*…..The Lord has need of him….by pastor Charles C Elliott
We’ll get to this account in a minute or two but let me begin by asking you a question…..What does it mean to “walk in the Spirit?” Let me use a simple illustration, that I think we can all relate to. When you were growing up, do you remember those times when you took hold of your dad or mom’s hands and placed your feet on top of their feet and walked around the room? Every time they raised one of their feet, you raised your foot. You see, what you were doing was “WALKING IN STEP” with them, and synchronizing your walk with theirs.
Now we can’t physically walk with the Holy Spirit like that, so how do we walk with Him? Actually walking with the Spirit involves two things, one is a negative the other is a positive.
(first) To walk with the Spirit means we DON’T walk in the ways of the FLESH. In other words, we don’t live to PLEASE ourselves, but to please him.
(second) To walk with the SPIRIT means to stay, abide and remain in step with Him choosing a lifestyle that pleases the Lord rather than pleasing ourselves. It’s like the picture of the Lord walking with a child who is looking around everywhere and distracted by everything.. discovering and curious about the world, not realizing that all the answers to everything is holding his hand….
The bible gives us the conditions we are called to reign in…..2Timothy 3:1 "This know also, and be convinced, that in the last days perilous times shall come."
As the Apostle Paul is lying in his cell, a prisoner of the Lord, as he writes this, he is still preoccupied with the future of the gospel. His mind dwells now on the evil of the times, and on the indifference of Timothy. Timothy is so weak, and the opposition so strong." Paul is concerned that Timothy may not be strong enough for the perilous times that are coming….The word translated “perilous”,. has the idea of troubles, difficulty, and stressful situations. It goes far beyond your luggage not arriving at the airport the same time you do….This sort of perilous atmosphere will mark the last days and it calls for an added measure of discernment….accountability and spiritual perspective….
.It is a word that is used in classical Greek both of dangerous wild animals and of the raging sea. Its only other New Testament occurrence is in the story of the Gaderene demoniac who was as savage and untamed as the wild beasts .and whom Matthew describes as 'so fierce that no one could pass that way' (Matthew 8:28)." The bad times Paul will describe speak of the Godless people who create the bad times. We should notice that the peril and danger at this time is not just war, it’s not just famine or diseases, it’s not other calamities or ills that befall the body, but it includes the wicked and depraved ways of men. The pervading thinking today is question everything, believe nothing….if you can’t eat it, put it in the bank, or spend it, it’s not important…..
.A critic once wrote a letter to a Christian magazine saying, "Over the years, I suppose I've gone to church more than 1,000 times, and I can't remember the specific content of even one sermon over those many years. What good was it to go to church 1,000 times?" The next week, someone wrote back: "Over the past many years, I have eaten more than 1,000 meals prepared by my wife. I cannot remember the specific menu of any of those meals. But they nourished me along the way, and without them, I would be a much different person!"
The Bible will do its spiritual work in us, if we will let it. The word of God gives us eternal life (1 Peter 1:23). The word of God spiritually cleanses us (Ephesians 5:26). The word of God gives us power against demonic spirits (Ephesians 6:17). The word of God brings spiritual power to heal our bodies (Matthew 8:16). The word of God brings us spiritual strength (Psalm 119:28). The word of God has the power to impart faith, hope and love unto us (Romans 10:17). John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have already overcome the world.”
If He overcame the world, we overcome also for this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith in His finished work and victory!!! There are victories that are yours before the battle begins, before the struggle starts, before you even realized there was a conflict….before and during the perilous times which Paul tells us about. Having been abandoned as a child, the scripture I’m going to share, has long been one of my favorites, because it talks about generational legacies through faith…that graft us in as heirs of God….
Romans “4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not only to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness which is by faith”.
Your inheritance includes reigning over every area in your life that has ever caused you pain!!!
We may be lonely, but we are never alone, when it looks like things are out of control, our God holds the universe in the palm of His hands. When it looks like we’re not going to make it, He already has, and He says “come follow me”. When it looks like there’s not enough, He is more than enough. He was before the beginning and He will be there at the end, for there is no end with Him!!!
1 Chronicles 29:10 is a declaration and exaltation of praise, which every child of God should memorize for all the seasons of their lives…. “Blessed are You, Lord God, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all."
You can’t lift up Jesus without getting lifted up yourself… You can’t exalt Him without being exalted…..!! The bible tells us that when we were baptized, we were raised up to live in Christ, immersed in His Spirit of life and overcoming power….Paul says we are now raised in His likeness!!!! WOW!!!
Now what happened is that as we received Christ, and walked out of the baptismal tank….we left a trail of water everywhere we went….we were loaded with death when we went in, and we were dripping with overcoming life when we came out!!!! We are in the world, but not of the world……as a result of this, the bible tells us that they can kill our body, but they can’t kill the part of us that is in the likeness of Christ….. I want to draw your attention to a powerful principle in …the gospel of Matthew, which I believe is important in “living in the Spirit” in perilous times…..
Matthew 21:3…..This is where the disciples were sent to fetch a colt of a donkey for Jesus to ride through Jerusalem on….He gives them some very important instructions, so they wouldn’t be distracted, or persuaded differently… “And if any man shall ask you, you shall say, The Lord has need of him”…..
When you are given an assignment, or a task to accomplish…..you need to stand on this powerful commission! The Lord, has need of him….. or the Lord has need of them! What was needed was immediately released…. There was no hesitation, and no struggle….. “THE LORD HAS NEED OF IT”!!!! Finances, personnel, circumstances, resources….and other supply….. When God needed apostles, evangelists, prophets, and teachers, to shake the whole world, He reached down to a remote place in Galilee, and chose some fishermen, a tax collector, a revolutionist, and some women, to get the job done…. When God needed a Paul….He took Saul, the dreaded killer of christians…. What can He do with this bunch today!!!!!???
.I want to read further in this portion of scripture ….Luke 19: 32 “And they that were sent went their way, and found it was even as he had said unto them. 33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why are you untying the colt? 34 And they said, The Lord has need of him”.
The first thing we need to see about untying our potential so that we can reign over all our areas of pain, is that it will require us to go in directions that we have never gone in before. How many of you know, that in order to bring TRUE glory to God, sometimes we have to be willing to do some unusual things? (now don’t go crazy on me here)….Just like they questioned the disciples, expect people to question your motivation. When you are listening to the Lord, you can expect people to question your position. They’ll question your actions. They’ll question your purposes. They’ll question your motivation.
It says, regardless… “they found it just as He had said”… God will prepare you, for what He sends you to do. God’s not going to take this church anywhere she’s not prepared and willing to go. Christian, God won’t send you into any situation you aren’t prepared to go into. He always prepares us for what we’ll face. And He’ll give you the reasoning you need to get it done.
“The Lord has need of him…”The colt represented the untried, the unproven and the untested….The Lord has need of this new, untried thing. Brand new… never ridden… that’s talking about FRESH PATHS… NEW IDEAS… UNTAPPED RESOURCES.
There are going to be some NEW COLTS employed in the service of the Lord, and in that *…..process He will be glorified. That colt was going to present the Lord to the lost and sick, and the hopeless. We’re to present the Lord, even as the young colt did….as we are faithful to the burden of the Lord, the vision of the Lord, the gifts of the Lord, to carry His message. We’re to LIFT HIM UP, so that He can draw all men unto Him.
God is getting ready to have you LOOSE SOME COLTS for the Kingdom. Untying some potential for the Kingdom of God. Loosing some new ideas for the purpose of GLORIFYING HIM. Loosing some new opportunities for LIFTING HIM UP. Loosing some new avenues of CARRYING FORTH THE GOSPEL. Get ready to start LOOSING YOUR COLTS! Because we live in perilous times, and the Lord has need of them!!!! .
We all have colts that are still tied up…..dreams still unfulfilled, visions you have seen but you can’t touch them yet… ministries not yet released… and goals not yet attained….. You need to go and untie your colts, so you can ride WITH Him into triumph, so you can be part of the great processional of overcomers and triumphant sons and daughters of the true king, down through the ages!! Are we willing to untie some COLTS today? UNTIE every available means to carry the Lord to a lost and dying generation. I personally believe that we’re in a position to see some remarkable COLTS untied in our church, our city, our individual lives, and our community.
The disciples went out searching for that colt, that would carry the savior through the main drag of town. It may not look like something God would choose….because it’s an untried, unused, new colt….. it could look like a drug addict, or a prostitute, or an ungodly politician, it may be someone in your family, or the boss you can’t stand, or maybe a fellow employee you’ve been praying would get promoted just so you don’t have to work with them….have you been out searching for a colt the Lord has need of…..Say it with me…..”The Lord has need of Him”…… ,.
.A little old Jewish man, in his nineties was walking along the road, and someone comes up and says to him, “sir, you have been a Christian for a very long time. You have seen much and done much with God by your side. You have prayed all kinds of prayers too. So what would you place as top priority when you pray for people?” and his answer was ..., .“Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” That old man was the apostle John the beloved… As John has stated, this has always been and will always be God’s plan for our lives….
We will have ups and we will have downs, but God tells us in Deuteronomy 28:13…”the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath”… .”What you are going through is only temporary, it’s going to come full circle. Keep believing that you are above only and not beneath, even when you have hit rock bottom. It is God who always causes you to triumph in Christ. The Lord is pulling you up above it, It truly is under your feet, not over your head!!!
We always want to see it and then we’ll believe it, But the Lord says, believe it and you shall see it!!!
When you hear the Lord saying within you “loose it and let it go”…… it’s as good as done! He’s already been there to make preparations…..whether it’s fishing boats that are about to make an abundant catch, a leper who’se about to get a new lease on life, a fish with tax money in it’s mouth, or a prostitute about to be stoned, who became one of the foundation stones of the church….asked a similar question and his reply was, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
He tells us that we are not of the world…. We are a new species of kingdom people in the earth…..that have been transformed by the power of the Spirit to handle eternal substance,…. because He overcame we will also overcome……..you are the head…because you are leading in faith, not following in fear….The Lord has need of you, because the time has come….You are destined to win….so get in the winner’s circle and get out of the que-sa-ra… sa-ra chorus line!
I want to share with you the words of David Guinn’s poem "The Fellowship of the Unashamed"... "I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present now makes sense and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees, whimpy dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and stunted goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don't have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognized, or praised, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer and labor by a deep sense of gratitude. My pace is set, my vision is quickened, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way may be rough, my companions may be few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give as I have been given, preach until all will know and work until He comes. And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. For My colors will be clear and my commitment unmistakable".
