The Three Temptations - Part 9
Demanding an Inheritance Now!
The second temptation tries to get us to move out of sync with God—either to move ahead of God, or to move in a different direction from God, or to stay where we are when God is moving.
The survival of the children of Israel in the wilderness depended upon them moving in sync with the presence of God as manifested in the pillar of fire by night and the pillar of cloud by day. As long as they moved in sync with God’s presence, they were protected and everything they needed was provided for them.
“The [presence of the] Lord was going before them by day in a pillar (column) of cloud to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they could travel by day and by night. He did not withdraw the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from going before the people.”—Exodus 13:21-22 (AMP)
Any time they did not move with the presence of God, bad things happened, and people often died. (See Number chapters 13 and 14.)
Consequences of falling to the second temptation and moving apart from God’s guidance can be very serious, as the unnamed man of God experienced in 1 Kings chapter 13.
Another of the most tragic examples of jumping ahead of God is seen in the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. Instead of waiting for his father to commission him to enter into his ultimate purpose in life with the full favor and blessing of his father, this young man took his inheritance prematurely without having developed the full character needed to steward it properly.
This young man separated himself from his authorities and foolishly squandered his inheritance in a very short time. Destitute and hungry, he finally returned to his father, but the damage was done. His inheritance was spent. His potential for accomplishing a great purpose in life was gone.
“An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end.”—Proverbs 20:21 (NIV)
This tragedy has destroyed the potential of many ministers who fell to the temptation to speed on ahead of God’s timing. They have not been rewarded in the end. They spent their inheritance prematurely and had nothing left when they finally realized their error, repented, and (hopefully) reunited with the Father that they ran so far ahead of.
We may not be able to think of many big-name ministers who were brought down by this temptation because they may have jumped out into ministry ahead of God’s timing and fizzled out before God ever was given a chance to catch up with them. They may have been “shooting stars” who rose quickly but faded into obscurity just as quickly. John Paul Jackson spoke of the many prophetic voices that were rising in prominence when he was a young minister among the “Kansas City Prophets,” but a few years later, there were only a handful of them still in ministry. Some had died prematurely, and others had left the ministry.
Waiting on God
God trains and guides young, up-and-coming ministers through the authorities that He places over them—parents, teachers, spiritual leaders, employers, governmental leaders, and others.
“While the one who will inherit his father’s property is still a child, he is no different from a slave. It does not matter that the child owns everything. While he is a child, he must obey those who are chosen to care for him. But when the child reaches the age set by his father, he is free.”—Galatians 4:1-2 (ICB)
Young ministers make a grave mistake when they convince themselves that they no longer need to be under the guidance and care of their authorities, and they decide to move into their own independent ministries prematurely. Even though these young ministers may have been called by God, if they choose to leave their authorities prematurely, they almost certainly ensure that they will not be chosen by God for His high calling.
“For many are called, but few are chosen.”—Matthew 22:14 (KJV)
Young Jesus also had to learn this lesson.
When He was 12 years old, He separated from his parents and joined a group of teachers in the temple. When His parents finally caught up with Him, Jesus’ response was, “Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49 NKJV)
Even Jesus was tempted to jump ahead and enter into independent ministry prematurely.
But thankfully, he responded to his parents’ correction and “He went down to Nazareth with them, and was continually submissive and obedient to them.” (Luke 2:51 AMP)
Jesus was the Messiah when He was born, but He had the patience to wait 30 years for God’s perfect timing to be commissioned and released into independent ministry. People who don’t understand the necessity of overcoming the temptation to jump ahead of God will feel that Jesus wasted 18 good years that he could have spent in ministry. These people would have told Jesus to continue on in the temple when he was 12 years old and not to go home with his parents. But because Jesus waited on His Father’s timing and did things God’s way, he had the most successful ministry in the history of the world, and He completely fulfilled His purpose in life.
Even after Jesus was released into independent ministry, He never made a move without His Father. He lived a lifestyle of waiting on God.
“I tell you for certain the Son cannot do anything on his own. He can do only what he sees the Father doing, and he does exactly what he sees the Father do.”—John 5:19 (CEV)
“So Jesus added, When you have lifted up the Son of Man [on the cross], you will realize (know, understand) that I am He [for Whom you look] and that I do nothing of Myself (of My own accord or on My own authority), but I say [exactly] what My Father has taught Me.”—John 8:28 (AMPC)
“And He who sent Me is [always] with Me; He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him.”—John 8:29 (AMP)
Jesus never hurried. He was never stressed. He never rushed anything.
Under intense pressure, Jesus took time to write in the sand, waiting until the perfect time to answer the accusers of the woman caught in adultery in John chapter 8.
When it was time for Jesus to pass on His ministry to others, He commanded His disciples to wait for ten days in Jerusalem until they received power to be effective witnesses.
The most successful ministries in the history of the world started with waiting on God.
This must become a lifestyle with us, as it was with Jesus, if we expect our ministries to be successful and to accomplish all that God desires to accomplish though us.
William Branham had possibly the most powerful ministry in modern times. One of the secrets to Branham’s great success was that he waited on God. He refused to begin praying for people in healing lines until the Lord showed up. You can see this in action in the film “The Deep Calleth To The Deep.”
You can see in the video that, 38 minutes into his message, Branham stops and tells the people gathered there, “Now, you know that I’m waiting for something. That is true. It’s the Angel of the Lord. That’s true. I’m just as helpless as I can be, just like any of the rest of you, and I’m here perhaps with critics sitting there… . Now, of course, I wait for Him. Whether He will help me tonight, I do not know, and if I have said anything boastfully, or anything that I’ve said out of the way, then God forgive me. I wouldn’t mean to do it. I only mean, with humbleness of heart to represent Jesus Christ, Who is listening to me now. And may His mercy be here tonight… . May He come and help us is my prayer.”
Brother Branham then spends the next few moments instructing the people about how to respond if God speaks to them or touches them in some way.
Then suddenly, 41 minutes into the meeting, Branham proclaims, “That’s right. He’s here—the Holy Spirit.”
Branham then turns his attention to the people waiting in the line to receive ministry. The rest of the meeting is filled with astounding words of knowledge and healings.
William Branham lived a lifestyle of waiting on God. He worked *with *God, not just *for *God. Branham had perhaps the most consistently powerful ministry since the time of the early apostles. His gifts of healing and words of knowledge were far beyond what we see in most church meetings today. After sharing thousands of words of knowledge publicly, even his worst critics had to admit that they never knew him to be wrong.
Applying this principle in practical ways, we have realized how essential it is to wait on God in prophetic evangelism and dream interpretation ministry. It can be so easy to give people a quick word of encouragement out of our own souls without waiting for God’s revelation to come to us, but when we do that, God backs off, and we miss the greater things that God wanted to do in those encounters.
In order to experience what God wants to do in ministry encounters, we have to be willing to endure awkward pauses where nothing is happening. We may look and feel very foolish in the middle of these awkward pauses, as William Branham did, but if we persevere through the awkward silences, God will show up! He is worth waiting for. “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him!” (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV)
Even though the needs around us are great, lives are in the balance, and time is slipping away, waiting on God is key to successful ministry, because without Him, we can do nothing.
“Stay joined to me and I will stay joined to you. No branch can produce fruit alone. It must stay connected to the vine. It is the same with you. You cannot produce fruit alone. You must stay joined to me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I to you, you will produce plenty of fruit. But separated from me you won’t be able to do anything.”—John 15:4-5 (ERV)
**Reference: **
Branham, W. (1954). The Deep Calleth To The Deep by William Branham. YouTube. Retrieved December 31, 2022, from https://youtu.be/yH1xjK9pIZA
