In his letter to the Philippians, Paul conveyed to them the fact that his difficult circumstances had resulted in greater progress of the gospel. In chapter 1, verses 12–18 he wrote: Now I want you to know … that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well-known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice.
Today there are many who persecute those who believe in the ministry of Christ in His many-membered Body. They feel that it is egotistical and arrogant to say, “We are Christ.” However, this statement is absolutely scriptural, for Paul wrote in I Corinthians 12:12: “The body is not one member, but many; and so also is Christ.” Those who dare to believe totally what the Word says are called heretics. Paul was called a heretic, and we simply follow his tradition, saying, “After the way called heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers” (Acts 24:14).
Paul pointed out to the Philippians that some were preaching Christ out of strife and personal ambition. They were probably envious of the place Paul had. Today also, as God is speaking a living Word through men of God, we find that others are jealous, wishing they also had that same Word. Therefore, they set about to establish other criteria of success, as they proudly point to the large membership of their churches. A man of God who is speaking a living Word may have less members than a pastor who is criticizing him. However, that man of God has helped build New Testament churches which will move into the Kingdom of God. The pastor who has built only a personal kingdom will find that his church will not make it, because it has been built around his personality and an egocentric program.
Even though Paul knew that some were persecuting him because of their ulterior motivations and because they did not recognize his apostolic ministry, he still rejoiced because he knew that one way or another the Word was being disseminated to the world (verse 18). There are probably as many people coming into God’s endtime move through the publicity given to it by its persecutors as through the Word being published through the people themselves. We rejoice that people are talking about it. The Word is being spoken.
Paul continued, verse 19: For I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Then Paul wrote about a problem that he had in deciding whether to submit to death and depart to be with the Lord or whether to remain on in the flesh. Through the prayers and intercession of the people, he had come to the place where he knew that he had the prerogative of laying his life down, or not laying it down. This is important for us to remember. He was in a difficult struggle, and if there was a way that it could be over and he could come forth as more than a conqueror, that would be a sensible solution. For his own interest, “to depart and be with the Lord” would have been by far the better decision, but for the benefit of the people he decided to stay. He said, To remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. And convinced of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith. Philippians 1:24–25. Paul chose the course that would edify the Church. He chose to remain, even though he could have departed. He was a real winner.
Have you ever reached the place where you felt that you would gladly lie down and die if you knew that you could do it victoriously? The writings of the Ante-Nicene Fathers tell of a prophecy made during the second century saying that in the end time some people would forget to lie down and die. This generation of believers is probably the first to actually challenge the validity of death. We are daring to believe, not merely in longevity, but in completely bypassing death.
Paul continued, verse 26: So that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again. He did not mean that the Philippians were proud of him as a man, but they were proud of what they were able to thrust him into. They could pray him out of jail and pray him into the main flow of the apostolic ministry in that first century. He said to them, “I think it is better for you that I stay around for a while. I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance, through your prayers. You are going to pray me out of this moment of travail; and when I return, your proud confidence in me will abound in Christ Jesus.”
The apostolic company today has the same feeling. It is a very humble feeling. They do not want to win, just for the sake of saying that they have won. They want to win for the sake of you who are interceding for them, so that you can say, “We prayed, and it happened.” They would not dare to believe for anything less, because you must not be disappointed. It must be the day of your proud confidence—that you thrust the apostolic company into action, that you step on their heels until they limp, that you make them move ahead and open the doors to the whole Kingdom that is ahead of us. You have stormed heaven, you have danced, you have sung, and your hearts have turned to the Lord, and for your sakes the breakthrough must come.
The main reason, however, that there must be an answer is because the Lord has to be glorified in the earth. A generation has come forth which has forgotten how their parents prayed the Lord’s Prayer. Today they wave their fists and cry out to God, “Thy Kingdom come!”—not only with hope, but with faith to bring it into existence. “Thy will be done!” This is what we are believing for. This is what we are crying for. This is what we are living for.
There is much joy in our lives, but our joy is based upon the fact that we are properly motivated for the Kingdom. If we were ever to turn away from this, we would be the most miserable people on the face of the earth. There has been enough revelation to totally disillusion us with the conditions in the world. It has nothing to offer. When we dance and sing before the Lord, it is because we have a great expectation. If that were taken from us, we would be completely disillusioned.
Rather, let us become wholly dedicated. Let us live solely for the Kingdom. There is nothing else in this world worthy of our existence. It is all empty ashes. Through the prophet, God said of His people, “They feed on ashes because the deceived heart has turned them aside” (Isaiah 44:20). That can happen again to any heart. It is always possible for God’s people to feed on ashes, but they cannot live on that which yesterday was real and alive, kindled and flaming.
“Joy is withered away from the children of men” (Joel 1:12). It is all gone. There is no incentive in the world today. Nations are poised to fire missiles at one another. We are aware of the deceitfulness, the lies, the horrible way that men are treating the peoples of the world. If we cannot believe to bring that down and see the Lord take over, we have nothing to live for.
During this time of transition, we were concerned with learning methods of survival. But now even the motivation of self-preservation is gone. We live for something far greater. Would you be willing to give your life for the Kingdom this very second? Does a natural existence fail to attract you anymore? Do you have that higher motivation—a drive to see the will of God come forth, to see His Kingdom come forth?
Knowing what is at stake, you can probably relate to what Paul meant when he wrote that it would be easy to slip out of the scene, to walk away with God like Enoch and have people looking for him the next morning, only to find that he was not, because God had taken him. But, like Paul, an apostle today cannot live for that. God’s people still need the words from God. They need the visitation from the Lord that comes through those words. The greatest need today is for an apostolic company to move through the land and break every impasse, every barrier, and see God’s sons throw off their shackles and their chains and their limitations, and see them begin to rise as they hear the Word, “Fear not, little flock; it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
The apostolic company must keep the vision of that day clear and alive in your hearts. They must loose you to walk into it. Do not be concerned about what happens to you or what comes against you. Be concerned about becoming, in the family of God, in the prophetic community, the thrust and the faith and the provision of prayer behind those members of the apostolic company whom God has made responsible for you.
(Brother Maybee continues the unfolding of the Word.) God is working in our hearts a depth of spirit that brings a willingness to lay down our lives for the Kingdom. It is not that we intend to be martyrs and be killed; it is a willingness to lose our lives in order to live for the Kingdom. Many times it would seem easier, as the apostle Paul witnessed, to take the way of death. But the dedication that God demands is the surrender to the Lordship of Christ. To lose your life in order to live for the Kingdom is a level that demands even more than being willing to face a firing squad.
Paul lived for the Kingdom. That was his whole life. When he was turned around on the road to Damascus, the call and the mark that God had placed upon him from his mother’s womb thrust his life into a whole new dimension. From that moment, the intensity of his life was simply to live unto Christ. In fact, he said, “For me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21). He made it very clear that he was living his life by faith in the Son of God who was living in him and through him. The only reason he was alive was that he might be the expression of Christ in the earth, that he might bring forth the Kingdom of God.
In Romans 12:1–2 Paul said, I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God (not by coercion, not by pressure, not by legalism, but by the mercies of God), to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Refuse to be conformed to this present age. Choose to be transformed by the renewing of your mind! Choose to put on the mind of Christ! Choose to think like God! Choose to agree with God. Choose to become one with the Kingdom of God. The Spirit of God is wooing you and calling you to present your body a living sacrifice to God, a living channel through whom the Word of God can flow and minister.
Who would ever have dreamed that instead of God sovereignly solving all of the problems of human existence and simply transforming things, He would choose to use human vessels to bring forth His Kingdom, His rule in the earth?
I Corinthians 15 says that Christ received a Kingdom from the Father, and all things were subjected unto Him. He is seated at the right hand of the Father, waiting until all of His enemies are made His footstool. The last enemy to be destroyed is death itself. God is waiting, waiting, waiting for His seed to come forth. He will see that which has been born of His Spirit come forth to be His Kingdom, establishing the rule of Christ in the earth.
In Romans 12:3 Paul wrote: For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. If we properly evaluate our place in the Kingdom of God, we will not look down upon one another or look up at one another; we will look straight in one another’s eyes and walk as the family of God. We do not have to put anyone down or stand in a position of inferiority by putting someone above ourselves. Instead, we can recognize one another as the children whom God has raised up for this hour.
We are many members of one Body in Christ. We do not all have the same function, yet we are members of one another. Can we live separately from one another? Can we live as individuals and fail to live in one another? There is no way that we can be individuals—isolated and living to ourselves, for our own desires and fulfilling our own intentions and the building of our own kingdoms. We are being merged by the Spirit of God into the great Body we call Christ. We are intertwined in one another’s lives. We ache for one another. We love one another. We flow with one another. We live for one another.
In Romans 12:6–13, Paul gives instructions for walking in the Spirit. And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
This describes our walk in the Kingdom, doesn’t it? It identifies one whose life has been totally surrendered to the Lord, who is unselfishly pouring out his life to see his brothers and sisters come forth in the full expression of the Kingdom of God. What greater calling is there? Christ’s attitude was one of serving. He said, “I came not to be ministered unto, but to serve, to minister” (Matthew 20:28). That should be our attitude—to give and to minister, to serve and to allow the Kingdom of God to flow. Let him who stands in the highest place become the servant of all.
Paul concluded the twelfth chapter of Romans by saying, Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Verse 21. Without a doubt we give too much time and attention to the problems in our lives, to the battle and the harassment that come against us. We sometimes give the enemy more attention and thought and emotion than we should. Let us turn the focus of our life and present it as a sacrifice to God. It is time that we present our total being—mind, heart, spirit, everything that is within us—to love God, and our neighbor as ourselves. Let the life force that God has so freely given us flow out to one another. We are living channels that reach into God to draw the anointing and become channels through whom the anointing is a continual flowing reality to others.
This will not impoverish your life. As the life flow goes through you, you will joyfully discover that you are being built up by it and by becoming a life-giving channel. You are built up by the Spirit of the Lord that flows through your life and your being. Nothing is taken away from you when you focus upon the apostolic ministry. Nothing is taken away from your life when you become the channel through whom the intercessory ministry flows. Nothing is taken away from you as you begin to voice with faith the Word that God has spoken. Rather, it has the effect of building up and strengthening, of widening and expanding. As the flow expands, it will always expand your own spiritual life.
What greater desire could we have than that voiced in the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy Kingdom come! Thy will be done in the earth! Let Thy rule begin in my own heart, in my own life, in my own activity in this church, in this city, in this community, in this part of the world.”