“Are You Able To Drink The Cup?”

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness.
Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in event of success.”

~Advertisement from Ernest Shackleton: The Last Antarctic Expedition Dec.29 1913~

So you think that you may be called to be a reformer? “Bless you brother, bless you, isn’t God good? Amen!” And so the pathetic rhetoric goes from those who don’t seem to have a clue what we are talking about. Welcome to loneliness 101 and forward! Your thinking will not be conventional. You will not be comfortable with the status quo. Compromise will trouble you deeply. An inner voice crying out “go deeper” will continually be with you. Day and night the passion for more of Jesus, more of the blessings of His cross will drive you. Many times you’ll scratch your head thinking “what’s wrong with me?”, “What have I done wrong?”, “Lord, why are you treating me like this?” Get used to it my friend and realize you are not alone, though it will definitely feel like that. Yes the multitudes around you will not understand and don’t expect them too. It’s trying to fit in that will be like a thorn in your side bringing confusion and depression. And the chances are high that God will have it to be so. You have got to become your own man in Christ, follow the unlikely path. You have to be comfortable at the foot of the cross dying out and becoming nothing even if it seems you’re the only one there and that you are wasting your life away for something very remote. You have to die to your own dreams for God in order to live His dreams for you. The path of a reformer is strewn with grave-stones and every one will have your name on it. So and so lies here and here and here… If all you’re after is a bucket list and a good time this is not for you. If money and fame has any pull on you it has to go. Reformers are not self-made they are God made. The signature of a reformer will be all over your life and thinking. Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention; Many of the ‘lesser sort’ will offer you plenty of reasons to give up and be like them. They will try and try until you either give in or your convictions win the day. Which will it be?

Ok, now that we’ve scaled away about 97% of the people we’ll focus on the 3% of you that are left.

Welcome to God’s special forces. How much does this mean to you? Let me rephrase that- How much does Jesus and His Kingdom mean to you? Remember Jesus’s words about the gates,

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matt.7:13-14)

Did you hear that? There are “few who find it.” Yes all those on the broad way will wonder about you pursuing something so different and unpopular. Believe me you’re not alone. It’s just that your numbers are few. Do you want to walk with God and be on the inside track? Or is this just a passing compulsion that started a few days or months ago? Are you really living with this thing or is it walking by and you like the looks of it? This has to own you. You have got to be “sold out to it.” Do you really see Jesus in it? It’s got to make everything else look very empty!

Consider Elijah. Elijah felt these things when he cried out to God and said,

“I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” Then the Lord said to him.. “I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” 1Ki.19:10,18

Now that should have solved everything right? Aren’t you feeling better Elijah? Let’s ask a few questions here. Firstly, where were they? These seven thousand that had not bowed the knee to Baal; where were they? It’s pretty obvious Elijah was unaware of them, right? God in His incredible grace and mercy clearly took note of them, but let’s not get too carried away here. They weren’t out there with Elijah duking it out with the big boys of hell, taking the death threats and dealing with the huge amount of rejection Elijah was facing on a constant basis. They were so absent and irrelevant that Elijah the prophet of God didn’t even know they existed! So where were they? Well, they were playing it safe and keeping out of Ahab’s and Jezebel’s way. They were hiding out, taking the gutless choice that so many do, staying away from the front lines. Let’s take this a step further. Note the following words from 1Ki.18:3-4,

“And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.)” Also 1Ki.18:7,13 “Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?…Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid one hundred men of the Lord’s prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water?”

Ok, that was all good and fine for the one hundred prophets of the Lord but again where were they? Note the words of scripture, “I hid one hundred men of the Lord’s prophets..” They weren’t out there either were they? They were also in hiding afraid for their lives! Again leaving Elijah alone and feeling like he was the only one left. Do we understand this? This is extremely important. It represents the central experience of a reformer’s life. Elijah may have heard that Obadiah had done this but in real life time he was all alone! That kind of loneliness is cutting and it is no ordinary man who can stand up to it! That is a reformers lot and Elijah the prophet of God was standing right in the middle of it. The uniqueness of God’s revelations through His word will single you out for such experiences. Are you able to stand there? Can you handle it?

Then there is the matter of the widow of Zarephath Elijah was sent to. The scripture notes,

“Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: ‘Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.’ So he went to Zarephath” 1Ki.17:7-10.

Now couple this with Jesus’ account of it to the people of Nazareth in the New Testament.

“But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.” Lk.4:25-26

No my friend, he wasn’t sent to any of the widows in Israel. He was sent completely out of the land of Israel to the town of Zarephath in the region of Sidon, a Gentile land (Currently known as Lebanon) about 60-70 miles away to help a widow and her son who were about to die. So how do you deal with that? Elijah’s people, Israel, were also suffering from the drought and dying, as well as their livestock, but he was commanded by God to walk away from them and help a widow who wasn’t even part of his people. “But Lord”? No, there was no “But Lord” about it. You walk away and let the suffering go on, just to help a Gentile gal who doesn’t even live in your land among your people. That’s heart-wrenching stuff as well as confusing. Such is the lot of a reformer. Moving on.

Now we come to the grand salami of Elijah’s life. The Mount Carmel of one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament. Please deeply consider, up to this point Elijah has had to go it alone. Elisha, his soon to be protege, was not on the scene yet. Evidently all those who were still on the Lord’s side were in hiding either personally or physically. Elijah’s statement, “I alone am left and they seek to take my life” was heavy upon him. With no real friends and the feeling of continual loneliness his one true help was the Voice of the Lord that was with him. Have you experienced that yet? There will be a hundred voices around you saying “you must be wrong” and another hundred voices in your mind saying the same thing. Will you still be able to move forward convinced that you are hearing the “Voice of the Lord?” Or will you give up? It’s an easy step the wrong way but difficult to turn around.

It is an extremely vulnerable place to match humility and openness with fortitude. Incorrigibility and arrogance strut on a broad plane while humility and vulnerability balance on the head of a pin. It is just that way and a good person can spot the difference miles out. The former will always lead to a fall whereas the latter will open horizons in the Lord.

It was this last confrontation that brought our prophet to the final breaking point. “Enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers” he said in discouragement (1Ki.19:4). Elijah had met his match in the field of God’s service and wanted it over with! I dare say you could do no better my friend. It is an extremely vulnerable place to match humility and openness with fortitude. Incorrigibility and arrogance strut on a broad plane while humility and vulnerability balance on the head of a pin. It is just that way and a good person can spot the difference miles out. The former will always lead to a fall whereas the latter will open horizons in the Lord.

The prophets of Baal are now called to Mt. Carmel for a show down with Elijah (1Ki.18:25-40 ). You probably know the story but there is one section I want to highlight,

“Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, ‘Is that you, O troubler of Israel?’ And he answered, ‘I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table’” (1Ki.18:17-19).

This was no private gathering. We’re talking all of Israel, the prophets of Baal and the prophets of Asherah. Elijah had the attention of the nation in front of him. And yet even after such a profound demonstration of God’s power it didn’t effect a change of direction in the nation. So Elijah had had it. He wanted the Lord to take his life. Do we understand the loneliness in all this. One man seemingly against a whole nation! We’re not talking a few people of a different mindset. We are talking an entire nation! Remember Noah?

“And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (Gen.6:13).

One man and his family out of the whole earth given a message of impending judgment that will erase mankind’s existence. It doesn’t get much more unique than that. Can you handle that kind of understanding? Do you have the makeup for it? It takes serious humility, deep compassion and conviction. The loss of any one of those can put you on the sidelines. Are you willing to receive understanding that will separate you in that way? Amazing revelation is available to move the church back into incredible power and relevance and to transform the world, but very very few can handle it. Their whole mentality would be to use it to become a big-shot and that just can not be! The world doesn’t need another big-shot, book, dvd or Megachurch. They need the power and truth of the Kingdom of God. Can you go there?

The current church system is fully committed to conformity around a system that left heaven’s standards long ago. A message that challenges the accepted paradigm is completely foreign to what is permitted and considered orthodox. When that message comes it not only incites the bigotry of the religious elite and many of the rank and file but it incites the wrath of Hell. There is no way to bring it into a friendly environment. It has loneliness written all over it. Can you hear the voice of the Lord in the absence of popular consent? We are not talking about rebellion. You must hear that! We are talking about obedience to the voice of the Lord.

The revelations of God are expensive. You won’t find them while you’re living on this side of the veil of God’s spiritual Tabernacle, outside the Holy Place in the courtyard. It just doesn’t happen there. The courtyard is all about sanctification not revelation. Most Christians today are “courtyard Christians” spending their existence going back and forth between the Alter of Sacrifice and the Brazen Laver never getting self out of the way; never able to pierce the veil into the Holy Place- into God’s domain where revelation happens.

That’s what the word of God does when times of reformation become necessary. It pulls far out of the ranks of status quo thinking, conventional religious platitudes and theo-babble that rule the day and drive mankind closer to the abyss! You don’t make these kinds of things up. They are not found in a book. They are not intellectually driven. They are revealed. I said they are REVEALED! They are Revelation signed, sealed and delivered from the Throne of God. The rarity of such revelations stand out at once; riveting, provocative, in stark contrast to the dominant narrative and fought by Hell. Can you handle that?? Can you receive it? Few can! “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant” (Ps.25:14). The apostle Paul wrote,

“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation
in the knowledge of Him.”
Eph.1:17

The revelations of God are expensive. You won’t find them while you’re living on this side of the veil of God’s spiritual Tabernacle, outside the Holy Place in the courtyard. It just doesn’t happen there. The courtyard is all about sanctification not revelation. Most Christians today are “courtyard Christians” spending their existence going back and forth between the Alter of Sacrifice and the Brazen Laver never getting self out of the way. Never able to pierce the veil into the Holy Place- into God’s domain where revelation happens.

Are you still with me dear saint? Have we crossed the line yet?
How much of you is left saying, “I can’t do that?” Well kick it down and move on future reformer. Leave it gasping for air. It has to die anyway! This thing has to be worth your blood!! Did you hear that? This thing has to be worth your blood!! Is your vision worth your life or does it stop this side of that line? If it is worth dying for it’s worth living for. How much does Jesus and His kingdom really mean to you? Jesus said,

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple (Lk.14:26). The apostle Paul wrote, “Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead” (2Cor.1:10).

~Reformers are a rare breed, committing their lives and livelihood to something they may never see in their lifetime, but will certainly eventually come to pass~ LC

You’ve got to want nothing really bad- Just Jesus. Yes you heard me right, you’ve got to want nothing really bad- only Jesus matters! While everyone around you is reaching for the glory, you are pulling back in the crowd getting out of sight “hiding behind the stuff” as Saul did shortly before he became king of Israel.

We are moving into the most remarkable time in human history.
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2Chr.16:9).

Many of you out there are sensing the urgency of the hour and some of you are being crafted for the reformation that is coming. This is a time to be set apart by God. Are you hearing the voice of the Savior calling you deeper? Are you feeling the pull? This is a “Kairos” hour; an “appointed time” in God’s plan for earth and its inhabitants. Walk softly, honor His Word, pray much, love mercy and embrace humility.

 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph.2:10).

( Don’t go it alone if at all possible. Feel free to contact me and I will do my best to get back with you )

Luther Canon
Sola Scriptura