between two Ages (part 6)

At last we come more specifically to talk about the future.  In a very real sense, the future does not exist (except, in the mind of God).  Yes, God does know what shall actually occur in the future.  But that does not therefore mean that God has predetermined everything that shall happen; He has not.  If we were to suppose that God has predestined everything that happens, then, we would thus make God guilty of murders, rapes, thefts, adulteries, genocides, and every other possible crime of men and of devils.  The truth is, that most of what goes on in the world is not God's will.

The question, of the nature and limits of human will, is deep, but not incomprehensible.  God created man in the image and likeness of God, and for God's own pleasure.  Not as if man were a toy in God's sandbox.  But the pleasure which God enjoys (what a thought!) with man, is the pleasure which a Father has with his own children.

Man is a rational, moral being invested with the power of volition (will).  But man's will is enslaved to the power of inborn sin (until his possible conversion and regeneration~in other words, until and unless the individual receives Christ as Lord and Savior).  Thus, (unsaved) man's will is not truly "free" (though not in the sense that Calvinism seeks to make man to have no will whatsoever).  Men are sinners by nature.  Left to themselves, humans would long ago have disappeared from existence; they would have destroyed themselves through their own sinfulness.  But not only has the world of men persisted, it has moreover grown to ever greater proportions.  How is that possible?

It is possible, because God also has a will.  And according to His own will, God is ever at work to influence ~ and, sometimes, even to control, if need be ~ the choices and actions of men.  God does not often compel men to do anything; yet, God does sometimes (oftentimes?) intervene to limit man's freedom.  If God did not sometimes limit man's freedom of action, then humanity could not survive.  Yet, God's will is that man should be free to think, to choose, to will, and to act.

Understanding those principles, we can now turn our attention to the realities of God's eternal Kingdom.  How is it that multitudes of human beings have in fact become a part of God's eternal Kingdom?  Again, that is possible only because that God also has a will, and God is interested to redeem and to preserve as many human persons as may be willing to cooperate with God.

Now we're getting somewhere.

We may thus deduce that the "future," which I said that does not (yet) exist, is instead "open."  God does know what the future shall be, because: a) God knows every action of every person every where~and the outcome of all of those interrelated actions; and, b) God does intervene from time to time, as He sees fit, in the affairs of men ~ in order to accomplish His (God's) own plans and purposes.  Men have plans and purposes; which, God allows (or disallows, as He deems necessary).  But God also has plans and purposes of His own; which, God, being infinitely wise and understanding and powerful, is able actually to use, or to limit, men's actions, to further the ends of God's own plans and purposes.

In fewer words, God made man to be in partnership with God, in bringing forth (creating and building) the "future" for ever to come.

"Selah" (pause and think about that).

Yet, there is another, that is, the devil, who also is invested with a will ~ together with very considerable powers and ability.  Whereas God desires not to impose His will upon any man; the devil, however, always seeks to impose his will upon whom he can.  Thus, unless that the individual is consciously at war against the devil, then, that individual becomes a victim and a puppet of the devil.

The "future" truly is "open" to us; although, we must fight against the powers of Satan's kingdom, in order to lay hold of the kind of future we desire and are determined to have.  It is very important to know, that according to the wisdom and promises of God, it were immensely better for us if we will join ourselves with like-minded Christians to fight together for each other and for the common cause of Christ and His Kingdom:

"And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword." (Leviticus 26:8).

There are numerous proofs in Scripture, of the fact that the future is essentially "open" (bounded only by God's own will).  Below, are just a few examples of that.

King Hezekiah's illness

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.  Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. 

And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord.  And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.  (2 Kings 20:1-6)

God told the great prophet Isaiah to tell king Hezekiah: "Thou shalt die, and not live."  But Hezekiah did not die (at the time when God indicated he would).  God is neither a liar nor is He capricious.  How, then, did Hezekiah manage to avert the explicit decree of God Almighty?  Simply because he prayed.  Had Hezekiah not prayed, he surely would have died, just as the prophet said he would.  The "future" was changed (from what it would otherwise have been), because one man prayed.  And God accepted his petition.

King David's choice of punishment

And the Lord spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying, Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.  So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Choose thee either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the Lord, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.  And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the Lord; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.  So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.  (1 Chronicles 21:9-14)

The fact that David was given a choice among three different judgments, shows that the future is not predestined.  God did not make David choose a particular judgment.  God only purposed that David's sin called for severe judgment.  It seems to me that each of those three judgments which God did set before David, would have affected the "future" in very different ways.  But God left much of that up to David.

God seeks for intercessors
To my mind, the following verse of Scripture is among the greatest of all proofs, not only that the future is "open" but, furthermore, that man was created to be in partnership with God, with respect to "creating" a blessed future:

"And I [God] sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none."  (Ezekiel 22:30)

If God didn't want to destroy the land, then, why didn't He simply not do it?  Because, God is holy.  Then, why did God need a man to "stand in the gap" before the Lord?  Because, by His own sovereign will God has purposed to do His work, among men, through men.  God "sought for" a man.  Does that mean that God did not know where He might find someone who was qualified and, so, God had to go "looking for" such a man?  Well, no, not exactly.  It means that God desired someone who would respond to God's Spirit, one who would give himself (or herself) to earnest, diligent intercessory prayer.  (Which is principally the way in which we can work in "partnership" with God; besides our obedience to God's express will.)

The obvious implication is, that God has ordained prayer as the means and the ground, whereby God's will and man's will come into agreement: which makes the way for God's Spirit to move in power to bring to pass the desired outcome.  And all according to God's will and plan; yet, without setting aside man's will in the process.  Man's will is not thereby nullified but, rather, is is yielded unto God.  (Else, man would not even pray.)

But what does it mean, to "stand in the gap" before the Lord?  That "gap" is the great divide between God and mankind, due to sin.  God has ordained that Christians are to serve as "priests unto God."  A priest represents the people, unto God; and God, unto the people.  A priest should thus "stands in the gap" between God and those who are separated from Him because of sin.  Note, in the above verse of Scripture, that God said he sought for a man "that should make up the hedge."  That is what Christians "should" do.

We can greatly influence, through prayer, what shall be in the future.  Of course, the only kind of prayers that God will answer are those which line up with His will (1 John 5:14-15; James 4:3).  But that still suggests a very broad scope of possibility, to say the least.

But what does all of that have to do with our circumstances at this present time, that is to say, during this time of "Great Transition" between two Ages?  More specifically: How does the fact, that the future can be influenced by prayer, relate to the needs of this present generation?  The answer to those questions should be obvious: Prayer is the "touchstone" by means of which we must discern "the way forward," during this unique time period.  And prayer is the channel which God has ordained, whereby the provision for every need may be supplied by God, in answer to prevailing prayer.

I am persuaded that this generation of Christians, in America, knows very little about the reality of a life of prayer, of relationship with God in prayer, or of the power available to Christians through prayer.  But God is still "seeking for a man," a woman, even a young person, who will give himself or herself to God in prayer for this generation, and for America.  If Christians only knew, really knew, what God will do in response to prevailing prayer; then, prayer would become to them the most valuable and important thing in life.

Now we have before us three fundamentally important spiritual principles, namely:

1. God has ordained that PRAYER is the means whereby God will interact with man;
2. The nature of the relationship which God seeks with man is that of a partnership;
3. God has "left room" for man to participate with God in shaping the (open) future, through prayer.

The Messiah, and prayer
The Jews weren't looking for someone named Jesus.  They were looking for "the Messiah."  "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Nathanael famously asked, concerning Jesus.  "Come and see," answered Philip (John 1:46).   What did they "see," which convinced them that Jesus was in fact their promised Messiah?  They saw a holy man; a man who spake unlike any other; a miracle-worker.  Even the Jewish religious leaders wanted to know where Jesus got the authority to do the things he did.  Likewise, Jesus's disciples wanted to know the source not only of Jesus's power and authority but they wanted to know the real secret of his inner life.  They watched him closely.  It didn't take long before they realized that Jesus was a man much given to prayer.  His seemed to be a vital, intimate relationship with God.

We have no record that Jesus's disciples ever did ask Jesus to teach them how to open blind eyes, or how to heal crippled limbs, or how to raise the dead.  When they were with him on many different occasions, however, they observed that Jesus first prayed, before he worked miracles.  Then, one day, "it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1).  Note, that disciple did not ask, "...teach us HOW to pray."  

Jesus was and is the very Son of God, the Messiah, Emmanuel: "God with us."  Yet, he himself prayed.  Many times, in fact, Jesus prayed all night.  He prayed often, and he prayed much.

Jesus often taught about prayer.  Yet, his teaching was not merely with words.  One of the first things Jesus did in his public ministry was to "cleanse the Temple."  That was also one of the very last things that Jesus did in his public ministry (Jesus twice "cleansed the Temple").  But that well-known phrase is really misleading.  For, Jesus's main purpose, in "cleansing the Temple," had not so much to do with getting the animals and the money-changers out of the Temple, as it rather had to do with getting prayer into the Temple.  Hear what Jesus said, when he drove those men out of the Temple: "My house shall be called the house of prayer" (Matthew 21:13).

The real significance of the Temple in ancient Jerusalem was that it symbolized the living temple of God, that is to say, the literal body of every true Christian person.  The Bible refers to every Christian's body as being the "temple" of the Holy Ghost.  Scripture also speaks of the fact that we are Christ's "house" (Hebrews 3:6).   Thus, when Jesus "cleansed the Temple" and said that "his house" shall be called "the house of prayer," he was really alluding to me, and to you, and to the essential ministry of prayer in our lives.  Is the temple of my body a "house of prayer"?

That was not all that the Messiah did to demonstrate the unspeakable importance of prayer.  For at least three years, Jesus practically lived with his disciples.  They went everywhere with him.  He taught them, by word and by deed.  He trained them well.  He commissioned a sizable number of them (many more than the twelve), during his own public ministry, to go about the towns and villages throughout Israel and "preach the gospel" ~ with miraculous signs following.  At last, Jesus went to the Cross.  After his Resurrection, Jesus continued to teach his disciples, though doubtless on a higher plane of truth.  Finally, when Jesus stood on the Mount of Olives and was about to ascend into heaven, he said to his disciples:

"I've trained you well, men.  Trust me, you're ready.  It's your turn to carry the torch.  You know how to cast out devils, and how to heal the sick, just like you've done that in the past!  So, get out there and preach this gospel all over the world.  Now, go get 'em!"

Oh, n-n-n-n-No!  That may be what those disciples thought.  But not Jesus.  He knew better.  He knew that nothing in spiritual ministry is formulaic (a set form, or formula).  If he had taught his disciples anything at all, Jesus had taught them the absolute necessity of prayer.  "Don't you do anything," Jesus said to them as he was leaving, "but wait in prayer until that you are endued with power from on high."  There were more than 500 disciples who were standing there with Jesus on the Mount of Olives, when he gave them that commandment.  One-hundred twenty of them obeyed.  The rest is glorious history.

The Apostles, and prayer
I will briefly mention the place that prayer eventually came to hold in the lives of the Apostles (after they had learned some very hard lessons).  When a dispute arose in the early days of the Church, involving certain petty but divisive circumstances (Acts 6), the Apostle Peter answered: "It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables....  But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word." 

Honestly, I can almost sense that Peter was hardly able to suppress his feeling of horror, at the suggestion that he should be drawn away from that place of deep, abiding prayer, unto which he had attained.  For, Peter had by then come to appreciate the necessity and the importance of real prayer.  "It is not reason," he said; in other words, "It's madness! The very idea that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables!"  (Not that Peter felt that serving tables was beneath his dignity as an Apostle.)

Go back just one chapter, in Acts (ch. 5), and there you will see how powerfully the Holy Ghost was moving in the lives of those men who had learned the deeper lessons of prayer.  Then you may understand why I said I believe Peter was horrified by the thought of coming away from his prayer closet, for any unworthy reason.

The Great Transition, and prayer
What has all of that to do with the "Great Transition"?  First, it is important to keep in mind that the phrase, "the Great Transition," stands for a certain perspective, pertaining to this present time period "between two Ages," as I have discussed that previously.  Understanding that we are now in a unique period of time ~ and, that the future is still very much "open" to us; should be powerful incentive for us to give ourselves to God in prayer like never before.

One of the most significant factors which should concern us (the true Body of Christ), has to do with the great Apostasy (which is now in a late, if not the final, stage).  It is imperative to understand the Apostasy, and how that relates to our ability to "move forward" during this time of Great Transition.  As I briefly explained in the last essay (part 5), we must "cut the umbilical cord" which has kept us tethered to "old things" and "old ways," if we intend to move forward in Christ, toward a new Age wherein even we ourselves shall (soon) be fabulously changed.

Instead of looking back to what was in the past, we need to be looking up to God, and looking forward to receive the fulfillment of God's promises of victory, of glory, and of redemption!  God wants to do a new thing ~ and that for the very first time.  We must seek that in prayer.  We must not only be willing, but we must actually "stand in the gap" before the Lord, that God may yet pour out His Spirit upon all flesh.  If we will not, He must then pour out His wrath.

A Vision for Revival ~ and for 'Tozer's New Ark'
The image at the top of this page represents an important element in my "vision for Revival."  It also represents part (the core) of my "vision for Tozer's New Ark" (as I have discussed that in previous posts: here, and here).  It is what I will henceforth call, a "CPS" ~ which stands for "Covenant Prayer Squad."  

A Covenant Prayer Squad (CPS) is to the local Body of Christ, what a military "squad" is to a larger fighting force, i.e., a platoon, company, or battalion.  (I purposefully do not want to compare a CPS to a "cell group," as that has been used amongst many churches during the past several years.)  A CPS, as I envision that, is a small group of men (or a group of women) who have covenanted to pray together on a regular, frequent, and ongoing basis.

A CPS should be comprised of no more than about a half dozen members.  Any attempt to form a larger group will likely result in certain adverse outcomes, viz.:

1. It is always extremely difficult to assemble a large group of people, on a regular basis;
2. Individual members, who are part of large groups, have the tendency to be less faithful to such a group, because they typically believe that their occasional absence from group meetings will not significantly affect the group;
3. There is less unity among members of larger groups, compared with small groups;
4. There is less intimacy (knowledge of each other), among members of larger groups, compared with small groups;
5. Large groups require substantially greater logistical planning, compared with small groups.

Numerous advantages of a (purposefully) small prayer group are implied, above.  A small group can be assembled far more easily and, therefore, more regularly.  Members of small groups are far more likely to form close(r) spiritual bonds amongst themselves.  Thus, small groups are more likely to work efficiently and effectively together.  Individual members of small groups typically have a greater sense of accountability and loyalty to such a group.  Small groups are much easier to move from place to place (logistical economy).
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I will save more discussion of my vision involving Covenant Prayer Squads, for the next essay in this series.