WATCHMEN OF ZION

Upon your walls, O Jerusalem,

I have set watchmen;

all the day and all the night

they shall never be silent.

You who put the Lord in remembrance,

take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.

-Isaiah 62

A Church Made Ready

The redemptive work that needs to be done on earth at this

hour is not going to be accomplished by individual heroes. It is going to be done by the Body. The need is not for one or two flaming prophets, but for a living, burning church. A church that is truly a city set on a hill, truly a habitation of God. A church where the glory of God is so bright, the atmosphere so charged with His presence, that it literally draws into its midst the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind.

We've been praying for all kinds of goodies for our private ministries, But when it comes to the church, the Body of Christ, we've been satisfied with far too little, If we have a good crowd, if there's a warm feeling and the singing goes well, we are content that the church is in good shape. Yet, time and time again, we leave the assembly only to be met by lepers we cannot heal and blind and to whom we can give no sight, troubled souls we cannot seem to quiet with God's peace, seekers who are unable to find their way through our words to God.

This is not just an individual problem.

This is a corporate problem,

a sign that something is missing in the Body.

The fact that we come away from fellowship to become victims of habits and fears and vanities that have defeated us countless times before is a symptom of disease in the Body itself.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church

and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her,

having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,

that she might be holy and without blemish.

How are we going to reconcile this picture of splendor, this sanctified, clean, holy people with the church as we know it and function in it? The Spirit is calling for a church at this hour that is not this spotted, wrinkled, mediocre thing we've been accustomed to being. The Spirit is calling for a church that is holy and without blemish, that functions as a healthy Body and really manifests the nature of God. The kind of church we considered satisfactory in the past just is not satisfactory now. The club atmosphere, the superficial piety, the unbelief, vanity, lack of commitment that we considered normal in the past will satisfy neither our God nor the need of the hour. If we cannot have a church that manifests Jesus Christ in its behavior, touches heaven in its worship, literally burns with God's love, let's admit that we are better off with nothing than with this spiritless mediocrity that has filled our past years.

The Lord Has to Do It

It is impossible for us to transform ourselves into a church where God is truly present. If we are to be a church where people stepping into the assembly know that they've come into the courts of heaven, Jesus himself has to bring this about. We can have meetings and committees and retreats and wonderful intentions. But until Jesus himself comes into our midst and turns our darkness to light, we are still a wedding feast without wine. "On this rock I will build my church." Only the Lord himself can build, sanctify, cleanse, or send forth his Spirit upon the church. And he will, provided there are some people who really desire these things. Jesus did not turn the water into wine until Mary came asking. Nor did he heal until he saw some desire for healing. When he picked out the man at the pool of Bethesda he did not heal until he first asked, "Do you want to be healed?" As long as we are satisfied to bumble on, simply not bothered enough to cry out to God for more than this, this is exactly what we're going to have and nothing more.

Thank God, however, that voices are starting to be raised to heaven at this hour, pleading, begging, pounding on the door, demanding, pestering, holding God to his promise, refusing to be still, until God establishes Zion and makes her a praise in the earth; until her vindication goes forth as brightness and her salvation as a burning torch.

Upon your walls, O Jerusalem,

I have set watchmen;

all the day and all the night

they shall never be silent.

You who put the Lord in remembrance,

take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.

The Call for Watchmen

To those reading these words who are satisfied with things as they are in the church of Jesus Christ there is very little to say, except, sleep on! If you really believe that the Body of Christ as you see it and fit into it is satisfactory to God and sufficient for the work that needs to be done, good luck to you. But to those who are dissatisfied, who know that what we now are, what we are now accomplishing, the life we now offer to men in the name of Christ is not enough, comes the call to be watchmen.

Watchmen who put the Lord into remembrance

The need is for watchmen, male and female, to put the Lord in remembrance, to take no rest and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes her a praise in the earth.

Watchmen with Vision

The need is for watchmen with vision. People who see beyond their own narrow little program to the church that is in the mind and heart of Jesus himself, the church the Lord will have before the marriage supper can possibly begin.

We have to have the vision to see a church that shines with the splendor of God. Not the splendor of magnificent buildings or fine robes or eloquence or riches or political power, but the splendor of Jesus Christ reflected in the faces and the voices and daily living of his followers. The splendor of saints literally being changed from one degree of glory to another by the Spirit of the Lord.

We need the vision to see a church that is pure.

Not merely pure in doctrine.

Not pure in what we think to be the New Testament pattern…

But pure in heart.

Like a pure wife whose heart undividedly belongs to her husband. Like a wife who loves her husband more than herself.

A church where the believers never rave about what a wonderful community they have, but only about Jesus.

We need the vision to see a church that is clothed in righteous deeds.

“It was granted her to be clothed with fine linen

bright and pure. For the fine linen is the

righteous deeds of the saints.”

A church where the lives of the saints truly match their message, where the conversation, the handling of money, the imagination, the moral life is Christ-like.

Such a vision is too big to be confined to our own little fellowship or our side of town or even our city or nation or culture. This church embraces Chinese disciples, Russian disciples, African disciples, Latino disciples.

Watchmen who pray persistently for vision’s fulfillment

The need is for watchmen, who having received the vision, are persistent in praying for its fulfillment. Very little can be accomplished by those who are excited today and asleep tomorrow. Watchmen, (not sightseers), who stay awake, take no rest and give God no rest until he establishes Zion and makes her a praise in the earth. In season and out of season, summer and winter, good weather and bad.

We are being called to be persistent in our…

private prayers,

daily living,

corporate worship,

corporate ministry.

Pounding on heaven’s door now while the opposition is light so that we may continue to be persistent when it starts getting heavy.

“Oh, but it’s not my nature to be persistent.” Bless your heart, neither was it Peter’s nature to be persistent. But he learned. And so will you.

Watchmen who expect God to open doors

The need is for watchmen who are always expectant. They’re not just pounding on heaven’s door to make a racket. They expect that door to open. They know it will open.

"Lord God, we will take no rest nor will we give you rest

until you establish Zion and make her a praise in the earth, until you bring the vision to pass."

Death in the Body comes from our lack of expectancy, which is often hidden under marvelous prayers and radiant smiles and wonderful utterances of praise.

But God knows very well that we are not expecting the beautiful things we’re asking for. When Mary came to Jesus asking for wine for the wedding feast, she expected results. “Whatever he tells you to do, do it,” she said to the servants, in spite of a rather unclear answer from her son.

And the Canaanite woman expected healing for her daughter, in spite of the unfriendly reception she got from Jesus and the disciples. She knew he would do it!

Nothing pleases our Lord more than people who come to him just knowing that he will indeed give them life. He loves to be pestered by people who hang on to him and refuse to let go of him until he blesses. And there is nothing he waits to hear more eagerly these days than the prayers of those who plead with him to establish Zion and make her a praise in the earth.

Watchmen who will not rest

The call is for the watchmen to take their places on the walls of Zion and lift up their eyes until they see the vision of the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven like a bride adorned for her husband, and who will take no rest and give God no rest until the vision comes to pass.