“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. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (I Corinthians 2:9-10).
“Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him” (Daniel 2:20-22).
If you want the deep and secret things of God, you can get them no other way than to go to God. God and man have this in common that they like to tell secrets. Men often tell secrets that destroy the character of people and bring destruction to their lives. God tells secrets about Himself to those who want to hear them. Oh, how He is looking for those He can tell His secrets too.
A favorite hymn we sing at our church is called, Higher Ground. Here are the words to the chorus of the song:
“Lord lift me up, and let me stand, by faith on heavens table land.
A higher plane than I have found; Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”
If anyone would care to ask me what I think seems to be one of the things most lacking in the church in America, I would say it is the lack of desire amongst Christians to walk on higher ground with God. There is a lack of desire for the deeper experience with God. Before my youngest son, Aaron, experienced a powerful revival in his life, we would have little discussions about the current methods that were being used to attract people to church. I told him that I thought many of the common strategies the church used to attract people were worldly. No doubt some, if not many churches, have pure motives in using worldly attractions to try to draw people into the church. They do it with hope that those who were drawn to the church would get saved thru the preaching of the gospel. I hope those churches do preach the true gospel.
There are churches who have lost sight of their reason to exist and think their main objective is to fill all the pews, whether it is with Christians or not. It has always been hard for me to understand how using the world to attract the world will somehow result in people becoming spiritual and heavenly. It still is true, “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:8). Any real work of God has to be of and by the Spirit of God. Anyway, one day while Aaron and I were again having a talk about churches using worldly attractions to draw people, he asked me, “But Dad, isn’t it all about souls?” I said back to him, “No Aaron, church is for Christians to be challenged to go deep in Christ.” I still see it that way today. Let me clarify that I do believe we are to preach to the lost and see souls saved. This is the work and mission the church is called to do. Imagine how effective the church would be in her mission if her members had deep experiences with God.
Where are those who have a deep love for God and want to have their feet planted on higher ground with Him? Where are those believers who will lay down everything for the high call of pursuing Christ? Why is it that a believer will sacrifice much to gain many material things, but will sacrifice very little to gain more of God? Why is it that believers will pursue the many opportunities this world offers them, but have very little interest in pursuing a deeper experience with God? Paul wrote his epistle to the Philippians in the later years of his life. He wrote it sometime around the early sixties AD. This great man of God, who we all know had great revelations from God, wrote in that epistle, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). The word “press” means to pursue. So here is a man who knew God like few ever have, and yet he is saying I am still in pursuit of my God. Paul definitely was a man who desired a deeper experience with God.
Today you find those who pursue salvation and receive it, but then they quickly put that salvation off to the side because of the inconvenience it is. Instead they settle for fulfilling a little, but not too much, religious obligation. Of course, they still want salvation at the end. You will even find those who pursue the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but when they receive the infilling and speak in tongues once, they just go back to customary religious duties at church. Those who desire the deeper experience with God never quit their pursuit of God. Though they may be filled with the Spirit, they are daily asking for a fresh filling. They don’t view salvation so much as a way to get into heaven, but as the right and privilege to draw close to the Father.
The person who finds himself content to live at a low level mediocre Christianity will never find himself content with his God nor anything else in life. The believer who is in constant pursuit of God, though it may seem that they are not content because they always want more of Him, will find themselves the most content. Not just with God, but with everything in life.
I am sure that some of you readers may have had the thought, just as I have, that those who seek to achieve a deeper experience with God are opening themselves up to pride. Isn’t that what brought Lucifer down to his dark kingdom? We learn from Paul, who had such a high experience with God that a messenger of Satan was sent to buffet him. “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure” (II Corinthians 12:7). Be confident that God has ways to keep us humble. Seek God with all your heart and then trust God to keep you humble. At times you may not like the way He keeps you humble, but you must be willing.
It is in that higher place in God that you will grow more familiar to the voice of God. It is in that higher plane with God that you will learn the perfect will of God. It is in that deeper walk with God that you will have no problem letting go of everything that hinders your relationship with God. If your mind is made up to just live a low level, just get through another day Christianity, your life will be something less than exhilarating. Will you sing with me?
“Lord lift me up, and let me stand, by faith on Heavens table land.
A higher plane than I have found; Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”
“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” II Peter 3:4
We would expect scoffing to come from the world, but the worse scoffing will come from church members. The more Christians get wrapped and absorbed into the world, the further their mind is from Christ and the less interested they are in His return. Thus they will mock those believers who are excited about the soon return of the Lord. He is coming soon, are you ready or are you scoffing?
“And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church.” Ephesians 1:22
There are those in the Christian community who believe that the church does not need leaders, especially those of the five-fold ministry. They say that Christ is the head now, which I will not deny, but they say that since He is the head of the church there is no longer any need for ministers and leaders. It is very clear though that God gave to the church ministry gifts to perfect the church. The problem isn’t that we shouldn’t have leaders, the problem is that the leaders haven’t let Christ be head over them. Christ is the head over all things to the church, and He is to be head over His chosen leaders.
“My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,” Galatians 4:19
The heart of a real pastor is seen in this verse. A pastor is going in the wrong direction if he has any other purpose or agenda that supersedes the call to bear with the saints until Christ is formed in them.
“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: Malachi 3:2
A fire goes out once the fuel is burnt up. The fuel for the refine’rs fire is our own sin and impurities. Once they are burned up, then there is no need for the fire that refines. I suppose that won’t happen until we get to heaven, but at least, the fire should dwindle in our life as we conform more to Christ.
“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7
First comes the faith that causes us to abide in Christ, then comes the powerful prayers.
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth” (Isaiah 10:20).
Please give me some liberty to restate this Bible verse using Israel as a type of church. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of the church, who have escaped the church system, shall no more be abused by them; but shall be fully committed to the Lord, the Holy One, who is head of the church, in truth.”
So many Christians have been put down and let down; so many are discouraged and disappointed; some have even become skeptical and scornful. Why? No doubt they are responsible for their own spiritual life, but it doesn’t help when the church has failed so many believers in so many ways.
There are many believers who have been so much a part of a dead powerless church system that they can hardly believe God for anything. So many have been under ministers who calculate and formulate, but don’t demonstrate a Christianity that declares Christ is alive to this generation. Ministers, through their intellect have outlined and commentated on the word of God, but have failed to really believe it as they should. Studying and meditating on the word does no good if one is not going to believe it. No one can say they really believe it until they live it. “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).
Some ministers have brought forth so many of their own ideas about God that those under their leadership have no idea who God really is. We have those who preach a Jesus who is a big Santa Claus that exists just to give Christians everything they want. We have those who preach a Jesus who is ready to crush you, if you take one step out of line. We have those who preach a Jesus who still just winks at sin. We have those who preach a Jesus who will accept your works as a payment to receive eternal life.
It is one thing to hear someone mention the name of Jesus and talk about Him, it is a whole other thing to preach who the real Jesus is. He is the whole counsel of God. He is the concealed Christ of the Old Testament and the revealed Christ of the New Testament. He is the Son of the Living God. He is the Redeemer of mankind. He is the one who John saw and wrote about saying, “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength” (Revelation 1:14-16). This scene was so powerful on John that he fell at Jesus’ feet as if he was dead. That is sure a far contrast from the Jesus who some depict today as almost having a soft feminine side to Him. They preach a Jesus who you can take or leave. This world needs to see a powerful holy Jesus, who is mighty to save. Yet a Jesus who is willing to save all who call upon the name of the Lord.
Some of the preachers we have today are so dry you could use them for a dehumidifier. Some have exchanged the anointing for education, exchanged the hour of prayer for a committee meeting, and exchanged the study of the word for the study of demographics and community culture.
As long as the wrong Jesus is preached, the church will lie dormant and ineffective. As long as preachers are asleep on their post, the church will be lost in lala land. ALL I CAN SAY IS “THERE IS NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW FOR THE REMNANT TO RISE UP.”
We need some Davids who have some mighty men at their side. We need some Joshuas who can lead some obedient believers around enemy walls that need to come down. We need some Calebs who are looking for another mountain to climb and conquer. We need some Isaiahs, Jeremiahs and Ezekiels who will speak to our generation, “Thus saith the Lord.” We need some Hebrew boys who know how to walk in the fire with God. We need some Daniels who through interpreting dreams can cause kings to declare, “And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation” (Daniel 4:34).
We need some Peters who can escape shackles and walk through open prison doors, while at the same time some Pauls who can get up and shake the dust off after being stoned and left for dead. We need some remnant believers to rise up in this day, will you be one?
Actually, I want to simplify all this. You don’t need to study the lives of all these men and learn just what and how they did things. We just need some remnant to rise up who truly believe. They believe the whole word. They believe the whole truth and nothing but the truth. They believe the church is still here to turn this world upside down. They believe that God still fills saints with His Holy Spirit and fire which endues them with power to win the nations. They believe that they can do anything and everything God has called them to do through the power of the Spirit. We need this remnant to believe that the church is still God’s chosen and anointed vessel to display an all loving and powerful Christ to this world. We need the remnant to believe God and His word, even if many around them don’t. We need the remnant to hate this world, but love the soul of every sinner enough to pray they would be saved from this world.
Are you of the remnant sort? Will you rise up in this generation with a love for God, a hate for sin, a love for truth and a hate for every lie? Will you rise up to be one who worships God in Spirit and in truth? Will you rise up and give your life, to whatever extent God plans on using it, for the sake of the kingdom of God?
If you are one of the remnant, you may ask, “What can I do?” Here is a simple strategy; let’s call it the three P’s. First PRAY. Just like you do daily and sit down to eat breakfast, lunch and supper; pray often for the remnant believers all over Wisconsin. Pray they would be strengthened in the inner man, Pray for revival to come to Wisconsin. Secondly, PREACH. Preaching is the power of God unto salvation and also to those who are saved. Last of all, PARTICIPATE. Participate in searching out other remnant believers. Participate in fellowship with them. Pray with them and encourage each other. Amen!
One of the biggest problems we have today, is that when sinners and saints alike, look at the church, they see man more than they see Christ. They see the personality of men; not that men shouldn’t have personalities. They see the agenda of men; not that men can’t have agendas. But it is the Lord’s personality and agenda that must be seen. The problem is, there is not enough of Christ in many of our churches to catch the attention of people. Fleshy, earthy saints sit on the throne.
What people see the most of when they enter a church is that which stands out the most. They hear what is the loudest. The prevailing attitude and the spirit of a people who are gathered together is what will impress those who have come to participate. If there is no Christ, then He is not seen or heard. I am not saying there is not a measure of Christ in many of the churches. If that were the case, they would not be churches at all. In some cases, maybe many, the gathering of so-called believers is nothing more than a formal obligation that is just a part of their weekly routine.
One thing the Lord has made known to me is that His heart burns for His church. How do I know that? I feel it every time I draw close to God in heartfelt prayer. It is there that He exposes me to the burden He has for His people to love Him with all their heart, soul and mind. Some of you saints may not be accustomed to thinking that God can have a burden. We usually attribute that to our lives. We think, “I am the one that has burdens.” However, Jesus did say that we should take His yoke upon us and that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
There is one thing that I think all men experience, who have been given a special burden from the Lord. It is a feeling of frustration, or inadequacy in the seemingly impossibility of ever seeing that burden fulfilled. Questions like, “What can I really do about it” or “How could I possibly make a difference,” can rise up in the mind of those who share in the Lord’s burden.
Well, there is one thing that can be done every time the burden of the Lord is felt and that is to take it to the Lord in prayer. This is exactly what I do when His burden is placed on me. What I am doing when I pray is this: as God puts His burden on me, I put it back on Him. That does not mean that I am refusing to accept the burden, it means that I realize I cannot accomplish one breath of that work without Him doing all that He does. He wills it, He leads it and He anoints it.
I heard stories of men who had such incredible burdens. Of one preacher, it was reported that while he was traveling on his horse to minister from town to town, he would get so burdened that one time he stopped to pray and the snow around him melted. Robert Murray McCheyne, a Scottish preacher, could be heard in the streets weeping for the lost. I have to confess I have never had God’s burden come on me that strong. Does that make me feel bad or even somewhat uncommitted? Yes, but I find peace when I am reminded that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. It also helps tremendously that the spirit helps me to pray. “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” (Romans 8:26).
Anyway, getting back to the church and the lack of Christ being seen. Have you ever had to explain to someone that such and such a person, who is connected to you in some way, really does not represent you? Contractors are often criticized for shady deals. Yet, that doesn’t mean every contractor is a cheat. Lawyers are often criticized for being crooked and many jokes made about them, yet there are attorneys who have much integrity. People are quick to make others guilty by association. So too with the church. Many true saints of God are looked upon as hypocrites just by their being associated with the church that has in many ways turned fleshy and carnal. So we must be more mindful of that and pray and work toward seeing our association with the carnal church severed. What you hear from people today is, “All the church wants is my money.” Or, “If that man I work with is a Christian, why would I ever want to go to his church?” Another sad thing that people see is the church fighting amongst themselves. How could they possibly see Christ as the center? I know a man who several decades ago was powerfully delivered from drugs. His brother had already died from an overdose and this man, who has since become a good friend of mine, was headed in the same direction. Well, after he was marvelously saved, you would think the church would be overwhelmed with God’s delivering power. Of course some were, but the church started to reject him just because he parted his hair down the middle.
The devil has been very effective at getting the church to be about other things or people instead of being about the main person who is Jesus Christ. Imagine if you would, when you take all your bad church experiences, how different they would have been if every situation was approached with this thought: THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME, THIS IS ABOUT CHRIST. That would mean that man’s ideas and agendas would be secondary, if there was any room for some of them at all. That would mean that at the expense of your hurt feelings, Christ would be exalted. I am not saying every time your feelings are hurt Christ is exalted, but there are many times He could and would be. If He is exalted when your feelings are hurt, I would hope you would open yourself up to any onslaught of criticism and rejection. After all Jesus said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake” (Matthew 5:11).
People don’t see the church being about Christ because those in the church don’t make it about Him. The point of this whole article is to challenge us all to be determined to see the church once again reveal Christ to everyone who will enter a fellowship of true believers. Now to see Christ, does not mean that men will not be noticed. One of the most influential men in my life was Brother B. H. Clendennen. When he visited our church, he stayed at my house, I ate with him and I can tell you he was as normal as you or me. When he preached I heard him and I saw him, yet my testimony is that when I heard him preach, I saw Christ. I was given a revelation of Christ that I never had before.
This is what the church needs in this closing hour. She needs to be able to reveal the life-giving, sin-forgiving, Son of God to all who come looking for Him. Don’t let men walk away from your meeting just seeing you and the brethren. You may be real nice people. But people need the power of God. Pray that people will walk away knowing they have been in the presence of Almighty God.
“Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.” John 12:3
Our worship services will be filled with an aroma of Christ if we can give our all and humble ourselves at the feet of Jesus.