The
Jacob Generation
Part Two - The Watches Of The Lord Jesus And His Example
This generation is one of the most unique in history. Jesus spoke only of two generations in scripture- the one that was living on Earth during HIS FIRST appearing and the one who would be living on Earth prior to HIS SECOND appearing. I believe with all my heart that THIS GENERATION is that generation! We are the Jacob generation, the generation that has been given a unique, yet simple call - to seek HIM. David also wrote in the Psalms that the generation to come, (in Hebrew meaning 'last' generation) will seek God and PRAISE Him! So as both the Jacob and the last generations we are going to see a great outpouring of Grace to seek the Lord's face through the night watches of 24/7 prayer and intercession. There is no greater calling nor privilege to be called to. It's the mantle of the last days' army. It's the key to end-time harvest and evangelism. It's the heart of God for the Jacob generation!
By Chris McDonald
TEXT: Psalms 24:6 - The Jacob Generation, the generation of those who seek Him.
Psalm 102:18 - This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord.
Ephes. 6:18 -
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
As we continue our thoughts on the Jacob generation I want to do a quick word study on a couple of passages concerning prayer and supplication and how it pertains to the Jacob generation that will seek the Lord's face unlike any other. One is listed above in our text where Paul exhorts us to "pray always" with "all prayer and supplication IN THE SPIRIT," and "WATCHING!"
Praying is not classed as part of the armor, but is an additional and very important part of the fight against spiritual powers of evil (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-9). The term "with all prayer," means every kind: public, private, church, and family prayer. "Supplication," comes from the Greek "deesis," and means entreating; continued strong and incessant pleadings until the prayer is answered (Luke 18:1-8). Translated "request" (Phil. 1:4); "supplication" (Acts 1:14; Ephes. 6:18; Phil. 4:6; 1 Tim. 2:1; 1 Tim. 5:5); and "prayer" 12 times. (DAKE) We in the Body, me included especially, need to come back to "supplications," and learning how to persevere in prayer until we get an answer. Too many times our victory is lost because we lose faith and give up the prayer fight before we get a breakthrough. As Jacob did so long ago in not letting the Lord go until He blessed Him, THIS GENERATION needs to learn to do the same! That's the call of the Jacob generation!
Paul goes on to mention the term "watching." The phrase, "watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints," is really the key to effectual prayer.
Mark 13:33
Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
Luke 21:36
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape
all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Hebrews 13:17
Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for
your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and
not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
The term "perseverance" comes from the Greek: proskarteresis (GSN-4343), and means to adhere firmly to (Acts 1:14). Be close in pursuit of; always intent upon your object in prayer (Romans 12:12). (DAKE)
Acts 1:14
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women,
and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Romans 12:12
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
That is the mantle of the Jacob generation - watching, praying, perseverance, continuing INSTANT in prayer, rejoicing in HOPE, having deep supplications and intercessions, being one accord in prayer, patient in tribulation and to state it again WATCHING!
The second verse we will get into more at the end of this journal series is the 102nd Psalm. This is the 79th prophecy in Psalms (Psalm 102:18-22, unfulfilled, <DAKE>) . The phrase "shall be created" has both natural and spiritual connotations. There are eternal generations coming of natural people in the Millennium and new Earth. Praise for the Lord will yet be in Zion and all kingdoms of the earth will yet serve Him. Secondly, those who are IN CHRIST and new creatures/creations in Him will PRAISE the LORD!!. This Psalms also speaks of the last generation before the Lord returns that will "PRAISE HIM." That is the second call on the church today - to PRAY and to PRAISE. We cannot praise God until we have learned to pray!
The interesting footnote to this Psalm is the phrase, "the generation to come," which in Hebrew literally means, "the last generation." I believe that this is the last generation before the Lord returns. Many of you reading this have been in the ministry for a number of years and have preached about things and events that friend, we are about to witness! That is an awesome statement. That is a powerful statement. I believe firmly it's that close. We're not date setters but we can see the signs are becoming more evident each day the world's anger toward Israel is rising and that anger is going to result in the entire world coming against Jerusalem one day. In addition, there is growing hatred to Christians and our freedoms are slowly dwindling. The church is about to enter into a season unlike it's seen since the early days of the apostles. Blood is going to flow again neighbor and we need to come to grips with this. Persecution is coming and not just someone laughing or mocking us. But the true blue persecution where we are hauled before judges and firing squads and asked to denounce our faith in Christ or die. I pray the Lord give us all courage in the days ahead to be faithful to His dear name. We will need a heavenly anointing of courage to stand in those days. THIS IS THE JACOB GENERATION'S CALL as well. PRAY, PRAISE and to love not our lives to the death.
I Will Stand My Watch
Habakkuk 2:1
I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see
what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
Ezekiel 33:7
So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel;
therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
I want to return to talking about
the watch of the Lord and its role in the call for us to learn to pray in the
modern church world today. We mentioned several Old Covenant characters who
watched for the Lord during the night - David, Solomon, Jacob, Samuel, Israel at
the Passover and Rahab the harlot.
There are others. The prophet Habakkuk records that he would "stand upon my watch." Ezekiel received a call to be a watchman for the house of Israel. We will see shortly that the Gentile Ruth watched all night at the feet of Boaz, and then she became his wife. Nehemiah watched before and during the time he supervised the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, as we will see as well.
Neh. 4:6-14
So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half
thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
[7] But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and
the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made
up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, [8]
And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and
to hinder it. [9] Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch
against them day and night, because of them. [10] And Judah said, The strength
of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are
not able to build the wall. [11] And our adversaries said, They shall not know,
neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the
work to cease. [12] And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them
came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto
us they will be upon you. [13] Therefore set I in the lower places behind
the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families
with their swords, their spears, and their bows. [14] And I looked, and rose up,
and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be
not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight
for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.
Anyone who has taken up the mantle to
"watch" before the Lord has been used without question to usher in a mighty move
of the Holy Spirit upon that generation the person existed. Joel, the Holy Ghost
prophet, is one such person as well.
The book of Joel begins with a terrifying picture of total destruction. Enemy troops have overrun the nation. Villages lie in ruin. Widows weep over Israel's slain defenders. The harvest smolders after being set ablaze by enemy torches. Young maidens, ravished by the marauders, cover their faces in shame. The land, once a Garden of Eden, is now a desolate wilderness. The desolation has touched every aspect of the people's lives. There is no oil, no harvest, no feasting, no food. Even worship is interuppted, for there is no grain or wine for sacrifices. Joy is gone. The priests mourn. The land mourns.
The land needed rain-physical and spiritual rain - as America does today and we in the Body need today as well. In the aftermath of the catastrophe, there was just one thing to do as there is today - CRY OUT TO GOD and seek HIS FACE. And so the call goes forth from Joel, a universal call that touches every tribe and home:
Joel 2:15-16
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: [16] Gather
the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children,
and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and
the bride out of her closet.
Joel 1:13
Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come,
lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and
the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.
None were to excluded. The people
were to pray, weeping before God, pouring out their grief unto the Lord as they
repented before Him and petitioned Him for intervention. Only the Lord in His
great mercy could provide the hope they needed for the future. The Book of Joel
provides us with a picture of a nation called to repentance, called to stand in
the gap between God and more desolation. We are called to do that today in
America as the Jacob generation. "Turn to the Lord," the prophet exhorts. "Who
knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him?"
Joel 2:14
Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even
a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?
God is gracious and He answers Israel
through Joel:
Joel 2:23-26
Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath
given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the
rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. [24] And the
floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
[25] And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the
cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent
among you. [26] And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the
name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people
shall never be ashamed.
The watch in the Old Covenant is a
type of learning to rely on God and not the flesh. Jacob was a man who lived
after his flesh until God changed his name to Israel. Jacob's flesh caused great
havoc in his life many times and our flesh does the same today. That's the
purpose of corporate and intercessory prayer. When we are in the prayer room we
are allowing the Lord to kill our flesh and bring forth a pure move of the
Spirit of God in our hearts and souls. That is what it's going to take see
a release of the power of God.
Jesus And The Watch
Before the days of Christ, people watched and prayed out of desperate needs. But the times Jesus spent watching were more times of communing intimately with His Father. His times a watching were a source of life for Him, a relationship with Abba Father. And, of course, there He received the revelations and instructions He needed to fulfill His purpose on earth.
The anointing for miracles, signs and wonders always cost something. It's not just about lining up and having hands laid on for impartation to move in the miraculous realm of the Spirit. There is a price to pay for anyone who wants that level of anointing. Part of the cost is to watch and pray. Then Power will be released.
When Jesus was baptized by John, the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove. (Luke 3:22). Then Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit was led by Him into the wilderness to be tempted 40 days and 40 nights by the devil. During this time He fasted and prayed. (Luke 4:1-2). Jesus entered the wilderness FULL of the HOLY GHOST but He left in the POWER of the HOLY GHOST. Suddenly, news went everywhere about Him. News spreads fast when God's power is manifesting.
Luke 4:1-2
And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the
Spirit into the wilderness, [2] Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in
those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
Luke 4:14
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a
fame of him through all the region round about.
One common thread to the ministry of Jesus and the miracles He performed was this. Preceding the miracles He did and His acts of healing and deliverance, He stayed up all night and prayed. Jesus literally fasted sleep to pray - and the miracles followed.
Luke 6:12-13
And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and
continued all night in prayer to God.
[13] And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose
twelve, whom also he named apostles;
Two things happened when Jesus came
down from praying all night on the mountain. First, Jesus received instructions
on whom to select as apostles. He named those disciples, "apostles," and
released them into the apostolic anointing. He watched, then He released the
apostles. From this, we see the apostolic anointing will always be released as
we watch and pray.
That the ultimate call to a church so in need of maturity - watch and pray! Many want signs and wonders to be released in the church but God is not going to give a keg of dynamite to a toddler. Most of us would kill ourselves and thousands around us if God released such an anointing in our hands. We would not know what to do with it. This is a transitional time for the church of the Lord Jesus. It is more crucial to pray ONE HOUR than to teach ten hours on prayer! The Lord is leading us to become apostolic people.
I was in a church here in Knoxville a few weeks back when a local minister taught on the importance of prayer. Something he said has so stood out in my heart ever since when he said the Lord told him recently, "I want you to become a man of prayer." The pastor looked up and said, "Lord what do you mean, I already pray! The Lord said, "I don't want you to just pray, I want you to accept the role of a man of prayer!"
That is powerful! The river of watching and prayer that is being birthed in many is wonderful. People have been looking at the river, describing the river, and taking all kinds of measurements of it. I believe Jesus is saying to us "the water is fine, JUMP IN!"
The other thing that happened when Jesus spent the night awake, praying on the
mountain, was that the multitudes came to hear Him, and they were blessed with a
great outpouring of healing, deliverance and a release of the miraculous.
Jesus And The Garden
On
the night Christ was betrayed he was found praying "at night" in the garden of
Gethsemane, a place he visited often to meditate and watch during the night.
This is the ultimate example of the kind of watch about which Joel spoke. Jesus
Himself because the land in utter destruction, totally cut off from God. He was
about to make intercession with His own body. So He kept a watch in relation to
becoming the ultimate intercessor - placing His body between God and man.
So Jesus watched the night before His betrayal. Out of this lifestyle of prayer He asked Peter at Gethsemane, "could you not tarry and watch with me for one hour?" Jesus even told them the value of watching: "watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (v. 41) Watching would give them, as it gives us today the power they would need in the hour that was coming upon them. Jesus knew their flesh would fight it and He encouraged them all the more to "WATCH" and pray.
Friend, hear me. The hour that is coming upon planet Earth at a comet's speed pace will be unlike any we have known in the history of man. While we are busy busy busy in the churchey churchey churchey, the powers of darkness are gathering for their final stand on Planet Earth. The Christian community is so in bed with the world system right now we don't see what is really coming. We proclaim that things are going to get better and friend they are not. No amount of "positive" thinking can stop the events that are about to take place. The Bible is true and what it says will happen. Not one jot or tittle will pass away until all has been fulfilled, says Christ.
If there was ever a greater call upon the Body than to watch and pray, I don't know what is. Before Jesus went to the cross, the disciples asked Him for the signs of His coming and the end of the age. Jesus told them of different signs, but then He gave them the prescription for preparing for His coming:
Mark 13:37 - "....what I say unto you, I say to all - 'WATCH'"
The Greek word for watch here is "gregoreou," which means "be vigilant, wake, (be) watchful." Luke 21:36 reiterates this plea:
Luke 21:26 - "Watch, therefore and pray always........"
The Greek word here is "agrupneo," which means, "to be sleepless, keep awake, 'watch."
Now some would say that those of us who take verse literally to "WATCH" and pray are going to an extreme. Well neighbor is there any less extreme situation in the history of man that we face today? I'd say NOT! Do we want to move in the power and anointing of God? Do we want miracles? (AND I MEAN TRUE MIRACLES, not the fluff versions we get from most ministries) Do we want to see the END-TIME harvest and the glorious return of Yeshua? Then all that we have talked about to this point is part of the puzzle's piece. There will never be a substitute for spending quality time in prayer with Father - and that goes both corporately and individally.
This is the call on the Jacob Generation. It behooves us individually and corporately to seek the face of God in these last days. Jesus set the example for the watch of intimacy and of power. I would say it would also behoove us to follow HIM as we continue in 2004.
The Lord has taken me a roller coaster ride these past few months as we closed out 2003. Without going into detail, I can tell you that through different trials and tribulations our family has face, I have never felt so many emotions. But one thing has been birthed in my heart as the result of this - a deep desire to seek the face of God at all costs. I don't care if I go to church on Sunday or Saturday - I just want to seek God's face. I don't care if it's in my car or in the biggest church cathedral in Knoxville - I just want to seek God and His face. I want His heart. I know His heart beats for two main things at this moment in time as I write these words - the harvest and Israel. And when you think about it those two are very closely connected. The harvest in reality is the coming home of the Jewish people to their Messiah. Paul said that the way that will happen is when we as the Gentile church "provoke," the Jewish people to jealousy. That is our call today. That is the gauntlet the Lord has laid down.
I challenge you Jacob generation - SEEK THE FACE OF GOD IN THE WATCHES OF THE NIGHT. In part three of this journal series, we will look at the early church and the New Covenant watches in scripture and see how seeking the Lord brought great power to the early "JEWISH" church!
Let me pray with you now:
Heavenly Father, we come to you today thanking You for the opportunity to SEEK your face unlike any generation has been able to in the past. Lord, your Grace has circled the globe millions of time seeking those who are willing and brave enough to worship You in SPIRIT and in TRUTH. Lord we must have revival in these last days. We MUST see the harvest come in as the Holy Spirit directs YOUR CHURCH on earth to be the intercessors to generate such a move. Forgive us for our lack of corporate prayer. Forgive us for our lack of sensitivity to Your Spirit. Forgive us for putting "CHURCH" affiliations ahead of our God affiliations. Lord we want more of YOU, not a church. We want more of YOU, not another doctrine or teaching. Open our hearts to the Words of those whom minister over us, but let us always remember that the ultimate source of TRUTH is not found in a doctrine, a church or a movement - but in a PERSON - THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! Thank you Father for Your Goodness to us - IN JESUS NAME we pray.
AMEN.
