THOSE IN WAITING

(Part 4)

#50

DEFILING THE IMAGES

"Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence." (Is. 30:22).

Oh, the wondrous and mysterious processings of the Lord -- the processings that involve WAITING, waitings that enable us to hear a voice behind us, and then with clarity to see our beloved Teacher face to face. These waitings, the joining together with Christ from severe twisting and painful piercing, are indispensable in our walk. Without them we would be hard pressed to know the Way that the voice says, "Walk ye in it!"

How many today understand what "waiting upon the Lord" truly entails? Evidence dictates that it is far from the minds of the average Christian what awaits those who are joined (spirit, soul, and body) to the Lord. They who cannot be lulled into and kept in a lethargic state of sleep by sermons of fantasy are awakening to what it is. They are coming to know that something more must happen to exchange their strength for His, to mount up with wings as eagles, to run and not grow weary, to walk and not faint (Is. 40:31). According to the Hebrew, this involves a waiting that unites them to their Lord. By experience they are learning that it is not a waiting of merely sitting back and abiding their time until God's glory shines upon them, but it is a process of severe, adverse pressures that bring about the end result of oneness with He whom their soul loves. Not only are they subjected to such twistings, but in order for their eyes and ears to be opened to perceive clearly, the waiting that pertains to being pierced (Heb.) must also be their portion (Is. 30:18-21). This will insure their ability to distinguish the difference between that which is real and that which is a phantom of their seduced minds, achieving perfection through the power of their own efforts rather than the divine work of the Spirit.

Countless months have ebbed away, forming years, even centuries, of futile motion for a large portion of the Church. With great effort and much willpower she has attempted to cover the nakedness of herself with religious fig leaves and illusions masquerading as truth. On occasion, in her own might, she would try ridding herself of that which was carnal. Her attempts, however, always failed, for as Jesus said, Satan cannot cast out Satan, else his kingdom will be divided (Mt.12:26). Of a truth, she has been fighting a losing battle due to being ignorant, or even rebellious, to what it is for a bride "to be in waiting."

These special waitings are not unlike the saying of Jesus, "If any man will come after Me (be joined to Me), let him deny himself (let him be twisted), and take up his cross (and be pierced), and follow Me (Mt. 16:24). One of today's inspired writers, Ray Prinzing, penned these complimentary words of truth:

"One thing we have learned along the way -- repressing self is not the same as crucifixion of self. You may hold your tongue, grit your teeth, and be determined not to express the things you feel within -- but they are still there, self seethes at the mistreatment, the injustice, lack of appreciation, the humiliation, etc. and suddenly, when we least expect it, it will erupt and spill out to our shame. But when we turn to the Lord and ask that HIS CROSS be applied to these feelings and emotions of self, so that we truly `die' to them, then it is a forward step into becoming one with Him -- and our `new self' is the `HIMSELF,' of Christ.

"Try as we may, we cannot `crucify ourselves.' If you still feel the pull of the world, the call of the wild, urging you, alluring you, obviously it has not all been crucified to you, nor you to it. ONLY IN CHRIST WILL IT GO DEAD. We feel so ashamed, and condemn ourselves when we sense that certain things still hold an appeal for us, and we try hard to overcome them by His grace, only to discover at a future date that the thing is alive and still calling to us. So we try to crucify ourselves to that thing, but this does not work either. You cannot crucify yourself, but be assured that when you are ready for the cross, there are those prepared by God who will do the job. So what to do? When you find certain things of the world appealing to you, offer them up to the Lord, and allow HIM to crucify that world, and when it becomes a dead corpse, and begins to `stink,' you will rapidly lose your desire for it. Then comes the other part of the process as He works it in you, and when it is complete on both sides, the old is gone forever, it cannot be revived again, Praise God!" -- End quote.

Waiting upon the Lord is being crucified with Christ, which not a few will shun at all cost. Nevertheless, it is necessary if we expect to ever defile the covering of our graven images of silver, and the ornament of our molten images of gold. If we do not wait upon the Lord, how shall we cast them away as a menstruous cloth? Until we are graced with such processings, we shall never say to the illusions, "Get thee hence!"

DISILLUSIONED

One of the gravest problems with the Church is that they live in a world of carnal imaginations of what truth is -- strongholds of imaginations that Paul said to pull down and cast aside, thoughts that exalt themselves against truly knowing God (II Cor. 10:3-5). They are largely living their lives according to their illusions. What they truly need is to be DISILLUSIONED; and I pray that the words contained in these pages will be instrumental in that very thing -- that those who read will be greatly disillusioned! No doubt, the method of winning friends is not usually by disillusioning them, for most people do not like to be disillusioned, and very often they will want to kill anyone who brings such pain upon them. But the truth of the matter is, the only reason they are upset with disillusionment is that they love the lies of illusion more than the truth of reality.

You see, to be DIS-ILLUSIONED simply means to be FREED FROM ILLUSION! An illusion by definition is: "the state or fact of being intellectually deceived or misled; something that deceives or misleads intellectually; perception of something objectively existing in such a way as to cause misinterpretation of its actual nature" (Webster's Collegiate Dict.).

Therefore, if a person does not like to be disillusioned, this only speaks of the condition of their heart -- that they favor a lie (the illusion) over the truth (that which is real). Nevertheless, even though shattered dreams are often painful, it is very necessary to be DIS-ILLUSIONED; for as long as people's sight is set on the illusion of a mirage they will never find the well-spring of life.

IDOL WORSHIPERS

A simple statement of truth is all that is necessary sometimes to set a person's intellectual comprehension and/or their spiritual vision in the right order; but the intense waiting upon the Lord is what truly enables one to defile the covering of your graven images of silver, and the ornament of molten images of gold, and to cast them away as a menstruous cloth, and with a word of authority say, Get thee hence!. This we can do once we not only have WAITED, but as a result of that waiting we HEAR THE VOICE, SEE OUR TEACHER, and WALK IN HIS WAY.

Once the painful, but sure, processings are complete, with our hearing and vision made crystal clear, we can effectively defile all the silver imaginations of what our illusionary redemption might be. Unbeknown to most, at one time or another, we all have set imaginary idols of silver before us -- bowing to them and assuming they had the power to deliver us from the perils of life and would keep our ways safe until passing through the celestial gates of glory.

To even suggest that we might be idol worshipers can be a shocker, for we know that Jesus Christ hung on the cross to be our Redeemer, our Savior -- our only Deliverer. An intellectual knowledge of this truth, however, and strengthened by the illusions we may have given ourselves to, is not enough substance to raise us up. As a matter of fact, there is no real substance at all in these misgivings.

Almost everyone wants to "KNOW JESUS and the power of His resurrection," but the Church has primarily known about Christ rather than knowing Him personally. This type of knowledge will lend itself to forming thoughts of what He is, which may carry very little reality. Such knowledge has pitifully failed, for in it alone there has never been the power of true deliverance. Consequently, for many everything remains the same.

People in general have made a common mistake in this arena of knowing what or who God is. For example, millions have read everything there is to know in the Bible about God. They have relentlessly pored over every word from one end of this great book to the other. They have listened to sermons and stories for years on every good and majestic thing about God. However, at the end of the matter, the only thing many of them have obtained are thoughts and imaginations in their minds about God. In reality, they have not known Him. Jesus admonished the Jews who went about to kill Him concerning this very thing by saying, "You search and investigate and pore over the Scriptures diligently, because you suppose and trust that you have eternal life through them. And these [very Scriptures] testify about Me! And still you are not willing (but refuse) to come to Me, so that you might have life." (Jn 5:39-40, Amplified).

If we, like the religious world of that day, have only learned about God as a result of reading the scriptures, forming images in our mind, meditating and thinking about what a great God we have, and this is all we know of Him -- what then would be the central focus of our worship? In simple terms, it would be an image we have formed with the hands of our own carnal minds! In effect, we have reversed the role and have become the proud creators of God. We have then placed the title of God or Lord on our crafty creation and bowing down to it we have said, "This is my God! This is the Lord that I will worship! For it is He who will be my Savior and deliver me from all my problems!" But, Brethren, let us be reminded, an imagination that is formed with our mental hands, an illusion if you please, has no power to save or deliver us from anything.

In spite of the beauty of our imaginations, there is no more power in these idols than there is in a pine tree, even if we are their bold creator. Most of us don't have to be told that trees cannot deliver us from the bondage of death and corruption, even if we carve it into the most grand edifice imaginable. Albeit, few realize there is very little difference in imaginations and carved trees. An idol of crafty whittling is merely an outward expression of the inner thoughts of the mind, and they both produce the same results when they are worshiped -- ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! A tree cannot perform such a feat of deliverance and neither can the trees we grow and form in our minds. They serve only to deprive us from seeing and knowing our Teacher on a personal basis.

So many well meaning, but misinformed saints, have been duped into believing in and worshiping the illusions of the mind, whether their own or those of others. While the focus of glory for many or most is almost always in the distant future beyond the grave, a few idol worshipers want to see results now. Since their creations cannot produce the desired results, they very often become disheartened when deliverance seldom comes. But it is no wonder, for these internal carved handiworks are no less idols than David wrote about in Ps. 115:4-8: "Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them." Indeed, everyone that trusts in and becomes like the products of man will have no living words that speak, they will have no true vision, the voice of the Lord will be unheard, discernment will be foreign to them, they will be void of the fellowship with the Lord, and they will definitely not be able to walk in His way. This, dear reader of these words, is a prophecy to those who worship the Lord as a created illusion rather than in spirit and in truth. Such idols are not only inept and powerless, but they are an abomination to God. He doesn't give a whit about our flowery imaginations of Him. He will settle for nothing less than a true relationship with His people. If we prefer something else, then perhaps we should be reminded of Paul's admonition to those of Thessalonica: "...Because they received not the love of the truth...God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." (II Thes 2:11). To reinforce what God's attitude is concerning idols, images, or imaginations (they are all one and the same), the following might be helpful:

"Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you. Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion." (Is 41:24 & 29). "How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? See thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her." "And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail...." (Jer 2:23-24 & 14:6). "Ephraim is joined to idols...A band of drunkards, they give themselves to harlotry; they love shame more than their glory. The wind has bound them up in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their altars." "For they sow the wind, and shall reap the whirlwind...." (Hos 4:17-19 & 8:7, RSV).

Therefore, Brethren, knowing how God's elect (from Israel of old unto the saints of today) have always been prone to their folly of worshiping idols, whether they are tangible as stone and wood or intangible as thoughts and illusionary imaginations, let us examine who, or what, we might be worshiping. Seeing also that God does not look favorably upon those who lower themselves to such idolatry, let us from hence forth "...be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine...." (Eph 4:14).

WIND

There are so many windy doctrines and imaginations that exalt themselves against knowing God we would be hard pressed to count them all. Among the hoard of wispy illusions of deliverance is the popular "Rapture" theory (see Publication #25 & #26, free upon request). The Church has also been infected with the ever growing "Faith" teachings, known also as the "Prosperity Message," or in less favorable circles some call it the "Name it and Claim it" doctrine, "Bless it and Confess it," "Blab it and Grab it, or "What the Heck Write a Check."

Regardless of what a teaching is called, if the essence of Jesus Christ, the very substance of God, is present -- it is not an illusion. On the other hand, it matters not how well founded in the scriptures a teaching is, or how real it may appear, if the living Christ is not present -- it can produce nothing but a picture, an illustration in one's mind, an illusion.

There is nothing wrong with the "Faith/Prosperity Message" when the Spirit of the Word is present and true faith is in operation. That is, when faith becomes a product from hearing the word of the anointing (Rom. 10:17, Greek text of 21st edition of Eberhard Nestle's Novum Testamentum). When the anointing that abides within, and who teaches us all things (I Jn. 2:27), speaks the living word to our hearts -- HIS FAITH IS BORN! When the anointing is lacking it impossible for such a conception to take place. The Faith of Christ can no more be born without the presence of His Spirit than can a child without a man. The woman can "believe" with everything she possesses that she is pregnant, but at the end of nine months she will be sadly disillusioned when she awakens to the reality of her bankrupt condition. It is one thing to have the Faith of God as a result of an impregnation of His anointed word, which will move mountains, but it is entirely another matter when a man carves an image in his positive-thinking mind and calls it faith, and then holds God ransom with the written word which his carnal mind has little or no understanding of. This, dear reader, is not faith, not even in the farthest stretch of the imagination. It is presumption, and God is not obligated to pay up!

We will only mention one other silver image that many are bowing to in this late hour. In its true form it is one of the most anointed messages of our day and was one that Jesus referred to more than any other during His three and a half year tenure. He called it THE KINGDOM OF GOD! In demonstration of this great Kingdom the whole creation is waiting for, Paul spoke of it in Romans 8:19 as THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD, or commonly known as SONSHIP.

As tremendous as this particular word is, "believing in Sonship" can be just as much a silver image to people as any other teaching; not that the teaching is an illusion, but its perception may produce one. It is no different than believing the Faith Message. It can be conceived by either the mind or the Spirit. If it is by the Spirit, then the life of that word will grow to full stature; but if it is by the mind, then a carved image of silver will develop. Such an image will very likely deceive the person by inducing thoughts of safety. That is, they may assume that since they believe in this teaching they will escape judgment in the valley of decision and somehow, someday will be suddenly manifested as a son of God to rule as kings upon the earth.

Believing in Sonship, or any other true doctrine, is good, but without the processings of God, without taking up our cross daily and following Jesus, without waiting upon the Lord, no one will come forth as a manifested son of God! Neither will "confessing" that we have already come into such a high estate produce the proof of the pudding. Again, it is by the cross of death in our walk that we are joined together with Him in life. Without the suffering of the cross, those masquerading illusions of the mind will be our guide into the ditch of destruction -- those things which have no true direction or substance of power to raise us up into anything.

Until the last couple of years the false pregnancy of the church has had the world wondering what would ultimately come forth from her. Her physical appearance has seemed to indicate there was some sort of inward reality of goodness. Everyone has seen the good works and programs with which she has enlarged herself over the years. No one can deny that she has done many things that would appear to be the result of the inward influence of God. She has sent untold tons of food and clothing to many under-developed nations. Missionaries have been sent all over the world. Campaigns to save the lost souls of the earth have not been foreign to her cause. Men, women, and children have been sent out as witnesses for Christ to any and all who would lend an ear. Building programs to make room for the growing churches have been noticed all through the land. Some of the programs have even been to house and feed the destitute, which is good. And let us not forget, the air waves have been saturated with so many television evangelists we've lost count of them. All these "good" things have been an evidence that this woman has contained something big under her motherly garments of "righteousness."

The visible church system has seemingly been pregnant with life as she has bulged outwardly with all of her religious activities. Everything we have seen of her has seemed to be so good, and didn't Jesus say that God was the only one who was good? Therefore, if what she, in a fashion, has been manifesting is good; it would stand to reason that what she was carrying in her belly was of God. Furthermore, in times past, nothing could be said contrary to this woman of good report without being labeled a rebellious heretic who must be some sort of cultish devil worshiper. I know, for we've been there, and what we say today might enhance that concept to those in disagreement.

In the light of all this, let us take note of a couple of interesting scriptures which ring with depicting clarity of today's Christian religions. These verses exclude none, not even those in Sonship, Kingdom, Reconciliation, Faith, Prosperity or any others that are predominate today. Each one of these hierarchies of religion have much truth, or at least a measure of it; and they are hierarchies when men are in control. Nonetheless, they all have been touched to some degree by the following:

"Like a woman with child, as she draws near to give birth, As she writhes and cries out in her pangs, So were we in Thy presence, O LORD; We were with child, we writhed in pain, but we gave birth only to wind, No deliverance did we achieve for the land, No inhabitants of the world came to birth through us." (Isa. 26:17 & 18, Goodspeed.)

All realms of the church have been hoping to manifest something into the world they could be proud of, but their fruit has not been a child, and it has definitely not been the Deliverer. This woman has certainly been in pain for quite some time, waiting to deliver, and a little over two years ago she began to bear down and push -- but what came forth? Scandals of all kinds, especially of sex and money -- hot air, foul wind! What kind of deliverance can there be in the world with such blundrous deliveries?

This gas, if we may use the word, stinks to high heaven. It is getting to where you don't even want to turn on your TV sets anymore. Even if it's not outright lies that come over the air, the word itself which is coming through the tube generally reeks with everything but life. There is no deliverance, there is no reality, there is no substance of the Son of God coming forth from the church today, and the inhabitants of the world are not coming to birth as a result of what she is bringing to it.

This is not only a travesty but is very embarrassing and a little unsettling when such ill winds blow; for whether we like it or not, this woman has taken the same family name as our own (Is 4:1). Therefore, when she is less than honorable, it is a direct reflection on the whole family. And let us be reminded, these ill favored things are not coming out of the denominational churches alone; for these winds are blowing almost everywhere. Fortunately, morality and honor is prevalent with the majority; but even at that, we are not seeing much more of the Son being brought forth among the independent churches than the others. Neither is there a lot of difference in a number of those which have supposedly been walking in the light of deep revelation for years. The truth of the matter is, there have been quite a few misgivings in all echelons of religion. A few isolated saints stand out as beacons of light, but commonly, deliverance has not been a wholesale item with any group, faction or denomination. Instead of deliverance, we find a lot of bondage and discouragement wherever we go.

We are seeing things in our own ranks today that appear to be pregnant with life, but we are not witnessing a tremendous amount of glory. Fortunately, there has been a genuine conception of God's life in the firstfruits of Christ, and we are firmly persuaded of this, and we are confident there will be a true birthing in due season. However, even at that, some have attempted to bring forth this life so soon that there have been spiritual miscarriages throughout the body as a result. Many, of course, have had no real impregnation of life at all, merely doctrinal imaginations. Therefore, it has been with them like so many others, the product of much wind. It may not have been broadcasted to the world over the major television networks, but anyone who has any sense of discernment, has caught wind of it. Do you get the drift?...

A SEED TO US -- A SON TO GOD

In all actuality, the church as a whole has been trying to give to God and the world something they don't have. She has tried and tried again, over and over she has struggled to give love, righteousness, holiness, and true worship to God. She has put forth all her effort to bring the reality and substance of the living Christ to Him and the world but has failed miserably, and there is a clear reason for this failure. It is simply this -- There is NOTHING, LITERALLY NOTHING anyone can give to God unless He gives it to them first. We are, of course, speaking of Christ, the Son of God coming forth from our lives in open declaration for every eye to see!

For instance, a woman cannot give her husband a child unless he first gives the child to her. It is as simple as that! The law of life and physics says he has to give her the child (in the form of a seed) before she can bless him in return with the offspring. It was the same with Mary. Before she was able to bear the child Jesus, God had to place His seed in her. In like manner, the only way the Son of God is going to come forth and be birthed out of His people today is to receive it first in the form of a living seed (His incorruptible word, I Pt. 1:23). In due season they will then bring forth life in the earth, and deliverance in the earth, and bring judgment in the earth, and bring correction in the earth, and finally bring salvation in the earth! Praise God, for He has indeed given us that seed! He has planted His living Word deep into the womb of our hearts by His anointing, by His life, by His Spirit; and that seed has been growing, it has been maturing, it has been making itself (Himself) ready! Again, PRAISE GOD!! For can we not feel that life stirring within which causes us to know, We are fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works and our souls knoweth right well! (Ps 139:14). Oh, how we anxiously await the glorious birthing -- THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD!

To be continued...

Elwin R. Roach
 

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