Family of God: [FamilyofGod] Re: Seeing Him Who is Unseen

Thank you, Michael.

--- In FamilyofGod@yahoogroups.com, "Michael J. Knight" <michaelnight82@...> wrote:
>
>
> Seeing Him Who is Unseen
>
>
>
> The Lord asked Elijah, "What are you doing here?"
>
> And he said, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of
> hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, torn down
> Thine altars and killed Thy prophets with the sword. And I alone am
> left; and they seek my life, to take it away." 1 Kings 19:10.
>
> It can be a crushing experience to give your very best and still fall
> short. Elijah had been discouraged with God's people. Thinking he
> had failed, he fled Jezebel and begged God to take his life.
>
> The Scripture tells us that "hope deferred makes the heart sick"
> (Prov. 13:12). Elijah desperately wanted to see the nation awakened in
> repentance, but he did not understand the role God would have him play.
> Perhaps Elijah's main mistake was that he was personally shouldering
> the burden of Israel's revival. Not knowing his own place, he
> assumed the place of God.
>
> When the heart becomes sick with disappointment and discouragement, it
> is easy to lose perspective. We must remember, apart from the
> cooperating work of the Holy Spirit, no man can truly change another
> person's heart. Much of Elijah's discouragement came from the
> false expectations he had placed upon himself.
>
> In his dejection, alone and hurting, Elijah withdrew into a cave on
> Horeb. For us, self-pity can also become a spiritual cave. It can trap
> us in a dark hole of loneliness and pain. In this place of isolation we
> fail to hear the encouragement of God; all we really hear is the echo of
> our own voice magnifying and distorting our problems.
>
> Calling Elijah out of the cave, the Lord told him, "Go forth, and
> stand on the mountain before the Lord" (v. 11). As Elijah stepped
> out of the cave's darkness, an awesome event occurred.
>
> The Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the
> mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord
> was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was
> not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was
> not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. 1 Kings
> 19:11-12
>
> A New Revelation of God
>
> There are times when the Lord must expand our understanding of His will,
> actually liberating us from the container of our previous experiences.
> The Lord was passing by, but He was not in the wind, the earthquake or
> the fire, all of which were familiar symbols to Elijah. The Lord who
> caused these mighty manifestations was not in them.
>
> For Elijah, mighty manifestations had been signs of God's approval.
> But something new was at hand that required a fresh submission to the
> living God. A new anointing - a "double portion" - was coming!
> This new work of God would eventually end the reign of Jezebel and
> destroy Baal worship. The distinguishing characteristic of this new
> anointing would not only be seen in supernatural manifestations but in
> greater wisdom and compassion.
>
> As the last of the signs ended, we read, "After the fire a sound of
> a gentle blowing" (v. 12). This sound was not the voice of God; it
> was the prelude to God's Presence. Elijah recognized the holy
> silence and "wrapped his face in his mantle" (v. 13), lest he
> look upon God.
>
> Perhaps it was near this very site that Moses, 500 years earlier, hid
> when the Lord passed by. Now it was Elijah's turn. Entering this
> eternal stillness was the Person of God.
>
> Seeing Him Who is Unseen
>
> Earthquakes, fires and storms - the signs which accompanied Elijah - are
> the signs of our times as well. But to enter this new level, we must
> recognize God's nearness when there are no "earthquakes" or
> "storms" to capture our attention. He demands we enter a more
> refined relationship with Him - one that is based on His love and
> whisper of His word, not merely the issues of our times.
>
> Thus, we must learn to hear the voice of Him who rarely speaks audibly
> and observe the actions of Him who is otherwise invisible. Elijah would
> gain the courage to endure Jezebel's wrath the same way Moses faced
> the rage of Pharaoh: "He endured, as seeing Him who is unseen"
> (Heb. 11:27).
>
> We also endure by seeing Him who is invisible. But, before we can truly
> discern the Presence of God, we must recognize the gentle blowing that
> precedes His Presence. What is this spiritual phenomenon? It is the Holy
> Spirit subduing the activities of earth in preparation for the
> Lord's approach.
>
> If we are to attain the power needed at the end of this age, we must
> learn to detect, without great signs, the still small voice of God. He
> will not fight for our attention; He must be sought. He will not startle
> us; He must be perceived. It took no special skill to "discern"
> the earthquake, the fire or the great storm. But to sense the gentle
> blowing of God, our other activities must cease. In our world of great
> pressures and continual distractions, the attention of our hearts must
> rise to the invisible world of God's Spirit. We must learn to
> "see" Him who is unseen.
>
> A New Beginning
>
> In the quieting of Elijah's heart, the Lord appeared. Again the
> Almighty asked, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (1 Kings
> 19:13) Elijah repeated his former answer: "I have been very zealous
> for the Lord . . . and I alone am left; and they seek my life" (v.
> 14). Restoring Elijah's perspective, the Lord assured him there were
> 7,000 Israelites who had not bowed to Baal.
>
> A new commission was about to come. The Lord told Elijah to anoint
> Hazael as king over Syria and Jehu as king over Israel. He also was to
> train Elisha, who would be his successor (1 Kings 19:15-16). At Horeb,
> God released a "double portion" of spiritual power. Although God
> gave the anointing to Elijah, it would be Elisha who would walk in it.
>
> Indeed, under this powerful new anointing, Elijah's successor,
> Elisha, would do twice as many miracles (2 Kings 2:9-14). More than a
> prophet of judgment, Elisha's works would actually resemble
> Christ's. Elisha multiplied bread (2 Kings 4:42-44); he captured an
> enemy's army with kindness; he established peace between Israel and
> the bands of Aram (2 Kings 6:14-23); he healed Naaman, a Syrian general
> (2 Kings 5:1-14); and anointed Jehu to destroy Jezebel and Baal worship
> in Israel (2 Kings 9-10). He also presided over the closest thing to
> revival the northern ten tribes would ever experience (2 Kings 10:28,
> 30).
>
> Elijah did not personally bring national restoration. Yet, he did
> receive a greater understanding of his place in God. His call was to
> "go before" and prepare the way for greater things to come. Many
> of us are destroying ourselves trying to bring revival. Perhaps our call
> is more to prepare the ground for that which is coming after us.
>
> Elijah was so successful at "preparing the way," his spiritual
> anointing was apportioned to John the Baptist as a herald to both
> Christ's first and His second coming (Mal. 4:5-6; Matt. 17:11).
> Ultimately, God brought Elijah to heaven in a flaming chariot and a
> whirlwind, which were familiar manifestations to Elijah's heart.
>
> As this age ends, God's promise to us is that, like Elisha, we too
> shall receive a "double portion: (Isa. 61:7; John 14:12). What can
> this mean but that the Lord is going to reveal Himself to us in glories
> we have never known before. But first He must stop our un-anointed
> activities and the striving of our flesh. He must bring us to the end of
> our strength and the beginning of His. As we cease trying to take
> God's place, we shall, instead, find our place in Him.
>
> Even though the spirit of Jezebel has been blatantly manifest in our
> world, its days are numbered. Our task is to be still and know that
> Christ is God. He shall triumph over all His foes. He will be exalted in
> all the earth, and to abide in Him is to dwell in the Stronghold of God.
>
> Prayer: Oh, Master, how easily I fall into dead religious habits and
> spiritual dullness. Lord, I long to know Your ways, to have eyes that
> really see and ears that clearly hears. Teach me, Lord Jesus, the
> intimacies of God. Remove the mystery surrounding Yourself, that I might
> truly know You.
>
> Forgive me for looking for signs instead of listening for Your voice.
> Oh, God, how I long to truly know You as Moses did, to abide in Your
> glory. Restore to Your church the double portion You have promised and
> guide us into the fullness of Your power. In Jesus' name. Amen.
>
> He who has ears to hear let him hear.
>
> Remember
> Only one life, will soon be past,
> Only what is done, for Christ will last.
>
> The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the
> communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. (2 Corinthians
> 13:14)
>
> Love & Prayers,
>
> Michael J. Knight.
>
> "By the grace of God I am what I am…." 1 Cor 15:10.
>
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>
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>
> What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.
>