The Lord is setting something wonderful before us. Not only does He promise us His help and His grace, but He helps us with our weaknesses by the assurance of His constant presence. He becomes our sustaining strength for whatever He sets before us. Then He does something more: He inspires us. He inspires us that it is through our hands, through our lives that all the things of the coming Kingdom will be worked.
I suppose there are some things about this walk with God which still bother some people. In fact, I myself am continually faced with needs that we have and things that must be done. It is a young and vigorous walk with the Lord. It is like a lump of clay which is being molded and shaped on the Potter’s wheel according to the will of the Lord. If we keep our ideas out of it and continue seeking for the guidelines and the pattern that God has set in His own purpose for us, we will take the form and shape that God wants us to take; and we will become the instrument in His hand that He wants us to be. To this we must become more and more dedicated. We will find ourselves being built up in the Spirit as we minister to one another.
It is time for us to realize what the Lord is setting before us. We are no longer to consider ourselves in some abject religious role, beaten down until we try nothing. How often have we seen that Christians are fearful to try things that people who live without God try. Worldly people often attempt great things. Although they may be driven by ambition, lust, and greed, still they attempt the impossible; and it is amazing how often they attain that impossible goal. How much more ought we, who are called by God, to do great and mighty exploits, attempt great things in the name of the Lord! A Christian should not be passive. He should not withdraw. He should feel in his heart that whatever the Lord has set before him, He will work it through him. He should contend earnestly. If the world has what it takes in courage and stamina to achieve the impossible, surely the people of the Lord ought to contend and give themselves wholly to the task set before them.
I am persuaded that the grace of God constantly sets before us the impossible, and we should rise to it. The grace of God teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously in this present world (Titus 2:11, 12). We are not taught by the grace of God so that we can do anything we please because we have no rules. The grace of God disciplines us, teaching us how to live and how to war, teaching us to believe God even for the abilities we need. By the grace of God we become what He wants us to be, and we do what He wants us to do. Paul’s words, “I do not frustrate the grace of God” (Galatians 2:21), are as important and meaningful for us as they were for him.
For years I have known the strictness God required and the plumb line that would be used. At the beginning of this walk with God, I taught the people the strict guidelines, and I taught them carefulness. But after several years had passed, it became apparent that no one was getting anyplace. We had such rigid guidelines for prophecy that no one would attempt to prophesy. In effect, the people were so concerned about the traffic rules that they did not attempt to drive. It was then that I decided to forget about the fine points until we were in motion. It is useless to give a lot of rules about steering when there is only a parked car; a parked car cannot be steered. Once the car is in motion, then it can be steered. Now that this walk with the Lord is in motion, we must move with two dedications: to move in God with full faith and obedience, and to be submissive to those who are over us, who will instruct us and give us the rules. We cannot be a law unto ourselves and decide to drive on the left side of the road because people do in England. We are going to drive the way we are supposed to drive here. We will follow the plan God lays out for us, exactly as He lays it out.
We need much instruction in this walk, and God will give it. We must be addicted to the practice of seeking confirmation. Now that we are in motion, it will be very dangerous for anyone to give a word that is not confirmed. Such a person will create havoc. Now that we are in motion, we must be dedicated to the rules of the road.
There are many little things which create problems, though not through anyone’s intention to do wrong. The young pastors will have to learn that the local church has a sovereignty in its eldership and the people are under it. It is as if the people belonged to the elders who are responsible for them. No one leaves the local church and goes to another Body, nor does anyone leave another Body and come to one of the local churches until the matter has been absolutely cleared through the elders and a word from the Lord. We have responsibility for everyone who comes or goes in the house of the Lord.
If one of the churches needs help for a specific service, they will get the help; but they are not to deplete the ministries or take all the prophets who were raised up to participate in the spiritual battle on the local level. We must follow divine order in this area also. The elders will move, not individually with each one giving a different word, but together in multiples of two or three, to give the people an established word of the Lord. We have something that no other movement has had since the early Church, and that is divine direction. We have the pillar of fire to lead us; but unless we follow the principle of confirmation, we will be in trouble. When a prophet speaks, he is not a prophet unless he speaks with two or three prophets. Then we have a word from God to which we can adhere.
We are to have a sure word from the Lord. We must have it confirmed. No one is to shop around from ministry to ministry, but he is to find a way that the ministries will meet with him and give him the word of the Lord. If we do not follow this pattern, the devil can come in and distort the word. Even if every word that is given is a true word from the Lord, the fact remains that the devil will twist it. He will take the word of one man and distort it until it appears to be something entirely different. For one thing, people hear what they want to hear. Because of human frailties and because of the importance of following divine order, we should have the prophets speaking two or three. This will prevent much confusion.
Wherever people have tried to move into the realm of the Spirit, we find the element of human arrogance entering in claiming to have the word of the Lord. In old order it was usually some overweight sister who set herself up as the prophetess extraordinary, ministering out of her kitchen door a so-called word from the Lord. By her actions, preachers were maligned, and churches were split; yet she appeared perfectly innocent. In usurping authority, she became a kind of spiritual adulteress. As a result of situations like this, full-gospel ministers everywhere took an urgent stand against private home prayer meetings, because there was no recognition of authority there.
This walk with God has every recognition of authority. We see the divine order coming; but as it comes, we must understand how new it is and how much we have yet to learn. In order for us to be the instrument God will use, and not simply the forerunner of a movement, we must proceed very carefully. We dare not become sidetracked, with each one doing his own thing and going off into a state of lawlessness. The Lordship of Jesus Christ and divine order is the very basis upon which this move of God is built, and we must follow it.
We must dedicate our hearts to walk softly before the face of the Lord. That will enable us to move more swiftly than we could otherwise. If we make haste in our own initiative, we will find ourselves retracing our steps time and time again; that will be time lost. But if we walk slowly and carefully before the Lord, churches can spring up very easily. We are ready to take the nations, but we can create disaster unless we walk carefully before the Lord. If we go into a country to lay a foundation, we must be able to discern the need and stay with it until we find the answer, or else we must keep our hands off totally.
According to the book of Acts, Paul established the church in Thessalonica in a short period of time (Acts 17:2). Probably within twenty-one to twenty-eight days the elders were functioning, and he was able to leave. Yet even this appears to have been something of a record, and we should not presume to establish a church in a few hours. Those who are sent to establish a church should be able to discern exactly what is needed. We must not rush in to set a new church in order; neither can we hurry to set in an elder before we learn what God has done in him. If we do, we will find that we have elders who are not elders, because we have not waited for a period of time and first set them aside to let God work on them. The eldership should emerge slowly, not only according to what God wills, but according to what God has worked within the individual. We cannot be influenced only by the promise of what a man is to be; we must also see it in action. Men have to be more than “called to be elders”; they must “be elders,” so that they will be equipped to meet the spiritual conflict and needs they will face.
There must be a deep dedication upon every member of the Body to see God set things in order. We will close our ranks and not break them, neither shall one thrust another (Joel 2:7, 8). We are moving more rapidly than we have for years. We still cannot set in as a pastor or as an elder a young man who has just been converted and has only been walking with God a month or two; but we can set him aside, prophesy over him, and minister to him.
God is never in haste. “Ye shall not go out with haste nor by sudden flight” (Isaiah 52:12). One Scripture that is often misquoted and used incorrectly is David’s statement, “The king’s business required haste” (I Samuel 21:8). We are not being full of unbelief or doubters if we take the time to confirm a word to make sure that it is absolutely a word from God. In fact, we are being presumptuous if we do not. We must find out what the Lord is saying. The ministries are not unreliable; but anyone can make a mistake; and God has given us a safeguard, that if we wait before the Lord and we all speak the same thing, we will be safe; we will have a word from the Lord. God tells us to speak His word, to minister as the oracles of God, to minister with the ability that He gives us. The Lord will do a quick work in the earth, but He will do it in an orderly fashion and in a realistic way so that it is done completely. It must be a sound work. Now that we are in motion, let us follow the rules of the road and allow them to guide us so that we walk uprightly before the Lord.