soon likewise prosper. At that point in time I had read those verses at least 10 times. But when I read that Verse on June 13, 1976, it was like a sledgehammer hit me. There was no one in our home awake but me. I sat alone on our sofa in our living room. There was no noise, no emotion, no audible voice. But I have often called that the most powerful word I have ever heard from the Lord. The Lord said to me, "If you want to see the body of Christ prosper, then you function in the place that I have called you." At that point in time I had been a functioning elder in a New Testament house church for about 7 years. I had "done" about everything you can think of in a Spirit-filled church ... teaching, preaching, prophesying, giving much mammon of unrighteousness to those in need, an evangelistic "neighborhood" meeting in our home on a regular basis, etc. So if anyone had lined up 1,000 believers, all of whom told me that I had not been functioning, I never would have believed it! But when the Lord spoke that word to me, I immediately received it as truth. Immediately after hearing that rhema word, the Lord told me, "I have given you the power to fulfill the ministry I have put you into."
Ever since June 13, 1976, and even before that date, the major burden that the Lord gave to me was, and has been always, for the elders (Ezra 6:14) of the Spirit-filled/charismatic community. I would be the biggest hypocrite on earth if any word in this book has not been made real to me by the Holy Ghost. Of course that has been made more real over a period of time. That does not make me any different from anyone else ... it is all because of the Lord. Each one of us is unique. The Lord in eternity past just chose to work within me what He desired. I had no choice in the matter other than to say, "Yes, Lord."
But now for an amazing truth, which the Holy Spirit quickened to me on September 28, 2017. Every believer is familiar with the general events recorded in the Book of Esther. Haman, who represents our adversary, had plotted to kill all of the Jews. But Mordecai, who speaks of the Holy Spirit, prompted Esther (a remnant, or the elect, or the bride of Christ, or the priests who minister to the Lord, as distinct from the ministers to the house) to intercede before the king Ahasuerus (our Lord) on behalf of all of the Jews (the body of Christ in prophetic significance). Esther's original Jewish name was Hadassah, which means both "myrtle" and "bride." It is a modification of the Persian word satarah, which means "star." [Gen 1:16-17 -"And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, ..." I believe it is more than possible that when God made the stars, it refers to BOTH the natural and the spiritual realm. The Lord has always had a remnant; He has always had His Hadassah's.]
Ahasuerus having divorced Vashti, chose Esther to be his wife (not the Church but the bride of Christ). It was because of the intercession of Esther that Haman's plot to kill all of the Jews was reversed. Instead, Haman and his ten sons were all hanged. As a result ...
On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. Esther 9:17
Three verses in Esther (Esther 3:13, 8:12, and 9:1) tell us that the Jewish month of Adar is the twelfth month of the Jewish sacred year. However, the month of Adar corresponds to the sixth month of the Jewish civil year. Our sixth month is June. It was the thirteenth day of the civil month Adar (our June) that the Lord spoke that sledgehammer word to me! What an amazing God we serve!!! and what a powerful motivation for real intercession for the body of Christ today. The Lord could have spoken that word to me on any day of any month, but He chose the thirteenth day of Adar to convey that word to me.
Preface
(Matthew 5:6).
The purpose for us all is not simply to present or listen to good teaching. Our purpose is that the word might become flesh ... Christ in you, the hope of glory. Unless we see a need for something spiritually all of the words in the world will not phase us. The purpose for this book is hopefully to set forth a clear vision of the need we all have in this hour. By "we" I refer primarily to the Spirit-filled community, which includes you and me. The last few chapters of this book will then attempt to set forth what we believe to be the only effective answer to the question, "What shall this man do?" By "this man" I refer to you and me.
The human nature of man is to "do." Men are always looking for the answer to, "What shall I do?" When Saul of Tarsus was first apprehended by the Lord, he asked that same question (Acts 22:10). God's people have usually been concerned with what we must "do" only when circumstances seem difficult, critical, or urgent. Because the Church in America today sees nothing critical or urgent, we are very lukewarm concerning what we must do. For the most part, the Church still enjoys apparent prosperity and blessings, so why rock the boat? That attitude has received much impetus from the "false faith" and "prosperity" "movement" ... the "name-it-and-claim-it" doctrine. Some say that we need to move on in the Spirit and that this is no time for business as usual; nevertheless, the actions of the church, particularly by the leaders of the Church, make it clear that business as usual is just fine. Let us keep everybody happy, keep the money coming in, preach feel-good messages, just love everybody, all is well, etc. "All is well" is a heart-warming, popular phrase. However, consider the news that Ahimaaz brought to King David after his son Absalom was killed. When Ahimaaz ran with news to David, the first words out of his mouth were, "All is well" (2 Samuel 18:28). But Ahimaaz had not seen anything. He simply told David what he thought David wanted to hear. Does that have any application to us today? Yes, there are some in leadership positions who rise above that attitude, but most of those still cling to a fixed pattern or routine of worship services plus perhaps an extra evening devoted to teaching.
What, specifically, is the Lord waiting on us, the Church (or at least a remnant), to do in this hour? Let us start by describing what, we believe, the Lord is not waiting on us to do. However, according to your faith, be it unto you. We believe that the Lord is not waiting on us to get involved with worldly politics. We believe that the Lord is not waiting for us to build more churches out of brick and stone. We believe that the Lord is not waiting for us to knock on more doors, hand out more tracts, and preach on more street corners, in an effort to "save" the lost. (There will always be those who do that, but that is not priority one on the Lord's timetable. We must preach the gospel with our life. Words mean little to the unsaved today, and very little to charismatics.) Neither do we believe that the Lord is waiting for us to present more good teachings. If more good teaching were the answer then the church would have been mature many years ago. I doubt that there have been any better teachers than the Apostle Paul (other than Jesus of course). Paul taught the Church at Corinth for 18 months. What happened there? They declined into carnality, disunity, and a multitude of errors. What happened in the Galatian churches? They mixed Christianity with the ways of the world. Paul taught day and night in Ephesus for 3 years. He did not shun to declare unto them all the counsel of God. He prayed for them night and day with tears. What happened in the Church at Ephesus? They left their first love (Revelation 2:4).
We also do not believe that the Lord is waiting on us to "jack up" our faith so we can receive more of His blessings and prosperity. In recent years, a new emphasis seems to have arisen to "teach" believers how to heal and deliver others; i.e., an emphasis on the supernatural. That too misses the mark. The emphasis on "conferences" likewise falls short of what the Lord is looking for.
I frequently listen to a few "worship" songs on the internet. Two I particularly like are "Oh the Glory of Your Presence" by Ron Kenoly before at least 10,000 believers, a full band, and 100 or so choir members; and "I Sing Praises to Your Name" by Terry Macalmon ... the latter at a Benny Hinn crusade in 2001 in Shreveport, LA, before 15,000 people. The music is indeed very stirring emotionally. But if those 15,000 believers were all walking with the Lord, then I believe hurricane Katrina would never have hit New Orleans and Louisiana in 2005. There is nothing wrong with emotion, but that is part of our soul; and we must worship Him in spirit and in truth. (I believe that "worship" means far more than what the typical charismatic seems to believe.)
(The essence of the following truth came through a good brother who lives in Eastern North Carolina ... name supplied upon request. I have modified his word slightly.)
When we are first born again, we are rather ignorant as to what we must endure to continue following Him. 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 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.
The scribe did not know where Jesus had come from and he had no idea where the Lord was going. The scribe was simply stirred emotionally by the supernatural.
Finally, although there are many more attempts of the flesh to please God, (none of which will "work"), we respectfully disagree with the growing number of would-be and pseudo "prophets" who warn us to prepare in the natural realm for the coming disasters in the United States. An increasing number of "big names" and "wanna-be big names" tell us to store up several months' worth of food and water and plan where to go when nuclear attacks come. They also tell us to keep our gas tanks in our cars full because we may have to travel some distance to escape the coming disasters. In other words, those "big names" tell us to carefully design our disaster recovery plan. Very recently I read that a well-known American Evangelical, Christian Zionist, and dispensationalist author not only believes in and teaches the so-called premillennial "rapture" doctrine but also has a bomb shelter filled with food and water. I guess I do not understand why we need a bomb shelter if we are going to be raptured before the "great tribulation." A disaster recovery plan in the natural realm cuts across the spirit of my Bible. Do we live by the faith of the Son of God or do we live by our natural, logical reasoning? Jesus said,
What about the poor widow woman who cast into the treasury two mites, which was all that she had, even all of her living (Mark 12:42-44)? Do you think that the Lord did not provide for her after that sacrifice? Did she have to beg for food to stay alive after that?
What about the widow woman in the time of Elijah (1 Kings 17:10-24) who only had a handful of meal and a little oil in a cruise? Because she was willing to give it to Elijah to eat, the barrel of meal did not waste, neither did the cruise of oil fail until the Lord sent rain upon the earth.
What about the woman in the days of Elisha (2 Kings 4:1-7) who had lost her husband and was about to lose her two sons to the creditors to be bondmen, because she could not pay her debts? As long as we pour out our oil into empty vessels, the oil will keep flowing just like Elisha and the widow. As long as they sought empty vessels there was oil. When they stopped seeking empty vessels, the oil stopped.
Furthermore, consider the following.
Instead of planning on how to preserve our life in the coming days of famine, we do much better to concentrate on maintaining the righteousness of God within us. For if we do that, then the Lord promises that we will be satisfied in the days of famine. In summary, do we want to trust ourselves to provide for us, or do we want to trust the Lord to provide for us? The Bible says,
Yes, we are aware that the Lord used Joseph to store up food for seven years in Egypt in order to preserve life for His people. But that was a "rhema" word to Joseph, not a "logos" word to every one of God's people. In the final analysis, "Whatsoever He says to you, do it." But be very careful with trying to implement what man says to you.
Christian men frequently look for a "cause" to which they can give themselves. Some have a cause to stand on street corners and hand out Christian tracts. Others have a cause to serve in a soup kitchen. Still others have a cause to go around and knock on doors and ask the residents, "Are you saved?" The different types of causes are virtually unlimited. We would never even think about being judgmental about any of the various causes. Each person must answer to the Lord when it comes to, "what then must we do?" At the most fundamental level, we are all unique and God created us for a purpose. That purpose is to glorify God. But what does that mean? Jesus answered that question in John 17 when He said,
In Scripture, we need to pay close attention to the use of a colon. What follows a colon always explains or amplifies what has just preceded. Therefore Jesus glorified the Father on the earth by completing the work which the Father had given to Him. As long as we, as believers, fulfill the purpose for which we were created, then we all will receive the same reward. John the Baptist fulfilled the work given to him.
Paul said the same thing.
Now let us consider what Jesus said to a multitude of people (including His disciples).
Was Jesus saying that we need to do some things? If so, what things?
The words in the above verse that Jesus spoke are taken from three different sets of verses in Deuteronomy, in the Old Testament.
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.
In a nutshell, the three levels for us today are: (1) seeing the problems that exist in the Church; (2) knowing (understanding) what the Lord wants us to do about it; and (3) actually doing it, as led by the Holy Spirit. The first two levels are of little value unless we press into that third level.
Charismatic Christians learn the "language" quickly ... the "right" things to say and to do, even though they may only be traditions of men. We have been impressed, from our somewhat limited exposure to the body of Christ everywhere, of the ever-increasing number of charismatics, mostly in leadership or would-be leadership positions, who now expound on "what is wrong with the Church." That is fairly easy to do, but that profits little. Of course the visible church is in a near-apostasy state, absorbed with me-centered Christianity, cheap grace, traditions of men, idolatry, materialism, entertainment, false faith and prosperity, and a lukewarm attitude or apathy.
Perhaps the most certain event on the Lord's timetable is the imminent judgment of God upon not only the United States, but also the Church. This judgment has slowly but surely increased in the last fifty years. "To whom much is given, much is required" (Luke 12:48).
Further, since judgment must begin in the house of God, then judgment must begin first with those in leadership positions in the house of God.
All of us are familiar with the first sentence in Verse 30. Who is familiar with the second sentence ... "The Lord shall judge His people"? And how many times do you hear Verse 31 quoted? We have two options ... we can fall on the Rock now or else the Rock will, sooner or later, grind us to powder (Luke 20:18). "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of Decision" (Joel 3:14). That is not addressed to heathens. Neither is it a natural, physical valley.
Lord, let us understand what we must do. And then, Lord, may each of us walk in and fulfill that which we must do.
This book does not address those in denominational churches, who may be better off than we are in the sight of the Lord. Why are they better off? because of Verses 47-48 below.
First of all, let us note that the word "servant" occurs four times in the above verses; the word "menservants" appears once; and the word "steward " which also refers to the same set of believers as a servant, occurs once. So the above verses are addressed to those servants of the Lord who have been entrusted with gifts and ministries. The Greek word translated as "servant" is doulos, which means a slave. Under the Old Covenant, a Hebrew slave could be a slave for only six years. After that time, in the seventh year, he was to go out free for nothing (Exodus 21:2). See also Deuteronomy 15:12-18.
In the New Testament a person could be owned as a possession for various lengths of time and could earn or purchase his freedom. As a believer, we still have free will and therefore can choose, consciously or unconsciously, to stop serving the Lord. All of us need our ear bored through with an aul, not as a legalistic act in the natural, physical realm, but spiritually. It is not a question of doctrinal agreement.
From Luke 12:45, above, we suspect that very few Christian servants today have physically beaten other menservants and maidens (although we have met a few in our lifetime who did just that). However there are other ways to beat menservants and maidens than in the physical realm.
Likewise, unfortunately, some Christian servants today eat and drink and get drunk. Again that does not speak of the natural realm so much as the spiritual realm. Everyone has to eat and drink or else we will physically die. I believe the meaning here is doing that which pleases myself, rather than pleasing the Lord ... an egocentric approach to our walk as believers.
The verses above are written to all believers over all of time. "Awake" is a very pertinent word for the modern-day Spirit-filled community. The new wine speaks of fresh manna, which like His mercies and compassions, are new every morning. I have never (to my knowledge) met a Christian who is also a physical drunkard. But the drunkards, drinkers of wine, and the meal offering and drink offering have nothing to do with the natural, physical realm. The meat offering (or rather the meal offering, because there was never any meat in that offering) and the drink offering represent those believers or overcomers who have poured out their life for the will of the Father. We will not belabor the point here, but see our seventh book titled, "The Last Joel." (Copy available free upon request.)
Please re-read Luke 12:46 above. Note what the Lord says He will do to those believers (servants of the Lord) who spiritually begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken. He will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. That word is worth considering. That word should create a holy fear of God within us. It was that same fear that came upon the remnant of Judah in Haggai 1:12. It was that same fear that came upon all of the believers after the day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2:43. It was that same fear which Paul expressed when he said,
From our observation, the Spirit-filled community today, as a generality, no longer understands or walks in that fear of God. I am sure there are some who do; but have you ever heard anyone teach on that subject? Why not? because that is not a popular topic for several reasons. But the fear of God is one of the Lord's major criteria for restoration. Further, there are hundreds of thousands of believers who could present a good teaching on the fear of God. All it takes is a concordance and a little time to prepare. Unfortunately, that does not get the job done. Why? because until we see a need for the fear of God in our lives, we will not partake. Only the Spirit of God can reveal to us the need for the fear of God. That is why the Lord is in the process of bringing about much persecution and tribulation which will force us to see the need.
Last, but not least, let us consider once more what Jesus said
Those two verses are proof positive that the severity of God's judgment will be (and is already) more on the Spirit-filled community than on those in denominational churches, who have not been exposed to nearly as much light as we have. The question therefore remains, "What Shall This Man Do?"
Next to Obadiah, Haggai is the shortest book in the Old Testament, but its teachings, like all of Scripture, are very significant and are particularly appropriate for our day. All we know about Haggai is told to us in the first verse of his book. He was the Lord's messenger who had the Lord's message. Is there anything else more important than that in terms of ministry to the house? We think not.
About 538 BC, the conqueror of Babylon (which had taken Judah captive and destroyed Jerusalem), namely Cyrus, king of Persia, issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. Led by Zerubbabel, about 50,000 Jews journeyed home and began to work on the temple. About two years later they completed the foundation amid great rejoicing (Ezra 3:8-10). Their success aroused the Samaritans and other neighbors who feared the political and religious implications of a rebuilt temple in a thriving Jewish state. They therefore opposed the project vigorously and managed to halt work until Darius became king of Persia. The Jews were more to blame than their opponents for their inactivity, and the Lord through Haggai tried to arouse them from their lethargy.
Note that the opposition never arose until after the foundation was completed. (See Ezra, Chapter 4.) The foundation for us is having been born again and then become His disciples. The enemy is not too concerned with us being born again. We constitute no threat at that point. Certainly when someone is genuinely born again by the Spirit of God, that person is very excited and joyful, having entered a world they never knew existed. But the enemy vigorously opposes us if we begin to move forward toward the kingdom of God. The two are not the same.
Note in Haggai 1:1 that his first word was to Zerubbabel, the governor or captain of Judah, and to Joshua the high priest; in other words his first message was to the human leaders of God's people. So it is today. The near-apostasy that the Church finds itself in today is because of the leaders of the Spirit-filled, modern-day spiritual Judah. Anyone who is considered a "leader" in the church today should "consider your ways," a phrase which occurs twice in those exact words in Haggai 1:5 and 1:7 and two other times by implication (Haggai 2:15 and 2:18). The word, "consider," means to set your heart on or give your attention to. If judgment must begin at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17), then judgment must first begin with the leaders of the house of God.
The phrase, "the Lord of hosts," is used more than 100 times in Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The phrase, "the Lord of hosts," used first in 1 Samuel 1:3, is perhaps best understood as a reference to the sovereignty of God over all powers in the universe. The phrase speaks of God as the God of armies ... both of the heavenly army (Psalm 68:17 and Habakkuk 3:8) and of the army of Israel (1 Samuel 17:45).
Note also in Verse 2, above, the phrase, "This people," which also occurs in Haggai 2:14. Because of their sin, the remnant of the tribe of Judah is not called "My people." (See also Isaiah 6:9, 8:6, 11-12; and Jeremiah 14:10-11). What was the sin of the remnant of the tribe of Judah? lethargy, apathy, and the fact that they were more interested in building their own houses rather than in helping to build the house of God. That is the exact condition of the Spirit-filled community today. The modern-day response is the same as it was back in 522 BC, namely, let's just wait on the Lord. He is in control. Meantime we will just enjoy our nice little meetings in our nice homes. Human nature never changes.
If ever there was a word for the modern-day, Spirit-filled community, (you and me), it is Haggai 1:4. This is a day when every man does that which is right in his own eyes, rather than what is right in the Lord's eyes. The word "cieled," which occurs only six times in the Old Testament, means paneled or roofed. The word may also have the meaning of a "beam," as in houses built with beams, which expresses a luxury, as the normal house was built with mud bricks. The sin was (and is) not so much dwelling in "luxury" houses but being disobedient in not building the house of God. Because of their apathy and lukewarm attitude (sin), Haggai 1:4-11 records the judgment of God against His remnant. God is no respecter of persons. What He did 2500 years ago with His people, He will do again in our day.
In Haggai 1:4-11, the major implication is to repent. (Haggai 1:7 ... Consider your ways.) The only specific direction that the Lord gives to Zerubbabel and Joshua (through Haggai) is:
About 40 years ago, a local man whom some considered to be called as an apostle, put in writing that the house church of which we were a part was antichrist because we were not building a church structure. He cited Haggai 1:8 as "proof" of his diatribe. In other words, he interpreted Haggai 1:8 (and most other scriptures) strictly in the natural realm. Well that may have been true at that time in history, but it was not what was in the heart and mind of God then or now. A mountain in Scripture refers to a kingdom; wood refers to humanity. Haggai 1:8 speaks of cooperating with the Lord in building the kingdom of God within His people. I never asked the man why he built "his" church out of brick rather than wood.
One of the most amazing Scriptures is Haggai 1:12.
The LORD's voice ... Haggai's words. Simply amazing! The leaders, Zerubbabel and Joshua, and ALL the remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord and the words of Haggai. Further, the people did fear before the Lord. All of the people heard the voice of the Lord through the words of Haggai. Not only did they obey but they feared the Lord! We can all agree doctrinally that nothing is too hard for the Lord. But do we really believe that could happen with the present-day Spirit-filled community? If so, who is such a man that ALL of the remnant would believe? We know of none. But yet there is a dire need for such a level of repentance to occur today within the Spirit-filled community. Help, Lord! We believe that the ONLY way that the modern-day Spirit-filled community (you and me) will wake up is through the judgment of God, as in Haggai 1:4-11. That does NOT mean that we just continue to have our nice meetings with our nice teachings and wait on the Lord. Do we really want to go through 400 years of bondage and captivity before Isaiah 11:11 is fulfilled?
What happened as a result of the people believing and obeying the voice of the Lord and the words of Haggai and fearing before the Lord? Immediately, the Lord cancelled His judgment on the remnant and poured out His grace and mercy.
What an amazing display of the power of God and the sovereignty of God! Is there anyone who would like to see the same thing happen today? Is there anyone who even sees the need for such an outpouring? One more time, this word is NOT for those in denominational churches. This word applies to the Spirit-filled community, the remnant of the house of Judah, you and me! Anyone who says "I am ok and we are ok" does not comprehend the seriousness of the time in which we live. Selah.
In Chapter 2 we focused on Haggai, Chapter 1, which speaks of the "problems" of the remnant of the tribe of Judah, the judgment of God as a result of their lethargy, apathy, and self-centeredness, and the answer as spoken through Haggai the prophet. In this Chapter, we share some verses from the Book of Zechariah as a further background to "What shall this man do?"
"Zechariah" means "the Lord remembers." Remembers what? remembers His covenant with Abraham and His seed. "Berechiah" means "blessed of the Lord" or "one who bends the knee to God." "Iddo" means "at the appointed time." Therefore God remembers and at the appointed time He will bless His people. This speaks clearly about the sovereignty of God.
Zechariah the prophet was a contemporary of Haggai. Zechariah and Haggai had essentially the same message. As such, Zechariah was intensely driven to exhort the remnant of Judah and to motivate them to complete the rebuilding of the temple. He was also highly motivated to see spiritual renewal among his people. The phrase, "the Lord of Hosts," occurs 53 times in his writing. The first word of the Lord that came unto Zechariah (and which he spoke to his people) was a call for national repentance.
Note the conditional decree of the Lord. We must first (re)turn to the Lord and then He will turn to us. Why did the remnant of Judah need to repent and turn back to the Lord? Because of their apathy, lukewarm attitude, and self centeredness, which is clearly indicated in the Book of Haggai. Do we need national repentance in America today? If so, in what segment of the population? the heathen? those in denominational churches? or those in Spirit-filled/charismatic fellowships? How can the heathen turn back or repent to Someone they never knew? Those in denominational churches have not received nearly the light that we have. Does that make us "better" than them? Just the opposite, as indicated in Luke 12:42-48. We continue to maintain that the national climate is a mirror reflection of the modern-day spiritual Judah, which is similarly characterized by apathy, a lukewarm attitude, and self-centeredness. We will have much more to say about repentance in a subsequent Chapter.
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.
In Verse 1, the "man" with a measuring line in his hand is clearly an angel, sent by the Lord to measure Jerusalem. That measurement speaks of judgment, because the remnant in Jerusalem was not doing what they were supposed to be doing; the remnant was not "measuring up" to the will of God. Then, lest Zechariah become totally discouraged at the state of the remnant, the Lord sent another angel to tell the first angel what else to say to Zechariah.
In Verse 4, the new message was, Run, speak to this young man (Zechariah). Run! Don't walk! Hurry! In other words, this additional word is likewise critical. Zechariah is called a young man by the second angel. We do not know the natural age of Zechariah at that point in his life, but he certainly was a true prophet of the Lord. At least eight times, Zechariah asked the Lord, "What are these, my Lord?" Apparently Zechariah himself did not understand all of the visions he received from the Lord. That would classify him as a "young man," spiritually, if not also naturally.
Now the second (positive) message in Verses 4 and 5 did not negate the first message of measuring Jerusalem. The scripture does not say that the first angel aborted his first commandment to measure Jerusalem. Here again, we see the sovereignty of God at work. The Lord will have what He desires in spiritual Jerusalem one way or another.
Verse 5: Many years ago I was introduced by a close Christian friend to a set of churches who seemed to speak much truth. However, I soon realized that the leaders used psychic power to instill fear in the hearts of many beautiful believers. That group of more than 100 churches soon became a cult. Their leaders had tried to control me and make me one of their two elders in a new church they just established. When I declined, they considered me to be in rebellion and told me all of the horrible things that would happen to me and to my wife if I did not join up with them. Then, a year or so later I received a special invitation to attend one of their local meetings where their number one leader was to speak. I am quite positive that the reason I received that invitation was that they hoped that I would "repent" of my alleged rebellion and join up with them. I decided to go, but I did two other things in preparation. First, I asked another elder in our house group to go with me; He readily accepted. Second, I asked the Lord to surround me with His wall of fire as I went. When the two of us went to that meeting, the wall of fire around me was as real to me as the chair I am sitting on. I could almost touch it. There is much more to that story which I will not go into. Ask and ye shall receive!
The Lord said in Verse 6 to come forth from the land of the north. That signifies a moving from Samaria to Israel, to Judah, to Jerusalem, to Zion. In other words that signifies a maturing in Christ. Note in Verse 7 that the Lord tells Zion, who is dwelling in Babylon, to deliver thyself. He says, "You do it." That likewise has great spiritual significance. That requires a decision on our part.
Who or what does the word exhort us to come out of? Babylon. What is Babylon? the economic, political, and religious systems of the world. There is no country on earth that epitomizes Babylon more than the United States. Do you realize that the modern-day church has been taken captive by Babylon for many long years? Unfortunately, many of the Babylonian ways have been absorbed by the Church.
One of my favorite verses is,
Although that verse was spoken to Joshua, the high priest, it has more general application to any believer who desires to be an overcomer. Note the conditional promise ... If ... then. Who are "these that stand by?" I personally believe they are those overcomers, like Stephen, who have gone before and are waiting for the millennium. They are the ten thousands of the saints who will come with Jesus.
That is probably one of the most quoted verses in the Old Testament. It was initially spoken to Zerubbabel but has universal application.
Under the Old Covenant, the description of the priestly garments of Aaron, the high priest, included bells of gold round about the hem of the priestly robe. Further there was an engraving on the mitre worn by Aaron which said, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. In The Song of Solomon, Chapter 1, Verse 9, Solomon speaks to his bride (prophetic of the bride of Christ) and says,
A horse in David's day was the strongest animal used in warfare and was used to pull chariots of war. So in that day, the day of the Lord, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD shall even be inscribed upon the bells of the horses, which here refers to the remnant of the Church.
"The pots in the Lord's house" clearly refers to us believers. A pot is a vessel of service which potentially has great value in the hands of the Master to prepare and contain (spiritual) food. The Lord can and does use everything for His service. He even used Pharaoh for His purposes (Romans 9:17). How much more does He desire to use the pots in the Lord's house? Normally, we do not eat out of pots but out of bowls. The contents of the pot are poured into a bowl before eating. Note that Verse 21 says that every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts. The pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. How are the bowls before the altar? made of pure gold. He is changing us from glory to glory, provided we allow Him to do so.
Verse 20 speaks of the altar. Which altar? There were two altars, the brazen altar (overlaid with brass and in the outer court) and the Golden Altar of Incense (in the Holy Place, just before the veil leading to the Holy of Holies). Blood sacrifices were offered on the brazen altar but never on the Golden Altar of Incense. Further, only the priests were allowed to enter into the Holy Place wherein the Golden Altar was placed. The altar referred to in Verse 20 clearly refers to the Golden Altar in the Holy Place.
"And all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them [the pots], and seethe [or boil] therein." Who are "all they that sacrifice?" The Hebrew word "sacrifice" can also be translated as "butcher" or "slaughter." That seems to imply the natural realm, but the sacrifices made by the pots are spiritual in nature. So if that phrase signifies all those who sacrifice in the natural realm, that could refer to Jews who do not yet know the Lord and/or those Israelites whose understanding is limited to the natural realm. Jesus came first to the Jews, who crucified Him. Paul went first to the Jews but was then sent to the Gentiles. After the fullness of the Gentiles comes in, then the Jews will be jealous and shall come and seethe in the pots of Judah and Jerusalem (be ministered to by the Holy Spirit within believers).
We believe that Adam, before the fall, was clothed with the glory of God. He became naked (lost the covering of the glory of God) when he sinned by disobeying God. Then the Lord clothed him (mankind) with the physical skin that we now have. But in that day, there shall be no more the Canaanite (carnal flesh) in the house of the LORD of hosts. He wants to change us from total flesh to total spirit. The bowls of the Candlestick are pure gold, which speaks of Divinity; there is no wood (humanity) in them. Selah.
Thus the Lord is strongly exhorting us to be purified that we might be among the pots likened unto the bowls (pure gold/holiness) before the altar. The almond bowl is a type of the Holy Spirit, Who proceeds from the Father and produces fruitfulness in the people of God, such that each member eventually shines forth as gold. The hour is critical. May we heed His call.
What then shall this man do to cooperate with the Holy Spirit?
Malachi, which means, "my messenger," was most likely the last prophet of the Old Testament era, although a few place Joel later. Like the Book of Joel, Malachi is one of the six undated minor prophetic books. Some believe that the Book of Malachi was written exactly 400 years before the anointing 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.
Thirteen famines are recorded in Scripture (Genesis 12:10, Genesis 26:1, Genesis 41:54, Ruth 1:1, 2 Samuel 21:1, 1 Kings 18:2, 2 Kings 4:38, 2 Kings 7:4, 2 Kings 25:3, Nehemiah 5:3, Jeremiah 14:1, Luke 15:14, and Acts 11:28). All thirteen of those famines were in the natural, physical realm, but were the result of underlying spiritual causes. Spiritual famines are also mentioned in Scripture, but generally by implication. One such famine is from the time of the Book of Malachi until the coming of Jesus. (Perhaps we could say until the day of Pentecost.) Although I am not a Church history buff, there certainly have been spiritual famines historically. One notable spiritual famine is called the Dark Ages.
The very nature of deception is that the person who is deceived is not even aware that they are being deceived. The religious elite of the day in Malachi's time said they were doing everything required, putting an "X" in all of the right boxes, etc. That deception continued right through the time of the Pharisees and Sadducees, when Jesus walked the face of the earth. Human nature has never changed. That condition is also current events. Deception arises in many cases from ignorance of the meat of the word.
The foremost characteristic of the present Church age is ... words. We have been and continue to be super-saturated with teachings and conferences. Yet we live today in the last spiritual famine ... another 400 years before the second coming of the Lord. How long has that famine already been going on? Only the Lord knows. The Lord is not pleased when we consistently rehash forty-year-old manna. We have believed for 40+ years that there should be fresh manna revealed during every gathering of believers ... that which no man has read, heard, or spoken before. How much time did Peter spend to prepare for his sermon on the day of Pentecost?
Verses 1 and 2 speak of both the first and the second coming of the Lord to earth. Have you ever considered, in Verse 3, that He shall purify the sons of Levi? It does not say that He will purify all of the tribes of Israel at that time. Food for thought? Yet that is consistent with New Testament teachings. We will not elaborate here. The offering that the purified sons of Levi shall offer unto the Lord will not consist of money.
In order for the Lord to come for spiritual Israel's redemption, she must repent. We will have much more to say about repentance in a subsequent word. The Lord is not returning to the earth for millions of immature, baby Christians. There are many other events which must also come to pass prior to the Lord's parousia, or second literal coming, but we will not go into that here, except to say that His parousia will come as a thief in the night when no man is expecting it.
Here again is emphasized the necessity for the proper fear of the Lord within His people. Verse 16 says nothing about those who do not fear the Lord. 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 Verse 17, the phrase, "the LORD of hosts," occurs 24 times in the Book of Malachi. Verse 18 implies that there will be much deception in that day, such that if it were possible, even the very elect will be deceived. Return ... from where? Return from 400 years of bondage and captivity. This will be the fulfillment of Isaiah 11:11. This is current events. Jesus said to the Jews,
I have heard a majority of rather mature believers quote Verse 32 as, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." But we were set free when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. We are made free by continuing in His word. Jesus, in the above verses, was speaking of a criterion to be a disciple, and then an overcomer, not simply a believer. That criterion is to continue in His word. Even some of the Jews who believed on Jesus could not accept that they were still in bondage. Deception! based on their misunderstanding of the law, which no longer applied. They claimed they were never in bondage to any man because they were Abraham's seed. Of course, natural inheritance does not make any one free.
Somewhere around 1971 or 1972, three "spiritual giants" were in our area at the same time ... very unusual. I asked all three to come over to our house one Saturday afternoon. I asked them to pray about a certain physical condition affecting my wife, Linda (which I am not at liberty to share right now) and see what the Lord might tell them. After a few minutes none of them had anything specific to say, so they all left. One of them said nothing; a second man said, "We are not all Daniels." As the third man, a true prophet of the Lord, was about to leave, he told me that he did not hear anything concerning Linda, but he had received a vision concerning me. He said that he saw the Lord slitting the tops of my shoes such that my toes would have room to wiggle around. I immediately got the message, although it was almost eight years later before that word was made manifest experientially. When that happened, I never sensed so much freedom and liberty in Christ in all of my life. That sense of freedom has never departed. It was, to me, a first-hand experience of being made free, which is a process, not a one-time event.
Peter speaks of this soon coming event also.
The Holy Spirit through Peter poses a very sobering question. Given the impending events, which will come upon us suddenly (and have been in progress already for many long years), what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness? For the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.
What then shall this man do?
In this Chapter, we attempt to complete the background word to enable us to move on to what the Lord is looking for in His people today. The first step is to prepare the way of the Lord. That is a personal word to each of us; it is also a corporate word.
The message from the Books of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi is essentially the same word. That same word is also reflected in the Books of Joel, Judges, Daniel, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Revelation, and, in truth, in every book of the Bible. That common message centers around three basic themes. First is the sovereignty of God, His love for His chosen people, His great grace, His great mercy, His faithfulness, His wisdom, etc. The second theme is human nature ... the self-centered nature of man, even Christian man, the lack of understanding and wisdom of His chosen people, and our feeling of self-satisfaction, particularly when things seem to be going smoothly in our life. The third common theme is the attempts of the enemy to divert the chosen people of God from fulfilling their destiny, their inheritance. That destiny or inheritance is much more than being born again and going to heaven one day. We were born into a war that we did not start. We have been re-born into a new world of total victory in Christ, but we must still go up and possess the land (Numbers 13:30 and many others), the kingdom of God. It is the Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luke 12:32), but it is not ours unless we qualify to take it (Matthew 11:12). It is not a question of hanging on until the end comes and slipping into heaven. Salvation is a free gift, but we must qualify for the kingdom of God (John 3:3, Matthew 11:12, Luke 16:16, Acts 14:22, and a multitude of other scriptures, such as almost all of Matthew, Chapters 5, 6, and 7).
We must be very careful not to slip into an attitude of, "I know that," or, "I can do that." In reality we know very little and we can do absolutely nothing (of value) without Him. The Lord has two words for man ... nothing and cannot.
At the same time, we must be very confident of Who He is and what He has said to us. My favorite verse is, "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). It is because we possess such a hope that we write with such boldness.
Everything is by His faith, not by our faith in Him. We cannot generate our faith in Him.
The first answer to, "What shall this man do?" is found in both the Old and New Testaments.
The same message is spoken of seven times in the New Testament (Matthew 3:3, Matthew 11:10, Mark 1:2 and 3, Luke 1:76, Luke 3:4, and Luke 7:27). So, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord" occurs eight times in Scripture. That word is not a request; it is a command; it is a command for us to do something ... to prepare the way of the Lord. How we prepare the way of the Lord will be a subsequent word.
So the 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 or when we are baptized in 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 clean your house thoroughly, wear your best clothes, and 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 to footholds in our life. 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.
This is not automatic. It takes action on our part to take His shield upon us. Suppose I come into your house and lay a $20 bill on your table and say, I give this unto you. As far as I am concerned I have given it to you and it is yours. But unless you pick it up and put it in your pocket, it is still not yours.
Next, we must wear our best clothes. We must keep our garments clean.
The reason the man who had not on a wedding garment was rejected was because the host of a wedding always provided the wedding garments. So that guest trusted in his own righteousness rather than in the righteousness provided by the Lord. The reason that many are called, but few are chosen, is because few choose. We choose every day by the decisions that we make.
Third, we must prepare our best meal. 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, traditions of men, etc.
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.
What then shall this man do?
In this Chapter, we start setting forth how we prepare the way of the Lord. We need an expanded vision in this hour; we need to know where we are going and how to get there!
The primary thing that the Lord is looking for within His people is the state of our heart. Isaiah warned the Judah of his time of the coming captivity by Babylon. He spoke the word of the Lord to Judah.
Note the phrase, "this people," not "My people." Because "My people" had become more interested in doing their own thing, the Lord now refers to them as "this people." Also, the "marvelous work" that the Lord did (and is doing again) is not the kind of marvelous that we would like. When Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, He said that Isaiah prophesied of the Pharisees, some 725 years after his time. In reality, Isaiah prophesied to the Judah of his time, the Judah (Pharisees) of the time when Jesus walked the face of the earth, and the (spiritual) Judah of our time. The word of God is timeless and independent of race, culture, gender, and geographical location.
So a hypocrite is one who says all of the right words, but whose heart is not right before the Lord. Their heart is overly concerned with materialism, entertainment, traditions of men, putting an 'x' in all the right boxes, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, and a hundred other things. Therefore it seems only reasonable that we should all understand what constitutes a right heart. More importantly, a right heart must become flesh (or a living reality) and not simply a mental understanding.
At the most basic level, a right heart is a heart that is attuned to the heart of the Lord. Every believer is called to identify with the Lord Jesus in every respect (except His Lordship). We must identify (in reality, experientially) with His suffering, His death, His burial, His resurrection, His weeping over Jerusalem, His will, His heart, His intercession for us, His love and zeal for the Church, and His jealousy over Zion (Zechariah 8:2), to name a few. It is a heart that wants the Lord to be pleased and satisfied with us even if we never receive anything from the Lord (not even our personal salvation). It is a heart that wants the will of the Lord to be done more than life itself. It is a heart that is jealous for the Lord of hosts, which is what Elijah said in 1 Kings 19:10 and 14 ... jealous that He might have His way within every believer.
Sometime around 1973 the Lord told my wife and me to start a "neighborhood" meeting. We invited our neighbors on our left and right, those across the street, and a few a little further away. We called it a "Bible study." About six or seven neighbors came each week. We had no idea if any of them were Christians. We started with the question, "Who is Jesus Christ?" Later we started going through the Gospel of John. I never talked about the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but about three of them were baptized in the Holy Ghost in their own homes even though no one laid hands on them or prayed for them to receive the Spirit. Later, all of them received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. For a few weeks the Lord would lengthen arms and legs of those who came to our home. It was like my wife and I just sat back and watched the Lord move on them. One evening a woman came and said that she had something to confess to all of us. As soon as she said that, the Holy Spirit quickened to me John 8, about the woman caught in adultery. Sure enough, the woman said that she had had an affair with her next door neighbor. She then said that even though she had committed the unpardonable sin and could never go to heaven, she was still going to serve the Lord while she was on earth. That is what I call "commitment!" Would that all of God's people had that same heart of dedication and commitment! Of course I quickly assured her that she had not committed the unpardonable sin. She still serves the Lord today!
Stephen, Paul, and Moses (and others) had that same jealousy for the Lord to be satisfied and glorified. Moses said,
Paul said,
Stephen said, to the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem,
Some might say that Stephen did not exercise wisdom when he spoke those words to the Sanhedrin. Logical reasoning and natural thinking would say, "Stephen, you should be very careful with your words to the Sanhedrin. Just think of all of the good you could do for the body of Christ. You are a man full of faith and wisdom. The Lord needs you to help other believers here on earth." We are quite sure that Stephen was aware of the consequences of his discourse. However, Stephen was motivated only by speaking the word which the Holy Ghost put into his being. As a result, Stephen is sometimes called the first Christian martyr. Did Stephen fully satisfy the heart of the Lord? We believe that Scripture gives a resounding answer of "yes" to that question. His ways are higher than our ways; His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Let us see the scriptural support for Stephen's bold, (harsh?) words to the Sanhedrin as recorded in Acts, Chapter 7.
We are all aware that after Jesus finished His work on earth, He sat down on the right hand of the Father in heaven. This is recorded five times in the Book of Hebrews (Hebrews 1:3, 1:13, 8:1, 10:12, and 12:2). For example,
The Lord Jesus Christ is still seated at the right hand of the Father. But when Stephen said what he did to the Sanhedrin, he also said,
So the Lord Jesus, who was (and is) seated at the right hand of the Father, stood up when Stephen said what he did in Acts 7:51-52 to the Sanhedrin. It was as if the Lord was applauding Stephen for his selflessness in speaking the word of God, regardless of the grave consequences to himself. Amazing! How could the Lord express such an attitude towards any human being? But it happened!
Now some may say, "But brother, I am not a Moses; I am not a Paul; I am not a Stephen." Very true. I am none of those three either. We are all unique because God never makes a copy of anything or anyone. We all have slightly different, unique and specific callings and functions. But we all have many things in common also. One of those 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. Our first priority is always to glorify God, first of all in our heart, and then outwardly as the Holy Spirit gives us unction.
The first step in preparing the way of the Lord is to have that same heart attitude that Moses, Paul, Stephen (and others, like David) had. That heart attitude can never be generated by our own effort or by our own faith. So some may say, "Well I am not in that place in my life yet." Then you (we) are not alone. But God is no respecter of persons. If He did that amazing work in Moses, Paul, Stephen, and others, He will also do that work within you and me, PROVIDED that we see the need and cry out to the Lord. After all, what the Lord is looking for is that each of us believers cry out to the Lord and say, "Help me, Lord."
Psalm 76, Verse 1, prophetically encapsulates four types of believers, based on their level of growth or maturity in Christ ... Israel to Judah to Jerusalem to Zion. But His dwelling place is in Zion, the city of David (2 Samuel 5:7 and numerous Verses in Psalms).
Zion is called the city of David. Why? because David was a man after God's own heart, and because the Lord is searching for those whose heart beats only for Him.
The "tabernacle of David" (2 Samuel 6:17) is not a physical tabernacle nor a piece of real estate in the Middle East. The tabernacle of David is nothing less than Zion, which consists of all those believers who have allowed the Lord first to break them and then to make them ... to mold them into His image.
The Lord is not asleep. Despite all of the failures of Christian man, the Lord is quietly and in a hidden manner building up Zion. What is "in that day" which is referenced in Amos 9:11? the day that we live in now. It is a marvelous work that is hidden from the eyes of man and can only be seen in the realm of the Spirit. And one day soon He will unveil His masterpiece. Then He shall likewise appear in His glory ... the parousia of the Lord. The question is, whose heart is stirred up? Whose spirit is made willing? Who is looking for Him?
So far we have emphasized the critical importance of the state of our heart ... the heart attitude that the Lord desires in each believer. We continue to set forth how we prepare the way of the Lord.
Other than the Man Christ Jesus, when He walked the face of the earth, I doubt that there has ever been a "better" human teacher in the body of Christ than the Apostle Paul, who received so many revelations that the Lord apparently considered it prudent to give him a thorn in his flesh to help to keep him humble. (Of course our ultimate Teacher is the Holy Spirit.) Paul said,
Let us think about what Paul considered his charge or function or ministry to be. We believe that His highest calling was to write all of his many epistles that are contained in our New Testament. Some might say that his purpose was to "establish" many churches. A third calling of Paul was to fill up (or complete) that which lacked of the sufferings of Christ in his flesh. (Jesus was on the cross for six hours, as recorded in Mark 15.) This is given by the following two scriptures.
Paul clearly knew that whatever he did, he did it as unto the Lord. However we want to focus here on what Paul saw as his function or ministry more directly to the body of Christ in terms of preaching and teaching. That may give us a clue in terms of possible "best" answers to "What shall this man do?" One specific setting forth of his purpose is given in the Book of Colossians.
So Paul was made a minister (Verse 25) by the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul says that the mystery of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" is now made manifest to His saints. In addition, in Verse 27 Paul says that God would (also) make known to His saints the riches of the glory of that mystery of "Christ in you, the hope of glory." That makes two mysteries. "Christ in you, the hope of glory" is indeed a mystery. Who can understand it? How would you explain that mystery to someone who does not know Him? It is impossible. But we can experience it. All we can do is to obey the command of Jesus when He said (says), "Come and see." We will have more to say about "the riches of His glory" in the next part of this word.
In Verse 28, Paul lists three things that he was called to do, and the order, as always, is significant. First, he says that "we" preach Christ, or as he says in Galatians 1:16 to preach Him. Who are "we?" Note that in Verse 25 Paul says "I" am made a minister and that which is given to "me." In Verse 29 Paul says "I" also labour, and which worketh in "me." Likewise, Colossians 1:23: "I" Paul am made a minister. Now in the midst of the "I's" and "me's" he says "we." So who are "we?" The superficial answer is found in Colossians 1:1 when Paul says that this letter to the Colossians is from Paul and Timothy our brother. We believe that Paul wrote all of the letter to the Colossians but he included Timothy as an author because the two of them were of the same mind and the same heart. Further, I believe that Paul is saying that every true minister of the gospel of the kingdom of God should be included in the "we." In other words, every true minister should have the same three objectives: to preach Christ, warn every man, and teach every man in all wisdom. Experientially, I am not sure that I have ever met a man who does all three.
He does not say to preach what Christ has done (and continues to do) for us. He did that too. But his primary mission was to preach Christ ... the Person of Christ, not simply what He has done for us, as wonderful as that may be.
The second of Paul's commissions was to warn (or exhort) every man. Now very few of us like to hear warnings, but Paul gives that a higher priority than teaching every man in all wisdom. We much prefer to hear smooth things and focus on all of the good things that we "get." I would encourage all of us to read all of Isaiah 30:1-10. That word is likewise current events. Note the "for ever and ever" in Verse 8, below.
Why does warning every man come before teaching every man in all wisdom? The best answer I am aware of is found in the Book of Nehemiah.
No one can build a wall on a foundation of rubbish; that wall could never stand in times of shaking and tribulation. Therefore the rubbish must be cleared away before starting to build the wall. Unfortunately there is much rubbish in our midst. The above verse says there are two reasons why we are not able to build the wall. The first, and more important, reason is because the strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed. Who are the bearers (plural) of burdens? Intercessors! Who is called to be an intercessor? every believer. There is no place in Scripture which describes intercession as a ministry in the same light as a pastor or teacher. We are called to identify with Jesus in every respect (except His Lordship). That includes His baptism, His suffering, His death, His resurrection, His weeping over Jerusalem, and His intercession (Hebrews 7:25). Also,
We will have much more to say about intercession in a later Chapter.
The third and last function that Paul speaks of is teaching every man in all wisdom. This last one is the one that gets the vast majority of attention in the Spirit-filled/charismatic community today. Note that Paul does not say teaching every man; he says teaching every man in all wisdom. There is a difference! We have been super-saturated with teachings ... some good, some not so good. Anyone can give a scriptural teaching. All it takes is a concordance and a few hours of preparation. A teaching in all wisdom is not quite that easy. But the question is ... where is the fruit?
How many ministers do you know who do all three functions? Preach Christ, warn every man, and teach every man in all wisdom? Paul said that is what "we" do that so "we" may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. The Greek word translated as "perfect" is teleios, which means "that which has reached its end" or "nothing beyond." Paul's motivation and deep desire was to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Did he accomplish his goal?
What then shall this man do?
In this Chapter, we continue the thought from Chapter 7 concerning the Verse in Colossians 1:27. Before we get into that, let us briefly consider the glory of the Lord. Then we will come back to the riches of the glory.
The glory of the Lord
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 in reality the grace and glory are one. Perhaps God's glory is like a wondrous tree, of which His grace is the fruit. The glory of God seems to be more of the inherent nature of God, whereas His grace is His nature expressed and extended outward to all men.
Note that without His grace, we can never experience His glory. So the Lord will give both, but only to those who walk uprightly before Him. It is certain that we are saved by His grace (Ephesians 2:8); the reason is so that we might enjoy His glory forever, provided that we walk uprightly.
What is the Scriptural significance or meaning of "the glory of the Lord"? A standard definition could be the revelation or manifestation of God's being, nature, and presence to mankind, 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. When Isaiah saw the seraphims,
The first mention of the glory of the Lord occurs in the book of Exodus, when God rained down bread (manna) from heaven to a complaining, rebellious people. Moses told the people,
In like manner, about 1280 years later, the glory of the Lord accompanied the announcement of another supernatural gift sent by God from heaven ... the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Moses and all of the Israelites saw the glory of the Lord seven times in the wilderness. Two times it came to bless ... first with the manna from heaven, and again on Mount Sinai with the giving of the law. On the third occasion it came to sanctify the tabernacle, when the glory of the Lord not only appeared, but filled the place, and then remained to dwell among them.
For hundreds of years the ark of the covenant was Israel's material symbol of the Divine Presence. The glory of God was the cloud of light that shone between the cherubim in the holy of holies, and was the immaterial evidence of His Presence. Both the ark and the glory were visible, but one was made by man, the other by God alone.
When the Israelites were making their exodus from Egypt, Moses asked for proof that both he and Israel had found grace in God's sight. He asked for this proof in the most surprising words, when he said,
In view of the fact that the glory of the Lord had already been shown on two occasions, besides other spectacular evidences of God's power, including signs and miracles, as well as the Lord having just given assurance that His Presence would continue with them, this seems to be an astonishing request. The same Hebrew word is used for the glory of God in every case in the Old Testament. For what, then, was Moses asking? It must have been for something which he had not yet seen. They had all witnessed the glory of the Lord in the cloud when manna from heaven was promised and also on Mount Sinai when the law was given. Moses had seen God in some degree of manifestation, for he talked with Him "face to face." Moses' request, therefore, must have been to see the infinite glory in which God dwells, and this could not be granted to a finite being. Moses must have desired to see God's face in all of His glory ... not apart from His glory as he had already seen it. The Lord's response was that His face shall not be seen Exodus 33:19-23). God's face as expressing His infinite glory and the light in which He dwells can be seen by no man. No man has seen God in all of His glory (John 1:18).
Paul said,
Experiencing the Glory of God
Below I relate three of my experiences of the glory of the Lord. That does not mean that I am any way "better" than anyone else. I am sure that many of you have had equal or greater encounters with the glory of the Lord. But please remember that whatever we have been allowed to experience, it is only a foretaste of the glory Divine, yet to come.
A number of years ago, for one of the few times in my life as a believer, I thought that I might be translated. I was listening to two songs on a cassette tape over and over again for a period of about one hour. No other person was in our house. At times I sang the words myself and other times I just listened to the music. I found myself weeping deeply. I believe it was because I was so caught up with the goodness of God in my life and the glory of God. I had no thought of anything for myself, my family, or other believers. I was just overcome with the Person of the Lord Himself. Somewhere during that time period I heard a word from the Lord, which could be summarized by:
The essence of the word that I heard was that if there were an assembly of saints in any geographical area, and if the hearts of the believers who assembled were all in one accord to minister to the Lord and only to the Lord, then the result of 2 Chronicles 5:14 could be repeated; i.e., the glory of God would fill the house such that the priests could not stand to minister. The major condition was that the hearts of the believers assembled must be in one accord to minister to the Lord. I cannot wait to see that happen!
Then, several years ago, while in Tennessee for a weekend of meetings, I arose early Saturday morning, went into the meeting room in our host's home, closed the door, and listened to some songs on a CD. I began to worship the Lord all by myself and soon found myself weeping because of the goodness of the Lord in my life. Very soon, it was like a cloud of glory filled that room, such as I had never experienced before. It lasted for at least 30 minutes.
The meeting that Saturday night was all glorious. Early the next morning, the Lord woke me up and what I had experienced the previous morning was like nothing compared to that Sunday morning. It was like a cloud of smoke had filled that living room. The presence of the Lord was so powerful that all I could do was to lie there and weep. I have never experienced the glory of God before or since like I did early that Sunday morning in the living room of our host. Again, I was all by myself, except for the presence of the Lord.
In all three of those occurrences when I experienced a foretaste of the glory of the Lord, I was alone. In other words, I was one with myself and with the Lord. Just think of the magnitude of the presence of the glory of the Lord if there were twenty-five believers who were all in one accord, as on the day of Pentecost and on the day of the dedication of Solomon's temple in 2 Chronicles 5:13-14! Is there any genuine believer who would not want to see an increase of the glory of God manifested? I think not.
But herein is the difficulty. The motivation must not be to experience the glory of God. The motivation must be to minister to the Lord Himself and only to the Lord. Furthermore, there should not be any thought or hint of motivation to get something for ourselves, not even things that are ordained by God for His saints. Consider Solomon's (apparent) motivation when God asked him what he wanted. In 2 Chronicles 1:10, Solomon said that he wanted wisdom and knowledge in order to judge God's people. That attitude was very favorably received by God, culminating in 2 Chronicles 5:14. Now compare Solomon's attitude with the motivation of only wanting to minister to the Lord. Which of the two do you believe would be more acceptable and pleasing to the Lord?
The first mention of the function of the Levitical priesthood is:
What day is that? Just like it says, THIS day! this very day. Those three functions of the priesthood of all believers still exist today. Deuteronomy 10:8 represents the prophetic prototype of our ministry today as priests after the order of Melchisedec. Those three functions are:
The order has meaning and significance: a priority order for every believer. God is more interested in our character than He is in our comfort or our works. Priority one therefore is, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Is it possible that the Church has reversed this order? To answer this question, consider that the amount of time devoted to function (3) in our gatherings is way ahead of the others.
Also note that in 2 Chronicles 5:13 the priests were only exercising function (2) ... they were standing before the Lord to minister unto Him. 2 Chronicles 5:12 confirms that they were standing. And what happened? As they were in one accord (one mind, one motivation) and stood before the Lord to minister to Him, God sovereignly moved them into phase one ... the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
Five times in the first five chapters of the book of Acts, and twice more later in Acts, Scripture says that they (the believers) were in one accord. When that happened, marvelous events occurred, starting on the day of Pentecost. What does it mean to be in one accord? They were in one accord with respect to what? Certainly not with respect to doctrine, for they were still rather ignorant of the things of the Lord. We believe they were in one accord in the same manner as in 2 Chronicles 5:13.
The only place in the New Testament which declares what they were in one accord about is:
The phrase, "with one mind," is the same Greek word that is translated as "in one accord" throughout the book of Acts. So they were in one accord to glorify God. They were in one accord, one mind, one motivation, one desire, to pour out themselves upon the Lord, with no thought for anything for themselves. Their thoughts were not, Lord what do you have for me? There was no thought for self, only for the Lord! There is a mystery of the oneness in Christ which even many of the Old Testament saints (such as Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and others) had been allowed to see. Would that all of us modern-day saints could grasp that same vision!
The riches of the glory
Now let us return to the riches of His glory and what that could possibly mean.
In Chapter 7, we stated that those two verses speak of two mysteries. Paul says that the first mystery, "Christ in you, the hope of glory," is now made manifest [revealed or made known] to His saints. The second mystery which God desires to make known is the riches of the glory of that revelation of Christ in you, the hope of glory. Of course the word does not say the glory of the riches but the riches of the glory. That phrase occurs three other times in the New Testament. "Riches" cannot possibly be speaking in the natural realm. It has nothing to do with material possessions.
Now the question arises, what is the riches of His glory? We can only present our understanding at this point in time. We are not convinced that any of us can understand, much less experience this truth at this point in time.
Ephesians 1:18 speaks of the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. So perhaps the riches of His glory is not exactly for us but for the Lord Himself. All things were created for His pleasure, not ours (Ephesians 1:5; Ephesians 1:9; Philippians 2:13; and Revelation 4:11). The Father desires to have not just one Son but many sons. He is bringing many sons unto glory, not bringing glory to many sons. There is a difference!
Please note that the glory which shall be revealed in us is not automatic. Being born-again is a free gift. Everything after that is conditional. Note the "IF" in "if we suffer with Him." Paul said,
Again, note the "IF" in Verse 7. Does that mean that we shall not be "sons" if we do not endure chastening? The word "IF" clearly indicates that we have not yet come to maturity as sons. The word "chastening" actually means "child-training." Because the following verse is true concerning Jesus, where does that leave us?
Upon this earth in the realm of time, God will have a glorious church without spot or wrinkle. It will be a visible manifestation, made real in a company of people who will manifest the life of Jesus, a people born not of the will of the flesh, but born of God, proved by the furnace of affliction. That has not yet happened, but it is only a question of time. Are we willing to be a part of this great event? If so, there is a price to be paid.
The prophet Isaiah wrote,
Then at last we will know fully the infinite, matchless, transcendent, celestial beauty and splendor of the glory of the Lord.
Lord, help us to get our priorities straight. Lord, help us to identify with You in all things. Lord, help us to see things as You see them. Lord, help us to purify our hearts, that we may stand before You to minister unto You, with no thought for ourselves.
This word focuses on the need for an enlarged vision within the body of Christ. Before proceeding further, we need to state very clearly what vision refers to.
Many folks have "a" vision, but "the Vision" is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Make it plain upon tables" speaks of tables of the heart, so we are to have the reality of Jesus Christ written upon our hearts. Every "vision" must relate to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and to His ways, His purposes, and His plan for each one of us.
The Lord always wants to challenge His people. Whatever our vision of the Lord is, it is too small! We must always remember that none of us can see anything except it be given to us or revealed by the Holy Spirit. The Lord says to His people,
Jesus prayed,
Can we all agree that Jesus ALWAYS prayed in the will of the Father? He prayed that we might be with Him where He is. Where was Jesus when He prayed that prayer? in the realm of the Spirit. Where is Jesus now? Exalted and glorified at the right hand of the Father.
Sometimes Spirit-filled Christians pray to the effect of, "Lord come down and heal my brother or sister." Anyone who prays that kind of prayer may be very sincere but needs an enlarged vision and understanding. We don't want to pull Christ down to where we are. He wants us to rise up to where He is!
"Gideon's Army" started with 32,000. But the Lord pared them down to 300, based on the choices or decisions of the men themselves. Many are called but few choose. The Lord told Gideon that by those 300 men He would deliver them from the Midianites. Three hundred represents a tenth of a tenth ... a tithe of a tithe ... one percent of the original.
Under the Old Covenant in the time of Nehemiah a tithe of a tithe (in the natural realm) was brought into the natural, physical treasure house. This speaks prophetically of the end times, when a tithe of the tithe spiritually shall be brought unto the spiritual house of our God, into the spiritual treasure house. Hallelujah!
The 300 men were those whom the Lord actually used to conquer the Midianites. These 300 men represent the overcomers, the remnant, those believers who will participate in these end times in the real work of God. Let us go back and see the battle plan that the Lord had for Gideon and those 300 men. Each man had a trumpet in his right hand, a pitcher in his left hand, and lamps within the pitchers. Please note that NO mention is made in scripture that they had swords or any natural weapons of war. They surrounded the camp of the Midianites one night when it was very dark. At Gideon's signal, all 300 men broke the pitchers, which allowed the lamps to be suddenly seen, blew the trumpets, and shouted, "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon" (Judges 7:16-20). The Midianites slew one another, cried, and fled. Gideon and his army of 300 then pursued after and cleaned up the rest of the enemy. Trumpets are used to herald the coming of a king. In the modern day Gideon's army, the tithe of the tithe will blow trumpets to signal the coming of The Great King, even Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. The significance of the sudden revealing of the lamps inside of the pitchers is described as follows.
The word "manifestation" can more descriptively be translated "unveiling." So at the Lord's timing, the pitchers will be broken and the lamps will shine forth ... the sons of God will be revealed or manifested or unveiled, just as a Master Craftsman removes a covering to unveil His work of art. That event has not yet occurred but surely will come to pass.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a necessary, but not sufficient, step toward joining Gideon's army. Believers in the Church at Corinth all experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit and had every spiritual gift in operation (1 Corinthians 1:7). Please also note that the Church at Corinth was filled with contention, strife, discord, and confusion in the assemblies. What is this? the MIDIANITES!!! Paul calls them carnal and not at all ready to participate in the real work of God. Now, what work do these 300 do besides engage in spiritual warfare? Part of their work is described in Revelation, Chapter 12.
The woman in the above scriptures represents the body of Christ, the real church. The man child represents the Lord Jesus Christ, but also represents the overcomers, the tithe of the tithe, Gideon's army of 300 who have been prepared by the Lord to minister to the rest of the body in the wilderness. The 300 (not a literal number in the end times) will have been ostracized, persecuted, and branded as fanatics by the charismatic 9,700 who went back. But God worked compassion and real agape love in the hearts of the 300 to the extent that they, in the end times, returned love to the very Christians who had persecuted them.
Now, just in case any of you are somewhat skeptical concerning the existence of the Midianites in our Christian churches today, please consider this. Many long years ago I heard a brother say that there were more than 500 denominations in the Protestant churches. Only the Lord knows how many there are today. Someone told me recently that now there are 10,000 varieties of churches, fellowships, etc. If we as Christians would spend more time allowing the Spirit to break us and mold us into the image of Christ, rather than arguing about doctrine and trying to bring about unity in the body of Christ, we would soon see some fantastic results!
And so once more, the Lord speaks to His people to "come up higher." There is nothing about the Christian walk that is static in nature.
Let us consider only ONE aspect about Moses.
In like manner, the Lord has been "hiding" a company of believers who shall come forth in these latter days to be a company of deliverers for the church.
In Old Testament times God raised up prophets to speak His word to the people. When the prophets spoke, it was largely (but not altogether) a word of exhortation to repent and return unto the Lord. Have you ever noticed the first verse in five of the books of the so-called "minor" prophets? Five, of course, symbolizes the grace of God. So it was, and is, the grace of God to raise up prophets to SEE and hear a word from the Lord and to warn His people. The Lord also used the Old Testament prophets, at times, to speak a word of comfort or encouragement to His people. The book of Isaiah has many such words of comfort.
So five of these minor prophets were allowed by the Lord to SEE something that the Lord wanted them to convey to His people.
The prophet Isaiah speaks about "the burden of the valley of vision" (Isaiah 22:1). When we are in a valley, we cannot see too much. We need to rise up to the mountaintop to see more of the Lord and His ways.
John the Baptist, speaking about Jesus, said.
Far too many times that scripture has been quoted backwards as saying, "I must decrease but He must increase." The order of scripture is significant. I can decrease and still not allow Christ within me to increase. But if He increases within me, then by necessity I must decrease. Not my will but thy will be done, O Lord. My wife loves to work in the yard, with shrubs, plants, flowers, trees, and grass. The Lord has given her many revelations about our Christian walk from analogies in the yard. One such revelation she received had to do with how to keep the lawn (grass) healthy and get rid of weeds. We need to concentrate on feeding the roots of the grass because strong healthy grass will choke out the weeds. We don't need to concentrate on the weeds themselves. Likewise if we concentrate on the increase of Christ within, then the acts of the old nature will decrease.
Many years ago as I was reading Isaiah 6, I "heard" a new and different interpretation of the first verse.
At that point in time I had read that verse probably 30 times, as a minimum. But on that day, I found myself reading that verse as follows:
Now "Uzziah" does NOT mean "self." But sometimes the Holy Spirit has a way of putting into context some things that normally are not in context. In any event, the latter interpretation is true. The very essence and basis of sin is to put self in the preeminent place of God. Sin is when a man worships or is obedient to himself instead of God. Whenever "king self" dies we can see the Lord high and lifted up.
Vision and hearing are twins which go together in many scriptures. In almost all of these scriptures, vision comes before hearing. This is also true in the natural realm. We SEE lightning before we hear the associated sound. If a supersonic jet aircraft passes overhead, we SEE the plane before we hear the sonic boom. The speed of light is much faster than the speed of sound.
When Paul was apprehended on the road to Damascus,
Here we see that vision precedes hearing. Jesus had the same experience. He SAW the Spirit of God descending upon Him and then He HEARD a voice from heaven.
I have searched the scriptures rather carefully and I have found only one place where hearing seems to come before seeing, where Paul tells the saints at Philippi,
Why is the order in this one verse reversed from all of the others? In all of the other verses vision precedes hearing. Everything starts with the Word of God, then vision and hearing, then faith and obedience, then righteousness and holiness, and finally the Word becomes flesh within us. The order is that way because that order reflects REVELATION from the Spirit of God to us and within us ... how the word becomes flesh. But Paul in Philippians 4:9 speaks of the way of teaching ... from man to man, not direct revelation from the Spirit. So Paul starts with those things which the Philippians have learned. We frequently learn from good teachers before revelation of the Spirit sheds light in our hearts. Paul then speaks of the things that the Philippians have received in the way of accepted doctrine and teachings. Paul goes further than that. He tells the Philippians to do those things that they have heard and seen in him. The body of Christ hungers for those leaders (preachers and teachers) who practice what they preach. A good teacher must demonstrate in action in his daily life the truth which he expresses in words. Now we know that NO man is perfect. When all we see of a teacher is his teaching ability in a formal meeting of believers, we tend to put that man on a pedestal. How does his life measure up in the day-to-day activities, particularly when things do not seem to go right for him? That is the true test.
We should not be overly impressed by what a person "knows." Rather, we should be impressed by who they ARE or who they have BECOME. That requires much more effort. We must always remember that the objective is NOT to hear some nice, polished sermon or teaching. The Lord's objective for us is that the Word become flesh within us ... "Christ in you, the hope of glory."
A number of years ago in a gathering of believers in our area, a visiting minister of the Lord asked us to read together out loud the first chapter of 2 Peter. We went around the room and each person read a verse. Then the visiting minister asked us what we had heard through those verses. Several people commented on several verses, but I had heard nothing new or different from the many times I had read that chapter. I decided to go back and re-read the entire chapter while others were commenting. When I read (silently) verses 18-20, one word just jumped off the page.
The word that I saw for the first time was the word "UNTIL." Most Christians believe that the "more sure word of prophecy" mentioned in Verse 19 refers to scripture, as indicated by verse 20. So scripture is "more sure" than our hearing the voice of the Lord because any of us can, at times, miss hearing the voice of the Lord or (more likely) misinterpret what we hear. Verse 19 says we should "take heed" to scripture "as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, UNTIL the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." In other words, UNTIL that word becomes flesh in our hearts. Does that mean that AFTER that word becomes flesh within us that we no longer take heed to scripture? NO! The difference is one of perspective and motivation. We still need to take heed to scripture, NOT because it is written in scripture, but rather because it is written on our heart ... that word has become flesh within us. That word has become supernaturally "natural." We obey the word as easily as we have learned to walk or drive a car or any simple, natural event.
So by seeing the Word of the Lord, hearing His voice, being obedient by faith, and allowing His righteousness and holiness to be made manifest within, the word becomes flesh in some area of our life. The process then repeats for another area of our life. The end of this process is,
What then shall this man do?
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 12 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. 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?
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 ... repentance and intercession.
We will go into great detail about those two actions in the next four Chapters; 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?
Now, what, specifically has the Lord called us to do? The answer has always been in the Book of Joel. No one knows who wrote that book; neither does anyone know when it was written. That is because the Lord is raising up "nobodies" in these end times to be used as deliverers (Obadiah 21).
The Book of Joel, which is timeless, contains, from Joel 1:1 through Joel 2:17, both a description of the Church today and what the Lord wants us to do about it. Please read Joel, particularly Joel 1:8 through Joel 2:17.
In Verse 14, the meal offering and drink offering have nothing to do with the natural realm. For a lengthy exposition of those two offerings, see our article on worship (copy available on request). In Verse 17, the priests, the ministers of the Lord, are the sons of Zadok, not those priests who minister unto the house (Christian people). See Ezekiel 44 for the difference in the two sets of priests.
After the Israelites had been in bondage for 400 years in Egypt, they finally cried out to God for deliverance. During that same time period, God had been preparing Moses to be the earthly deliverer. That process is currently being repeated. Christians today, particularly charismatic Christians, are in bondage spiritually and very few know it.
As soon as spiritual Zion travails on behalf of the body of Christ, the Lord will sovereignly unveil the deliverers that He has been preparing (Obadiah 21). Those deliverers will then feed the Church in the wilderness (Revelation 12). No man will get any credit. No man will get any glory. Everyone will recognize that without the sovereign moving of the hand of God, the Church has no hope.
This results in the fulfillment of the "then" in Joel 2:18.
What is "His land" and who are "His people?" Many, particularly the literal fundamentalists, would say natural Israel and natural Jews (based perhaps on an incorrect exegesis of Romans 11:26). We have even heard one rather prominent teacher say that every natural Jew will be saved. We must respectfully disagree. (For much more on this topic see our tenth book, "The He Goats Before the Flocks," pages 143-152.) My Bible says that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek (Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11). "His people" refers to all those whom the Father has given to the Son ... those who have been drawn to the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit ... all those whom Jesus prayed for in John 17. Please note Verse 12, below.
"His land" represents the promised land, which is not in the natural realm. We are not at all convinced that the Lord favors some real estate over in the middle east, called Israel, more than some other natural land. The Lord created the whole earth and called it good. In addition, the natural land called Israel (as well as all of the existing earth) is one day going to be burned up anyway (2 Peter 3:5-13).
It is interesting to note that from Joel 2:18 through the end of the Book, everything is the sovereign work of God. And so the question for the Church today is ... where is Daniel? Where is Ezra? where is Nehemiah? Where are the sons of Issachar who understand what spiritual Israel ought to do today? Where are those who weep and groan in the spirit on behalf of the body of Christ? that the plans and purposes of God might be fulfilled? This too, must be a work of the Holy Spirit. It can never be fulfilled legalistically, even by those who understand what the Lord is after.
Now if you see the problems within the Church, and you understand what the Lord wants you to do about it, how do we move to the third phase? Ask the Lord by His Spirit to move you there. The prodigal son at first said to his father, "Give me." After he repented and returned, he said, Father, "Make me." The key is to see that we cannot do it by our own knowledge and understanding and power. We must depend upon the Lord.
The Two Keys (on the part of Christian man)
One set of verses that is critically specific and applicable today in terms of what the Lord is waiting for us to "do" are found in Joel 1:1 - Joel 2:17, which represent the "If," which not only describes 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. The church and the world are filled with greed, idolatry, worldly entertainment, politics, and every abomination under the sun. And what shall we do? Those same verses contain the specific answer. Those verses speak of two things ... deep repentance on the part of all believers (identifying with the will of God) and true intercession, accompanied by groaning in the spirit, weeping over spiritual Jerusalem, 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 generated by the flesh; 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, the essence of repentance and intercession is unmistakably clear.
At the most fundamental level, we are all unique and God created us for a unique purpose. Ultimately we are called to glorify God. But what does that mean? Jesus answered that question in John 17 when He said,
In Scripture, we need to pay close attention to the use of a colon. What follows a colon always explains or amplifies what has just preceded. Jesus glorified the Father on the earth by completing the work which the Father had given to Him. As long as we, as believers, fulfill the purpose for which we were created, then we all receive the same reward. John the Baptist likewise fulfilled the work given to him to do.
Paul said the same thing.
Now let us consider what Jesus said to a multitude of people (including His disciples).
Was Jesus saying that we need to do some things? If so, what things?
The words in the above verse that Jesus spoke are taken from two different sets of verses in Deuteronomy in the Old Testament.
Let us note two things. First, the verses in Deuteronomy were given as commandments, under the law. They speak of, "Thou shall do this and thou shall not do that." No man, except Jesus, was ever or is ever able to keep the law. Also note the progression from the verses in Deuteronomy 10 to those in Deuteronomy 30. The progression is from "thou shall do this" to "the LORD thy God will circumcise your heart so that you will be able to love Him with all of your heart and soul." Thus there is a progression from what "we" do to what the Lord does. The verses in Deuteronomy are forward looking to the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, the verses are a commandment; under the New Covenant, the verses are a promise ... we really will love the Lord with all of our heart and soul and mind (provided we simply allow the Lord to work that love within us).
Second, none of the verses in Deuteronomy speak of "loving thy neighbor as thyself." Further, we cannot find one verse in the Old Testament which says that we are to love our neighbor as our self. Why did Jesus add that "second" commandment? Catholics, as well as many Protestant Evangelicals, are very strong on feeding the poor, on helping our neighbor in natural ways. We believe that a higher interpretation of "our neighbor" refers to the body of Christ, which concept was not a part of the law.
In 1967, shortly before the Lord apprehended me, I became somewhat "desperate" because of some downturns in my life and talked with the pastor of the Methodist Church where we were attending. I said, "I feel like my life is wasting away. Can you help me?" In essence, that pastor said, "No, I cannot help you. Why don't you go and talk with Sam Jones (not his real name)?" Sam was another "lay member" of that Methodist Church. The pastor also told me that if I "get right with men then I will be right with God." How tragic! Hindsight, it is obvious that he did not know the Lord. Further, no amount of "loving our neighbor" will ever get us to the place where we love the Lord our God with all of heart, and soul, and mind. It only works the other way. Whenever we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us the nature of God, Who is love, then by default we will also love our neighbor as our self. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son ..." (John 3:16). Not long after that, the Lord sovereignly apprehended me.
Instead of us "doing" something for the Lord, the higher priority is that the Lord wants to do something within us. That does not mean that we sit back and do nothing.
What then shall this man do?
In Chapter 10, we introduced what we call the two keys on the part of a spiritual remnant that will satisfy the Lord such that He will then bring about restoration in the Church. Those two keys are deep repentance and intercession for the Church. We briefly mentioned the following verses from the Book of Joel as illustrative of that process leading to restoration.
The above verses speak of two things ... deep repentance on the part of all believers (identifying with the will of God) and true intercession, accompanied by groaning in the spirit, weeping over spiritual Jerusalem, 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. In the event that either (1) we do not see the need, than we can ask the Lord to make that need known to us; or (2) if we see the need then we can ask the Lord to energize within us the action required to fulfill that need. Ask and we shall receive.
What does it mean to repent? In the New Testament, the major Greek word translated as repent means to change one's mind or purpose. Perhaps when most Christians hear the word "repent," they think about what happens when we are first born again. But there is much more to repentance than that. As a result, we suspect that when most Christians hear that they need to repent, the first thought that runs through their mind is, "Repent? Repent from what? I have not killed anyone; I have not stolen from a bank; I have not committed adultery; I have not ... Further, I have already accepted Jesus as my Savior."
John the Baptist came preaching,
Then comes Jesus.
Who constituted the audience that both John the Baptist and Jesus exhorted to "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand?" Who needed to repent? the Amorites? the Edomites? the Canaanites? the Philistines? NO! Jesus exhorted His own people, the people of God, the religious elite of the day, to repent. But,
A question for all of us to ponder ... Consider the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees who crucified Jesus. Are they in heaven? We do not speculate on the answer to that question. But Peter told them that they did it through ignorance (Acts 3:17). He also told them to repent and be converted, that their sins may be blotted out (Acts 3:19). So the grace of God was sufficient even for those who crucified Jesus. Jesus said to the chief priests and elders,
Why do the publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God before the religious leaders of the day? because the publicans and harlots are aware of their need. The leaders are not aware of their need.
Jesus never preached, "Repent, so you can be saved and one day go to heaven." Jesus preached the kingdom of God, which is not the same as the initial salvation experience. There are two scenarios. We have the Church, being "saved," going to heaven one day, and many would add the so-called "rapture" out of this world when things really get difficult. On the other hand is the kingdom of God. The two are not the same.
Consider Job. In Job, Chapter 1, the Lord said unto Satan,
But then, after 41 Chapters of discourse, Job says,
Why should a perfect and upright man, one that fears God, and eschews evil, have to repent? Let us also consider the prophet Isaiah.
Note that Isaiah, after he had seen the Lord, likewise had to repent, because he saw who he was in comparison to the Lord Himself.
Now, let us consider the word iniquity in Verse 7, above. "Iniquity" is merely a word that describes the "Adamic nature." It is something we possess, or that which we are, rather than something we do. In other words, iniquity in our nature is the cause of sinful activity in our lives. Iniquity comes in many different shapes and sizes ... like pride, arrogance, etc. To act proudly, or arrogantly, or out of self-will or ignorance is the essence of working iniquity. Jesus said,
Those verses are not a distinction between those who are "saved" and those who are not "saved." The verses describe the difference between those like Stephen, Paul, and many others on the right hand and the majority of the believers that Paul addressed (and still addresses) to the Church at Corinth on the left hand. Note also, in Verse 22, the three types of things that many will say to the Lord in that day ("in thạt day" is a topic for another word). The three verses above clearly give the Lord's priority between exercising the gifts of the Spirit and wonderful works on the one hand and the fruit of the Spirit on the other hand. Matthew 7:15-20 clearly states that same difference. Verse 22 also makes very clear that it is not sufficient to simply say the words "in the name of Jesus Christ." Ten times in the Book of Acts, the apostles said, "in the name of Jesus." But they had the Substance within them to back up their words. Acts 19:13-15 is another clear example of this truth. In Verse 23, "I never knew you" can be translated as "I never approved you." Christian man is so bent on "doing" good works that he forgets that the Lord wants to do a work within him. Jesus never did one miracle and never preached or taught until after His approval (Matthew 3:17 and Luke 4:14-15).
The attitude of his heart made David a beloved person in the sight of the Lord. If you want an eye-opener, check out the places in the Psalms where David pleaded for mercy and for deliverance ... not only for what he had done, but for what he was in his flesh.
Please note that in all three of the Psalms, above, David makes a distinction between sin and iniquity.
Many times all of us have repented of actions which had been wrong, and had harmed other people -- doing the best we could to rectify the mistakes we had made. We all know how to do that. But the probe of the Spirit is destined to go deeper than the surface of our life. He will begin to show us how wrong some of our motives have been ... what had prompted some of our non-sinful actions. They don't look so good under the searchlight of His Spirit. God, in His mercy, will show myself to me ... without benefit of cosmetic cover. "I try the reins, I search the heart" (Jeremiah 17:10).
Also consider what the Lord said about Job.
But in Job 42, Job said,
5 I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee.
6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Job 42:5-6
He will bring us to the place that we cry out, with David, "Oh Lord, have mercy on me, for I am weak." (Psalm 6:2). "Deliver my soul" (Psalm 116:4). Save me from myself.
The Lord caused the Prophet Isaiah to write, "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" (Isaiah 66:2).
He caused Joel to write: "And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil" (Joel 2:13). Jesus preached,
Genuine repentance is a gift from GOD.
Oh Lord, lead us, by Your goodness, to repentance. Then we need to ask the Lord for His grace and mercy to enable us to walk in a state of repentance. Are we "better" than Job, Isaiah, and David, all of whom saw the need to repent, not simply for what they had said and done, but for who they were?
What more shall this man do?
Before the priests, the ministers of the Lord, can weep between the porch (the body of Christ) and the altar (the Lord Himself) those priests (the remnant, the bride of Christ, the very elect) must be made by the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit. Man's part in this making is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. We do that by the decisions that we make every day ... decisions to put His will before our own will. We will attempt to describe this "making" shortly. For now, we must always remember that being born again is a free gift, based on His grace, through His faith.
But everything after being born from above is based upon the power of the Holy Spirit and our individual decisions. Our maturity in Christ is conditional ... conditional upon obeying His voice, keeping His covenant, walking in His ways. The conditions have never changed, from the Old Covenant through the New Covenant. The difference is how the conditions are affected.
Peter wrote those words to the Diaspora ... to the Jews who were scattered abroad ... to the Jews who had accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. Therefore those words are also directed to all true believers in Christ over all of time. One of Martin Luther's most important theological contributions was the "priesthood of all believers," which implied that clerics possessed no more dignity than ordinary people. The Lord hates the distinction between "clergy" and "laity." "Nicolaitans" means "people conquerors."
Although it is true that all born-again believers are called as priests, Ezkeiel 44 makes a clear distinction between the priests who minister to the Lord and the priests who minister to the house.
Throughout history the Lord has given His people a charge ... a commandment. One of the first such was to Abraham and then to Isaac.
David gave a similar charge to Solomon (1 Kings 2:3-4). Moses gave the same charge to Joshua (Deuteronomy 3:28).
Mordecai (prophetic of the Holy Spirit), gave a charge to Esther (the bride of Christ, not the Church) through Hatach (a chamberlain eunuch, appointed by the King to attend Queen Esther) that she should intercede before the King Ahasuerus (the Lord) on behalf of all the Jews (the body of Christ).
Verses 26 and 27 speak of two different actions or works of God. Verse 26, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: ..." speaks of God's purpose for making man. Verse 27, "So God created man in His own image ..." speaks of the first step toward accomplishing His purpose. The word "make" is a different word than the word "create." So the first Adam was created with the covering of the glory of God. But, as we all know, Adam made a decision, the wrong decision, and lost that covering of glory. At that point God covered Adam with the flesh, skin, and blood that all humanity has ever since (not the skins of animals). The risen Christ has no blood; neither did the Lord in eternity past. Neither will we in eternity future. The blood of man is the carrier of diseases.
The above Verses do not speak of natural Jews and a natural piece of real estate in the Middle East called Israel. I am quite certain that there are a multitude of natural Jews who would never consider going back to the natural Israel.
Note the three-step process in Verse 7 ... "created, formed, and made." Zechariah 12:1 says that the Lord forms the spirit of man within him. That same three-step process is involved in the "making" of the priests, the ministers of the Lord.
Consider what men call the parable of the prodigal son, in Luke, Chapter 15. Everyone knows the story. The younger son initially asked his father, "give me." Then he went to a far country and wasted his substance on riotous living. Any place away from Father is a far country. None of us want to go there. The word "riotous" does not mean what we think it means. It means to "preserve, attend to, or save self." In other words the younger son, who always was a son (huios, or someone who is baptized in the Holy Spirit) was like the Church at Corinth ... he was simply doing his own thing. But the grace of God arranged circumstances to help him to repent and come back to his father. When he came back he said, father make me as one of your hired servants. The Lord is now, and always has been, in the process of "making" those believers who are willing into His image.
I am completely convinced that the priests, the ministers of the Lord, are in the earth today. In general, they are NOT pastors of named churches. They are even not necessarily apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. They are "nobodies" who have made themselves of no reputation. But their number one priority is the Lord Himself and His plans and purposes. Just as in the time of Moses, the Lord has been preparing an instrument of deliverance in the earth. It is a hidden work. That preparation is similar to how pearls of great price are created. A "natural pearl" is one that forms without any human intervention at all, in the wild, and is very rare.
Everyone is familiar with the six Chapters which speak of the life of Elijah the prophet (1 Kings 17, 18, 19, 21 and 2 Kings 1 and 2). 1 Kings 19 is well known by most Spirit-filled believers. That is when Elijah fled from Jezebel to a cave and the Lord came to him and asked Elijah what he was doing there (because the Lord never told him to flee). Elijah said that he was the only prophet left. The Lord said, Not so, that He had 7,000 more in Israel that had not bowed the knee to Baal. How many of those 7,000 did Elijah ever meet? None! Zero! The Lord would not allow it because there would have been too much temptation for those 7,001 to claim some of the glory. In the same manner, the Lord will never allow the priests, the ministers of the Lord, to meet together in a "conference" for any purpose, including that of weeping between the porch and the altar. It will be in the hidden closets of those who have answered His call.
But one day, and soon, we will see the manifestation of the sons of God, an unveiling of God's masterpiece, a set of believers who will walk the face of the earth in the same manner that Jesus did 2000 years ago. I believe it will happen as soon as the priests, the ministers of the Lord weep between the porch and the altar. Only the Lord knows who and how many make up that remnant. Then the Lord returns and ushers in His millennial kingdom.
Now for a confirmation of much in this Chapter that has preceded ... let us consider the three anointings of Jesus (which correspond to the three anointings of David in 1 Samuel 16:13, 2 Samuel 2:4, and 2 Samuel 5:3). The three anointings of Jesus by mankind, recorded in the Gospels, were all by women, which speak of the Body of Christ.
The first anointing of Jesus, in Luke 7:36-39, was by an unnamed woman who was a sinner, during the first year of Jesus' ministry on earth as a man. That account is a contrast between a Pharisee, named Simon, who undoubtedly believed he was an important man and needed no help from Jesus, and a woman, a nobody, who knew she was a sinner and needed forgiveness. It was customary in those days when a man invited a guest for a meal, the host, or his servants, would wash and dry the feet of the guest, give the guest a kiss, and anoint his head or at least his feet with ointment. Simon did none of those things. The woman did all of those things. She stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Simon did not believe Jesus was a prophet, much less the Messiah. The woman believed Jesus could forgive her sins. This account is prophetic of us being born again or born from above, for we are a nobody until we are blessed by that grace.
The most amazing question is: How did the woman, a sinner, ever get inside the house of the Pharisee? Even more amazing ... if she were a sinner, why would he allow her to remain in his house? Could it be that he had used her "services" in the past? Was that why he did not tell her to leave immediately? Was he afraid she might reveal his secret?
The second anointing of Jesus is recorded in John 12, in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, in Bethany, six days before His crucifixion. Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with a pound of spikenard, very costly. This account is prophetic of those believers who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and are now a huios, a mature son. But even a son must mature. Notice that three names are present. They speak prophetically of the three major emphases in the charismatic community ... Mary (teaching), Lazarus (supernatural miracles), and Martha (serving, in various capacities, doing good works).
Matthew 26 and Mark 14 both record the same third anointing.
Note that the woman in the third anointing is again unnamed ... a nobody. Note that she poured the very expensive ointment on the head of Jesus, not His feet. She is prophetic of the bride of Christ, an Esther, a priest, the minister of the Lord ... those who pour out everything they have on the Head, even the Person of the Lord Himself. Therefore she has a new name (Isaiah 62:2 and Revelation 2:17 and 3:12).
The Concordant translation of the Bible, perhaps the purest (but not perfect) translation of the Bible, in John 6:71 and John 13:26, refers to Christ's betrayer as Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. So, Judas Iscariot was the son of Simon, the Pharisee. Further, Simon, the Pharisee, in Luke 7, at the first anointing of Jesus and Simon the leper in Mark 14 and Matt 26 is the same man. When Simon the Pharisee in Luke 7 rejected Jesus, Simon was made leprous. Sometime between that first anointing of Jesus and the last anointing Jesus had healed Simon, because lepers were never allowed to mingle with those who were physically whole. That was the grace of God that was extended (but apparently not accepted) by Simon Iscariot. That also affirms that the Lord is after something far more important than physical healing.
No one at the first anointing (in Luke) called pouring expensive ointment on Jesus a waste. At the second anointing (in John) only Judas called it a waste. In the third anointing His disciples (plural) called it a waste. Why the progression? None of the disciples had any real understanding until Pentecost. So they just assumed that what Judas said in John 12:5 made a lot of logical sense. Many years ago I actually heard an elder in our house church say the exact same thing that Judas said about the "waste."
The fragrance from the alabaster box could not be released until it was broken. When the alabaster box was broken, a sweet odor filled the house (the body of Christ). Everyone could smell it. Something had been crushed, something had been broken, and there was a resulting odor of sweetness. To activate the anointing we must allow the Lord to totally break our self-life so His inner fragrance can be released.
The greatest need in the charismatic community today is not more training seminars and conferences. The greatest need is for us believers to be broken before God. Once we are broken the anointing will be overwhelmingly evident and we will be prepared for the Lord's use.
No one can take people into the depths of God unless he has been broken himself. Without brokenness we remain proud, arrogant, and selfish. The outcome of brokenness is genuine humility and total reliance on the Lord. One thing is for sure ... the Lord will soon bring about circumstances where we all will be forced to depend solely on Him. Luke 20:18 is eternally true. "Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."
I have never been to a rodeo, but I have seen clips on the internet and TV. One of the events in a rodeo is riding a wild horse. Whoever stays atop the wild horse the longest is the winner. Seldom is the winner able to ride the horse for more than a few minutes. Have you ever seen what a wild horse will do? It will kick, rear its legs to try to throw the rider off, try to bite the rider, etc. Likewise, we cannot tame our human nature. No one except the Lord can tame our self-life or human nature and then only if we allow Him to do so.
Just before Jesus rode into Jerusalem,
The colt, the foal of an ass, had never been ridden by any man; it was wild. The disciples brought the donkey to Jesus, threw their garments over the donkey and Jesus mounted it. What happened? Did the donkey rear, kick, bite, and try to throw Jesus off? No! The donkey was meek and mild and carried Jesus wherever He wanted to go.
We cannot do anything with this wild nature we were born with. We can try everything under the sun to rid ourselves of our wild nature, but the only One that will ever mount that wild ass in us is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our will power is not sufficient; neither is our mental understanding; neither is our emotions. Some of the biggest problems in both the individual believer and the corporate church are caused by us trying to do what only God can do. He is able to take our wild nature, subdue it and reign over it and make us like Himself ... IF we turn our life over completely to the Lord and allow Him to work in us that which is His will, His good pleasure, and His purpose for us.
Where are those who are willing to empty themselves of their own agendas and plans in order to become saturated with God's vision? Where are the vessels that are poured out for Him? We must invite the Holy Spirit to fill us with that kind of all-consuming vision and calling. May we yield to the Spirit and give Him permission to groan, weep and intercede through us!
Also, either Simon Iscariot and/or Judas Iscariot were present at all three of the anointings of Jesus. What does that mean for us today? In any local assembly of true believers where a real anointing of Christ is present, there will also be spies of the enemy, plotting to kill those who are most anointed.
It is the same group, the Pharisaic Jews of Judaism, who want to remove Christ and Christianity from every aspect of society today, and eventually, with the help of the Roman Catholic Church, Muslims, and apostate Christians, they will call for the death of all true Christians (Revelation 13). How could Jews, Catholics, and Muslims possibly unite in such an unholy alliance against Christians? The same way the Pharisees and Sadducees (who disagreed on resurrection life) united when they crucified Jesus.
Note that the alliance against Jesus consisted of kings of the earth, rulers, Herod, Pilate, Gentiles, and the people of Israel. That same unholy alliance today has infiltrated all the Christian churches where there is a real anointing and has placed spies in our midst, just as Judas had infiltrated the inner circle of the disciples of Jesus Christ. Nothing has changed!
Now all of that may be interesting, but how does this story of Judas and his father, Simon Iscariot, relate to us personally in the time in which we live? and what changes should it make in our lives? I am not particularly interested in history; revelation is of little value unless it makes a change in our life. The purpose of revelation is clearly given in Deuteronomy 29:29 ... "that we may do all the words of the law." The relationship is clear. What happened to Jesus will be repeated one more time. Jesus said, "For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" Jesus Christ is the green tree, which speaks of Life. We are the dry tree. There is no life outside of Christ.
What does that mean for us? It means that all traces of self must be put down. It means the same thing it meant to the great prophet Isaiah in Chapter 6. It means the same thing it meant to Job, whom the Lord called my servant Job, none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil. But Job later said, "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." It means my vision of the Lord is too small; your vision of the Lord is too small.
Many seem to be waiting for the Lord to do something, but in reality the Lord is waiting for us to do something. The enemy has lulled to sleep many believers in America because we have long enjoyed a season of prosperity and peace. That will not always be so ... the atmosphere may change quickly and sooner than we think.
The bottom line exhortation for every true believer is:
How do we go on to perfection? only one way. We must cry out, "Help, Lord! Change our hearts. Make us into that which You desire, which is Christ in us, the hope of glory." Unless we have this attitude and submit to the work of the Holy Spirit within us, we become just like Simon the Pharisee, who saw no further need for Jesus.
The key is an open face, which means our heart and spirit is open to the making process from the hand of the Lord in all things. May we all be counted worthy to walk with the Lord in these end times. Amen.
In the previous Chapters, we set forth the critical need for repentance on the part of the spiritual remnant today and the making of the priests, the ministers of the Lord. In this Chapter we describe the equally critical need for intercession on the part of that same remnant. Intercession is a groaning in our spirit, a rending of our hearts and not our garments, a weeping by the ministers of the Lord between the porch and the altar on behalf of the Church. Like everything else in our walk, this intercession must be born of the Holy Spirit. If we do not see the need for intercession, then we should ask the Lord to make that real to us. If we see the need but sense that intercession as directed by the Holy Spirit is not yet made real within us, then we can ask the Lord to make that real to us. Ask and we shall receive.
To intercede literally means "to come in between." The word "intercede" per se does not occur in Scripture. The word "intercession(s)" appears ten times and the word "intercessor" appears only once. However, the essence of intercession occurs throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The intercessor is one who comes in between God and man, on behalf of men, at times those men who deserve His wrath and punishment, and (more frequently) for God's chosen people who, for whatever reason, have been missing the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Words mean different things to different believers. Therefore we need to try to convey, if possible, what we mean by intercession, as distinct, perhaps, from prayer and supplication. In this word, we do not speak of praying for a Christian brother or sister who has some physical or emotional ailment; neither do we speak of praying for a believer who has a financial or similar natural-level need. Obviously there is a place for that type of prayer (provided it is led by the Holy Spirit), but we speak of intercession at a higher level, as illustrated by Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah, to name a few. That higher level is what Paul meant when he said, "That we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus" (Colossians 1:27). Daniel said,
Note that Daniel not only identified with the will and desire of the Lord but he also associated himself with the people of God. The Bible gives no indication that Daniel had sinned, but he never set himself above the people in any way.
Esther likewise purified herself before interceding for her people before the king. Ezra, like Daniel, identified both with the will of God and the people of God when he said, "We have forsaken Thy commandments" (Ezra 9:10). Nehemiah, in Nehemiah 1:4-6, wept, mourned, fasted, prayed, and confessed that he and all the people had sinned (although here again, there is no indication that Nehemiah himself had sinned). That is the level of intercession which we try to convey in this word. That is the level of intercession that the Lord is looking for before He brings His restoration.
The great Intercessor, of course, was and still is Jesus.
In effect, when Jesus died on the cross, He was saying, "Let the judgment that is due to the people come upon Me." Then after His death, resurrection, and ascension, we are told,
The most compelling reason for the need for intercession on behalf of the Church is found in those Verses. The Lord Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest, continues to make intercession for us, the body of Christ, even to this day. Are we called to identify with Him in His intercession for us? Scripture says that we are co-laborers with Him (1 Corinthians 3:9). Every believer is called to identify with His baptism, His suffering, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His weeping over Jerusalem, and His intercession.
What a comfort we have to know that Jesus continues to make intercession on our behalf before the throne of the Father! Jesus spent thirty years in relative obscurity in "normal" family life; three and one-half years in public ministry; and now about two thousand years in intercession, unseen by any natural eye. Do those time frames say anything about the importance of intercession?
In addition, Jesus said,
Paul speaks of the Comforter and says,
So we have one Paraclete here with us and another seated at the right hand of the Father, (but we speak of the spiritual realm).
Scripturally, how has God moved in order to restore His chosen people to the place that He desires? After the 400 years of bondage in Egypt, and in response to the cry of the Israelites, the Lord raised up and empowered Moses as their visible deliverer. All throughout the book of Judges the Lord also raised up deliverers, again in response to the cry of the people. Then the Lord used Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah in a slightly different way. All four of them were righteous vessels who interceded for God's people.
Then comes the Deliverer of all deliverers, even Jesus Christ our Lord. Sometimes we need to reflect not only on what Jesus has done for us at Calvary, but what He continues to do for us.
The first of two complementary sets of verses which encapsulate what the Lord is looking for the Church to "do" are the following.
That verse has no natural level interpretation. "A stone" could refer to any member of the body of Christ. "The stone" can be no other that the Lord Jesus Christ. "The wall" is the wall around spiritual Jerusalem, not just any ordinary city wall. The Lord Jesus is also "the wall."
"The beam out of the timber" refers to the Father, Who is the girder Who upholds all things. Therefore Habakkuk 2:11 says that the Lord Jesus shall cry out to the Father on behalf of the Church. That verse is the Old Testament counterpart of the New Testament verse,
The second of the two complementary sets of verses which encapsulate what the Lord is looking for is the following.
The above verses represent our identification with the Lord Jesus in His intercession for the Church. That is what Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah "did." I have not found any place in the Bible that speaks of a gift or ministry of intercession. Every member of the body of Christ is called to intercede on behalf of the Church. However, "Many are called but few are chosen" (Matthew 22: 14); or rather, "Many are called, but few choose." Unfortunately, few see the need to intercede on behalf of the Church; even fewer choose to intercede.
A better translation of the above verse is:
Some careful thought will bear witness that the greatest saints were often the greatest intercessors, for they were those who were closest to the heart of God. Some of these great intercessors were Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, and Paul, to name a few.
Abraham interceded on behalf of Sodom because his nephew, Lot, was there. Abraham knew that if judgment came upon Sodom, then Lot and his family would be part of the judgment. Abraham kept interceding for Sodom until the Lord promised that He would not destroy it if He found ten righteous persons in the city. I have read that at that point in time, Sodom was a major city with a population of no less than 10,000 people. So for the sake of ten righteous people out of 10,000 persons God was willing to spare the entire city. That is one out of a thousand! Elihu, in the Book of Job records this same proportion.
One out of a thousand! That does not seem like a very large percentage ... 0.1% ... or a tenth of a tenth of a tenth. Let us apply this same proportion to the United States, whose current population is very close to 300,000,000 people. Does that mean, if we use the same proportion, that God will spare the United States if He finds 300,000 persons who walk in righteousness? A better question might be: are there 300,000 committed believers in the United States who walk in righteousness? (That does NOT mean those who have their names on a church roster; nor does it mean those who are born-again believers but are doing their own thing.)
Some watchmen have said that the United States is currently worse spiritually and morally than Sodom and Gomorrah during the time of Abraham. Therefore a number of those watchmen recently have been warning the Church that blood and fire are imminent in America. Do you think that America is in trouble? Is it time for the judgment of God to descend upon our country? Do we need some real intercessors, such as Abraham was in his time?
Almost everyone is familiar with the total solar eclipse that was visible on August 21, 2017, only in the United States. That visibility was most prominent from the northwest to the southeast of our nation. Scientists now tell us that the next total solar eclipse to be seen in the United States will occur on April 8, 2024, and will be most prominent from the southwest to the northeast. The two eclipses together will thus mark an "X" over the approximate population center of the United States. An "X" typically means to delete something. Is it possible that unless the visible church in the U.S. repents before April 8, 2024, then the Lord will bring complete destruction upon our land? Is it possible that by April 8, 2024, the Lord will unveil His deliverers on Mount Zion (Obadiah 21)? Surely we have seen many signs in the earth for many years ... devastating hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, tsunamis, forest fires, droughts ... the beginning of sorrows. But signs in the heavens point to an even greater time of tribulation. One good brother in Christ told me recently that he, and others, has seen unusual red "fire" in the constellation Virgo. No one can deny that in the past year or two we have witnessed an increase in distress, turmoil, etc. in the United States. That includes a clear increase in the rejection of God-ordained authority. Now we make NO prediction concerning April 8, 2024, because "now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). Paul spoke that word to the Church at Corinth ... those who had been born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit. Does that word have any application for us today?
Most Evangelicals profess a need to "go out and get them saved," based upon what man calls the "great commission" in Matthew 28 and Mark 16. That is not what Scripture says. It says to make disciples of all nations and then teach them to observe all things that Jesus has commanded. Further, is it correct exegesis to turn a rhema word to the apostles into a logos word for all believers? Is every member of the body of Christ to become a teacher of the Lord's disciples? Are all teachers? Not according to 1 Corinthians 12:29. Jesus said,
Who are the lost sheep of the house of Israel? natural Jews? some Jews, yes ... all Jews? I doubt it. The criteria that determines who Jesus prayed for, and still prays for, are all those whom the Father has given to our Lord Jesus. That includes both Jew and Gentile, but not every human being. Further, the word "lost" does not refer simply to the "unsaved." It refers to the "saved" who have lost their Way ... lost their focus, their direction. The Church at Corinth lost their way; they no longer took heed to the directions of the Holy Spirit. The Church at Ephesus left their first love.
A second striking example of an intercessor was Moses. The apostasy of the Israelites who came out of Egypt during the Exodus was so great that only two of those over the age of twenty actually made it into the promised land, but Moses interceded.
That is intercession! How many such saints do you think there are in the United States who would sincerely make that same statement? Only the Lord knows, but I would guess not too many! The Lord surely would have destroyed His chosen people had not Moses stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath.
In Verse 31, the people had made gods of gold. Do you think that some believers today have likewise made gods of gold? Money is a HUGE driving force in America, both in the world and in the Church. Much of Christian teaching relating to money, particularly from the television preachers, is WARPED and DISTORTED! A great number of the television teachers are multi-millionaires.
The apostle Paul made the same statement as did Moses.
Ezekiel 22 records a different scene. Just as in the time of Abraham and Moses, the sins of God's people are portrayed once more, but this time there was NO intercessor found to stand in the gap.
One man ... one intercessor ... could have saved an entire nation, even though every section of society was corrupted (see Ezekiel 22:23-29 for proof of that). Can one man save the United States from the judgment of God?
The same apostasy existed in the time of Isaiah. Please read all of Isaiah 59 to get the complete picture.
Even God Himself wondered that there was no intercessor! What an amazing verse! Not one intercessor! Therefore, He sent His son, Jesus to be that intercessor. Thank you Lord!
From my somewhat limited experience, I have seen very few saints who even know what intercession is, much less move in that vital ministry. Even the so-called "intercessor conference" that I attended a number of years ago gave little sign of genuine intercessors.
Therefore, we believe it is crucial for those who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand, to ask the Lord to raise up true intercessors in our midst. There is no higher calling than that of an intercessor. Man will not see, recognize, or applaud you, but in the Kingdom of God your life will count for eternity.
What shall the intercessors pray for? that the leaders of the Church (those in positional authority) will return unto the Lord, laying aside all mixture and things that hinder. Scripture is clear that judgment is according to the light that has been given ... the greater the light, the more severe the judgment.
In all of the history of the human race, there has never been a generation on the face of the earth that has been exposed to greater spiritual light than this generation in the United States. Most believers have heard an enormous amount of good teaching, both through first hand exposure and through books, tapes, and videos. Yet the Church in America has strayed far from what the Lord desires. Those in positional authority within the Church have always been, and still are, the ones that must bear the brunt of the judgment of God. The problems always have been with the leaders, scripturally, historically, and experientially.
Intercessors also need to ask the Lord to open the eyes of each believer in our midst to come and see Jesus, to hear His voice, and to walk in His ways. Ask the Lord to give each member of the local church discernment concerning the body of Christ. That is clearly written in 1 Timothy 2:1, where we are exhorted to pray for all "men," which is the Greek word for human beings, not simply males.
Who Participates?
Who participates? those who have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches today ... those whose heart identifies with the heart of the Lord. 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.
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 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 will 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 baptized with 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."
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.
So now what is the Lord looking for in His people (or a remnant) today? We believe He is looking for those who will identify with His intercession and His weeping over spiritual Jerusalem. The Lord has been preparing an instrument of deliverance in the earth. It is a work that is hidden from the natural eye. That preparation is similar to how pearls of great price are created. A "natural pearl" is one that forms without any human intervention at all, in the wild, and is very rare.
We, as the people of God, have the power, authority, and opportunity to continually live in the shekinah glory presence of God. It is our choice. Not all will make that choice because it requires a denying of self and yielding our will to His will. If we, through the power of the Holy Ghost, build a living tabernacle where there is continual prayer, praise, worship, and thanksgiving, He will meet us and speak to us and our temple will be sanctified by His glory. If we continue to abide in the Vine and walk in the Spirit, then He will dwell among us.
In addition,
The word translated as "authority" is the Greek word huperoche, which occurs only one other time in the Bible, in 1 Corinthians 2:1, where it is translated as "excellency" or "pre-eminence." (And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.) Careful thought of 1 Corinthians 2:1 makes it apparent that Paul said he did not have that kind of authority. The authority given to Paul was spiritual authority. Therefore the word "authority" in 1 Timothy 2:2 refers to positional authority, i.e., the authority given by man, and not spiritual authority, which only comes from God.
What else shall this man do?
This Chapter gives a brief summary of what has gone before. We also add one additional aspect to what we have received as the answer to, "What Shall This Man Do?"
Haggai, Chapter 1, speaks of the "problems" of the remnant of the tribe of Judah, the judgment of God as a result of their lethargy, apathy, and self-centeredness, and the answer as spoken through Haggai the prophet. That is current events as well as history. We shared briefly the significance of Luke 12:42-48 and the critical need for the Spirit-filled community to lay hold of the holy fear of God. Next were some thoughts from the Book of Zechariah which are pertinent to us today, particularly how the pots in the Lord's house are to become as the almond bowls (pure gold) before the altar. Then we mentioned a few thoughts from the Book of Malachi, particularly deception and some conditions for the parousia (second coming) of the Lord.
Then we shared the need and commandment to prepare the way of the Lord and what we do to prepare the way of the Lord. We need an expanded vision in this hour; we need to know where we are going and how to get there! We focused on Colossians 1:27-28 and a few thoughts about the glory of God.
There are two keys as priorities on the part of the spiritual remnant ... repentance and intercession. We must know the level of repentance required for a Spirit-filled Christian. Likewise we need to understand the level of intercession which the Lord is looking for in His remnant.
This final word describes the attitude and action on the part of a spiritual remnant which is necessary to satisfy and please the Lord. In reality,
What is this simplicity that is in Christ? Our hearts must be attuned to His heart and will, we listen for and hear His voice, and we are obedient. He does the rest. He then makes the Word to become flesh within us.
Suppose we decide to take a trip in our car. We know our starting point and we know the name of our destination. But we do not have a map; neither do we have a GPS. Further, we have never been to our destination point before so we are not familiar with the roads and cannot rely on our past driving experiences. But nevertheless we start out on our journey. We know the general direction that we must take, but not the specific routes. So what do we do? Hopefully we will stop and ask for directions to get to each of the intermediary towns along the way. We must trust the directions that are given to us by the people we meet. Then finally we arrive at our destination. You could say that we have to have vision to know where we are going. We must persevere. We must trust the directions given to us, and we must obey those directions. We may run across a few minor detours along the way, but our faith, trust, and obedience allows us to get to our desired location.
So it is in our walk by faith as believers in Christ. It is worth repeating that we have never been this way before. Every new day, Your glory unfolds; filling my heart with Your treasures untold
The Lord desires that we become totally dependent upon Him and the directions given to us by the Holy Spirit. We must trust and obey. If we need to know what to do, where to go, or any other question, the best way to get His perfect answer is simply to cry out to the Lord and say, "Help me, Lord!" We do not need to wait until we get into a helpless situation. We can and should cry out to Him every day for His guidance and directions.
There are literally dozens, perhaps hundreds, of verses in the Bible when the chosen people of God found themselves in great trouble, affliction, sickness, or very difficult situations. Only then did they cry out to God for help and deliverance. One of the most notable such events was when the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt for 400 years.
Then the Lord unveiled a deliverer named Moses to lead His people out of bondage and toward the Promised Land. In essentially every case, as soon as the Lord heard a heart-felt cry for help, the Lord responded to their cry and poured out His great grace and mercy. Why did it take 400 years for the chosen people of God to cry out to the Lord? How many years of bondage and captivity will it take for the Spirit-filled/charismatic community to cry out to the Lord for deliverance today?
Instead of re-reading some of the multitude of such patterns in Scripture, let us consider Jesus when He lived on earth as a Man.
It is unfortunate that most translations of the Bible say, "save Him from death." The Greek word translated as "from" is ek, which means, out from. The Man, Jesus, was never afraid of death or dying. Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto the Father Who was able to resurrect Him (and did so).
The Greek word for "feared" is eulabeia, which means, caution, reverence, godly fear, or holy fear. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, says that eulabeia means "that mingled fear and love, which, combined, constitute the piety of man toward God." That word appears only twice in the New Testament ... once in Hebrews 5:7, above, and in Hebrews 12:28, below.
In other words, all believers should have that same fear of God that Jesus expressed in Hebrews 5:7. Further, all believers should have that same trust and faith in the Father, Who is able to resurrect us out from death.
Returning to Hebrews 5:7, "He offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto" the Father. For whom or what was He praying? He was praying for those who crucified Him. He was also praying for us.
Jesus was (is) the green tree; we are the dry. If Jesus cried to the Father on our behalf, can we do less? To cry out and not hide out is the mandate from our Father God. When we cry out to Him, we acknowledge our need for His divine intervention in our lives. A healing process also takes place as we admit our need before our Lord in prayer. There are many echoes in our spirit when this cry is heard in our own ears and before the throne of God. We must not hide out or continue to deny the ache in our hearts, becoming more and more numb as time marches on. Let us make known the unspoken desire of our heart ... that which we may think is even too big for the Lord to address. We must "cry out" and make this cry a habit that will change us and enlarge the kingdom of God within.
The purpose for us all is not simply to present or listen to good teaching. Our purpose is that the word might become flesh ... Christ in you, the hope of glory. Unless we see a need for something spiritually all of the words in the world will not phase us. The purpose for this book is hopefully to set forth a clear vision of the need we all have in this hour. By "we" I refer primarily to the Spirit-filled community, which includes you and me. The last few chapters of this book will then attempt to set forth what we believe to be the only effective answer to the question, "What shall this man do?" By "this man" I refer to you and me.
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Acts 2:37
And he [Paul] trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? Acts 9:6
And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Acts 16:30
And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. Acts 22:10
Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? John 21:21
And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Luke 18:18
The human nature of man is to "do." Men are always looking for the answer to, "What shall I do?" When Saul of Tarsus was first apprehended by the Lord, he asked that same question (Acts 22:10). God's people have usually been concerned with what we must "do" only when circumstances seem difficult, critical, or urgent. Because the Church in America today sees nothing critical or urgent, we are very lukewarm concerning what we must do. For the most part, the Church still enjoys apparent prosperity and blessings, so why rock the boat? That attitude has received much impetus from the "false faith" and "prosperity" "movement" ... the "name-it-and-claim-it" doctrine. Some say that we need to move on in the Spirit and that this is no time for business as usual; nevertheless, the actions of the church, particularly by the leaders of the Church, make it clear that business as usual is just fine. Let us keep everybody happy, keep the money coming in, preach feel-good messages, just love everybody, all is well, etc. "All is well" is a heart-warming, popular phrase. However, consider the news that Ahimaaz brought to King David after his son Absalom was killed. When Ahimaaz ran with news to David, the first words out of his mouth were, "All is well" (2 Samuel 18:28). But Ahimaaz had not seen anything. He simply told David what he thought David wanted to hear. Does that have any application to us today? Yes, there are some in leadership positions who rise above that attitude, but most of those still cling to a fixed pattern or routine of worship services plus perhaps an extra evening devoted to teaching.
Contemporary Christians tend to be predictable traditionalists merely tweaking the methods and means that they have been taught and trained to use. Typically speaking, the contemporary Christian is too busy to spend time with God in order to bask in His glorious presence, too busy to study the word of God in order to know the mind of God, too busy to have altar time with God to be consumed by holy fire, and too busy running from the demands of God to be running with God, knowing the miraculous will of God. Many contemporary Christians lack the vision and passion to build the Kingdom of God. Rather, they build the "Chapel of Self." (Author unknown)
What, specifically, is the Lord waiting on us, the Church (or at least a remnant), to do in this hour? Let us start by describing what, we believe, the Lord is not waiting on us to do. However, according to your faith, be it unto you. We believe that the Lord is not waiting on us to get involved with worldly politics. We believe that the Lord is not waiting for us to build more churches out of brick and stone. We believe that the Lord is not waiting for us to knock on more doors, hand out more tracts, and preach on more street corners, in an effort to "save" the lost. (There will always be those who do that, but that is not priority one on the Lord's timetable. We must preach the gospel with our life. Words mean little to the unsaved today, and very little to charismatics.) Neither do we believe that the Lord is waiting for us to present more good teachings. If more good teaching were the answer then the church would have been mature many years ago. I doubt that there have been any better teachers than the Apostle Paul (other than Jesus of course). Paul taught the Church at Corinth for 18 months. What happened there? They declined into carnality, disunity, and a multitude of errors. What happened in the Galatian churches? They mixed Christianity with the ways of the world. Paul taught day and night in Ephesus for 3 years. He did not shun to declare unto them all the counsel of God. He prayed for them night and day with tears. What happened in the Church at Ephesus? They left their first love (Revelation 2:4).
We also do not believe that the Lord is waiting on us to "jack up" our faith so we can receive more of His blessings and prosperity. In recent years, a new emphasis seems to have arisen to "teach" believers how to heal and deliver others; i.e., an emphasis on the supernatural. That too misses the mark. The emphasis on "conferences" likewise falls short of what the Lord is looking for.
I frequently listen to a few "worship" songs on the internet. Two I particularly like are "Oh the Glory of Your Presence" by Ron Kenoly before at least 10,000 believers, a full band, and 100 or so choir members; and "I Sing Praises to Your Name" by Terry Macalmon ... the latter at a Benny Hinn crusade in 2001 in Shreveport, LA, before 15,000 people. The music is indeed very stirring emotionally. But if those 15,000 believers were all walking with the Lord, then I believe hurricane Katrina would never have hit New Orleans and Louisiana in 2005. There is nothing wrong with emotion, but that is part of our soul; and we must worship Him in spirit and in truth. (I believe that "worship" means far more than what the typical charismatic seems to believe.)
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(The essence of the following truth came through a good brother who lives in Eastern North Carolina ... name supplied upon request. I have modified his word slightly.)
When we are first born again, we are rather ignorant as to what we must endure to continue following Him. 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 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.
18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave commandment to depart unto the other side.
[Jesus never worked with a multitude. When you see large numbers of Christians going in the same direction, look at it carefully again.]
19 And a certain scribe came, and said unto Him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. Matthew 8:18-19
The scribe did not know where Jesus had come from and he had no idea where the Lord was going. The scribe was simply stirred emotionally by the supernatural.
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Finally, although there are many more attempts of the flesh to please God, (none of which will "work"), we respectfully disagree with the growing number of would-be and pseudo "prophets" who warn us to prepare in the natural realm for the coming disasters in the United States. An increasing number of "big names" and "wanna-be big names" tell us to store up several months' worth of food and water and plan where to go when nuclear attacks come. They also tell us to keep our gas tanks in our cars full because we may have to travel some distance to escape the coming disasters. In other words, those "big names" tell us to carefully design our disaster recovery plan. Very recently I read that a well-known American Evangelical, Christian Zionist, and dispensationalist author not only believes in and teaches the so-called premillennial "rapture" doctrine but also has a bomb shelter filled with food and water. I guess I do not understand why we need a bomb shelter if we are going to be raptured before the "great tribulation." A disaster recovery plan in the natural realm cuts across the spirit of my Bible. Do we live by the faith of the Son of God or do we live by our natural, logical reasoning? Jesus said,
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Matthew 6:19-20
What about the poor widow woman who cast into the treasury two mites, which was all that she had, even all of her living (Mark 12:42-44)? Do you think that the Lord did not provide for her after that sacrifice? Did she have to beg for food to stay alive after that?
What about the widow woman in the time of Elijah (1 Kings 17:10-24) who only had a handful of meal and a little oil in a cruise? Because she was willing to give it to Elijah to eat, the barrel of meal did not waste, neither did the cruise of oil fail until the Lord sent rain upon the earth.
What about the woman in the days of Elisha (2 Kings 4:1-7) who had lost her husband and was about to lose her two sons to the creditors to be bondmen, because she could not pay her debts? As long as we pour out our oil into empty vessels, the oil will keep flowing just like Elisha and the widow. As long as they sought empty vessels there was oil. When they stopped seeking empty vessels, the oil stopped.
Furthermore, consider the following.
16 A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.18 The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. Psalm 37:16-19
Instead of planning on how to preserve our life in the coming days of famine, we do much better to concentrate on maintaining the righteousness of God within us. For if we do that, then the Lord promises that we will be satisfied in the days of famine. In summary, do we want to trust ourselves to provide for us, or do we want to trust the Lord to provide for us? The Bible says,
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek): for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Matthew 6:31-34
Yes, we are aware that the Lord used Joseph to store up food for seven years in Egypt in order to preserve life for His people. But that was a "rhema" word to Joseph, not a "logos" word to every one of God's people. In the final analysis, "Whatsoever He says to you, do it." But be very careful with trying to implement what man says to you.
Christian men frequently look for a "cause" to which they can give themselves. Some have a cause to stand on street corners and hand out Christian tracts. Others have a cause to serve in a soup kitchen. Still others have a cause to go around and knock on doors and ask the residents, "Are you saved?" The different types of causes are virtually unlimited. We would never even think about being judgmental about any of the various causes. Each person must answer to the Lord when it comes to, "what then must we do?" At the most fundamental level, we are all unique and God created us for a purpose. That purpose is to glorify God. But what does that mean? Jesus answered that question in John 17 when He said,
I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. John 17:4
In Scripture, we need to pay close attention to the use of a colon. What follows a colon always explains or amplifies what has just preceded. Therefore Jesus glorified the Father on the earth by completing the work which the Father had given to Him. As long as we, as believers, fulfill the purpose for which we were created, then we all will receive the same reward. John the Baptist fulfilled the work given to him.
And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not He. But, behold, there cometh One after me, Whose shoes of His feet I am not worthy to loose. Acts 13:25
Paul said the same thing.
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24
Now let us consider what Jesus said to a multitude of people (including His disciples).
And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Luke 6:46
Was Jesus saying that we need to do some things? If so, what things?
35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and saying,36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.38 This is the first and great commandment.39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matthew 22:35-40
The words in the above verse that Jesus spoke are taken from three different sets of verses in Deuteronomy, in the Old Testament.
12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and His statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? Deuteronomy 10:12-135 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:Deuteronomy 6:5-65 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. Deuteronomy 30:5-6
Let us note two things. First, the verses in Deuteronomy were given as commandments, under the law. They speak of, "Thou shall do this and thou shall not do that." No man, except Jesus, was ever or is ever able to keep the law. Also note the progression from the verses in Deuteronomy 10 to those in Deuteronomy 6 to those in Deuteronomy 30. The progression is from "thou shall do this" to "these words shall be in your heart" to "the LORD thy God will circumcise your heart so that you will be able to love Him with all of your heart and soul." The verses in Deuteronomy are forward looking to the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, the verses are a commandment; under the New Covenant, the verses are a promise ... we really will love the Lord with all of our heart and soul and mind (provided we simply allow the Lord to work that love within us).
Second, none of the verses in Deuteronomy speak of "loving thy neighbor as thyself." Further, we cannot find one verse in the Old Testament which says that we are to love our neighbor as our self. Why did Jesus add that "second" commandment? Catholics, as well as many Protestant Evangelicals, are very strong on feeding the poor, on helping our neighbor in natural ways.
No amount of "loving our neighbor" will ever get us to the place where we love the Lord our God with all of heart, and soul, and mind. It only works the other way. Whenever we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us the nature of God, Who is love, then by default we will also love our neighbor as our self.
Second, none of the verses in Deuteronomy speak of "loving thy neighbor as thyself." Further, we cannot find one verse in the Old Testament which says that we are to love our neighbor as our self. Why did Jesus add that "second" commandment? Catholics, as well as many Protestant Evangelicals, are very strong on feeding the poor, on helping our neighbor in natural ways.
No amount of "loving our neighbor" will ever get us to the place where we love the Lord our God with all of heart, and soul, and mind. It only works the other way. Whenever we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us the nature of God, Who is love, then by default we will also love our neighbor as our self.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son ..." (John 3:16).
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God Whom he hath not seen?
1 John 4:20For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: Ephesians 5:29
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, too hard to be heard, too 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.
In a nutshell, the three levels for us today are: (1) seeing the problems that exist in the Church; (2) knowing (understanding) what the Lord wants us to do about it; and (3) actually doing it, as led by the Holy Spirit. The first two levels are of little value unless we press into that third level.
Charismatic Christians learn the "language" quickly ... the "right" things to say and to do, even though they may only be traditions of men. We have been impressed, from our somewhat limited exposure to the body of Christ everywhere, of the ever-increasing number of charismatics, mostly in leadership or would-be leadership positions, who now expound on "what is wrong with the Church." That is fairly easy to do, but that profits little. Of course the visible church is in a near-apostasy state, absorbed with me-centered Christianity, cheap grace, traditions of men, idolatry, materialism, entertainment, false faith and prosperity, and a lukewarm attitude or apathy.
Perhaps the most certain event on the Lord's timetable is the imminent judgment of God upon not only the United States, but also the Church. This judgment has slowly but surely increased in the last fifty years. "To whom much is given, much is required" (Luke 12:48).
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1 Peter 4:17
Further, since judgment must begin in the house of God, then judgment must begin first with those in leadership positions in the house of God.
30 For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people.31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:30-31
All of us are familiar with the first sentence in Verse 30. Who is familiar with the second sentence ... "The Lord shall judge His people"? And how many times do you hear Verse 31 quoted? We have two options ... we can fall on the Rock now or else the Rock will, sooner or later, grind us to powder (Luke 20:18). "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of Decision" (Joel 3:14). That is not addressed to heathens. Neither is it a natural, physical valley.
Lord, let us understand what we must do. And then, Lord, may each of us walk in and fulfill that which we must do.
Chapter 1: Servants of the Lord
42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:42-48
First of all, let us note that the word "servant" occurs four times in the above verses; the word "menservants" appears once; and the word "steward " which also refers to the same set of believers as a servant, occurs once. So the above verses are addressed to those servants of the Lord who have been entrusted with gifts and ministries. The Greek word translated as "servant" is doulos, which means a slave. Under the Old Covenant, a Hebrew slave could be a slave for only six years. After that time, in the seventh year, he was to go out free for nothing (Exodus 21:2). See also Deuteronomy 15:12-18.
5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever. Exodus 21:5-6
In the New Testament a person could be owned as a possession for various lengths of time and could earn or purchase his freedom. As a believer, we still have free will and therefore can choose, consciously or unconsciously, to stop serving the Lord. All of us need our ear bored through with an aul, not as a legalistic act in the natural, physical realm, but spiritually. It is not a question of doctrinal agreement.
From Luke 12:45, above, we suspect that very few Christian servants today have physically beaten other menservants and maidens (although we have met a few in our lifetime who did just that). However there are other ways to beat menservants and maidens than in the physical realm.
Likewise, unfortunately, some Christian servants today eat and drink and get drunk. Again that does not speak of the natural realm so much as the spiritual realm. Everyone has to eat and drink or else we will physically die. I believe the meaning here is doing that which pleases myself, rather than pleasing the Lord ... an egocentric approach to our walk as believers.
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.9 The meat [meal] offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD'S ministers, mourn.13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. Joel 1:5, 9, 13
The verses above are written to all believers over all of time. "Awake" is a very pertinent word for the modern-day Spirit-filled community. The new wine speaks of fresh manna, which like His mercies and compassions, are new every morning. I have never (to my knowledge) met a Christian who is also a physical drunkard. But the drunkards, drinkers of wine, and the meal offering and drink offering have nothing to do with the natural, physical realm. The meat offering (or rather the meal offering, because there was never any meat in that offering) and the drink offering represent those believers or overcomers who have poured out their life for the will of the Father. We will not belabor the point here, but see our seventh book titled, "The Last Joel." (Copy available free upon request.)
Please re-read Luke 12:46 above. Note what the Lord says He will do to those believers (servants of the Lord) who spiritually begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken. He will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. That word is worth considering. That word should create a holy fear of God within us. It was that same fear that came upon the remnant of Judah in Haggai 1:12. It was that same fear that came upon all of the believers after the day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2:43. It was that same fear which Paul expressed when he said,
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! 1 Corinthians 9:16
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. Hebrews 4:1And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. Luke 1:50
From our observation, the Spirit-filled community today, as a generality, no longer understands or walks in that fear of God. I am sure there are some who do; but have you ever heard anyone teach on that subject? Why not? because that is not a popular topic for several reasons. But the fear of God is one of the Lord's major criteria for restoration. Further, there are hundreds of thousands of believers who could present a good teaching on the fear of God. All it takes is a concordance and a little time to prepare. Unfortunately, that does not get the job done. Why? because until we see a need for the fear of God in our lives, we will not partake. Only the Spirit of God can reveal to us the need for the fear of God. That is why the Lord is in the process of bringing about much persecution and tribulation which will force us to see the need.
Last, but not least, let us consider once more what Jesus said
47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:47-48
Those two verses are proof positive that the severity of God's judgment will be (and is already) more on the Spirit-filled community than on those in denominational churches, who have not been exposed to nearly as much light as we have. The question therefore remains, "What Shall This Man Do?"
Chapter 2: Haggai
About 538 BC, the conqueror of Babylon (which had taken Judah captive and destroyed Jerusalem), namely Cyrus, king of Persia, issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. Led by Zerubbabel, about 50,000 Jews journeyed home and began to work on the temple. About two years later they completed the foundation amid great rejoicing (Ezra 3:8-10). Their success aroused the Samaritans and other neighbors who feared the political and religious implications of a rebuilt temple in a thriving Jewish state. They therefore opposed the project vigorously and managed to halt work until Darius became king of Persia. The Jews were more to blame than their opponents for their inactivity, and the Lord through Haggai tried to arouse them from their lethargy.
Note that the opposition never arose until after the foundation was completed. (See Ezra, Chapter 4.) The foundation for us is having been born again and then become His disciples. The enemy is not too concerned with us being born again. We constitute no threat at that point. Certainly when someone is genuinely born again by the Spirit of God, that person is very excited and joyful, having entered a world they never knew existed. But the enemy vigorously opposes us if we begin to move forward toward the kingdom of God. The two are not the same.
Note in Haggai 1:1 that his first word was to Zerubbabel, the governor or captain of Judah, and to Joshua the high priest; in other words his first message was to the human leaders of God's people. So it is today. The near-apostasy that the Church finds itself in today is because of the leaders of the Spirit-filled, modern-day spiritual Judah. Anyone who is considered a "leader" in the church today should "consider your ways," a phrase which occurs twice in those exact words in Haggai 1:5 and 1:7 and two other times by implication (Haggai 2:15 and 2:18). The word, "consider," means to set your heart on or give your attention to. If judgment must begin at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17), then judgment must first begin with the leaders of the house of God.
Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built. Haggai 1:2
The phrase, "the Lord of hosts," is used more than 100 times in Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The phrase, "the Lord of hosts," used first in 1 Samuel 1:3, is perhaps best understood as a reference to the sovereignty of God over all powers in the universe. The phrase speaks of God as the God of armies ... both of the heavenly army (Psalm 68:17 and Habakkuk 3:8) and of the army of Israel (1 Samuel 17:45).
Note also in Verse 2, above, the phrase, "This people," which also occurs in Haggai 2:14. Because of their sin, the remnant of the tribe of Judah is not called "My people." (See also Isaiah 6:9, 8:6, 11-12; and Jeremiah 14:10-11). What was the sin of the remnant of the tribe of Judah? lethargy, apathy, and the fact that they were more interested in building their own houses rather than in helping to build the house of God. That is the exact condition of the Spirit-filled community today. The modern-day response is the same as it was back in 522 BC, namely, let's just wait on the Lord. He is in control. Meantime we will just enjoy our nice little meetings in our nice homes. Human nature never changes.
Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Haggai 1:4
If ever there was a word for the modern-day, Spirit-filled community, (you and me), it is Haggai 1:4. This is a day when every man does that which is right in his own eyes, rather than what is right in the Lord's eyes. The word "cieled," which occurs only six times in the Old Testament, means paneled or roofed. The word may also have the meaning of a "beam," as in houses built with beams, which expresses a luxury, as the normal house was built with mud bricks. The sin was (and is) not so much dwelling in "luxury" houses but being disobedient in not building the house of God. Because of their apathy and lukewarm attitude (sin), Haggai 1:4-11 records the judgment of God against His remnant. God is no respecter of persons. What He did 2500 years ago with His people, He will do again in our day.
In Haggai 1:4-11, the major implication is to repent. (Haggai 1:7 ... Consider your ways.) The only specific direction that the Lord gives to Zerubbabel and Joshua (through Haggai) is:
Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. Haggai 1:8
About 40 years ago, a local man whom some considered to be called as an apostle, put in writing that the house church of which we were a part was antichrist because we were not building a church structure. He cited Haggai 1:8 as "proof" of his diatribe. In other words, he interpreted Haggai 1:8 (and most other scriptures) strictly in the natural realm. Well that may have been true at that time in history, but it was not what was in the heart and mind of God then or now. A mountain in Scripture refers to a kingdom; wood refers to humanity. Haggai 1:8 speaks of cooperating with the Lord in building the kingdom of God within His people. I never asked the man why he built "his" church out of brick rather than wood.
One of the most amazing Scriptures is Haggai 1:12.
Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD. Haggai 1:12
The LORD's voice ... Haggai's words. Simply amazing! The leaders, Zerubbabel and Joshua, and ALL the remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord and the words of Haggai. Further, the people did fear before the Lord. All of the people heard the voice of the Lord through the words of Haggai. Not only did they obey but they feared the Lord! We can all agree doctrinally that nothing is too hard for the Lord. But do we really believe that could happen with the present-day Spirit-filled community? If so, who is such a man that ALL of the remnant would believe? We know of none. But yet there is a dire need for such a level of repentance to occur today within the Spirit-filled community. Help, Lord! We believe that the ONLY way that the modern-day Spirit-filled community (you and me) will wake up is through the judgment of God, as in Haggai 1:4-11. That does NOT mean that we just continue to have our nice meetings with our nice teachings and wait on the Lord. Do we really want to go through 400 years of bondage and captivity before Isaiah 11:11 is fulfilled?
What happened as a result of the people believing and obeying the voice of the Lord and the words of Haggai and fearing before the Lord? Immediately, the Lord cancelled His judgment on the remnant and poured out His grace and mercy.
13 Then spake Haggai the LORD'S messenger in the LORD'S message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD.14 And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, Haggai 1:13-14
What an amazing display of the power of God and the sovereignty of God! Is there anyone who would like to see the same thing happen today? Is there anyone who even sees the need for such an outpouring? One more time, this word is NOT for those in denominational churches. This word applies to the Spirit-filled community, the remnant of the house of Judah, you and me! Anyone who says "I am ok and we are ok" does not comprehend the seriousness of the time in which we live. Selah.
Chapter 3: Zechariah
In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, Zechariah 1:1
"Zechariah" means "the Lord remembers." Remembers what? remembers His covenant with Abraham and His seed. "Berechiah" means "blessed of the Lord" or "one who bends the knee to God." "Iddo" means "at the appointed time." Therefore God remembers and at the appointed time He will bless His people. This speaks clearly about the sovereignty of God.
Zechariah the prophet was a contemporary of Haggai. Zechariah and Haggai had essentially the same message. As such, Zechariah was intensely driven to exhort the remnant of Judah and to motivate them to complete the rebuilding of the temple. He was also highly motivated to see spiritual renewal among his people. The phrase, "the Lord of Hosts," occurs 53 times in his writing. The first word of the Lord that came unto Zechariah (and which he spoke to his people) was a call for national repentance.
3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto Me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of host.4 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto Me, saith the LORD.
Zechariah 1:3-4
Note the conditional decree of the Lord. We must first (re)turn to the Lord and then He will turn to us. Why did the remnant of Judah need to repent and turn back to the Lord? Because of their apathy, lukewarm attitude, and self centeredness, which is clearly indicated in the Book of Haggai. Do we need national repentance in America today? If so, in what segment of the population? the heathen? those in denominational churches? or those in Spirit-filled/charismatic fellowships? How can the heathen turn back or repent to Someone they never knew? Those in denominational churches have not received nearly the light that we have. Does that make us "better" than them? Just the opposite, as indicated in Luke 12:42-48. We continue to maintain that the national climate is a mirror reflection of the modern-day spiritual Judah, which is similarly characterized by apathy, a lukewarm attitude, and self-centeredness. We will have much more to say about repentance in a subsequent Chapter.
So 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
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.
1 I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.2 Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.3 And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,4 And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:5 For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.6 Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.7 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.
Zechariah 2:4-7
In Verse 1, the "man" with a measuring line in his hand is clearly an angel, sent by the Lord to measure Jerusalem. That measurement speaks of judgment, because the remnant in Jerusalem was not doing what they were supposed to be doing; the remnant was not "measuring up" to the will of God. Then, lest Zechariah become totally discouraged at the state of the remnant, the Lord sent another angel to tell the first angel what else to say to Zechariah.
In Verse 4, the new message was, Run, speak to this young man (Zechariah). Run! Don't walk! Hurry! In other words, this additional word is likewise critical. Zechariah is called a young man by the second angel. We do not know the natural age of Zechariah at that point in his life, but he certainly was a true prophet of the Lord. At least eight times, Zechariah asked the Lord, "What are these, my Lord?" Apparently Zechariah himself did not understand all of the visions he received from the Lord. That would classify him as a "young man," spiritually, if not also naturally.
Now the second (positive) message in Verses 4 and 5 did not negate the first message of measuring Jerusalem. The scripture does not say that the first angel aborted his first commandment to measure Jerusalem. Here again, we see the sovereignty of God at work. The Lord will have what He desires in spiritual Jerusalem one way or another.
Verse 5: Many years ago I was introduced by a close Christian friend to a set of churches who seemed to speak much truth. However, I soon realized that the leaders used psychic power to instill fear in the hearts of many beautiful believers. That group of more than 100 churches soon became a cult. Their leaders had tried to control me and make me one of their two elders in a new church they just established. When I declined, they considered me to be in rebellion and told me all of the horrible things that would happen to me and to my wife if I did not join up with them. Then, a year or so later I received a special invitation to attend one of their local meetings where their number one leader was to speak. I am quite positive that the reason I received that invitation was that they hoped that I would "repent" of my alleged rebellion and join up with them. I decided to go, but I did two other things in preparation. First, I asked another elder in our house group to go with me; He readily accepted. Second, I asked the Lord to surround me with His wall of fire as I went. When the two of us went to that meeting, the wall of fire around me was as real to me as the chair I am sitting on. I could almost touch it. There is much more to that story which I will not go into. Ask and ye shall receive!
The Lord said in Verse 6 to come forth from the land of the north. That signifies a moving from Samaria to Israel, to Judah, to Jerusalem, to Zion. In other words that signifies a maturing in Christ. Note in Verse 7 that the Lord tells Zion, who is dwelling in Babylon, to deliver thyself. He says, "You do it." That likewise has great spiritual significance. That requires a decision on our part.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 2 Corinthians 6:17And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Revelation 18:4
Who or what does the word exhort us to come out of? Babylon. What is Babylon? the economic, political, and religious systems of the world. There is no country on earth that epitomizes Babylon more than the United States. Do you realize that the modern-day church has been taken captive by Babylon for many long years? Unfortunately, many of the Babylonian ways have been absorbed by the Church.
One of my favorite verses is,
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, then thou shalt also judge My house, and shalt also keep My courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Zechariah 3:7
Although that verse was spoken to Joshua, the high priest, it has more general application to any believer who desires to be an overcomer. Note the conditional promise ... If ... then. Who are "these that stand by?" I personally believe they are those overcomers, like Stephen, who have gone before and are waiting for the millennium. They are the ten thousands of the saints who will come with Jesus.
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints,15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. Jude 14-15
Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.
Zechariah 4:6
That is probably one of the most quoted verses in the Old Testament. It was initially spoken to Zerubbabel but has universal application.
20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 14:20-21
Under the Old Covenant, the description of the priestly garments of Aaron, the high priest, included bells of gold round about the hem of the priestly robe. Further there was an engraving on the mitre worn by Aaron which said, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. In The Song of Solomon, Chapter 1, Verse 9, Solomon speaks to his bride (prophetic of the bride of Christ) and says,
I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots.Song of Solomon 1:9
A horse in David's day was the strongest animal used in warfare and was used to pull chariots of war. So in that day, the day of the Lord, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD shall even be inscribed upon the bells of the horses, which here refers to the remnant of the Church.
"The pots in the Lord's house" clearly refers to us believers. A pot is a vessel of service which potentially has great value in the hands of the Master to prepare and contain (spiritual) food. The Lord can and does use everything for His service. He even used Pharaoh for His purposes (Romans 9:17). How much more does He desire to use the pots in the Lord's house? Normally, we do not eat out of pots but out of bowls. The contents of the pot are poured into a bowl before eating. Note that Verse 21 says that every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts. The pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. How are the bowls before the altar? made of pure gold. He is changing us from glory to glory, provided we allow Him to do so.
Verse 20 speaks of the altar. Which altar? There were two altars, the brazen altar (overlaid with brass and in the outer court) and the Golden Altar of Incense (in the Holy Place, just before the veil leading to the Holy of Holies). Blood sacrifices were offered on the brazen altar but never on the Golden Altar of Incense. Further, only the priests were allowed to enter into the Holy Place wherein the Golden Altar was placed. The altar referred to in Verse 20 clearly refers to the Golden Altar in the Holy Place.
"And all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them [the pots], and seethe [or boil] therein." Who are "all they that sacrifice?" The Hebrew word "sacrifice" can also be translated as "butcher" or "slaughter." That seems to imply the natural realm, but the sacrifices made by the pots are spiritual in nature. So if that phrase signifies all those who sacrifice in the natural realm, that could refer to Jews who do not yet know the Lord and/or those Israelites whose understanding is limited to the natural realm. Jesus came first to the Jews, who crucified Him. Paul went first to the Jews but was then sent to the Gentiles. After the fullness of the Gentiles comes in, then the Jews will be jealous and shall come and seethe in the pots of Judah and Jerusalem (be ministered to by the Holy Spirit within believers).
We believe that Adam, before the fall, was clothed with the glory of God. He became naked (lost the covering of the glory of God) when he sinned by disobeying God. Then the Lord clothed him (mankind) with the physical skin that we now have. But in that day, there shall be no more the Canaanite (carnal flesh) in the house of the LORD of hosts. He wants to change us from total flesh to total spirit. The bowls of the Candlestick are pure gold, which speaks of Divinity; there is no wood (humanity) in them. Selah.
Thus the Lord is strongly exhorting us to be purified that we might be among the pots likened unto the bowls (pure gold/holiness) before the altar. The almond bowl is a type of the Holy Spirit, Who proceeds from the Father and produces fruitfulness in the people of God, such that each member eventually shines forth as gold. The hour is critical. May we heed His call.
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.Philippians 3:12-14
What then shall this man do to cooperate with the Holy Spirit?
Chapter 4: Malachi
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:
Amos 8:11
Thirteen famines are recorded in Scripture (Genesis 12:10, Genesis 26:1, Genesis 41:54, Ruth 1:1, 2 Samuel 21:1, 1 Kings 18:2, 2 Kings 4:38, 2 Kings 7:4, 2 Kings 25:3, Nehemiah 5:3, Jeremiah 14:1, Luke 15:14, and Acts 11:28). All thirteen of those famines were in the natural, physical realm, but were the result of underlying spiritual causes. Spiritual famines are also mentioned in Scripture, but generally by implication. One such famine is from the time of the Book of Malachi until the coming of Jesus. (Perhaps we could say until the day of Pentecost.) Although I am not a Church history buff, there certainly have been spiritual famines historically. One notable spiritual famine is called the Dark Ages.
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? Malachi 1:6
The very nature of deception is that the person who is deceived is not even aware that they are being deceived. The religious elite of the day in Malachi's time said they were doing everything required, putting an "X" in all of the right boxes, etc. That deception continued right through the time of the Pharisees and Sadducees, when Jesus walked the face of the earth. Human nature has never changed. That condition is also current events. Deception arises in many cases from ignorance of the meat of the word.
Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied Him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and He delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment? Malachi 2:17
The foremost characteristic of the present Church age is ... words. We have been and continue to be super-saturated with teachings and conferences. Yet we live today in the last spiritual famine ... another 400 years before the second coming of the Lord. How long has that famine already been going on? Only the Lord knows. The Lord is not pleased when we consistently rehash forty-year-old manna. We have believed for 40+ years that there should be fresh manna revealed during every gathering of believers ... that which no man has read, heard, or spoken before. How much time did Peter spend to prepare for his sermon on the day of Pentecost?
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:3 And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Malachi 3:1-3
Verses 1 and 2 speak of both the first and the second coming of the Lord to earth. Have you ever considered, in Verse 3, that He shall purify the sons of Levi? It does not say that He will purify all of the tribes of Israel at that time. Food for thought? Yet that is consistent with New Testament teachings. We will not elaborate here. The offering that the purified sons of Levi shall offer unto the Lord will not consist of money.
Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from Mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? Malachi 3:7
In order for the Lord to come for spiritual Israel's redemption, she must repent. We will have much more to say about repentance in a subsequent word. The Lord is not returning to the earth for millions of immature, baby Christians. There are many other events which must also come to pass prior to the Lord's parousia, or second literal coming, but we will not go into that here, except to say that His parousia will come as a thief in the night when no man is expecting it.
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
Here again is emphasized the necessity for the proper fear of the Lord within His people. Verse 16 says nothing about those who do not fear the Lord. 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 Verse 17, the phrase, "the LORD of hosts," occurs 24 times in the Book of Malachi. Verse 18 implies that there will be much deception in that day, such that if it were possible, even the very elect will be deceived. Return ... from where? Return from 400 years of bondage and captivity. This will be the fulfillment of Isaiah 11:11. This is current events. Jesus said to the Jews,
30 As He spake these words, many believed on Him.31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed;32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. John 8:31-36
I have heard a majority of rather mature believers quote Verse 32 as, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." But we were set free when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. We are made free by continuing in His word. Jesus, in the above verses, was speaking of a criterion to be a disciple, and then an overcomer, not simply a believer. That criterion is to continue in His word. Even some of the Jews who believed on Jesus could not accept that they were still in bondage. Deception! based on their misunderstanding of the law, which no longer applied. They claimed they were never in bondage to any man because they were Abraham's seed. Of course, natural inheritance does not make any one free.
Somewhere around 1971 or 1972, three "spiritual giants" were in our area at the same time ... very unusual. I asked all three to come over to our house one Saturday afternoon. I asked them to pray about a certain physical condition affecting my wife, Linda (which I am not at liberty to share right now) and see what the Lord might tell them. After a few minutes none of them had anything specific to say, so they all left. One of them said nothing; a second man said, "We are not all Daniels." As the third man, a true prophet of the Lord, was about to leave, he told me that he did not hear anything concerning Linda, but he had received a vision concerning me. He said that he saw the Lord slitting the tops of my shoes such that my toes would have room to wiggle around. I immediately got the message, although it was almost eight years later before that word was made manifest experientially. When that happened, I never sensed so much freedom and liberty in Christ in all of my life. That sense of freedom has never departed. It was, to me, a first-hand experience of being made free, which is a process, not a one-time event.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do [work] wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.2 But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts. Malachi 4:1-3
Peter speaks of this soon coming event also.
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?
2 Peter 3:10-12
The Holy Spirit through Peter poses a very sobering question. Given the impending events, which will come upon us suddenly (and have been in progress already for many long years), what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness? For the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.
What then shall this man do?
Chapter 5: Prepare the Way of the Lord
The message from the Books of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi is essentially the same word. That same word is also reflected in the Books of Joel, Judges, Daniel, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Revelation, and, in truth, in every book of the Bible. That common message centers around three basic themes. First is the sovereignty of God, His love for His chosen people, His great grace, His great mercy, His faithfulness, His wisdom, etc. The second theme is human nature ... the self-centered nature of man, even Christian man, the lack of understanding and wisdom of His chosen people, and our feeling of self-satisfaction, particularly when things seem to be going smoothly in our life. The third common theme is the attempts of the enemy to divert the chosen people of God from fulfilling their destiny, their inheritance. That destiny or inheritance is much more than being born again and going to heaven one day. We were born into a war that we did not start. We have been re-born into a new world of total victory in Christ, but we must still go up and possess the land (Numbers 13:30 and many others), the kingdom of God. It is the Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luke 12:32), but it is not ours unless we qualify to take it (Matthew 11:12). It is not a question of hanging on until the end comes and slipping into heaven. Salvation is a free gift, but we must qualify for the kingdom of God (John 3:3, Matthew 11:12, Luke 16:16, Acts 14:22, and a multitude of other scriptures, such as almost all of Matthew, Chapters 5, 6, and 7).
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.18 And all things are of God, Who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
We must be very careful not to slip into an attitude of, "I know that," or, "I can do that." In reality we know very little and we can do absolutely nothing (of value) without Him. The Lord has two words for man ... nothing and cannot.
And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. 1 Corinthians 8:2John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. John 3:27I can of Mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father Which hath sent Me. John 5:30I 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 15:5For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? 1 Corinthians 4:7
At the same time, we must be very confident of Who He is and what He has said to us. My favorite verse is, "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). It is because we possess such a hope that we write with such boldness.
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:12 In Whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him.Ephesians 3:11-12
Everything is by His faith, not by our faith in Him. We cannot generate our faith in Him.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
The first answer to, "What shall this man do?" is found in both the Old and New Testaments.
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. Isaiah 40:3
The same message is spoken of seven times in the New Testament (Matthew 3:3, Matthew 11:10, Mark 1:2 and 3, Luke 1:76, Luke 3:4, and Luke 7:27). So, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord" occurs eight times in Scripture. That word is not a request; it is a command; it is a command for us to do something ... to prepare the way of the Lord. How we prepare the way of the Lord will be a subsequent word.
So the 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 or when we are baptized in 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 clean your house thoroughly, wear your best clothes, and 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 to footholds in our life. 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 15:1But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
Psalm 3:3He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Psalm 91:4
This is not automatic. It takes action on our part to take His shield upon us. Suppose I come into your house and lay a $20 bill on your table and say, I give this unto you. As far as I am concerned I have given it to you and it is yours. But unless you pick it up and put it in your pocket, it is still not yours.
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Ephesians 6: 16
Next, we must wear our best clothes. We must keep our garments clean.
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. Revelation 3:4Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. Revelation 16:15Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.
Psalm 132:9
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 61:10He 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 3:510 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 22:10-14
The reason the man who had not on a wedding garment was rejected was because the host of a wedding always provided the wedding garments. So that guest trusted in his own righteousness rather than in the righteousness provided by the Lord. The reason that many are called, but few are chosen, is because few choose. We choose every day by the decisions that we make.
Third, we must prepare our best meal. 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, traditions of men, etc.
31 In the mean while His disciples prayed Him, saying, Master, eat.32 But He said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. John 4:31-3251 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. John 6:51-53For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Romans 14:17I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 1 Corinthians 3:2
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
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.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14
What then shall this man do?
Chapter 6: How Do We Prepare the Way of the Lord?
The primary thing that the Lord is looking for within His people is the state of our heart. Isaiah warned the Judah of his time of the coming captivity by Babylon. He spoke the word of the Lord to Judah.
13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men:14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. Isaiah 29:13-14
Note the phrase, "this people," not "My people." Because "My people" had become more interested in doing their own thing, the Lord now refers to them as "this people." Also, the "marvelous work" that the Lord did (and is doing again) is not the kind of marvelous that we would like. When Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, He said that Isaiah prophesied of the Pharisees, some 725 years after his time. In reality, Isaiah prophesied to the Judah of his time, the Judah (Pharisees) of the time when Jesus walked the face of the earth, and the (spiritual) Judah of our time. The word of God is timeless and independent of race, culture, gender, and geographical location.
6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.7 Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Mark 7:6-7
So a hypocrite is one who says all of the right words, but whose heart is not right before the Lord. Their heart is overly concerned with materialism, entertainment, traditions of men, putting an 'x' in all the right boxes, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, and a hundred other things. Therefore it seems only reasonable that we should all understand what constitutes a right heart. More importantly, a right heart must become flesh (or a living reality) and not simply a mental understanding.
At the most basic level, a right heart is a heart that is attuned to the heart of the Lord. Every believer is called to identify with the Lord Jesus in every respect (except His Lordship). We must identify (in reality, experientially) with His suffering, His death, His burial, His resurrection, His weeping over Jerusalem, His will, His heart, His intercession for us, His love and zeal for the Church, and His jealousy over Zion (Zechariah 8:2), to name a few. It is a heart that wants the Lord to be pleased and satisfied with us even if we never receive anything from the Lord (not even our personal salvation). It is a heart that wants the will of the Lord to be done more than life itself. It is a heart that is jealous for the Lord of hosts, which is what Elijah said in 1 Kings 19:10 and 14 ... jealous that He might have His way within every believer.
Sometime around 1973 the Lord told my wife and me to start a "neighborhood" meeting. We invited our neighbors on our left and right, those across the street, and a few a little further away. We called it a "Bible study." About six or seven neighbors came each week. We had no idea if any of them were Christians. We started with the question, "Who is Jesus Christ?" Later we started going through the Gospel of John. I never talked about the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but about three of them were baptized in the Holy Ghost in their own homes even though no one laid hands on them or prayed for them to receive the Spirit. Later, all of them received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. For a few weeks the Lord would lengthen arms and legs of those who came to our home. It was like my wife and I just sat back and watched the Lord move on them. One evening a woman came and said that she had something to confess to all of us. As soon as she said that, the Holy Spirit quickened to me John 8, about the woman caught in adultery. Sure enough, the woman said that she had had an affair with her next door neighbor. She then said that even though she had committed the unpardonable sin and could never go to heaven, she was still going to serve the Lord while she was on earth. That is what I call "commitment!" Would that all of God's people had that same heart of dedication and commitment! Of course I quickly assured her that she had not committed the unpardonable sin. She still serves the Lord today!
Stephen, Paul, and Moses (and others) had that same jealousy for the Lord to be satisfied and glorified. Moses said,
Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written. Exodus 32:32
Paul said,
For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Romans 9:3Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. Acts 21:13
Stephen said, to the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem,
51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Acts 7:51-52
Some might say that Stephen did not exercise wisdom when he spoke those words to the Sanhedrin. Logical reasoning and natural thinking would say, "Stephen, you should be very careful with your words to the Sanhedrin. Just think of all of the good you could do for the body of Christ. You are a man full of faith and wisdom. The Lord needs you to help other believers here on earth." We are quite sure that Stephen was aware of the consequences of his discourse. However, Stephen was motivated only by speaking the word which the Holy Ghost put into his being. As a result, Stephen is sometimes called the first Christian martyr. Did Stephen fully satisfy the heart of the Lord? We believe that Scripture gives a resounding answer of "yes" to that question. His ways are higher than our ways; His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Let us see the scriptural support for Stephen's bold, (harsh?) words to the Sanhedrin as recorded in Acts, Chapter 7.
We are all aware that after Jesus finished His work on earth, He sat down on the right hand of the Father in heaven. This is recorded five times in the Book of Hebrews (Hebrews 1:3, 1:13, 8:1, 10:12, and 12:2). For example,
Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Hebrews 1:3
The Lord Jesus Christ is still seated at the right hand of the Father. But when Stephen said what he did to the Sanhedrin, he also said,
55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Acts 7:55-56
So the Lord Jesus, who was (and is) seated at the right hand of the Father, stood up when Stephen said what he did in Acts 7:51-52 to the Sanhedrin. It was as if the Lord was applauding Stephen for his selflessness in speaking the word of God, regardless of the grave consequences to himself. Amazing! How could the Lord express such an attitude towards any human being? But it happened!
Now some may say, "But brother, I am not a Moses; I am not a Paul; I am not a Stephen." Very true. I am none of those three either. We are all unique because God never makes a copy of anything or anyone. We all have slightly different, unique and specific callings and functions. But we all have many things in common also. One of those 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. Our first priority is always to glorify God, first of all in our heart, and then outwardly as the Holy Spirit gives us unction.
The first step in preparing the way of the Lord is to have that same heart attitude that Moses, Paul, Stephen (and others, like David) had. That heart attitude can never be generated by our own effort or by our own faith. So some may say, "Well I am not in that place in my life yet." Then you (we) are not alone. But God is no respecter of persons. If He did that amazing work in Moses, Paul, Stephen, and others, He will also do that work within you and me, PROVIDED that we see the need and cry out to the Lord. After all, what the Lord is looking for is that each of us believers cry out to the Lord and say, "Help me, Lord."
9 And He spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke 18:9-14
Psalm 76, Verse 1, prophetically encapsulates four types of believers, based on their level of growth or maturity in Christ ... Israel to Judah to Jerusalem to Zion. But His dwelling place is in Zion, the city of David (2 Samuel 5:7 and numerous Verses in Psalms).
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Psalm 50:2
Zion is called the city of David. Why? because David was a man after God's own heart, and because the Lord is searching for those whose heart beats only for Him.
In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: Amos 9:11
The "tabernacle of David" (2 Samuel 6:17) is not a physical tabernacle nor a piece of real estate in the Middle East. The tabernacle of David is nothing less than Zion, which consists of all those believers who have allowed the Lord first to break them and then to make them ... to mold them into His image.
When the LORD shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory. Psalm 102:16
The Lord is not asleep. Despite all of the failures of Christian man, the Lord is quietly and in a hidden manner building up Zion. What is "in that day" which is referenced in Amos 9:11? the day that we live in now. It is a marvelous work that is hidden from the eyes of man and can only be seen in the realm of the Spirit. And one day soon He will unveil His masterpiece. Then He shall likewise appear in His glory ... the parousia of the Lord. The question is, whose heart is stirred up? Whose spirit is made willing? Who is looking for Him?
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
So far we have emphasized the critical importance of the state of our heart ... the heart attitude that the Lord desires in each believer. We continue to set forth how we prepare the way of the Lord.
Other than the Man Christ Jesus, when He walked the face of the earth, I doubt that there has ever been a "better" human teacher in the body of Christ than the Apostle Paul, who received so many revelations that the Lord apparently considered it prudent to give him a thorn in his flesh to help to keep him humble. (Of course our ultimate Teacher is the Holy Spirit.) Paul said,
11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Galatians 1:11-12
Let us think about what Paul considered his charge or function or ministry to be. We believe that His highest calling was to write all of his many epistles that are contained in our New Testament. Some might say that his purpose was to "establish" many churches. A third calling of Paul was to fill up (or complete) that which lacked of the sufferings of Christ in his flesh. (Jesus was on the cross for six hours, as recorded in Mark 15.) This is given by the following two scriptures.
15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for My name's sake.
Acts 9:15-16
Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake, which is the church:
Colossians 1:24
Paul clearly knew that whatever he did, he did it as unto the Lord. However we want to focus here on what Paul saw as his function or ministry more directly to the body of Christ in terms of preaching and teaching. That may give us a clue in terms of possible "best" answers to "What shall this man do?" One specific setting forth of his purpose is given in the Book of Colossians.
25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:27 To whom God would [desires to, or wills to] make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily. Colossians 1:25-29
So Paul was made a minister (Verse 25) by the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul says that the mystery of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" is now made manifest to His saints. In addition, in Verse 27 Paul says that God would (also) make known to His saints the riches of the glory of that mystery of "Christ in you, the hope of glory." That makes two mysteries. "Christ in you, the hope of glory" is indeed a mystery. Who can understand it? How would you explain that mystery to someone who does not know Him? It is impossible. But we can experience it. All we can do is to obey the command of Jesus when He said (says), "Come and see." We will have more to say about "the riches of His glory" in the next part of this word.
In Verse 28, Paul lists three things that he was called to do, and the order, as always, is significant. First, he says that "we" preach Christ, or as he says in Galatians 1:16 to preach Him. Who are "we?" Note that in Verse 25 Paul says "I" am made a minister and that which is given to "me." In Verse 29 Paul says "I" also labour, and which worketh in "me." Likewise, Colossians 1:23: "I" Paul am made a minister. Now in the midst of the "I's" and "me's" he says "we." So who are "we?" The superficial answer is found in Colossians 1:1 when Paul says that this letter to the Colossians is from Paul and Timothy our brother. We believe that Paul wrote all of the letter to the Colossians but he included Timothy as an author because the two of them were of the same mind and the same heart. Further, I believe that Paul is saying that every true minister of the gospel of the kingdom of God should be included in the "we." In other words, every true minister should have the same three objectives: to preach Christ, warn every man, and teach every man in all wisdom. Experientially, I am not sure that I have ever met a man who does all three.
He does not say to preach what Christ has done (and continues to do) for us. He did that too. But his primary mission was to preach Christ ... the Person of Christ, not simply what He has done for us, as wonderful as that may be.
The second of Paul's commissions was to warn (or exhort) every man. Now very few of us like to hear warnings, but Paul gives that a higher priority than teaching every man in all wisdom. We much prefer to hear smooth things and focus on all of the good things that we "get." I would encourage all of us to read all of Isaiah 30:1-10. That word is likewise current events. Note the "for ever and ever" in Verse 8, below.
8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Isaiah 30:8-10
Why does warning every man come before teaching every man in all wisdom? The best answer I am aware of is found in the Book of Nehemiah.
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. Nehemiah 4:10
No one can build a wall on a foundation of rubbish; that wall could never stand in times of shaking and tribulation. Therefore the rubbish must be cleared away before starting to build the wall. Unfortunately there is much rubbish in our midst. The above verse says there are two reasons why we are not able to build the wall. The first, and more important, reason is because the strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed. Who are the bearers (plural) of burdens? Intercessors! Who is called to be an intercessor? every believer. There is no place in Scripture which describes intercession as a ministry in the same light as a pastor or teacher. We are called to identify with Jesus in every respect (except His Lordship). That includes His baptism, His suffering, His death, His resurrection, His weeping over Jerusalem, and His intercession (Hebrews 7:25). Also,
1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 1 Timothy 2:1-2
We will have much more to say about intercession in a later Chapter.
The third and last function that Paul speaks of is teaching every man in all wisdom. This last one is the one that gets the vast majority of attention in the Spirit-filled/charismatic community today. Note that Paul does not say teaching every man; he says teaching every man in all wisdom. There is a difference! We have been super-saturated with teachings ... some good, some not so good. Anyone can give a scriptural teaching. All it takes is a concordance and a few hours of preparation. A teaching in all wisdom is not quite that easy. But the question is ... where is the fruit?
How many ministers do you know who do all three functions? Preach Christ, warn every man, and teach every man in all wisdom? Paul said that is what "we" do that so "we" may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. The Greek word translated as "perfect" is teleios, which means "that which has reached its end" or "nothing beyond." Paul's motivation and deep desire was to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Did he accomplish his goal?
What then shall this man do?
Chapter 7: Christ In You, The Hope of Glory
The glory of the Lord
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 in reality the grace and glory are one. Perhaps God's glory is like a wondrous tree, of which His grace is the fruit. The glory of God seems to be more of the inherent nature of God, whereas His grace is His nature expressed and extended outward to all men.
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. Psalm 84:11
Note that without His grace, we can never experience His glory. So the Lord will give both, but only to those who walk uprightly before Him. It is certain that we are saved by His grace (Ephesians 2:8); the reason is so that we might enjoy His glory forever, provided that we walk uprightly.
What is the Scriptural significance or meaning of "the glory of the Lord"? A standard definition could be the revelation or manifestation of God's being, nature, and presence to mankind, 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. When Isaiah saw the seraphims,
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 first mention of the glory of the Lord occurs in the book of Exodus, when God rained down bread (manna) from heaven to a complaining, rebellious people. Moses told the people,
And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord. Exodus 16:7
In like manner, about 1280 years later, the glory of the Lord accompanied the announcement of another supernatural gift sent by God from heaven ... the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Moses and all of the Israelites saw the glory of the Lord seven times in the wilderness. Two times it came to bless ... first with the manna from heaven, and again on Mount Sinai with the giving of the law. On the third occasion it came to sanctify the tabernacle, when the glory of the Lord not only appeared, but filled the place, and then remained to dwell among them.
And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. Exodus 24:17And the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. Leviticus 9:23
For hundreds of years the ark of the covenant was Israel's material symbol of the Divine Presence. The glory of God was the cloud of light that shone between the cherubim in the holy of holies, and was the immaterial evidence of His Presence. Both the ark and the glory were visible, but one was made by man, the other by God alone.
When the Israelites were making their exodus from Egypt, Moses asked for proof that both he and Israel had found grace in God's sight. He asked for this proof in the most surprising words, when he said,
I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory. Exodus 33:18
In view of the fact that the glory of the Lord had already been shown on two occasions, besides other spectacular evidences of God's power, including signs and miracles, as well as the Lord having just given assurance that His Presence would continue with them, this seems to be an astonishing request. The same Hebrew word is used for the glory of God in every case in the Old Testament. For what, then, was Moses asking? It must have been for something which he had not yet seen. They had all witnessed the glory of the Lord in the cloud when manna from heaven was promised and also on Mount Sinai when the law was given. Moses had seen God in some degree of manifestation, for he talked with Him "face to face." Moses' request, therefore, must have been to see the infinite glory in which God dwells, and this could not be granted to a finite being. Moses must have desired to see God's face in all of His glory ... not apart from His glory as he had already seen it. The Lord's response was that His face shall not be seen Exodus 33:19-23). God's face as expressing His infinite glory and the light in which He dwells can be seen by no man. No man has seen God in all of His glory (John 1:18).
Paul said,
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 3:18For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14
Experiencing the Glory of God
Below I relate three of my experiences of the glory of the Lord. That does not mean that I am any way "better" than anyone else. I am sure that many of you have had equal or greater encounters with the glory of the Lord. But please remember that whatever we have been allowed to experience, it is only a foretaste of the glory Divine, yet to come.
A number of years ago, for one of the few times in my life as a believer, I thought that I might be translated. I was listening to two songs on a cassette tape over and over again for a period of about one hour. No other person was in our house. At times I sang the words myself and other times I just listened to the music. I found myself weeping deeply. I believe it was because I was so caught up with the goodness of God in my life and the glory of God. I had no thought of anything for myself, my family, or other believers. I was just overcome with the Person of the Lord Himself. Somewhere during that time period I heard a word from the Lord, which could be summarized by:
13 It came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good; for His mercy endureth forever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord;14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14
The essence of the word that I heard was that if there were an assembly of saints in any geographical area, and if the hearts of the believers who assembled were all in one accord to minister to the Lord and only to the Lord, then the result of 2 Chronicles 5:14 could be repeated; i.e., the glory of God would fill the house such that the priests could not stand to minister. The major condition was that the hearts of the believers assembled must be in one accord to minister to the Lord. I cannot wait to see that happen!
Then, several years ago, while in Tennessee for a weekend of meetings, I arose early Saturday morning, went into the meeting room in our host's home, closed the door, and listened to some songs on a CD. I began to worship the Lord all by myself and soon found myself weeping because of the goodness of the Lord in my life. Very soon, it was like a cloud of glory filled that room, such as I had never experienced before. It lasted for at least 30 minutes.
The meeting that Saturday night was all glorious. Early the next morning, the Lord woke me up and what I had experienced the previous morning was like nothing compared to that Sunday morning. It was like a cloud of smoke had filled that living room. The presence of the Lord was so powerful that all I could do was to lie there and weep. I have never experienced the glory of God before or since like I did early that Sunday morning in the living room of our host. Again, I was all by myself, except for the presence of the Lord.
In all three of those occurrences when I experienced a foretaste of the glory of the Lord, I was alone. In other words, I was one with myself and with the Lord. Just think of the magnitude of the presence of the glory of the Lord if there were twenty-five believers who were all in one accord, as on the day of Pentecost and on the day of the dedication of Solomon's temple in 2 Chronicles 5:13-14! Is there any genuine believer who would not want to see an increase of the glory of God manifested? I think not.
But herein is the difficulty. The motivation must not be to experience the glory of God. The motivation must be to minister to the Lord Himself and only to the Lord. Furthermore, there should not be any thought or hint of motivation to get something for ourselves, not even things that are ordained by God for His saints. Consider Solomon's (apparent) motivation when God asked him what he wanted. In 2 Chronicles 1:10, Solomon said that he wanted wisdom and knowledge in order to judge God's people. That attitude was very favorably received by God, culminating in 2 Chronicles 5:14. Now compare Solomon's attitude with the motivation of only wanting to minister to the Lord. Which of the two do you believe would be more acceptable and pleasing to the Lord?
The first mention of the function of the Levitical priesthood is:
At that tine the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto Him, and to bless in His name, unto this day. Deuteronomy 10:8
What day is that? Just like it says, THIS day! this very day. Those three functions of the priesthood of all believers still exist today. Deuteronomy 10:8 represents the prophetic prototype of our ministry today as priests after the order of Melchisedec. Those three functions are:
(1) to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord (which corresponds to "Christ in you, the hope of glory"). Surely somewhere toward the bottom line is God's desire for the formation of the fullness of Christ within each believer.
(2) to stand before the Lord to minister unto Him, and
(3) to bless in His name. Several verses, such as Leviticus 9:22 and Numbers 6:23, seem to indicate that this refers to our horizontal ministry.
The order has meaning and significance: a priority order for every believer. God is more interested in our character than He is in our comfort or our works. Priority one therefore is, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Is it possible that the Church has reversed this order? To answer this question, consider that the amount of time devoted to function (3) in our gatherings is way ahead of the others.
Also note that in 2 Chronicles 5:13 the priests were only exercising function (2) ... they were standing before the Lord to minister unto Him. 2 Chronicles 5:12 confirms that they were standing. And what happened? As they were in one accord (one mind, one motivation) and stood before the Lord to minister to Him, God sovereignly moved them into phase one ... the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
Five times in the first five chapters of the book of Acts, and twice more later in Acts, Scripture says that they (the believers) were in one accord. When that happened, marvelous events occurred, starting on the day of Pentecost. What does it mean to be in one accord? They were in one accord with respect to what? Certainly not with respect to doctrine, for they were still rather ignorant of the things of the Lord. We believe they were in one accord in the same manner as in 2 Chronicles 5:13.
It came to pass, even as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good; for His mercy endureth forever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord.
The only place in the New Testament which declares what they were in one accord about is:
That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:6
The phrase, "with one mind," is the same Greek word that is translated as "in one accord" throughout the book of Acts. So they were in one accord to glorify God. They were in one accord, one mind, one motivation, one desire, to pour out themselves upon the Lord, with no thought for anything for themselves. Their thoughts were not, Lord what do you have for me? There was no thought for self, only for the Lord! There is a mystery of the oneness in Christ which even many of the Old Testament saints (such as Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and others) had been allowed to see. Would that all of us modern-day saints could grasp that same vision!
The riches of the glory
Now let us return to the riches of His glory and what that could possibly mean.
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints:
27 To whom God would [desires to, or wills to] make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Colossians 1:26-27
In Chapter 7, we stated that those two verses speak of two mysteries. Paul says that the first mystery, "Christ in you, the hope of glory," is now made manifest [revealed or made known] to His saints. The second mystery which God desires to make known is the riches of the glory of that revelation of Christ in you, the hope of glory. Of course the word does not say the glory of the riches but the riches of the glory. That phrase occurs three other times in the New Testament. "Riches" cannot possibly be speaking in the natural realm. It has nothing to do with material possessions.
And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory, Romans 9:2314 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,15 Of Whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,16 That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; Ephesians 3:14-1618 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,19 And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, Ephesians 1:18-19
Now the question arises, what is the riches of His glory? We can only present our understanding at this point in time. We are not convinced that any of us can understand, much less experience this truth at this point in time.
Ephesians 1:18 speaks of the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. So perhaps the riches of His glory is not exactly for us but for the Lord Himself. All things were created for His pleasure, not ours (Ephesians 1:5; Ephesians 1:9; Philippians 2:13; and Revelation 4:11). The Father desires to have not just one Son but many sons. He is bringing many sons unto glory, not bringing glory to many sons. There is a difference!
For it became Him, for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Hebrews 2:1017 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.18 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 8:17-18
Please note that the glory which shall be revealed in us is not automatic. Being born-again is a free gift. Everything after that is conditional. Note the "IF" in "if we suffer with Him." Paul said,
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
2 Corinthians 12:10
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him:6 For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Hebrews 12:5-8
Again, note the "IF" in Verse 7. Does that mean that we shall not be "sons" if we do not endure chastening? The word "IF" clearly indicates that we have not yet come to maturity as sons. The word "chastening" actually means "child-training." Because the following verse is true concerning Jesus, where does that leave us?
Though He [Jesus] were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered; Hebrews 5:8
Upon this earth in the realm of time, God will have a glorious church without spot or wrinkle. It will be a visible manifestation, made real in a company of people who will manifest the life of Jesus, a people born not of the will of the flesh, but born of God, proved by the furnace of affliction. That has not yet happened, but it is only a question of time. Are we willing to be a part of this great event? If so, there is a price to be paid.
The prophet Isaiah wrote,
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 40:5As truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.
Numbers 14:21When Christ, Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. Colossians 3:4
Then at last we will know fully the infinite, matchless, transcendent, celestial beauty and splendor of the glory of the Lord.
Lord, help us to get our priorities straight. Lord, help us to identify with You in all things. Lord, help us to see things as You see them. Lord, help us to purify our hearts, that we may stand before You to minister unto You, with no thought for ourselves.
Chapter 8: The Need for an Enlarged Vision
2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Habakkuk 2:2-3
Many folks have "a" vision, but "the Vision" is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Make it plain upon tables" speaks of tables of the heart, so we are to have the reality of Jesus Christ written upon our hearts. Every "vision" must relate to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and to His ways, His purposes, and His plan for each one of us.
The Lord always wants to challenge His people. Whatever our vision of the Lord is, it is too small! We must always remember that none of us can see anything except it be given to us or revealed by the Holy Spirit. The Lord says to His people,
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Isaiah 54:2-38 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord.9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. Revelation 4:1
Jesus prayed,
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. John 17:24
Can we all agree that Jesus ALWAYS prayed in the will of the Father? He prayed that we might be with Him where He is. Where was Jesus when He prayed that prayer? in the realm of the Spirit. Where is Jesus now? Exalted and glorified at the right hand of the Father.
Sometimes Spirit-filled Christians pray to the effect of, "Lord come down and heal my brother or sister." Anyone who prays that kind of prayer may be very sincere but needs an enlarged vision and understanding. We don't want to pull Christ down to where we are. He wants us to rise up to where He is!
"Gideon's Army" started with 32,000. But the Lord pared them down to 300, based on the choices or decisions of the men themselves. Many are called but few choose. The Lord told Gideon that by those 300 men He would deliver them from the Midianites. Three hundred represents a tenth of a tenth ... a tithe of a tithe ... one percent of the original.
And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house. Nehemiah 10:38
Under the Old Covenant in the time of Nehemiah a tithe of a tithe (in the natural realm) was brought into the natural, physical treasure house. This speaks prophetically of the end times, when a tithe of the tithe spiritually shall be brought unto the spiritual house of our God, into the spiritual treasure house. Hallelujah!
The 300 men were those whom the Lord actually used to conquer the Midianites. These 300 men represent the overcomers, the remnant, those believers who will participate in these end times in the real work of God. Let us go back and see the battle plan that the Lord had for Gideon and those 300 men. Each man had a trumpet in his right hand, a pitcher in his left hand, and lamps within the pitchers. Please note that NO mention is made in scripture that they had swords or any natural weapons of war. They surrounded the camp of the Midianites one night when it was very dark. At Gideon's signal, all 300 men broke the pitchers, which allowed the lamps to be suddenly seen, blew the trumpets, and shouted, "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon" (Judges 7:16-20). The Midianites slew one another, cried, and fled. Gideon and his army of 300 then pursued after and cleaned up the rest of the enemy. Trumpets are used to herald the coming of a king. In the modern day Gideon's army, the tithe of the tithe will blow trumpets to signal the coming of The Great King, even Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. The significance of the sudden revealing of the lamps inside of the pitchers is described as follows.
For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. Romans 8:19
The word "manifestation" can more descriptively be translated "unveiling." So at the Lord's timing, the pitchers will be broken and the lamps will shine forth ... the sons of God will be revealed or manifested or unveiled, just as a Master Craftsman removes a covering to unveil His work of art. That event has not yet occurred but surely will come to pass.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a necessary, but not sufficient, step toward joining Gideon's army. Believers in the Church at Corinth all experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit and had every spiritual gift in operation (1 Corinthians 1:7). Please also note that the Church at Corinth was filled with contention, strife, discord, and confusion in the assemblies. What is this? the MIDIANITES!!! Paul calls them carnal and not at all ready to participate in the real work of God. Now, what work do these 300 do besides engage in spiritual warfare? Part of their work is described in Revelation, Chapter 12.
1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne.6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score days.
Revelation 12:1-6
The woman in the above scriptures represents the body of Christ, the real church. The man child represents the Lord Jesus Christ, but also represents the overcomers, the tithe of the tithe, Gideon's army of 300 who have been prepared by the Lord to minister to the rest of the body in the wilderness. The 300 (not a literal number in the end times) will have been ostracized, persecuted, and branded as fanatics by the charismatic 9,700 who went back. But God worked compassion and real agape love in the hearts of the 300 to the extent that they, in the end times, returned love to the very Christians who had persecuted them.
Now, just in case any of you are somewhat skeptical concerning the existence of the Midianites in our Christian churches today, please consider this. Many long years ago I heard a brother say that there were more than 500 denominations in the Protestant churches. Only the Lord knows how many there are today. Someone told me recently that now there are 10,000 varieties of churches, fellowships, etc. If we as Christians would spend more time allowing the Spirit to break us and mold us into the image of Christ, rather than arguing about doctrine and trying to bring about unity in the body of Christ, we would soon see some fantastic results!
And so once more, the Lord speaks to His people to "come up higher." There is nothing about the Christian walk that is static in nature.
Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33:3
Let us consider only ONE aspect about Moses.
1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him [Moses] that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. Exodus 2:1-2
In like manner, the Lord has been "hiding" a company of believers who shall come forth in these latter days to be a company of deliverers for the church.
And saviors [or deliverers] shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's. Obadiah 21
In Old Testament times God raised up prophets to speak His word to the people. When the prophets spoke, it was largely (but not altogether) a word of exhortation to repent and return unto the Lord. Have you ever noticed the first verse in five of the books of the so-called "minor" prophets? Five, of course, symbolizes the grace of God. So it was, and is, the grace of God to raise up prophets to SEE and hear a word from the Lord and to warn His people. The Lord also used the Old Testament prophets, at times, to speak a word of comfort or encouragement to His people. The book of Isaiah has many such words of comfort.
The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jereboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. Amos 1:1The vision of Obadiah ... Obadiah 1:1The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Micah 1:1
The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. Nahum 1:1The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. Habakkuk 1:1
So five of these minor prophets were allowed by the Lord to SEE something that the Lord wanted them to convey to His people.
(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.) 1 Samuel 9:9
The prophet Isaiah speaks about "the burden of the valley of vision" (Isaiah 22:1). When we are in a valley, we cannot see too much. We need to rise up to the mountaintop to see more of the Lord and His ways.
John the Baptist, speaking about Jesus, said.
He [Christ] must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30
Far too many times that scripture has been quoted backwards as saying, "I must decrease but He must increase." The order of scripture is significant. I can decrease and still not allow Christ within me to increase. But if He increases within me, then by necessity I must decrease. Not my will but thy will be done, O Lord. My wife loves to work in the yard, with shrubs, plants, flowers, trees, and grass. The Lord has given her many revelations about our Christian walk from analogies in the yard. One such revelation she received had to do with how to keep the lawn (grass) healthy and get rid of weeds. We need to concentrate on feeding the roots of the grass because strong healthy grass will choke out the weeds. We don't need to concentrate on the weeds themselves. Likewise if we concentrate on the increase of Christ within, then the acts of the old nature will decrease.
Many years ago as I was reading Isaiah 6, I "heard" a new and different interpretation of the first verse.
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Isaiah 6:1
At that point in time I had read that verse probably 30 times, as a minimum. But on that day, I found myself reading that verse as follows:
In the year that king SELF died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Isaiah 6:1
Now "Uzziah" does NOT mean "self." But sometimes the Holy Spirit has a way of putting into context some things that normally are not in context. In any event, the latter interpretation is true. The very essence and basis of sin is to put self in the preeminent place of God. Sin is when a man worships or is obedient to himself instead of God. Whenever "king self" dies we can see the Lord high and lifted up.
Vision and hearing are twins which go together in many scriptures. In almost all of these scriptures, vision comes before hearing. This is also true in the natural realm. We SEE lightning before we hear the associated sound. If a supersonic jet aircraft passes overhead, we SEE the plane before we hear the sonic boom. The speed of light is much faster than the speed of sound.
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.
1 Corinthians 2:9
When Paul was apprehended on the road to Damascus,
3 ... and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? Acts 9:3-5
Here we see that vision precedes hearing. Jesus had the same experience. He SAW the Spirit of God descending upon Him and then He HEARD a voice from heaven.
16 And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him.17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3:16-17
I have searched the scriptures rather carefully and I have found only one place where hearing seems to come before seeing, where Paul tells the saints at Philippi,
Those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. Philippians 4:9
Why is the order in this one verse reversed from all of the others? In all of the other verses vision precedes hearing. Everything starts with the Word of God, then vision and hearing, then faith and obedience, then righteousness and holiness, and finally the Word becomes flesh within us. The order is that way because that order reflects REVELATION from the Spirit of God to us and within us ... how the word becomes flesh. But Paul in Philippians 4:9 speaks of the way of teaching ... from man to man, not direct revelation from the Spirit. So Paul starts with those things which the Philippians have learned. We frequently learn from good teachers before revelation of the Spirit sheds light in our hearts. Paul then speaks of the things that the Philippians have received in the way of accepted doctrine and teachings. Paul goes further than that. He tells the Philippians to do those things that they have heard and seen in him. The body of Christ hungers for those leaders (preachers and teachers) who practice what they preach. A good teacher must demonstrate in action in his daily life the truth which he expresses in words. Now we know that NO man is perfect. When all we see of a teacher is his teaching ability in a formal meeting of believers, we tend to put that man on a pedestal. How does his life measure up in the day-to-day activities, particularly when things do not seem to go right for him? That is the true test.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Matthew 7:20
We should not be overly impressed by what a person "knows." Rather, we should be impressed by who they ARE or who they have BECOME. That requires much more effort. We must always remember that the objective is NOT to hear some nice, polished sermon or teaching. The Lord's objective for us is that the Word become flesh within us ... "Christ in you, the hope of glory."
A number of years ago in a gathering of believers in our area, a visiting minister of the Lord asked us to read together out loud the first chapter of 2 Peter. We went around the room and each person read a verse. Then the visiting minister asked us what we had heard through those verses. Several people commented on several verses, but I had heard nothing new or different from the many times I had read that chapter. I decided to go back and re-read the entire chapter while others were commenting. When I read (silently) verses 18-20, one word just jumped off the page.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount.19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 2 Peter 1:18-20
The word that I saw for the first time was the word "UNTIL." Most Christians believe that the "more sure word of prophecy" mentioned in Verse 19 refers to scripture, as indicated by verse 20. So scripture is "more sure" than our hearing the voice of the Lord because any of us can, at times, miss hearing the voice of the Lord or (more likely) misinterpret what we hear. Verse 19 says we should "take heed" to scripture "as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, UNTIL the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." In other words, UNTIL that word becomes flesh in our hearts. Does that mean that AFTER that word becomes flesh within us that we no longer take heed to scripture? NO! The difference is one of perspective and motivation. We still need to take heed to scripture, NOT because it is written in scripture, but rather because it is written on our heart ... that word has become flesh within us. That word has become supernaturally "natural." We obey the word as easily as we have learned to walk or drive a car or any simple, natural event.
So by seeing the Word of the Lord, hearing His voice, being obedient by faith, and allowing His righteousness and holiness to be made manifest within, the word becomes flesh in some area of our life. The process then repeats for another area of our life. The end of this process is,
Beloved, now are we the sons [children] of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3:2
What then shall this man do?
Chapter 9: Who Is Waiting for Whom?
About 12 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. 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 5:7For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Hebrews 10:36Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me: for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day. Psalm 25:5Wait 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, 5I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Psalm 40:1
25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-2619 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?
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 ... repentance and intercession.
We will go into great detail about those two actions in the next four Chapters; 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?
Chapter 10: The Greatest Need in the Body of Christ
The Book of Joel, which is timeless, contains, from Joel 1:1 through Joel 2:17, both a description of the Church today and what the Lord wants us to do about it. Please read Joel, particularly Joel 1:8 through Joel 2:17.
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: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil.14 Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him; even a meat offering and a drink offering 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 2:12-17
In Verse 14, the meal offering and drink offering have nothing to do with the natural realm. For a lengthy exposition of those two offerings, see our article on worship (copy available on request). In Verse 17, the priests, the ministers of the Lord, are the sons of Zadok, not those priests who minister unto the house (Christian people). See Ezekiel 44 for the difference in the two sets of priests.
After the Israelites had been in bondage for 400 years in Egypt, they finally cried out to God for deliverance. During that same time period, God had been preparing Moses to be the earthly deliverer. That process is currently being repeated. Christians today, particularly charismatic Christians, are in bondage spiritually and very few know it.
As soon as spiritual Zion travails on behalf of the body of Christ, the Lord will sovereignly unveil the deliverers that He has been preparing (Obadiah 21). Those deliverers will then feed the Church in the wilderness (Revelation 12). No man will get any credit. No man will get any glory. Everyone will recognize that without the sovereign moving of the hand of God, the Church has no hope.
This results in the fulfillment of the "then" in Joel 2:18.
Then will the LORD be jealous for His land, and pity His people. Joel 2:18
What is "His land" and who are "His people?" Many, particularly the literal fundamentalists, would say natural Israel and natural Jews (based perhaps on an incorrect exegesis of Romans 11:26). We have even heard one rather prominent teacher say that every natural Jew will be saved. We must respectfully disagree. (For much more on this topic see our tenth book, "The He Goats Before the Flocks," pages 143-152.) My Bible says that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek (Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11). "His people" refers to all those whom the Father has given to the Son ... those who have been drawn to the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit ... all those whom Jesus prayed for in John 17. Please note Verse 12, below.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:11-13
"His land" represents the promised land, which is not in the natural realm. We are not at all convinced that the Lord favors some real estate over in the middle east, called Israel, more than some other natural land. The Lord created the whole earth and called it good. In addition, the natural land called Israel (as well as all of the existing earth) is one day going to be burned up anyway (2 Peter 3:5-13).
It is interesting to note that from Joel 2:18 through the end of the Book, everything is the sovereign work of God. And so the question for the Church today is ... where is Daniel? Where is Ezra? where is Nehemiah? Where are the sons of Issachar who understand what spiritual Israel ought to do today? Where are those who weep and groan in the spirit on behalf of the body of Christ? that the plans and purposes of God might be fulfilled? This too, must be a work of the Holy Spirit. It can never be fulfilled legalistically, even by those who understand what the Lord is after.
Now if you see the problems within the Church, and you understand what the Lord wants you to do about it, how do we move to the third phase? Ask the Lord by His Spirit to move you there. The prodigal son at first said to his father, "Give me." After he repented and returned, he said, Father, "Make me." The key is to see that we cannot do it by our own knowledge and understanding and power. We must depend upon the Lord.
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 4:6
The Two Keys (on the part of Christian man)
One set of verses that is critically specific and applicable today in terms of what the Lord is waiting for us to "do" are found in Joel 1:1 - Joel 2:17, which represent the "If," which not only describes 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. The church and the world are filled with greed, idolatry, worldly entertainment, politics, and every abomination under the sun. And what shall we do? Those same verses contain the specific answer. Those verses speak of two things ... deep repentance on the part of all believers (identifying with the will of God) and true intercession, accompanied by groaning in the spirit, weeping over spiritual Jerusalem, 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 generated by the flesh; 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, the essence of repentance and intercession is unmistakably clear.
At the most fundamental level, we are all unique and God created us for a unique purpose. Ultimately we are called to glorify God. But what does that mean? Jesus answered that question in John 17 when He said,
I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. John 17:4
In Scripture, we need to pay close attention to the use of a colon. What follows a colon always explains or amplifies what has just preceded. Jesus glorified the Father on the earth by completing the work which the Father had given to Him. As long as we, as believers, fulfill the purpose for which we were created, then we all receive the same reward. John the Baptist likewise fulfilled the work given to him to do.
And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not He. But, behold, there cometh One after me, Whose shoes of His feet I am not worthy to loose. Acts 13:25
Paul said the same thing.
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24
Now let us consider what Jesus said to a multitude of people (including His disciples).
And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Luke 6:46
Was Jesus saying that we need to do some things? If so, what things?
35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and saying,36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.38 This is the first and great commandment.39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matthew 22:35-40
The words in the above verse that Jesus spoke are taken from two different sets of verses in Deuteronomy in the Old Testament.
12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and His statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? Deuteronomy 10:12-136 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. Deuteronomy 30:5-6
Let us note two things. First, the verses in Deuteronomy were given as commandments, under the law. They speak of, "Thou shall do this and thou shall not do that." No man, except Jesus, was ever or is ever able to keep the law. Also note the progression from the verses in Deuteronomy 10 to those in Deuteronomy 30. The progression is from "thou shall do this" to "the LORD thy God will circumcise your heart so that you will be able to love Him with all of your heart and soul." Thus there is a progression from what "we" do to what the Lord does. The verses in Deuteronomy are forward looking to the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, the verses are a commandment; under the New Covenant, the verses are a promise ... we really will love the Lord with all of our heart and soul and mind (provided we simply allow the Lord to work that love within us).
Second, none of the verses in Deuteronomy speak of "loving thy neighbor as thyself." Further, we cannot find one verse in the Old Testament which says that we are to love our neighbor as our self. Why did Jesus add that "second" commandment? Catholics, as well as many Protestant Evangelicals, are very strong on feeding the poor, on helping our neighbor in natural ways. We believe that a higher interpretation of "our neighbor" refers to the body of Christ, which concept was not a part of the law.
In 1967, shortly before the Lord apprehended me, I became somewhat "desperate" because of some downturns in my life and talked with the pastor of the Methodist Church where we were attending. I said, "I feel like my life is wasting away. Can you help me?" In essence, that pastor said, "No, I cannot help you. Why don't you go and talk with Sam Jones (not his real name)?" Sam was another "lay member" of that Methodist Church. The pastor also told me that if I "get right with men then I will be right with God." How tragic! Hindsight, it is obvious that he did not know the Lord. Further, no amount of "loving our neighbor" will ever get us to the place where we love the Lord our God with all of heart, and soul, and mind. It only works the other way. Whenever we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us the nature of God, Who is love, then by default we will also love our neighbor as our self. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son ..." (John 3:16). Not long after that, the Lord sovereignly apprehended me.
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God Whom he hath not seen?
1 John 4:20For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: Ephesians 5:29Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13
Instead of us "doing" something for the Lord, the higher priority is that the Lord wants to do something within us. That does not mean that we sit back and do nothing.
What then shall this man do?
Chapter 11: The Need for Repentance
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 believers (identifying with the will of God) and true intercession, accompanied by groaning in the spirit, weeping over spiritual Jerusalem, 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. In the event that either (1) we do not see the need, than we can ask the Lord to make that need known to us; or (2) if we see the need then we can ask the Lord to energize within us the action required to fulfill that need. Ask and we shall receive.
What does it mean to repent? In the New Testament, the major Greek word translated as repent means to change one's mind or purpose. Perhaps when most Christians hear the word "repent," they think about what happens when we are first born again. But there is much more to repentance than that. As a result, we suspect that when most Christians hear that they need to repent, the first thought that runs through their mind is, "Repent? Repent from what? I have not killed anyone; I have not stolen from a bank; I have not committed adultery; I have not ... Further, I have already accepted Jesus as my Savior."
John the Baptist came preaching,
1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 3:1-2
Then comes Jesus.
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17
Who constituted the audience that both John the Baptist and Jesus exhorted to "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand?" Who needed to repent? the Amorites? the Edomites? the Canaanites? the Philistines? NO! Jesus exhorted His own people, the people of God, the religious elite of the day, to repent. But,
11 He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.12 But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons [children] of God, even to them that believe on His name: John 1:11-12
A question for all of us to ponder ... Consider the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees who crucified Jesus. Are they in heaven? We do not speculate on the answer to that question. But Peter told them that they did it through ignorance (Acts 3:17). He also told them to repent and be converted, that their sins may be blotted out (Acts 3:19). So the grace of God was sufficient even for those who crucified Jesus. Jesus said to the chief priests and elders,
Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. Matthew 21:31
Why do the publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God before the religious leaders of the day? because the publicans and harlots are aware of their need. The leaders are not aware of their need.
Jesus never preached, "Repent, so you can be saved and one day go to heaven." Jesus preached the kingdom of God, which is not the same as the initial salvation experience. There are two scenarios. We have the Church, being "saved," going to heaven one day, and many would add the so-called "rapture" out of this world when things really get difficult. On the other hand is the kingdom of God. The two are not the same.
Consider Job. In Job, Chapter 1, the Lord said unto Satan,
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Job 1:8
But then, after 41 Chapters of discourse, Job says,
5 I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee.6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Job 42:5-6
Why should a perfect and upright man, one that fears God, and eschews evil, have to repent? Let us also consider the prophet Isaiah.
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged [covered]. Isaiah 6:1-7
Note that Isaiah, after he had seen the Lord, likewise had to repent, because he saw who he was in comparison to the Lord Himself.
Now, let us consider the word iniquity in Verse 7, above. "Iniquity" is merely a word that describes the "Adamic nature." It is something we possess, or that which we are, rather than something we do. In other words, iniquity in our nature is the cause of sinful activity in our lives. Iniquity comes in many different shapes and sizes ... like pride, arrogance, etc. To act proudly, or arrogantly, or out of self-will or ignorance is the essence of working iniquity. Jesus said,
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. Matthew 7:21-23
Those verses are not a distinction between those who are "saved" and those who are not "saved." The verses describe the difference between those like Stephen, Paul, and many others on the right hand and the majority of the believers that Paul addressed (and still addresses) to the Church at Corinth on the left hand. Note also, in Verse 22, the three types of things that many will say to the Lord in that day ("in thạt day" is a topic for another word). The three verses above clearly give the Lord's priority between exercising the gifts of the Spirit and wonderful works on the one hand and the fruit of the Spirit on the other hand. Matthew 7:15-20 clearly states that same difference. Verse 22 also makes very clear that it is not sufficient to simply say the words "in the name of Jesus Christ." Ten times in the Book of Acts, the apostles said, "in the name of Jesus." But they had the Substance within them to back up their words. Acts 19:13-15 is another clear example of this truth. In Verse 23, "I never knew you" can be translated as "I never approved you." Christian man is so bent on "doing" good works that he forgets that the Lord wants to do a work within him. Jesus never did one miracle and never preached or taught until after His approval (Matthew 3:17 and Luke 4:14-15).
The attitude of his heart made David a beloved person in the sight of the Lord. If you want an eye-opener, check out the places in the Psalms where David pleaded for mercy and for deliverance ... not only for what he had done, but for what he was in his flesh.
I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. Psalm 32:5For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. Psalm 38:182 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.4 Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest.5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Psalm 51:2-5
Please note that in all three of the Psalms, above, David makes a distinction between sin and iniquity.
Many times all of us have repented of actions which had been wrong, and had harmed other people -- doing the best we could to rectify the mistakes we had made. We all know how to do that. But the probe of the Spirit is destined to go deeper than the surface of our life. He will begin to show us how wrong some of our motives have been ... what had prompted some of our non-sinful actions. They don't look so good under the searchlight of His Spirit. God, in His mercy, will show myself to me ... without benefit of cosmetic cover. "I try the reins, I search the heart" (Jeremiah 17:10).
Also consider what the Lord said about Job.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Job 1:8
But in Job 42, Job said,
5 I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee.
6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Job 42:5-6
Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. Ezekiel 43:10
He will bring us to the place that we cry out, with David, "Oh Lord, have mercy on me, for I am weak." (Psalm 6:2). "Deliver my soul" (Psalm 116:4). Save me from myself.
The Lord caused the Prophet Isaiah to write, "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" (Isaiah 66:2).
He caused Joel to write: "And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil" (Joel 2:13). Jesus preached,
Blessed are the poor in spirit [the spirit of man]: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3Blessed are ye that hunger [for righteousness] now for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep [over your lack of inner righteousness] now: for ye shall laugh.
Luke 6:21Woe unto you that are full [of the self-life]! for ye shall hunger [spiritually]. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Luke 6:25Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep [over the inbred iniquity in our hearts]: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. James 4:9
Genuine repentance is a gift from GOD.
When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. Acts 11:18And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Luke 24:47
Oh Lord, lead us, by Your goodness, to repentance. Then we need to ask the Lord for His grace and mercy to enable us to walk in a state of repentance. Are we "better" than Job, Isaiah, and David, all of whom saw the need to repent, not simply for what they had said and done, but for who they were?
What more shall this man do?
Chapter 12: The Making of the Priests, the Ministers of the Lord
Ah! But there is one more big step that must come after repentance and before the intercession described in Joel. That big step is the making by the Lord of the priests, the ministers of the LORD.
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 2:17
Before the priests, the ministers of the Lord, can weep between the porch (the body of Christ) and the altar (the Lord Himself) those priests (the remnant, the bride of Christ, the very elect) must be made by the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit. Man's part in this making is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. We do that by the decisions that we make every day ... decisions to put His will before our own will. We will attempt to describe this "making" shortly. For now, we must always remember that being born again is a free gift, based on His grace, through His faith.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
But everything after being born from above is based upon the power of the Holy Spirit and our individual decisions. Our maturity in Christ is conditional ... conditional upon obeying His voice, keeping His covenant, walking in His ways. The conditions have never changed, from the Old Covenant through the New Covenant. The difference is how the conditions are affected.
3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
Exodus 19:3-89 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10
Peter wrote those words to the Diaspora ... to the Jews who were scattered abroad ... to the Jews who had accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. Therefore those words are also directed to all true believers in Christ over all of time. One of Martin Luther's most important theological contributions was the "priesthood of all believers," which implied that clerics possessed no more dignity than ordinary people. The Lord hates the distinction between "clergy" and "laity." "Nicolaitans" means "people conquerors."
So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.Revelation 2:15
Although it is true that all born-again believers are called as priests, Ezkeiel 44 makes a clear distinction between the priests who minister to the Lord and the priests who minister to the house.
10 And the Levites that are gone away far from Me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from Me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.11 Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.12 Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity.13 And they shall not come near unto Me, to do the office of a priest unto Me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.14 But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.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. Ezekiel 44:10-16
Throughout history the Lord has given His people a charge ... a commandment. One of the first such was to Abraham and then to Isaac.
2 And the LORD appeared unto him [Isaac], and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. Genesis 26:2-5
David gave a similar charge to Solomon (1 Kings 2:3-4). Moses gave the same charge to Joshua (Deuteronomy 3:28).
8 Also he [Mordecai] gave him [Hatach] the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them [the Jews], to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.9 And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. Esther 4:8-9
Mordecai (prophetic of the Holy Spirit), gave a charge to Esther (the bride of Christ, not the Church) through Hatach (a chamberlain eunuch, appointed by the King to attend Queen Esther) that she should intercede before the King Ahasuerus (the Lord) on behalf of all the Jews (the body of Christ).
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:26-27
Verses 26 and 27 speak of two different actions or works of God. Verse 26, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: ..." speaks of God's purpose for making man. Verse 27, "So God created man in His own image ..." speaks of the first step toward accomplishing His purpose. The word "make" is a different word than the word "create." So the first Adam was created with the covering of the glory of God. But, as we all know, Adam made a decision, the wrong decision, and lost that covering of glory. At that point God covered Adam with the flesh, skin, and blood that all humanity has ever since (not the skins of animals). The risen Christ has no blood; neither did the Lord in eternity past. Neither will we in eternity future. The blood of man is the carrier of diseases.
1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.[Jacob speaks of the natural man; Israel here speaks of the spiritual man. This Verse does not speak of the natural Jew.]2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;["Thy seed" is the spiritual man ... Christ in you, the hope of glory.]6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. Isaiah 43:7
The above Verses do not speak of natural Jews and a natural piece of real estate in the Middle East called Israel. I am quite certain that there are a multitude of natural Jews who would never consider going back to the natural Israel.
Note the three-step process in Verse 7 ... "created, formed, and made." Zechariah 12:1 says that the Lord forms the spirit of man within him. That same three-step process is involved in the "making" of the priests, the ministers of the Lord.
Consider what men call the parable of the prodigal son, in Luke, Chapter 15. Everyone knows the story. The younger son initially asked his father, "give me." Then he went to a far country and wasted his substance on riotous living. Any place away from Father is a far country. None of us want to go there. The word "riotous" does not mean what we think it means. It means to "preserve, attend to, or save self." In other words the younger son, who always was a son (huios, or someone who is baptized in the Holy Spirit) was like the Church at Corinth ... he was simply doing his own thing. But the grace of God arranged circumstances to help him to repent and come back to his father. When he came back he said, father make me as one of your hired servants. The Lord is now, and always has been, in the process of "making" those believers who are willing into His image.
I am completely convinced that the priests, the ministers of the Lord, are in the earth today. In general, they are NOT pastors of named churches. They are even not necessarily apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. They are "nobodies" who have made themselves of no reputation. But their number one priority is the Lord Himself and His plans and purposes. Just as in the time of Moses, the Lord has been preparing an instrument of deliverance in the earth. It is a hidden work. That preparation is similar to how pearls of great price are created. A "natural pearl" is one that forms without any human intervention at all, in the wild, and is very rare.
Everyone is familiar with the six Chapters which speak of the life of Elijah the prophet (1 Kings 17, 18, 19, 21 and 2 Kings 1 and 2). 1 Kings 19 is well known by most Spirit-filled believers. That is when Elijah fled from Jezebel to a cave and the Lord came to him and asked Elijah what he was doing there (because the Lord never told him to flee). Elijah said that he was the only prophet left. The Lord said, Not so, that He had 7,000 more in Israel that had not bowed the knee to Baal. How many of those 7,000 did Elijah ever meet? None! Zero! The Lord would not allow it because there would have been too much temptation for those 7,001 to claim some of the glory. In the same manner, the Lord will never allow the priests, the ministers of the Lord, to meet together in a "conference" for any purpose, including that of weeping between the porch and the altar. It will be in the hidden closets of those who have answered His call.
But one day, and soon, we will see the manifestation of the sons of God, an unveiling of God's masterpiece, a set of believers who will walk the face of the earth in the same manner that Jesus did 2000 years ago. I believe it will happen as soon as the priests, the ministers of the Lord weep between the porch and the altar. Only the Lord knows who and how many make up that remnant. Then the Lord returns and ushers in His millennial kingdom.
Now for a confirmation of much in this Chapter that has preceded ... let us consider the three anointings of Jesus (which correspond to the three anointings of David in 1 Samuel 16:13, 2 Samuel 2:4, and 2 Samuel 5:3). The three anointings of Jesus by mankind, recorded in the Gospels, were all by women, which speak of the Body of Christ.
The first anointing of Jesus, in Luke 7:36-39, was by an unnamed woman who was a sinner, during the first year of Jesus' ministry on earth as a man. That account is a contrast between a Pharisee, named Simon, who undoubtedly believed he was an important man and needed no help from Jesus, and a woman, a nobody, who knew she was a sinner and needed forgiveness. It was customary in those days when a man invited a guest for a meal, the host, or his servants, would wash and dry the feet of the guest, give the guest a kiss, and anoint his head or at least his feet with ointment. Simon did none of those things. The woman did all of those things. She stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Simon did not believe Jesus was a prophet, much less the Messiah. The woman believed Jesus could forgive her sins. This account is prophetic of us being born again or born from above, for we are a nobody until we are blessed by that grace.
The most amazing question is: How did the woman, a sinner, ever get inside the house of the Pharisee? Even more amazing ... if she were a sinner, why would he allow her to remain in his house? Could it be that he had used her "services" in the past? Was that why he did not tell her to leave immediately? Was he afraid she might reveal his secret?
The second anointing of Jesus is recorded in John 12, in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, in Bethany, six days before His crucifixion. Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with a pound of spikenard, very costly. This account is prophetic of those believers who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and are now a huios, a mature son. But even a son must mature. Notice that three names are present. They speak prophetically of the three major emphases in the charismatic community ... Mary (teaching), Lazarus (supernatural miracles), and Martha (serving, in various capacities, doing good works).
Matthew 26 and Mark 14 both record the same third anointing.
6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.8 But when His disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.10 When Jesus understood it, He said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon Me.11 For ye have the poor always with you; but Me ye have not always.12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. Matthew 26:6-13
Note that the woman in the third anointing is again unnamed ... a nobody. Note that she poured the very expensive ointment on the head of Jesus, not His feet. She is prophetic of the bride of Christ, an Esther, a priest, the minister of the Lord ... those who pour out everything they have on the Head, even the Person of the Lord Himself. Therefore she has a new name (Isaiah 62:2 and Revelation 2:17 and 3:12).
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. Revelation 2:17
The Concordant translation of the Bible, perhaps the purest (but not perfect) translation of the Bible, in John 6:71 and John 13:26, refers to Christ's betrayer as Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. So, Judas Iscariot was the son of Simon, the Pharisee. Further, Simon, the Pharisee, in Luke 7, at the first anointing of Jesus and Simon the leper in Mark 14 and Matt 26 is the same man. When Simon the Pharisee in Luke 7 rejected Jesus, Simon was made leprous. Sometime between that first anointing of Jesus and the last anointing Jesus had healed Simon, because lepers were never allowed to mingle with those who were physically whole. That was the grace of God that was extended (but apparently not accepted) by Simon Iscariot. That also affirms that the Lord is after something far more important than physical healing.
No one at the first anointing (in Luke) called pouring expensive ointment on Jesus a waste. At the second anointing (in John) only Judas called it a waste. In the third anointing His disciples (plural) called it a waste. Why the progression? None of the disciples had any real understanding until Pentecost. So they just assumed that what Judas said in John 12:5 made a lot of logical sense. Many years ago I actually heard an elder in our house church say the exact same thing that Judas said about the "waste."
The fragrance from the alabaster box could not be released until it was broken. When the alabaster box was broken, a sweet odor filled the house (the body of Christ). Everyone could smell it. Something had been crushed, something had been broken, and there was a resulting odor of sweetness. To activate the anointing we must allow the Lord to totally break our self-life so His inner fragrance can be released.
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Psalm 51:17
The greatest need in the charismatic community today is not more training seminars and conferences. The greatest need is for us believers to be broken before God. Once we are broken the anointing will be overwhelmingly evident and we will be prepared for the Lord's use.
No one can take people into the depths of God unless he has been broken himself. Without brokenness we remain proud, arrogant, and selfish. The outcome of brokenness is genuine humility and total reliance on the Lord. One thing is for sure ... the Lord will soon bring about circumstances where we all will be forced to depend solely on Him. Luke 20:18 is eternally true. "Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."
I have never been to a rodeo, but I have seen clips on the internet and TV. One of the events in a rodeo is riding a wild horse. Whoever stays atop the wild horse the longest is the winner. Seldom is the winner able to ride the horse for more than a few minutes. Have you ever seen what a wild horse will do? It will kick, rear its legs to try to throw the rider off, try to bite the rider, etc. Likewise, we cannot tame our human nature. No one except the Lord can tame our self-life or human nature and then only if we allow Him to do so.
Just before Jesus rode into Jerusalem,
1 And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, He sendeth forth two of His disciples,2 And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and He sat upon him. Mark 11:1-7
The colt, the foal of an ass, had never been ridden by any man; it was wild. The disciples brought the donkey to Jesus, threw their garments over the donkey and Jesus mounted it. What happened? Did the donkey rear, kick, bite, and try to throw Jesus off? No! The donkey was meek and mild and carried Jesus wherever He wanted to go.
We cannot do anything with this wild nature we were born with. We can try everything under the sun to rid ourselves of our wild nature, but the only One that will ever mount that wild ass in us is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our will power is not sufficient; neither is our mental understanding; neither is our emotions. Some of the biggest problems in both the individual believer and the corporate church are caused by us trying to do what only God can do. He is able to take our wild nature, subdue it and reign over it and make us like Himself ... IF we turn our life over completely to the Lord and allow Him to work in us that which is His will, His good pleasure, and His purpose for us.
For it is God that works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13
Where are those who are willing to empty themselves of their own agendas and plans in order to become saturated with God's vision? Where are the vessels that are poured out for Him? We must invite the Holy Spirit to fill us with that kind of all-consuming vision and calling. May we yield to the Spirit and give Him permission to groan, weep and intercede through us!
Also, either Simon Iscariot and/or Judas Iscariot were present at all three of the anointings of Jesus. What does that mean for us today? In any local assembly of true believers where a real anointing of Christ is present, there will also be spies of the enemy, plotting to kill those who are most anointed.
It is the same group, the Pharisaic Jews of Judaism, who want to remove Christ and Christianity from every aspect of society today, and eventually, with the help of the Roman Catholic Church, Muslims, and apostate Christians, they will call for the death of all true Christians (Revelation 13). How could Jews, Catholics, and Muslims possibly unite in such an unholy alliance against Christians? The same way the Pharisees and Sadducees (who disagreed on resurrection life) united when they crucified Jesus.
26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ.27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.Acts 4:26-28
Note that the alliance against Jesus consisted of kings of the earth, rulers, Herod, Pilate, Gentiles, and the people of Israel. That same unholy alliance today has infiltrated all the Christian churches where there is a real anointing and has placed spies in our midst, just as Judas had infiltrated the inner circle of the disciples of Jesus Christ. Nothing has changed!
Now all of that may be interesting, but how does this story of Judas and his father, Simon Iscariot, relate to us personally in the time in which we live? and what changes should it make in our lives? I am not particularly interested in history; revelation is of little value unless it makes a change in our life. The purpose of revelation is clearly given in Deuteronomy 29:29 ... "that we may do all the words of the law." The relationship is clear. What happened to Jesus will be repeated one more time. Jesus said, "For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" Jesus Christ is the green tree, which speaks of Life. We are the dry tree. There is no life outside of Christ.
What does that mean for us? It means that all traces of self must be put down. It means the same thing it meant to the great prophet Isaiah in Chapter 6. It means the same thing it meant to Job, whom the Lord called my servant Job, none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil. But Job later said, "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." It means my vision of the Lord is too small; your vision of the Lord is too small.
Many seem to be waiting for the Lord to do something, but in reality the Lord is waiting for us to do something. The enemy has lulled to sleep many believers in America because we have long enjoyed a season of prosperity and peace. That will not always be so ... the atmosphere may change quickly and sooner than we think.
The bottom line exhortation for every true believer is:
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; Hebrews 6:1
How do we go on to perfection? only one way. We must cry out, "Help, Lord! Change our hearts. Make us into that which You desire, which is Christ in us, the hope of glory." Unless we have this attitude and submit to the work of the Holy Spirit within us, we become just like Simon the Pharisee, who saw no further need for Jesus.
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
The key is an open face, which means our heart and spirit is open to the making process from the hand of the Lord in all things. May we all be counted worthy to walk with the Lord in these end times. Amen.
Chapter 13: The Need for Intercession
To intercede literally means "to come in between." The word "intercede" per se does not occur in Scripture. The word "intercession(s)" appears ten times and the word "intercessor" appears only once. However, the essence of intercession occurs throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The intercessor is one who comes in between God and man, on behalf of men, at times those men who deserve His wrath and punishment, and (more frequently) for God's chosen people who, for whatever reason, have been missing the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Words mean different things to different believers. Therefore we need to try to convey, if possible, what we mean by intercession, as distinct, perhaps, from prayer and supplication. In this word, we do not speak of praying for a Christian brother or sister who has some physical or emotional ailment; neither do we speak of praying for a believer who has a financial or similar natural-level need. Obviously there is a place for that type of prayer (provided it is led by the Holy Spirit), but we speak of intercession at a higher level, as illustrated by Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah, to name a few. That higher level is what Paul meant when he said, "That we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus" (Colossians 1:27). Daniel said,
We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments: Daniel 9:5
Note that Daniel not only identified with the will and desire of the Lord but he also associated himself with the people of God. The Bible gives no indication that Daniel had sinned, but he never set himself above the people in any way.
Esther likewise purified herself before interceding for her people before the king. Ezra, like Daniel, identified both with the will of God and the people of God when he said, "We have forsaken Thy commandments" (Ezra 9:10). Nehemiah, in Nehemiah 1:4-6, wept, mourned, fasted, prayed, and confessed that he and all the people had sinned (although here again, there is no indication that Nehemiah himself had sinned). That is the level of intercession which we try to convey in this word. That is the level of intercession that the Lord is looking for before He brings His restoration.
The great Intercessor, of course, was and still is Jesus.
Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:12
In effect, when Jesus died on the cross, He was saying, "Let the judgment that is due to the people come upon Me." Then after His death, resurrection, and ascension, we are told,
24 But this Man, because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.25 Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:24-25
The most compelling reason for the need for intercession on behalf of the Church is found in those Verses. The Lord Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest, continues to make intercession for us, the body of Christ, even to this day. Are we called to identify with Him in His intercession for us? Scripture says that we are co-laborers with Him (1 Corinthians 3:9). Every believer is called to identify with His baptism, His suffering, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His weeping over Jerusalem, and His intercession.
What a comfort we have to know that Jesus continues to make intercession on our behalf before the throne of the Father! Jesus spent thirty years in relative obscurity in "normal" family life; three and one-half years in public ministry; and now about two thousand years in intercession, unseen by any natural eye. Do those time frames say anything about the importance of intercession?
In addition, Jesus said,
And I will pray [ask or request] the Father, and He shall give you another [of the same kind] Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; John 14:16
Paul speaks of the Comforter and says,
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.27 And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27
So we have one Paraclete here with us and another seated at the right hand of the Father, (but we speak of the spiritual realm).
Scripturally, how has God moved in order to restore His chosen people to the place that He desires? After the 400 years of bondage in Egypt, and in response to the cry of the Israelites, the Lord raised up and empowered Moses as their visible deliverer. All throughout the book of Judges the Lord also raised up deliverers, again in response to the cry of the people. Then the Lord used Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah in a slightly different way. All four of them were righteous vessels who interceded for God's people.
Then comes the Deliverer of all deliverers, even Jesus Christ our Lord. Sometimes we need to reflect not only on what Jesus has done for us at Calvary, but what He continues to do for us.
The first of two complementary sets of verses which encapsulate what the Lord is looking for the Church to "do" are the following.
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. Habakkuk 2:11
That verse has no natural level interpretation. "A stone" could refer to any member of the body of Christ. "The stone" can be no other that the Lord Jesus Christ. "The wall" is the wall around spiritual Jerusalem, not just any ordinary city wall. The Lord Jesus is also "the wall."
For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. Zechariah 2:5
"The beam out of the timber" refers to the Father, Who is the girder Who upholds all things. Therefore Habakkuk 2:11 says that the Lord Jesus shall cry out to the Father on behalf of the Church. That verse is the Old Testament counterpart of the New Testament verse,
Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25
The second of the two complementary sets of verses which encapsulate what the Lord is looking for is the following.
18 Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.19 Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward Him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger on the top of every street.
Lamentations 2:18-19
The above verses represent our identification with the Lord Jesus in His intercession for the Church. That is what Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah "did." I have not found any place in the Bible that speaks of a gift or ministry of intercession. Every member of the body of Christ is called to intercede on behalf of the Church. However, "Many are called but few are chosen" (Matthew 22: 14); or rather, "Many are called, but few choose." Unfortunately, few see the need to intercede on behalf of the Church; even fewer choose to intercede.
For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more. He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry: when He shall hear it, He will answer thee. Isaiah 30:19
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16b
A better translation of the above verse is:
The energized or inwrought [by the Holy Spirit] prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Some careful thought will bear witness that the greatest saints were often the greatest intercessors, for they were those who were closest to the heart of God. Some of these great intercessors were Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, and Paul, to name a few.
Abraham interceded on behalf of Sodom because his nephew, Lot, was there. Abraham knew that if judgment came upon Sodom, then Lot and his family would be part of the judgment. Abraham kept interceding for Sodom until the Lord promised that He would not destroy it if He found ten righteous persons in the city. I have read that at that point in time, Sodom was a major city with a population of no less than 10,000 people. So for the sake of ten righteous people out of 10,000 persons God was willing to spare the entire city. That is one out of a thousand! Elihu, in the Book of Job records this same proportion.
23 If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness:24 Then He is gracious unto him. And saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. Job 33:23-24
One out of a thousand! That does not seem like a very large percentage ... 0.1% ... or a tenth of a tenth of a tenth. Let us apply this same proportion to the United States, whose current population is very close to 300,000,000 people. Does that mean, if we use the same proportion, that God will spare the United States if He finds 300,000 persons who walk in righteousness? A better question might be: are there 300,000 committed believers in the United States who walk in righteousness? (That does NOT mean those who have their names on a church roster; nor does it mean those who are born-again believers but are doing their own thing.)
Some watchmen have said that the United States is currently worse spiritually and morally than Sodom and Gomorrah during the time of Abraham. Therefore a number of those watchmen recently have been warning the Church that blood and fire are imminent in America. Do you think that America is in trouble? Is it time for the judgment of God to descend upon our country? Do we need some real intercessors, such as Abraham was in his time?
Almost everyone is familiar with the total solar eclipse that was visible on August 21, 2017, only in the United States. That visibility was most prominent from the northwest to the southeast of our nation. Scientists now tell us that the next total solar eclipse to be seen in the United States will occur on April 8, 2024, and will be most prominent from the southwest to the northeast. The two eclipses together will thus mark an "X" over the approximate population center of the United States. An "X" typically means to delete something. Is it possible that unless the visible church in the U.S. repents before April 8, 2024, then the Lord will bring complete destruction upon our land? Is it possible that by April 8, 2024, the Lord will unveil His deliverers on Mount Zion (Obadiah 21)? Surely we have seen many signs in the earth for many years ... devastating hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, tsunamis, forest fires, droughts ... the beginning of sorrows. But signs in the heavens point to an even greater time of tribulation. One good brother in Christ told me recently that he, and others, has seen unusual red "fire" in the constellation Virgo. No one can deny that in the past year or two we have witnessed an increase in distress, turmoil, etc. in the United States. That includes a clear increase in the rejection of God-ordained authority. Now we make NO prediction concerning April 8, 2024, because "now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). Paul spoke that word to the Church at Corinth ... those who had been born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit. Does that word have any application for us today?
Most Evangelicals profess a need to "go out and get them saved," based upon what man calls the "great commission" in Matthew 28 and Mark 16. That is not what Scripture says. It says to make disciples of all nations and then teach them to observe all things that Jesus has commanded. Further, is it correct exegesis to turn a rhema word to the apostles into a logos word for all believers? Is every member of the body of Christ to become a teacher of the Lord's disciples? Are all teachers? Not according to 1 Corinthians 12:29. Jesus said,
I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine. John 17:9
But He answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Matthew 15:24
Who are the lost sheep of the house of Israel? natural Jews? some Jews, yes ... all Jews? I doubt it. The criteria that determines who Jesus prayed for, and still prays for, are all those whom the Father has given to our Lord Jesus. That includes both Jew and Gentile, but not every human being. Further, the word "lost" does not refer simply to the "unsaved." It refers to the "saved" who have lost their Way ... lost their focus, their direction. The Church at Corinth lost their way; they no longer took heed to the directions of the Holy Spirit. The Church at Ephesus left their first love.
A second striking example of an intercessor was Moses. The apostasy of the Israelites who came out of Egypt during the Exodus was so great that only two of those over the age of twenty actually made it into the promised land, but Moses interceded.
31 And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book, which Thou hast written. Exodus 32:31-32
That is intercession! How many such saints do you think there are in the United States who would sincerely make that same statement? Only the Lord knows, but I would guess not too many! The Lord surely would have destroyed His chosen people had not Moses stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath.
In Verse 31, the people had made gods of gold. Do you think that some believers today have likewise made gods of gold? Money is a HUGE driving force in America, both in the world and in the Church. Much of Christian teaching relating to money, particularly from the television preachers, is WARPED and DISTORTED! A great number of the television teachers are multi-millionaires.
The apostle Paul made the same statement as did Moses.
1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. Romans 9:1-3
Ezekiel 22 records a different scene. Just as in the time of Abraham and Moses, the sins of God's people are portrayed once more, but this time there was NO intercessor found to stand in the gap.
30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God. Ezekiel 22:30-31
One man ... one intercessor ... could have saved an entire nation, even though every section of society was corrupted (see Ezekiel 22:23-29 for proof of that). Can one man save the United States from the judgment of God?
The same apostasy existed in the time of Isaiah. Please read all of Isaiah 59 to get the complete picture.
And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him; and His righteousness, it sustained Him. Isaiah 59:16
Even God Himself wondered that there was no intercessor! What an amazing verse! Not one intercessor! Therefore, He sent His son, Jesus to be that intercessor. Thank you Lord!
From my somewhat limited experience, I have seen very few saints who even know what intercession is, much less move in that vital ministry. Even the so-called "intercessor conference" that I attended a number of years ago gave little sign of genuine intercessors.
Therefore, we believe it is crucial for those who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand, to ask the Lord to raise up true intercessors in our midst. There is no higher calling than that of an intercessor. Man will not see, recognize, or applaud you, but in the Kingdom of God your life will count for eternity.
What shall the intercessors pray for? that the leaders of the Church (those in positional authority) will return unto the Lord, laying aside all mixture and things that hinder. Scripture is clear that judgment is according to the light that has been given ... the greater the light, the more severe the judgment.
For unto whomsoever much is given, of him will be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:48
In all of the history of the human race, there has never been a generation on the face of the earth that has been exposed to greater spiritual light than this generation in the United States. Most believers have heard an enormous amount of good teaching, both through first hand exposure and through books, tapes, and videos. Yet the Church in America has strayed far from what the Lord desires. Those in positional authority within the Church have always been, and still are, the ones that must bear the brunt of the judgment of God. The problems always have been with the leaders, scripturally, historically, and experientially.
And the common people heard Him gladly. Mark 12:37b
Intercessors also need to ask the Lord to open the eyes of each believer in our midst to come and see Jesus, to hear His voice, and to walk in His ways. Ask the Lord to give each member of the local church discernment concerning the body of Christ. That is clearly written in 1 Timothy 2:1, where we are exhorted to pray for all "men," which is the Greek word for human beings, not simply males.
Who Participates?
Who participates? those who have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches today ... those whose heart identifies with the heart of the Lord. 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. He who is in the fiery furnace the longest comes out the purest. 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 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 will 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 baptized with 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."
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 1:22And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. Acts 22:10
So now what is the Lord looking for in His people (or a remnant) today? We believe He is looking for those who will identify with His intercession and His weeping over spiritual Jerusalem. The Lord has been preparing an instrument of deliverance in the earth. It is a work that is hidden from the natural eye. That preparation is similar to how pearls of great price are created. A "natural pearl" is one that forms without any human intervention at all, in the wild, and is very rare.
We, as the people of God, have the power, authority, and opportunity to continually live in the shekinah glory presence of God. It is our choice. Not all will make that choice because it requires a denying of self and yielding our will to His will. If we, through the power of the Holy Ghost, build a living tabernacle where there is continual prayer, praise, worship, and thanksgiving, He will meet us and speak to us and our temple will be sanctified by His glory. If we continue to abide in the Vine and walk in the Spirit, then He will dwell among us.
In addition,
1 I exhort therefore that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 1 Timothy 2:1-2
The word translated as "authority" is the Greek word huperoche, which occurs only one other time in the Bible, in 1 Corinthians 2:1, where it is translated as "excellency" or "pre-eminence." (And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.) Careful thought of 1 Corinthians 2:1 makes it apparent that Paul said he did not have that kind of authority. The authority given to Paul was spiritual authority. Therefore the word "authority" in 1 Timothy 2:2 refers to positional authority, i.e., the authority given by man, and not spiritual authority, which only comes from God.
What else shall this man do?
Chapter 14: A Summary
Haggai, Chapter 1, speaks of the "problems" of the remnant of the tribe of Judah, the judgment of God as a result of their lethargy, apathy, and self-centeredness, and the answer as spoken through Haggai the prophet. That is current events as well as history. We shared briefly the significance of Luke 12:42-48 and the critical need for the Spirit-filled community to lay hold of the holy fear of God. Next were some thoughts from the Book of Zechariah which are pertinent to us today, particularly how the pots in the Lord's house are to become as the almond bowls (pure gold) before the altar. Then we mentioned a few thoughts from the Book of Malachi, particularly deception and some conditions for the parousia (second coming) of the Lord.
Then we shared the need and commandment to prepare the way of the Lord and what we do to prepare the way of the Lord. We need an expanded vision in this hour; we need to know where we are going and how to get there! We focused on Colossians 1:27-28 and a few thoughts about the glory of God.
There are two keys as priorities on the part of the spiritual remnant ... repentance and intercession. We must know the level of repentance required for a Spirit-filled Christian. Likewise we need to understand the level of intercession which the Lord is looking for in His remnant.
This final word describes the attitude and action on the part of a spiritual remnant which is necessary to satisfy and please the Lord. In reality,
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:3
What is this simplicity that is in Christ? Our hearts must be attuned to His heart and will, we listen for and hear His voice, and we are obedient. He does the rest. He then makes the Word to become flesh within us.
Suppose we decide to take a trip in our car. We know our starting point and we know the name of our destination. But we do not have a map; neither do we have a GPS. Further, we have never been to our destination point before so we are not familiar with the roads and cannot rely on our past driving experiences. But nevertheless we start out on our journey. We know the general direction that we must take, but not the specific routes. So what do we do? Hopefully we will stop and ask for directions to get to each of the intermediary towns along the way. We must trust the directions that are given to us by the people we meet. Then finally we arrive at our destination. You could say that we have to have vision to know where we are going. We must persevere. We must trust the directions given to us, and we must obey those directions. We may run across a few minor detours along the way, but our faith, trust, and obedience allows us to get to our desired location.
So it is in our walk by faith as believers in Christ. It is worth repeating that we have never been this way before. Every new day, Your glory unfolds; filling my heart with Your treasures untold
22 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.23 They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
The Lord desires that we become totally dependent upon Him and the directions given to us by the Holy Spirit. We must trust and obey. If we need to know what to do, where to go, or any other question, the best way to get His perfect answer is simply to cry out to the Lord and say, "Help me, Lord!" We do not need to wait until we get into a helpless situation. We can and should cry out to Him every day for His guidance and directions.
There are literally dozens, perhaps hundreds, of verses in the Bible when the chosen people of God found themselves in great trouble, affliction, sickness, or very difficult situations. Only then did they cry out to God for help and deliverance. One of the most notable such events was when the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt for 400 years.
23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. Exodus 2:23-24
Then the Lord unveiled a deliverer named Moses to lead His people out of bondage and toward the Promised Land. In essentially every case, as soon as the Lord heard a heart-felt cry for help, the Lord responded to their cry and poured out His great grace and mercy. Why did it take 400 years for the chosen people of God to cry out to the Lord? How many years of bondage and captivity will it take for the Spirit-filled/charismatic community to cry out to the Lord for deliverance today?
Instead of re-reading some of the multitude of such patterns in Scripture, let us consider Jesus when He lived on earth as a Man.
6 As He saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.7 Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him That was able to save Him [out] from death, and was heard in that He feared; Hebrews 5:6-7
It is unfortunate that most translations of the Bible say, "save Him from death." The Greek word translated as "from" is ek, which means, out from. The Man, Jesus, was never afraid of death or dying. Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto the Father Who was able to resurrect Him (and did so).
The Greek word for "feared" is eulabeia, which means, caution, reverence, godly fear, or holy fear. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, says that eulabeia means "that mingled fear and love, which, combined, constitute the piety of man toward God." That word appears only twice in the New Testament ... once in Hebrews 5:7, above, and in Hebrews 12:28, below.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve [minister to] God acceptably with reverence [awe] and Godly fear:29 For our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:28-29
In other words, all believers should have that same fear of God that Jesus expressed in Hebrews 5:7. Further, all believers should have that same trust and faith in the Father, Who is able to resurrect us out from death.
Returning to Hebrews 5:7, "He offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto" the Father. For whom or what was He praying? He was praying for those who crucified Him. He was also praying for us.
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted His raiment, and cast lots. Luke 23:34
27 And there followed Him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented Him.28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.31 For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
Luke 23:27-31
Jesus was (is) the green tree; we are the dry. If Jesus cried to the Father on our behalf, can we do less? To cry out and not hide out is the mandate from our Father God. When we cry out to Him, we acknowledge our need for His divine intervention in our lives. A healing process also takes place as we admit our need before our Lord in prayer. There are many echoes in our spirit when this cry is heard in our own ears and before the throne of God. We must not hide out or continue to deny the ache in our hearts, becoming more and more numb as time marches on. Let us make known the unspoken desire of our heart ... that which we may think is even too big for the Lord to address. We must "cry out" and make this cry a habit that will change us and enlarge the kingdom of God within.
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