And in fact, in Ephesians, Paul makes quite
clear that faith is not of yourselves.
In chapter 2, verse 8, For by grace
are you saved through faith, and that not
of yourselves.
It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast.
That there's maybe two kinds of faith.
The faith that, have the faith of the
Son of God, which is the divine and
heavenly reality, as against the kind of faith
that we're encouraged charismatically to develop, as if
it's our baby through some kind of exercise.
I'm not stating myself well because we do
grow from faith to faith.
It's a gift that's given, but there's a
place for expansiveness and increase through obedience, to
go from faith to faith, from obedience to
obedience.
But the initial gift is from God, and
even the going of that new and extra
mile is a grace that comes from Him
in proportion to our obedience.
He gives grace.
The Holy Spirit is given to them that
obey Him.
And you remember that we talked about when
the woman touched the hem of Jesus' garment
and was healed, and Jesus turned and stopped
and said, They said, what are you talking
about?
There's a whole crowd pressing in on you.
Yes, but someone has touched me because I
felt the virtue go out of me.
And that virtue was healing power.
So if it could go out, then how
did it come in?
Did it come with His deity as He
was formed into man?
Or did it come into Him progressively and
cumulatively with every act of obedience?
Because even for Him as a Son, especially
as a patterned Son, the Holy Spirit was
given as He obeyed the Father.
Because His obedience were never casual, never convenient.
They were always a remarkable requirement, even unto
the obedience unto death.
So the Father gave Him an enablement.
The Holy Spirit is given.
That touches the question, how is it we're
in different places of faith?
Because some have a greater measure.
They've lived more dangerously.
They've opened themselves more desperately.
They've cast themselves upon God with greater urgency.
And they have received something as Jesus received
with every act of obedience by the Holy
Spirit.
But what we had not considered, and I
had not considered, that the Holy Spirit is
more than just an energy and a power.
The Holy Spirit is God.
So any manifestation of God is the impartation,
not only of power, but of character.
And that the certain versions would use the
word virtue.
I felt virtue go out of me.
Virtue is a moral word.
Virtue is almost a synonym for what is
moral.
Virtue is a kind of moral excellence that
has come by a conduct that is in
keeping with God's own character.
And He felt the virtue go out of
Him that must have come into Him with
every impartation of the Holy Spirit through acts
of obedience.
And so that Jesus Himself had to walk
as a Son and grow in grace and
grow in faith through the obediences by which
He suffered.
Faith is intrinsic to God Himself.
Faith is the milieu, excuse my language, the
very environment in which God Himself lives and
has His being.
Faith is appropriate to God.
Faith is the environment of God.
He gave the gift of faith because faith
is appropriate to Him.
Because the antithesis of faith is action and
conduct that issues out of man, out of
his knowledge, out of his cleverness, out of
his principles, out of his energy.
But faith is a dependency on a supernatural
source as a mode of being, of living
and being by which obediences are performed that
do not make the requirement of what is
human, but demand and draw from what is
divine.
Every good and perfect thing comes down from
above.
So why is Jesus rebuking His disciples?
Because they have not a measure that He
thought that they ought by that time to
have obtained.
And then His answer, this kind comes not
out by fasting and prayer, indicates that they
had neglected the means by which this faith
is to be obtained.
That there is something about fasting and prayer
that is profoundly connected with the drawing of
God, the milieu, the environment of God into
our own being.
That we can face unpredictable moments and not
fault it nor balk.
So our problem is a deficiency in prayer
and in fasting.
But prayer and fasting of what kind?
It's not prayer as we understand it as
petition.
Because when we make our petitions we end.
But the prayer that I think that the
Lord is talking about is the kind that
He Himself practiced, which is to say devotional
prayer.
Prayer as a devotion, prayer as communion with
God who is the source of every good
and perfect thing.
And that when you have that kind of
communion through prayer, something is given by the
one with whom you are in communion and
that builds up in you as faith.
So we stop praying when we should begin.
Our prayer is too utilitarian.
That's so much in the nature of our
society and generation.
We pray for what we need and we
stop.
But we don't pray as devotion.
We don't linger, we don't enjoy the presence
of God or are able to commune and
keep with Him in prayer if there's an
absence of the sense of His presence.
We're so sensate, we're so sensual that if
we don't have a feeling that comes from
God, we quit.
We need a payoff.
And yet God is testing to see who
will be a lover and a devoted son
and daughter who will linger in my presence
without a payoff.
They're not there for a payoff.
They're there because they recognize my majesty.
They recognize who I am as God and
therefore there's a response from them that is
totally appropriate and has nothing to do with
any benefit that they'll receive by extending themselves
in the early morning hours while it is
yet dark and before the day has begun.
If that's true, and I believe that it
is I'm seeing that truth in my own
life and practice the issue of Israel's deliverance
in the last days as I've said many
times, is not the issue of heroism of
last moment heroism, it's the issue of devotion.
Isn't it remarkable that the whole destiny and
the fulfillment of God's eschatological purposes for Israel
through the church is not through the church's
heroism but the church's devotion.
Its relationship with its God in the secret
place, in the prayer chamber in the quiet,
that there something is formulated that when you
come to the place of confrontation you've got
something out of which to meet it.
Here we have another instance where in two
of the three accounts this kind comes not
out of faith but by fasting and prayer
and in another account in Matthew this kind
is the issue because of your unbelief so
how do we reconcile these divergent statements or
are they coming at the same truth and
the same issue from different angles and aspects
is the issue of faith and belief the
issue of devotion.
Will you give God time in devotional communion
through prayer except that you believe that he
is and that he is a rewarder of
all who diligently seek him that that reward
need not be now it could be postponed
and future or even not come as something
that we experienced a feeling so you'll not
give God a devotional attention unless you believe
that he is and is deserving of that
consideration so again we come back what is
faith?
Faith is an appropriate knowledge of God as
God and once you have that knowledge how
can you just use them for your petitions
Lord I need this I need that my
boyfriend girlfriend health body blah blah blah and
then stop what is he your errand boy
is he around just to take care of
your immediate needs you have an inadequate knowledge
of God he's much larger than the way
in which you're employing him in fact your
employment of him is actually disgraceful it's making
God less than what he is he's much
greater than your errands and he's not there
for your convenience he has purposes of his
own that has to do with cosmic redemption
and the glory of God forever of which
your little petty concerns are a minute little
beep so how come you're not coming before
him in sympathy and identification with him in
the things that pertain to himself why is
it always you you you Lord I I
me I my ministry my need I I
I what about his see communion is rising
above your egocentric concern valid though it is
into the larger place of God himself his
glory and his honor to hallow him so
that's an issue of faith and evidently the
disciples failed here maybe because they saw Jesus
in his humanity in such a way as
to deflate their appreciation of him in his
total person and they didn't take note of
how he himself had a significant and continuous
devotional life with the father that if he
required that devotional life not just to be
instructed but to give to the father the
consideration of a loving son how much then
do we need some measure of that same
devotion yeah
yeah yeah I'm pioneering I'm on the first
rung of this ladder but I suspect and
intuit that the word adoration is the ultimate
statement of a believer's relationship with God and
it's one to which I confess I've not
yet myself come in fact everything in me
from my Brooklyn origins and my history in
life and in the world militates against adoration
adoration is almost too ethereal too feminine for
a masculine consideration interesting that the church should
be known as the bride of Christ eternally
unless we come into this feminine configuration exemplified
by the woman who brought the alabaster box
and broke it against the indignation of his
own disciples and was extravagant in her love
Jesus commemorates as being a good work so
there's something about feminine love, extravagance, affection devotion
and adoration to which we're called and we
can't fabricate that we can't take a deep
breath we've got to grow like I'm admiring
the Lord in his faithfulness even in these
days doubting that though I have been and
somewhat tinged with unbelief and questioning and I
look back now I'm seeing the Lord's unfolding
the divine logic I'm admiring him for it
I admire him for what he did in
Africa and the places that preceded it so
my knowledge of the Lord grows as I
see his faithfulness and there's not a morning
that I'm talking to the Lord that I
don't begin first by citing his attributes how
do you begin praying?
when you go down in that corner of
the bedroom or wherever your prayer chamber is
and it's still dark out how do you
begin?
what do you say?
for me, invariably I rehearse with God his
own attributes I'm telling him how impressed I
am with his unceasing faithfulness and his integrity
and his love and his mercy as I'm
experiencing it as a piece of dust that
I am and then I go on from
there as the Lord leads and sometimes I'll
pause and all of a sudden what comes
out of my mouth is no longer English
it's something in a heavenly language that only
he understands so it's good to rehearse God
and the knowledge of him his attributes what
he's showing every day more his grace the
goodness, the kindness of God and I'll tell
you I was telling somebody the other day
I'm so spoiled like I said look, I
don't need that oh yeah?
I'm seeing that you have that you have
a desire for me beyond my own thought
or intention you've been lavish where I thought
I had was adequate you know me?
I'm a depression baby just enough for me
to need you are lavish so I'm growing
in the knowledge of the extravagance of God's
love his faithfulness how he gives and that
will lead to the place of adoration and
when we come to the place of adoration
it's like water turning into steam the nature
of the thing changes its form because we've
hit a temperature that transforms the one element
into another I've never said that before I've
never seen that before I'm going on record
and I'm saying it now adoration when we
come to the place of adoration we have
come into another dimension we've turned water into
steam by the heat of love and steam
is power steam is power it moves locomotives
so I think that there's a conjunction between
adoration and authority and power in ministry and
in life and I can see reasons for
it how can God trust us with the
spirit without measure and power if there will
be any danger of a misappropriation of touching
or stealing his glory or exalting ourselves through
that provision we have got to be sons
and daughters utterly selfless without any concern for
what redounds to us by the grace of
the authority and power God allows us to
express and there are not many sons who
have come to that when we come to
adoration God can trust us because the adoration
is so blinding, so overwhelming we wouldn't dream
in a multitude of eternities to misuse that
power or authority in any way that would
have redound to our self-aggrandizement it's always
for the father it's always for his glory
it's always for his honor we are hollowing
the name of God and therefore we can
be entrusted and didn't the disciples see that?
who were walking with him didn't they observe
that?
didn't they know that he was getting up
early every morning to seek the father while
it was yet dark didn't they know he
needed his rest?
the man was exhausted, the press of crowds
and dealings for myself it's easier to preach
than to minister to the saints after service
the exhaustion comes with the saints a word
that they want or need or a prayer
giving the message is much easier than tending
to the flock afterwards, but he was continually
tending to the flock, so he was exhausted
and they were tired didn't they recognize, and
yet he's up early, without fail finding a
place apart, while it's yet dark to seek
the father didn't they get the message?
that if it's necessary for him, who is
the son of God, true man and true
God, what's necessary for them but what were
they doing?
sleeping, even in the garden of the Gethsemane,
he said could you not watch for me
for one hour they slept flesh overruled them
so, watching we were just sharing before the
break is analogous to fasting, fasting is the
denial of the flesh to the denial of
food watching is the denial of sleep the
body craves both more than they should, because
the body wants to be spoiled and indulged
and tells you that you need eight hours,
or at least seven or three square meals
a day the Elijah only needed two and
so the body will always over express its
need as if it is the most vital
claimant to your attention and if you neglect
it, it'll howl you get headaches and you
feel like you're going to die and certainly
you've got to eat because you're dying and
what happened to Esau?
Esau gave up his inheritance as the first
born because of the need for pottage he
was ruled by his appetite that's why God
loves Jacob and hated Esau Esau was ruled
by his flesh even to the point of
giving up his legacy so we're in that
contest this is what we're struggling, body and
soul, body and spirit flesh and spirit the
purposes of God our own demands, our own
needs, our own security our own pleasure, our
own gratification this is what Paul cried out
in Romans 7 woe is me who will
save me from this death, but praise God
for Jesus Christ even as an apostle he's
struggling in the contest of flesh versus spirit
why is the issue of faith the issue
of righteousness?
without faith there's no righteousness it's only a
righteousness by faith and in no other way
because the alternative is a righteousness by works
by human conduct, human energy our own ethical
mindedness of what we can do or say
but that's unrighteous why do you call me
good?
Jesus said, there's no man good there's no
man righteous so then why is faith and
righteousness synonymous?
because it is not of yourself lest any
man boast faith is a gift given of
God, it is God it's the milieu that
he occupies, it's intrinsic to his own Godness
and he gives us this mode for obedience,
it's called faith, and by it you can
act and perform something pleasing because the issue
is not you but him, he gets the
glory, isn't that remarkable?
and so in the last confrontation it's the
very same thing it's not just taking a
deep breath and I'm going to face this
demon and I'm going to show him who,
and you know what the demon says?
Jesus I know and Paul I know but
who are you?
he yawns in your face even while you're
reciting the formula, the name of Jesus come
out in the name of Jesus he's not
at all impressed because he knows your faith
is not the divine substance but a human
equivalent by which you have learned to agree
while certain doctrines certain confidences, you even quote
the scripture to God and ask for the
payoff because the scripture says that you deserve
a Cadillac that will fail so now let's
get to the point of what is at
stake in this final confrontation and how must
it be met if God is to be
glorified and the demons are to release their
captive before they kill him and if they
do kill him can we like Jesus by
faith stretch forth our arm and raise him
up here's the remarkable analogy that this son
represents Israel that has to be not only
delivered from oppression but delivered from death that
we have to have a faith that not
only can rebuke the devil to let him
go but having let him go he leaves
him as dead that our faith will raise
him up unto resurrection that the glory of
Israel is the restored and resurrected nation not
just the one delivered from persecution so ultimate
faith is resurrection faith that raises the dead
that's what's demonstrated Jesus performed that but the
disciples could not so here's the way I
like to see it this confrontation is a
showdown and it has its inception from time
immemorial comes to a final conflict at the
end of the age where the issue of
the son is Israel hanging in the balance
now brought to death and it's a confrontation
between realities the reality of the false usurper
the liar the deceiver Satan who has created
a whole mirage of things that are false
illusory stinking values the wisdom of below to
which the whole world subscribes as being real
it's make believe and it's aided by fantasy
and movies and films and stories and all
of that crud and junk that even the
cartoons that our kids watch are infused and
shot through with that whole make believe of
seeming power of explosions that's visible that seems
to have the marbles seems to have the
authority seems where the action is as against
an invisible God who resides in heaven whose
throne is in eternity and that somehow we've
got to bring into the valley that reality
that is reality because God is reality the
throne is the nexus of reality what comes
down is what is real and sane this
is life and health what is below is
disfigurement and grotesque caricature and devastation and foaming
foaming at the mouth and power unto death
and the two things come together and the
question is which reality will triumph in that
showdown which reality will have all the marbles
the reality that is visible and even flings
the victim down as dead or the reality
that you bring by faith when you command
that devil to let go and your command
is not just I hope I hope I
hope but your command rings with the authority
of God which you bring by faith in
the knowledge of him that you've obtained from
faith to faith and now the measure is
what will triumph the disciples failed and Jesus
reprimanded them severely and the question is when
we come to this we're moving toward this
confrontation if you have eyes to see and
can read history aright and understand the eschatological
faith and the issue of Israel as represented
in that sun and the hatred of the
powers of darkness against that sun not content
to molest but to destroy because if that
sun is destroyed they continue in their false
usurping rule over the nations they can only
be defeated when that sun is made alive
and occupies the place of God's intention and
Zion becomes the center of the universe out
of which the law goes forth and the
glory of God and all nations come unto
it the sun is that issue that's why
to destroy the sun is to set back
if not permanently destroy the prospect of such
a kingdom and such a rule the issue
is rule the issue is government and you
know how even men once they taste the
benefits of authority and rule will not let
go like the guy in Zimbabwe he's now
pushing 80 he's been the ruler since Zimbabwe
came out of colonialism and the country is
being devastated by the madness of this man
and his arbitrary rule and anyone who opposes
him is called a traitor and they're sent
to prison you can't even have journalism that's
honest and the elections are fraudulent and faked
and he continues in power, he will not
let go, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts
absolutely and once you enjoy its benefits especially
as these men from Africa they will not
let go to be enriched, they're garnering the
whole wealth of nations to their own persons
I told you I mentioned many times driving
in Switzerland and passing a baronial property with
high walls and you can glimpse over and
see such remarkable buildings and we're driving for
five minutes, we've not come to the end
of it and I turned to my companion
and said whose place is that that belongs
to the president of Congo Zaire the guy
who died of cancer and is rotting in
hell right now this was only one of
several of his estates because he has a
fortune of fortunes in Swiss banks they garner,
they usurp they take to themselves while their
people are perishing for elementary nourishment and their
children are beggars so, why am I saying
all that?
If that's man usurping through your rule, what
about the powers of the air?
Because who is it in Psalm 2 that
rages against the Lord and against his anointed
and want to break their bands the rulers
and the kings take thought together against the
son of God because they will not submit
to his rule this is a conflict saints
if you don't know this if you don't
have this as the cosmic overview in which
the church is set, you're nowhere you don't
understand anything and church then is a succession
of Sunday services and an occasional programmer or
speaker this is the context a conflict between
darkness and light of what is going to
prevail over God's creation and what's that issue
is the son.
How long has this been going on?
Since childhood why could we not cast it
out?
because this kind, this ultimate kind cometh not
out except by fasting and prayer.
So we need to dote consider, what is
Jesus saying?
That one account says faithlessness because you had
not faith if you had faith, you could
have moved mountains you lacked faith what is
that?
A technique?
A method?
or a knowledge of the majesty of God
that is greater than all darkness, though it's
invisible.
That you can come against what is visible
by your inward knowledge of what is really
real although it is immaterial and not seen.
That that which is not seen is greater
than that which is visible.
That you have the same mentality as Paul
who counted the things that were invisible as
being eternal and the eternal weight of glory
that made his present suffering both momentary and
light.
He had such an appropriation of God in
the invisible realm that it affected his present
condition he did not feel his suffering in
the measure that you would think because he
wasn't living in his body his citizenship was
in heaven he was in the eternal and
invisible realm as being more real than that
which is visible because that visible stuff is
going to decay, turn to dust go up
in smoke and will dissipate away.
But the word of God endures forever.
Believe us on this?
So this is the conflict you guys everything
is up for grabs to come to that
confidence in the invisible God and his majesty
as eclipsing and greater than the usurper and
that we know that that usurper has been
defeated that Jesus made of him an open
spoil at the cross and disarmed him that
though he can bark and growl and make
noises, he has no power of what shall
we be afraid greater is he who is
within us than he who is in the
world.
And now we can prove it by our
commanding of those things to recognize themselves as
defeated and flake off, let go of that
guy, right now this is immediate no option
and do you know that we were tested
even in these days?
With our little brother Chad?
You guys weren't even aware that yesterday morning
at the prayer time as I'm sitting in
my seat he was at the door with
a puppy in his arms, so fetching wanting
to be readmitted after all, let bygones be
bygones even though we've had our differences and
even though you have required of me that
I leave can't I be readmitted?
And when he came to the door and
I saw him though you didn't know what
was going on I stuck my finger out
and I said, out!
We have the reality, the authority in this
place has agreed and come together that you
are required now to leave and if you
slip in again in your subversive cutesy way
well, so we retract our command and the
authority that we exercise to make allowances for
brother, give him another chance the whole issue
of authority would have been affected and been
betrayed got that what I'm talking about?
A little thing that a man at the
door desiring to come in in a fetching
way was a test of how we would
insist upon the authority that we expressed in
the Lord for the conduct of the school
for which we were responsible and that if
that man would receive that expulsion as a
discipline needful for his erratic egoistic behavior and
receiving it for the good he's welcome back
at another time as a changed man, but
if he tries to slip in now, subversively
and cutely and to evaporate the issue of
authority he will suffer loss and we will
suffer loss, so we need to be jealous
in these regards because the issues are great
and any compromise in that area will be
recognized by the powers of darkness and the
one mock that I cannot stand to hear
is Jesus we know and Paul we know,
but who are you cats?
So these are the realities that we need
to take very seriously and grow in don't
care what your profession is, what your business
what your obligation, you can find time, you
can get up earlier, you can go to
bed earlier, you don't have to frit away
your evenings in mindless chitchat and light things,
go to bed at an hour at a
time that you'll wake up early and be
with the Lord at that early, undistracted time
before the world begins there's not one of
us who can have an excuse I've got
a job, no fine time this is the
fasting fasting means self-denial it's an emblematic
word, it's not just the denial of food,
it's the denial of sleep, it's the denial
of bodily comfort, it's the denial of yourself
as first getting up early at the ridiculous
hour when your body is clamoring for more
rest is a denial and somehow there's a
principle that works in the cosmos that both
God and the powers of darkness recognize that
self-denial is contrary to the ethos and
rationality of a world that says, take care
of number one first see to yourself, after
all if you don't, who else will?
and you're number one and your body and
your rest and your food and your energy
and your complexion and your clothing you, you,
you, you, is the logic of the world,
that's how Satan rules and jerks whole nations
for jealousy, envy, careers prestige, property value that's
false and God says, all that will pass
away but my word and my way endures,
but do we believe that?
so by fasting and denial of sleep we
are making a statement both that is honoring
to God and threatening to the powers of
darkness, because it's a statement of our earnestness
we're not just flaky vocabulary bearing saints who
say the right things, but our life is
earnest and real and on the line, because
no one is seeing us, this is entirely
private and personal and you can get away
with it and no one observes, except in
the public expression of your faith, you don't
get away with it what you are publicly,
in your prayer and witness and authority is
altogether the statement of what you are privately
and hiddenly in your relationship with God it's
the audacity and arrogance of man that sees
himself as first and God catches whatever few
crumbs he can in a second hand way
that's what's perverse, unbelief and faithlessness and unwillingness
to give God the devotional attention that he
deserves is a willful disrespect and it's perverse
by it's very nature, how many of us
are willing to bite the bullet and say
our neglect of God is willful and perverse
it puts us above him, that our sleep,
our food our contentment is the number one
priority, if there's anything left over we'll show
up on Sunday that this is a perverse
rejection of God's priority that he's holy this
is the living God, the creator of the
heavens and the earth we don't have breath
except by his willingness, but we don't give
him the attention and honoring that he deserves,
by our unwillingness to get out of bed
our unwillingness to make time for him that
we put our pleasure and our fortune as
a higher priority than the honor that is
due him, we need to see this as
perverse, because the Lord is not speaking that
arbitrarily that unbelief is perverse it's a willful
disregard of that God who deserves faith and
trust and admiration and devotion even adoration unbelief
itself is sick like well the scripture says,
that which is not of faith is sin,
unbelief is sin, as if God is saying
to believe is the most natural and logical
and right response to the reality that I
am if you're not in that place you're
in a sinful place that by every reckoning
you should be in a place of faith
but your unbelief is a statement that you're
in a perverse place so, the issues are
so great that we have every reason to
be faithful and not perverse, look at the
rendering in Luke at the end after Jesus
rebuked the unclean spirit, verse 42 healed the
boy and gave him back to his father,
isn't that a remarkable statement, you see the
analogy you see the spiritual resonance of this
healed Israel and gave him back to the
father Israel has been out from the father
all through its history but this healing, this
restoration this lifting him up as dead is
to give him back to the father and
the purposes of Israel by the father, this
is not just the actual physical thing, oh
here's your son, no, it's much more, this
is allegorical language this is charged with extreme
symbolism and look at what follows and gave
him back to his father and all were
astounded at the greatness of God mamma mia
mamma mia you know what you dear saints
when Israel will be given back to the
father after a lifetime of falling into water
and fire and raised from the dead all
the world will recognize and honor the glory
of God for the so great restoration from
the dead and that is hinted at in
this very text and all were astounded at
the greatness of God you might almost say
that the whole thing is set up for
that very revelation the issue in the end
is God's greatness as is to be recognized
the world over that the praise of him
should be from one end of the earth
to the other which he deserves but he's
making it the issue of Israel's restoration because
the issue of Israel will be visible to
the world they'll see this son who has
become demoniac and infested with devils and foaming
at the mouth and epileptic and caricatured, deformed
son capable of nothing and they'll watch this
victim be brought out through the faith of
the church in his relationship with God to
defeat the powers of darkness and set him
on his feet to be returned to the
father for his glory all the world will
be astounded so the issue is even more
than Israel the issue is the world because
this is going to be the factor that
brings the acknowledgement of Israel's God to the
consideration of Hindus, Muslims Confucianists and every variety
of heresy paganism that exists worldwide there's only
one God and he's the God who raises
the dead but raises the dead through whom
Jesus will not be there in that day
we will be there in that day and
this is a day that we need to
anticipate and welcome every provision from God to
bring us from faith to faith on what
basis that he's not a man that he
should lie that his promises will be honored
his word will be vindicated because the trust
is the trust in the character of God
as holy and as righteous has God said
yes and because he said it he will
perform it right so faith is trust in
God in his character but how do we
know that character do we just assume or
do we know it in different degrees, do
some know God better than others how so
and their faith grows in proportion to that
knowledge so also is their trust because they
have been led from faith to faith and
he has shown himself faithful, I have to
say in my 76th year and my 41st
year in the Lord I don't remember and
know of a single instance in which God
has ever failed, not one when I began
these trips, I despair Lord, seven countries I
know I've been to Uganda and Kenya before,
I know what it is it's going to
be a horrendous requirement I'm going to be
looking into those black faces and they come
out of such conditions Lord that with despair
of succeeding in any kind of elementary communication
rather than you're going to bring them to
some lofty thoughts that are apostolic or prophetic
you despair before you begin but as you
go through those days and you come to
the end of them Lord I marvel you
did not miss a lick, you did not
miss a beat, not only did you supply
a message you supplied the message that in
every instance and case the word was spectacularly
appropriate and decisive and came down from heaven
as if you knew in advance what everything
would be required and that these in fact
were works to walk and establish before the
foundation of the earth was laid and that
you're doing this through a piece of dust
frail subject to malaria and indigestion and diarrhea
so the glory of God is revealed through
the earthen vessel because you know your frailty
and therefore you're all the more acutely aware
of how great God is to manifest himself
and fulfill every particular in those days because
he's faithful, he cannot help himself, I keep
telling him Lord you can't help yourself, that's
what you are how can you be unfaithful
it would contradict what you are in yourself
this is you, you're faithful, you're trustworthy you're
integrity, you are love, you're righteousness you're hope,
you're power this is what you are in
yourself do you know God like that and
will you know him unless you allow him
to bring you to Africa or the equivalent
thereof, allow him to bring you to a
place above and beyond any ability that you
have in yourself that if God be not
God and there's no resurrection, you of all
men are most to be pitied that you'll
come into auditoriums in the capital city of
West Africa Burkina Faso designed in the French
manner where the acoustics are pitiful and you're
listening to the brother from Mobile moaning on
and the people looking up at the ceiling,
these men that have come from distant places,
a hundred or more of these ministers and
the acoustics, it sounds like an echo chamber
there's no hope that you can even be
heard physically let alone with a word that
can penetrate and you're ready to quit you
can see how how unaffected they are by
the men who's preceded you and that something
has got to happen in a building that
is not suited for acoustics but for French
design and sophistication and brah and so the
brother from Israel who's a musician says Art,
I said let's reorder the room somehow he
said yeah, put the ministers up against the
wall and you speak to the wall you
speak to them, they'll hear you and it
worked and from the first word those men,
they blinked their jaws dropped they were hearing
from God the word was authoritative, it was
powerful they had never heard such perception such
a vision of faith and reality and what
it means to be a minister handling the
word of God not only in principle but
the man who's calling them to that reality
is demonstrating it, he's the thing in himself
it's a remarkable reality of God who's there
and so when I come back to the
room Lord, thank you for your exceeding great
faithfulness because what was at issue today was
not my reputation or my acceptance by men
what was at issue today was the church
of Africa because if it's not the church
in Africa, there's no hope for that continent
we cannot expect it politically or socially they
are down and out they are the dark
continent and if there'll be any light and
any glory and any reality and any hope
for suffering black mankind it'll come through the
church, it'll not come at all and if
it comes through the church, it's going to
come through ministers who are responsible to bring
the word and trust and believe God for
it and not bring patsy sermons that they
got at the last minute or that will
get by something had to be demonstrated as
well as spoken because the prophetic man is
not only the expositor but the visible demonstration
of what it is that he's bringing and
God is faithful so what I'm saying to
you is what about your Africa I'm a
big boy now and 41 years with the
Lord all over the world but where you
are what is the challenge that's next that
calls you out beyond yourself that if God
be not God, you perish if there's no
resurrection you'll be of all men, most of
you perished and you're willing to suffer the
shame of that and the collapse of that
and trust God because the issue is more
than your reputation the issue is the issue
of God in that place where he's put
you and you've come voluntarily and freely, you
know why?
because that's just how Jesus left the Father
in heaven and voluntarily and freely chose to
come into the earth and suffer the limitations
and humiliation of his humanity as a servant
even unto death a slave it's got to
be free and voluntary and the issue is
that the world might be astonished at God's
greatness to see Israel's actual demonstration, actual deliverance
before its own face because he will not
hide this in a corner, he will do
it before the face of all nations and
he'll do it through the church that is
the church or it will not be done
at all so what reality do you bear?
what is the principle the principle of reality
in your life what is the foremost inward
thing is it you or God?
you have him in measure or is he
the primary because that reality will be tested
by the powers of darkness who are commercially
bringing a pseudo-reality an unreality do you
read the Sunday Supplement to the newspaper?
the parade and the movie stars and the
little biographies I almost puke they are non
-entities but they're written about as if they
count and mean for something and we have
to know that this about them it's triviality
and people suck that up suck it up,
they go to supermarkets there's those magazines and
Trump and this and this wife and that
divorce they're awash with unreality and when they
get married, they hope that their little dream
will be something like what they saw in
the magazine or the film but alack and
alas their husband sweats and he's defective and
lacking and boom their little mirage collapses because
they've not been prepared for the reality of
life as it in fact is so where
is that island of sanity called the church
by which men and women can come into
an environment that is coherent and in keeping
with the God who is who is truth
and come from faith to faith and be
perfected as sons and daughters and love what
is real and love truth even as it
is painful before it's glorious even the truth
about themselves so Lord what shall we say
my God because when we leave here we're
going down into the valley we're going down
and back and into those unpromising and discouraging
places shot through with problems of a kind
that make your guts cry out you want
to spit out your guts in frustration and
futility and yet we we don't circumvent that
we're called to that and in that place
to register the greater reality my God that
we bear within so bless these sons and
daughters Lord to carry a measure of the
revelation of yourself as you have given it
in the cross in the sun the issue
of incarnation the great mystery and that you
would be brought by them my God into
that valley place so we thank you Lord
that we would not hear a rebuke and
a reprimand how long must I suffer you
all faithless and perverse generation may we hear
the great commendation well done good and faithful
servants thank you my God oh Lord help
us my God in your great mercy you
know our frames were as dust we're weak
we're frail we're easily discouraged my God our
faith sags but grant us the faith of
the son of God grant us his tested
reality that measure that we inherit through which
he has passed that is communicated when we
receive the son thank you my God who
is in us and the tested reality of
his life that we don't have to go
to square one he has gone through all
of that we can receive a remarkable benefit
and impartation by that experience through which he
has passed and we thank you Lord precious
God thank you thank you Lord bless
him saints and reaffirm your covenantal relationship express
gratitude for the privilege of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus that he has
not left you and often that he has
given you everything that pertains to godliness and
to life his Holy Spirit his wisdom revelation
his word his name his honor his character
bring me from faith to faith my God
grow me up as a son in the
most high who can be trusted Lord with
your glory who can be trusted with your
power because we adore you and that adoration
is expressed in the early morning hours while
it is yet dark independent of whether we
feel anything because you are deserving of the
admiration of love and devotion of your saints
thank you Lord thank you my God stir
us and bring us to that reality day
by day that if we miss the morning
we know it the day is not right
we have not begun as we ought we
have not given you the first priority but
we have gone immediately to our task to
our problems to our obligations and have not
considered you therefore everything will suffer loss we
will be defective we will be lacking in
authority we will be lacking in wisdom and
inspiration and we will be just puffing it
out out of our humanity because we did
not stop first to consider and seek you
as Jesus come my God start a revolution
in the church that has to do with
devotion the truth of the matter is we
would rather build three booths than find ourselves
in the place of devotion before the most
time because we are still operating from the
principle it is good for us to be
there let us make let us make not
let us pray but let us make we
want to do rather than be and that
power has got to be broken it is
false false priority the issue is being out
of which doing will come and not doing
as an alternative to being we don't need
to make we need to be seek first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness and
all things else shall be added unto you
believest thou this this priority not the things
that you need but him first and all
things will be added what a radical statement
that one statement turns the world upside down
and puts it on its ear can you
believe that can African can the church in
Africa believe that whose tongues are hanging out
the most elementary things that if they don't
look first to the to the practical and
to the material and the needful and natural
but look first to God and his kingdom
that those things will be added and it's
got nothing to do with their natural resources
or their manpower their technology but their faith
which means honoring God's priority because he has
said so that's the issue of Africa and
who can commend that issue to them who
is not himself seeking first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness or else our injunction
to them is just a bit of white
man's fluff that falls like a dead weight
without any cogency we've got to be what
we say we've got to trust God and
make his priority and his kingdom first and
trust that the other things will be added
and in fact they are his word is
true he's not a man that he should
lie