Following The Star
by
Bill Cassada
©2002 The Lion's
Heart Ministries, Inc.
[Editor's
Note: This article was originally published to our email subscriber list
in December 2002]
[Barbara Cassada writes:]
Recently we received a prayer request from one of our intercessors who
described feeling “lost” and yet heard a word from the Lord saying “follow the star”. Bill sent a reply that I believe was profound and
represents so much of where we seem to be going that I wanted to share it with you all. If you have been experiencing feelings of being lost,
adrift, disoriented, or perhaps disconnected, this message is for you...
Bill writes:
======================
Following The Star
======================
“I've given some thought to what you are going through -- and here's
some insight that may help give you focus on what you are experiencing.
I think a lot of the answers to what you are seeking can be found in
Ezekiel 44.
Ezekiel 44:10 "...But the Levites who went far away from Me when
Israel went astray, who went astray from Me after their idols, they
shall bear [the punishment for] their iniquity and guilt..."
Here, God is describing what C. R. Oliver, in his book, "The Sons
of Zadok," calls "the Eli system." It is the system of
religiosity that man has built and calls church. It is full of iniquity
and abomination because this system does not "follow the
Star." It follows what man wants, the cerebral legacy of Adam,
i.e., an intellectual pursuit of God wherein everything that is ritual,
rote, & pomp is given all priority, men and man are elevated above
God and the pursuit of things cerebral is at the core of its very
existence. God's judgment on these issues can be found in verses 11-14:
Ezek. 11-14 "...They shall minister in My sanctuary...they shall
attend the people to serve them...they shall not come near to Me to do
the office of a priest to Me...Yet I will appoint them as caretakers to
have charge of the temple..."
These who have not "followed the Star," but instead have
"followed after idols," (this can be a religious system) will
suffer the ultimate punishment -- they will never experience intimacy
with God. I have always believed that the greatest punishment that can
be experienced in the universe is separation from God. Pondering on this
single element has given me a greater insight into the significance of
Jesus' sacrifice on the cross -- "...my God, my God...why have you
forsaken me?" For this I believe, was the ultimate price that Jesus
paid -- separation from the Father, and his recognition of this
"cup" of which he had to drink was what caused him to sweat
blood in the garden of Gethsemane. I also believe that this is the true
definition of hell, found in 2 Thess. 1:8-9:
"...To deal out retribution (chastisement and vengeance) upon those
who do not know or perceive or become acquainted with God, and [upon
those] who ignore and refuse to obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Such people will pay the penalty and suffer the punishment of
everlasting ruin (destruction and perdition) and eternal exclusion and
banishment from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His
power..."
What the Lord showed me about the Zadok priesthood, is that we are in a
place in history that God is calling out to those who will abandon
everything for Him. To make Him the chief and only priority in their
lives, to "follow the Star," the only true Star, Jesus Christ
and intimacy with Him. When this invitation from the Father captures
one's heart, the pursuit of anything and everything that is not Him
suddenly gets relegated to a lesser place on the priority list.
Ministering to Him becomes the all-consuming passion.
When this happens, (as it has happened to us), great pain ensues. In our
case, we have slowly been weaned from the religious systems that we grew
up to embrace, even those that we were involved in during the formative
years of our Christianity. As our value-programmed systematic and
religious traditions were separated from us, it was like the tearing of
the fabric of everything we had grown accustomed to and comfortable
with. And for sure, not everyone will allow this to occur. We have come
to the place where we pretty much reject most of what we see in the
world that is called church. The programmed services, the artificial
parameters, the rituals and false religion of man, the focus on
buildings, edifices, offerings, and programs -- all of it has been
stripped away from us as we seek the only important thing in all the
world -- Him!
Over the last few years, we feel that we have been faithful in
discharging all of these things that God has revealed to us and to
expose those issues within the church -- the false intimacy of the
largely ritualistic Communion ceremony, the elevation of man's control
over the Holy Spirit's presence, the importance of holiness and sanctification
yet the church's shallow treatment of these subjects...recognizing
God’s call on women to walk in fullness of ministry, in equal
partnership with men, without prejudice, domination, or control, and to
affirm the ministries of qualified women to serve in places of
leadership within the church, and much, much more. We have discovered
that only a "remnant" wants to confront these issues. We have
watched our invitations dwindle over the past several years to a trickle
of what it was in 1998 & 1999. But we also discovered that many of
the churches and places we visited were following after
"renewal" as an idol, and not "following the Star."
So the pursuit of intimacy with Him has had its price -- but one that we
have been willing to pay.
We have discovered in a small church in Englewood Florida, a group of
people who seem to be willing to abandon all semblance of systematic
religiosity in pursuit of God's presence. A people who want God more
than structure, His Presence more than their programs, and the Holy
Spirit more than their own agendas. We have been drawn here by the
Spirit of God, and here is where we have thrown in our lot with them. We
are ready to never travel again if necessary, and even to lay down this
ministry if that's what it takes -- but we will "follow the
Star!"
I would venture to guess that the feelings of being lost (adrift,
perhaps?) are most likely associated with God separating you from
patterns of thought associated with religious systemology. It can be
very frightening at times, because the very ground on which many of us
have stood for years suddenly begins to quake and opens up and all that
we've put our faith and trust in is exposed as sand and is swallowed up
by Truth.
But the destiny that you are bound for and called to can be found in
Ezek. 44:15-16:
"...But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the
charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me,
shall come near to Me to minister to Me, and they shall attend Me to
offer to Me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God. They shall enter
into My sanctuary; and they shall come near to My table to minister to
Me, and they shall keep My charge..."
God is calling this priesthood to His table -- His table of Communion,
to become intimate with Him while He prepares the table for us in the presence
of our enemies. C.R. Oliver describes these unusual people this way:
"Now God defines the ways of the Sons of Zadok...every theological
seminary, Bible school and training center teaches how to minister to
people; only the Lord can teach the 'How To Minister to Him' course.
Such understanding comes from talking to Him, learning His ways,
receiving His correction, paying attention to what pleases Him, and
seeking His favor. We live in the temple with Him!" --
"Diametrically opposed to all system regimes, their life is so
"Kingdom of God and His Christ" oriented, no other order but
Divine Order can move them"
I believe we are in a season of great transition in the church. The
progression of church history can be seen from the end of the dark ages
until now in a successive series of moves of God to restore the church
to that place which he intended it to always occupy. It is the
preparation of the Bride, "without spot or blemish." Or as
Bill Hamon says, "the church must grow up before it can go
up". I also believe that we are coming into a time where those who
draw near to God will be caught up in levels and dimensions of intimacy
they never thought possible -- and conversely, those who choose to
remain linked to the religious system and continue to pay homage to it
will experience a greater and greater degree of separation until they
finally reach the point of no return, when "a great gulf
fixed" will be between them and God, "which no man can
cross."
I don't know if this will help you or not. But one thing I am certain
of. All of Christianity today stands at the greatest crossroads it has
every encountered. Like always, God has given us the answer from time
eternal. "I set before you this day, life and death, blessing and
cursing. Therefore, choose life, that you and your descendants may
live." When the choice of life is made, i.e., to become a "Son
of Zadok," it is a commissioning of the heart -- absolutely nothing
to do with externalities. The ensuing transition can be likened to what
jet pilots experience as they approach the sound barrier -- when the
waves of sound are compressed and compressed so tightly that there is
great turbulence and buffeting and for those aircraft not constructed in
a sound manner, it can literally tear the wings off. But when the
breakthrough comes, and all the noise of the world is left behind, there
is quiet and peace and incredible tranquility. This is the place where
God wants to take us, "...in repentance and rest is your
salvation...in quietness and peace is your strength..." (Is 30:15)
===================
Blessings to you “all.” It is my fervent hope that God really messes
you up.
Bill Cassada
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"Following The Star" Copyright © 2002 The Lion's Heart Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. You are permitted to forward, copy, download, print and/or otherwise distribute verbatim copies of this document, but altering, changing, or modifying it in any way is not allowed. Please include source credit.
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