64. The Fellowship Of His Sufferings
The Fellowship of His Sufferings
by David Wilkerson
July 1, 1983
[May 19, 1931 '96 April 27, 2011]
"That I might know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings; being made conformable to his death" (Php_3:10).
Fellowship is the union of friends sharing similar interests or problems. To suffer is to feel pain or distress.
Paul yearned to share the pain and distress that Christ experienced. Did he not have enough suffering in his own life? Did he not have the hurts and cares of all the churches heavy upon his heart? Yet still he prays '97 "Oh, that I might know how to share Christ's pain and hurt."
Soon after Paul's conversion, Ananias delivered a word from the Lord to him "concerning the great things he must suffer for the sake of Christ's name" (Act_9:16). It was to be more than the personal distress of shame, rejection, persecution, and hardships. He would suffer through shipwreck, stonings, beatings, and afflictions of body and soul. He would joyfully suffer the loss of all things. In triumph over all these personal sufferings he would proclaim,
"I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom_8:18).
Paul suffered as few other men have suffered. Yet still he considered it all nothing in comparison to the sufferings of Jesus Christ, his Lord. Peter, too, spoke of being both a witness to and a partaker of Christ's suffering:
"I'85who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ'85" (1Pe_5:1).
"Rejoice'85inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings'85" (1Pe_4:13).
Who, in This Day and Age Yearns to Share in the Sufferings of Jesus Christ?
The church now focuses inwardly, spending most of its spiritual energy on the pain, distress and hurts of its members. In nearly all communities, there are numerous intimate prayer groups reaching out with compassion to share in the hurts of suffering neighbors. We have entered into the fellowship of our brothers' suffering.
That is all commendable. It is true that when one member of the body suffers, we all suffer. I see nothing wrong with Christians getting together to share their hurts and to lift one another's burdens. That is absolutely scriptural.
The problem is '97 we are becoming selfishly consumed by our own hurts, and the hurts of other suffering brothers and sisters. It has left us with little or no time to think of Christ's sufferings '97 let alone share in them.
I'm a bit ashamed as I look back over the past 25 years of my preaching. I preached so many sermons about human suffering, and so little about Christ's sufferings. I wept over the hurts of multitudes, and never shed a tear over Christ's pain and distress. I knew the pain and sorrow of people from all walks of life, but I knew nothing of His sufferings.
Look about us and see if this is not the problem with nearly all Christendom today. Go to any bookstore and count the number of books dealing with human hurts '97 such as depression, fear, rejection, divorce, remarriage, loneliness, etc. Attend nearly any seminar or crusade, and you will hear much insight on how to cope with personal pain and distress. Yet how little is written or taught about sharing the sufferings of Jesus Christ, the Lord.
I am not putting it all down. We need all the help we can get. But, we desperately need to pray with Paul that we may understand and share in Christ's sufferings. God help us get our eyes off ourselves and our own hurts, and focus on fellowshipping in His sufferings.
The Sufferings of Christ Are Not to Be Found in His Human Body '97 They Are Spiritual!
We get sentimental about Christ's human pain at Calvary. We are deeply moved by the hurt He suffered from the crown of thorns, the driven nails, the piercing spear, the leering crowds, the mocking soldiers.
But you can never enter into His sufferings if that is as deep as you go. It is so much deeper than that! Paul also knew what it was to be beaten, mocked, and scourged. Paul bled. He too was despised and rejected by men. If you use a human scale, this apostle could have nearly balanced the Savior's physical pain and suffering.
Nor was it cosmic suffering Paul desired to share with Christ. No one can share in Christ's divine, universal suffering. He alone took upon Himself the sins of the whole world. He alone was wounded for our transgressions. The agony of His redemptive act was uniquely His.
The sufferings of Christ that Paul and we can fellowship in have to do with the spiritual sufferings He endured while in human form. He suffered far more in His spirit, before the Cross. It had to do with a backslidden church, unbelieving loved ones, and what it cost Him to move from the earth back to the heavenlies.
I am sure no man can fully understand all His sufferings, and certainly my vision is very limited. But I have been led by the Spirit to fellowship in three special aspects of His sufferings. Most of it can be found in the book of John.
I. Christ Suffered Grievously at the Sight of His House Being Turned Into a Den of Thieves.
Jesus went up to Jerusalem at Passover and entered the temple. What He saw appalled Him. Merchandisers had taken over the house of God! He came seeking a house of prayer; what he found was a total preoccupation with the promotion, display, and sales of religious merchandise. The religious leaders were counting their profits. God's people were not reading or studying or hearing the Word '97 they were too busy selling religious articles. What busy'96ness! How these religious promoters ran about, thinking they were doing the work of God. Men of God had become hucksters of religious merchandise.
Tables had been set up everywhere in God's house, to promote and sell sheep, oxen, doves, candies, incense, and various other merchandise for religious purposes. The cash register made the loudest noise in the house. Money was being made on God and religion.
Talk of suffering? What terrible pain did our Lord suffer at such a sight to cause His compassionate heart to boil with holy anger. His meek spirit raged with righteous indignation.
Can you picture that moment? With whip in hand, our Lord stormed into the temple and began flailing in all directions, overturning the tables piled high with merchandise. He scattered the promoters, the pitch men, the hucksters.
"Out," He thundered, "out of my Father's house! You have desecrated this holy place, turning this house of prayer into a commercial enterprise!"
Not anywhere else in all the Scriptures will you find such outrage in the Master! It was one of the most painful, suffering experiences in all His ministry. He could not stand by and permit His Father's house to become a den for religious thieves.
Are we willing today to fellowship with Christ in this aspect of His sufferings? Do we share His hurt at seeing God's house once again being turned over to merchandisers? Will we be outraged by the horrible commercialism of the gospel? Will we feel His rage against spiritual hucksterism enough to withdraw from all such activities? Do we feel His hurt enough to renounce all ministries that grind out merchandise just for the sake of making money?
Can we share His suffering at this point enough to stand against those who would turn God's house into a theater or entertainment center for promoters? Can we grieve over all the profiteering on the name of Jesus? Can we get our eyes off the cash and back on the Cross?
Peter warns of the coming of false prophets who will steal in among us, and because of covetousness, "they will with phony words make merchandise of you'85" (2Pe_2:3). In other words, these men will come with sales pitches '97 seeing nothing but dollar signs. They will put the name of Jesus on anything to get your money to enrich themselves. These merchants need to quit preaching, and go into business.
How the heavens must rage against all the buying and selling of modern Jesus merchandise. How it must hurt our Lord to see evangelists more concerned about record, tape, and book sales, than reaching lost humanity. What small fortunes are being made through the promotion and sale of religious merchandise in church circles. We have done far more than commercialize Christmas '97 we have commercialized the very Godhead!
God gives us a message, a talent, a gift '97 and we package and sell it! We freely receive; we expensively sell. We are afraid to trust God to support our ministries, so we develop a side business out of what God freely gave us. We incorporate our talents to turn a profit. Are there no evangelists or ministries left in the world with nothing to promote but Jesus Christ?
The issue goes beyond selling religious merchandise in God's house. It includes all secular promotion of the things of God. The average Christian would be shocked if he knew how many popular ministries are promoted by secular agencies who "sell" the man and his message. They package and sell the gospel like soap and cereal. The result is cutesy little songs and sermons with much hype and little life.
Just this week I received a formal notice that a certain ministry had hired a Madison Avenue public relations man to promote them. They felt they needed more exposure and a better public image in order to meet their budget. The prophets of God are being replaced by PR men!
I want nothing to do with the professional hucksters and promoters. They have no right to touch the anointed things of God. They compromise men of God, they rob them of their anointing, and substitute a slick, lifeless professionalism. They take powerful men of God and turn them into proud celebrities who build reputations on the gospel. They take spiritual, humble singing groups, dress them in sequined jackets, rewrite the songs so no one will be offended, and try to be so professional they can make the secular charts. I see singing groups everywhere being seduced, losing God's anointing, and ending up just another lifeless group.
Not only will God not bless this modern trend toward secular professionalism, He will thunder against it and drive it out of His presence! Heaven didn't put up with it in the temple at Jerusalem, and it will not put up with it in these last days. The days of the merchandisers in God's house are numbered.
II. Christ Suffers When Those He Loves Most Doubt His Interest and His Power!
Jesus loved Lazarus. He also dearly loved his two sisters, Mary and Martha. Their home was an oasis for the Master. We know Lazarus and his family loved Jesus, but the Scripture is most emphatic in pointing out Christ's love for them:
"He whom Christ loved was sick'85" (Joh_11:3).
When Jesus heard that, He sent them a message:
"This sickness is not unto death; but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby'85" (Joh_11:4).
Jesus knew that His Father intended that this miracle among His most beloved friends should give Him glory and hopefully, give them confidence and faith! But what an experience of deep suffering it turned out to be for Jesus. The disciples doubted Him. Mary and Martha doubted Him. So did the weeping friends of Lazarus.
Did Mary know how deeply she hurt Him when she accused Him of being preoccupied and disinterested in their problem?
"'85Lord, if you had just taken the effort to be here on time '97 it's too late now'85the damage is done."
Did Martha know how it hurt her Master when she questioned His resurrection power? He had plainly told her, "Thy brother shall rise again." But His word was not enough: "Oh, yes, on resurrection day he will arise '97 but what about now?"
How painful it must have been for Christ to have His dearest friends doubt He had all the power they needed. "Don't you know who I am yet?" is what the Lord was seeming to say.
"I am the resurrection, and the life'85believe in me. I have the power, the life'85"
I don't think we know how deep the pain was for Him at that moment. His own disciples couldn't grasp the concept of who He was. It was awful enough that His own nation of people knew Him not, but those He loved dearly '97 how could they not recognize His power? Could He have said to Himself, "Not even my dearest friends believe '97 who then will ever believe?"
It is the ignoring of His power that causes such pain and distress to our lord! If we, His dearest friends, will not trust His power and faithfulness '97 who ever will? We call Him friend, Lord '97 but we do not live our lives as though He had the power needed to keep us victorious and joyful.
In recent weeks the Holy Spirit has been asking me repeatedly, "Is He really Lord? Is He truly Lord to you?" I testify to others that He is Lord! I tell myself that He is! But there are times I must cause Him so much hurt because I doubt Him in the times of need and crisis.
If He is Lord, why do we live in such fear? Why do sickness and death so frighten us? Why do we live so down, so empty, so dry '97 when our Creator Lord has all power, all might, all wisdom! No wonder Jesus wept!
Let me tell you what truly satisfies the heart of our Lord. It is the child of His who completely rests in His love, His power, and His wisdom. It is the child who can say, "I know He has all power, He can heal and save by whatever means He chooses '97 but He also is all wisdom, and I will trust completely even when I don't understand His workings."
The church is full of people who believe in His power. That is all they know; it is all they want. Oh, how they trust when they see miracles and blessings. But let God in His wisdom take a loved one home to Himself, and those same power brokers either pout, or they go into a tailspin of fear and unbelief. They end up accusing God of unfairness or unconcern.
I believe in miracles! I believe in healing! He can heal cancer or any other disease. I believe my great God has a mighty arm that has authority over all the universe, all of nature, and all kingdoms of darkness. But I don't trust Him at all if I cannot believe He will do what is right '97 through good times and bad, through sickness and health, through life or death. I refuse to push God '97 Iprefer to rest in His power, mercy, and wisdom.
I fellowship in Christ's suffering when I grieve over Christians who believe God can get glory only in miracles, signs and wonders. Jesus Himself said, "This sickness of [Lazarus]'85is for the glory of God'85" Not just the resurrection from the dead, but the sickness also. Some Christians cringe at the thought that God can get glory out of any illness. But I'll go a step further and say that God can even get glory out of the death of His saints, as He did with the suffering and death of His own Son. I repeat my concept that death in Christ is the ultimate healing.
It is not doubt to rest in the wisdom of God to overrule our prayers, even our faith. Job could say, after seeing no relief '97 "Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him" (Job_13:15).
What Mary and Martha should have done was to rest in Christ's love and power '97 telling Him, "Lord, we know you are well able to raise him up. But, if not, you must have supernatural reasons, backed by holy wisdom '97 so we accept joyfully your ways."
I know a dying family in Ohio who is bringing more glory to God than most healthy Christians in that state. The singing Sigrist family suffers a rare form of cancer. Two daughters have gone to be with Christ '97 another is stricken. The father has a large tumor in his stomach. They live on the brink of death. But, oh, the victory in that household! They rejoice in God's love and faithfulness. Newspapers have carried the story of their faith throughout the state. They have such great faith in Christ's healing power '97 but also a complete confidence in His wisdom and love. They rest in God, preferring His will to their own.
People who hear their story say, "That's the kind of faith I want! That's the kind of God I want to serve. One who can give such peace and rest in the very face of death itself. A God who keeps you from coming apart in a crisis."
"Blessed are they who have not seen, yet believe'85" (Joh_20:29).
I believe God can get glory out of any and all situations. He doesn't need a miracle to get Him glory. He can cause even the wrath of men to praise Him. The sweetest grace of all is that which Christ gives to those who are led through the valley and shadow of death. They are the ones who know the glory of His comfort and the beauty of His rest. They look death in the eye and feel no alarm. Even pain and sickness can bring forth the most glorious revelation of the actual presence of Jesus. He makes our bed, in sickness (Psa_41:3). Our family can vouch for that also. Through Job '97 like trials, Christ revealed Himself in ways beyond the glory of miracles. We discussed supernatural comfort, grace and rest.
III. Christ Suffered When He Gave Up That Which on Earth Was Most Precious to Him!
Could Jesus love Lazarus, Mary and Martha, and not love His own mother dearly? Did He love His disciples more than his mother? I can't believe that.
In His earthly form, He was "The son of Mary." That one line in itself tells us something of God's loving attitude toward this blessed woman. He was the fruit of her womb. She cuddled Him as a baby. She taught Him. She was like any other loving, caring mother who has a close relationship with her child. How she worried when He was lost in Jerusalem. How she grieved when neighbors and friends spoke against her dear son. She must have wept often to hear the slander, the lies, the accusations. And who can know her pain at the foot of the Cross. She knew He was God in the flesh '97 but He was also her dearly beloved son.
If Christ was tempted at all points as we are, then certainly He suffered deeply when He gave up His earthly relationship to His beloved mother. What a touching human scene in Joh_19:1-42 :
"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister'85and Mary Magdalene'85
When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! and from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home'85" (Joh_19:25-27).
In His very last hour, He is thinking of his mother. Evidently Joseph, His father, was dead '97 and Jesus wanted to leave her in the loving care of one He trusted. John, that very day, took Mary into his own home, to be her provider and protector.
It's so easy to skip over those seven little words and miss their significance: "Woman, behold thy son'85behold thy mother." Jesus was at that moment giving her up! He would now be more than the son of Mary, but her Lord and Savior. He was going back to His heavenly Father with great joy and expectancy, but He had known the glory of human love '97 of a son for his mother.
How hard it must have been, humanly speaking, to say in essence '97 "Woman, I am no longer yours. John is now your son. I must give you up and give you to another. Another must take my place in your daily life."
It is not that Christ wanted to remain in human form. His work on earth was over. Redemption was about to be completed. But He shared the suffering of giving up something most precious in His life.
We too share in the pain and distress of giving up that which Is most precious to us. Right now, somewhere, godly saints are having to give up to death their most precious loved ones. What sweet suffering to say goodbye! What lingering pain when a loved one passes from the earthly to the eternal. Christ felt that pain, and you can be sure that when you are called upon to make that sacrifice, He will give you all the grace you need to handle it.
I'm so glad He suffered with us in such a personal, intimate way. I may not relate to the pain of the driven nails and the crushing blow of the spear '97 but I can relate to the pain He felt when He gave His mother over to another. We must all one day go through that particular pain. What a sweet, loving Savior who felt our hurt at this very point.
The Way of the Cross Is Surrender of All That Is Dear to Us in This Life!
My wife and I felt the lonely pain of giving up all four of our children to the streets '97 as evangelists to the lost. How we hurt the day the last one left. There was such an empty feeling. The house was deathly still. We cried at night. But thank God we gave them up to God's work. We have now known the fellowship of Christ's suffering. And His joy and comfort now flood us every waking hour.
I have an associate who had to give up a pastoral ministry because of a brain tumor. That work was dear to him. Yet in that surrender he has grown by leaps and bounds '97 to spiritual heights he could never have reached had he not known the fellowship of Christ's sufferings.
It must come finally to this '97 whatever suffering it takes, we must give up everything that would keep us from doing the perfect will of God!
'95 That means coming to the place where Christ alone is sufficient'85where He is everything, even more than life itself.
'95 It means loving Christ above all other human love. More than family! More than husband, wife, children, brother or sister.
'95 To love them all, yet inwardly give them up to Him as a sacrifice to your great love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
'95 Do that, and you will break through to the glory of His resurrection power and will conform to his death.
The Corn on the Top of the Mountain
A Prophetic Message
by David Wilkerson
June 1, 1983
[May 19, 1931 '96 April 27, 2011]
"There shall be a handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon…" (Psa_72:16).
The 72nd Psalm is a prophetic vision of the dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the corn, in the earth, upon the hill. Except the corn fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit (Joh_12:24).
The fruit of His death has produced a mighty harvest of spiritual trees, whose branches spread like the forests of Lebanon that sway in the wind. Christ now has "dominion from sea to sea'85" (Psa_72:8) The Cross was planted in the earth on a mount called Calvary. The prophets called it "the holy hill of God." Here, on this holy mountain of God, a handful of corn was placed into the grave. That seed died and took root out of dry ground, and a resurrection blade sprang forth. Today, we see the full corn, as resurrection power continues to bring forth a glorious harvest. Surely, the fruit of His death, burial and resurrection has become like the "fragrant wine of Lebanon" (Hos_14:6-7).
We, the children of God, are also that handful of corn, in the earth, on the mountain. We must go with Him to Calvary, die, and be raised with him in dominion power. This prophecy deals with seed that is taken to the heights to die, that it might bring fourth much fruit. It is a glorious vision of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and its effect on those who understand its workings. You can understand this prophecy if you keep in mind: corn – in the earth – on the mountain – much fruit.
I. The Mountain Represents "The Holy Hill Of His Presence."
"Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or, who shall stand in His holy presence? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart'85" (Psa_24:3-4)
From the very beginning God has been calling holy men to the mountain of His presence to hear from heaven and to prepare them for a great new work.
God called Abraham to a mountain to prove him, to prove in his spiritual eyes and bring him into close union with Himself. It was there that Abraham received the knowledge of who God was: "And Abraham called the name of the place Jehovah – will provide" accordingly they say to this day, "on the mound Jehovah will provide'" (Gen_22:14, Hebrew Bible) How simple the revelation he received – that the secrets of how God are revealed only in His holy Presence, to obedient servants who are willing to put the knife to all that is dear to them in life.
Moses was drawn by God to Mount Horeb, where he received his call to lead Israel out of bondage. And every time God wanted to speak to his people, Moses was conducted back to the mountain of His holy presence.
"And Moses went up the mount to God, and Jehovah called for him from the mountain." (Exo_19:3, Hebrew Bible).
It was on the top of the mountain where the Lord first met Moses, it was on the same heights the Law was given to him, and it was there God brought him into the full fellowship of eternal life. Moses walked with God on the top of the mountain. He lived in the very presence of the Lord, on His holy hill. And when he came down to labor among men, his face was aglow with the very presence of God.
John was carried by the Spirit to a great and high mountain to commune with God and it was there he was given a glorious vision for the church of the last days. John said,
"The spirit carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God" (Rev_21:10-11)
Peter was on the mount, in the presence of God, when hear heard the voice of the Lord. "And this voice which came from heaven was heard, when we were with him on the mount" (2Pe_1:18)
Elijah was on a mountain when he heard the still small voice of God, and caught a vision of His holy presence.
Here is overwhelming evidence that man must shut out the world and go to the holy hill of His presence to hear from God. Peter heard from God when he was "with him on the mount"
That mountaintop is not easily reached. You enter through the secret closet and you stay, willing to risk everything to be alone in God's holy presence until your soul is on fire. It is reached by coming back every day, going higher each time, over rocks and precipices of opposition – and there is no turning back until the summit is reached. No one gets to the summit of God's presence with one hour devotions. It must become a way of life. The soft and lazy never do get there – it is only for the devoted and determined.
The revelation of Christ is too vast to ever be fully comprehended. But those who are shut in with God in prayer gain an ever-growing apprehension of Christ as the Holy Spirit reveals Him in the heart. Where is the burning bush of revelation? Where is the power of Jehovah manifested? Where is the place of vision for the church in these last days? It is on the mountaintop of his presence. It is where men and women of God go who have gotten so desperate to hear from heaven, they have shut down all human activities to seek His face, and they refuse to come down to minister until they are under His divine glow.
II. God is Wanting to Plant Us All on the Mount of His Presence.
"And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of His ways…" (Isa_2:3).
"I will conduct them to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer…" (Isa_56:7, Hebrew Bible).
The message of the Holy Spirit to all men of God today is, "Get back to the Mount – get back into His holy presence." Many are now hearing that call and are making time for prayer and seeking after God. Others go about their covetous ways, too busy with kingdom details to climb the holy hill.
Isaiah saw both the glory of an awakened ministry and the tragedy of blind watchmen, asleep. While some watchmen shake themselves and go back to the mount of God to hear a fresh word from heaven, others will be lost in the stupidity and dumbness of endless activities and self-advancement.
"His watchmen are blind; they are ignorant, they are dumb dogs that cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber'85yea, they are greedy, never getting enough; shepherds that cannot understand; they all look to their own way, every one to his own gain, from his quarter…" (Isa_56:10-11).
Isaiah said they got that way, so self-centered and preoccupied with the works of their own hands, interested only in what they are doing, spiritually dead – because "they forsook the Lord and forgot his holy mountain" (Isa_65:11).
Ministers of God – we had better listen to the warning of the prophet Isaiah. He warned, "The Lord'85shall call his servants by another name" (Isa_65:15). He will burn out and cast down all who refuse to return to the secret place, and He will raise up a new people.
The Spirit is raising up and army of "mountain men", who will spend time alone with God, shut up in His holy presence, eating and drinking, hearing His voice, getting new vision, and returning with joy to deliver "those who wail because of broken spirits" (Isa_65:13-14). Oh, yes!
They shall return – but with power and dominion.
Certainly, God's heart must be gladdened by those who have set themselves to fast and pray and spend time in His presence. Yet how grieved He must be at the sight of so many prayerless, unsanctified, self-centered ministers who have little or no time to be alone with Him.
I meet some of these busy ministers in my travels, and my heart too has been broken. Not that I am one step ahead of them in spiritual maturity, but what is happening is so obvious to congregations, something must be done. And God is about to do it!
The late Austin Sparks wrote: "Oh the horrible display of human flesh in the realm of divine things! Oh, the reputations made in the realm of what is of God! Oh, how men delight to have a place in the church!" He added, "There are two classes of Christians in the church now. Those who have so organized Christian activity as to have made it all a matter of tremendous business to be maintained by drive and its own momentum: which unceasing activity is itself thought to be life and power: with the result that there is little time or interest in the matter of spiritual depth.
"Drive and ambition for God rides rough-shod over quiet waiting upon the Lord. They are so involved, so committed, driven – that the unhurried still small voice of the Spirit has no chance of being heard. Their fury and zeal for Christ has not come under the flaming eye of his presence.
"The other class is comprised of those who are so settled in tradition and a fixed position in doctrine and practice they make it almost impossible for the Holy Spirit to lead them into a fuller revelation of Christ."
Jesus was a busy as any modern day preacher or evangelist. He ministered to thousands, and was available to all of them. Yet He took time to forsake all the activity and get alone on the mount with His Father.
"And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went into a mountain apart to pray, and when evening was come, he was there alone…" (Mat_14:23).
And you tell me, dear minister friend, you don't have time to walk away from it all and get alone with God. But you must get away! Away from the people! Away for awhile even from family. Get alone, shut in with God, and once again hear from heaven, or be left to your own devices. Christians, the prophets warn that trouble and despair will weaken the hearts of those who forsake Mount Zion. We must cry out, "Bring us back, O Lord; turn us, give us a heart to once again fast and pray.
Make us intercessors – reveal Yourself to us."
It is on the mount, Ezekiel said, that you will see the sin of your heart exposed, and be humbled. "And there, ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed'85and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen…" (Eze_20:41-43).
Beloved, our Lord is going to require humiliation, and the deglamorizing of ministers and evangelists. All self importance must go. The corn must die, He must bring us back to His mount to break down everything that is of self – our reputations, our own dignity, all desire for recognition. He must sanctify us before the eyes of the world.
His refining fire is going to awaken new and godly principles in us. We have been too long dead to the godly principals needed to save the church from chaos. No longer will the Lord be satisfied with a general goodness in His house; He now seeks the fire of holiness in the heart.
The Only Criterion For God's Continued Blessing On Any Minister Or Ministry Is the Actual Presence of Jesus Christ.
Most of us started out with God on the holy mount. We exulted in His presence and were fruitful. But the affairs of this life entered in, drawing us away from that presence, leaving us dry and unfulfilled. We came down from the mount to merely exist in the valley of depression.
Most ministries began as a handful of corn, In the earth on the mountain.
It was a small beginning, and its founder was one who, like Paul, died daily. The presence of the Lord was more important than the work itself. Much time was spent alone with God in the secret place. Direction came mostly by hearing the voice of God in prayer. It was a ministry born in prayer, fasting, humility, and faith.
But now, when the fruit of Lebanon fills the hillsides and all the valleys, and all the fatness, and the wine vats are full and overflowing – and all are rich , increased with goods, in need of nothing – boredom, restlessness, dryness, sets in. The mountain of His presence is ignored and the ministry that started out as a small handful of corn on the mountain, loses reason to exist.
A ministry may have a history of devotion to God, and can be a true expression of His grace and power, yet God is not obligated to preserve it if it is no longer and instrument of His actual presence. God has raised up many works that later passed out of His divine purpose. The Lord removed the candlestick of his presence from the churches of John's Revelation, because of a loss of fresh love for Himself. God will not support an abstract presentation of his holiness. If the man at the top is not shut in with God, drawing on the energy of his actual presence, that ministry is a contradiction at its center and cannot continue as the instrument of God to deliver His message to the world. How important it is that all ministries and leaders get back to first love, intense prayer, and fasting.
III. We Must All Get Back To God's Presence or Fall Into Moral Decay.
"The corn is wasted'85the seed is rotten under the ground'85the corn is withered…" (Joe_1:10; Joe_1:17).
Joel foresaw the moral decay of those who forsook Mount Zion. Rotting seed speaks of moral decay, a spirit of degeneration. Whn the seed won't die, it rots away. If we refuse to die to sin through the power of the Cross, it will leave us in a condition of progressive immorality.
I find it appalling to sit through a charismatic worship service where hundreds lift their voices loud in praise, and dance and shout in the name of the Lord – only to find many of them in my prayer line after, confessing they are hurting, perplexed and hooked by the power of a secret lust. In the midst of a revival of exuberant praise, there is still a passive attitude regarding sin, an accepting of compromise, a consenting to a life without victory and total dominion over evil. Too many saints are standing up to praise but not standing up to take authority over Satan and the evil lusts that still bind them.
We become increasingly immoral the longer we are out of His presence. We can become so preoccupied with the demands made on our time, we backslide. We lose our joy, we become irritable and restless, and lose our sense of direction – because we put off our appointment to get back to the secret closet and be renewed by our Lord's glorious presence. Satan will attempt to weaken us by keeping us out of the Lord's holy mount.
Unless we all soon get back to the mountain and come into His glory and presence, we will grow increasingly disobedient and sinful. Worst of all, we will be stripped of all opportunities to be fruitful in God's work. And once we ware barren and out of His presence, Satan can more easily convince us we are lost, or worthless.
The church and the ministry today lack a true inward revelation of Jesus Christ. We have been focused on "our work" rather than on Christ. We preach almost everything but Him. We preach truth, without life. When Christ is truly unveiled to the heart, all interests are changed and purified. The man or woman of God who spends time on God's holy hill begins to realize, as did all who were shut in with Christ – that no ministry, no church, to fellowship has a right to exist before God except as it is a true expression of Christ's presence on earth. Nor do we have a right to call ourselves Christians if we refuse to spend time in his holy presence each day, seeking not a anew revelation, but a full revelation of Christ. Otherwise, it is some "thing" we are devoted to – some work for God – some testimony – rather then to Christ Himself. It is because Christ has been too ill-defined that so many Christians have not come to a fixed place in Him. They have been evangelized, but not taught to stay in the presence of Jesus until they become Dominion Saints. We are devoted to the idea of faith but not to the prayer and Bible study that produces it.
No wonder so many are divorcing. No wonder so many are tossed by every wind and wave of false doctrine. No wonder there is so much immorality and complacency among God's people – so much hurting – so much despair. We have denied ourselves the knowledge and revelation of who Christ really is, simply by not stepping aside to listen. We have Christ in us as a lodger, but unknown to us is His power and dominion. How desperately we need a new unveiling of Christ to our inner man.
Here is the rest of the prophecy of Psa_72:1-20 concerning what God will do for those who return to the mountain of His presence.
He will reveal the glory of His peace.
"The mountains shall bring peace to the people…" (Psa_72:3).
He will fall upon our souls like soft rain on newly mowed grass, taking away all dryness.
"He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth…" (vs. 6).
He will empower us to take dominion over all the powers of darkness.
"He shall have dominion also from sea to sea'85his enemies shall like the dust…" (vs. 8,9).
He will deliver us from pressing needs and physical burdens.
"For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor also, and him that hath no helper…" (vs. 12).
In His presence, we shall die to self, and be raised in newness to be fruitful and joyful!
"In His presence there is fullness of joy and pleasures evermore…" (Psa_16:11).
"I will save you from all uncleanness, and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine on you'85 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree'85and increase the field…" (Eze_36:29-30).
"I will heal their backsliding'85his fragrance shall be that of Lebanon'85his branches shall spread'85they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine…" (Hos_14:4-7).
Ye shall utter a psalm, as in the night when the feast is solemnly proclaimed'85with the exultation of heart, as one steppeth to the notes of a flute…Ascending Jehovah's mountain unto Israel's Rock [Christ]" (Isa_30:29-30).
"O send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me; let them bring me unto the holy hill, and to thy presence'85then will I got unto the altar of God my exceeding joy…" (Psa_43:3-4).
So then, brothers and sisters in Christ – flee like Lot who "escaped for his life to the mountains," from this wicked world (Gen_19:17). Flee to that high Rock, which is Christ. The banner is lifted on the mountain, calling all God's chosen to a feast of good things in His presence. Don't miss what God is about to do. The veil is coming off and a glorious revelation of Christ is near.
"And in this mountain shall the Lord make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines…
And he will destroy in the mountain the face of the covering of all people and the veil that is spread all over all nations'85and he will swallow up death in victory and the Lord will wipe away tears from their faces and the rebuke of his people shall he take away…
For in this mountain shall the head of the Lord rest…" (Isa_25:6-11).
What has stripped the seeming beauty
From the idols of the earth?
Not a sense of right or duty,
But the sight of His matchless worth.
Not the crushing of those idols,
With its bitter void and smart:
But the beaming of His beauty,
The unveiling of His heart.
'Tis that look that melted Peter,
'Tis that face that Stephen saw,
'Tis that heart that wept with Mary,
Can alone from idols draw-
Draw and win and fill completely,
Till the cup o'erflow the brim;
What have we to do with idols
What have companied with Him?
Anonymous
By: David Wilkerson