The coming famine and the man of God.

[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=23330&forum=34&1]Another Flood[/url]

[b][u]Unto a Perfect Man[/b][/u] by Art Katz
(taken from [url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060225025625/www.benisrael.org/OnlineBooks/reality_book/ch1_reality.htm]Reality - The Hope of Glory[/url])*
*this is published 31 years ago.

[i] Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.

He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:

Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

Until the time that his word came; the word of the Lord tried him.

The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.

He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:

To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom. (Psalm 105:15�22) (emphasis mine)[/i]

[b]There is famine coming upon the land. God is going to break the whole staff of bread.[/b] All of this glittering civilization and all of its accouterments and endowments, all of its lush affluence and prosperity [b]will be shaken and broken by the hand of God.[/b] If you are suffering difficult and painful conditions in your life today, do not wonder if God has deserted His child. The Lord was with Joseph in the deepest pits and on the highest peaks. He promises to each of us no lesser faithfulness. It is God who sees your heart and your willingness to walk with Him, and is preparing you even now to be part of that man that He shall bring forth when the whole staff of bread is broken, and a perplexed world shall not have answers from its magicians and wise men.

"He sent a man before them, even Joseph." God is sending a man, a many-membered man, a corporate man. He is knocking down the things that have divided us; our denominational labels, our foolish theologies, our doctrines, our isolationism, our privacy, and our fears. He is tempering us [b]together[/b] and making of us [b]one people[/b] by dealing with us personally and privately, and dealing with us corporately.

[i]And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Genesis 41:46a)[/i]

Jesus, too, was thirty years old when He began His public ministry, the Lamb in the maturity of years. It is of Him we must look,

[i]Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:13�16)[/i]

He is going to bring forth a man, in his [b]maturity, unto a perfect man,[/b] in the fullness of the stature of Jesus Christ. Sober-minded, that man will be rich in his [b]understanding of God[/b] by the Spirit, strongly walking in the fullness of that Spirit, and willing to submit to the dealings of His hand. All parts of that man will move gracefully together, united in His purpose, listening for His still, small voice. Having ended all commerce with the beckoning, taunting spirit of this world, the members of that man, by the merciful guidance of their Head, shall attain to that level of maturity through which God can speak and act. There is no way to obtain it without first, like Joseph, being [b]brought down into "Egypt"[/b], and God shall not pull you there against your will.

If you will be satisfied with some [b]lesser walk[/b], the dollar in the collection plate for the endowment of pews, [b]you can have it[/b]. If you want to pour some oil on the rocks, as Jacob did, and call that the House of God, you can have it. God, however, is looking for people who are dreamers and visionaries, who have eyes to see the world being increasingly steeped in darkness, whose hearts cry out for the Shekinah glory of God to break forth upon the earth, and who are willing to be the vessels of that Light at [i]any price[/i].

May we, as His people, [b]never[/b] forget or take lightly the price our God paid in precious blood, that we might be saved from bondage, darkness, and death:

[i]And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again. (2 Corinthians 5:15)[/i]

The [b]world spirit will come to us more and more during these end times[/b], and whisper, cry, sing, squeal, and shout, "Lie with me." The invitation may offer literal fornication, or a respectable-looking substitution of religious appearances for the vitality of a committed service to the living God. It will offer whatever might have [b]the greatest potential to shift our eyes from His purpose[/b] to our desires. The result of saying yes is the same in every case: the forfeiture of our usefulness as an instrument for [b]His revelation at the end of the ages.[/b]

That lowly Hebrew did not know that the entire world would be critically affected by his response to the seductive invitation of Potiphar's wife. Joseph�s loving obedience to the Lord and his resistance to temptation resulted in God having a man through whom He could minister life to all nations in a time of great want.

And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

[i] And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.

And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt.

And all the countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands. (Genesis 41:54-57)[/i]

If Joseph was a man who had lived for himself, he would have embraced the devil's visible offer, and turned his back on his unseen Lord. Countless lives, history, hung in the balance at the moment of decision. God did not offer any deal to His man: He did not say, "If you refuse this woman, I will make you lord and ruler of Pharaoh's house and of all his possessions." All Joseph knew at the time was that to hearken to, lie by, or even be with his temptress would have constituted a great wickedness and a revolt against the very Spirit within him.

God is calling His people to simple obedience and a trusting walk with Him by the Spirit. We need not receive any [b]immediate explanations[/b] or forecasts of consequences at the moment that [b]He points the direction[/b] and, in His great faithfulness, says to us, [i]"This is the way, walk ye in it." (Isaiah 30:21a)[/i]

That same spirit who spoke through Potiphar's wife to Joseph spoke also to our Lord Himself through Peter, and in effect, said, once again, "Lie with me."

[i] From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee."

But He turned, and said unto Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: [b]for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.[/b]" (Matthew 16:21�23)
[/i]
At the cross, human flesh meets with the antithesis and utter defeat of every one of its selfish goals. The disciple was asking Jesus to consider the comfort and preservation of His earthen vessel. Peter's appeal may sound to many ears like the noblest of sentiments. If Jesus had said yes to it and avoided the cross, all of mankind, throughout all time, would have lost its only means of eternal salvation.

[b][u]But He refused.[/b][/u]

Excellent word from Art Katz…I hope many take the time to read this. Thanks for posting it Tears of joy.

Tears_of_joy wrote:
He is going to bring forth a man, in his maturity, unto a perfect man, in the fullness of the stature of Jesus Christ. Sober-minded, that man will be rich in his understanding of God by the Spirit, strongly walking in the fullness of that Spirit, and willing to submit to the dealings of His hand. All parts of that man will move gracefully together, united in His purpose, listening for His still, small voice. Having ended all commerce with the beckoning, taunting spirit of this world, the members of that man, by the merciful guidance of their Head, shall attain to that level of maturity through which God can speak and act. There is no way to obtain it without first, like Joseph, being brought down into "Egypt", and God shall not pull you there against your will.

If you will be satisfied with some lesser walk, the dollar in the collection plate for the endowment of pews, you can have it. If you want to pour some oil on the rocks, as Jacob did, and call that the House of God, you can have it. God, however, is looking for people who are dreamers and visionaries, who have eyes to see the world being increasingly steeped in darkness, whose hearts cry out for the Shekinah glory of God to break forth upon the earth, and who are willing to be the vessels of that Light at any price.

"who are willing to be the vessels of that Light at any price."

May this be our prayer.

Thank you Bother Kire.

Brother Kire, your post reminded me of this Scripture...

Is. 66:1 Thus says the LORD:
\t“Heaven is My throne,
\tAnd earth is My footstool.
\tWhere is the house that you will build Me?
\tAnd where is the place of My rest?
2 \tFor all those things My hand has made,
\tAnd all those things exist,”
\tSays the LORD.
\t“But on this one will I look:
\tOn him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
\tAnd who trembles at My word.
3 \t“He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man;
\tHe who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog’s neck;
\tHe who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;
\tHe who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol.
\tJust as they have chosen their own ways,
\tAnd their soul delights in their abominations,
4 \tSo will I choose their delusions,
\tAnd bring their fears on them;
\tBecause, when I called, no one answered,
\tWhen I spoke they did not hear;
\tBut they did evil before My eyes,
\tAnd chose that in which I do not delight.”
5 \tHear the word of the LORD,
\tYou who tremble at His word:
\t“Your brethren who hated you,
\tWho cast you out for My name’s sake, said,
\t‘Let the LORD be glorified,
\tThat we may see your joy.’
\tBut they shall be ashamed.”
6 \tThe sound of noise from the city!
\tA voice from the temple!
\tThe voice of the LORD,
\tWho fully repays His enemies!
7 \t“Before she was in labor, she gave birth;
\tBefore her pain came,
\tShe delivered a male child.
8 \tWho has heard such a thing?
\tWho has seen such things?
\tShall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
\tOr shall a nation be born at once?
\tFor as soon as Zion was in labor,
\tShe gave birth to her children.

Thank you for your exhortation...I have some reading to do.

Your brother in Christ
Jeff