The Father says today I have called you to be a GRACE GIVER not a law keeper. The things you are crying out for in your life are available through my grace, even my un-merited favor. I have not called you says the Father to earn now what I freely gave 2000 years ago. Stretch ... (click link or title to continue)
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This is the Breakthrough Prophetic Word for June 2015 – 2 Chron. 20:20 says BELIEVE THE PROPHETS so shall you PROSPER. The breaker anointing is released through the prophetic word. TRANSCRIPTION: June is a month of course correction to you says the Father. 2015 has been a gauntlet of distraction but I say to you ... (click link or title to continue)
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I am inviting you to be a part of that generation in My kingdom who don’t feel the need to talk about what they demonstrate. Therefore be prepared for change. Be willing to move from a place of observation to participation in My kingdom. Be sendable. Be spendable. Be interruptible. Are you prepared for your plan, your concepts and ideas to be interrupted by that which I have in mind? You will never be disappointed. I will cause your spirit to be furled as a sail and My wind will bring you to unexpected places and be used to touch lives unreached by the gospel. You are bought with a price says the Father. Your life is not your own. Trust Me with your hopes and with your expectations. This day I am conscripting you into the revealing of My greater purposes in this hour.
Refuse to sit in the seat of the mocker. My love never fails. My love never runs out. If My love was bounded by the thinking of the religious mentalities who claim to speak for Me – they themselves would be excluded. Stop listening to their judgments. I am here. I am appraising every man’s work – even your own and I am responding in mercy and loving instruction and yes, correction as needed. My purpose is to bring you to the full experience of all the goodness that the blood of the cross paid for. The price is paid says the Father. Empty your hands. There is nothing you can bring Me for I have ALREADY given what you have been told you have to earn. They have Me all wrong says the Father. Be My beloved today. Know that I relate to you not as a widow but a bride and into the bridal chambers of My goodness I am bringing you this day.
When my love works its influence in your life being in my will effortlessly takes place. The things you expect to happen because you find my “perfect plan” are ALREADY your portion because of My PERFECT LOVE. Having a servant’s heart is no replacement for the heart response of simply being ACCEPTED in the BELOVED. The elder brother of the Prodigal didn’t get this. He didn’t understand that the feast was there for him every day and beloved – it is there for you today. I am not in love with a plan says the Father. I am in love with you. I didn’t die for a plan I died for you. I am not returning to the earth for a plan – I am returning for a wedding. Everything else is just details. So adjust your focus from the plan to the kiss of heaven that awaits all those who will accept no substitutes for deep and abiding intimacy with me.
What else could POSSIBLY go right?
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This is a two day, three session meeting held in the Cardinal Room of the Honeysuckle Inn and Conference Center:
Friday 7 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
REGISTRATION FREE BUT REQUIRED
Personal prophetic ministry will also be conducted so BRING your RECORDING DEVICE AS WELL.
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Don’t miss this special time with Prophets Russ and Kitty – REGISTRATION is FREE but REQUESTED. We look forward to hugging your neck and speaking into your life!
An Offering Will Be Received at the Meeting
So let your mouth pray says the Father and know that I am the hero. I am coming through for you on time and on target in dramatic acts of deliverance and blessing. With blessing I will bless you. With favor will I compass you as with a shield. The fiery darts and javelins of the wicked one are extinguished in the crimson flow of the shed blood that still flows to you and for you in healing and benefit. Receive of My passion today says the Father. Let the passion of the cross be the foundation of the promises that I have made you. I am not reticent to make promises says the Father. Take My words of life and tuck them in your pocket and in obvious places as you go about your day. When you see that reminder just smile – for they are just reminders of the end of the thing that I am working in your life in this season.
What I’m telling you says the Father that I am imparting to you today what can only be described as x-ray vision. Those things that are buried, unknown and even hidden to you will become evident not by virtue of suspicion but rather My revelatory gifts. You will move in supernatural gifts at an intuitive level – not a strained artificial level that only mimics the anointing. What are you going to do with this anointed intuition that I have put upon your eyes like eye salve today? Prophecy, wisdom, word of knowledge are going to be in demonstration in your life not for exposing and shaming others – but for loving them and healing them as I have healed you. So go out in your day today and command your eyes to see and your ears to hear. Pour your love like a salve into the wounds of others even those that are self-inflicted because of sinful choices. Through you and what I now anoint you to know and see I am pouring out the most intense – unconditional love you have ever known.
Morning Light – May 21st, 2015
The Father says today as you become more God-conscious your eyes and ears will be opened in a new way. Everything around you is taking on a new perspective. That perception is the lens you will be looking through today. The outworking of this is that others will come to the opinion that you are becoming more prophetic than ever before. You aren’t really becoming more prophetic – you are just becoming more like Me – your Papa. You will instantly recognize that is which of the soul and that which is of the Spirit. You will have increased spiritual perceptions even in matters not pertaining to anything important in your life. You will walk into a public place with a room full of strangers and I will cause you to see and know the very secrets of their hearts for My purposes. I am taking the hidden things and revealing them to you.
What I’m telling you says the Father that I am imparting to you today what can only be described as x-ray vision. Those things that are buried, unknown and even hidden to you will become evident not by virtue of suspicion but rather My revelatory gifts. You will move in supernatural gifts at an intuitive level – not a strained artificial level that only mimics the anointing. What are you going to do with this anointed intuition that I have put upon your eyes like eye salve today? Prophecy, wisdom, word of knowledge are going to be in demonstration in your life not for exposing and shaming others – but for loving them and healing them as I have healed you. So go out in your day today and command your eyes to see and your ears to hear. Pour your love like a salve into the wounds of others even those that are self-inflicted because of sinful choices. Through you and what I now anoint you to know and see I am pouring out the most intense – unconditional love you have ever known.
Know this that I will defend you and garrison you about with angelic protection and the wisdom from on high to know what to do next. So go out today and live out of your lamb nature. Don’t be afraid when you feel weak or you feel cornered by circumstance. Blessed are the meek – they shall inherit the kingdom. I call you an inheritor. You are a first partaker. Speak from My heart and not your natural understanding. Live out of a submissive spirit before Me even when everyone else is rattling their sabers of religious impotence. I am your shield, your strength and your sword. Know this as your most basic truth and you will be left standing when all have fled the field of battle.
Morning Light – May 20th 2015
Today: [1 Samuel Chapter Eighteen]: The Pitfalls of Promotion. The day will come that you will be pr
[1Sa 18:1-30 KJV] 1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that [was] upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. 5 And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, [and] behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. 6 And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick. 7 And the women answered [one another] as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. 8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed [but] thousands: and [what] can he have more but the kingdom? 9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
In the previous chapter David visits the army of Israel ranged against the Philistines. He sees Goliath taunting soldiers and ultimately engages in a contest in which Goliath is killed. Saul interviews David after the battle and typical to his nature disparages David in spite of his victory. Jonathan, Saul’s oldest son looks on at this interaction between his father and the young hero and his heart goes out to him in a special way. Jonathan is a unique and singular character in the bible. In spite of the jaded character of his father he is a godly and sweet spirited young man used by God on many occasions. Before David came on the scene he demonstrated the heart of David so it is no surprise that his “soul was knit to David” as the passage states. He was much like David and saw in David much that was lacking in his father Saul.
The connection between Jonathan and David is an example of what many describe as a soul tie. A soul tie is a very powerful spiritual and emotional bond. Once made it is very difficult to break even when it is needful to do so. From this moment on Jonathan and David’s fate is inseparably intertwined – ultimately and tragically leading to Jonathan’s death through no fault of either party. Outside the context of the sovereignty of God in bringing David to the royal house of Israel this subject of a soul tie should be considered and noted for our own benefit. Soul ties always involve certain interactions. In this case Jonathan gives David his robe and his sword. It is a covenantal act. 1 Cor. 6:16 states that sexual relations constitute a soul tie between partners even outside of marriage. David seems to have an understanding of this reflected in Psa. 23:3 when he speaks of God “restoring his soul…” Once a soul tie is initiated there a marked emptiness and sense of need in the absence of the parties involved. It can affect the person in fully giving themselves later on to a legitimate relationship no matter how deeply they may love their spouse. Without going in depth here simply make note that these covenants are made with words and broken with words. Often a time set aside to verbally renounce ungodly soulish connections of the past will bring breakthrough in present relationships.
In prophetic circles the Jonathan / David metaphor for relationships is often invoked and at times disparagingly so. I’ve seen ministers use the comparison of Jonathan and David as a subtle one-upmanship to “get over” on other ministries by suggesting that they are the “David” and that the other is the “Jonathan”. The relationship of Jonathan and David was so strong that it has influence today on connections between peers sometimes for good and sometimes for evil. There is an increasing number of theologians and activists who suggest that Jonathan and David were engaged in a homoerotic relationship. This is highly unlikely. Throughout the narrative of the life of David the disclosure of his failings, even murder is stark and apparent. There are no such disclosures regarding his connection with Jonathan.
After the death of Goliath the people laud young David as a greater hero than Saul himself. Saul takes David and refuses to allow him to go home to his father Jesse’s flocks. He will never again be the young shepherd boy. His public life has commenced and soon he will sit on the throne of Israel itself. Saul sees this and takes a page from the Japanese “Art of War” (although of course it is unknown to him). He sees David as an enemy and he acts to “keep his friends close and his enemies closer.” This is a characteristic of a Saul leadership. When a Saul leader cannot intimidate you he will flatter you. When he cannot control you he will try to hem you in with illegitimate assignments and responsibilities. When he can’t steal love for you from the heart of your friends and family he will act to insulate you from them in order to maintain his control. These are all the traits of a Saul leadership and is very commonly seen in Christian culture.
10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and [there was] a javelin in Saul’s hand. 11 And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall [with it]. And David avoided out of his presence twice. 12 And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul. 13 Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD [was] with him. 15 Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them. 17 And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD’S battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him. 18 And David said unto Saul, Who [am] I? and what [is] my life, [or] my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king? 19 But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul’s daughter should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife.
Now we come to an unavoidable controversy of exegesis. Did God as the wording of this passage suggest afflict Saul with an evil spirit? Did God send a demon to torment Saul. Is Saul’s deranged state God’s fault? Has Saul been innocently maltreated by God for His own ends? This viewpoint is not uncommon. In Christian thought there is a dualistic view of God that accepts that he can heal but also give sickness. That he can bless but also capriciously withhold blessing and even break His own promises. This thinking creates a theological quandary regarding God’s faithfulness because if He doesn’t hold Himself accountable to His own promise then He cannot be relied on at all and faith is destroyed. A deeper inquiry into this passage reveals that the “evil spirit from God” was not a direct affliction upon Saul from God but rather it happened from a permissive standpoint. Saul lived a life of obstinate defiance and disobedience to God all the while insisting that he was God’s faithful servant. As a result his actions eroded his relationship with God and made him vulnerable to affliction and in this case mental illness due to his own sinful choices.
20 And Michal Saul’s daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21 And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in [the one of] the twain. 22 And Saul commanded his servants, [saying], Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king’s son in law. 23 And Saul’s servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you [a] light [thing] to be a king’s son in law, seeing that I [am] a poor man, and lightly esteemed? 24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David. 25 And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son in law: and the days were not expired. 27 Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king’s son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife. 28 And Saul saw and knew that the LORD [was] with David, and [that] Michal Saul’s daughter loved him. 29 And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David’s enemy continually. 30 Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, after they went forth, [that] David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.
Jonathan loved David as more than a brother and now Saul’s youngest daughter loves David. Saul had promised to give his oldest daughter Merab to the man who killed Goliath but then reneged on his oath. He publically rebuffed David by giving Merab to another man – probably in hope that David would react and Saul would have an occasion to punish David in someway. Now that his younger daughter Michal loves David he concocts a feat of bravery for David that he thinks will surely lead to David’s death. In all of this David “behaved himself wisely” before Saul and before the people. He understands the intrigues that Saul is working around him to his detriment. Yet he still stands his ground on the prophetic promise from Samuel that one day he will be king.
In your lifetime you will have an opportunity to be both a Saul and a David in different settings you find yourself in. How will you treat those that God promotes over you? What will you do when God puts you in service to those that you will ultimately excel beyond? Lives are shipwrecked on these shoals because of poor choices. One New Testament example is Barnabas and Paul. God used Barnabas as a significant and influential leader in the early church to raise up Saul and launch his ministry. When Paul exceled beyong Barnabas – Barnabas wasn’t prepared to make the adjustment and ultimately died before his time. Make it your heart’s determination to stay faithful to God and flexible in your life’s assignment and not become insecure when others are promoted beyond you OR prideful when you are increased in ministry portion above your peers.
I am standing up to demonstrate in the earth says the Father. I am attesting even as My word declares in Rev. 19:10 that my testimony is expressed and made known in the spirit of prophecy. So receive this day a fresh impartation of my prophetic spirit. Open your mouth boldly let your words come forth as fire to destroy the works of the evil one. It is a new day says the Father and you are ordained and destined to be a participator in that which I’m doing. I call you first partaker says the Father so open your heart and open your mouth and receive of my hand that which is being poured out in this hour for your benefit.
Morning Light – May 19th, 2015
[1Sa 17:1-58 KJV] 1 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which [belongeth] to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and [there was] a valley between them. 4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height [was] six cubits and a span. 5 And [he had] an helmet of brass upon his head, and he [was] armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat [was] five thousand shekels of brass. 6 And [he had] greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. 7 And the staff of his spear [was] like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head [weighed] six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. 8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set [your] battle in array? [am] not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. 9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. 10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. 11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. 12 Now David [was] the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name [was] Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men [for] an old man in the days of Saul. 13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went [and] followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle [were] Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 And David [was] the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul. 15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days. 17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched [corn], and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; 18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of [their] thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. 19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, [were] in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.
In the previous chapter we find young David is anointed by the prophet Samuel to be the next king of Israel. When Samuel’s horn of oil is poured out the Spirit of God departs from Saul in Gibeah and comes upon David. From that time Saul suffered mentally. The anointing of God is something that is IN you but also UPON you. It is connected with well being because Hebrew 1:9 speaks of God’s chosen king being anointed with the “oil of gladness”. We understand from this passage what happens when oil is used in prayer as in James 5:14 regarding prayer for the sick. Oil when poured out invokes the presence of God. Therefore when the Spirit of God leaves Saul and goes to David because of the anointing the result is that Saul suffers emotionally. It seems that Saul finds relief in music and David has a reputation in this area and is brought to King Saul to play before him and be his armor bearer. This gives Saul relief until now in this chapter Saul has to rise up out of his miserable state and go to face a new threat from the Philistines.
When Saul goes with the army out to the Philistines David is not yet of military age. He is the youngest of 8 and all but the 3 eldest sons of Jesse are allowed to join Saul in the battle which gives us an idea that David at his oldest couldn’t have been much older than 15 or 16 years of age.
The two armies face each other at Shochoh which was in the territory of Judah. Every day for 40 days the Philistines send out a man named Goliath to taunt them into a contest. Goliath according to the passage is over 11 feet high. In the modern time since such records have been kept – the tallest man ever was Robert Wadlow (b. 1918 d. 1940) who was 8 ft. 11 in. tall. All modern and most ancient scholarship rejects the dimensions of Goliath as mentioned in this passage. It is of note that manuscripts from the first century make Goliath 9 feet tall whereas most modern scholarship suggest that Goliath if he existed at all was not more than 6’ 9”.
There are other interesting suggestions in ancient texts regarding Goliath. A manuscript dating from the early middle ages suggests that David and Goliath were cousins (that David is descended from Ruth and Goliath was descended from Orphah, her sister-in-law who returned to Moab).
In verse 17 Jesse sends David to bring food to his brothers in the army. The wording in the passage regarding David is curious because it is framed as though David is unknown but the previous chapter states that he was Saul’s armor bearer (an honorary title in Saul’s court obviously because David was sent home when actual battle was at hand). Textual commentators refute the passage because of this as a contradiction in the bible but remember that Saul was mentally disturbed and it is very possible that in his deranged state he didn’t recognize David at all.
21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. 22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. 23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard [them]. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, [that] the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel. 26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who [is] this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. 28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. 29 And David said, What have I now done? [Is there] not a cause? 30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner. 31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed [them] before Saul: and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou [art but] a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered [it] out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught [him] by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. 38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. 39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved [it]. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved [them]. And David put them off him.
David arrives with food for his brothers and sees the stand off between the two armies. It is surprising to him because as a boy and being young and naïve David cannot imagine anything but victory for the armies of Israel. He inquires into the situation and his brothers rebuke him and question character. Many times when you point out the obvious you are going to be criticized by those who refuse to do anything about the problem that may be before them. David was a man after God’s own heart but when looked at by his brothers they saw exactly the opposite. They know the prophecy of Samuel over David and it irked them and caused them to despise David. Don’t expect those close to you to accept what God says about you even through a great prophet like Samuel. David doesn’t yield to the temptation to argue – he simply looks at his brother Eliab and says “is there not a cause?” His brothers wanted to shut him up and send him scurrying home but David turns away and keeps asking what would be the reward for killing Goliath. There are times that men and women of greater experience that you will not appreciate your presence or your input into challenges at hand. You cannot allow yourself to be drawn into a war of words when the real battle is being neglected. Neither are you required to defer to those who are a part of the problem rather than a part of the solution. Keep pressing in.
David is questioned by Saul and in giving his answer he doesn’t resort to theology or ancient history. David has a contemporary history of victory in conquering the lions and bears that he protected his father’s flocks from. We can look to the word of God for courage but don’t forget to look at the Lord’s faithfulness to you in your own personal history. In David’s mind Goliath was no different. In thinking of Goliath as he did the predators that came against his father’s sheep he is also thinking of the army around him as his flock. He is acting as a king even though there is no crown upon his head. He is conducting himself as Saul should be but isn’t. What is Saul’s response? He gives David his armor. Why would he do this? Perhaps he wanted what happened next to be attributed to him as he had done with his son Jonathan’s conquests – claiming the victory for himself. He is willing for David to risk his life but only if he gets to take the credit. This is a characteristic of a Saul leadership – a Saul leader will let you take all the responsibility and do all the work as long as you do things their way and give all the credit to them for a positive outcome and take the blame for any failures.
40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling [was] in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield [went] before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was [but] a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. 43 And the Philistine said unto David, [Am] I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. 45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle [is] the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands. 48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang [it], and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but [there was] no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. 53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent. 55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son [is] this youth? And Abner said, [As] thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. 56 And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling [is]. 57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, Whose son [art] thou, [thou] young man? And David answered, I [am] the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.
David rejects Saul’s armor and relies on what he knows and is familiar with. In seeking to fulfill your destiny in God rely on what is familiar to you. In 1 John we are exhorted to tell what we have seen and what we have heard. Remember your life is a living epistle. If you don’t read and rely on what God writes into your own life why would anyone else be at all interested in what you have to say? Take the testimony of God in your life and rely on it to overcome the obstacles before you. Saul’s armor – someone else’s solutions will never afford you victory. Jewish sources from the second century say that David took these stones and wrote upon them the names of his fathers, the name of the king and the name of God.
Goliath mocks David and David responds with a declaration of God as His vanguard. Goliath couldn’t possibly have understood this. In modern settings we often feel the need to explain ourselves and make ourselves plain to the uninitiated. It isn’t necessary. You never have to explain what you are about to demonstrate. David tells Goliath what will happen before it happens. When he approaches Goliath he isn’t hiding behind every rock and tree. He runs to Goliath. There are times you will be challenged that the answer is not to hide but to expose yourself to the risk and dare the enemy to do his worst. David knew that when Goliath did his worst God was going to do His best. The result was Goliath’s destruction and victory for the armies of Israel.
Notice the disdain the Saul has for what David has done. “Who is this stripling?” He asks. “Who is your daddy little boy” he asks. In the first verse of the following chapter we see that Jonathan was looking on when his father Saul disdains the young champion David. Jonathan’s soul is knit to David’s in that moment because he recognizes the anointing on David that at one time had rested upon his own father.
David was a man after God’s own heart. He lived in a graceful naiveté that simply expected God to be God in every situation. He was unwilling to grow up into the jaded skepticism of those with more experience than he. He would not yield to criticism. He was not offended when slighted by those who should have been thankful for what he had done. He was willing to make fast friends of those closest to his enemies. He has the heart of God – let us all aspire to have that same heart in ourselves.
Morning Light – May 18th, 2015
Saul is rejected and God will choose another king to rule over Israel. He continues the office of the king even though it wasn’t his first choice and even though the king chosen has now shown himself unworthy. We can learn here something of the ways of God. He doesn’t go back to the time before the kings. He doesn’t say “see I told you this will never work…” He has made a covenant with the people to give them a king even though in choosing a king they have reject God Himself to rule over them. Against His own counsel He continues the kingship even to the point of bring Jesus through the blood line of the very royal house that by its existence constitutes the rejection of His own rule by the people.
God is ready to move on but Samuel is in morning for Saul. Most modern day prophets would be giddy to see the consequences they prophesied on people come to pass. They speak repudiation and correction and then sit back with a smile on their face when people begin to suffer. This was not the heart of Samuel. He loved Saul as a son. He regretted to see Saul suffer. He didn’t consider the failure of Saul to be one more notch in his prophetic belt. He has the mind of God AND the heart of God. We need to mark those prophets who are otherwise and have nothing to do with them until they either repent or mature.
God is a God of change. There are people and situations that God will bring into your life that at some point will no longer be there. Be prepared to “fill your horn with oil” and move on. Forgive. Release. Bless. Move on. Don’t carry regrets of the past or the wounds of the past. You cannot live in the past and hope to be a part of what God is doing in the future. Yesterday’s Manna always breeds worms. You have to hold everything loosely and learn to move on without distraction.
Samuel is worried that Saul will kill him. Those entrenched in what God did yesterday will always resist what God is doing today. The previous move of God historically will always persecute the next move of God. Get ready to be criticized. Get ready to be resisted. Bear in mind they won’t rail against you or talk behind your back saying “I hate them – they are so godly….” No, they will bring up past failures, supposed disqualifications, and outright lies and distortions. They will bring up things in your life that if you were one of them they would gloss over and sweep under the rug – but now that you are attempting to move on with God they will persecute you. God doesn’t even answer Samuel on this point. He just says – get your gear and go.
4 And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? 5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. 6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’S anointed [is] before him. 7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for [the LORD seeth] not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
Samue comes to Bethlehem and the elders tremble at Samuel’s arrive. Compare this with modern attitudes about the people of God. We look at the secularization of our culture and tend too accept their benign attitude toward the things of God. Things will not always be this way. There will come a day in the earth when the cities of the land will once again tremble at the things that God is doing.
Samuel calls Jesse and his sons and offers a sacrifice. This was the same with Saul when he met him. He offered a sacrifice and then God spoke. The sacrifice was not just for himself but for those that came out to hear what God was saying. That sacrifice represents Jesus Himself. You cannot leave Jesus out of the prophetic environment you create. To leave Jesus out you leave only a spiritual but not necessarily godly setting of the prophetic that has more in common with a clairvoyant or psychic reading. You must as a prophet or prophetic person always put Jesus as the center focus of all that you do.
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. 9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. 10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. 11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all [thy] children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. 12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he [was] ruddy, [and] withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this [is] he. 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
Samuel walked in a seer anointing. He kept looking at each son in turn but wasn’t getting confirmation over which one was chosen. Finally God tells Samuel not to look on the appearance of the man because this was a choice that unlike Saul would not deal with externals but with the heart. We also must exercise this kind of discernment. The cult of celebrity has influenced Christian culture to a great degree. We see leaders and Christian entertainers consisting only of the youthful and attractive. We only invest out confidence in those that have established histories of accomplishment. Yet sometimes the hand of God doesn’t choose according to what makes sense to us. Sometimes the hand of God falls on a little known person, obscure, unimpressive even to his own parents.
The Lord instructs Samuel to anoint David and then Samuel returns to his home in Ramah. Can you imagine the aftermath of Samuel’s departure? The house of Jesse and David himself probably thought “wait a minute! You just put our house in the crosshairs of King Saul! How dare you stir things up like this and then just disappear!” This is the nature of the prophetic. Prophets who hang around trying to make their prophecies come to pass get in trouble. Give what God gives you and move on. Don’t try to explain, or clarify or to arrange people and situations in such a way that your prophetic words come to pass. Be wary of the prophet who tries to tells you what a prophetic word means, or what you must do with the prophetic word that is given to you. Receive the word and go to God. God will lead you and guide you into all things.
14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. 15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. 16 Let our lord now command thy servants, [which are] before thee, to seek out a man, [who is] a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. 17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring [him] to me. 18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, [that is] cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD [is] with him. 19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which [is] with the sheep.
When David was anointed by Samuel the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. There may be a time in your life that you see this happen regarding the leadership over you. Be discerning enough to know what is going on. There were consequences for those who refused to acknowledge what was going on between God, Saul and David. You don’t want to fall out on the wrong side of something that God is doing and become a casualty of your own inability to use discernment and keep seeking the kingdom.
Saul is exceedingly troubled by a demonic spirit. He is reaping the result in his own person of his continual disobedience to God. Apparently music eases his suffering. One of his servants tells him about a young man who turns out to be David himself. David – anointed to be king is brought to the royal house by the very king he is anointed to replace.
20 And Jesse took an ass [laden] with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent [them] by David his son unto Saul. 21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. 23 And it came to pass, when the [evil] spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
David is yet so young that his father makes preparation for him to go to king Saul. As Samuel loved Saul so know Saul loves David. David stands before Saul and becomes armor-bearer of the very king God has anointed him to replace. It isn’t necessary for David to get involved in palace intrigue or try to make things come to pass. Sometimes see a word come to pass is simply about being willing to be placed by God in the right time and the right place and see things come together. Though Saul will persecute David – David still remained faithful to wait on God and not take matters into His own hands.
I am not fair says the Father. There is nothing fair about the one-sided distributions of kingdom assets that I have laid up for you. If it could be known just how fully I love you and have laid up in store for you – the religious spirits around you would be apoplectic with rage. I love you says the Father! I love you because I love you and I will not be talked out of loving you. True prophetic anointing is not about getting you to question your station or placement before Me. True prophetic anointing is affirmation, acknowledgement and enlargement of all of those good things I have placed in you in Christ Jesus. Accept what I say of you says the Father and not the prattling rambles of those who choose to be uninformed about how much I love you. I am protecting you and keeping you. I am safe guarding you for this is My privilege. You don’t belong to yourself – you belong to Me and this day I will make known to you afresh and anew that you are My beloved.
The prayers I respond to are not about begging or pleading. Faith filled prayers are about ruling and reigning in your now circumstance. Can you take NOW for an answer says the Father? Can you receive the promise now? Now is all I have to give you. Past and present are perspective of a fallen creature. Step out of a time bound perspective and into a NOW expectation where ruling and reigning are the base state, the default state of the believer. I know this isn’t what you have been taught but you be a Father pleaser and set your expectations on My promise and not the rationalizations of dead religion. I am not a God of the dead but of the living and I am making you this day more alive than you have ever been in My promise.
Push back against the pressure that is pressing you today. Push back in love and push back in liberality. The pressure not to act in faith is simply the lie of the enemy trying to shape your future according to his agenda. As you increase and expand in acts of faith and magnanimity you will find yourself increasing with the increase of God. Your most valuable and effective opportunities to increase come when you are under maximum pressure. When you get this says the Father you will smile so much that your face will hurt the next day. You will have so much joy because you know that the intensity of the pressure you are under only defines the degree of breakthrough you are about to have! So go out in your day and be a depositor in the bank of heaven by your liberality and generosity in all you do.
Morning Light – May 15th, 2015
[1Sa 15:1-35 KJV] 1 Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee [to be] king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. 2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember [that] which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid [wait] for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 4 And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. 6 And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah [until] thou comest to Shur, that [is] over against Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all [that was] good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing [that was] vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. 10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, 11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul [to be] king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
In the opening of this chapter God reminds Saul that his rule arises from the fact that God sent Samuel to anoint and appoint him king over Israel. In pointing this out God calls up Saul to go to war against the nation of the Amalekites. Amalek was the very first nation to go to war against Moses in the wilderness (Ex. 17:26). This was the battle when Aaron and Hur held up Moses arms and Joshua discomfited the Amalekites prevailing over them. In the aftermath God says this to Moses:
[Exo 17:14 KJV] 14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this [for] a memorial in a book, and rehearse [it] in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
Now Israel had won this battle so what was God so vehement against the Amalekites? If you look in Gen. 36:12 you will find that the patriarch Amalek was Esau’s son. That made the Amalek as a people descendants of Abraham just like the Israelites. When Amalek attacked Israel they were attacking their brothers. There was a generational and visceral hatred of the Jews that can be traced in history from Esau right down to the modern day in those nations that are seen as the traditional descendants of the Amalekites. In Gen. 27:41 Esau hates Jacob and declares that he will murder Jacob after his father Israel dies. In a very real way this strife between brothers was the seed bed of anti-Semitism right down to today as we will show later in this lesson.
If you remember the dysfunctional family situation between Jacob, Rachel, Leah, Esau and Jacob it gives us pause to reflect on how events that took place in one obscure and ancient family have reverberated throughout time to shape history as we know it including today headlines. Esau was Amalek’s grandfather and according to tradition taught his grandson to hate Jacob’s descendants and to plan to destroy them. Saul was supposed to destroy them utterly but we will see he didn’t obey and eventually is killed by an Amalekite. The last Amalekite whose name is recorded in the bible was Haman in the book of Esther who centuries later conspired to destroy the Jewish people in Persia. In light of the potential generational impact of our choices we cannot (as Esau did) allow a root of bitterness to linger in our lives (Heb. 12:15).
12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. 13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed [be] thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. 14 And Samuel said, What [meaneth] then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. 17 And Samuel said, When thou [wast] little in thine own sight, [wast] thou not [made] the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. 22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.
Again Saul shows how tone deaf he is to the world of the Lord. When Samuel prophesies to him he doesn’t listen but he THINKS he does. In verse 20 he says “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord” when in fact he did not. He presumed that he could take the word of the prophet and moderate his response to it and still get the promised result. 1 Thess. 5:7 tells us even today that we are not to despise prophesying. This comes in many forms. Most Christians simply reject the prophetic out of hand. Others agree with the prophetic in principle but would never seek a prophetic word. Others would receive a prophetic word but their response is to put it on the shelf without any consideration that they are actually accountable for what God said. Still others accept the prophetic word but they don’t mix it with faith or go about to fulfill the provisions and conditions of the word. They hold God accountable for HIS part in a prophetic word but never hold THEMSELVES accountable for THEIR PART which is the case here with Saul and as a result the kingdom is taken from him. His disdain for the word of the Lord is considered by God the equivalent of witchcraft and idolatry.
24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. 26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. 27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, [that is] better than thou. 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he [is] not a man, that he should repent. 30 Then he said, I have sinned: [yet] honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. 31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD. 32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. 34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
When Saul sees that the people make note of Samuel’s anger he asks Samuel to help him save face. He is completely tone deaf to the word of the Lord but highly sensitive to what people think. This is true today among leaders who reject the prophetic. They are concerned about being held responsible by the people for unexpected consequences of the prophetic. They are more highly influenced by the people than they are God Himself. This is a Saul spirit in leadership. As a result Saul will no longer be king in Israel.
Samuel rises up and finishes the job that Saul refused to finish. He executes Agag. However the damage is now done. There are Amalekites who escape the battle. In just a few years Saul is mortally wounded in battle and is happened upon by an Amalekite. He actually begs the Amalekite to take his life. What a horrible outcome for Saul. It doesn’t stop there. Haman in the book of Esther conspires to wipe out the people of God in Persia. He is a direct descendant of King Agag of the Amalekites. That is not the end of the matter. Centuries later Kaiser Wilhelm, the Emperor of Pre-war Germany professed to Jewish leaders on a visit to Jerusalem in 1898 that he had been taught that the German people were descendants of the Amalekites. That viewpoint is ominous considering that 40 years later Wilhem’s successor Adolf Hitler implements the Final Solution to the Jewish Question and attempts to finish the job that Haman started 3000 years before. This is why God called upon Saul to exterminate the nation of Amalek, because in His foreknowledge he saw the Holocaust and would have spared Israel and the world the horrors of WWII. Because of the disobedience first of Esau and then King Saul the hatred of Amalek reached down through history to deface and mar our own history and take the lives of millions.
In the book of Proverbs Solomon lists seven things that God hates:
Proverbs 6: (16) These six [things] Jehovah hates; yea, seven [are] hateful to his soul; (17) a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, (18) a heart that plots evil plans, feet hurrying to run to mischief, (19) a false witness who breathes lies, and he who causes strife among brothers.
In family situations it is so easy to get into strife. The Amalek problem began with a hatred among brothers and mushroomed into a spiritual hurricane of strife and violence that ultimately consumed the world in total warfare. We cannot afford to be in strife and contention. Jesus said in Matthew 5:9 blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God. Let us in our family relations and those close to us purpose to be those that make peace and not war.
Greater is the pressure on the inside flowing out from who I am in you than the pressure on the outside in your life trying to plow you under. Put your focus on that river of glory and power flowing out of you. The enemy looks at you and sees a tsunami of glory bearing down on him and there is no escape. Don’t focus on your weaknesses. Don’t focus on past failures. Focus on Me. Focus on the FATHER for My paternity is manifesting in you. As the glory rises up and manifests in your life every angel in shouting distance will vector in on your life. All they are interested in is the glory. All they long for is the glory. When the glory is in you and on you they will crowd into your life and bash every serpent who raises his head against you. Be the carrier of the glory this day. You do know that is your portion and your destiny? Then focus on that and in the knowing that follows all things that pertain to life and godliness will be afforded you in swift measure.
So give Me some cooperation and I will give you some change. Stop buying into the narrative of defeat as though this is something you must walk through. I already went to hell so you don’t have to. I was tempted in the wilderness so you wouldn’t have to be. I was marred, scarred, beaten, rejected and crucified so you wouldn’t have to be. I so love your heart that you stay faithful no matter what – but beloved I have made you an overcomer. I am not an anemic savior swooning in a painting in a musty old museum. I am a NO-MATTER-WHAT kind of God who puts you over in life and causes you to come out on the other side of every challenge without even the smell of smoke on your garments!
Morning Light – May 14th, 2015
[1Sa 14:1-52 KJV] 1 Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison, that [is] on the other side. But he told not his father. 2 And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which [is] in Migron: and the people that [were] with him [were] about six hundred men; 3 And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’S priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. 4 And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, [there was] a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one [was] Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5 The forefront of the one [was] situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah. 6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for [there is] no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few. 7 And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that [is] in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I [am] with thee according to thy heart. 8 Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto [these] men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. 9 If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them. 10 But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand: and this [shall be] a sign unto us. 11 And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. 12 And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel.
In this chapter we see the continued warfare with the Philistines. Again Jonathan is spoiling for battle while his father Saul sits under a pomegranate tree with the nephew of Ichabod. Jonathan purposely exposes himself to the enemy just to see what the Lord might do. He is unafraid. In this his character is so much like David’s who at this time is just a young lad tending his father’s flocks. Jonathan did not tell his father. He knows that his father will take credit for anything good that happens and he knows that there is something amiss in his father Saul’s life. This speaks to us of Gideon who after his commission by the angel destroyed his father’s idols before going into battle. God wants you to live your life out of the paternity of heaven and not your natural heritage. In Matt. 12:28 Jesus said “who is my mother and my brethren?” In Matthew 10:24 He said he didn’t come to bring peace within the family rather a sword of contention that would be provoked by your obedience to God. It is often said that the church is built upon the family and surely families are benefited when they come to Christ but remember that the church is built upon Jesus Christ who is a rock of offense even between family members many times.
We also see that Jonathan has an armor bearer. That is a common term that gets thrown around today. A particular man or woman may attach themselves to a ministry and say “I will be your armor bearer”. If this is a God ordained transaction it can bring much blessing to both the helper and the minister. I have seen however many would be armor bearers who impeded the ministry rather than assisting it. If this is a calling God has placed on you ask the Father to continually make you an asset to ministry and not a liability. We know of one man who sees his entire place before God to be an armor bearer to different ministries throughout his life. Yet every ministry who allowed him to continue in this capacity has come to nothing. He approached us and for a time he gave the pretense of serving our ministry when in reality he was serving himself. When we ended the relationship his true character was exposed and he was uncovered as major liability to any ministry because of hidden sin in his life. Use great care in who you allow to operationally get close to what God has called you to do.
13 And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him. 14 And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, [which] a yoke [of oxen might plow]. 15 And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling. 16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down [one another]. 17 Then said Saul unto the people that [were] with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armourbearer [were] not [there]. 18 And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. 19 And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that [was] in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand. 20 And Saul and all the people that [were] with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, [and there was] a very great discomfiture. 21 Moreover the Hebrews [that] were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp [from the country] round about, even they also [turned] to be with the Israelites that [were] with Saul and Jonathan. 22 Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, [when] they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. 23 So the LORD saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over unto Bethaven.
Notice that Jonathan slew the enemy and his armor bearer slew after him. There was no conferring or suggestion from the armor bearer that the might be a better way to proceed. Some times a person who presumes to be an armor bearer thinks it is their job to play the devil’s advocate and continually question and offer counter suggestions about the direction of ministry. That is not the role of an armor bearer. An armor bearer for ministry identifies what the leader is doing and determines to assist and augment what is taking place without interference. That doesn’t mean that a leader cannot be corrected. It simply isn’t the primary role of an armor bearer assistant to do this.
I’ll give you an example. In my early ministry God taught me the power of John 5:19 where Jesus said “do what you see the Father do….” I followed that spiritual principle for 20 years with great outcome both in ministry and my personal life. Then the time came that God told me to give up my position and my successful career as a denominational leader and go be an armor bearer to my father – who also is my spiritual father. First of all I took much criticism for doing this. When I walked away from my career and completely reoriented my life to serve my father there were those who thought I got in the way of plans they had. They thought to exploit my father and make merchandise of him naturally and spiritually. If you are called to be an armor bearer you will get in the way of those with impure motives. The assault that would come upon your leader will fall upon you and you won’t be able to tell them always because God doesn’t want them to be distracted.
God also told me as an armor bearer to my father that I had to trim my words. He said “you find out what your father wants to do and do that – without interfering with your opinions”. He further told me that when my father asked my opinion about something that I was to simply echo back to him what I knew he thought about the situation at hand and not give my own wisdom. This was very challenging because there were times that I didn’t agree with what my Dad wanted to do and I had to hold my thoughts and simply speak support and affirmation to what he was planning.
There were also times that people who were connected with my father offered me financial gain and position if I would leave my father and work for them. An armor bearer will not use their position to better themselves. An armor bearer does not see their place of service as a stepping stone to greater ministry. I turned down powerful positions with astronomical salaries during that time because I determined to stay faithful to what God called me to do in serving my father.
In being an armor bearer to my father the Lord instructed me that His will (God’s will) for my life was whatever my leader wanted to do. He told me not to ask Him (God) what he wanted me to do because God wanted me to do whatever my father wanted to do. This was very challenging and it didn’t just involve ministry it also involved natural things as well. My father had natural responsibilities and properties to care for. I would find myself out 2 or 3 times a week till the wee hours of the morning serving my father’s business interests. My father owned property and every time a storm came through I was out inspecting property, climbing into flood basements, etc., none of which I would have been doing but I was called to be an armor bearer. In all of this I would often look to God and desire to ask Him if He had something else for me to do and he would simply reply that my assignment was not over and I was to continue doing what my leader wanted to do without deviation.
This was a great blessing to me – in due time. My faithfulness to My natural father no just as a son but as an armor bearer is one of the major influences in My life that led to God one day launching Me into a world wide ministry with My wife Kitty. If you are called to be an armor bearer, be a faithful one. God only gives this responsibility to those he intends to promote.
24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed [be] the man that eateth [any] food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted [any] food. 25 And all [they of] the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground. 26 And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that [was] in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened. 28 Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed [be] the man that eateth [any] food this day. And the people were faint. 29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines? 31 And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon: and the people were very faint. 32 And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew [them] on the ground: and the people did eat [them] with the blood.
Jonathan moves in supernatural strength and inspires the people to great victory in battle. What was King Saul doing? Sitting under a pomegranate tree – telling the people they would not be allowed to eat until they did what HE wanted them to do. What was available. Jonathan didn’t hear this autocratic and unreasonable demand and he at some honey he found. What does honey represent? Honey represents the prophetic word. Remember they are in the land that flows with milk and honey. Many leaders who reject the prophetic expect the people who serve them to excel and succeed without the influence of the prophetic. They just want you to do what they say and be done with it. What is the result? The people become very, very faint. When you are a part of the ministry that rejects the prophetic that is a leadership that is moving in a spirit of King Saul.
33 Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day. 34 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay [them] here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew [them] there. 35 And Saul built an altar unto the LORD: the same was the first altar that he built unto the LORD. 36 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God. 37 And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day. 38 And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. 39 For, [as] the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But [there was] not a man among all the people [that] answered him. 40 Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good unto thee. 41 Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect [lot]. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped. 42 And Saul said, Cast [lots] between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. 43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that [was] in mine hand, [and], lo, I must die. 44 And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. 45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: [as] the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not. 46 Then Saul went up from following the Philistines: and the Philistines went to their own place. 47 So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed [them]. 48 And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them. 49 Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchishua: and the names of his two daughters [were these]; the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal: 50 And the name of Saul’s wife [was] Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the name of the captain of his host [was] Abner, the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. 51 And Kish [was] the father of Saul; and Ner the father of Abner [was] the son of Abiel. 52 And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.
Saul is sitting under his pomegranate tree while the people are warring in his behalf and his son Jonathan is doing exploits in the name of the Lord. Saul commands that no one may eat food till he says and leaves the people exhausted. Saul isn’t hearing from God what he wants to hear so he has the priest (Ichabod’s nephew) cast lots to find out what the problem is. Remember that Ichabod means “the glory has departed”. Jonathan is accused and Saul is going to kill his own son. Those without the glory will always accuse those with the glory. Saul spends the remainder of his reign warring without the glory of God working in his behalf. From this time forward his relationship to his son Jonathan is fractured. We need to learn to identify the characteristics of a Saul leadership yet at the same time doing what God tells us to do knowing that if we provoke the anger of a King Saul – God will defend us as He did Jonathan this day.
