(New Wine in New Wineskins) 2. God Needs Men

God Needs Men Today - men who will stand before His face and hear His voice daily, men who have no desire in their heart for anyone or anything other than God Himself, men who fear Him so greatly that they hate sin in every form and love righteousness and truth in all their ways, men who have overcome anger and sexually sinful thoughts, and who would rather die than sin even in thought or attitude, men whose daily lifestyle is one of taking up the cross and pressing on to perfection, and who are constantly working out their own salvation with fear and trembling, men, full of the Holy Spirit, who are so rooted and grounded in love that nothing can ever move them into an unloving attitude towards another human being however great the provocation, men who are so rooted and grounded in

humility that neither human praise nor spiritual growth, neither a divinely endorsed ministry nor anything else will be able to make them lose the awareness of their being less than the least of all the saints, men who have an understanding of God's nature and purpose through His word, and who tremble at that word so that they will not disobey even the smallest commandment or neglect to teach it to others, men who will proclaim the whole counsel of God and expose religious harlotry and unscriptural human traditions, men who have the revelation of the Holy Spirit on the secret of godliness, on Christ having come in the flesh and opened a new and living way through the flesh, men who are diligent and hard-working, but who also have a sense of humour, and know how to relax and play with

children and enjoy God's good gifts in nature, men who are not ascetics, but who at the same time live a disciplined life and who are not afraid of hardships, men who have no interest in expensive clothing or sight seeing and who will not waste their time in unprofitable activities or their money in unnecessary purchases, men who have mastered their desire for fancy foods and who are not enslaved to music or sport or any other legitimate activity, men who have been disciplined successfully by God in the fires of affliction, abuse, tribulations, false accusation, physical sickness, financial hardships and opposition from relatives and religious leaders, men full of mercy, who can sympathise with the worst of sinners and the worst of believers, and have hope for them, because they consider

themselves to be the chiefest among sinners, men who are so deeply rooted in the security of the love of their Heavenly Father that they are never anxious about anything, or afraid of Satan or evil men or difficult situations or anything, men who have entered into God's rest, believing in the sovereign working of God in all matters for their best and who therefore give thanks always for all men, for all things and in all circumstances, men who find their joy in God alone and who are therefore full of the joy of the Lord, having overcome all bad moods, men of living faith, who have no confidence in themselves or their natural abilities, but complete confidence in God as their unfailing Helper in all situations, men who live, not by the promptings of their own reason, but by the leading of

the Holy Spirit, men who have been genuinely baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire by Christ Himself (and not just thrilled by some emotional counterfeit or convinced by some theological argument), men who live constantly under the anointing of the Spirit, endowed with the supernatural gifts that He has given them, men who have revelation of the church as the body of Christ (and not a congregation or a denomination), and who give all their energies, their material wealth and spiritual gifts to build that church, men who have learnt to bridle their tongues through the help of the Holy Spirit and whose tongues are now aflame with the divine Word, men who have forsaken all, who are not attracted any more to money or material things, and who desire no gifts from others, men who can trust God

for all their earthly needs and who never hint about their material needs or boast about their labours, either in their conversation or through letters and reports, men who are not stubborn, but gentle, and open to criticism and eager for correction from older and wiser brothers, men who have no desire to dominate or advise others (although ready to give advice, when asked for), and who have no longing to be considered as 'elder' brothers, or leaders, but who only desire to be ordinary brothers and servants of all, men who are easy to get along with, and who are willing to be inconvenienced and taken advantage of by others, men who will make no distinction between the millionaire and the beggar, the white-skinned and the dark-skinned, the intellectual and the idiot, and the cultured and

the barbarian, but who will treat them all alike, men who will never be influenced by their wife, children, relatives, friends or other believers to cool off even slightly in their devotion to Christ or their obedience to God's commandments, men who can never be bribed to compromise by any reward that Satan may offer (whether honour or money or whatever), men who are fearless witnesses for Christ, fearing neither religious heads nor secular heads, men who desire to please no human being on the face of the earth, and who are willing to offend all men, if necessary, in order to please God alone, men for whom God's glory, God's will and God's kingdom always take priority over mere human need and their own comfort, men who cannot be pressurised either by others or by their own reason into

doing 'dead works' for God, but who are eager and content to do the revealed will of God for their lives alone, men who have the discernment of the Spirit to distinguish between the soulish and the spiritual in Christian work, men who look at things from a heavenly view point and not an earthly one, men who will refuse all earthly honours and titles offered them for their labours for God, men who know how to pray without ceasing, and also how to fast and pray when needed, men who have learned to give generously, cheerfully, secretly and with wisdom, men who are willing to be all things for all men, so that by all means they might save some, men who have a longing to see others not only saved but also made disciples of Christ, and brought to the knowledge of the truth and to obedience to

all of God's commandments, men who have a longing to see a pure testimony established for God in every place, men who have a burning passion to see Christ glorified in the church, men who do not seek their own in any matter, men with spiritual authority and spiritual dignity, men who will stand alone for God in the world, if need be, totally uncompromising men, like the apostles and prophets of old, God's work in the world suffers today, because such men are few in number.

Determine with all your heart that you will be such a man for God, in the midst of a sinful and adulterous generation and a compromising Christendom. Since there is no partiality with God, it is possible for you too to be such a man, provided you yourself earnestly desire to be one. Since God demands commitment and obedience only in the conscious area of one's life, it is possible for you to be such a man, even though the conscious area of your life may be limited. (That area will keep increasing as you walk in the light and press on to perfection).

There is no excuse then why you cannot be such a man. Since nothing good dwells in the flesh, we have to seek for grace from God to have the virtues listed above. Cry out to God daily then, that He will give you grace to be such a man in these the closing days of the age.