ACCOUNTABILITY
(THE REALM OF CONSEQUENCE)
Accountability. Just the mention of the word gives any respectable preacher of grace the shivers. I must admit feeling a bit queasy when confronted by this word a few months ago. The Spirit of God spoke this word to me while seeking Him for the next step in this walk of Life. I trust we all are aware of the place that we occupy in the plan that God has set in motion concerning His redemption for creation. We are on the threshold of the complete unveiling of the Christ in us and when this is accomplished, we will be put on open display for all realms to examine us to see if we are truly what we proclaim to be. So far, it has been fairly simple for anyone to preach a word of testimony of what we believed ourselves to be in God. Many have proclaimed they are a new creature, a son of God, a King, a priest after the order of Melchisedec, a new species of creature, the answer to every man's problem, saviors, lords over the heavens and the earth, God's voice in the land, wells of salvation, masters of devils and principalities, scholars of the mysteries of the kingdom, deliverers, conquerors, mighty men of valor, gods and God. Well, don't look now honey, but its about time to put up or shut up!
I made the statement recently that I am finding myself less impressed over the
account of great services being experienced by some without seeing the evidence
showing up somewhere in the people's everyday lives. I am becoming a little
nauseous over feel-good services that have only one purpose and that is to make
everybody happy and content with where they are in the Lord. Think positive, and
everything will be great, seems to be the message. Get everybody caught up in a
proclamation of who we are and for heavens sake don't let the service get quiet,
God might start dealing with us and then we would all get depressed when we find
out where we really are. Feel-good services will not get the job done my
friends. They have their place, and thank God for the relief from the dealings
that they give us, but if that is all you have in your midst you will
never mature into that vehicle of God that will have the goods for creation.
This is supposed to be the ultimate realm that many believe they are walking in.
Some proclaim they have entered into a realm that no one else has ever entered
into before. They are preaching a word that no one has ever preached before and
are walking in the highest realm found anywhere. My question is, why are your
lives no better than the other realms? Most of these proclaimers have the same
fears and problems that the lowly Baptists have. They still have their gossip
mills putting out the same filth and garbage that the Pentecostals are famous
for. Jealousy and envy run rampant through their ranks and they have the same
old cliques in their midst that all other realms have. So what's the deal?
Obviously, some have settled for the easy way of proclaiming who we are supposed
to be, versus the walking out of the revelation until we are changed into that
which we have proclaimed.
We are in a time frame in the Plan of the Ages when we enter into a place of
consequence. The realm of unaccountability gives way to the realm of
accountability. Galatians 4 tells us that an heir as long as he is a child has
no more consequence in the kingdom than a servants child. He is put under tutors
and governors until a time appointed, and then enters into a place of
consequence. But as long as he acts like a child, his actions will be of no
effect regardless of whether it is for the good or the bad. He is unaccountable
for his actions and is under the covering of ignorance. His actions are winked
at and any punishment meted out to him for wrong actions are limited to his own
behind and no one else's. It is a marvelous place, this place of
unaccountability. It is a child's dream world where nothing is expected of us
and we just more or less float through life without a care.
The day comes, however, when the child senses a change in the relationship he
has with his teachers. They are not so quick to look over his mistakes and start
expecting more and more out of him. It becomes a turbulent time of learning
things he has no inclination to know with his child's view of the world. Little
does he know that the day will come when his actions will have a consequence to
them, and will affect the kingdom from the east to the west and the north to the
south. Whether good or bad, his actions will affect every one of his kinsmen. He
will have entered into the realm of consequence, where opportunities are
available to bring honor and glory to the throne, or dishonor and disgrace. It
is in this realm that the Lord gives and He also takes away.
I am a preacher of grace and always will be. I believe the grace of God has
given salvation to all mankind. It is unthinkable to me to put God's love and
grace in any other position other than the total forgiveness of every trespass
that man might commit. To me, the scriptures are very plain in the following
precepts. No one can earn their salvation, it is a gift of God. Our salvation is
already bought lock, stock, and barrel by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I
have always loved the song, Jesus Paid It All. But the next phrase illustrates
man's unconscious rebellion against God's gift of salvation when the writer
proclaims, All To Him I OWE! That's not what the scripture says. It says our
sins are not imputed to us. It is free, absolutely and wonderfully FREE! No pay
back necessary. You are bought with a price, you are not your own. Man's carnal
nature rebels against the total, unequivocal purchase of mankind by God through
the gift of His Son's life. We insist on paying Him back and we will never be
able to. Our salvation is priceless!
However, there are scriptures that talk in language of things that are earned
and things that are bought. What are these things? They can't be salvation, the
bible clearly says that is free. Nonetheless, we can't ignore the scriptures
that deal with the pearl of great PRICE, the treasure in the field that
the man BOUGHT, the light afflictions that WORK for us a far more EXCEEDING
WEIGHT of glory, etc.. Paul tells us in I Corinthians 9:24,25 - "Do you not know
that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run
your race that you may lay hold of the prize and make it yours. Now every
athlete who goes into training conducts himself temperately and restricts
himself in all things. They do it to win a wreath that will soon whither, but we
do it to receive a crown of eternal blessedness that cannot whither." (ampl.
ver.) Notice the terminology that is used here. Paul says to run and MAKE the
prize yours, and the crown is not salvation but ETERNAL BLESSEDNESS. In the King
James Version the crown is an incorruptible one.
It is obvious to me that the Bible distinguishes between what is earned and what
is free. The scriptures say that He has given to each man a measure of faith
that can be added to by the believer. The initial measure is a down payment on
things to come. It guarantees the recipient the opportunity to add to it. I see
salvation in the same way. Jesus Christ guarantees our basic salvation, and
after we come to that knowledge, we can earn greater things. There are different
experiences available to us if we choose to pay the price for them. The throne
room experience is not freely given, it is reserved for the overcomers. "I
counsel thee to BUY of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and
white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness
do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. ..To
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also
overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Rev. 3:18,21. Chapters
2 & 3 of Revelations describe certain rewards given to the overcomer that is
reserved just for them, among which is - to eat of the tree of life, which is in
the midst of the paradise of God; to not be hurt of the second death; to eat of
the hidden manna, and be given a white stone, and in the white stone a new name
written; be given power over the nations; be given the morning star; be clothed
in white raiment; be made a pillar in the temple of God , and go no more out;
have the name of God written upon him and the name of the city of God, which is
New Jerusalem! All of these things are given to them that have overcome.
If you are like me, just the mention of these promises make you want to get on
your track shoes and start running. Go out and slay a few principalities and
pull some religious walls down and dethrone some false kings. To be sure we will
do all of this and more! But I should let you know the other side of this realm
of consequence. If the ability is there to gain, to get rich, to get crowned and
all of the other things we just read about, you should be aware that the ability
to have great loss is there also. Remember, the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh
away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Wherever you have the potential to
increase, you also have the potential to decrease. In Matthew the 25th chapter
we read the story of a man that is going on a long journey and calls his
servants together and distributes to them each one according to his abilities.
To one he gives 5 talents, to the other 2 talents, and to the other 1 talent.
The opportunity is given to each one to increase their gift. The one with 5
traded for 5 more. The one with 2 traded for 2 more. But the one with 1 hid it
and did nothing with it. This is a prime example of the realm of consequence.
When the master came back he asked for an account of what they did with their
gift. His statement to the first two servants is "Well done good and faithful
servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord." This is the side of increase
in this realm of consequence where you end up with more than you started out
with. To the last servant he says, "Take therefore the talent from him, and give
it unto him which hath ten talents." This is the decrease side of the realm of
consequence. You lose through disobedience. The two sides are illustrated in the
following verse: "For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have
abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he
hath." The opportunity for gain, or the potential for loss. It is the only place
in God's economy where we have a true choice. Salvation is without choice or
works of any kind. But in the economy of God's kingdom there is a promotion of
consequence for the heirs of salvation. The lineage that the King passes to his
son is without any participation on the part of the son. He inherits his
kingship through his father. But it is up to the son of the king whether he
rules with the same glory and honor as his father. We know through history that
many times a great king gives way to a lousy son. The gift of lineage is not
enough to ensure the son will reign with the same heart as his father.
This is why we are being drawn out from the realm of unaccountability into the
realm of accountability or the realm of great consequence. Some have no
intentions of changing their life or the course of this world. They are in this
word for the candy and sugar plums. They like the idea of grace and unmerited
favor and will progress no farther than a proclamation of who they should be.
But there are a few in this word that are ready to take the next step into a
position of responsibility and along with it the judgments of their Father. They
have not settled into little cliques and clubs, but have made it known to God
that they want Him to do whatever is necessary to bring them to their prescribed
order in the earth. If that means walking in the fire, so be it. Let's get our
asbestos drawers on and walk it out. We are through with the little religious
games being played throughout the land. Some want to believe the only thing
required of them is to float around this world and hold their little feel-good
orgies, please everybody and above all else be Mr. & Mrs. Popularity. But others
don't care what men think of them or whether or not they are going to be liked.
They hear a voice in the heavens saying, "Sound an alarm in all my holy
mountain!". Great things are at our doorstep! It is the GREAT and TERRIBLE day
of God. Sell all your religious raiment, and your temporal, religious crowns,
and buy the true gold that has been fired in the furnace of the Lord! Quit
trying to dress up that old, dead order with better musicians, prettier singers
and louder microphones. It won't work! The only thing that will work is that
order that you have been apprehended for, the order of LIFE and immortality.
We must quit trying to buy what is unbuyable. We must start purchasing those
eternal things that have been hid in us like treasure in the earth. We are
walking gold mines of God. Just below the surface of this outer man there are
incomprehensible riches that must be distributed to the world. Every man will
give an account to God of what he or she has done with the deposit God has
placed in them. The Lord has made us Stewards, or distributors of the household
goods, over His riches which He has intrusted to us. Paul said that if his
gospel be hid, it was hid to them that are lost. Some of us have a warped value
system of the riches given by God. We tend to think that the most demonstrative
ministries that travel all over and are in constant demand must somehow be the
richest among us. I think we need to understand how God judges wealth. He is
going to require an account of every man individually. To him that much is
given, there will be much required. It doesn't matter what you start out with,
whether it is much or little, the thing that counts is the increase. Some have
the GIFT of preaching. Their inheritance is the ability to preach. They can have
meetings lined up from now to next year, that is not what God is going to judge
them by. They must increase in something else besides preaching! The 5 talents
grew into ANOTHER type of talents. Paul declared he could be a preacher of all
these truths and still be a castaway. I pray you understand the economy of God.
It is not manifested by outward demonstrations, it is based on inward
commitments. Some who clothe themselves in this life with religious garments of
purple and scarlet, and adorn themselves with jewels of revelatory intellect are
inwardly naked and lacking.
Those of us who have walked in the present Truth of this age are in danger of
allowing this great and awesome word we have received from the Lord to become of
no consequence. I submit to you that if we have indeed been blessed with the
answer for the ages, if this word of the kingdom is the word that leads into the
holy of holies, unlocks the incorruptible life of the spirit in our corruptible
bodies, brings us to perfect love, etc., etc., then where is the evidence? I
don't want to preach another doctrine of rapture, disguised in terms of the
kingdom! We must start believing what we have preached and start walking this
revelation out until it becomes flesh. We are in a dangerous position. I
sincerely believe we have the goods of the kingdom of God stored in this order
of kingdom life. I believe we have a word bottled up in us that will unlock
every prison house and set every captive free. This word will empty out hell and
end man's separation from his God. It is an order made up of priests and kings,
along with the other offices of the Church. I have not told you anything in the
last few lines that haven't been proclaimed in meetings all over this land for
many years. It has been a proclamation, a message, a belief, but not a walk.
This is going to change!
How? Not by you reading this article. I wrote this article as a warning to those
who have no idea what is being expected of them by the Father. Grace covers
ignorance, and you and I are not ignorant. The blind have no sin, but those who
say they see, their sin remains. (John 9:41) No, it won't be done because we
heard or read a stirring message. It is not just WHO we have approached unto, it
is WHAT we have approached unto. The Day will perform it! We have come to a Day
that has a purpose imbedded within it to bring to pass the intent of God. It
will not be denied! God Himself has become our adversary, and has come to judge
His house. His judgment isn't going to be on things the Church world stumbles
and trips over ( thou shalt, thou shalt not), but rather, He is judging us
according to what we know, and what we have done with that knowledge. The
accomplishment of this transition from unaccountability to accountability will
be by God Himself. Every one of us will be visited by this dealing of God, and I
have to believe that every one of us will be given an opportunity to change.
Some will, and some won't.
The Lord is after a people that will be after Him. He deals with us according to
our position of responsibility. He does not require the same things out of
everyone. Our salvation is not at stake here, but our position and rank in the
Lord and for the ages is. Your salvation is worked out by a wonderful process of
refinement. Whatsoever a man sows, he will reap the same. There are easy roads
to salvation and there are extremely hard roads. The choice of roads is up to
you, the destination of those roads is not. They all end up in God. What we
should understand is that along the way, obedience and disobedience bring
deposits and withdrawals to the traveler. Good choices and bad choices will each
have their consequence. Some will stay to the broad road that is well traveled
and will travel throughout their journey without consequence, good or bad. They
will be judged according to their basic deposit and position. Others will be
like the early American trackers, looking for a single set of footprints in the
wilderness, going slowly but surely, blazing a small, seemingly insignificant
trail that will, in days to come, become highways for creation to run along
toward God. Some will get rich along the way and then lose when led astray.
Others will start out poor and by believing in God become rich. Some ministries
will fall, and others will rise. Don't be one of the foolish ones.
God is coming to our Churches to take them over. We are being visited by a Day
that will not take back seat to our own trivial agendas. I know, I know. I can
hear so many say, "that's what I want Him to do.". Not really. Every time the
Spirit moves in our midst we all get a little nervous. Most groups have so much
going on during the service, God wouldn't be able to talk if He wanted to. The
Day is here and woe to the man or woman that tries to control it! If the pastors
think they are going to keep this Day from appearing to their Church by creating
more programs and special songs and birthday announcements to take up the time
until the man with the power for the hour gets up they are wrong. It may start
in the back of the Church amongst the back row crowd and slowly work its way
throughout the congregation until the whole Church is doing things they hadn't
done since first getting the baptism of the Holy Ghost. I predict an outbreak of
Spirit and Life in Churches across this land. I prophesy there is a takeover in
the works that won't be done by carnal minds but will be birthed out of the Day
that we have approached unto. Whole Churches are going to be turned upside down,
board members are going to resign, Pastors that refused to yield to the Spirit
will be dismissed and a fire of God will blaze through this country from sea to
shining sea! Get ready for the realm of CONSEQUENCE.
Written by: Bob Torango
