WANTED! MEN OF LIKE PASSION

WANTED! MEN OF LIKE PASSION

And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it but I FOUND NONE. Ezek.22: 30

God from time immemorial has been in search of a man. Whenever things goes wrong in Gods universe and he wants to correct it, all he looks for is a man who will agree to be in partnership with him to establish his will in the situation. He is never in search of a committee or an organization, all he wants is a man whose heart is ready towards him.

Beginning from the dateless past, God started a search after Lucifer betrayed him and led a rebellion in heaven. God summoned the Godhead and demanded that man be created and that dominion and power be given to him to act in the place of God on earth, and to satisfy the yearnings in the heart of the Almighty.

God longed for someone who out of freewill will carry out his purpose and worship him in place of Lucifer. As of old, God still yearns for a man who will worship him in spirit and in truth (John4: 24), and who will also stand in the gap for others especially the ungodly so that he will not destroy them. (Ezek.13: 5 & Jer.5: 1). We should bear in mind that it his longsuffering and his wish that all should come to repentance, that has stayed His hand of judgement, without doubt it takes a loving God with an unending love to bear with the level of perverseness this generation parades. God also depends on a man for the establishment of His kingdom on earth. He intends to extend his dominion and rulership in heaven to his planet earth, in other to do this, he needs a man as a representative and ambassador of his goodwill on earth.

At the beginning of His search, God found a man in Adam but not for long before he fell for Satans deceit. God again went on a search and found a man in Enoch for in his time men began to call upon the name of the LORD again (Gen.4: 26) this also was cut short when God took him (Gen.5: 24). The search continued and at one time or the other God found a man in Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and David, the prophets, and John the Baptist. Yet in all these, he could not find a perfect man. They were all plagued with one fault or the other ranging from adultery to fear and doubts and as such the perfection of Gods glory could not be made manifest in them. Yet they stood out as great examples to us in this generation of Gods willingness to use a man in spite of his or her weakness. After many millennia of search God finally found a perfect man in Christ Jesus.

Elijah was an example of a man God found in the Old Testament but by virtue of his manifestations got a commendation in the New testament (James 5:16-18). He was a servant said to be a man of like passion as we are but demonstrated a servant hood that almost equaled our Sonship in this generation. I supposed the New Testament church of today ought to be a congregation of sons who through the perfect work of Jesus Christ were adopted as sons into Gods family and as such ought to manifest as sons and not as servants. But in contrast, we seem to have a church living below this expectation. I also suppose the expectations of the whole creation for our manifestations as sons are not being disappointed (Rom.8: 19).

Elijah. though a servant and plagued with many spiritual faults and weaknesses such as fear, loss of vision, presumption and so on,(1 Kings 19:4-20) demonstrated his servanthood by being a man of prayer. Right on mount Carmel he prayed that it should not rain upon Israel and it was so for three and a half years, he prayed again with persistence and abundant rain came down. What a demonstration! With his servanthood grace, he manifested as a god in a perverse generation of his time. He gave us a challenge of how grossly we are under-utilising our sonship grace. If the old had such a glory as to make a man reign on earth as was Elijah, how much more will the new and sonship grace make a child of God a man greatly sought after in this present world.

The sad thing with us today is that in weakness we equaled Elijah, but in prayers we weigh far below. All the men God have found from the beginning of his search have been men with weaknesses. Even Jesus had physical weaknesses as a man (Heb.4: 15-16), he also suffered as many of us does yet in the day of his suffering he lifted up his voice in prayer to God who was able to deliver him. In comparison we equal all the men God has found in weakness and passion, but in prayers and fellowship with God, we are no where to be found. No wonder the church of today is full of sounding cymbals, men who are dry clouds but have no rain to deliver. This is the present state of the church.

In spite of this, it pleases God to look for more men with weaknesses since his strength is perfected in weaknesses (1 Cor.12: 9). It pleases him to invest his grace and power in earthen vessels like us. The best in all the men of weak passions God ever used was brought out through their incessant fellowship and communion with God and His word. Enoch walked with God and was not, Moses stayed in Gods presence on mount Sinai and was clothed with glory, John the Baptist romanced with God in the desert and drew men from the city to himself in the desert. Above all, Jesus was revealed in excellent glory on the mount of Transfiguration as a result of his incessant fellowship with his father. Therefore if God is to find a man in us in this generation, we must not only compare with men of old in weakness, but must compare in fellowship with God and His word.

Let us dare to walk more closely, dig deeper, and climb higher in our fellowship with God and romance with His word. Let us dare to also manifest our sonship; it is the only way to liberate the entire creation from the oppressive power of the evil one.

The Search Is still on, Will God Find a man in you?

WANTED: Men of Like Passion

By: Koshoedo G. M