- From the Editor -
“Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth? Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.” (Isaiah 45:9-11)
Isaiah 45:9-11 to me is an amazing passage. In verse 9, God pronounces a warning and a woe, which indicates strong judgment. He puts a woe on striving with one’s Maker. In other words, fighting against God, resisting God, arguing with God -- those are definitely forbidden. Then in verse 11, God in His mercy and grace says two amazing things. He said, “...Ask me of things to come concerning my sons,...” God told me to ask. We are permitted by God to ask, “Oh, God, how is this going to turn out?” He didn’t promise He would always tell us, but there is some relief in me being able to ask. Sometimes just being able to talk to somebody about your burdens is a tremendous relief, even if they don’t have an immediate solution. God does have the solution, but even if God doesn’t solve my problems, tell me all the answers I seek or grant my requests right away, He’s given me permission to come to Him and ask Him concerning things to come. Then He tells us, “...concerning the work of my hands command ye me.” To me that’s an amazing statement, even a shocking statement. To ask God is normal because to ask means to make request. That’s very standard, in line with many other prayer passages. I am not surprised that He tells us to ask Him, but to command God concerning anything is really unthinkable. It’s kind of a scary thought. Nevertheless, God made that statement, “Command ye Me.” I’m going to try to help us understand that statement. When God has put us in a position and given us a job to do, He has given us a realm of authority. You understand, if I give somebody a job to do, I’m going to cooperate with them. I delegate authority. I give them a responsibility. While they are trying to do what I want done, I am willing to do what they ask or give them what they ask for to do the job. I’m not talking about somebody that goes off into heresy; I’m going to be careful about who I put in charge of something. If I put somebody in charge of something and give them a realm of authority, then I will submit to them in that realm because I delegated it. I’m not going to resist the person that I gave authority to, because then everybody else will, too. God said to you and to me, “Command ye me concerning the works of My hands.” To command means to order, or direct. It means to charge, implying some authority and power. Let me say two or three things to you immediately. First, remember that God is the source of all authority and power. Romans 13:1 says, “...For there is no power but of God:...” Every bit of power I have is delegated to me from God. Every bit of authority I have has to originate with God and be delegated to me. God told me, “I’ve given you a realm of authority here. You have that authority from Me. I have put you over something.” He said, “...command ye me and exercise the authority I have given you.” You say, “Where is our realm of authority?” The prayer closet. You need to understand that there are some conditions that put us in a position where we have authority in prayer. Remember verse nine said, “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!...” He’s not talking about me controlling God, me imposing my will on God, me trying to tell God what to do that is contrary to His will and His Word. The Bible also says, “Where the word of a king is, there is power:...” (Ecclesiastes 8:4) As long as I’m in harmony with the word of the king, I can operate in power. Jesus spake as One having authority, which shocked the scribes and Pharisees. Because of Who He was, and the relationship He had with the Father and the fact that He ALWAYS did those things that please the Father, He could speak with authority. So all authority finds its origin in God. If God puts me in command of something, He’s the One Who delegated the authority. God is not going to resist me as long as I’m trying to achieve what He put me in authority to achieve. If I deviate and try to go another way, then I’m abusing the power and authority God has given me, and I’m no longer in command. I’m no longer going to have power in my prayer life. I’m no longer going to see the mighty hand of God move in my behalf because I am no longer trying to achieve what God gave me command of, or authority to achieve. I don’t have authority to do my will. I have authority to do the will of God. God put me in command in the prayer closet and said that His resources are also available as long as my request is to fulfill His will. I’ll give you several Bible illustrations of that in a moment. There are different realms of authority and we have that prayer closet realm. The Bible says in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” Ye, you, this is very personal. God said, “I’ll answer; you ask.” James 4:2 says, “...yet ye have not, because ye ask not.” You do not exercise your God-given authority in that realm. We’d rather complain than pray. Remember the old statement, “Your request is my command.” That is a kingly statement. Suppose I have a dollar and I say to you, “Your request is my command. I’ll give you half of everything I’ve got.” You aren’t going to get much out of me, if I only have a dollar. You get fifty cents. This statement only means something when there are great resources available. We see an illustration of that in the Bible with Herod and Herodias’ daughter. In Mark 6:22-23 the Bible says, “And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.” You know that she asked for the head of John the Baptist. Can you imagine, when she had all these resources available, that she had so much vengeance in her heart that she requested the head of the preacher? I want you to understand when the king said, “...Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.” This statement, “Your request is my command,” doesn’t have any real meaning if we have nothing to give. God told us in verse 12 of our text, “I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens,...” God reminds us of His infinite power after He tells us to ask of Him and command Him. He reminds us of just who He is, who it is that we are coming to, who it is that said, “Command ye Me.” This is not an empty, shallow, hollow statement. He has much to give. He has the resources and the power to provide all that we need, and He has given us a realm of authority in service to Him. He said in that realm, “Command ye Me.” When Herodias’ daughter said she wanted John the Baptist’s head, the Bible says that Herod was not pleased, yet for his oath’s sake and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. This king said, “Ask of me, and I’ll give you whatever you ask unto half of my kingdom.” She asked for John the Baptist’s head. He didn’t imagine she might do that. He really didn’t want to kill John. He feared John, but for his oath’s sake, he gave her what she asked for. We have a King and He has made some oaths and promises to us. He has given us some realms of authority and power. Remember that Herodias’ daughter pleased the king before she got that kind of a promise. Somewhere along the line, you and I ought to get interested in pleasing God, not pleasing ourselves. Self-serving prayer is not what He is talking about when He said, “Command ye Me.” Trying to impose your will on God is not what He is talking about, when He says, “Command ye Me.” He is talking about the authority that we have in the prayer closet delegated by God to achieve His will in this world. Revelation 4:10-11 tells us that everything God created, He created for His pleasure. It seems like everything in creation is more cooperative in trying to give God glory than man, the crowning of creation and the one with the most capacity to honor God. Do you remember what the Bible says about Jesus? It says that He did always those things that pleased the Father. When He stood at the tomb of Lazarus Jesus prayed and said, “... Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always:...” (John 11:41-42) For God to hear is for God to answer according to I John 5:14-15. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” If I get a hearing, I get the answer. God tells us that Jesus never failed to get His prayers answered. He never had a single prayer that was not answered, but He lived constantly to fulfill the will of the Father. You and I ought to get interested in pleasing God. In I John 3:21-22 the Bible says, “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” The daughter of Herodias was promised half of the kingdom, whatever she would request, this kingly command, “Your request is my command.” Whatever I have, you just tell me and it’s yours. It sounds to me like he put her in command. It sounds to me like he gave her authority to request something and it was hers, unequivocally. I understand he was a corrupt king, an ungodly man. But I’m talking to you about the fact that we have a King and our King’s Word is better than Herod’s word. He has made some vows and promises to us. He has given us some authority and that being in the prayer closet. The king who beckoned her gave her a guarantee of the answer. Our King has done the same. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Somebody else? No, thee -- YOU. You can argue about which Testament that’s in, but the truth is, all the promises of God in Him are yea and amen. I can lay hold of those promises, part of Holy Writ. I can lay hold of principles and promises in God’s Word and those things are for me. I may delegate authority to somebody. Suppose I tell my employee, “I want you to fix this.” Do you think I’m not going to give him whatever he needs in material or tools to get it fixed? If he decides to build himself a house in the middle of my job, I may not give him the resources. If he is doing maintenance work for me, doing what I want done, do you think I am not going to make my resources available to him to get done what I’ve given him authority to do, what I expect him to do? My office staff, when I give them something to do, I’m going to make my resources available. I’m not going to say, “Get this done,” and then withhold the resources and tools so they can’t do it. God has already told us what His will is. He’s given us authority and put His resources at our disposal. He said, “Command ye Me.” Your request is my command. We have some Bible illustrations. Remember when Esther went into the king’s court uninvited and she was in jeopardy of her life, but as soon as he extended the sceptre to her, all danger was gone. All fear was gone and she could have anything she wanted. The sceptre is already extended to the people of God. He said, “Command ye Me.” You just tell Me what you want and I’ll do it. That’s pretty good. In Ezra 6:7-11, Darius made a decree and put Ezra in charge. Then he made his resources available and put them at his disposal. “Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place. Moreover I made a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expences be given unto these men, that they be not hindered.” A heathen king said, “Go ahead and build it.” How are we going to build it? We don’t have resources. He said, “What do you need? Your request is my command. Do you need all the tax money from the other side of the river? Do you need timber out of the forest? Do you need some extra workers? What do you need?” Command ye me. That statement really doesn’t have a lot of force unless it comes from somebody who has resources that will meet or exceed the need. Our God is the Creator. He has all the resources that we need. He has put us in command. In Nehemiah 2:5, they have come back to build the wall. Ezra is building the temple. In chapter 2:5-6 the Bible says, “And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it. And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.” The king was pleased to do this. He didn’t impose his will. This was something that the king was pleased to do. Then it said in verses 7 and 8, “Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.” The king said, “Go ahead and build it.” Nehemiah said, “What am I going to build it with?” The king said, “What do you need? You can go to the king’s forest and get whatever you need. I give you the authority. I’m going to give you command and make my resources available. Just speak the word and you will have whatever you need.” When God said, “Command ye Me” somebody may try to twist that and pervert it out of its God given intent. God didn’t give me authority over Him to try to get Him to do something that’s wrong or something that is my will, but He has given me a job to do and a realm of authority and He has made His resources available to me to complete the task He has given me. Here is the prayer closet and your request is my command. How often did Jesus say to somebody, “What wilt ye that I shall do unto thee?” Your request is my command. Command ye Me. Bartimaeus said, “That I might receive my sight.” How did that turn out? Do you ever remember Him denying anybody when He had made that kind of statement? “What wilt ye that I shall do unto thee?” Whatever they asked, they received. The ten lepers were cleansed and only one returned to give thanks, that being a Gentile, or a half-breed. The others did not even thank Him. I think the Lord is trying to get this message across to us: “What is your request? What wilt ye that I shall do unto thee? Your request is my command. Command ye Me.” That’s what the Lord Jesus is saying. When they made the request, it was just the same as a command. Lives were transformed and there was a power there. God commands me to command His resources. You are not going to boss God around, but when the King tells me to do something, He said, “Okay, all my resources are available; tell Me what you need. Your request is My command. What wilt ye that I shall do unto thee?” What do you need? The King’s forest. Do you need money? Do you need authority? Do you need Me to command somebody in your behalf? “Boy, that’s pretty bold.” The Bible says in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” I’m supposed to be bold in prayer. I’m supposed to have confidence in prayer, but it’s built on me pleasing the King. It is built upon me trying to achieve His will and Him putting His resources at my disposal. I’m going to tell you three things that have to do with this matter of us being in command of God’s resources. You say, “How do you do that, preacher?” #1. I can be in command by claiming the promises of God. Second Corinthians 1:20 says, “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” If I am not in Him, I don’t have any authority at all. A lost man doesn’t have that power. God will not be commanded by my word, but He will be commanded by His own Word. I’m not talking to you about quoting Scripture to God like He doesn’t know what He said. What I am talking about is praying and trying to obtain what the Word of God promised you. Instead of trying to get something He didn’t promise, why don’t you try to get something He did promise. Instead of trying to get something in selfishness, why don’t you try to get something to achieve the will of God, to accomplish something eternal? Psalm 138:2 says, “...for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” God won’t be commanded by my word, but He will be commanded by His own. Why? Because if a person’s word is no good, their name is no good. Therefore, God has elevated His Word above His name. You see illustrations of this in the Old Testament. Darius made a decree and could not reverse it. He honored his decree. When God makes a decree and I try to deal with that decree, God is going to honor it. Herod wouldn’t reject Herodias’ daughter for his oath’s sake. If God made me an oath, a promise, and I’m in Christ trying to do the will of God and I claim that promise in prayer, I should anticipate the answer. He said, “Command ye Me. What wilt ye that I shall do unto thee?” Titus 1:2 speaks of, “...God, that cannot lie...” Hebrews 6:13 says, “For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,” There isn’t any greater authority. Nobody has greater resources. Nobody has greater power. God has sworn by His name, by Himself. I can claim the promises of God and be in command of His resources because He will do what He promised. God wants me to take Him at His Word by faith. Faith is dependency upon God and expectancy from God to the point that the Word of God is enough. I just take God at His Word in full expectation that He is going to honor it. When Jesus offered to go to the house of the centurion in Matthew 8:8-10 we read, “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” What was that great faith? The centurion had said, “I don’t need any physical display. I don’t need You to show up in person. I’m really not worthy of that, but if You just give me Your Word on it, I know it’s going to be okay. I know there is authority in Your Word. I’ll take you at Your Word. I anticipate Your Word being with authority. I understand authority.” That’s what he was saying. God wants us to have that kind of faith in His promises. I can be in command of His resources by claiming the promises of God. God said, “You are not going to strive with Me. You go ahead and strive with the potsherds of the earth. Don’t mess with the Creator.” It’s pretty apparent that I’m not going to be bossing God around and telling Him what to do and asking Him, “Why did You do this and what do You think You are doing about that?” People do that all the time. “I don’t understand why. Why would a loving God...?” Questioning the love of God, questioning the goodness of God. They are striving with their Maker. But He did tell me that I have a realm of authority. He said, “I made My resources available to accomplish the job I gave you to do. Your request is My command. What wilt ye that I shall do unto thee?” “For all the promises of God in him are yea,...” That’s yes. “...and in him Amen,...” God is in agreement when I claim the promise. God said it. I believe it is done. That’s the way it is supposed to be. The Bible talks about the prayer of faith saving the sick, or delivering them from that sickbed. In John 14:14 He says, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I...” Might do it? Right? (That might be what the NIV says.) He says, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” You understand who this was to. He said, “Your request is My command. What wilt ye that I shall do unto thee? Ask and it will be given. Seek and it will be found. Knock and it will be opened.” He said, “I put you in command, in that prayer closet, of My resources. I’m not going to resist you when you are praying for My will and trying to accomplish something when you are claiming My promises, you are in command. I’m going to honor My Word. I will do what I said.” I can assure you that God always does what He says. Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. Prayer is you and I laying hold of His willingness. It’s not like God is some tight-wad up there in Heaven that has all these resources and He doesn’t want to let go of them. God has a will and He has made us promises that if we’d ever lay hold of by faith, if we’d ever get in a position where we are in command of those resources, we could change the world. That’s the kind of power that is available to you and me. “Command ye Me. What wilt ye that I shall do unto thee?” God is pleased with faith. The Bible says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him:...” (Hebrews 11:6) Herodias’ daughter first pleased the king. I’m going to have to operate by faith if I am going to lay hold of the promises. #2. I can be in command by imposing God’s will on Him. “What do you mean by that?” I can’t impose my will on Him. I’d be striving with my Maker. I think when He prefaced it with that statement, He made it very clear that the statement He is about to make does not mean that I can strive with my Maker, but it does mean I have some authority in the prayer closet. First John 5:14-15 says, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” God has a will and when I ask according to His will, He heareth me. That doesn’t just mean He picked up the sound. That means He granted me a hearing. Just like a judge grants somebody a hearing. He says to you and to me, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” That word ‘desire’ is an important word. Desire is a great key according to this passage and other verses, too. Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” We emphasize the prayer and we emphasize the belief and we ignore the thing that originated the prayer. We ignore the thing that God said first. “Whatsoever ye desire.” A lot of times we just mouth words. We don’t really want anything that has to do with eternity and with God and spiritual things. We know what to say, but there is no passion. There is no desire. There is no hunger for the things of God. The Bible says that I can be in command of His resources, number one, by me claiming His promises. God will do what He says. By me imposing, not my will, but His own will upon Him. If I’m trying to get a job accomplished and get the resources to get done what God wants done, do you think He is not going to help me? “Your request is My command.” I must be certain that my desire finds its origin in God. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” What most people read into that verse is if I delight in God, I can get whatever I desire. What He is talking about is me delighting in God and His person, and God giving me my desires, God putting the right desires in me. Then He promised that if I prayed according to that desire, it’s going to receive the answer. If I’m praying with a desire that was first born in the heart of God and given to me while I spent time with Him, He imparted that desire to me. He gave me that desire, but it’s His desire. It found its origin in Him, not me. Just like He delegated authority, He gave me my desire. It’s a holy desire. If this desire that I am praying with was born in the heart of God and given to me by Him while I fellowshipped with Him and communed with Him, do you think He can honor that desire since it was in His heart before it was in mine, since He is the One that gave it to me? Do you reckon maybe He can answer that? Do you reckon it’s a desire that God can honor? He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God will always do what He said. If I’m talking to God about what He wants done, I can expect Him to respond. My wife can command me and I’ll obey. She’ll say, “Lay down and let me rub your back.” Because I want my back rubbed and I’ll dive right down there. “Get your shoes off. I’m going to rub your feet.” I’ll obey. If what you are commanding me to do is something I want done, you won’t encounter any problem getting me to respond immediately and yield my resources, or submit myself to what you are trying to get done. Because it is my will you are trying to do. It’s something I want done. It’s what pleases me. You are not going to be in command of somebody by fighting against them, especially if they are the one that has the authority. The best thing you can do when somebody has authority is submit and try to please them. I’m not talking about wicked men now. I’m making an application here. We are talking about God. If I please God, I have authority. If my prayer and my intent is to please God and glorify God and get the work of God done, do you think He is going to resist me? Do you think He is going to say no? “Command ye me. What wilt ye that I shall do unto thee?” #3. I can be in command by praying in the Holy Ghost. I need to claim the promises of God. I need to impose God’s will on Him, not my will. I need to pray under the supervision of the Holy Ghost of God. Jude 20 talks about praying in the Holy Ghost. Anything I do in the Holy Ghost, I do under His supervision as well as in His power. The Holy Ghost, what He supervises, He empowers. What He does not supervise, He does not empower. According to James 4:7, I tap the authority and the power by submission, not by resistance. Submit yourselves therefore to God, number one. Resist the devil, number two. When I submitted to God, I obtained the power to do the latter. Without submission, there is no power to resist the devil. I’ll live a defeated life. In Ephesians 5:18, every believer is commanded to be filled with the Spirit, be under the supervision, the authority of the Holy Spirit of God. The Bible says, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,...” (Ephesians 6:18) First John 5:7 says, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” There is no conflict between the Father and the Holy Ghost. There is no conflict between the Word of God and the Father. If I’m honoring the Word of God and I’m under the supervision of the Holy Ghost, am I going to have power? Am I going to get answers? If I’m in submission to the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost and the Father are One, if I’m trying to fulfill the Scriptures and the Scriptures and the Father are One, there is some authority in that. The Holy Ghost will not lead me contrary to the Scriptures, like a lot of people talk about, nor will He lead me contrary to God the Father. Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities:...” An infirmity is the inability to produce the desired result. I can’t get it done without the help of the Holy Ghost of God. I have an infirmity, an inability to produce the desired result. “...for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” There are several things I want you to pick up on here. You understand that the Holy Spirit of God is the One who helps my infirmity, makes the impossible possible, gives me power with the Father, gets me on the same page, puts me in command in my prayer closet because I’m under His supervision. I’m claiming His promises. I’m trying to fulfill His Word. Here is the problem. Most of us are trying to fulfill our will, not His will, not His Word. We are not claiming His promises. We are complaining about what we didn’t get that we want. We are not out to glorify Him. We are out to gratify ourselves. When you do that, you are not in command. If you don’t watch out, you’ll be striving with your Maker. He said, “Look, I’ve given you some authority. Use it.” “Ezra, go build the temple. I’ll give you letters of authority. I’ll give you power. I’ll give the trees. I’ll give you money.” “Hey, Nehemiah, go build the wall. Go to the king’s forest and you tell them I said this and go do that.” “Your request is my command. What wilt ye that I shall do unto thee? Ask and ye shall receive.” The Spirit helpeth our infirmity. Suppose after church tonight one of the ladies got a vacuum cleaner and came in here and pushed it up and down the aisles and between the pews, I mean, covered every inch of carpet. Just one problem, she never plugged it into the power source! She worked hard. She put in the time, but she didn’t get the job done. It’s not a matter of laziness, or using the wrong tool, or not spending enough time. The problem is that first you have to be connected to the power source. Do you know what we have in churches? A lot of people that are working hard and putting in the time, but they are not plugged into the power source before they pray. They are not getting the job done. It’s not happening. We need to pray in the Holy Ghost, under His supervision as well as in His power. Then He talks about groanings which cannot be uttered. When I read that statement, I understand it is the Holy Ghost groaning for us in our behalf, but sometimes things are so bad you come to God and don’t even know what to ask for first, and don’t even know how to ask. There is a language that God understands. Psalm 51:17 talks about, “...a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” I just come in brokenness and yielded to the Holy Ghost of God and say, “Lord, I don’t even know what to ask you for here.” The Holy Ghost says, “I do.” I need His guidance in prayer. I need His power. I need His access. That’s why I need to be yielded to Him to be in command of the resources that God has to fulfill His will and work, and His promises, so that I can do what pleases Him. In Colossians 1:29 the Bible says, “Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” Instead of striving against my Maker, I’m supposed to strive according to His working that worketh in me mightily. God said that is going to give me some power. That’s going to give me some authority. Whatever God is trying to make me, I’m trying to become. Whatever God wants done, I’m trying to do. Whatever promise God wants to fulfill, I’m trying to claim it. Whatever thing He’s commanded, I’m trying to achieve and I need His resources. “What wilt ye that I shall do unto thee.” God says, “Command ye Me.” Joshua, in the will of God, said, “Sun, stand still.” Do you think Joshua had the power to do that? No, it was borrowed. The only One that could make the sun stand still is God, but He put Joshua in command, because Joshua was fighting God’s enemies in that battle. Remember Elijah? God gave him a message and he delivered it. “There shall not be dew nor rain except by my word.” Did it rain? Not until three and a half years later when God told him to say. “Now it’s going to rain.” He had some God-given authority. God said, “...concerning the work of my hands command ye me.” Elijah wasn’t trying to impose His own will. He was trying to do the will of God. When he tried to do the will of God, he had access to God’s resources and power and could exercise control in the universe. That is pretty scary. These are human beings like us, folks. Paul, in Acts 16, could command that evil spirit to leave the girl and it had to go because he had divine authority and God wanted it done. I’m simply saying to you, it’s almost like a pilot and a navigator. The navigator is not in charge of the plane; the pilot is. That pilot has a destination and he has committed some authority to that navigator and he will follow the instructions of the navigator because the navigator is trying to get him to where he wants to go. God is in charge. There is no question about that. We are not going to strive with our Maker. When He said, “Command ye Me” he said, “I put all my resources at your disposal. All you have to do is decide you are going to please Me and do My will and claim My promises, because I always do what I promised. Try to fulfill My will and I’ll open up the King’s forest and the King’s treasury to enable you to get My will done.” If I give someone the job of building an addition on my house, they will most likely come back to me with a material list. He might also say, “If you can give me two helpers I think we can handle this job in a week.” I am glad to fulfil his request because he’s letting me know what he needs to do the job I asked him to do. He can pretty much ask me for anything that’s needed, and I’ll be glad to fill his request. Folks, do you realize what awaits us? Do you realize what is available to us? Do you realize what a vast store of resources that we are not tapping? God said, “Command ye Me.” We have some power and authority in prayer, but we are not going to impose our will on Him. We have to be trying to do His will and His work. We have to be trying to claim His promises. We have to be in submission to the Holy Ghost of God, who is One with the Father, but He did say, “Command ye Me” and it is possible. God said, “Here are My resources. Please Me. Claim My promises. Do My will. Whatever you ask, it’s available. What wilt ye that I shall do unto thee? Your request is My command.” What will ye? Is there anything that burns in your soul that has to do with the will of God and the promises of God, glorifying God, pleasing God? “What will ye? Command ye Me.” Why don’t you put yourself in a position where you are in command of the needed power and resources because you are in submission to Him? I get in command by getting in submission. I lose any power and authority in prayer when I’m operating in the flesh and on my own. The scary thing to me is a lot of folks have given up on prayer in our day and hour. There are people under the sound of my voice that don’t even have a prayer life. I’m not being critical or unkind, but they simply just don’t have a prayer life. We have the King of the universe, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and He said, “Command ye Me. Ask and ye shall receive. What wilt ye that I shall do unto thee?” Why are we not praying? Why are we not requesting and directing those resources? Are we not concerned enough about the will of God to even ask for the resources and power to get it done? God, help us to get in a position where we can be in command of those resources and use them for God’s glory and honor, for the salvation of souls and the furtherance of the Gospel. |
|
