What does the end-time walk with God involve? Without the vision of it through a revelation from God, it is difficult to walk with God. Therefore, it would be worthwhile to review the basic characteristics of walking as God’s disciples in this day and to gain a fresh emphasis on what God is doing now.
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the first-born might not touch them. Hebrews 11:24–28.
In this chapter of faith, one point is stressed which is important: Moses endured by seeing Him who is invisible. If Moses had looked upon the things that were visible, he would have become much more discouraged than he did. One time he struck the rock when he was not supposed to, and he paid a bitter price for his disobedience (Numbers 20:8–12). During the forty years of wandering through the wilderness, Moses endured a generation of ignorant ex-slaves who were never fully conditioned to their freedom. At times they wanted to run away from their freedom and return to the slavery of Egypt. They felt that they would have been better off had they died in Egypt as slaves, rather than to wander in the wilderness. It was difficult for them to accept the responsibility of freedom. They were no longer slaves, yet they lusted after the fleshpots (which were nothing more than spiced spoiled meat). Moses could have become very discouraged with all their murmuring about their circumstances and the fact that the wilderness was not the most blessed place to live. But he was not discouraged, because his focus was upon the Lord.
Although the Lord was unseen and all the other things were visible, Moses was moved only by the Lord. Even though the Lord was invisible in the natural, he was very real to Moses’ spirit, and this is what made him continue on. He could walk without wavering through every circumstance; he could do the will of God and not stumble. If it had not been for revelation—revelation from the Lord and revelation of the Lord—Moses never would have endured. And that is exactly what believers are facing in this day.
The present day walk in the Spirit has actually never been labeled. It is not a movement, and it will never become a denomination. The emphasis is on a walk with God and not upon doctrine. The closest it comes to a doctrinal emphasis is in the believer’s submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That principle is stressed continually, and so it should be. In these last days, the Lord is preparing a remnant through whom He will bring the finishing phases of the restoration. He is creating an instrument that will be the vanguard to bring in the Kingdom. Preeminently, they will have to really walk with God.
Moses had a most important quality in that he could endure as seeing Him who is invisible. He had the right focus. The only way to be able to do exploits and the will of the Lord in the earth will be by focusing on the Lord as Moses did. There are many problems and many mountains to be moved, but do not get out your instruments to measure or survey those problems and mountains. The more you study a mountain, the more difficult it will be to move. The more you study the waves, the more difficult it will be to walk on water. Peter had to face that problem. When the disciples first saw Jesus walking out of the darkness upon the waves, they were frightened. Then Peter said, “Lord, bid me come to You on the water.” As long as he looked to the Lord, he was fine. But the minute he took his eyes off the Lord and focused on the troubled wind and the waves, he started to sink (Matthew 14:28–30).
An important lesson is to be learned from this incident.
Many frightening conditions are in the world today, and yet how objectionable is the negative preaching and teaching about those conditions! What a mistake it is to constantly talk about the terrible events that are coming to pass, such as the antichrist and the tribulation that were prophesied concerning the end time. If people focus upon that, they will walk fearfully. They will walk afraid, instead of saying, “When we see these things begin to come to pass, we will look up and rejoice, for we will know that our redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28). Keep a right focus and open your heart to the positive side of this hour. It is extremely difficult not to get your eyes off the circumstances, but if you want to move a mountain, you must ignore the mountain and keep looking to the Lord. That is the right focus.
This present walk with God has seen a great restoration of the gifts of the Spirit and of apostolic company ministries. It did not seem that it could possibly happen until the Lord spoke it and began to bring it forth. Many Pentecostal movements teach about the gifts of the Spirit, and they are in favor of speaking in tongues of conducting healing meetings, and of using anointing oil. They explain that those who attend their churches must believe in prophecy and in all the other gifts; and they also preach about the gifts a great deal. Yet the New Testament, especially the book of Acts, has a different emphasis. Not one sermon was preached on the gifts of the Holy Spirit; nor was there one message to justify apostles, prophets, pastors, elders, and deacons. There probably was never a sermon on tongues, for the early Church had quite another emphasis. They were told to exalt the Lord; that was to be their focus. They preached Christ, worked miracles, and moved in the gifts. They did not just speak and teach about those things; they actually did them.
If people truly want to see the gifts of the Spirit moving, they must get away from the mechanics of them and develop an awareness of the Lord. If they want to break into something from God, they must develop their awareness of the Lord in the services. Christ may be so magnified and glorified that those attending will be overwhelmed by an awareness of Him.
In the services, there may be the teaching, the commissioning, the laying on of hands, the prophesying, and the confirmation of many things. However, these manifestations of the gifts are not to be the emphasis. The emphasis must be upon the presence of the Lord. The level of worship and the level of the services will lift when the people gather together for one essential purpose—to minister to the Lord. Acts 13:1, 2 is an example of what happens under those circumstances: Now there were at Antioch in the church that was there, prophets and teachers.… while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Their focus was not on gathering together to pray over one another; nor did they decide to fast and pray for several days in order to see what they were to do with Barnabas and Saul. They were ministering to the Lord.
Seek the centrality of Christ in every service: in your worship, in your submission to the Lord, and in your awareness of the Lord. Everything that you do and everything that you are is to be absolutely and completely focused upon the Lord. If that is your first concern, everything else will come forth from it. As the people focus upon the Lord, they find that He is Lord over the Church; and they do not need a pope, a bishop, an archbishop, or a general superintendent. None of these positions are in the Spirit-led walk. There is but one true concept: the Lord Jesus Christ is Head over the Church (Ephesians 5:23), and He is capable of revealing His will.
The walk in the Spirit requires no elections; true leadership, which the people harmoniously and unitedly uphold, is indicated by the Spirit. There are times when the Spirit says to separate a certain one, and then the others set him aside and pray for him, many times with fasting. Sometimes it takes years, sometimes only months; then the Spirit speaks that the time has come to lay hands upon the one who is set aside, and God sets him into that office. There is confirmation as everyone confers and agrees with it. That person does not hold the office for only one or two years and then find himself voted out; he is there by virtue of an anointing of the Lord.
Christ is the Lord over the Church, and He is still capable of revealing what He wants and who He wants to serve Him. No elections are needed, because the Lordship of Jesus Christ governs His people. This is not a doctrine; it is a realistic and practical principle. The key is found in worshiping the Lord, exalting the Lord, and dwelling in His presence. Psalm 22:3 says that Christ is enthroned upon the praises of His people; and it is from that position, as Lord and King, that He reveals what He wants. He makes His will known to His people, and it becomes the greatest of realities as they walk in it. Sometimes the New Testament-patterned church moves slower this way, but if the people want confirmation, the voice of the Lord, and the leading of the Lord, they must be cautious. Everything concerning a situation may appear perfect, yet they should wait for the leading of the Lord. At other times they may move very fast when the Lord gives a word, and it happens immediately.
In this end-time walk with God, no one can be a spectator; all must be participators. The active ministry of every member in the Body of Christ is the underlying force behind every effort. If there is not participation, the Body will bog down, becoming just another church with leaders. If everyone is motivated to find the will of the Lord, to submit to the Lord and to follow Him, this eliminates the old concept of leadership and causes all the people to move into more from God.
When the people focus on the order of the services, they slip into a rut or a set routine. If that occurs, the pastor should immediately change the order of the service. If the psalm singing becomes a matter of performing in front of an audience, it should be stopped completely for a few weeks until the psalms again become a spontaneous worship unto the Lord. The services should be watched so that the people do not slip into ruts and develop certain styles or mannerisms. If that happens, everything should be changed so that the people worship God. The singing in the Spirit should be stopped when the people sing along without even thinking what they are doing. Any time that the focus is off the Lord and upon the mechanics, upon one another, or upon one’s own position or place or ministry, or anything else, it is wrong. Everything must be done heartily unto the Lord. If it is not, and if the focus is not upon Him, trouble will result.
An eternal vigilance must be kept, in order not to become an organization. As soon as a church is established to a certain strength, it should be incorporated locally, so there can be no mother organization or mother church—nothing but brethren worshiping the Lord and growing into the Father’s family. People will either set out to build little individual churches or they will go on to build the Kingdom of God because He is their King. He is the Lord, and true believers must be completely subservient to Him and to His will. Above everything else, they must strive only to walk with God.
How would a New Testament ministry like Philip fare today? Acts 6 tells how Philip, along with six other brothers, started his ministry by serving the widows. It is true that these men were all overqualified to serve meals to the widows; but verse 3 explains that they were chosen because they were full of wisdom, full of faith, and full of the Spirit. It was not very long before one of them, Stephen, was stoned. Philip fled to Samaria and the entire city was converted. Then Peter and John were sent from Jerusalem to lay hands on the people that they might receive the Holy Spirit. They returned to Jerusalem, but Philip was sent south, by an angel of the Lord, to lead an Ethiopian eunuch of great authority to the Lord. It is beautiful to see that no one had any desire to build a kingdom for himself; neither were they looking for personal security.
In the walk that God has set before His people in this day, the safeguard is kept in not building kingdoms. The pastors are truly dedicated disciples of the Lord. Many of them make their living apart from pastoring, until their churches grow so large that they do not have the time to work and must spend all their time ministering. They do not try to create places or kingdoms for themselves, nor do they draw back from doing anything that the Lord sets before them to do. The pastors do not have the adulation that most leaders receive, because their focus is upon the Lord, and He is their source of strength.
A brother is not discarded, no matter how many mistakes he may make. The people should never stop believing for him. When a brother falls into deep sin, the others can either judge, or else love and minister to get him out of it. They must decide which way they want to respond. Most denominational movements are concerned only about their image being right, but God’s people should not care about their image or what anyone thinks about the way they walk with Him. They should not want to present a bad image, but if a brother is caught in a bad situation, they should continue to stand with him, praying with him and helping him until he is again walking with God. Body ministry will never work any other way.
The Lord spoke to me, “Thou shalt have faith for every man that I place under your hand to bless.” Since that time, there has been a dedication to that Word, even though it has occasioned criticism by some.
When you see a person’s need, you must decide what you will do. Why not have faith for him? That attitude is characteristic of those who are not legalistic. Those who are legalistic in nature will develop a system of church discipline and judgment. Such judgment may cause the heart of a man to die in a matter of hours. If a brother sins and is brought before the church where they decide to put him out, that may be right if the spirits of the people who do it are right. Usually people are more concerned about a legalistic conformity to their standard than they are about the man. If they love that man so much that they weep over him, then their decision is righteous. If discipline is not given in love, it will miss its purpose. Everything must be done in faith which works by love (Galatians 5:6). When there is faith which works by love, the people believe for the offender and hold on to him. Although they might deal drastically with him, they never lose hope for him or let go of him.
In a true walk with God, there are very few men with seminary training. Pastors may come from every kind of background imaginable, such as salesmen, carpenters, highway patrolmen, or perhaps from backgrounds not quite so respectable. Yet a oneness exists as they worship the same Lord.
In the walk in the Spirit, there is no promotion or selling point. None of the ministries could be called outstanding. Anything they do, from man’s viewpoint someone else could do better. Denominational groups have more money, better education, better speakers, better organization. But believers who walk with God will not lean on man’s organizational abilities. There is nothing in a walk with God to sell to anyone; in fact, no one can be reasoned into it. Those who are in it are those who have looked to God; He has revealed it to them. Because of that revelation, they continue to walk with God. The gates of hell cannot prevail against the rock of revelation (Matthew 16:18). If someone can talk you into it, then someone else can talk you out of it; but if the Lord reveals it to you, all the devils in hell cannot talk you out of it. Jesus said to Peter, Blessed art thou … for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Verse 17. People may have their own opinions now, but one day they will say, “He is Christ. He is the Lord.” If you have a revelation of the Lordship of Christ, then the walk with Him becomes real.
In times of persecution, the people of God must remember that, like Paul, today’s Saul of Tarsus may become one of the chief apostles tomorrow. As those who persecute are bound over to the will of God, many of them will receive a revelation of the Lord. The end-time walk with God will never become a localized or centralized movement, because it is a revelation from God. Eventually the walls will be broken down, allowing God’s people everywhere to receive it.
Never worry about the fact that people may not accept you personally if you are walking with God. You were never meant to be an issue; a living Word that is coming in this hour is the issue. In John 12:47, 48, Jesus said, “I do not judge any man, but My Word shall judge at the last day.” In the last days, it is the living Word that will judge the people.