Changing of the Guard Part III

Gehazi’s Greed

2 Kings 5:20-27 ²⁰ But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” ²¹ So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?” ²² And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’”

²³ So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him. ²⁴ When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed. ²⁵ Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?”

And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.”  ²⁶ Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? ²⁷ Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.

Message

Father shared a parable this past Thursday morning which aligns with the scripture reference from 2 Kings 5:20-27. The parable centers on a person who is hired as an employee at a company and becomes part of the company’s workforce. As an employee of this company, the individual provides a service to their employer and in return receives compensation for fulfilling what is required. One day after providing a service for a client who has connections with the local professional team, the employee announces that they need a favor and would like tickets for an upcoming game.  While the employee believes there is no harm in making this request, they may not realize that by soliciting goods or services from the client is in fact wrong and against company policy. They also may not be aware that the purpose of this policy is not only for protecting the integrity of the company but also for their benefit as well.  Companies normally put policies like this in place to help safeguard all employees including management from falling prey to greed. Without the proper boundaries in place, employees could easily be enticed away by any freebie presented and lose focus thereby affecting the integrity of the company’s vision.

It’s important to note that while some client/customer freebies may be viewed as free, someone somewhere already paid the price for it to be produced. Gehazi, who served the prophet Elisha, allowed the sight of a few “freebies” to draw his focus away from his ministry assignment. Apparently he felt in some way that he was somehow entitled to these items because Elisha had of course healed Naaman. What he failed to realize is that the boundaries that were in place were not there to hinder him from accepting and enjoying the “freebies” but to protect the integrity of his and Elisha’s ministry assignment. Unfortunately for him, his short lived greed came with a very high price tag.

Prophetic Utterance

Some major leaders will be stepping down because of what has happened within their ministries as it relates to greed. Father is now exposing on a grand scale. New leaders with a heart for Him will rise up to take their place. Things are being aligned and redirected so the church can truly begin to step out of its comfort zone to become a driving force in the earth before the return of the Lord. Father desires that His people be Kingdom generated and not greed motivated. Scribed @ 7:45 AM (CST) 2/27/2014

Encouragement

Grace is available. Mercy is obtainable and God is able to heal and restore you.

Deliverance Prayer

Heavenly Father thank you for who you are. You are Sovereign and worthy of all the honor and glory. We surrender our hearts, mind and emotions to you on today. We ask that you forgive us for any trespass against you and others. Forgive us for harboring greed in any area of our lives.  Father, forgive us for not protecting the integrity of your church and our ministry assignments. We ask that you wash, cleanse, and purge us of any contamination from the world. Purify and align our hearts with your divine will that we can become the effective witnesses and agents of change you desire us to be. Thank you Heavenly Father for your amazing grace and another opportunity to serve you both in spirit and in truth. Amen

Protect your Spiritual Legacy

Daniel 5: 1-6, 18-23

King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. ² While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. ³ So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

⁵ Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lamp stand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. ⁶ His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.

¹⁸ “Your Majesty, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. ¹⁹ Because of the high position he gave him, all the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. ²⁰ But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. ²¹ He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like the ox; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes.

²² “But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. ²³ Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Friday morning as I sat before the Lord, Holy Spirit set a reminder before me concerning the spiritual legacy of writings that I will leave behind when I return home to be with the Father. I reflected on the time in 2000 when I had my first will and testament drawn up and notarized. It was a detailed letter of how I wanted my earthly possessions to be distributed within my family. After my initial will was done a few years later when my first book was published, I added an addendum which covered any material written from 2000 and beyond.

Today, there may be someone reading this who may not be aware of the U.S. Copyright laws which state “Copyright in a work created on or after January 1, 1978, subsists from its creation and, except as provided by the following subsections, endures for a term consisting of the life of the author and 70 years after the author's death.” For each person their divine directives may be different, but for me anything that I’m  prompted to write as part of my scribal assignment has to be copyrighted and protected and preserved for future generations.  Just only a few weeks ago, I read a sad story about the family of a writer who died and his work is now in public domain being used in a manner which does not reflect or honor his family. The family unfortunately do not have the rights to his legacy and are unable to legally stop the harm because the legacy was not properly protected and passed on. 

The scripture referenced above from Daniel 5 shows what happens when the protection of what one has been given steward over were to reach public domain. In the scripture we find where the son of Nebuchadnezzar throws a great banquet and has brought out the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem and used them in a manner which greatly displeased the Father. Belshazzar knew his father’s legacy but he did not honor and hold precious the very things of God. The scripture does not show if his father stressed the importance of the legacy, but if he had, there could have been a much different outcome. (When you have time please read the whole chapter of Daniel 5) The story of ROOTS is an awesome example of showing the importance of protecting one's legacy. Throughout the miniseries it showed how the legacy of Alex Haley's ancestors was passed from generation to generation to generation. Because the legacy was protected and preserved it soon rested in his hands. When Alex Haley began to treat the legacy with honor, the blessings from the previous generations rained down in his life. 

As stewards over the gifts and assignments of the Father, we have a spiritual obligation to protect the legacy so that it does not fall into the public domain or the wrong hands. Every God inspired vision and plan has to be protected so it can remain in the right hands. When the Father, through the death and resurrection of His Son made us joint heirs with Christ, instantly we became keepers and protectors of Christ spiritual legacy. (Romans 8:17 & Colossians 1:12) Because Christ’s legacy is important, so are those things which we do for and through Christ as well.

It is of great importance that those things which are regarded as sacred and holy be protected and treated as the Father desires and not as something common. This is where Belshazzar made his mistake and caused immediate judgment to visit his house. Today as you are led, please take a moment to assess what the Father has placed in your hands and begin to see it as part of your spiritual legacy. Ask yourself how are you treating what the Father sees as sacred and holy? Have you taken any steps to ensure that your legacy is passed into the right hands upon your return to the Father? And are you willing to release your legacy to your heirs at the appointed time? These questions and more can only be answered when you not only understand but embrace the magnitude of what the Father has placed in your hands as something special, sacred and holy.

Your spiritual legacy when protected and preserved, will have a greater opportunity to blossom and become the blessing that the Father has truly destined it to be. 

Blessings and Love,

A Scribe of the Lord, A Scribe for the Lord

Holiness

Resurrection Morning after enjoying a time of worship and praise before leaving home  to attend corporate worship at my church, Father spoke to my heart concerning the word holiness and how it relates to His people.  He brought to mind 1 Peter 1:15-16 which also serves as the foundational scripture for Holy Poetry Publications and this song being ministered by Cece Winans. And the word of the Lord reads, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” The Father is a holy God who is worthy of all the glory, honor, praise and adoration due to His name. As the Holy God that He is, He also desires that we as the children and people of God be holy as well.

If you have questions concerning what true holiness is, by the time you are done reading this post you will have a better understanding. So, how can we be holy the way God desires? Before we can define what holiness is we first have to understand that being holy is actually one of the characteristics of God. His character is what distinguishes who He is as the God of all creation. So to make things easier to understand, we first need to define the word holy which is described as:

1. Exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness

2. Belonging to, derived from, or associated with a divine power; sacred.

3. Regarded with or worthy of worship or veneration; revered: a holy book.

4. Living according to a strict or highly moral religious or spiritual system; saintly: a holy person.

5. Specified or set apart for a religious purpose: a holy place.

Looking at this definition we can see that it gives us some understanding of the word holy and how the Father is to be treated.

So what are some of the ways we can exalt God? According to Psalms 57:9-11 it reads “I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.”  In order to exalt God we would need to learn how to bless Him in the manner as the word “exalt” is described and that is:

1. To raise in rank, character, or status; elevate.

2. To glorify, praise, or honor.

We have now learned the meaning of the words “Holy” and “Exalt” which now will bring us back to the original discussion about “Holiness.” The word Holiness is describes as:

1. The state or quality of being holy.

Now how do we as the children and people of God be holy as God is holy? First, let me say that we can never live a life that is 100 percent picture perfect like that of our Heavenly Father. He created us so He already know our limitations, but because of His grace we can accomplish anything He desires for us to do for Him. So in order for us to live a holy lifestyle and walk in holiness, first we must make a conscience effort with the Holy Spirit helping us to walk it out on a daily basis.  By walking in this manner daily our character and how we operate as an individual will help to distinguish and set us apart as a bonafide holy child of the Father.

If you desire to be more pleasing to the Father and step up your walk as a child of His, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any areas in your life which have been prohibiting you from living a lifestyle of holiness. It does not have to always be sins of the flesh, you could have personality or behavioral issues or broken areas which you desire a touch from God. Whatever the case may be, each of us have something we need the help of the Father to work on.

My prayer is that you have been enlightened, encouraged, and strengthened from what been shared from the Father’s Heart on today, April 9, 2012

Blessings & love,  

Arnita L. Fields

A Scribe of the Lord, a Scribe for the Lord

References

www.biblestudytools.com

www.thefreedictionary.com

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary

If you are in need of Jesus the Savior, you are welcome to pray the following prayer.

Prayer of Salvation

I repent of all of my sins and right now I do confess that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for the remission of my sins. I believe that Jesus died and was buried and rose again, and is now seated at the right hand of God in Heaven. I receive Him now as Lord of my life and I now commit to serve him for the rest of my days.

It’s in Jesus’ name I do pray, Amen.

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