Recovering realities 06

¨

06.

Carrying a cross

Reading: 2 Cor 12:9, Eph 4:20-21, Rev 5:6

Those who want to learn Christ do so by carrying a cross. A man in search for a life lived in service and in the fear of the Lord has to take on a cross. Life is found by the man who has made himself ready for the loosing of life and then undergoing the loss under the hand of the Lord. Anyone who dares to allow the cross to be an operative factor in his life will be made able to translate, to convey life to other men. Along this road to life the assimilation and accumulation of pleasing and soothing thoughts and a constructing of doctrinal statements is of meager value. This road is meandering into eternity through one testing and molding experience after the other, each one with its own content and meaning.

Those who want to learn Christ will inevitably find the ways of the Lord to be summarized in the conundrum of the cross. If God, in all his overwhelming glory, could be summed up from a human standpoint, the result would at every point crystallize within the realm of the cross. To come alongside him in his omnipotence and wisdom equals being confronted by the reality of perfect servanthood in a tender spirit of sacrifice. God is there, always and ever as a servant, always and ever to provide life through sacrifice, always and ever at work at the core of his creation in the wisdom of the Lamb. Grace, life and salvation reaches its fullness in this weakness. The cross is the wisdom of God, the cross of Christ is the power of God unto salvation.

If we were able to look into Heaven as John saw, we would immediately recognize the Lamb. One would immediately be made able to perceive as Heaven does – a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain. The intrinsic nature of the glory, this eternal shekinah light, rests over and in all there is in Heaven with its absolute origin and center in the sacrificial disposition of God. The mind of Christ, this mind, this mindset which constitutes godliness is brought to fullness and practical interpretation through a daily taking on of the cross. A handling of the regular everyday life with this perspective brings Heaven to Earth. The wisdom of the Lamb bends away from the wisdom of the world, confronts it and overcomes it.

We do not need more power or enhanced capability but we need a deeper death. God’s cause reaches its fullness and perfection in our weakness. God’s way is a narrow path. The straightest passage towards the goal of the Lord is a passage meaning constriction. Out in open space, amidst pressure and restriction, words are turned into life – but only there. One who forgets, even rejects the taking up of the cross delivers a false testimony – his life will display a lack of authenticity. Learning Christ holds a partaking of Christ for the sake of being made able to share what is obtained in that fellowship, sharing the life found at His feet. The cross demonstrates the mind of God, it presents the nature of God. Defending oneself against a daily carrying of the cross is to defend self against God. A taking up of the cross is to take part of the mind and the ways of Christ, taking part of life itself, a formation for the sake of ministering the life of Christ.

Our prayer-life, our inner life ought to be imbued with a “Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth” to open up for the glory of God to begin shining here as it does in Heaven.
Our prayer-life, our inner life ought to embrace the cross as the way to life to counteract the moral and spiritual irresponsibility in our societies and cities.
Our prayer-life, our life lived in fellowship ought to take hold of the cross for the sake of mobilizing a people standing together in integrity amidst a common, well-established dodging of critical issues.
Our prayer-life, our inner life ought to aim at installing the reality of the cross of Christ to recover a testimony concerning the true values of life.

The Lord requires discipleship: “The one losing his life on account of Me shall find it – he shall find real life.”

Lars Widerberg

Things that Grieve

¨

Fellowship with the Holy Spirit in Prayer

Reading: Jeremiah 9 and 10, 2 Corinthians 2:16

Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
A man’s voice verbalising anguish unspeakable.
A man’s voice articulating grief darker than night.
A man’s voice punctuating the heart of the Eternal.
A prophet’s cry amidst men who do not care to lend their ears to decency, preferring their own discipline of delusion.

Who is adequate for these things? Who is sufficient for this? Who is able to pray as one ought in times of great delusion, when everyone deceives his neighbour and when they bend and teach their tongues to speak lies.

Who is adequate for these things? Who is willing to carry the burden of the Lord amidst nations and peoples whose customs are but vanity. Where does one find a priest like Phinehas ready to cut sharply into contemporary approach of the Church or a Jeremiah to break away from the common culturally framed and fitted style.

Prayer means obtaining communion. Prayer means being changed and shaped into likeness with Him who lives always to make intercession. Prayer means to be saturated by the Life of the One who alone is Holy. The things which please Him will please the intercessor. The things which glorify Him become the sole interest of the praying man. The things which grieve the Holy Spirit will grieve you. The intercessor will accompany Jeremiah in verbalising anguish unspeakable.

The dispensation of the Spirit is the dispensation of the inner life. Prayer means obtaining communion. The dispensation of the Holy Spirit is meant for the cultivation of the inner life. A praying man is a saint in progression. A life in prayer, the inner life, is life habitually maturing.

The Father offers the absolute lordship of the Holy Spirit for the sake of insight into the ways and measures of Heaven. God offers the absolute lordship of the Holy Spirit for the sake of the establishing of a fellowship whose aim and purpose is aligned to the one set intention determined and stated by Heaven. Life lived and disciplined under the lordship of the Holy Spirit sets the stage for mature intercession.

Men of old were known and recognized among men and in the heavenly realms because they were heard in that they feared God. They acknowledged, submitted to and gave themselves to the throne where the art of the inner life begins, is learned and finds its purpose. The things of Heaven consume the intercessor. The things brought forth from the fellowship before the throne endures. These things prevail. These things cannot be shaken, cannot be brought to nought.

Item one: Intercession is an outpouring of God’s heart through a man’s heart. This is priestly ministry.

The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh. The weapon of our warfare is an outpouring of God’s heart through our lives. The weapon of our warfare is the sanctifying presence of the Spirit of life. The covenant with the Levitical priesthood was one of life and peace; how much more. . . The Levitical priesthood was installed for the sake of service, for the sake of the presence of God among his own people, for the sake of a testimony – how much more. . .

Priestly ministry takes priestly compassion. Priestly ministry takes the heart of God explicitly expressed. Priestly ministry requires sacrificial compassion. Intercession according to God’s heart, according to God’s standards insists upon priestliness beyond human capacity. Who is sufficient for this?

One of the Old Men said: “No man is greater than his prayer life”. He also said: “We mistake action for unction, rattle for revival, and commotion for creation”. Priestliness brings the heart of the Lord to be seen among men. Prayer carries the burden of the Lord. The things that grieve the Spirit grieve praying men. The things that contradict the holiness of Heaven perplex and bring maturing saints on their knees. A prayer session before the throne opens time for God to share His burden with His confidents. Priestliness brings heavenliness to the Earth. Praying men are conformed into the likeness of the One with whom they commune.

God can use your tears. The Father gathers tears in bottles, He lists them in a scroll – Ps 56:8. Tears are a priestly tool to bring forth the Kingdom. These precious vaporizing pearls establish His Throne.

Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

Item two: Intercession is an outpouring of God’s heart through a man’s heart. This is prophetic ministry.

Concern and perplexity regarding effective intercession should bring the modern Church, even the modern prayer movement to its knees. Prayer is a matter of securing an operative testimony of Heaven on earth. Are our prayers heard before the Throne? Are we in any substantial measure recovering ground as to the cause of the Kingdom? Are we honest about exploits and accomplishments? Does our intercession have relevant repercussions in heavenly realms and earthly affairs? Does our intercession reflect the will of God?

The inner way, the ministry of the interior is, first of all, communion before and with God. But the inner way is indeed the way instituted by the Lord to conduct the affairs of Heaven amidst the rebellion and confusion of modern men. What grieves the Holy Spirit perplexes and grieves the people of God. “Do not learn the way of the nations. . . for the customs of the peoples are delusion. . . Who would not fear Thee, O King of the nations?

This is the setting in which the prophet cries out, Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears. This is the setting in which the praying community breaks down in tears, in an apostolic “Who is sufficient for this”. Prayer is the language of the poor, of the ones who have no earthly resources. Tears constitute the language of the ones who see the need of utter correction and judgment. Tears are the language of the Cross in operation. It is a language which is perfectly understood before the throne. It is a language which in a perfect manner opens for the throne, for the lordship of the Holy Spirit.

Item three: Intercession is an outpouring of God’s heart through a man’s heart. This is royal ministry.

In all our praying, are we willing to consider to what degree the heart of the Lord is pouring forth through our labouring? To what degree are our houses of prayer, our conferences and prayer vigils reflecting the House of Prayer which alone is the dwelling place of the Father?

Are the things that grieve the Holy Spirit producing grief in our inner beings and tears in our eyes? Are we gathering to impress the Lord concerning the validity of our agenda? Is prayer pressing petitions or the means of obtaining communion?

The House of the Father is companionship, communion, common spirit, common objectives. The House represents the lordship of the Holy Spirit. The House represents those eternal values which Heaven alone can produce, a production instigated by man’s perplexity and his tears. The House is a place for men, and women, who give themselves to fellowshipping for the sake of entering into the council of the Lord, for the sake of priestly ministry expressed in terms of a burden designed by the Lord.

Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
A man’s voice verbalising anguish unspeakable.
A man’s voice articulating grief darker than night.
A man’s voice punctuating the heart of the Eternal.
A prophet’s cry amidst modern men who do not care to lend their ears to decency, preferring their own discipline of delusion.
The common cry of a fellowship before the Lord to produce a recovery of a radical testimony of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Lars Widerberg

The Ministry of Quiet Living

¨

 

Humility, Waiting and Godliness; these words gather among the great Christian words, capturing the essence and produce of a life lived before the face of the Father.

The people of the Lord are regarded and positioned as guardians and practitioners of the rare art of waiting. Their duty and final joy is to serve by giving away the most precious item, for which they have been set apart as custodians, giving away the most precious item, the only item they own and have the possibility to spend namely time itself, a life, months and years to be invested, invested in worship.

 

The praying community, a nation set apart from among nations, set apart for the sake of communion. The praying community, set apart to become the community of the cross of Christ. This intimate gathering, closely attached to matters of the cross, holds a key role in the work of putting man to final rest. Theirs is an overcoming which brings rest and which is brought in as a mighty weapon of God against man’s efforts to overcome and win the battle for life which reflects the hectic, pressurising procedures and technicalities of the natural life.

 

One man named Simon stands for ever as a marker in the ways of the Ministry of Quiet Living. He belonged to the company of committed, who had wisely learnt the art of waiting on God. This man was looking for the consolation of Israel, he waited for the one would comfort Israel, waiting anxiously, looking for God to console and to comfort. And he did not miss the mark, perfectly on time, time redeemed to the uttermost simply because of quietness and patience.

 

Ours is the role of waiting for God. Ours is the role of quiet living. The title of old Simon and his friends is perfectly applicable to intercessors of the twenty-first century. Our role is one and the same as theirs, to live peacefully in the earth and therefore called the Quiet ones in the Earth. We are set apart to pray, thereby creating quiet living with godliness and gravity.

 

The strategic measurements of this Ministry of Quiet Living begin by rest, continue in waiting and end gloriously in tranquillity. The strategic measurements of this Ministry of Quiet Living include adherence to His voice, Seek my face; it adds a continuous seeking for His wisdom and a dwelling day and night in meditation on His works and statutes. This ministry is service, a servant’s steadfast waiting on the Lord. Its strength is its helplessness. Its pride is its humility. Its glory is obvious in its lack of self-appraisal. Its impact is permanent because of its silence.

 

Let us order our efforts and duties in prayer according to the patterns of this ministry. . .

 

Lars Widerberg

 

Praying according to pattern # 01

 

The Son invites us to pray. It is the Son who arranges for prayer and prayer answers. He, the only begotten Son, bids us to pray, and in our prayers follow a set pattern. It is the Son who directs our hearts to the Father. Prayer and intercession belong to the world of the children. Prayer and praying will forever be anchored in the realm of the Fathers love. The Son knows how to guide us along this path, it was his own. The Son knows how to lead the praying heart to grow and become an experienced heart, bringing salvation to completeness through his own prayer. He secured this path, declaring it to be safe and passable, form his position as the Son of man and as the Son of God he welcomes every man to become a sojourner. The Son speaks: “Follow me”.

 

Prayer belongs to the world of children. Praying, a natural part of children’s behaviour. In this we find the mystery of being a Christian, the key to fullness and completeness. Children trust in fatherhood and reach out to embrace a true father. Children learn how to formulate words, how to attract a father’s ear. And the Father is listening. To all who receive Him, He has already reserved the right to be children. Prayer fully expresses a child’s rights, rights which include the most intimate fellowship with the Most High. And the Father carefully follows the slightest move, the weakest modulation. He takes in each and every syllable uttered. He listens truly. His heart knows.

 

Prayer, asking for things, belongs to a child’s rights. The King rejoices, under the hand of the Spirit of adoption, and says: “Know that the LORD has set apart the faithful for Himself; the LORD will hear when I call to Him”. Ps 4:3. The open heart, the broken heart, the soul who waits in silence for God only, this kind of personality opens for the embrace of the Father. Prayer belong children’s rights, established according to eternal rulings, upheld and covered by the One who cares for the fatherless. Let us recover this reality to be ours, to become our guideline. Let us pray ourselves into the freedom of children to explore the patterns laid before us and to pray accordingly in the midst of the fellowship of the saints.

 

The words of the Son to every one of us: “Follow me.” He has more to say: “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.” John 15:5. You can do no prayer without me. Outside my pattern of prayer there is no prayer. A child’s prayer follows the heavenly order. A child’s prayer reaches out for fullness, for complete salvation. The prayers of the children, of all the saints, encapsulate an ever escalating request for a full-orbed expression of the life of Christ within and among themselves.

 

The words of the Son to every one of us: “Follow me.” The road he takes carries the dual designation ‘Redemption’ and ‘Reconciliation’. The way-mark of the road he chooses points to openness and honesty – the ones still using the older language would choose words like godliness and righteousness. Children’s prayer mobilises forgiveness, they are like peace-brokers in the sandpit. The intercession of the saints, prayed according to the pattern of the Lord provides life – like the branch which carries the life of the root and trunk for the formation of fruit. The prayer of a righteous man is like the life of the branch, “like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.” Ps 1. This is the order according to the Father’s will. This is the order according to which the revelation of the Kingdom will disperse.

 

To pray together with the Son of Man, together with the Lord Jesus Christ, is to stand on behalf of men before the Living God. To pray is in its initial stages a quest for the prayers of the Son of God, prayers that will reach the Father’s ear. This kind of prayer will bring us in contact with reality, with every part of reality. It will produce a proper view of the upheaval and turmoil at hand in the world which is ours to care for. It allows for insight into the ways of the Lord in our days. This kind of prayer will secure our own path in between the many highways and byways, all of them ready to take us to nowheresville. To pray according to pattern together with the Lord Jesus acquires and apprehends salvation where no words seem to cover the subject. To pray the prayers of our Lord is to be made able to pass through in areas and regions where no breaking tool bites, where everything is labelled ’impossible’. To pray according to the Lord is to allow weakness become our strength. Children, who know the Father, dare to come this way.

Let us pray for the development and growth of a prayer life of this kind. Let us open our hearths and mouths before each other.

 

Lars Widerberg

A hiding place from the wind

 

Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.

And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. Isa 32:1-3

 

A hiding place from the fiercely roaring wind. . .

A shelter from the bitterly howling tempest. . .

A man sought for. . .

 

God, the creator, the maker of the immeasurable expanse named universe found intentionally looking for something which is set apart as utterly fragile, intrinsically human, a piece of clay laid bare and made ready for the imprints of that which is eternal. God, the Father of all, waiting for someone who dares to search for an ultimate place of rest, expecting a peace maker to embark on a quest to find tools to be used among men to bring stillness and quietude. God, the Eternal, pursuing a heart on which he is allowed to write His own Law of Life, writing life and conduct which is truly true and which correspond truly with His own ways. That which is breakable journeying towards maturity. That which is merely dust brought to stature. Godliness shining as the brightest pearl among pearls. Heaven is set for this, and this alone. Heaven aims at this, and this alone in all its counsels and proceedings.

 

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. Isa 51:6

Lift up your eyes and consider the horrifying necessity – the earth shall wax old like a garment.

Lift up your eyes and consider the salvation prepared from eternity, the salvation brought fort with the full force of eternity, the salvation to be trusted to carry every little child of faith through to a part in, to a place in that vast expanse called eternity.

 

The horror must come by law of necessity. Salvation must, by the same laws of necessity, come.

Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places. Matt 24:6-7

When ye shall hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified: for these things must needs come to pass first; but the end is not immediately. Luk 21:9 

But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads; because your redemption draweth nigh. Luk 21:28 

All these things are the beginning of travail. Matt 24:8

 

See that ye be not troubled, be not terrified. This is only the beginning.

This is only the beginnings of sorrows. This is only the beginning of something which is unthinkable, incomprehensible, utterly devastating, inescapable. This is the beginning of something so horrific and repulsive that it takes minds and hearts of an utterly different type to handle the enigma of good and evil, to cope with the mystery of a silent God – this enigmatic presence and this mystery which now is about to make its final assault and to shock man amidst his pride and revolt. These are events of a kind which only martyrs are able to live through.

 

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come. Matt 24:14.

A testimony. A testimony which carries the mark of the altar, a mark of readiness to face reality. A testimony which is proven, tested and living even when death approaches. A mature testimony. A testimony which carries a history with God.

This final message of redemption and judgment will be preached by a Church which has come to rest in the presence of the glory of God, the glory that devastates. This final message will be preached by a Church which is able to literally and substantially distribute the peace of the altar of sacrifice, a Church who has learned to live like Heaven lives.

 

God is looking for a man, for men, and for women who are set to endure, who are set to weep themselves through to consolation and redemption of the many who hurt. God is looking for a man, for men, and for women who are set to endure the onslaught of Hell for the sake of peace-making which holds quality enough to be labelled “Prepared by children of the one true God”.

God is looking for men who will give room for a steadfast spirit which will never give in – it is that spirit of patience and faith which will ultimately inherit the promise. It is the spirit which can bear things, not simply with resignation, but with blazing hope, a spirit which knows that each and every obstacle endured and lived through leads to a goal of glory – a masculine constancy under trial.

God is looking for a community of believers who takes heed to the sound of the herald’s horn and its “Watch therefore” – Matt 24:42

Watch therefore. . . Stay alert. . . Stand firm. . . Gather strength. . . Come to maturity. . .

Watchfulness brings maturity. Waiting on the Lord brings maturity. Firmness brings maturity.

 

Maturity stays calm.

The Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies. 1 Tim 4:1-2.

To define “the later times”, the end times, Paul was lead to use two words, husteros and kairos. In times of hysteria, when minds overheat and man is trying by every means to go beyond himself to be able to be beside himself, godliness, with its typical sobriety becomes a valuable gift to be presented by the real Church to every man in anguish.

Maturity stays undeterred, unflinching. It does no lend itself to wavering but it does not find it improper to reconsider and weigh a position taken. Maturity stays calm because it is induced and upheld by the Holy Spirit. Weakness does not propose an obstacle. Maturity handles such items with care.

 

Maturity stays warm.

Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Matt 24:12 

True love grows where holiness and truth is given room. Sensibility, stickability, fairness, and trustworthiness are rarities, commodities in gravest need of restoration. Maturity holds necessary strength to take the heat of conflicts. Priestliness finds ways to functional reconciliation. Priestliness requires sacrifice. A sacrifice of man’s self-sufficiency, self-protection and self-assuredness is desperately needed to open for reality.

 

Maturity stays trembling.

Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. Isa 66:1:2

Maturity positions all things in its proper place. Why all that fear? Why all that pride? Why all that questioning? Why the many improper, indecent choices?

Something vital is lost. Something which should hold a prominent place in every setting and situation has been pushed to the side. Something which is formulated and stipulated as provision, giver of life and security at every point is neglected and frowned at as being obsolete and outdated. Maturity stays trembling at His word. Maturity develops while heart and mind prefer this trembling. Maturity exists only because of this trembling at His word.

 

Maturity stays meek.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Matt 5:5

Modern mentality reasons in terms of growth. Things begin small, but they must not stay small.

Significance according to heavenly measure is defined in its littleness. Defending meekness is to lend oneself to greatness. Guarding and nourishing those who are looked upon as worth nothing is to befriend the heirs of the earth. Maturity stays meek through the opening of ones heart to prayer for orphans and widows. Maturity stays mature by much prayer of this kind.

Our world has lost its sense of proportions, and our churches follow the same path. Greatness is considered in terms of bigness. The larger, the more important. The opposite is true – the larger the more impotent. Maturity watches over its meekness.

 

Watchfulness brings maturity.

Waiting on the Lord brings godliness. Willingness to enter into His rest opens for much prayer. It opens for priestly consideration and concern. It stays on duty, ministering to the Lord. Maturity knows Him rather than His works. The maturing mind and heart dwells on the fact of God, rather than on His operations in creation. The maturing Christian ministers the understanding of the mystery of Christ as the Holy Spirit wills. Maturity leaves no room for mind-games. Its appropriation and apprehension of Christ revealed is ministry to the broken-hearted in times of massive sorrow.

 

The provision of a hiding place from the fiercely roaring wind in this bleak and icy spiritual climate – a maturing fellowship. The securing of a shelter from the bitterly howling tempest in the moral disaster of these later times – a gathering of burning hearts. The expectation of the Redeemer coming to Zion – a praying church.

This is what God is looking for. . .

 

This is what this hour is meant to produce.

This lies within reach, simply because it fits the purposes of Heaven.

Let us give ourselves to this in fervent prayer and fellowship.

 

Lars Widerberg