Radical Reformation

“There is desirable treasure, and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man squanders it.”
Proverbs 21:20
“…to whom much is given, from him much will be required…”
Luke 12:48

I posted this as a facebook status update yesterday, and a friend asked me what it means.

The first verse (Proverbs 21:20) hit me like a ton of bricks while I was in the midst of receiving sozo ministry. I had been controlled by fear for most of my life and I’d determined that I wanted it gone, no matter what.  Dealing with the roots of that fear was complex, difficult, and painful (and worthwhile, because it is gone completely now!). I came to understand that God had placed great treasure within me and that it was foolish to allow fear to control me to the point that I squandered that treasure.

There is desirable treasure and oil in the dwelling (house) of the wise…

Those who follow Christ are wise… and what is the desirable treasure and oil? It’s the presence of God within us. He literally indwells us… our hearts become His resting place. We are the treasure chest of the Almighty.

Jacob had a power encounter with God and said, “Surely the Lord is in the place, and I did not know it.” “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven!” And he called the name of that place Bethel [Beth-El, House of God] (Genesis 28:16,17,19).

Surely the Lord is in this place… and for the believer, where is the Lord? Within us!

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells within you?” (1 Cor 3:16)

We are the house of God… the temple of God… we are Bethel. The reason we are Bethel is because Holy Spirit lives within us.

Jesus said, “And the glory which You gave me I have given to them… “ (John 17:22)

We must always remember that we are filled with the same Holy Spirit as Jesus was. He didn’t get more, or a stepped-up version… He didn’t get first class and relegate us to economy class… God does not give Holy Spirit by measure. Jesus needed to be anointed and so do we. Apart from that anointing, we can do nothing. With that anointing – with Holy Spirit – we can do anything. Jesus said we would do even greater works than He did, and that nothing will be impossible for us (John 14:12, Matthew 17:20).

Furthermore, when Jesus said we should pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”, He was declaring to us that every heavenly resource is available not only to us… but within us! Remember, we *are* earth; God created us from the dust of the ground. It would be perfectly appropriate to pray, “Your will be done IN ME as it is in Heaven!” When Holy Spirit is within us, the Kingdom of God is within us (Luke 11:20, 17:21) and we carry that glory, that power, that Kingdom, that treasure and oil, with us everywhere we go. We are mobile treasure chests of glory.

But is treasure any good to anyone if it’s squandered? If we waste the glory of God on foolish things, we ourselves are foolish.

Some waste the treasure on worry and fear. That is what I did. I was so afraid of what people would think of the treasure within me that I spent the treasure on keeping it well-hidden. Fear led to a false sense of humility; I would only bring out little bits and pieces of the treasure every now and then.

Others squander the treasure within them on things that look good, but by themselves do not profit. Bill and I were talking about parties yesterday – we happen to be a part of a church that loves a Holy Ghost party. We love it when God moves in such power that we all get drunk and fall on the floor and howl with laughter. We love when people are so overcome in the glory that they have to be carried out of the building on cots and they don’t come conscious until the next day. We love that! Wouldn’t trade it, do away with it, or wish He’d not do that.

However… the party is not the only thing. The party has a purpose – enjoying His presence has a purpose – it’s building love and trust, to make us open for Him to move in great power. If the party doesn’t lead the gathering to repentance, to healing, to prophecy, to deliverance, to bringing reformation to the city… the party has no purpose and we have squandered the treasure of God.

To whom much is given, much will be required… God has given us the greatest treasure in the universe… the gift of Himself. Much is then required of us. He does not give us Himself so that we can squander Him and His glory… not to waste His presence nor to spend it upon ourselves… this treasure is meant to be shared. We cannot have all of Him unless we give all of Him away. To be filled with all of the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19) is not to receive a one-time measure… it is to be continually overflowing… our cups running over with His very presence! We’re to pour out that Presence everywhere we go, in everything we do.

Just as Jesus spent His blood for our freedom… we must spend His presence… the desirable treasure and oil within us… for freedom. Jesus gave us authority to “spend” the anointing of Holy Spirit when He said, “Go…” (Matthew 28:18,19)… “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8)

Freely you have received this desirable treasure and oil within you… freely give. To whom all has been given, all will be required… to receive Him we must give Him to receive more and more of Him…