"I have brought this people together this night
to make unto you a choice...
You can minister unto men...or you can minister unto the King..."
I stood among the sons of men, strong and tall. My heart
was filled with enthusiasm. My life was given to the purposes of God.
Upon that day, I said to the Lord, "I will do mighty
exploits in the name of my God." The Lord came unto me and He said, "What is it son of man,
that thou wouldst have?" I said. "Lord, if I could only be among those
who play sweetly upon an instrument and who sing well in the house of the Lord,
then I would do great things for my God."
The Lord came to me and He gave unto me the desire of my
heart. He stood me among the sons of men. He let me play and He let me sing. I
saw the day when the hearts of men were moved by that thing that the Lord had
given unto me. After hearts of men were moved, I stood back and I said to
myself, "Now I will be content for I have been able to move the hearts of
men." But in my secret hour I bowed my head before my God and said,
"Lord, Thou hast given me what I asked for but my heart is heavy. I have a
longing for something more."
He came again unto me in the night season. He asked me
again. "Son of man, ask Me again the thing that
thou wouldst have of Me." I said, "Lord, I see men bowed by burdens
low. I see hearts that are broken. I see sadness and discouragement. Oh, give
me the power of the spoken word that I might speak the word and their
heart" will be delivered." The Lord came unto me and said, "Son of man, I have given
thee the things which thou hast desired." With great joy, I marched
before the people of God.
In my youth and in my enthusiasm, I" spoke the Word
and men were delivered. I spoke the Word and their hearts were made whole. I
knew it was to bind the broken hearted and to pour in the oil of joy for
mourning. While men were praising Him and glorifying His name, I went back to
my secret chamber. I bowed my head in sorrow. I said, "Oh my God, Oh my
God. I am not satisfied." He came again unto me and He said, "Son of man, what is it
that thou again desires of Me?" And I said,
"Oh my God, give me power in my hands that as Thou didst do, I might lay
my hands upon the sick and see healing flow." He said unto me, "It is done as thou has commanded."
God healed the sick. I went to the nations of the earth
and I saw the sick raised from their sick beds. I saw pain and suffering go
away. I was rejoicing as 1 went to my secret place. I bowed my head before my
God. 1 said, "Now, my God, I will be satisfied for Thou hast given me that
which I have desired." No sooner had the words come out of my mouth when
the heart within me began to ache and cry .I said, "God, I do not
understand this. Again my heart is sad." I said, "Lord, will Thou
just one more time give me the thing I ask of Thee?"
He said, "It is done." I said, "God, I desire to
go against principalities and powers, the powers of the wickedness of this world
in spiritual darkness in high places." He said, "Surely I give it unto
thee. Now go." So I went and the Lord allowed me to go into dens of
iniquity and holes and dives where men hide from the light because of the sin
and evil that is upon them. There was a day when I saw
demons cry out at the very presence of the power of God that rested.
Then I went back to my secret place broken. I said,
"God, I have asked Thee for all that I desire and still my heart is not
satisfied. Nor do I feel that I have touched the thing that Thou hast called me
to. In my youth I had expended myself with all the things that my heart had
desired"
Then one more time a gracious and loving God visited me in
the night season. He said, "Now - what is it that thou dost desire?" In brokenness
of heart, I bowed before Him and I said, "God, only that thing which Thou
dost desire to give unto me."
He came unto me and said, "Come with Me and I will take you on a journey." He took me
past my friends. He took me past those with whom I had come into the house of
the Lord. He took me into a desolate place. He caused me to go into a place
alone in the wilderness. I said, "Oh my God, Thou hast cut me off from
those I love. What art Thou doing unto me?" He said, "I take thee to the place
where all men must come if their heart's-cry is to be fulfilled."
At a certain hour, I bowed before a gate that is called,
"The Eye of the Needle". There before the eye of tile needle I heard
the voice of the Lord say, "Bow low." I bowed low. He said, "No, lower." So I bowed
lower. He said, "Yet lower. Thou dost not go low enough." So I went as
low as I could go.
I had upon my back my books of learning. I had with me my
instruments of music. I had with me my gifts and abilities. He said unto me,
"Thou hast too much, thou canst not go
through this gate." I said, "God, Thou hast given me these books. Thou
hast given me these abilities." He said, "Drop them, or thou dost
not go." So I dropped them. I went through a very small gate that
is called "the eye of the needle." As I went through this gate, I
heard the voice of the Lord say, "Now rise to the other side." As I rose, a
very strange thing happened to me. For lo, the gate which was so small that I
must lay aside everything was so wide I could not fill it. As I stood in the
presence of the Lord I said, "God, what is this thing that Thou hast done
unto me for my soul is now satisfied?"
He said, "Thou hast come through the gate of worship. Now
come up to the circle of the earth and I will show, thee a great mystery. I will
reveal unto thee the thing that I am doing among the sons of men." The Spirit of
the Lord caught me away. He took me to the circle of the earth, higher than the
eagle flies, beyond where the clouds can rumble, beyond where the sun shines or
the moon finds her path. There at the throne of my God, He said, "Look down upon My people."
I saw strange things. I saw my companions gathered around
a very small gate. I saw them wringing their hands and crying. They were saying
to one another, "God hath given us these instruments of war. This sword is
my sword and I will work against the enemy. I will bring the enemy down. I
cannot go through this gate, for, if I go through this gate, I must put down my
sword. God has called me to be a warrior and therefore, I will not do it!"
And I heard another one say, "Me? Lay down my
instruments of music? Lay down all that God has given unto me, just to go
through that silly little gate, to be nothing but a bare man who comes out on
the other side stripped of everything? I cannot do this thing!" I saw them
as they stood aside in their pride, afraid to bow themselves before a very
small gate. Then I saw again, as the Lord brought me closer to the gate, I saw
a man bow low, laying down everything that he had. As he came through the very
wide gate on the other side, his instruments of music were there. His sword was
there. His books were there. The power was there.
The Word of the Lord came to me, "Go now and tell this
people before you, I have given unto this people extreme talents and much
ability. I have called you who are instrumentalists to play. But I say unto you
this night, if you do not come through the very small gate, which is the gate
of worship, and bow low and lay before Me thine
instruments, thy talents, thy abilities, thy vision and thy power, thou shalt always be among those who will only be able, to
minister to the hearts of men and bless the hearts of men. But there is a gate
open in the Church in this hour, which is a very small gate. Through that gate
only men who are worshippers will go. These men will lay their talents before
their God. These men will say, 'God, we will be worshippers.' Through that wide
gate they will come. As they come through that wide gate - hear again the Word
of the Lord - they will arise again on the other side, not to minister unto
men, but to minister unto their God.
"I have brought this people together this night
to make unto you a choice. You can minister unto men and I will cause you to
sway the hearts of men with your talent. Or, you can go through a very small
gate and while making new worshippers, you will minister unto the King."