DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
LIVING WATER CHRISTIAN FORUM
HTML https://livingwater.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: General Christian Discussion
*****************************************************
#Post#: 16283--------------------------------------------------
Humility, gets the job done.
By: James Date: February 24, 2023, 1:00 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
The king of Syria sent a letter to the king of Israel by the
hand of Naaman. It must have been bad enough to look out of your
bedroom window to see the captain of the Syria army arriving in
his chariot and the roads around the palace jammed by a
battalion of his men. Imagine his distress when he opened his
post to find he had been commissioned to heal the head of the
army, conquers of his land. While it seems that the king was not
aware of Elisha, Elisha was not unaware of the king and his
understanding or misunderstanding of his morning post. We must
make some allowance for the king, he did not know of the Jewish
maid, of her conviction that there was healing in Israel.
Neither did he know that this commander in chief of Syria was an
honorable man used of God.
Being redirected to the house of Elisha Naaman pulls up
outside, no need to knock the door one’s presence is enough to
bring a face to face with the healer. Naaman has prepared for
this encounter, while in his own country he put together what he
felt was an acceptable payment of his appreciation for receiving
his healing, gold silver and ten changes of raiments, be his
deliverer short, tall, fat or thin, a strutting turkey **** or
fading wallflower Naaman had it covered or thought he did. Right
up to the point that the healer was a no show and all Naaman got
was a message to go and dip in the river seven times.
One can read this as Elisha putting down Naaman, popping his
bubble of pride, I am not convinced on this idea. Elisha was
used to speaking words the Lord gave him, for instance dig
ditches when asked for water. In the case of Naaman, you wish
healing that’s why I sent for you, go and dip.
Being a Leper was a big thing in Naaman life, even so as a
leper he had risen to great heights. If you had the chance of
certain healing wouldn’t you take it, to be rid of the one thing
that hung as a blot over your life’s story. I believe that his
condition was so large in his mind that it needed an equally
large and dramatic action to render a cure, and wash and be
clean’ was not it.
In a temper Naaman decided to return home, that would be the
end of the story except for an unnamed servant. He pointed out
that his master would not shy away from doing something brave
and daring for healing so why not do something easy. As already
stated the bible says Naaman was an honorable man. A man who had
a listening ear, a man of wisdom. It was at this point that
Naaman in humility gave way to sound advice rather than pack his
bat and ball because his notion of what could have taken place
did not. Seven dips later and Naaman was a convert and he had
his face to face with Elisha who steadfastly refused all forms
of payment, they settled on Elisha giving Naaman enough earth to
build an altar to the one and true God.
At the start of the tale Naaman is honorable and used of God to
deliver Syria, by the end of the account he is honorable used of
God and he knows the God who knows him. That great step took
some links in a chain of events that resulted in humility and
the difference between “I heard of thee by the earring of the
ear but now my eye seeth thee’
#Post#: 16338--------------------------------------------------
Re: Humility, gets the job done.
By: James Date: March 13, 2023, 12:56 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Jezebel did not attend the sacrifice duel between the prophet of
God and the 450 Baal priest. When news came via Ahab who saw it
all unfold first hand, that Elijah had killed her priest she
sent a message ‘by this time tomorrow you will also be dead’.
This drove Elijah to first run to Beersheba and then go a days
journey into the wilderness. Leaving aside the obvious lesson of
how our enemy seeks to disrupt our progress in God by idle
words. Once there Elijah asked God to take his life.
This on the face of it seems most odd. No praise or worship,
no thanks to God, no hallelujah Jezebel said I would be dead by
this time but no way here I am alive and kicking, ready to
serve.
It comes as no surprise then that we also miss the fact that
we are enjoying life, by being unaware of how much the Lord
loves us and is committed to our preservation, no matter how
many messages the enemy sends to the contrary.
#Post#: 16340--------------------------------------------------
Re: Humility, gets the job done.
By: Dave Date: March 13, 2023, 12:47 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Thinking upon these things.
#Post#: 16342--------------------------------------------------
Re: Humility, gets the job done.
By: Helen Date: March 13, 2023, 10:13 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=James link=topic=1060.msg16338#msg16338
date=1678686988]
Jezebel did not attend the sacrifice duel between the prophet of
God and the 450 Baal priest. When news came via Ahab who saw it
all unfold first hand, that Elijah had killed her priest she
sent a message ‘by this time tomorrow you will also be dead’.
This drove Elijah to first run to Beersheba and then go a days
journey into the wilderness. Leaving aside the obvious lesson of
how our enemy seeks to disrupt our progress in God by idle
words. Once there Elijah asked God to take his life.
This on the face of it seems most odd. No praise or worship,
no thanks to God, no hallelujah Jezebel said I would be dead by
this time but no way here I am alive and kicking, ready to
serve.
It comes as no surprise then that we also miss the fact that
we are enjoying life, by being unaware of how much the Lord
loves us and is committed to our preservation, no matter how
many messages the enemy sends to the contrary.
[/quote]
I see him as a picture of a man anointed , and the man
un-anointed …which reminds us of the picture of Samson , with
hair and without ..
David said- ‘he could run through a troop and jump over a
wall’ …and he could when anointed ….Dave once says “I feel like
the troop is beating of me , and the wall has fallen on me! “
Once God anointing lifts we are ‘as other men’…He does the
work…without Him we are naked …poor old Elijah was ‘naked’ …
I’m sure like us all, he thought it was him against all the
priests of Baal…he forgot for a moment , like we do, that it all
comes from The Father …
Little did he know that even his anointed bones would give
life !
( Hmm was the Elijah or Elisha …I forget …But I guess thats
why John G Lakes tomb get so many visitors , hoping that his
body can still produce healing! I read that in Psalm 26 the
corps thrown into where Elisha’s bones were , was the son of a
Shunammite …the boy he revived for the widow woman …what
relevance all his has I don’t know …just one of my rambles,,,,
Now I must go check to see who’s bones it was…Dave says Elisha ,
not Elijah ..I’m getting my stories muddled …I know Elijah
revived the widow woman’s son…
I could hit ‘delete’ …but as I’ve written it I’ll let it stand
..the top half is really what I wanted to say… ) .
#Post#: 16343--------------------------------------------------
Re: Humility, gets the job done.
By: James Date: March 13, 2023, 11:53 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
So what your really saying is that a message or information of a
negative nature can cut off the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Mark 4: 24 got anything to do with this?
#Post#: 16346--------------------------------------------------
Re: Humility, gets the job done.
By: Helen Date: March 15, 2023, 8:08 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Not really.
What I was saying was that God anoints the vessel for
service….like when it says “The Spirit clothed Himself with
Gideon… “ All great acts , be it Moses, Joshua, David or
whoever , were done by the Spirit not the man. Even Kathrine
Kulman knew this…she knew that once she took the glory for all
the healings, she’d lose His power and anointing….which is what
happened .
I don’t believe that the Holy Spirit ever leaves us…we
live by the Spirit ..we live and move and have our being ‘in
Him” …the Spirit giveth life. But that is different from the
anointing ( mantle) for a particular service or act.
In our own lives I can say that I didn’t know ( until it
lifted ) that we were anointed for the Pub evangelism , it was
so easy every Friday to walk into the bars and talk to people
about the Lord ….we did it all that time. Then one Friday we got
out of the car at the first Pub , I stood there …turned to Dave
and said -“ It’s gone, I can’t go in..” it was then I realized
that He had anointed us to do it all that time, and now we were
alone…if we’d have gone in , it would have been just that -‘ us
going in’ in the flesh as it were, dead works.
That’s how I see the story of Elijah ..his victory over the
priests , and his running from Jezabel …
#Post#: 16348--------------------------------------------------
Re: Humility, gets the job done.
By: James Date: March 15, 2023, 11:35 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
i know the church likes to teach that there is a specific
anointing. I know people have anecdotal evidence of being
anointed. Does the bible have any proof that we are filled with
the spirit but need an anointing to carry out the commission of
Jesus to his disciples to heal the sick, cast out demons and
preach the kingdom of God is at hand?
If there is such a special anointing why is it that it does
seem to only be evident in the area of preaching and not evident
in the signs following?
Paul appears to see things a little black and white, ‘if you
live in the spirit then walk in the spirit’ Gal 5. Elijah is
an enigma to me, so full of spiritual confidence and power from
the Lord yet he let’s worry over the word from Jezebel to
separate himself from himself! Was his problem all about not
seeing the great revival that he expected to come from doing the
Lords bidding? Instead he descended into ‘ what’s the point of
all I have done’? I had hoped I was better than those seers and
Judges before me, but the truth is I am an also ran. What’s
that say about us tongue speaking end time bible believers
today, are we hiding in caves but don’t know it? If so we can
expect to experience the ’strong wind’ followed by the ‘earth
quake’ and then the ‘fire’.
#Post#: 16353--------------------------------------------------
Re: Humility, gets the job done.
By: Helen Date: March 16, 2023, 2:06 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
I have no answer , ‘tis a great mystery …. X
#Post#: 16358--------------------------------------------------
Re: Humility, gets the job done.
By: Rita Date: March 19, 2023, 6:44 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I see Elijah in a different way. He may be a prophet and may
have done some great things because the Lord had directed him
but he was still human. Jezebel had already killed many of the
prophets , and her words were not just ‘ words ‘ but a curse.
Why do we expect people of God to be on top of everything all
the time and not have moments of fear and react to that fear.
God doesn’t rebuke him , he actually meets his needs in this
moment of weakness.
The Lord actually conveys an awareness ‘ the journey is too much
for you ‘ …..
When the Lord does speak to him he speaks in a whisper, it’s
gentle.
Eventually Elijah carries on doing what The Lords asks…..
I find the story encouraging, like many of the greats, they all
have moments of weakness because they are all human. There isn’t
one that was courageous , great and never messed up.
Rita
#Post#: 16359--------------------------------------------------
Re: Humility, gets the job done.
By: James Date: March 19, 2023, 8:37 am
---------------------------------------------------------
No problem with what you say Rita, I agree in every aspect.
My original post was not questioning him ‘messing up’. No my
original was wondering why after more than a day in time away
from Jezebel Elijah was not over the moon that her words had
proved to be empty, he was still alive in spite of her
threat/curse that said "this time by the next day you will be
dead".
I was attempting to illustrate how we might equally loose out
on an opportunity to rejoice in God, give thanks and be aware of
his deliverance just because we were being distracted by
messages from a Jezebel spirit.
I find it very interesting that food was provided for Elijah
because of the journey. Let’s be sure of one thing Elijah did
not leave on a mission for the Lord, no, he ran for his life,
afraid! What was the journey that was to great for him? Was it
from the Juniper tree to Horeb, or could it have been the
journey from Horeb back the way he had come, back to face all
the life he had run away from? There seems little doubt that
this portion of the life of Elijah was a move up a gear. Elijah
post Horeb was a different prophet to the Elijah pre Horeb.
*****************************************************
DIR Next Page