Today the watchman discovered the most amazing set of requirements for a watchman/intercessor! He was asked to read 1 Cor.1:18-31 and 2:1-16. Prior to this, he has recently been praying for more fellow ‘workers’ (watchmen). He has occasionally the alarming thought that there would not be enough time to train up watchmen and the urgency of a non-reversible countdown has been ticking…
The qualifications for a suitable watchman reads like this list: 1. not wise; 2. not wealthy; 3. not powerful; 4. ‘counted as nothing at all’.
It however dawned on him that this list is meant for the world to behold. This is exactly like the list that the Lord Jesus Himself has carried. He was not a prestigious Pharisee or Sadducee or one of the highly qualified, well educated, rich and powerful counselors in the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem (social, political and religious power center). In the eyes of the world He was just an unknown faceless man from outside Jerusalem, from an unknown village occupied by considerable Gentiles.
What other better qualifications can a watchman/intercessor have? Indeed this is a wonderful list. He suddenly sees light blazing through the dark tunnel of unregenerate, backslider or stagnated churches. There is adequate supply of qualified watchmen/intercessors for every church! He thus speaks to those churches (which have woken up from their slumber) as follows:
There is no time to train new ones if you have not already done so over the past decades. Too late now as the bodies and minds of modern people had been captured by the fast paced digital ruler of this world. In any case your ‘strange children’ would not become suitable watchman material instantly.
Where do your badly needed watchmen/intercessors come from? Your backyard, church.
Yes, there is a small group of remnants in every church who have long passed retirement age, forgotten by the younger generation leaders and members. They are the old faithful, having decades of their lives cleansed and soaked daily in the blood of the Lamb, their spirits steeply submerged in the Word of God, their minds conditioned and tuned only to ancient hymns powerfully inspired by the Holy Spirit, their lifestyle consisting of consistent and persistent prayers day in day out practically all their lives.
O, church, bring the ancient watchmen back to your main sheepfold! These are your end times warriors! They are the true overcomer recorded in the Book of Revelations: 12:11 “And they overcame him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
For those churches which have been faithfully praying and interceding, you will be doubly blessed with more! The lord Jesus has personally promised, “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. ” (Matt.25:29)
For churches who have never had such treasures in their vault, you just have to fast and pray and repent (as in the case of Esther) before the Lord (Matt.25:29b-30 “But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”). Pray that the merciful Lord parachute one or two out of pure grace (undeserved favor) into your midst before the time runs out..
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1 Cor.1:30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”
26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
I Cor.2:1 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 13 When we tell you these things,.., we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.14.., for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.
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