Acts 3 records the account of the healing of the lame man at the Gate Beautiful of the Temple in Jerusalem. After this great miracle, many people were saved. The priests and the scribes were disturbed by this and called Peter and John before the Council.
Acts 4:13–14 tells us the reaction of those who had listened to Peter’s defense of their action. Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. Peter and John were then warned not to speak anymore in the name of Jesus. Boldly they replied, “We cannot stop speaking about the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). The rulers threatened them again, and then let them go.
Peter and John returned to their companions, and they all prayed with one accord. They concluded their prayer with these words: “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Thy bond-servants may speak Thy word with all confidence, while Thou dost extend Thy hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Thy holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them. Acts 4:29–32. We would not have this picture in the New Testament of the early Church moving so effectively if a certain process had not taken place: The disciples saw themselves as they really were; they had been stripped of all illusion. This event recorded in Acts 4 occurred soon after the greatest time of denial the Church has ever known. At the hour of Jesus’ crucifixion, the disciples all forsook Him and fled. They denied Him and they doubted. They were unworthy, and they knew it. In full obedience they waited until they had been filled with the Holy Spirit before they began to speak the Word. They prayed for boldness to speak the Word.
Like the disciples, you must accept yourself, with all of your needs and problems, as a bond servant of Jesus Christ, and you must accept Him as the absolute Lord over your life. That acceptance is basic. Then you must accept what He says about you. You cannot honor Him as Lord and still refuse the prophecies over you. Do not draw back from the revelations God has given concerning you, just because you feel you are not worthy and you are not effective. He is Lord and you are His servant. Honor the Word He says about you.
Paul was called to be an apostle and he knew it. He was a bond servant of Jesus Christ. He knew who the Lord was and he knew who he was in relationship to the Lord, and he did not draw back from that. His basic acceptance of the Lord and of himself enabled him to accept the rest of the Body. It enabled him to accept his ministry to them and their ministry to him. If he had not believed what God had said over him, how could he have given the people a word and expected them to believe it? How could he have believed for others if he did not believe that he was a channel of blessing to them? If he could not accept himself as a servant of God, then he could not accept the ministry God had given him to give to others. The same is true of an apostle in this day and of the people under his care. When the people have a problem accepting his ministry, it is because they question their own relationship to the Lord. Those who know that they have been called of God and belong to Him respond with confidence.
When you accept Jesus as Lord and yourself as His bond servant, when you believe that these are the days of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, that the sons and the daughters have come forth to prophesy the Word of the Lord, then inevitably you will break through to experiences with the Lord, into prophesying and the moving of the Spirit.
Paul illustrated, better than anyone else in the New Testament, what it really means to accept oneself as God’s servant. He could not accept himself on any other basis. Before he became a believer, his whole life was based upon his confidence in himself after the flesh. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He said that if anyone had reason to boast, he had more. He had been circumcised on the eighth day of the tribe of Benjamin. He excelled his brethren in zeal in persecuting the house of God (Philippians 3:4–6). But when the Lord appeared to him and asked, “Why are you persecuting Me?” Paul saw that everything he had accepted was wrong. He knew that he could not establish his righteousness through the Law; instead, he considered himself to be the chiefest of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).
What happens to a man when he is shattered like this? Paul followed a course by which he became one of the boldest and most efficient apostles of the New Testament. He said, concerning those with whom he had been compared, I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10b. Paul was so shattered that he no longer had any basis for self-confidence. He said, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think that anything is of ourselves” (2 Corinthians 3:5). In Philippians 3:3 he wrote, “We are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh.” This man, who once had a reason to boast, had come to the place where he could hardly accept himself as a human being, as worthy of life. Yet he said, “I obtained mercy because I persecuted the church of God ignorantly” (1 Timothy 1:13). He was so completely broken that he had to have a basis for living; he had to find out who he was.
Paul, an apostle (not sent from men, nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen. Galatians 1:1–5.
For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure, and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. But when He who had set me apart, even from my mother’s womb, and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. (He was on his way to Damascus at the time of his conversion.)
Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas (Peter), and stayed with him fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying.) And I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they were glorifying God because of me. Galatians 1:11–20, 22–24. After spending three years finding out who the Lord Jesus really was—the one whom he had persecuted—and finding out who he himself was, and the fact that God had committed to him a glorious gospel to be preached, Paul came back.
Only one thing could change a man so completely that in his ministry he became the most effective of all the apostles, even though he had been the most ardent persecutor of Christianity that Judaism had ever produced. During those three years, he was not conferring with flesh and blood, but he was working something out. Of course, flesh and blood had been used as an instrument to minister to Paul. Ananias came while Paul was still blind and ministered to him. At that time, Paul received his sight, was baptized with water, and received the Holy Spirit. He was not implying that no human channels were used in what he received, but that the entire Word began to come forth out of him.
It pleased God to reveal His Son in Paul, that he might preach Him among the nations; and in order to do that, Paul had to accept himself as an object of the grace of God. He had to accept the boldness which would come by the Holy Spirit and the commission that the Lord had given him. He had to accept the brethren, and the fact that some of them were afraid and would have nothing to do with him because he had been a persecutor. Because he accepted these things, he could walk through the entire known world of that time and preach the Word of God. He had no point to prove, because he had accepted himself as a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ as absolute Lord over his life.
When people are confused about who they are or what the Lord Jesus Christ is to be to them, there are problems in their lives. As soon as there is complete acceptance, not only of the Lord but of yourself in relationship to Him, then you can begin to minister to one another much more effectively. Sometimes the prayers of intercessors are not effective because there is a question deep in their minds as to who they are in God’s sight. It may be an unconscious thing that they are not aware of, but they do not accept what God has done for them and what He has made them. This does not mean that anyone should glory in the flesh or have self-confidence in what he is as an individual. But you should have confidence in your relationship with Him, and an acceptance of that relationship and of His provision for you. You must accept the Lord’s work of grace in your heart; and when you do, then you can begin to minister.
I believe who I am called to be in the Lord Jesus Christ; yet I have no confidence in what I am. I abhor everything I see in myself after the flesh, but I magnify what God is doing in me, and I give Him praise for what He has done. Even though I hate everything in the flesh, I do not dare touch the work that God is bringing forth in me. If it pleases God to reveal His Son in me that I might preach Him, then, like Paul, I will accept it. This has nothing to do with self-confidence; it is an acceptance of the Lordship of Jesus Christ and His Headship over a many-membered Body.
Body ministry is basic to this end-time walk. You cannot say, “I do not have much confidence in my hand.” You had better have confidence in it. I have confidence in my feet and in my hands. I do not brag about them; I just believe that when I want to get up and walk, they will help me; they will function. That is the way I believe for the ministries. I do not give them praise or glory, but I believe that they will function when they are supposed to. Come, hands and feet—work. Ears—hear the Word of the Lord. Mouths—speak the Word of the Lord.
Do not excuse yourself by saying that you are unworthy. You have been unworthy for a long time, and probably you will be unworthy for a long time to come. Worthiness on a human level is not even to be considered. Not one of the early Christians was worthy. Some of them wandered around in sheepskins and goatskins and dwelt in caves. Hebrews 11 says that the world was not worthy of them. These people had all kinds of drawbacks, but they were what they were because they believed God; and because they accepted their place in God, the world did not accept them. Jesus said, “If the world had accepted Me, they would accept you; if they had kept My Word, they would keep your word. Because they have not kept My Word, they will not keep yours. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you” (John 15:19–20).
You are accepted of the Lord; you have it made. The world may not accept you, but that is all right; you can accept the Body of believers, and yourself as a member of that Body, with no reservations. All discouragement, confusion, and problems are based upon the fact that you do not accept your place in God. Remind yourself often, “I am a believer. I am the Lord’s workmanship, created in Him unto good works. I am the handiwork of God. I am one of the instruments He has raised up. I do not have to be anything in myself, but I accept myself as an instrument in the hand of God.”
This acceptance will break a lot of barriers and solve many problems for you. Even when you know that God has laid His hand on you, you will be hindered if you are always looking at your inadequacies. If the Lord has called you to be something, who cares whether or not you are good enough? What you have done or not done is not important; it is all based upon God’s grace. You must get over the idea that there is any measure of worthiness in anyone. Start on a basis of absolute nothingness and give that to the Lord. Then He will open the door and say, “I have chosen you,” as He begins to bless you and create Himself in you.
You may wonder why God chose you when you see others who are much better than you are. Perhaps they are feeling the same way about you. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). It is true that there are degrees of sinners, but it is not important even to weigh that in your mind. What is important is to find out what your destiny is in the Lord. You were called to a walk with God; and your acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and yourself as His bond servant, as well as the acceptance of the Word that God speaks over you, is absolutely essential.
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence (or boldness, as it says in the King James Version) to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:12–16.
This passage in Hebrews tells how God’s Word cuts you wide open, revealing a need and a source of confusion in your heart. When you come to the Lord and He gives a Word, it is like the high priest laying open the sacrifice. The Lord takes a sharp two-edged sword, the Word of God, and divides your soul and spirit and joints and marrow; then He is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of your heart. Only if you had lived in old Jerusalem in the days when the sacrifices were offered could you understand that fully. During the days of Jesus Christ, almost a half-million lambs were brought into Jerusalem for the Passover. You may have the idea that the priests were delicate men of prayer, but they must have looked more like strong butchers. They had to wrestle the animals down and then butcher them, cutting up the sacrifices as the atonement for sin. What a mess it was. Imagine the stench as the hides of the animals burned. It was like a slaughterhouse. No wonder the Lord provided a laver in which the priests could wash.
Hebrews presents quite a different picture. You have a high priest who passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. His Word, that sharp two-edged sword, has laid you open, and God is doing the work of separating the joints and the marrow, the thoughts and intents of the heart, separating between soul and spirit. Jesus, your High Priest, has entered into the Holy of Holies, the heavens itself, to intercede for you.
When the Word comes and cuts you wide open and you see what is in you, do not tell the Lord that you will try to do better, and next year by this time you hope to be less defeated by your need. Forget that kind of praying! Take one good look at yourself and then look to Him, to the High Priest. Come with confidence and boldness to the throne of grace. The basis of that boldness is not what you are in yourself, but what you are in relationship to Him.
The Lord says that He will meet you and give you grace in the time of need. Believe it. He is the one who started the work in you. He is your Lord and you are His servant. He gave the invitation; accept it boldly. Your worthiness on a human plane has nothing to do with it.
We must understand what we are in the flesh—nothing. We must know who He is—our Lord and our Redeemer. We must also know who we are in relationship to Him—the sheep of His pasture, the children of His table. We are His creation. He has begotten us by a living Word of truth and we belong to Him; we are His. We are called to minister to one another. When we accept His Lordship and our relationship to Him, then we will accept our relationship to other believers, and this will put an end to any division or friction.
Let me illustrate this with a practical situation. A wife first of all must accept her husband as he is. God accepted her just the way she is; He did not wait until after she had changed. He accepted her as an unworthy sinner, falling short in every way. Therefore she must accept her husband as he is. She must accept what God is saying and doing to him and accept herself as an instrument to help him. Then, with faith, she can proceed with boldness to claim God’s will for him. There can be nothing apologetic or defeated in her attitude. The same is true in dealing with children. Instead of constantly nagging them, a mother first of all must accept them as they are, with their need. They cannot feel that she is rejecting them. Then she must accept what God has said about them, what she is to be to them, and the way she is to minister to them. When she accepts these things, then she will be able to proceed with confidence to help change her children.
The same principle applies when you are ministering to a brother. First of all accept a brother with his need, just as he is. Do not accept or reject him on the basis of his worthiness. Open your heart to him and accept the promises of God for him. Then in all boldness go to work to see his need met. Let there be a minimum of personal judgment; instead, approach the need positively.
It is very easy for some of the older generation to look at others who came from a more liberal and free background and start judging them. We cannot do that. When the living Word comes, every man is laid open before the Lord. He discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart and separates between soul and spirit; He cuts right down to the joints and marrow and lays you all open to be living sacrifices unto Him.
Let us believe for change—absolute, rapid, miraculous change—as we bolster and strengthen one another’s faith until problems are removed and uprooted. A man will be what God says by the grace of God, and not by any human basis or worthiness manufactured in the flesh. We cannot evaluate things on a fleshly level.
Paul had to preach and labor, trying to forget that he had been a persecutor of the Church, that many of the families under his spiritual care had lost loved ones because of his actions before he became a Christian. Imagine what it was like for him to preach the gospel to certain families, knowing that he had been responsible for the death of some of their loved ones. What was it like for Paul to worship with a young man, knowing that he had sent the young man’s father to his death because he was a Christian? Paul had to accept the grace of God, or he would have gone insane thinking about what he had done. When Judas realized what he had done to Christ, he committed suicide. He could not accept himself as the sinner he was.
Many people trembled on the day of Pentecost when they heard Peter say, “You with wicked hands have slain the Lord of lords. You slew Him, but God raised Him from the dead and made Him both Lord and Christ” (Acts 3:14–15). The spear which they had thrust into His side brought forth the blood that would redeem them. When they asked Peter what to do, he told them to repent and believe and they would be saved. On the day of Pentecost, the murderers of Christ were the first vanguard into the Kingdom.
There is no acceptance until you accept the fact that you are nothing in yourself. Then you will begin to accept what the Lord has done for you and what He is saying in the prophecies. Sometimes hope deferred makes the heart sick. It brings confusion and causes you to draw back. Believe that God can create in you that ministry which you are to be in the house of God. Determine not to be defeated. Declare that you are more than a conqueror through Christ who loves you.