Month: September 2024

¹⁸ As the enemy came down towards him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, ‘Strike this army with blindness.’ So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. 2 Kings 6

We said previously that Elisha had prayed for the eyes of his servant to be opened and then he prayed that the eyes of the enemy, coming towards them, would be closed. The Church of today hasn’t realised the authority that the Lord has delegated to us, but the prophet took his authority to stop the enemy army in its tracks. I also said that the opening remarks of the speaker at a meeting we attended was that God was going to SHARPEN THE PROPHETIC. I say Amen to that, may we all stand in the authority given us and see the enemy become powerless before the God’s people.

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘ALL AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH HAS BEEN GIVEN ME. ¹⁹ THEREFORE GO and make disciples of all nations, Matthew 28

These are incredible words of the Lord before He ascended into heaven. We call them the Great Commission, but often there appears to be a disconnect between Jesus’ statement that ALL AUTHORITY IS HIS and the actions of His Church. I have been hearing Jesus’ words earlier in Matthew’s Gospel of late,

⁷ ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.’ Matthew 7

Lord help us not to live far below our entitlement as children of the Great King here on the earth, help us to walk out our lives in all that you have for us.

Elisha prayed one final time that the Lord would open the eyes of the enemy after he’d led them into the city of Samaria. What a shock that must have been, but he wouldn’t allow the king of Israel to kill them. Instead Elisha told him to feed them before they were released and sent on their way. God had delivered Israel’s enemies into their hands but the prophet instructed that they be shown mercy and even blessed as guests of honour.

⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?’ ⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Luke 9

Jesus later rebuked two of His closest disciples who did understand their authority for wanting to destroy a Samaritan village, in the same area, because they didn’t recognise nor honour the Lord.

The authority of believers is to be used with mercy and not in harsh judgment.

Elisha’s actions stopped the raids from Aram without the shedding of blood. They probably realised that further attacks would result in confrontation with the God of a people much too strong for them.

God give us boldness and open our eyes to know our authority in You.

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’ Then the Lord OPENED THE SERVANT’S EYES, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all round Elisha. 2 Kings 6

Elisha’s first prayer in this account was to calm the fear of his own servant. Once his servant’s eyes were opened his fear disappeared because he saw the fiery armies of heaven were also on the hills around the city of Dothan (the name means two wells).

¹⁸ As the enemy came down towards him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, ‘STRIKE THESE PEOPLE WITH BLINDNESS.’ SO HE STRUCK THEM WITH BLINDNESS, AS ELISHA HAD ASKED.

Once again Elisha prayed that the approaching army would be blinded and the Lord did as he’d asked. The soldiers could somehow no longer see or recognise the prophet they’d come to capture. God was able to open the spiritual eyes of a servant and at the same time obscure the eyes of the army. In Acts 9 we read how Saul was temporarily blinded when he encountered the Lord on the road to Damascus. Sometimes our natural senses may be dimmed until the Lord’s plans are accomplished.

Elisha prayed twice in a time of danger but the prophet was constantly attuned to the Spirit of God as he was able to warn the King of Israel when to avoid danger. Are we Emergency Pray-ers or can the Lord speak and warn us of things around us? I recently heard someone say that the prophetic is operating at a very low level in the Body at present. Also in a recent meeting one of the speakers began by saying that there is a SHARPENING COMING to the prophetic gifting in the Body at this time.

Smith Wigglesworth never prayed for more than half an hour, but never went more than half an hour without praying. We must become more God centred and God aware in an age when technology is so prevalent. The speaker in the meeting we attended opened by saying God was going to SHARPEN THE PROPHETIC, so there must be a need for this today. How can we as believers become more inclined towards God and less available to the call of this world? That’s a question we must all ask ourselves. We’re only here for a certain window of time, then we’ll move on into eternity. May the Lord help us to focus on Him more than the passing things of this world.

May the Lord bless and keep you. Immanuel, God is with us.

¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes (OPEN OUR EYES), LORD, SO THAT HE (AND WE) MAY SEE.’ 2 Kings 6

The antidote for fear is to see  the Lord and His forces in our midst!

In the previous chapter 5, we read how Naaman, the commander of the armies of Aram was healed through the prophet Elisha and became a worshipper of the Lord. Now in chapter 6 we read that the King of Aram was once again at war with Israel and positioning his soldiers to attack Israel’s forces, but Elisha kept warning the King of Israel where the enemy were waiting.

¹¹ This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, ‘Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?’

¹² ‘None of us, my lord the king,’ said one of his officers, ‘but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.’ 2 Kings 6

The King of Aram suspected a traitor in his camp but one his officers revealed the truth, that it was the prophet Elisha who was responsible for exposing his plans. God is still showing His prophets today the schemes and plans of the enemy, made in secret places, but fully visible to Him. How foolish for God’s enemies to believe that they can do things that He won’t know about. God uses people to change the course of wars. In the book, ‘Rees Howells, Intercessor’, Norman Grubb revealed how God had used their prayers to alter the course of battles in World War 2 and give the allies victory. Derek Prince also described how God told him to, ‘pray for a leader that He could use to give victory’. After a plane crash, General Bernard Montgomery was appointed to lead the allied soldiers in North Africa. He gathered his officers to pray before battle and they won their first victory after a long time in retreat.

¹³ ‘Go, find out where he is,’ the king ordered, ‘so that I can send men and capture him.’ The report came back: ‘He is in Dothan.’ ¹⁴ Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.

The enemy moved under cover of darkness to surround the prophet in Dothan and when Elisha’s servant arose in the morning he saw the enemy was all around them. He ran to Elisha, fearing the worst, but the prophet wasn’t afraid, because he saw the armies of God were present with them.

¹⁶ ‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’

¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, ‘OPEN HIS EYES, LORD, SO THAT HE MAY SEE.’ THEN THE LORD OPENED THE SERVANT’S EYES, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all round Elisha. 

When we begin to see and know as the Lord does, fear will not dominate us. May the Lord open the eyes of our spirits this day to His presence and the presence of His angels. The Greater One is with us, ask for open eyes to see the forces of heaven around us.

May the Lord bless and keep you. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

An axe-head floats

6 The company of the prophets said to Elisha, ‘Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. ² Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.’

And he said, ‘Go.’ 2 Kings 6

Elisha did have fellowship with ‘the company of prophets’ and it happened regularly because they’d outgrown the place where they met. It’s noteworthy that it was the prophets who wanted to expand the meeting place. They were obviously being blessed by their gatherings together. Are we coming to a time today when the Church is going to begin to expand dramatically? I believe the answer is yes!

The Jordan River is the lowest place on earth and it’s dry and hot down there, but that was where they decided to build the new prophetic meeting centre. They worked together on the task, but then disaster struck one man. We aren’t told whether the enemy was opposing the work or if it was simply an accident, but it hindered the work and upset the person involved.

⁴ And he went with them.

They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. ⁵ As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axe-head fell into the water. ‘Oh no, my lord!’ he cried out. ‘It was borrowed!’ 2 Kings 6

Perhaps Elisha had gone with them for this very reason but the prophet did a miracle which enabled the man to retrieve the borrowed axe-head.

⁶ The man of God asked, ‘Where did it fall?’ When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. ⁷ ‘Lift it out,’ he said. THEN THE MAN REACHED OUT HIS HAND AND TOOK IT.

Elisha reversed the laws of nature and made the metal come to the surface and float on top of water. Then the man reached out his hand and took it. Elisha retrieved the situation and the man was no longer upset. My question today is does God want to help you retrieve something in your life that is lost? We are called to rule and reign over adverse events in Christ. Seek God today for the reversal of adverse events and watch for His answers to come in unexpected ways.

¹⁷ (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and CALLS THOSE THINGS WHICH BE NOT AS THOUGH THEY WERE. Romans 4 KJV

This is a day when the Kingdom is advancing on earth and God is moving powerfully on behalf of His people. He can reverse disappointment as we stand in faith before Him. Amen

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

¹⁶ The prophet answered, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.’ And even though Naaman urged him, he refused. 2 Kings 5

Elisha had come out to greet Naaman and his retinue when he returned to his house healed from the skin disease. Naaman was genuinely grateful for his healing and his heart had changed completely towards the Lord and the prophet, now he wanted to show Elisha gratitude. Naaman, the foreigner, came back to Elisha to give thanks to God for his healing.

¹⁷ Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?’ ¹⁹ Then he said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’ Luke 17

Jesus later noted that only one cleansed leper out of ten returned to give thanks and praise God for his healing and like Naaman he was a foreigner. Can it really be that people who haven’t known the Lord are more grateful for His goodness to them than believers? On both occasions in the scriptures it was the foreigners who returned to show their gratitude. God’s people should always remember to thank Him for His many acts of kindness to us, it’s the least we can do to show our appreciation to Him.

¹⁹ ‘Go in peace,’ Elisha said. (Elisha blessed Naaman as he left the land)

After Naaman had travelled some distance, ²⁰ Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, ‘My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.’ 2 Kings 5

Now we come to the saddest part of this whole account. Gehazi, Elisha’s servant decided to, ‘get something for himself’. He’d seen the valuable gifts Naaman was carrying and in his heart he craved for some of those valuables. (It’s interesting that the origin of the word ‘crave’ in Old English is to ‘demand, or claim as a right’) Gehazi felt HE WAS ENTITLED TO TAKE SOMETHING FROM THIS FOREIGNER. He took advantage of Naaman’s good intentions and scorned him because of his non Jewish background. How many times do people justify the shabby treatment of others because they are not as one of us? Every person is made in God’s image and we shouldn’t think we are better than others.

Gehazi followed Naaman and lied that Elisha had sent him to get a gift for some visiting prophets. He tainted Elisha’s name and the name of the prophets to take the valuables for himself. However, in this instance retribution was swift and terrible,

²⁶ But Elisha said to him, ‘Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes – or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves? ²⁷ Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants for ever.’ Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous – it had become as white as snow. 2 Kings 5

Gratitude for all God’s blessings and the Fear of the Lord are still much needed by believers today.

²⁷ “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” Numbers 6

¹⁷ ‘If you will not (Accept a Gift),’ said Naaman, ‘please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices TO ANY OTHER GOD BUT THE LORD. 2 Kings 5

The Lord changed Naaman’s heart and he became a worshipper of Yahweh, God of Israel. He’d followed the trail from the young Israeli maiden who served his wife, to the house of Elisha and now his heart had been forever changed. He hadn’t any such intention when he started on his journey, he’d just come for healing and then he would be on his way again. GOD IS A MASTER STRATEGIST who is working out His Plans and Purposes every day through people’s lives.

Quote from Ana Werner, Seeing behind the veil, page 154

“GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOU. A friend of mine says, “If you have a pulse, God has a purpose for you,”  and I believe that phrase is true. No matter where you find yourself today, God has a plan and purpose for your life. Although you might not understand why you are going through what you are, or where God’s purpose is in what you are currently doing, let me reassure you, HIS HANDS ARE ALWAYS GUIDING AND LEADING. HE IS BEHIND YOU AND BESIDE YOU AND KNOWS YOUR FUTURE. (Capitals Added)”

God is always seeking to draw our hearts to Himself and the world is always trying to draw us away from Him into deception and even destruction. Once we’ve found God’s path for our lives we need to stay on it, no matter the twists and turns we face on it. Naaman foresaw a stumbling block straight away when he returned to his king and country. He knew what would be demanded of him there and confessed it before Elisha and all with him. Naaman was a new convert and his heart was sensitive towards the things of God.

¹⁸ But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: when my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also – when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.’

¹⁹ ‘Go in peace,’ Elisha said. 2 Kings 5

Naaman’s honest confession was accepted by Elisha and he blessed him for his return to his own country. Many believers in this world may still have to follow the demands of anti Christian cultures, but God understands and knows their hearts. We must find God’s purposes for our lives and be faithful to Him, just as Naaman had chosen to be.

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. 2 Kings 5

Naaman finally, reluctantly obeyed Elisha’s instructions (WE SHOULD BE READY TO OBEY QUICKLY AND NOT DITHER!) and his skin was healed, he had perfect skin like that of a young boy. It wasn’t just his skin that was healed, but all the pride and arrogance left his soul as well. Both the external sickness and the internal pride were gone in the same moment. God was gracious to this foreigner who’d come such a long way on the word of one young Israeli slave girl. God sees into people’s souls and wants to draw out the good, if we’re willing to let Him. Sometimes with the unlikeliest people.

¹⁵ Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, ‘NOW I KNOW (NAAMAN PUBLICLY CONFESSED HIS NEW FAITH IN THE LIVING GOD) that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.’ 2 Kings 5

Our confession often binds us to the things we speak of, ‘Out of the heart the mouth speaks’. Luke 6:45 Naaman had all the same people with him when he returned to Elisha’s house but this time there was no bravado, he came back in humility. He’d met with God and would be a changed person for the rest of his life. When Jacob wrestled with God in the nighttime, Genesis 32:28, it says, ‘he wrestled with God and man and had overcome’, but God touched his hip, his natural strength and he always walked after that with a limp. I’ve heard Believers say, ‘never trust a man who doesn’t walk with a limp’. Never trust someone whom God hasn’t broken their natural strength, who still walk according to the flesh and live by the old nature. Such people constantly speak about their ego and use words like ‘I, me and mine’ all the time. They are living for and from themselves, not to serve the Lord and His people.

Naaman wanted to give Elisha a gift, this time from pure motives, but Elisha would have none of it. He too had heard from God and refused any payment for what God had done for Naaman. No matter how pure people’s motives may be and how much we need the gift, we must still obey God first.

¹⁶ The prophet answered, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.’ And even though Naaman urged him, he refused. 2 Kings 5

The gift Naaman offered willingly and with honest motives would become a snare to another person, before this miraculous affair concluded. Surely a warning that when God’s Spirit moves in power we mustn’t try to take things for ourselves. DON’T TOUCH THE GLORY.

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

⁶ The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: ‘With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.’ 2 Kings 5

The King of Aram spoke to the King of Israel by letter on behalf of Naaman, king to king, but it only brought confusion. Neither king had authority to heal, Naaman had come to the wrong address. The wise men who came a long way to worship the baby Jesus also called with King Herod to get directions but they could have caused His death. We’ll never get God’s answers by consulting the wisdom or power of this world! They are totally incompatible.

⁸ When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: ‘Why have you torn your robes? Make the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.’ ⁹ So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 

Elisha intervened, he had authority from God to deal with the situation and provide the healing Naaman so badly needed. Naaman made a Grand Entrance to the prophet’s house, but all his pomp was ignored. Elisha, no doubt at the Lord’s instruction, didn’t even come out to greet him. Yet he told Naaman what he must do to receive his healing.

¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, ‘Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.’

Naaman was infuriated by the prophet’s lack of courtesy and went off in a rage. We’ve often quoted before that God will, ‘offend the mind to reveal the heart’. Naaman had to humble himself before he could receive his healing, in fact he had to dip or bow seven times to receive his miracle. God is the creator and ruler of our world and He won’t let the proud stand before Him.

¹³ Naaman’s servants went to him and said, ‘My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, “Wash and be cleansed”!’ ¹⁴ SO HE WENT DOWN AND DIPPED HIMSELF IN THE JORDAN SEVEN TIMES, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. 

Naaman struggled with his reception by the prophet Elisha, but in the end he followed Elisha’s instructions and was healed. God will often take us along paths that our flesh resists, then we’re faced with a choice. Do we obey God and receive our requests or do we stand our ground and miss out? Naaman learned a deep lesson, but after humbling himself he was a changed man for the rest of his life. He received much more than just his physical healing. God often wants to bless us more than we can imagine when our hearts align with His.

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.