Chapter Ten - The Seekers

William and I walked on in silence for a while. We were both deep in our own thoughts. William seemed to not only understand all that we had discussed about leadership in the kingdom, but he had grasped it with an uncommon depth. He was an example of how when the Lord calls someone He prepares them for their purpose throughout their whole life.

I started to think about the remarkable people in this group, what I could do to help them, and how I was going to answer Mary’s questions when she decided to ask them. A small group of people walking nearby obviously wanted to talk, so I motioned for them to join us.

“So you think the great treasures of the kingdom and the way to the great adventure is found in study and researching things like church history?” a young man asked. “I think that is one kind of treasure and one kind of adventure. For some, the greatest treasure is to see the works of the Lord done through them, leading others to salvation, healing, and doing miracles. For others, it is seeing God’s people built together into His temple, the koinonia fellowship of the saints. For still others, it is prophetic experiences and being given prophetic insights into the future.

“The thread that runs through all great adventures is seeing the glory of the Lord in what He does through men and through us personally. These are all available to all of us, but for me personally, I found great treasures of knowledge in my studies of history, especially church history, and it was a great adventure to follow Him down that path. I saw and learned His ways as He personally taught me. It was one of the most fulfilling and thrilling times of my life until now, because I was getting to know Him this way.”

“You said, ‘Until now.’ What are you doing now that is better?” one asked.

“As wonderful as it has been to see the Lord’s ways as they are revealed in Scripture and history, to see Him working with actual people, with each of you here and now, is even better. I know we’re just starting out, and we don’t know each other very well yet, but already I can see what great treasures you are. I think that if we have time to really get to know each other we will find a great treasure in every person. Then, we will begin to see how each one is being fit together into the city of God.”

“We enjoyed our fellowship when on the ship and felt a bonding together, but never really had the concept that we were being built into something together, like the temple of the Lord or His city. Now I can see it,” one remarked.

“For all of its failings and present shortcomings, there is no entity on the planet as dynamic and interesting as the church that is becoming what it is called to be. There is no greater society than true church life—koinonia; there is hardly anything as boring as church life that has been institutionalized, that has stopped pursuing the great sojourn that the true Christian life is. You are blessed to have been in the company of those who are committed to the journey.”

“I consider myself very blessed,” another replied. “The fellowship we had on the ship had become the best part of my life, but now being on this journey together is far better, even though it has been pretty frightening at times. If the mountain is even better than this, I just cannot imagine it.”

“The Scripture says that the path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter until the full day. If we stay on the path we are called to walk our lives will keep getting brighter and brighter. We’ll have challenges and trials like we’ve already had on this journey, but each one is filled with light, with revelation. Each one usually results in a much greater bonding among those with whom you experience them. I think that is why James wrote that we should ‘count it all joy when we encounter various trials.’ If we approach each trial as the opportunity that it is, our journey will always lead to glory and victory.”

“You’re an old hand at this, aren’t you?” another asked. “What are the most important things you’ve learned that can help us?” “I’ve been through many wildernesses, and I’ve been through this part of this one before, so I do have some experience on these journeys,” I replied. “It is a principle that between the place where you receive a promise from God and the fulfillment of the promise, there is always a wilderness to go through to get to the fulfillment. Each wilderness is unique, and each one designed to prepare us to be a good steward of what we’ve been promised. The real work of God to fashion us into what we are called to be is done in the wilderness. If we appreciate the trials and embrace the lessons He’s seeking to teach us, we will get out of the wilderness quicker to receive what has been promised.”

“What is the greatest thing you have ever learned in a wilderness?” another asked.

“Learning that we can all be as close to God as we want to be. It was in the wilderness that God’s first dwelling place among men was built. It is in the wilderness that we are made into His dwelling place. Where He is, is heaven, so building Him a place to dwell with us can turn any wilderness into part of heaven. The worst place on earth will be heaven if He is there. This is our ultimate purpose—to bring heaven to earth—and we do this by building Him a place everywhere we go.”

“Is that why Israel would carry the Ark of God with them into battle?” one asked.

“I think it was their intent. When they followed the Ark, going where the Lord was leading them, they always found victory. But, when they tried to take the Ark where they wanted to go, the results were not very good. We must learn that the temple exists for the Lord, not the other way around. We are here to follow Him, not just take Him with us. We are told that Christ will always lead us in His triumph, but that is the key—to let Him lead us rather than us trying to lead Him to where we want to go.

“What is the best thing we can do to help each other?” another asked.

“Just as we must be intentional about getting closer to the Lord and accomplishing our purpose in Him, we must be intentional about getting to know one another and seeing our purpose with one another. None of us is here by accident. We are called to be built together into the temple of the Lord; this is what we were made for, and we can never be truly fulfilled until this is complete. The process can be hard, but it can also be one of the most interesting and exciting things in our life.

“The first thing that God said was not good about His creation was for man to be alone. Loneliness is not good for any human being. We should consider that God said this when man had daily fellowship with Him. Fellowship with God is essential for man, and our most basic need, but God also obviously made man to need more than just fellowship with Him. His first provision for loneliness was family. After that, the greatest provision is our relationship to one another as members of His body

“Going through this wilderness together will accomplish many things in us. The best of all will be how we get to know Him better. The next will be how we get to know one another better, so that we fit together as He has called us to be in His temple, as living stones. This is even more interesting and fulfilling than the great adventure I had as a student of history.”

“So, until now, studying and research was your main thing, and now you’re going to study us?” Mary, who had joined the group, asked. “I’m good with that. It does sound wonderful to get to know the Lord as your Teacher, but if you are going to answer my questions, I guess I will not be able to experience that in the same way.”

“Sure you can. You all can, and should. Most of you already do. The time is now short, and you may not have the years to do this that I did, but you can experience the same thing with Him. It could be even better for you because it can be more condensed, but this is something you must all do. He must be your Teacher, Shepherd, and Leader.

“I think it is one of the Lord’s chief delights to share with His people the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Curiosity is a wonderful gift to have, and this is why I think answering your questions is so important for our journey. He may teach you faster because you do not have the time that I did, but it can be no less special and personal. If I have the answers to some of your questions it is because He put me here for you. Others here may have your answers, and they were put here for you as well.”

As the sun began to set, we found a place near the stream to camp. We posted watchmen and then drank our fill until all were refreshed. We then built a fire that everyone gathered around. Some began talking in small groups. William came over to sit by me.

“I was listening to your conversation with that group. Their hunger for knowledge is contagious. Is everyone on this journey so exceptional?” William asked.

“It seems that they are. It takes uncommon faith and vision to begin this journey. Even those who might have lived rather mundane and unremarkable lives come alive and become exceptional here.

“Every day is different on this path. You can’t fall into a routine and become an automaton here. You have to be alive and engaged. We were created for adventure. Life is meant to be an adventure, and this is the greatest of all adventures.” “Every day so far has been unique and fascinating,” William continued. “Every person is unique and fascinating. I have not felt this exhilarated since I was a new graduate just starting out in my professional life. In fact, this is much better than that.”

“Everything that you have done before in your life was preparation for this,” I added. “This is where everything that has happened in our lives starts to make sense. The mountain is where it all comes together.”

“If all of this, and everything that has happened in our lives, is but preparation for the mountain, it has to be the most extraordinary experience we could ever have,” William said.

“I assure you, there is nothing else in this life that can compare to what you will experience on the mountain. The Lord did not say that we would be given a life of abundance, but rather an abundant life. Having an abundance of life does not mean that it is all good or easy, but that there is a lot of it.

“Here life becomes focused, condensed, and everything crammed with meaning. The mountain makes everything we have been through in life and on this path not only worth it, but useful. This is where we are being fashioned into what we are called to be, but the mountain is where we will function in what we are called to be.”

“This is so different from anything I’ve experienced or heard of since becoming a Christian. I feel that this is real Christianity, that this is the way it should be for those who are serving the King of kings. Is this the true faith?” William asked.

“I think it is where faith becomes true. It no doubt takes faith to stay in a lukewarm or dead institution and remain faithful to the Lord. Those who do may be growing as much in the Lord as we are here. Others who are in jobs or places where it is a battle every day to remain faithful could be growing as we are here.

“These can be in their wilderness experiences and be on paths that lead to the mountain as long as they are on the sojourn to find the city of God. But if they are remaining where they are in order to take the path of least resistance or least risk, doing this more out of a lack of faith, I think they have been led astray.”

“You mentioned that there will be paths along our way that will offer different, easier ways that will actually be a distraction or deception,” William interjected.

“There will be many traps and distractions,” I replied.

“The distractions or paths that lead us astray are almost always a temptation to take the easier way, aren’t they?”

“Yes. If we choose any path out of a concern for ourselves, we will likely be led astray. We must make every decision based on the purposes of the kingdom, seeking the kingdom first, or we will depart from the right path. That is principle number one when we have a choice of paths.

“Another important principle is that we must not look back. Until we make the decision that we will not go back, regardless of how painful it gets, we will not go forward with the force of faith that it will take to choose the right way. If we are still looking back, we are not ready to go forward. The one with true faith views even the most severe obstacles as opportunities to win greater victories and make a greater advance toward his goal. True faith makes a road where there is none.”

“So principle number one is ‘seek first the kingdom’ with every choice. The second is ‘forgetting what lies behind, press on toward the mark of the high calling of God. ” These two will help us make the right choices,” William recounted.

“These are the two basics that must guide our choices. Now, if anything happens to me, you can help these get to the mountain.”

“You say this as if you’re expecting something to happen to you. I am a novice in the Lord. You don’t expect me to take your place if something did happen to you?” William replied.

“I’m not expecting anything to happen to me, but we need to be prepared. As Mark said when he first joined us, you are a leader, and if you needed to, you could get these through this wilderness,” I answered.

“The attack of the lion shook you up, didn’t it?” William countered.

“It did make me think of what would happen to these if something happened to me. I think you could make it through very well if it did. I just want you to be ready if something happens to me.”

“I would do whatever I could to help these people, but I am far from ready to be a leader here,” William protested.

“William, you will never be ready. I am not ready for this. I am in way over my head. If we are on the right path we will always be beyond our own wisdom and abilities. That keeps us seeking the Lord, depending on Him, and staying close to Him. You will never feel adequate if you are in the place He has set you, because you will never be adequate within yourself.”

William had exceptional spiritual wisdom and discernment for being such a new believer. He had left behind a life of remarkable position and privilege to enter this wilderness just as the first sojourner, Abraham. I pondered how I had recently almost fallen to the same trap that Elijah did in thinking I was alone. Obviously, the Lord had some of His best men and women making ultimate sacrifices to pursue Him and to join Him in what He was building. There may not be many yet, but they were exceptional.

As I was pondering this, another group approached with some questions.

“You’ve been in this wilderness for a while,” a lady in her late thirties or early forties began. “This is like living in another world. It’s like we’ve begun to live in the most wonderful adventure novel or movie, or even better. It is like we are being prepared to live another Book of Acts. Is this normal Christianity? Is this the way life is supposed to be?”

“What is your name?” I asked.

“Jennifer, but most call me Jen.”

“I will answer your question with a question,” I began. “Do you think that what we see on the news is a reflection of real life?”

“No. Only the most extreme or exceptional events or people make the news. What makes the news is but a small part of what is happening in a day,” she answered, looking at me as if she wanted to know what this had to do with our conversation or her question.

“That is right,” I began. “The news can be helpful in keeping us informed about major issues and events, but it is not the reality most people are experiencing. Likewise, the events and people that make it into Christian publications and Christian television are like the news in many ways. They may be the exceptional, but they are just a tiny fraction of all that is going on in Christianity.

“Christian publications and programs focus on great churches, great missionaries, great missions, great artists and musicians, but altogether I think these are less than one percent of the true work of the kingdom. The majority of churches do not stand out like that, yet they are doing the majority of the work of the kingdom by being faithful in their daily walk with God— witnessing, teaching, praying, counseling, and seeking to build others up and help them find their way to the kingdom.

“For several years, I asked every large gathering of Christians that I could how many had come to the Lord through a crusade, Christian television, or evangelistic campaigns. Less than two percent of those I asked had come to the Lord through these means. All of the rest, over ninety-eight percent, had come to the Lord through the witness of a friend or relative. So where is the real work of the kingdom going on? Is it with the great ministries and campaigns, or with faithful believers who are daily being faithful?”

“It is with faithful believers who are daily being faithful to witness,” Jen replied. “I still don’t make the connection between this and my question. Is this real Christianity the way it is intended to be?”

“What you are experiencing here is real, biblical Christianity. What others are experiencing, that may be at a much slower pace and far less spectacular, can also be real Christianity. The time that you spent in what now seems like unreal and unsubstantial Christian life did help prepare you for the path you are now on.

“I have traveled the world and the church world about as much as anyone I know, but I am continually encountering huge movements and streams in the body of Christ I never knew existed. The body of Christ is big, and even those who may have traveled as extensively as I only see part of it. I have begun to see every expression of Christianity as a possible on-ramp for those who would seek this path to the city of God.

“If we are going to perceive truth and walk in it, we must keep in mind we only see in part and know in part. Do you remember when they put the Hubble telescope in orbit? This allowed astronomers to see further into the heavens than had ever been seen before. They focused the telescope on some stars and saw that what they thought was a star was actually a galaxy with billions of stars. Instantly, the universe was many times bigger than we ever thought. The universe was always that big, but we didn’t have the eyes to see it until the Hubble. When you get to the mountain you will have a similar experience seeing just how big and how diverse the body of Christ is.”

“That’s interesting,” Jen retorted, “but I’m still having trouble making the connection.”

“Being on this path is also like that. It is hard, and it is dangerous, and it is a place of revelation where your vision and your heart are constantly enlarged with such intensity that it’s easy to see anything less as not being real. We’ve just started on the path, and it is easy to think that everything we did before was shallow and insignificant in comparison, but it is all a part.

“This is not to imply that some, and maybe most, at this time are trapped in a form of Christianity that is not real. Just as biology teaches that anything that stops growing starts dying, if we are on the path of life, we will constantly be expanding and growing.

“I think the first person to look through the Hubble must have been astonished at how limited his vision had been before. Walking here is like looking every day through a more powerful lens. Here you begin to see everything from a different perspective. Then, when you get to the mountain it is magnified many times over. All of this has been here, and we could have walked this path at anytime, but we did not see it until now.”

“That is how I have felt every day we have been on this path. It is challenging and humbling, but wonderful. Why are there so many more people on the ship than here?” William asked.

“It is as the Lord said, this path is narrow, and few are finding it. When you look at the glamour and opulence of the luxury ship and then at this path, it is a wonder any would choose this path. You would never choose it unless your spiritual eyes have begun to open. In a sense, we have to be taken out of the mundane life of earth and taken to a spiritual orbit, like the Hubble, before we can see. As we walk this path it is not what we see in this wilderness, but what is taking place inside of us that is being magnified. Our hearts are being enlarged, because we are seeing more each day with the eyes of our heart.”

“So why could we all of a sudden see and the others on the ship couldn’t?” another asked.

“You had begun to set your heart on things above instead of the things on this earth. This is what begins to open the eyes of your heart, your spiritual eyes.”

“Is that what it means that ‘Many are called, but few are chosen?’” William interjected.

“Yes. Everyone is called, but not many respond to the call. Not many go on to make their calling and election sure.“

“I have experienced even more opulence than was on that ship, and I would not trade any of my experiences in the world for what I have already received on this path,” William added. “I’m alive again. In fact, I am so alive now I wonder if I was ever truly alive before. I merely existed before. Now these people with us have become like the stars they focused the Hubble on. I’m sorry, but before I would hardly have paid attention to any of them, and now I see more in them than I’ve ever seen in people before. It’s like what was seen through the Hubble—each one was a star that I now see is a whole galaxy.”

“The eyes of your heart are opening, William. Even the least of these could lead millions to the kingdom. Others here may not lead people, but rather give vision to an entire field of knowledge, such as a science, opening the eyes of all who see through such things as biology or physics, to the One who created it all. There will be some who are now on this path, or soon will be, who will give single messages with such power that nations are transformed.

“This has happened at different times in history, but on a small scale. Those were all seeds, and now we’re coming to the harvest. There was an evangelist in the early American colonies called ‘Johnny Appleseed.’ He used to say you can count the seeds in an apple, but you can’t count the apples in a seed. Faith is like that seed.

“Here’s the point. Reality is the universe was always as big as we’re now coming to see it, but we could not see it. Our reality was, at one time, so small that we thought the sun and stars all revolved around the earth. Now we know differently. Just as our eyes are being opened to the true extent of the natural world, we are also being opened to the extent of the spiritual realm. It’s always been there, but few have seen it, and few have lived in this reality.”

“Why aren’t churches leading their people here? Churches need transforming messages preached to them as well. It is true that I have not seen many, but I have visited quite a few. In none of them did I find such a reality as I have found here. How can they continue to grow so large while being so shallow?” another asked.

“I have read and listened to some of the great preachers of just a few decades ago. Today, you don’t hear the kind of transcendent messages that they preached. In general, we seem to be getting more and more shallow,” another commented.

“That may be true, but back up just a few months before you began gathering as the Society of Bonhoeffer. When you first began to gather, you were taking your first steps toward the mountain and did not even know it. All over the body of Christ right now there are many on-ramps that people are beginning to find that will lead them here, just as you were led here. You may be ahead of them in time, but that is so you can become servants who can help them.

“Even though you may not have found them yet in your limited experience in the body of Christ, there are great churches that are gateways to the kingdom, preparing their people for this path. They will soon find it, and they will be a part of the last battle.

“But you are right, most of the church world has been built more with modern advertising techniques than with the substance and power of the kingdom. Almost all people now, including Christians, have been conditioned to respond more to hype than truth. You can build the biggest churches and the biggest ministries with good marketing, but is the Lord in them? Can you find Him there?

“The Lord will bless many things He will not inhabit. He will even visit places He will not inhabit. But where is that place, the people, in whom He will dwell?”

“It’s interesting that you would put it like that,” William replied. “This has confused me a great deal in the services we had on the ship. I rarely felt drawn to God and rarely felt God in those meetings. I did, at times, but it was rare.

“I kept attending, hoping I would feel Him again, but most of the time I only felt people just getting excited about principles. Even when the messages were great, I rarely felt drawn to God in those meetings. I felt more compelled to learn principles. I know principles can be important, but this did not really satisfy my soul.

“I had already considered leaving the ship when I met that little group in the Society of Bonhoeffer. Even though I had nowhere else to go I could not bear to waste any more of my time there, until I met these seekers. I soon learned that the fire in them was really fueled by knowing about this path and determining to find it and walk it. Now we’re here. They did what they said they would do, and it is already much better than I ever expected.”

“What is in your heart, what you are seeking, is what man was created for—fellowship with God Himself. We are created to be His dwelling place. We will never be at peace or fulfilled until we dwell in Him and He in us.

“Christ was born in a stable. He is still being born in stables—some of the most humble, unlikely places. Just as it was with His birth in Bethlehem, you still need revelation to find Him. I assure you that there are many small, hidden, and usually very humble places where you can find Him, where He is dwelling. That is where most of the messengers of power who will lead His people to Him are being prepared.

”Understanding this is crucial, but we must also keep in mind that the Lord also dwelt in one of the most audacious temples ever built, where everything was overlaid with pure gold. He is big enough and diverse enough to be in both. Can we have big enough vision to see Him in both?”

“You’re trying to get us to see Him in all places,” William commented.

“That’s exactly what we must do. We can’t just see people or institutions where they are, but where they are called to be. Then we must help get them there. To see the Lord, we must sometimes have the vision that Simeon and Anna did, able to see in a mere infant the salvation of the world. We often miss Him because we are looking for Him as we expect Him to be, rather than as He is.

“This is why the two men on the road to Emmaus could not recognize Him when He drew near to them. It says, ‘He appeared to them in a different form.’ I think the main reason we often miss Him when He tries to draw close to us is that we expect Him in a familiar form, and He comes in a different form to help deliver us from our prejudices and opinions.

“I’m sorry if I reacted a little strongly Jen, but we can’t start seeing the path we are on now as the only ‘real Christianity.’ The men on the road to Emmaus would have recognized Jesus if they had known Him after the Spirit instead of just after appearances. One of the main things we must learn in this wilderness is to see further, deeper, and wider than we have seen before, or we will continue to miss the Lord and the great opportunities He’s given to this generation.”

“No, this is helpful,” Jen replied. “No doubt I was starting to go down a wrong path with my thinking. This path is such a drastic contrast to my whole previous experience that I was already becoming proud.”

“Jen, you are, according to Proverbs, a wise person. Stay that correctible, and you will stay on the path. We cannot start thinking of ourselves as better than any others, or we will fall. If we have been given more grace, it is still more grace. He gives His grace to the humble and resists the proud. We can quickly go from God’s grace to God’s resistance, if we go that way.”

It was a long time before anyone said anything else. I did not want to talk too much and wondered if I already had. It was so refreshing to be with so many interesting and spiritually hungry people. William finally spoke and confirmed to me that I was trying to say too much:

“Today may not have been as exciting as some days, such as when we had the lion attack, but it’s been like trying to drink out of a fire hydrant. I’ve been trying to take notes on what I’ve been learning, and I can’t write fast enough,” he complained, but with a smile.

“I apologize for trying to get in too much, but I blame all of you for it,” I responded. “You are too interesting and too interested.”

“We would like to hear more,” Mary spoke up.

“I would like to add one more thought about what we’ve been discussing,” I continued. “The church drifted from its course for most of the church age. This began when God’s people started worshiping the temple of the Lord more than the Lord of the temple. Some started worshiping individual truths more than the Truth Himself. All of this led to a great shipwreck from which we are still recovering. Regardless of what kind of church we are a part of, we will suffer shipwreck if we start esteeming our group, our church, as more important than others who are different from us.

“Jen, remember our little discussion about how most news stories are not normal life, but rather the exception? You are now living in the exception. You are making the news every day in heaven. This is the path to the high calling of God in Christ. Even so, we cannot think of ourselves as better or more important than others, but as servants of those who may not have had our experience. If we don’t do this, we too will stumble and drift from our course. We are being prepared to go back and get many others and bring them to this path. We will not be able to do this if they sense arrogance in us.

“The best way we can help those who are trapped in something less than what we are now experiencing is to get to the mountain and help build the highway that the rest can travel on. When you go back to them you will go back with authority. You will represent a higher reality, another realm. Many will see it and will come.

“You are just the beginning of a great harvest, the greatest there has ever been. However, the fastest way for us to depart from the highway that is being built to prepare the way for the Lord is to become proud of the grace we have been given.”