The Power of the Force

Chapter 14

Accountability!

 

In the year of our Lord 2006 we have become acutely aware of the place that we occupy in the plan that God has set in motion concerning His redemption for creation. We are on the threshold of the complete unveiling of the Christ in us and when this is accomplished, we will be put on open display for all realms to examine us to see if we are truly what we proclaim to be. So far, it has been fairly simple for anyone to preach a word of testimony of what we believed ourselves to be in God. Many have proclaimed they are a new creature, a son of God, a King, a priest after the order of Melchisedec, a new species of creature, the answer to every man's problem, saviors, lords over the heavens and the earth, God's voice in the land, wells of salvation, masters of devils and principalities, scholars of the mysteries of the kingdom, deliverers, conquerors, mighty men of valor, gods and God. Well, don't look now, but it’s about time to put up or shut up!

I have always been unimpressed over hearing someone give an account of having experienced some great service and then not being able to see the evidence of that great service being seen in their lives. I am leery over feel-good services that have only one purpose and that is to make everybody happy and content with where they are in the Lord. Think positive, and everything will be great, seems to be the message. Get everybody caught up in a proclamation of who we are and for heavens sake don't let the service get quiet, God might start dealing with us and then we would all get depressed when we find out where we really are. Feel-good services will not get the job done. They have their place, and thank God for the relief from the dealings that they give us, but if that is all you have in your midst you will never mature into the person that God wants you to be.

This is supposed to be the ultimate realm that many believe they are walking in. Some proclaim they have entered into a realm that no one else has ever entered into before. They are preaching a word that no one has ever preached before and are walking in the highest realm found anywhere. My question is, why are your lives no better than the other realms? Most of these proclaimers have the same fears and problems that the lowly Baptists have. They still have their gossip mills putting out the same filth and garbage that the Pentecostals are famous for. Jealousy and envy run rampant through their ranks and they have the same old cliques in their midst that all other realms have. So what's the deal? Obviously, some have settled for the easy way of proclaiming who we are supposed to be, versus the walking out of the revelation until we are changed into that which we have proclaimed.

We are in a time frame in the Plan of the Ages where we are entering into a place of consequence. The realm of unaccountability gives way to the realm of accountability. Galatians 4 tells us that an heir as long as he is a child has no more consequence in the kingdom than a servant’s child. He is put under tutors and governors until a time appointed, and then enters into a place of consequence. But as long as he acts like a child, his actions will be of no effect regardless of whether it is for the good or the bad. He is unaccountable for his actions and is under the covering of ignorance. His actions are winked at and any punishment meted out to him for wrong actions are limited to his own behind and no one else's. It is a marvelous place, this place of unaccountability. It is a child's dream world where nothing is expected of us and we just more or less float through life without a care.

The day comes, however, when the child senses a change in the relationship he has with his teachers. They are not so quick to look over his mistakes and start expecting more and more out of him. It becomes a turbulent time of learning things he has no inclination to know with his child's view of the world. Little does he know that the day will come when his actions will have a consequence to them, and will affect the kingdom from the east to the west and the north to the south. Whether good or bad, his actions will affect every one of his kinsmen. He will have entered into the realm of consequence, where opportunities are available to bring honor and glory to the throne, or dishonor and disgrace. It is in this realm that the Lord gives and He also takes away.

I believe the grace of God has given salvation to all mankind. It is unthinkable to me to put God's love and grace in any other position other than the total forgiveness of every trespass that man might commit. To me, the scriptures have become very plain in the following precepts. No one can earn his or her salvation; it is a gift of God. Our salvation has already been bought lock, stock, and barrel by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I have always loved the song, Jesus Paid It All. But the next phrase illustrates man's unconscious rebellion against God's gift of salvation when the writer proclaims, All To Him I OWE! That's not what the scripture says. It says our sins are not imputed to us. It is free, absolutely and wonderfully FREE! No pay back necessary. You are bought with a price, you are not your own. Man's carnal nature rebels against the total, unequivocal purchase of mankind by God through the gift of His Son's life. We insist on paying Him back and we will never be able to. Our salvation is priceless!

However, there are scriptures that talk in language of things that are earned and things that are bought. What are these things? They can't be salvation; the bible clearly says that is free. Nonetheless, we can't ignore the scriptures that deal with the pearl of great PRICE, the treasure in the field that the man BOUGHT, the light afflictions that WORK for us a far more EXCEEDING WEIGHT of glory, etc. Paul tells us in I Corinthians 9:24,25,

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run your race that you may lay hold of the prize and make it yours. Now every athlete who goes into training conducts himself temperately and restricts himself in all things. They do it to win a wreath that will soon whither, but we do it to receive a crown of eternal blessedness that cannot whither." (ampl. ver.)

Notice the terminology that is used here. Paul says to run and MAKE the prize yours, and the crown is not salvation but ETERNAL BLESSEDNESS. In the King James Version the crown is an incorruptible one.

It is obvious to me that the Bible distinguishes between what is earned and what is free. The scriptures say that He has given to each man a measure of faith that can be added to by the believer. The initial measure is a down payment on things to come. It guarantees the recipient the opportunity to add to it. I see salvation in the same way. Jesus Christ guarantees our basic salvation, and after we come to that knowledge, we can earn greater things. There are different experiences available to us if we choose to pay the price for them. The throne room experience is not freely given; it is reserved for the overcomers. Jesus said in Rev. 3:18 & 21,

"I counsel thee to BUY of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. ..To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me throne."

Chapters 2 & 3 of Revelations describe certain rewards given to the overcomer that is reserved just for them, among which is - to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God; to not be hurt of the second death; to eat of the hidden manna, and be given a white stone, and in the white stone a new name written; be given power over the nations; be given the morning star; be clothed in white raiment; be made a pillar in the temple of God , and go no more out; have the name of God written upon them and the name of the city of God, which is New Jerusalem! All of these things are given to them that have overcome.

If you are like me, just the mention of these promises make you want to get on your track shoes and start running. Go out and slay a few principalities and pull some religious walls down and dethrone some false kings. To be sure we will do all of this and more! But I’ve got to tell you that in order to accomplish this we must understand the realm of consequence. If the ability is there to gain, to get rich, to get crowned and all of the other things we just read about, you should be aware that the ability to have great loss is there also. Remember, the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Wherever you have the potential to increase, you also have the potential to decrease. In Matthew the 25th chapter we read the story of a man that is going on a long journey and calls his servants together and distributes to them each one according to his abilities. To one he gives 5 talents, to the other 2 talents, and to the other 1 talent. The opportunity is given to each one to increase their gift. The one with 5 traded for 5 more. The one with 2 traded for 2 more. But the one with 1 hid it and did nothing with it. This is a prime example of the realm of consequence.

When the master came back he asked for an account of what they did with their gift. His statement to the first two servants is "Well done good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord." This is the side of increase in this realm of consequence where you end up with more than you started out with. To the last servant he says, "Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents." This is the decrease side of the realm of consequence. You lose through disobedience. The two sides are illustrated in the following verse: "For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." Paul said in Phil. 2:12,

          “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

The word ‘salvation’ as used here is better interpreted as ‘deliverance’ and is not talking about sin but about the renewing of our mind. It is the only place in God's economy where we have a true choice. Salvation from sin is without choice or works of any kind. But in the economy of God's kingdom there is a promotion of consequences for the heirs of salvation. The lineage that the King passes to his son is without any participation on the part of the son. He inherits his kingship through his father. But it is up to the son of the king whether he rules with the same glory and honor as his father. We know through history that many times a great king gives way to a lousy son. The gift of lineage is not enough to ensure the son will reign with the same heart as his father.

This is why we are being drawn out from the realm of unaccountability into the realm of accountability or the realm of great consequence. Some have no intentions of changing their life or the course of this world. They are in this word for the candy and sugarplums. They like the idea of grace and unmerited favor and will progress no farther than a proclamation of who they should be. But there are a few in this word that are ready to take the next step into a position of responsibility and along with it the judgments of their Father. They have not settled into little cliques and clubs, but have made it known to God that they want Him to do whatever is necessary to bring them to their prescribed order in the earth.

If that means walking in the fire, so be it. Let's get our asbestos drawers on and walk it out. We are through with the little religious games being played throughout the land. Some want to believe the only thing required of them is to float around this world and hold their little feel-good orgies and to please everybody and above all else be Mr. & Mrs. Popularity. But others don't care what men think of them or whether or not they are going to be liked. They hear a voice in the heavens saying, "Sound an alarm in all my holy mountain!". Great things are at our doorstep! It is the GREAT and TERRIBLE day of God. Sell all your religious raiment, and your temporal, religious crowns, and buy the true gold that has been fired in the furnace of the Lord! Quit trying to dress up that old, dead order with better musicians, prettier singers and louder microphones. It won't work! The only thing that will work is that order that you have been apprehended for, the order of LIFE and immortality.

We must quit trying to buy what is not buyable. We must start purchasing those eternal things that have been hid in us like treasure in the earth. We are walking gold mines of God. Just below the surface of this outer man there are incomprehensible riches that must be distributed to the world. Every man will give an account to God of what he or she has done with the deposit God has placed in him. The Lord has made us Stewards, or distributors of the household goods, over His riches, which He has entrusted to us. Paul said that if his gospel were hid, it was hid to them that are lost. Some of us have a warped value system of the riches given by God. We tend to think that the most demonstrative ministries that travel all over and are in constant demand must somehow be the richest among us. I think we need to understand how God judges wealth. He is going to require an account of every man individually. To him that much is given, there will be much required. It doesn't matter what you start out with, whether it is much or little, the thing that counts is the increase. Some have the GIFT of preaching. Their inheritance is the ability to preach. They can have meetings lined up from now to next year, that is not what God is going to judge them by. They must increase in something else besides preaching! Paul declared that he could be a preacher of all these truths and still be a castaway. I pray you understand the economy of God. It is not manifested by outward demonstrations; it is based on inward commitments. Some who clothe themselves in this life with religious garments of purple and scarlet, and adorn themselves with jewels of revelatory intellect are inwardly naked and lacking.

Those of us who have walked in the present Truth of this age are in danger of allowing this great and awesome word we have received from the Lord to become of no consequence. I submit to you that if we have indeed been blessed with the answer for the ages, if this word of the kingdom is the word that leads into the holy of holies, unlocks the incorruptible life of the spirit in our corruptible bodies, brings us to perfect love, etc., etc., then where is the evidence? I don't want to preach another doctrine of rapture, disguised in terms of the kingdom!

We must start believing what we have preached and start walking this revelation out until it becomes flesh. We are in a dangerous position. I sincerely believe we have the goods of the kingdom of God stored in this order of kingdom life. I believe we have a word bottled up in us that will unlock every prison house and set every captive free. This word will empty out hell and end man's separation from his God. It is an order made up of priests and kings, along with the other offices of the Church. I have not told you anything in the last few lines that haven't been proclaimed in meetings all over this land for many years. It has been a proclamation, a message, a belief, but not a walk. This is going to change!

The questions then becomes, “How?” Not by just listening to what I am telling you this morning. This message is a warning to those who have no idea what is being expected of them by the Father. Grace covers ignorance, and you and I are not ignorant. The blind have no sin, but those who say they see; their sin remains. (John 9:41) No, it won't be done because we heard or read a stirring message.  We have come to a Day that has a purpose imbedded within it to bring to pass the intent of God. It will not be denied! God Himself has become our adversary, and has come to judge His house. His judgment isn't going to be on things the Church world stumbles and trips over ( thou shalt, thou shalt not), but rather, He is judging us according to what we know, and what we have done with that knowledge. Knowledge of the Kingdom of God in and of itself is a dangerous thing. James said in James 4:17,

          “Therefore to him that knows to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

 The accomplishment of this transition from unaccountability to accountability will be by God Himself. Every one of us will be visited by this dealing of God, and I have to believe that every one of us will be given an opportunity to change. Some will do this, and some won't.

The Lord is after a people that will be after Him. He deals with us according to our position of responsibility. He does not require the same things out of everyone. Our salvation is not at stake here, but our position and rank in the Lord and for the ages is. Your deliverance from thinking like the world thinks is worked out by a wonderful process of refinement. Whatsoever a man sows, he will reap the same. There are easy roads to this deliverance and there are extremely hard roads. The choice of roads is up to you; the destination of those roads is not. They all end up in God. What we should understand is that along the way, obedience and disobedience bring deposits and withdrawals to the traveler. Good choices and bad choices will each have their consequence. Some will stay to the broad road that is well traveled and will travel throughout their journey without consequence, good or bad. They will be judged according to their basic deposit and position.

Others will be like the early American trackers, looking for a single set of footprints in the wilderness, going slowly but surely, blazing a small, seemingly insignificant trail that will, in days to come, become highways for creation to run along toward God. Some will get rich along the way and then lose when led astray. Others will start out poor and by believing in God become rich. Some ministries will fall, and others will rise. Don't be one of the foolish ones.

God is coming to our Churches to take them over. We are being visited by a Day that will not take back seat to our own trivial agendas. When you hear this preached in conventions most will say, "That's just what I want Him to do!" Not really. Every time the Spirit moves in our midst we all get a little nervous. Most groups have so much going on during the service; God wouldn't be able to talk if He wanted to. The Day is here and woe to the man or woman that tries to control it! If the pastors think they are going to keep this Day from appearing to their Church by creating more programs and special songs and birthday announcements to take up the time until the man with the power for the hour gets up they are wrong. It may start in the back of the Church among the back row crowd and slowly work its way throughout the congregation until the whole Church is doing things they hadn't done since first getting the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

I predict an outbreak of Spirit and Life in Churches across this land. I prophesy there is a takeover in the works that won't be done by carnal minds but will be birthed out of the this new Day that we have come unto. Whole Churches are going to be turned upside down, board members are going to resign, Pastors that refused to yield to the Spirit will be dismissed and a fire of God will blaze through this country from sea to shining sea! Get ready for the realm of CONSEQUENCE.