HUMBLE AUTHORITY

HUMBLE AUTHORITY

                Paul had appealed to Rome and for some time he had been, more or less under house arrest; but now he was in prison and in chains awaiting the Roman tribunal that would decide his fate. His life was in the hands of a crazy man who with a flip of his psychotic wrist could carelessly determine the destiny of this man of God… or so it would seem.

                Instead of being nervous about the whole outcome of things, Paul was instead filled with joy. He was writing to the Philippians and they were among his crown jewels. They were among the faithful who had supported him in his ministry. He blessed them for their love and exhorted them to love one another even more and to press on in their love and unity in Christ. The little church at Philippi made up a part of his family in Christ and he longed to return and to see them once gain.

                But as for Paul’s fate, he didn’t think for a moment that Nero had any say in the matter. His decision as to whether to live or to die was between him and God and the outcome would be determined by God and not the Roman tribunal.

                As far as Paul was concerned he had nothing to lose. He explained it to his friends saying: “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me and I don’t know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Phil 1:21-24

                Paul was confident that he would return and be with his beloved Philippians once again. His life had been one of humble authority. Thrown in a dungeon with Silas, they had ignored the pain and worshipped their Lord in song. Their worship had resulted in an earthquake that set them all free and the other prisoners with them and in the end the jailer was kneeling at his feet asking what he must do to be saved.

                On a storm at sea, when all hope was gone, Paul received instruction from the Lord on how to save the whole crew. In that crisis the man in chains was suddenly in charge. The sea captain, the sailors, the soldiers and the centurion were all listening to the man who had a word from the Lord and indeed all of them survived. Not only that, but the whole village that took them in on shore came to the Lord as well and Paul, almost symbolically, shook a viper from his hand and into the fire, giving Satan a preview of his fate.

                There was no arrogance in Paul. He was in complete submission to God and for him; God was a much higher authority than the visible world around him. He didn’t throw his weight around, but waited on the Lord knowing that the Lord was in charge of his life.

                Paul talked to his friends as one who had nothing to lose. As far as his preferences were concerned, it would be much better to die and be with the Lord. In his own words he said: “But I am hard-pressed in both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.” Phil. 1:23

                As those who aspire to be among God’s remnant people, we need to develop this same kind of attitude. And in this I must confess that it is only in brief glimpses of this unseen reality that I truly see God in charge of my life, over and above all that is in the world. We tend to strive for comfort and to fear situations in life that put us under stress and I believe that we literally need to practice living in the humble authority of Paul.

                It is one thing to write about these things and quite another to experience them and I find myself crying out to God for this selfless focus. Whether we are missionaries, or stay at home moms or people working to put food on the table, we are being called to a point where we can say that for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

                Pastor Joe Sweet in California is a man who aspires to be among God’s Remnant people and He is leading His church to aspire to the same.  Joe operates in the prophetic realm and occasionally has visitations from the Lord in visions or in dreams. In every area of his life, whether physical, mental or spiritual He is submitted to God and it is a blessing to read what he writes and hear what He teaches.

                In a recent article on becoming a dwelling place of God he said:  (And here I quote him verbatim) “It is time to stop arguing about when the rapture will be and to start living in a state of readiness. As far as Joe is concerned, only the remnant people of God will be included in the rapture and not everyone who claims the name of Christ. We are being called to live in the power and purity of Christ and with that in mind, we have to ask ourselves: “Where is this holy, righteous and powerful church that is walking in the footsteps of Jesus? How many are actually wise virgins and ready for the marriage? Only the Bride will be invited to the wedding… only those who are betrothed to the one and only God and Savior Jesus Christ will participate in the marriage supper of the Lamb.

                There will be many guests, but only one Bride and that Bride is made singular because we are one in Spirit even as the Father and the Son are one in the Spirit. Paul says in Colossians 3:4 that: “When Christ, who is our life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

                He also said in Col. 2:9, 10: “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form and in Him you have been made complete and He is the head over all rule and authority…”

                How often do we think like or act like we have been called into the sovereign family of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? How often do we think of ourselves as being God’s dwelling place,  that the fullness of the godhead must be in us if we are ever to walk as Christ did in the world?

                Paul said: “And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom that we may present every man complete in Christ, and for this purpose also I labor striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” Col. 1:28, 29. And in case we think Paul is asking us to dos some superhuman feat on our own, he hastens to tell us “Gentiles” the mystery of it all which is Christ in you the hope of glory.

                We don’t need to try harder. Instead, we need to come into a realization of our oneness   with the godhead. We are becoming a dwelling place of God and we need to learn how to draw from that power in all situations rather than to go into stress mode as if we are in charge.

                We too need to come to that place where we have nothing to lose… nothing of this earth that we are clinging to that would take precedent over fellowship with Christ. If we would begin to live with the consciousness that the Holy Spirit of Christ dwells in us and that we don’t want to participate in anything that would grieve Him, how would that change us? What would you do differently if Jesus was visibly sitting right beside you, or walking with you? Would you not suddenly be falling all over yourself in an effort to serve and to please Him?

                Much of the church has played it far too loose with the Lord. We claim that Jesus lives in our hearts, but then we live life as if He isn’t there. We make our choices as if He is not to be consulted. We stress out over life because we have no abiding sense of His presence. Most of our faith life is theoretical and not practical. We can bat around doctrines from here to kingdom come, but do we love God with all of our heart and our soul and our mind? Do we truly love our neighbor as ourselves? Are we willing to lay down our life for others, or have we reserved ourselves for ourselves?

                When we can live in the reality that “for me to live is Christ” then we will also live with the reality that” to die is gain.” If we live with Him here, we will continue to live with Him there. We have been born again. We are citizens of His kingdom. We have eternal life, so to die to this earthly family is to join the heavenly family, the cloud of witnesses, and the church of the first born that is in heaven. Hebrews 12.

                But as God’s Remnant people here on earth we have a harvest yet to bring in. We have the heart-wrenching drama of the great falling away that will make way for the arrival of the antichrist. That much we know. And according to Jesus, the tares must be removed before the harvest can take place. (Read Mt. 13:30 very carefully.) Jesus said: “In the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up, but gather the wheat into My barn.

                Like I have been saying lately; “People speak in glowing terms of the great harvest as huge stadiums are filled with new converts and I hope and pray that this is so, but God is going to take the tares out of the church first.” This is what the great shaking in Heb. 12 is all about. Everything in the church that has not been conceived by the Holy Spirit will be shaken out and you can believe that the money changers will be driven out of God’s house as well.

                Looking back over my life I see that my track record of faith and faithfulness has not been great. But leaving all of that behind, I am now pressing toward the goal of my high calling. Why did God place me here at this time in earth’s history? Why did He give me a certain amount of writing ability? Why did He plant music in my heart? How do these things fit into God’s harvest and my destiny?

                My words mean nothing unless I am actually living the life of faith that I write about. I take these things to God on a daily basis asking Him to teach me how to fully walk in His Spirit and not in the flesh. I cry out to live as one in whom the fullness of the godhead dwells in bodily form. Jesus prayed that we would be one even as He and the Father are one.

                I want to come to the place in my life where I can say with Paul, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”  I believe it theoretically with all of my heart, but I am also asking God to take me through the paces in such a way that this truth will become a practical reality as well. I am serious enough about it that I am fasting and praying for it because I feel that the time is short. Bonnie and I are both fasting. We are now entering into the falling away, the shaking and the harvest… and it is not just me that feels this way. Every truly prophetic voice that is crying out to the church right now is saying basically the same thing.

                God is calling His people to repentance, to holiness and to righteous living. We are being called to separate from the world system with its satanic world view and to live out the Word of God by faith.

                The church is largely undisciplined… in other words we are not disciples. We are just members… members that want to be spoon fed and babied and lied to. We want all of the promises, but none of the responsibilities. We want to be saved, but we don’t want to be refined and purified. We want the Holy Spirit, but only on our own terms. We would rather use Him as a Genie to grant us our wishes, rather than to ask Him to form the character of Christ in us.

                How could Paul sit in prison in chains and still be filled with the joy of the Lord for those of his Philippian family who were living in love and victory. Cleary we judge far too much of life from a self-centered position. We need to be invaded by the overwhelming presence of Yeshua in our hearts so that we can say with Paul: “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” We need to learn how to walk in the humble authority of one who knows that God is absolutely in control.