Three Articles on PROPHECY
Lars Widerberg
"The Heat of a furnace"
"The Davidic Plumbline"
& "Things That Grieve"
The heat of a furnace
By Lars Widerberg
Prophecy finds its birth in fire. The prophetic dimension is sustained by fire. The prophet brings fire. A prophetic utterance demands a listener to give himself to the fire on the altar. Prophecy brings separation – eternal values are one with the fire, earthly desires cannot share this communion.
"The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times." Ps 12:6. Apprehending a word from a furnace requires a heart willing to adjust to intense temperatures and pressure. The first requirement of the prophetic realm is a heart which is willing to bear the ferocity of the aliveness of heavenly realities. The fire of the furnace produces a mind perplexed and shattered by the complexity and otherness of the thoughts of God; a mind ready to violate common codes of the self-sustaining structures which defines and defends manageable religion.
Micah, a "minor prophet", had taken the necessary steps into the fire, and he knew the reality of heavenly heat and pursuit, and wrote: " But I am full of strength and skill and courage, inspired by the Eternal, to let Jacob know its crimes, and Israel its sins. Leaders of Jacob, listen to this, you judges over the house of Israel, who spurn at justice and twist equity, who build your Sion up with bloodshed and Jerusalem on crime, judges passing verdicts for a bribe, priests pattering oracles for pay prophets divining for money, and all the while relying on the Eternal." Micah 3:8-11 – Moffatt.
What kind of man dares to go; what kind of inner constitution will carry a man into the presence of men of authority of this world as well as before the revelling, raging mob bringing words with fire? What kind of burden, what kind of inner pressure produces enough bravery to allow a man to reduce himself to mere sacrifice, a burnt offering, an offering by fire? What happens in the secret place, what is wrought in the inner parts of man to for the sake of bringing forth moral stamina corresponding with the words from the furnace of Heaven? Too many among us dismiss the burning bush as yet another thorn bush devoured by spontaneous combustion. The prophetic mind is occupied with the maintenance of and the operations of the fire of God. A prophet's heart is set on fire, it burns because God speaks. A word purged seven times will bring fire. A word from the Lord reveals what His fire is like.
The main concern of the prophet is the fire itself. Fire is the driving force in his life. The fire on the altar shall be kept burning, it may under no circumstances be quenched – and the prophet is there, brought into office, to keep it burning. This fundamental necessity has taken him into the priestly realm, into the business and ministry of priesthood. A mind set on fire, occupied with the fire, is a mind given to priestliness. A priest cannot allow the fire to fade, to be quenched, to go out. A priest cannot allow the realities of Heaven to fade; the testimony may never fade.
A testimony of the heavenly realities carries the fire of the altar at its core. The fire ignites words – a testimony is not words, a prophecy does not consist of words primarily but is an outburst of heavenly fire. Baptized with fire. Baptized with passion for reality. A prophetic word brings purging. A word from the furnace brings separation. It never leaves the people slumbering with an "All is well". It reveals necessary pursuits of holiness to be made by a righteous people. The fire provokes positively where righteousness is already rooted. The very same fire disqualifies and destroys where unrighteousness has established inroads.
The disposition of the prophetic man is to be defined by the fire itself. It is not generated by sternness – holiness is not harsh, not stirred by lively imagination or a bright intellect, not produced by strange moodiness or altered states of perception. Coming out from the presence, having been at the furnace, having had an opportunity to look into His face – all this, and nothing but this makes a heart burn and sets a mind on fire.
Why is the prophet of the Old Testament times so alive to, so direct and immediate in his approach as to moral issues? Why is he dramatically on target in relation to dealing with malicious practices among his people, even among foreign nations? Why do we suffer from charismatic shallowness regarding sin, regarding attempts to promote injustice, regarding any and every evil practice? Why do we suffer from a common charismatic shallowness regarding prophetic negligence in this realm? Baptized with Spirit, but not with fire. Baptized into spiritual pragmatism and religious conformity, but not with the Holy Spirit and His fire.
The fire is gone from the altar. The priest and the prophet are not present an in proper position for its maintenance. There is no passion for heavenly realities. The state of affairs is worse, much worse than when a minor prophet stood up to speak to a nation gone astray. How did he dare to speak? How long do we have to wait for a prophet carrying a burden of that kind again? Is there anybody ready to give himself to the altar? Is there anybody out there ready for that fire?
The Davidic plumb line
By Lars Widerberg
Nations conspire. Kings take their stand. Rulers gather together against the Lord. World views and civilisations clash. "Let us break the chains of the Anointed one". Let us throw off the yoke of Heaven, and then dress and bless ourselves. Is this what rulership must belike? Is there no balm in Gilead?
Willingness to listen and to take heed makes a hasty retreat in times marked by an anti-christian attitude – 1 John 4:6, 3. A hardening of heart is a major sign of final hours. Perplexity, a shattering of values, a mindless wandering, arbitrary rule - is that all which is left to draw from when a man is about to "take a stand"? Do kings have to be awkward, does their ruling have to be unfair?
When men begin pondering and praying, God is found sending a Heavenly plumb line into such a gathering. This item of mature measurement holds the likeness of a heart, the Davidic heart. When rulers and ruling is considered in prayer the Davidic measurement, the Law of Zion will be brought in by the Spirit for the sake of proper procedure and fair outcome.
God is looking for men who dare to come under the tempering of the Davidic heart. The Father holds no interest in methods, he does not bless arbitrarily. His glory comes by formation. His glory is to be seen among men who together decide to lift up holy hands.
Rulers may rage against this prayer pressure unto fairness, godliness and righteousness. But rulers are not predestined to perplexity. They are men of choosing and decision making – and God holds them responsible. In the coming days when all things will be tested and utterly shaken for the sake of final removal, there will be some things taken to the side which cannot be shaken. Among these incorruptible things will be found hearts of rulers, who were made ready through prayer to take decisions contrary to common trends.
There will be grace stored up in the final days by the help of eager intercessors who have decided to pray for the ruler who, from certain perspectives, would fit the role as an enemy of godliness. Intercessors who dare to begin wrestle with prayer items of this dignity will find themselves involved in intense controversy. They will have to go through a refiner's fire, like the priests of Levi, but they will also be able to share their standing in a covenant which is Life and Peace with men who were meant to bring life and peace to their people. Intercessors and rulers will share in a common experience – the formation of a Davidic heart.
Things that Grieve
Fellowship with the Holy Spirit in Prayer
By Lars Widerberg
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.
--------------
The articles sent to the Network may be freely circulated via e-mail.
Encourage your friends to partake in intercession and tell them about the possibility to link up to Intercessors Network.
--------------
Give the king knowledge of Your way of judging, O God and the spirit of your righteousness to the king's son to control his actions. Psalms 72:1 Amplified version.
*******************************
PRIORITY NUMBER ONE:
PRAY FOR MEN IN AUTHORITY, 1 TIM 2:1-4
Lars Widerberg
Intercessors Network
Storskiftesgatan 87
S-58334 Linkoping, Sweden
Intercessors.Network@Comhem.se
Phone + Fax: +46 13 213630
Financial support of this Prayer Operation is welcome indeed. A cheque needs to be written to Lars Widerberg, to be accepted by a bank. The fee to cash it is 10 dollars, therefore: A letter covered with prayer would carry a small donation in cash safely to the address above.
