14 Arrows of Victory

Our pastor, Robert Heidler, preached a get sermon on 2 Kings 13:14-19

Now Elisha was suffering from the illness from which he died. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. "My father! My father!" he cried. "The chariots and horsemen of Israel!"

Elisha said, "Get a bow and some arrows," and he did so. "Take the bow in your hands," he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king's hands.

"Open the east window," he said, and he opened it. "Shoot!" Elisha said, and he shot. "The LORD's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!" Elisha declared. "You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek."

Then he said, "Take the arrows," and the king took them. Elisha told him, "Strike the ground." He struck it three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times."

Robert was talking about seizing the fullness of divine opportunites God bestows on those who honor the prophet. Even though Jehoash was an evil king, he honored the prophet, and recieved the prophets reward.

So as he was talking, I realized that my parents had brought me arrows from California, that I had left in their garage three years ago. I realized during the sermon it was no accident that they brought those arrows of victory over the enemy. So I vowed to go home, string up my 60 # recurve, and shoot them into the ground. I did so, believing that God was looking for a prophetic response to the word of the Lord through the prophet.

As I was shooting my arrows into the ground, I heard the Lord say, "Leave them there until morning, so they will pentetrate the ground throughout the night." So I did.

In the morning, the arrows were drenched with a heavy dew. I went an pulled all of them out of the ground so they would not be warped. They were literally dripping from dew they were so wet.

Later, at church, I was talking to Lori, and when I told her about the dew, she reminded me how the manna of the wilderness came to Israel like dew. Then I though about how I'd better go back and count the number of arrows to see how many I had shot. 14.

Fourteen is a double portion of seven, just as Elisha is a double portion of Elijah's portion. Not only that, E.W. Bullinger says in his book, "Numbers in Scripture", that 14 takes it's meaning after the nature of seven. Of which he says about seven: "It is from the root savah: to be full or satisfied, have enough of. Hence the meaning of the word "seven" is dominated by this root, for on the seventh day God rested from the work of Creation. It was full and complete, and good and perfect. Of 14 he goes on to say, is a double measure of spiritual completion.

So, I don't know what all that means for me personally beyond the fact that God will establish my victory in the next 14 battles, and I'm moving into phase two of attaining His plan for my life. Praise be to God who blesses the undeserving like myself.

Freedom Pirates

After Crazy Horse, and journeying with the history of the Lakota tribe, I turned my attention to the internal drama of the White House during the 2005-2008 war period. It's pretty complex, and I discovered that I really didn't have a clue what was going on, and neither did George "Body Count" Bush. But I came away with a profound regard for Ret. General Jack Keene, and General David Patraeus. Thank you Lord for some common sense. I am glad that we continued in Iraq, for I would hate to see a genicide come from civil religious war.

Afganistan is a different matter. But I don't have enough information to have any opinion beyond heresay. So after my investigation into that part of the world, I turned my attention to the late 16th Century, to the exploits of Henry Avery, and the golden age of the Carribean pirates. War is the theme of my investigations, and I don't know, that just seems to be what God has me into these days. I'm seeing some common threads, but that is the topic for a different post.

I'll tell you this: If I could choose between being an Lakota boy in the mid 1850's, or a English child in the 1690's, I'd go with Crazy Horse any day. What has shocked me more than anything was not the pirates, or Henry Avery, or the killers that followed. What as surprised me is English nobility, and thier lust, greed, and lawlessness.

Many of the vessels of the day, especially the military vessals, actually sent out packs of soldiers to kidnap young men and boys to serve on vessels. Most of the soldiers weren't paid what they were promised, and on average 40%, FORTY PERCENT of the sailors died on each voyage. It was a death trip, almost every time. It is amazing anyone survived at all.

The particular story that got Henry Avery into pirating was so shocking to me, I was actually happy for the havoc he wreaked on the English military. Beyond that, human life was so devalued, it just forced me to grieve as I listened to the testimony. I don't even want to testify of the episodes I listened to, they were so shocking.

So, I wondered, why didn't God just destroy them like He did Sodom and Gamorrah? In a way, he did, for he gave them over to war, and so much death took place in the battle with France and Spain. In the end, I had to wonder, were my forefathers any better? What story do I not know about from my ancestral line, what horrific crimes did they commit, if any at all?

It seems to me in my study of history, that every age has to face some terrible evil coming from the pit of hell. Sometimes looking back is the best way to look forward. I feel that God is preparing me to weather the storm when it hits, just like he did with the heroic men lost in ages past. I know one thing: Jesus is coming soon, but I'm sure he'll not take us home before all the trouble starts.

Some Family Bowling

The other night we had a nice time bowling as a family. It's just fun to get together and relax, and throw a few balls. I just wanted to share Sam's frame with the relatives so they could enjoy him in his 7th year of age.

Crazy Horse

I have been listening to a biography of Crazy Horse, the war leader of the Oglala Lakota, that fought against Custer at the battle of the Little Bighorn. What struck me the most was the incredible tsunami of changed that washed over the native nations of this this land.

How they responded to and dealt with change, and the questions of their day gives me tremendous help in forming a scope of reference for the season of change we are now in.

One of the most dramatic inconcievabilities for the Native nations was the idea of "drawing lines upon the land." The whole idea of rigid territories was implausible, and counter intuitive to a native American mind, and their regard for the land, and it's health.

As I listened to the interplay of the two cultures, and the vast casym of their respective scopes of reference, I thought about how low/high and unimaginable the concepts were over/under each culture's mental horizion. Not because they were unintelligent, rather, because they were so fixed in their familiar context that they simply had not developed a category for the New.

The Lakota nation had no idea how the centuries of Muslim Jihad drove the discovery of the Americas by European people. Christians had to travel over the great sea, into the unknown, to face the threat of total anihilation, finding and fueling resources to resist death. Likewise, white pioneers had no concept of the level of distruction their way of life brought upon the land, the people of the land, and the violation of God's laws for the land. They simply did not recognize the ancient structures set in place to govern the land.

Today, we stand on the threshold of a Tsunami of Change. The Lord is talking to me about it through my consideration of "His horse is Crazy." I can say of today, crazy horses are reordering my life, in glib reference to the four horsemen of the apocolypse. However, I believe it to be true, because, like His horse is crazy, I am a prophetic dream. They called Crazy Horse Thunderdreamer.

If we are going to move with God's economy during this next season of change, in the next decade, we must get into God's timing, and get aligned with Heavens economy. (Heaven being the realm of Christ's authority.) It is on the onlyway to anticipate what is coming. There are only two potent economies in the spirit realm, heaven and hell. Hell has power because God is not mocked, and the law of sowing and reaping is coming to a season of fulness. Are we ready for that season of fulness? This is the question I put to myself everyday.

Like Crazy Horse, I believe God is giving us the courage to overcome the advesary. Because Jesus Christ has overcome the advesary, we simply can abide in an extension of His victory. But the cost is not cheap, and most in America are simply asleep. If we are going to overcome, we must allow the Lord to redefine and reorder our mental horizion regarding His kingdom and economy. Religous America cannot see this, because it can only see loss, and attempt to preserve the old. The old is lost. We cannot go back down the old trails. We must go down a new trail, one that will take us away from the familiar, and unlock Heaven.

Sounds like a Hoodwink

Today, during my leisurly 29 mile drive home, I was listening to Obama speak on NPR. Then he said something that really grabbed hold of my attention. Not because it was informative, but because it was one of the worst forms of reasoning I've heard since I studied Nazi Germany two summers ago.

He was talking about the heath care bill, and apparently he had marched a bunch of doctors up to the white house to keep the pressure on the senate. Then, during his speech, he said something to the effect of massive rhetoric. He said something like, "Look at these doctors. They wouldn't be here I they didn't believe this health care bill was necessary. They wouldn't be here if..." on and on he went. That was the clip on the radio, this was all he said, and then they moved on.

Now, from the philosophical tradition, this is simply super bad reasoning. What argument would we call this? The argument from the presence of a few doctors who agree with Obama? Does it have anything to do with the issue? Do we consider the massive contingency of doctors who do not agree with Obama?

See, Hitler did something similar. He said something like, "We will give the people a vision of powerful German soldiers, invincible, marching in the streets." Then he marched and marched his armies all over the city until everyone was caught up in the supremacy of the Germanic vision. We all know what delusion that led to.

Back to Obama. Obama, I want understand the issue, not hear about the presence of a bunch of white coats. Health care didn't get this way overnight. It took over 200 years of medical practice built upon an expanding economy to get us to this place. It is vastly complex, and no solution is simple.

The reality is greed has crept into the medical industry, and no amount of gerrymandering coverages is going to cover the monetary abuses suffered by the people. Someone has to pay the cost, because modern health care is very expensive. Are doctors willing to work for $60,000 a year? Hmm. Maybe if we took the money we spend promoting democracy around the world, and shifted it to paying the doctors, the issue would be resolved. I'm unclear as to the real solution, but I know B.S. when I hear it.

Feast of Tabernacles: 5770 (2009)

Now we are celebrating the feast of Tabernacles. Yesterday we began our celebration with our friends Alan and Mindy, and their family. Here we are in the back yard putting up our sukkah. We will celebrate it all week. It rained and rained and rained last night, and we celebrated God's faithfulness. We had a wonderful time, and I skipped on my diet. We talked and talked, and during the time, I realized how amazing God is to fulfill his promise to me.

Our real dramatic tabernacle period with God was coming to Texas, where we spent 52 days in a single room long term stay hotel, with no job. It was a huge faith battle for us. All we had was the promises of God through dreams, and prophetic words. Many told us we were foolish, and by human wisdom, we were. But God called us, and established us here in Zion, in Denton Texas. Now, four years later, we just rejoice, and declare that the Joy of the Lord is our Strength.

Jesus Christ is God, and He is the same God, yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) Because of this, we believe that the pattern He set up with the Jewish nation Israel actually outlines and prepares all people, Jew, Greek, and Gentile alike, for the indwelling of God. According to Robert Heidiler, our main teacher, the three feasts, passover, pentecost, and tabernacles, actually mirror our journey from the outer court, to the inner court, to the Holy of Holys. When Jesus Christ died, he ripped the veil that seperated us from a true tabernacle, or manifestation of the Glory of God.

I began to feel the glory of God about 10 years ago. I never knew what it was until 2003. It turned my world upside down. My mind could not make sense of it, but my spirit was leaping and rejoicing. My flesh was deeply resistant, and still is, but my spirit is more alive that it has ever been. This week, may you supernaturally encounter God's tangible presence, His Glory!

Hear the sound in the Thicket

God asked Abraham to sacrifice Issac, they child of his future. Abraham, amazingly hears the voice of the Lord, goes out and prepares to offer his son, the miraculous son of God's promise and destiny, and strike it down in an act of obedience. It was huge in God's economy, and by it, secured his destiny, and set a pattern forth for his future. Then God spoke through an angel, staying his hand, and then provided a ram for Abraham to offer in the thicket. God provided the sacrifice for Abraham to secure his future.

This week I've been walking through Gen 22, this story, in a prophetic sense. On Monday, of last week, I heard the Lord tell me to do something very strange, and it was all about discovering my future. Once I obeyed, I immediately felt awkward, and began to question whether or not I was correct in my hearing. Then I had a dream, and Holy Spirit affirmed me in my obedience. Then on Tuesday, I was confronted by the Lord on my present level of deception, which is very high. I was completely overwhelmed. By Friday, I was back to feeling so overwhelmed by my personal brokenness and inadequacy that I felt unable to have anything of value to even offer God. I told God all about it, and decided that I'd be content to be a nuthin' in the kingdom of God.

This morning then, at church, I heard the sound in the Thicket. The thrashing of the ram. The blood of Christ was declaring something over me! He has made me acceptable. His blood. His righteousness. His adequacy. I just have to praise the Father. He gave His son, Jesus, and Jesus is the thrashing ram who God offered on the alter to secure my future. Thank you Lord, for even if I had paid the ultimate price, it would not have been acceptable.

All week I have been feeling the impending dread of my own earthen vessel, my carnality, my flesh. Today I feel washed in the grace of Holy Spirit, knowing that my God has been watching me, seen me in my place of weakness, and provided a way of access into my future. Thank you Lord.