THE PATHFINDER

 PUBLICATION #42

(March 1990)

TRUMPETS OF FIRE

(Part II)

It appears to be the same in almost every quadrant of the Church, the Holy fires of yesteryear have died, leaving the world void of the warmth and without the guiding light of the Spirit of God. An exception to this may be in the eastern, communist nations where there is presently a mighty uprising of liberty and freedom to worship. However, if the Holy fires of God have been rekindled there, as well as in other suppressed nations, they were birthed out of anguish and great travail of the soul. Even in this nation, there are a few groups and individuals who have kept their fires burning. However, as a whole, the world has become very dismal, leaving its inhabitants to wonder aimlessly, groping in the dark and grasping for anything that might give them a ray of hope for the moment. The world is truly in dire need of the Light of the Word and warmth of the Holy Spirit.

Fire, whether it is natural fire or that of the Spirit, requires the generation or transference of heat to a combustible substance in order to get it started. In order for the fire to continue, it must be supplied with fuel of some sort. The principle of natural fire is so basic that very few people give it a second thought. They know what must be done to get one started and to keep it going, but when it comes to the fire of the Spirit, they seem to be totally void of what it takes. When spiritual fires of the past were started, people most certainly exercised the necessary law of thermodynamics in Christ or else they would have never been. Nevertheless, the second generation of those mighty moves of God were evidently lacking in that basic knowledge of fire building and maintaining them. The keepers of the flames have ignorantly let them flicker and die.

It is a travesty for such ignorance to be so predominate in the Church, but what is worse, is how most of the fires have died. Not only have they replaced the vibrant, living reality of Christ with the ritualistic traditions of death, but it has been like Thomas Wyatt's vision -- they have taken the ashes of yesterdays burned out revivals and revelations and scattered them over the flames of present day truths (see Pub. #41). The keepers of the flames have truly been negligent in their duties.

Now that the flames over the earth are dead, and the power of God's Holy fire has been lost -- what must we do to rekindle it? What must we do to regain that power? Where do we look to find the energy that will change our mourning into gladness and restore the gracious fires of Life? The mystery is simple when it is understood, and that Living essence of God which has been lost can be found. However, one must first know what it is, or they will never know when it is found. They will walk right past the striking flint rock and box of tender kindle and remain in the bitter cold of winter's night. "What then," we might ask, "is the fire builder, if it is such a simple thing?

Let us recall the above mentioned vision. The thing that rekindled the dead fires was a great travailing. The people had stopped pouring ashes onto their fires, and they had lifted their eyes, hands, and voices up to God and were crying out in desperation and agony of the soul. The reality of darkness had finally hit them square in the face. They had therefore forsaken their efforts of bringing the past into the present. They had discarded the efforts and subtle suggestions from the realm of darkness. With their empty hands lifted to God, they cried to Him in their great hour of need. Only He could now fill that awful void. Their eyes were single and rigidly fixed in the direction from whence their help would come. Their anguished cries were directed to God, the only one who could save them. It was then, WHEN THEY HAD PRAYED, that the tiny speck of light appeared in the heavens and descended as a Man of flaming fire. Salvation came from heaven, and as fire!

For some reason most people do not like to pray, and they will find any excuse in world to put it off. Perhaps they feel that if they pray, they won't get what their dusty hearts desire, and mostly like they won't. Nevertheless, countless hours are wiled away in front of a Life defying, Godless T.V. set, but they can't find a few moments to spend with their eternal Father and Lord of glory, Jesus Christ. Some have discarded prayer altogether, deceiving themselves into believing it is not a necessary thing in a mature Christian's walk. Entire churches have forsaken prayer, and they wonder why their fire has gone out. Others may have little fires going and sparks shooting into the night, but if they are lacking in prayer, the fires won't last. Such fires are of their own making as well, and this being the case, they are then destined to lay down in shame and sorrow (Is. 50:11).

Never forget, dear reader, as Brother Eby brought out so clearly in his Looking For His Appearing, Part 42, that all the attributes and characteristics of the Holy Spirit ARE SPIRIT, including PRAYER, and are therefore POWERFUL ENERGY! Prayer may be invisible, but it is ENERGY! Prayer is words of intense heat! Prayer may be intangible, but it is very real -- and very powerful! This is THE VERY ESSENCE OF FIRE, the ENERGY/POWER of PRAYER, that we have lost, and if it is not regained, we and the world will be lost! Hopefully, that rare and precious thing will soon be found and no longer ignored or scoffed at -- this Holy thing which ignites the Living Fires of God.

There are at least a half dozen Greek words in the New Testament which have been translated into our one English word PRAYER, all of which could be incorporated and would compliment our thought on prayer very well. However, for the sake of space and time, we will primarily notice the most commonly used word -- proseuchomai, which is translated from Strong's Greek Dictionary as meaning, "to pray to God, i.e. supplicate, WORSHIP. This word can be used in various degrees of intensity -- all the way from being a mere request to God to a complete and total sacrifice of one's life; and the latter word (WORSHIP) is our main interest today. Let us see what is said about prayer, and notice what prayer has done in the past and will continue doing as long as this powerful, energizing flame is applied.

Paul said to "PRAY WITHOUT CEASING. Quench not the Spirit." (I Thes. 5:17,19). I believe we can invoke two thoughts here and not stray from the Spirit of truth. The first is, Paul was not saying to be on our knees twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year for the rest of our lives. But rather, he was saying that the true worshipful type of prayer should be an intricate working part of our lives from now on. It should be as much a part of our lives as eating; for in reality, prayer is a form of eating which keeps the Holy fires of God burning within. This type of prayer is a two-way street of communion; and in the same manner we should COMMUNICATE WITH OUR EARTHLY FATHER WITHOUT CEASING (on a daily basis and never breaking the relationship), we should also COMMUNICATE WITH OUR HEAVENLY FATHER WITHOUT CEASING.

The words "without ceasing" in the above verse (I Thes. 5:17) comes from the compound Greek word a-dia-leiptos, which literally means no-through-leaving or failing. It means to have NO AVENUE of LEAVING PRAYER, or by NO MEANS FAIL in this PRACTICE of PRAYER. In other words, don't build a street and walk out of town on it that leads away from prayer. Remain in that HOUSE OF PRAYER that Jesus spoke of in Lk. 19:46. The truth of the matter is, if we walk away from that house, if we cease from praying, we will not only quench the flames of the Spirit for ourselves (I Thes. 5:19), but the rest of the world will be without Light and left in the cold -- it is as simple as that.

The greatest type of prayer is that of SACRIFICIAL WORSHIP. At all cost, this should be a continual life style, an unceasing attitude of, "Not my will, but Thine be done." This type of prayer can be seen in Revelation 8:2-4 where it is directly related to the altar of incense filled with fire. The altar, of course, speaks of an offering, of giving oneself to God, and this type of giving is WORSHIP: "And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with (tais, give it to) the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with (to) the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand."

Since the prayers of the saints are seen upon the fiery altar, of necessity, the saints must also be in that fire, for from within the souls come the travailing prayers. Therefore, wherever the prayer's point of origin is there will be found originators of those prayers. The intense fires of the altar that we find kindled in the very midst of our soul produces cries that cannot go unheard -- for they ascend directly to the throne of God as they are carried upward by the ascending smoke of the sacrificial, sweet-smelling incense of Christ Jesus. It is the this, the atoning death of our Lord, that is mixed with our prayers that produces the sweet smell around the throne of God, which is well pleasing, prompting Him to hear and feel the anguish of our souls. It is then that our Light comes and things in the earth take on a change.

After the incense and the prayers of the saints on the burning altar ascended to God and His throne, to join with Him there, we notice the terrible, sweeping hand of God coming in fiery judgment upon the world as the messenger pours the same coals over the face of the earth. (Judgment and change first to His house, and then from there to the world, I Pt 4:17.)

Keeping with the thought of prayer meaning worship, we will reflect upon Genesis 22:1-14 and how it relates the familiar story of Abraham taking Isaac upon a mountain that God had chosen. It was there, in the land of Moriah (Jah sees), that he was to sacrifice his son as required by the command of God. It may be of interest to notice that sacrifice is one thing that causes God to take note of His people: From the altar of incense God hears prayers, from the mountain of sacrifice He sees.

In verse five Abraham said, "I and the lad will go yonder and WORSHIP," (shachah, meaning "to bow self down.") In this "worship" service, there was no singing of hymns, shouting praise Gods and hallelujahs, dancing in the Spirit, or any other such things we might call worship; but it was a somber time of sacrifice. Abraham, like Jesus in Gethsemane, agonized in his soul. He was giving to God that which meant more to him than even his own life in the form of his son. In this HE WAS WORSHIPING GOD! This is the type of prayers that was seen ascending up before God and His throne -- agonizing souls mingled with the sweet smell of obedient sacrifice. Yes indeed, there was a heart rending cry for God to spare his son if it was possible, he was begging for his very life; but like Jesus, his sacrificing spirit said, "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done."

You see, although the ascending prayer can be a prayer of ASKING, even of DESPERATE PLEADINGS, the spirit of the heart should always be that of Christ -- WILLING TO SACRIFICE. When we come to this kind of prayer, one that is born out of great darkness and anguish of the soul, we can then be assured that THE LOST FLAME CAN BE FOUND. At first, it may produce only a mere speck of light in the heavens of our being, but that revelation will spark an expectation of deliverance. It will descend and grow in magnitude until it stands before us as the flaming Lord Himself. He will then place the fiery trumpet to our lips to sound the word of fire into all the earth and set everything across the land ablaze. The whole world will be set afire, shaken and turned upside down. To the gentle and loving it will be a blessing in due season, but to the proud and the rowdy, to the profane and rebellious, and to the sluggish and the slothful it will be a scourging torment -- unquenchable. That, dear friends, we can count one!

Several years ago, a word of prophecy came through the eleven month old baby daughter of Bill and Aloa Pyatt. He is the author of His Banqueting Table and the Arizona International Director of F.G.B.M.F.I. Bill was an atheist at the time and Aloa was spiritually dead as well. However, this did not stop God from giving a message to them through their baby who knew only three words -- Da Da, Ma Ma, and NO! As they were sitting at the dinner table, and right in the midst of the daughter slinging food everywhere and goo gooing and gaa gaaing, she spoke these words in perfect English: "IT IS GOING TO BE AS IT WAS IN THE DAYS OF THE EARLY CHURCH." Mom and Dad almost choked, and staring in amazement, asked, "What did you say?" She then repeated it, "IT IS GOING TO BE AS IT WAS IN THE DAYS OF THE EARLY CHURCH!" She didn't say another word and just went back to her routine of playing in her food and being a baby in general.

There are people who will scoff at such things. Some simply do not believe God can or will speak through a baby like that. While on the other hand, some are so caught up in the flames and sparks of their own fires, that they belittle the acts of the early Church, saying, they are either past and not for us or that we don't need those "childish" things. Even if this was so, before one can do "greater" works, I believe they should at least be able to do the lesser works -- which none of those perfect ones we know are able to perform. They claim that they can do all the things Jesus did, but say the Spirit hasn't moved them to do anything. In such a dark and hurting world, you would think the Father would ever once in a while speak a word and tell them to help someone.

Let us disregard the thoughts of the those who are excited by the sparks of man-made fires and notice what happens when the power of prayer is instituted. In doing so, it should be settled in our minds if there are any good reasons for ceasing to pray, as we have been admonished not to do.

More than a few people have done countless things to get their ministry started, to make it a success, to add numbers to their church. Some have accomplished their goals to a degree, but the vast majority have missed the true power of God that would make them His Ministries rather than theirs. I believe the Church as a whole has lost the basic principle of prayer and as a result have become lifeless. No doubt, almost every church "prays" at every gathering, but such prayers are usually by rote, they have become the religious thing to do, but most of the time they are falling short in what constitutes true prayer. Therefore, their words are empty, lacking in substance and producing nothing but wind. This is probably the reason most people get fidgety in a meeting when someone has prayed for more than sixty seconds. The one praying may be merely speaking whatever blows through the desires of the mind, having no essence of Christ whatsoever, and it is grievous to the Spirit. If the brother or sister is truly praying in the Spirit, and people are restless, then it is probably because they have no ear to hear what the Spirit is saying, and it is a bore to them. Nonetheless, when men's words are impregnated with resurrection Life, and there is a genuine stirring of ones soul, authentic prayer is born and its awesome power is released. It is no wonder the early Church came forth declaring a mighty word as she did and then exploded with such a tremendous growth. There was Life in those words of fire.

"...And WHEN THEY HAD PRAYED, they laid their hands on them. And THE WORD OF GOD INCREASED; and THE NUMBER OF THE DISCIPLES MULTIPLIED in Jerusalem GREATLY; and A GREAT COMPANY OF THE PRIESTS WERE OBEDIENT TO THE FAITH." (Acts 6:7-8). Not only did the word of God increase and number of converts multiply, but more than a handful of Jewish priests were converted -- now that is saying something, saints! There are not many today who can get one insignificant Jew who knows nothing about their own religion to bow down before Jesus and get saved, much less a great company of their rabbis. However, through prayer that ascending from the altar of incense in their souls, monumental miracles took place.

Perhaps you are one who is not interested in the word increasing in you, that you are content with what you have and where you are. Or you are not concerned about a ministry developing, or you do not belong to a church or fellowship of any sort and numbers don't impress you, and neither are you concerned about ministering to a bunch of blind Jewish rabbis. Perhaps you only desire for the Lord to reveal Himself to you in a personal way. If this is the case than take note of Paul and Cornelius, for again, prayer is the answer:

"And it came to pass...while I PRAYED in the temple, I was in a trance; And SAW HIM SAYING TO ME...." (Acts 22:17-18). "And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I PRAYED in my house, and, behold, A MAN STOOD BEFORE ME IN BRIGHT CLOTHING." (Acts 10:30). It was while Paul prayed that he saw and heard Jesus speak to him, and it was the same with Cornelius -- it was while he prayed. Let us take a moment and notice a few things about this centurion, Cornelius, and see how we compare with his lifestyle and the things that transpired with him:

"A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and PRAYED TO GOD ALWAYS. He saw a vision...an angel of the God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. (How many times has the Lord called us by our first name?) ...Thy PRAYERS and thy alms (sacrificing his personal needs -- incense) are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side...." (Acts 10:2-6). After Peter had prayed upon the house top, the Lord gave him a vision of all manner of unclean beasts, fowl of the air, and creeping things. This vision prepared him to be willing to go to Cornelius' house (a gentile) and minister Christ to them; however, before the vision came we might notice that he was also praying. Upon arriving he asked why he was summoned and Cornelius responded, "Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I PRAYED in my house, and a man stood before me in bright clothing...." (Verse 30). Upon hearing that they were all present before God, to hear all things that were commanded Him from God, Peter opened his mouth and preached Jesus Christ to them. As a result the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. (Verses 33,34,44).

This great dealing and deliverance of Peter's prejudice against other races and the tremendous work of salvation and outpouring the Holy Spirit to those who were not Jews was due to the PRAYING of one seemingly insignificant Gentile (not discounting Peter's prayer). Through this one man a series of events developed until the POWER OF HIS PRAYING was finally manifested with the salvation of many souls and being filled the Holy Spirit of God -- a testimony that God was not a respecter of persons and that salvation was for all. No doubt, he was not praying specifically for God to send Peter to them, for the cultural and religious ethics of that day would have made it an impossibility. The type of prayer Cornelius was offering up to God was himself. He was giving of himself, rather than begging for something that would appease the carnal man. It was then, when he laid down upon on the altar before God, that his humble cries were heard and One in bright clothing appeared with a message of deliverance and power. Indeed, there is power in prayer!

Over the years there have been more than a few teachings on the subjects concerning the Manifestation of the Sons of God and the Kingdom Reign of Christ upon the earth. We have seen many things come out of it, good and bad alike. Among the bad aspects, it has been assumed by some that the gifts of God are to be done away with. This supposedly is to make room for the new order of things. I am persuaded to the contrary, that the gifts are not to be discarded. Although they may not directly establish the Kingdom of God, The are certainly manifestations of His Kingdom. It matters not whether it is a gift of physical healing, a gift that relieves oppression of the soul, or a spiritual gift, such as discernment, the all come from Christ Jesus who is the King of kings of the Kingdom. Therefore, if they come from Him, they are products of His Kingdom, and they are not to be taken lightly or cast away. let us appreciate His gifts.

Many of those who have mistakenly done away with the gifts of the high Priest, Jesus, have also thrown away prayer, assuming, that it is elementary, or is merely another gift and has no place in this new kingdom age of the Christ, as it has been called. (I have no opposition to this term but some of the implications and teachings behind it bother me.) Nevertheless, as it is with the gifts, so it is with prayer. It is a product of the Kingdom, and perhaps the Kingdom's most vital commodity, with it being the very root of spiritual victory, perfection and glory. I believe it to be true, not only because of what I read in the Bible, and by what has been strongly bearing witness to my spirit lately, but it also comes from my own experiences and dealings of God over the past several months -- especially since last November. I may be able to share some of these dealings at a later date, but for now we will consider some additional thoughts and verses which have turned from tiny specks of light in the distant heavens to shining flames of Christ which stand in practical realities in our very presence.

SENT or JUST WENT?

It is very common for those in the ministry to see a need and act upon that need. We have a tendency to try and fill those needs, whether they are other people's or our own, assuming that God is sending us. It is often thought that when financial pressures arise, then surely the Spirit is telling us to beat the tithing drums or hit the old "evangelistic trail." I know, for we've been there and know the logic ~that prevails. Even though we have always sought the Lord's mind the best way we knew how, we still missed it at times (please forgive us if we were a burden to you).

What has been lacking with many honest ministries, and has caused them to miss the mark, has been prayer and fasting. It is after one has been in the presence of God that they hear and receive the word to go or to stay, to speak or to be silent, to write or not to write. Why can't we be more like Jesus, our example, who never spoke a word or performed a deed unless He had first heard and seen of His Father? When needs are what move us to speak, go, or do, they become our lord, and it is our own works. Let us always wait upon the Lord for direction, lest we build the house and labor in vain (Ps. 127:1).

"As they ministered to the Lord1 and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth BY THE HOLY GHOST, departed...." Acts 13:2-4).

If we will notice, Barnabas and Saul were not separated and sent out until they all had "ministered to the Lord, and fasted." After the Holy Spirit had spoken to them about a work they were called to, they fasted and prayed again to receive specific details of where they were to go. Once the word came, hands were once more laid upon them, and then they were sent away with the authority and blessings of their Lord. They did not go because they saw a need or had one themselves -- they went because they were sent, and they were not sent until after they had fasted and prayed! This is what obedient, submissive sons do. They present themselves to their Lord and wait for directions. I like the way a dear friend of ours, Walter Arvizu, puts it, "SOME ARE SENT while OTHERS JUST WENT."

This reminds me of the encouraging words Joanna Pascale wrote in one of her recent articles, Missionaries Need Not Be Need Conscious (she and Bill are missionaries in Mexico): "THE SON DID NOT COME INTO THE WORLD BECAUSE HE SAW A NEED. HE CAME INTO THE WORLD BECAUSE THE FATHER SENT HIM." And again, "It comes down to this: if you are sent, the results in terms of numbers will not affect you one way or another. If you are rejected by the majority, it will not deter you nor turn you back. The world rejected Jesus, but that did not matter because He did not come to be a success, but to do the will of the Father. If one goes without being sent, one will always be uncertain about the source of one's support. If you know that God sent you, you'll not doubt that He will take care of you. If you send yourself, you'll have the belief that you personally must ~raise' support by all kinds of emotional appeals and carnal methods. If one is ~ one will always be frustrated and discouraged, because it will be impossible to meet all the `needs' in one's own strength. But by being `God conscious,' one can see the ultimate victory and teach others to look within and to find for themselves God who will meet every need...." -- End quote.

How many today, we wonder, will take the time to truly pray about going or doing "the works of the Lord"? From observation, we believe there are quite a few who have never sincerely sought Him, and therefore, they have not been sent in His name. Remember, one cannot preach unless he is sent (Rom. 10: 15), and he cannot be sent unless he hears, and furthermore, HE CANNOT HEAR UNLESS HE PRAYS. The evidence is clear, many preachers, teachers, travelers and writers have forsaken prayer and are doing and going in their own name.

We are sure that some have `gotten away from fervent prayer very gradually and without giving much thought to what has happened, They have fallen asleep and have failed to keep the fires burning. The flames have died away, and they have gotten lukewarm, even cold. These will hear the call to reveille and quickly come forth. For a few of the others, however, it has been different. A contaminated word has gone out over the earth -- a word infected with a deadly spiritual virus. A word that subtly induces the thought that perfection is reached by just realizing it. This leads the people into believing there is no need to pray, for in their estimation there is no room for growth. Even if one has reached full maturity, regardless of how they may have gotten there, we have a question to ask. What about fellowship and communion with our Lord, isn't that needed or desired anymore? The answer is usually yes; that is, until they began to believe that they are God Himself. With this they will have no reason to strike up a conversation with Him, for that would be the same as talking to Themselves. And also, if they believe they are God, then whatever they think or do would supposedly be of God, i.e. Themselves -- truly a self-aggrandized figment of their own imaginations and deceived minds. My dear friends, an some of you are very good friends, I have spoken to you personally about this, examine and purge yourselves before the fever of this virus lays you to rest.

As we conclude the thoughts of this subject, I will prophesy to all who are caught up in this error, especially to the willingly ignorant. Not in malice do I speak, but in love, hoping to turn some from the error of Eve's folly -- in her own conceit she desired to be AS GOD: Apart from Godly Sorrow and genuine repentance that prompts the mercy of the Lord, you shall come to naught in the presence of men. You shall continue to be separated farther from the wheat. You shall be burned by the consuming fires of God. Your lives and ministries shall become as vapors and smoke in the night, having no substance nor light. You shall not go forth sounding the trumpets of fire in the great day of the Lord, but instead, you will be judged and consumed by them. And you shall lie down in derision and shame. For the Lord will not allow His name to be maligned forever. Please hear it, dear ones; for this, you can count on!

To Be continued...

Elwin R. Roach

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