Has your church been mantleized?

Sunday, July 1, 2001

HAS YOUR CHURCH BEEN MANTLEIZED?

One of the most interesting passages of scriptures is found in
the 2 Book of Kings as it relates to transference of the
mantle of Elijah to Elisha. If one is careful and the grace of
revelation is given from the Lord to our eyes, one can see
that there are great lessons from the Spirit of Truth that the
church can learn from Elisha being mantleized by Elijah. In
looking at Elisha’s life as it relates to Elijah, he was under a
deep burden of proximity.
PROXIMITY, AN OPEN DOOR TO
MANTLEIZATION
When Elisha realized that Elijah would be taken by fire into
the heavens, he immediately pressed into a nearness that
became the ground and soil where the prophetic seed would
be planted. He stayed close to Elijah as he journeyed from
Gilgal, which means the place where reproaches come off.
This is most certainly a shadow of the cross. Out of that
divine purpose he traveled with Elijah to Bethel, which
means the house of God. This is a shadow of the house and
church that Jesus is a High Priest over. The tragedy of
todays modern evangelical church is that there has been two
great failures which has allowed a Babylonian spirit to
invade. The removal of the cross that destroys the wisdom
of man and establishes the power of God, and the watering
down and removal of the divinely inspired Word of God
which is less frequently borne, and more often cast to the
pavement in many circles. Elisha refused to let go of
nearness to Elijah when traveling through Bethel. In a
shadow, he refused to surrender the purpose of the church.
As Elisha traveled on with Elijah in proximity to him, they
touched Jericho, the home of the Girgashites, which was the
first of the seven nations that blocked the way to Israel being
joined to Jerusalem. From there he traveled with Elijah unto
the Jordan where he sought a double portion of God’s Spirit.
Although it had been a hard thing to stay close to Elijah, and
although the school of the prophets followed Elijah from a
distance, when Elijah told Elisha that it was a hard thing to
receive a double portion from him, he continued to press
into proximity and responded to Elijah’s proclamation, “If
thou see me when I am taken from thee it shall be so unto
thee”. When the fiery chariots came, Elisha fixed his eyes
upon the prophet Elijah, and he became mantleized. It is
most interesting to note that there are 16 recorded miracles
with the ministry of Elijah. When Elisha picked up the
mantle of Elijah, he went and divided the River Jordan,
which was the first of 32 miracles that are recorded in the
scripture. A double portion of miracles. What was the 32nd
and last? A dead man falling upon Elisha’s bones as he lay
in his grave, and the dead man being resurrected. God’s
Word always starts in the baptism unto death at Jordan, and
always ends with the resurrection of that which is dead unto
glory.
JOHN, MANTLEIZED IN NEW TESTAMENT
PROXIMITY
Elijah had a school of the prophets, and Jesus had His
version as well. Elijah had those who followed him from a
far who he could not mantleize, and so it was with Jesus in
the New Testament church. Have you ever considered this?
It is recorded that 500 saw him after He rose from the dead?
There was 120 at the Day of Pentecost, there was 70
disciples that went forth doing miracles. There were 12
Apostles who ran from Him. Likewise, there was 3 that He
took up on the Mount of Transfiguration. But there was one
who was present in the 500, 120, 70, 12, and 3, who pressed
in by proximity to rest his head on Jesus bosom and be
profoundly affected as he watched Jesus die on the cross.
His name was John. His mantleization was the Book of
Revelation, when he became the personal recorder of the
Revelation of Jesus Christ given to him by his Father. The
consummating Book of the Scripture came by Jesus Christ
to John in a mantleization that this world would see as the
end of the age. Oh the privilege of remaining close to the
Lord Jesus and letting nothing, no offense or personal
interest keep us from that proximity. May the Lord raise an
uncompromised church to be mantleized with a double
portion of His Spirit.
DO YOU WANT TO BE JOINED TO THE
PROPHETIC CHURCH?
DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE BLESSED IN
GOD’S ECONOMY?
Have you ever noticed the church of today how it defines
prophetic ministry? I do want to say that I believe we may
all prophecy one by one in the church, and I do believe that
there are times when personal prophecy can be a means by
which God confirms what He has already shown us.
However, I have seen much soulical prophetic activity that
is closer to soothe-saying and fortune telling than it is to the
mind of God. True prophetic ministry is when the thought of
God that has been lost to God’s people is again restored.
True prophetic ministry restores God’s thought to God’s
people. A perfect example is the revival under Josiah that
took place shortly before the Babylonian captivity. The ten
tribes of Israel had been carried away to Assyria, and the
land of Israel, where they dwelt, had been replaced with
Babylonians. Benjamin and Judah, where Josiah reigned as
king, was the remnant of Israel that was left, and Josiah as a
prophetic king, made all the people to read and obey all of
the Word of God. How we need a Josiah revival before the
mystery Babylon and commercial Babylon, as found in the
book of Revelation, completely sweeps this world away into
its final rebellion. What we define as prophetic ministry
today is often erroneous. Likewise, what we define as
blessing can be erroneous. I deeply appreciate all the
temporal blessing that God gives. He has abundantly blessed
me above and beyond all that I could ask or think, and my
heart is very grateful. However, the Divine view of blessing
is much different than our natural view.
GOD’S SPECIAL BLESSINGS ON THE PROPHETIC
CHURCH
In Luke 6:22 you can read something that is so contrary to
our thought and what we define as blessing. Let me share
with you by grace what Jesus defines as blessing. He said,
“Blessed are you when men shall hate you”. Blessing #1,
you will be hated of men, most especially religious men.
Blessing #2, men shall separate themselves from you, for He
said, “Blessed are you when men shall separate from you
and separate you from their company”. For John to be
mantleized, there was a continuous work of separation, a
calling to a deeper death and a deeper love for Jesus. The
Scripture records that John was banished from the church he
had founded by a man by the name of Diotrephes, who even
forbade people to fellowship with John. How would you like
that blessing? Blessing #3, men shall reproach you, Blessing
#4, men shall cast your name out as evil. Have you
experienced a total character assassination without any basis
of truth to even the remotest iota? Then you are beginning to
experience the blessing of God as defined by Jesus. When
men completely assassinate your character unjustly, you
have received God’s most special blessing. When men
betray you and turn their back on you, you have entered into
God’s high calling. Jesus said that at such a time rejoice and
leap for joy, for this is how they treated the prophets.
CARNAL MAN AND THE MANTLE
Carnal man will do one thing with the mantle. He will make
it man-centered so that he doesn’t die, he will make it
natural so he is not resurrected to live, he will form
committees, write up doctrinal code books that will look so
appealing. He will orchestrate great social events, and he
will manifest the fruit of being at a distance from Jesus by
 hypocrisy, favoring those with money. He will build
political structures that will lie, teach others to lie, and abide
in lies. He will endeavor to own the work of God which was
never his nor ever will be because the battle and the work is
the Lord’s. In order to maintain that which is man-centered,
the carnal man will preach messages of no depth and cover
the lack with flattery. He will drag the mantle through the
dirt and make decisions based upon the purposes of man, all
while adding the name of Jesus. Know this, he will never be
mantleized or submitted. God’s most peculiar treasure, His
church and ministry in eternal purpose, will never be owned
by man
THE SIGN OF THE FALSE PROPHET THAT
SHREDS THE MANTLE
May every prosperity minister and every minister and
people that boast of God’s supplying riches to them take
note the words of Jesus. “Woe unto you that are rich for you
have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full
for you shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now for you
shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you when men shall speak
well of you FOR SO DID THEIR FATHERS TO THE
FALSE PROPHETS”. What are we to be aware of? Being
rich and full, being well spoken of, for these are the signs of
the false prophets. What are we to rejoice in? The joy of
utter slander and lies, for this is a part of the mantleization
of the prophetic church that God will restore before the spirit
of the assyrian sweeps this world away.
FINAL EXHORTATION TO THE PROPHETIC
CHURCH
To walk close to Jesus and be mantleized, there are five
things that we must be willing to abide in. We must be
willing to be beaten, whether by tongues or fists. We must
be willing to be stolen from, whether by tongues or cunning
hands. We must be willing to give and not expect back as
Jesus instructs us in Luke 6:30. We must be willing to love
our enemies who beat, steal, and betray. And we must be
likewise willing to be kind to the evil and unthankful. For it
is in these realms that we learn the real meaning of the
blessing of God as the Lord Jesus defines it.
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