Closures & New Beginnings (Cont'd)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
June 23, 2013 - Pastor Dale Lloyd
Scripture Reading: 2Kings 13: 14 – 20
I am continuing with the series I began in January:
Closures & New Beginnings. I have lost count but I think Ray has kept up, and this should
be the ninth part of the series.
I have been telling you that I would eventually get to some
prophetic realities that relate to this new season we are moving into. This
morning I am going to share three or four of those prophetic indications. In
using the word ‘prophetic’ I am not
referring to the abuse and misuse that is often seen in the church around this.
I am not referring to those wild and undisciplined exercises that occur without
reference to authority, covering and accountability.
Upon the death of Pastor Dave, I was strongly encouraged by
Pastor Robert to keep this pulpit strong
and to lead this church out of a strong and healthy sense of the prophetic.
Let me tell you what that means to me. It means I must have a deep and
unwavering conviction (and that is the key word) in my spirit regarding
the witness of the Holy Spirit concerning the future into which He is taking
us.
I do not know the details of the journey into this future. I
can’t tell you what the structures are going to be. I do not know what this
future is going to look like in its outworking. But I can give you a hint of the
prophetic picture of where the Sovereign, Almighty God is taking this Fellowship. I share with you now the deep
conviction of the Holy Spirit’s witness to my spirit regarding where we are
going.
The first prophetic word I will share is based upon and came out
of the story recorded in 2Kings 13: 14 – 20. We need to briefly consider that story because it sets the stage for
everything I will share this morning. Based on that story here is the theme of
today’s message: Faith Verses
Soul-State. And let me say right off the top – the issue is not the state of
your soul; it’s the state of your faith.
In this story we are looking at the last act of the prophetic
ministry of Elisha. He performs this in the midst of sickness and will die
immediately following this act. Joash is the king of Israel, and like all his
predecessors he failed to be a Godly leader. The result of this failure was that
God allowed (as a matter of discipline) a significant loss of territory to Aram.
That loss was the eastern portion of the territory.
Regardless of Joash’s failures the fact that he made this
special effort to come to visit the dying prophet indicates that he had some
measure of respect for Elisha. But there were other concerns. His lamentation:
“My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”, was not so much a personal reference to his
relationship with Elisha as it was a reference to Elisha’s relationship to and
with the nation. Joash was very fearful as to what would become of the nation
without the presence and influence of the prophet. We are told that Joash wept over
him.
All of this gives us a picture of the soul state of the king. He was sorrowful; he was fearful; he was
confused and uncertain.
In the face of the state of his soul and despite his history of
failure God gave him a wonderful opportunity in the dying act of this great
prophet. The opportunity (as do all God-opportunities) required faith. Suddenly
we see two elements on a collision course: 1) the soul state of a king,
and 2) the call to faith.
The challenge that emerges out of this sad picture is this: Are we going to live out of the state of
our soul, or are we going to live out of the faith within our spirit?
Consider the picture: The king is instructed to open a window that faces east; remember it was the eastern portion of the territory that had been lost. He takes up a bow and an arrow. The dying prophet gathers up his remaining strength, comes to the window and places his hands upon the hands of the king (which speaks to the whole issue of impartation). As the arrow is released, the prophet makes a strong prophetic declaration: “The Lord’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will
defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them.”
But then came further instruction and in this the king’s faith
would be revealed. The extent or measure
of the prophesied victory now hinged upon an act of faith on the part of the
king. It would seem the king had five or six more arrows and he was
instructed to shoot those arrows into the ground in front of the window. He shot
three arrows and retired. The prophet exploded in anger, and the rest – as they
say – is history.
This whole scene begs the question: Why did the king fail to shoot all the arrows at his disposal? Was he lazy? Was
he careless? Was he haphazard? I think it runs much deeper than that. I truly believe that the explanation of
what happened here has to do with the soul state of the king and the choice
(conscious or otherwise) to live out of his soul state rather than his faith.
Faith is not first a reality of the soul; it is a reality of the spirit – created by
the Spirit of God and imparted by the Spirit of God into the human spirit.
True Biblical faith – this reality of the S/spirit – is always greater than and
transcends the state of the soul. The faith within our spirit is designed to
rule and govern the state of the soul. And very often we find that the
soul-state conflicts with our faith. Our future does not depend upon the state
of our soul; it depends upon that state of our faith.
With king Joash, his soul-state of sorrow and fear overruled his
spirit and consequently restricted and limited his faith.
That is the background to what I want to share with you now
regarding the prophetic future of this fellowship. What we all need to be aware
of as this is shared is that this future will never be realized if we choose to live out of and be governed by our
soul-state. This will only be realized as we live out of that deep conviction of
faith within our spirit concerning what the Lord has said.
Scripture Reading: 2Kings 13: 14 – 20
I am continuing with the series I began in January:
Closures & New Beginnings. I have lost count but I think Ray has kept up, and this should
be the ninth part of the series.
I have been telling you that I would eventually get to some
prophetic realities that relate to this new season we are moving into. This
morning I am going to share three or four of those prophetic indications. In
using the word ‘prophetic’ I am not
referring to the abuse and misuse that is often seen in the church around this.
I am not referring to those wild and undisciplined exercises that occur without
reference to authority, covering and accountability.
Upon the death of Pastor Dave, I was strongly encouraged by
Pastor Robert to keep this pulpit strong
and to lead this church out of a strong and healthy sense of the prophetic.
Let me tell you what that means to me. It means I must have a deep and
unwavering conviction (and that is the key word) in my spirit regarding
the witness of the Holy Spirit concerning the future into which He is taking
us.
I do not know the details of the journey into this future. I
can’t tell you what the structures are going to be. I do not know what this
future is going to look like in its outworking. But I can give you a hint of the
prophetic picture of where the Sovereign, Almighty God is taking this Fellowship. I share with you now the deep
conviction of the Holy Spirit’s witness to my spirit regarding where we are
going.
The first prophetic word I will share is based upon and came out
of the story recorded in 2Kings 13: 14 – 20. We need to briefly consider that story because it sets the stage for
everything I will share this morning. Based on that story here is the theme of
today’s message: Faith Verses
Soul-State. And let me say right off the top – the issue is not the state of
your soul; it’s the state of your faith.
In this story we are looking at the last act of the prophetic
ministry of Elisha. He performs this in the midst of sickness and will die
immediately following this act. Joash is the king of Israel, and like all his
predecessors he failed to be a Godly leader. The result of this failure was that
God allowed (as a matter of discipline) a significant loss of territory to Aram.
That loss was the eastern portion of the territory.
Regardless of Joash’s failures the fact that he made this
special effort to come to visit the dying prophet indicates that he had some
measure of respect for Elisha. But there were other concerns. His lamentation:
“My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”, was not so much a personal reference to his
relationship with Elisha as it was a reference to Elisha’s relationship to and
with the nation. Joash was very fearful as to what would become of the nation
without the presence and influence of the prophet. We are told that Joash wept over
him.
All of this gives us a picture of the soul state of the king. He was sorrowful; he was fearful; he was
confused and uncertain.
In the face of the state of his soul and despite his history of
failure God gave him a wonderful opportunity in the dying act of this great
prophet. The opportunity (as do all God-opportunities) required faith. Suddenly
we see two elements on a collision course: 1) the soul state of a king,
and 2) the call to faith.
The challenge that emerges out of this sad picture is this: Are we going to live out of the state of
our soul, or are we going to live out of the faith within our spirit?
Consider the picture: The king is instructed to open a window that faces east; remember it was the eastern portion of the territory that had been lost. He takes up a bow and an arrow. The dying prophet gathers up his remaining strength, comes to the window and places his hands upon the hands of the king (which speaks to the whole issue of impartation). As the arrow is released, the prophet makes a strong prophetic declaration: “The Lord’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will
defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them.”
But then came further instruction and in this the king’s faith
would be revealed. The extent or measure
of the prophesied victory now hinged upon an act of faith on the part of the
king. It would seem the king had five or six more arrows and he was
instructed to shoot those arrows into the ground in front of the window. He shot
three arrows and retired. The prophet exploded in anger, and the rest – as they
say – is history.
This whole scene begs the question: Why did the king fail to shoot all the arrows at his disposal? Was he lazy? Was
he careless? Was he haphazard? I think it runs much deeper than that. I truly believe that the explanation of
what happened here has to do with the soul state of the king and the choice
(conscious or otherwise) to live out of his soul state rather than his faith.
Faith is not first a reality of the soul; it is a reality of the spirit – created by
the Spirit of God and imparted by the Spirit of God into the human spirit.
True Biblical faith – this reality of the S/spirit – is always greater than and
transcends the state of the soul. The faith within our spirit is designed to
rule and govern the state of the soul. And very often we find that the
soul-state conflicts with our faith. Our future does not depend upon the state
of our soul; it depends upon that state of our faith.
With king Joash, his soul-state of sorrow and fear overruled his
spirit and consequently restricted and limited his faith.
That is the background to what I want to share with you now
regarding the prophetic future of this fellowship. What we all need to be aware
of as this is shared is that this future will never be realized if we choose to live out of and be governed by our
soul-state. This will only be realized as we live out of that deep conviction of
faith within our spirit concerning what the Lord has said.