10^04^20 2 Kings 2^6 Leaving Your History For Your Destiny 2

Truth Tabernacle of Praise 10/04/20 LEAVING YOUR HISTORY FOR YOUR DESTINY! 2 Kings 2:6 Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan." And Elisha said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you!" So, the two of them went on! Geographical locations in the Bible often reveal spiritual applications to our life! For example, Egypt is geographically downward from Jerusalem and Egypt is a picture of bondage while Jerusalem is a picture of Peace and freedom from bondage. Another example of geographical parallels to our spiritual life is East and West. When a person is walking in the Light they are facing the Sun which rises in the East and when a person has walked away from the Light or turned their back on the Light, they have turned their back on the Sun and are walking in darkness and or bondage! There are things in our HISTORY that we should embrace but not in such a way that we become STUCK in our HISTORY. There are times when we must Leave our History in order to Embrace our Destiny! Every History has a Beginning . . . I. GILGAL is the place of new BEGINNINGS Joshua 5:9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So, the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day! So, what spiritual lessons can we learn about the place called GILGAL? Gilgal is the first place the children of Israel camped after crossing the Jordan River. This is the place where God commanded all the men and young boys to be circumcised to demonstrate and communicate that they were "beginning a new relationship with Him"! It was at Gilgal that God "rolled away the reproach, the shame, the guilt and the bondage" associated with their old life of bondage living as slaves in Egypt! Every journey of faith begins with a place of new beginnings and this place needs to be marked and remembered by each one of us. For me it was October 21, 1980 in Hixon, Tennessee at Central Baptist Church which is now known as Abba's House! It was at Abba's House that God rolled away the reproach, shame, guilt and bondage of my sin nature! There will always be special memories associated with that place where it all began and there are times in my life when I wish I could have stayed there for a little while longer, however in order for it to be a journey, we have to keep moving toward our destiny! We see Gilgal play a significant role in the life of Elijah and Elisha. God had revealed to Elijah and to Elisha as well as others that God was going to supernaturally remove Elijah from the earth in a whirlwind or what we would call a Rapture! 2 Kings 2:1 And it came about when the Lord was about to take Elijah by a whirlwind to heaven, that ELIJAH went with ELISHA FROM Gilgal As Elijah and Elisha were walking toward Elijah's promised encounter with God in a miraculous way, they came to the place of beginnings and I think Elijah thought that maybe he was going to experience his miracle at the place of beginning but notice a subtle but significant truth in 2 Kings 2:1 . . . Elijah went with Elisha FROM Gilgal! Here is the truth, in order to reach your promised destiny with God, you must move FROM your place of beginning! However, please understand that there will always be people, often well-meaning people, who try and get you to stay at your Gilgal. . . 2 Kings 2:2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay Here Please" but for the Lord has sent ME as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you!" So, they went down to BETHEL! After your beginning, there is more, so don't stay at Gilgal! II. BETHEL is the place of new REVELATION Genesis 28:16 Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it 17 . . . how awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven! 19 He called the name of that place Bethel As great a place as the place of your beginning with God is, it gets better when you choose to move FROM your place of beginning So That you can experience your place of Revelation! Jacob left his place of beginning and it was after he left his place of beginning that God gave him a dream. And in this dream Jacob saw a ladder coming down out of an open heaven and there were angels descending and ascending from the open heaven to a specific place under the open heaven. When Jacob awoke from this dream, he experienced the presence of God like he had never experienced the presence of God before and the experience he had in this encounter revealed to him that the House of God is the place where God chooses to abide and the House of God is the Gate of Heaven! Some of the greatest discoveries I have been privileged to make have come as a result of revelation God has allowed me to experience during encounters that I have had with Him! But notice another subtle but significant truth we need to be aware of in our journey to discovering all that God had prepared for us. What did Elijah try to get Elisha to do? 2 Kings 2:2 Elijah said to Elisha, "stay here please . . . but Elisha said, as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you . . . so they went down to Bethel Elijah said to Elisha, "stay here please" but where is HERE? Elijah tried to get Elisha to STAY at the place of his beginning or Gilgal! There will always be people, places, things and demons trying to get you to stay where you are comfortable spiritually! But notice how Elisha responded to Elijah's attempt to get him to stay where he began, Elisha said, NO, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not stay at Gilgal! Genesis 29:1 THEN Jacob went on his journey, and came to the sons of the east . . . And he said to them, it is well with you and they said it is well and here is RACHEL . . . As good as Bethel was for Jacob, if he had remained at Bethel, he would have missed a large part of his DESTINY, he would have missed or delayed meeting the woman who would become his wife, RACHEL! 2 Kings 2:3 Then the sons of the Prophets who were at BETHEL came out to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?" 4 Elijah said to him, "Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to JERICHO!" But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you!" So, they came to Jericho! Once again, we see well-meaning people (sons of the prophets and Elijah), trying to get Elisha to remain in his HISTORY, but Elisha knows if he remains in his HISTORY, he will miss or delay his DESTINY! After revelation begins, there is more so don't stay at Bethel! III. JERICHO is the place of new VICTORIES Joshua 6:1 Now Jericho was tightly shut up . . . The Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have given Jericho into your hand 14 They marched around the city once and returned to camp; they did so for six days! 15 Then on the seventh day . . . they marched around the city seven times . . . Joshua said to the people, "SHOUT!" 20 So the people shouted and priests blew the trumpets . . . and the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat . . . and they took the city! What do we know about Jericho? Your Bible teaches us that Jericho was the most fortified city in the known world! Jericho was a STRONGHOLD for the enemies of God! The enemies of God did not believe they could be detected nor defeated because of the walls they operated from behind. The same thing is true of demon spirits, that are operating behind lies in your mind and they and others are trying to keep you from experiencing your victories! But God gave His people a simple, strange but specific plan that involved faith, obedience and persistence to bring down the fortified walls of the enemy and to allow His people to experience the Power of God in their first of many supernatural victories! They marched around the city once, for six days, the priests were carrying their only weapons which was the ram's horn. On the seventh day, when the priests gave a long blast on the ram's horn, all the people were commanded to SHOUT with a GREAT SHOUT and God promised that the Wall would fall down FLAT! I am talking to someone today and people and circumstances have tried to get you to Stay at Gilgal and never experience your supernatural revelation at Bethel, but don't stay at Gilgal, keep moving forward to Bethel, and you will get to Jericho, which is your place of VICTORY! 2 Kings 2:4 Elijah said to him, "Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho." But he said . . . I will not leave you! So, they went to Jericho After your victories, there is more so don't stay at Jericho! IV. JORDAN is the place of new TRANSITION Joshua 3:5 Then Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for TOMORROW, the Lord will do wonders among you Joshua 3:13 It shall come about . . . the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest)! The only thing that stood between Joshua and the children of Israel and their DESTINY was AN UNCROSSABLE RIVER! 2 Kings 2:7 . . . while the two of them stood by the Jordan 8 Elijah took his mantle and folded it together and struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground! The only thing that stood between Elijah and Elisha and their DESTINIES was AN UNCROSSABLE RIVER! 2:14 He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and STRUCK the WATERS and said, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" And when he also had STRUCK the WATERS, they were divided here and there; and Elisha CROSSED OVER! What did the sons of the prophets SEE on Elisha? 2:15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho SAW him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha!" So, the question for us today is "Why Do We Need To Cross Un-Crossable Rivers To Enter Into Our Destiny"? There are three principles I would like for you to see: Some times there is An Uncrossable River between us and our Destiny because it will: A. PRESS us beyond the MEMORY of yesterday! Joshua 1:2 Moses My servant is DEAD; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people 3:5 . . . for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you! I want to call your attention to the opening words God spoke to Joshua when it was time for the people of God to enter into their tomorrow (a supernatural, triumphant, militant, bold and courageous dimension of living never known before). Notice what God said to Joshua in 1:2 "Moses My servant is DEAD!" Arise, you and these people" and then in 3:5 Joshua was inspired by God to say these incredible words: "for TOMORROW the Lord will do wonders among you!" Everybody (including Joshua) was living with the memories of Moses. They remembered the miracle of crossing the Red Sea when the Egyptian armies were pursuing them. They remembered being surrounded by the wilderness on their right and left hands. They remembered the miracle that happened for their forefathers but the present generation had never seen a miracle like that and God was prepared to give them a miracle that was just as big and even more distinctive than the miracle their forefathers had experienced. What are some of the differences between the Red Sea and the Jordan River? The Red Sea was an Exit from some-where but the Jordan River was an Entrance into some-thing! The Red Sea was an Escape from some-where but the Jordan was an Invasion into some-thing! The Red Sea was a Band of Slaves coming out from bondage, but the Jordan River was a Bold Army going into supernatural living! The Red Sea was a Band of Slaves headed toward Sinai to learn how to worship. The Jordan River was a Band of Soldiers headed toward Canaan to claim their Inheritance! There is a vast difference between someone who has Experienced Deliverance and someone who is ready to Claim their Inheritance! Christians who get stuck in the memories of yesterday never experience to freedom and abundance of tomorrow! God must move us beyond the shadow of yesterday toward the bright light of tomorrow! Tragically many churches are more like Red Sea Christians than Jordan River Christians. There are many churches that get stuck in a time warp and all they have to talk about is "yesterday's glory" or "yesterday's miracles" or the way things "use to be in the good old days"! Beloved, I don't know about you, but I am ready for God to do a NEW THING in my life and in my church and in my Country! Yesterday's miracles were never intended to stand alone in today's memories! They are supposed to become crowded with company from today's miracles! So, from time to time God has to Press us beyond the Memory of yesterday and make us get our feet wet with a miracle today! Crossing an Un-Crossable River will Press us beyond the Memory of Yesterday but secondly we need to cross and Un-Crossable river from time to time: In order to: B. DEMONSTRATE God's PRESENCE today! 3:10 By this you shall know that the living God is among you . . . 4:6 That this may be a sign among you . . . Joshua had just told them to get sanctified, get prepared because TOMORROW God was going to do wonders among them (3:5) and then notice what he said in 3:10. Joshua told them the reason God was going to do wonders in and among them is "so they would KNOW that the living God was among them" (3:10)! Beloved why did God give you the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of you when you were born again? Why did He give you the Gifts of the Holy Spirit? So that you will KNOW that the living God is always with you! Do you remember the promise God made to Moses in Exodus 33:14 saying, "My presence will go with you AND I will give you rest?" And then God repeated this promise to Joshua in 1:5 "Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you" And the Reubenites, Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh said to Joshua "may the Lord be with you AS He was with Moses" (1:17). One reason God put an Un-Crossable river in front of Joshua and the people is because God wanted to give them their own miracle to prove to them that He was with them! But the miracle of the Jordan River was not only a SIGN from God to Joshua and the children of Israel it was also a sign to the surrounding nations that God was able to do miracles for and through His children! Listen to what Rahab said in 2:10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt . . . when we heard it our hearts melted . . . And according to 4:6 God said Let this be a SIGN among you! Do we have to be weird or uneducated to believe that God still Demonstrates His Presence through signs and wonders? I want you to know that I personally stand in opposition to any organized movement that says God no longer manifests His presence through signs and wonders! God is the same yesterday, today and forever and He can do the miraculous anytime He wants to, and it is fine with me! Now having said that please hear what I am about to say. I do not believe, and I don't think that you believe, that God HAS TO manifest His Presence through signs and wonders in order to prove or demonstrate His presence in our life! I hope that you are more mature than that, and if God never manifested His presence through another sign or wonder it would NOT mean that He is not present! God has PROMISED me that He is present and that He will never leave me or forsake me and that He will be with me until the end of the age and for all of eternity! Now with that being said, how many of you would be honest with me today and say "even though I don't need to see a miracle in order to know that you are with me, it sure would do your heart good to see God do something supernatural in your life, family, church, community and or nation? One of the reasons our nation no longer considers the Church to be relevant is because they no longer see the POWER of God in signs and wonders! I have seen the most miracles when I am simply enjoying being in God's presence in worship and obedience. I see God do the miraculous when I am in His presence and it is like two close friends sitting in front of a fireplace warming their feet by the fire. At some point in the process of worship, it's as if God simply stands up and stretches and when God stands up to stretch out His hands, He seems to say "I want you to have this miracle and because you have come into My presence with thanksgiving and entered into My courts with Praise, I am going to give you a fresh manifestation of my Presence in your life"! Even though I don't need a miracle from God in order to know that He is present, it sure does my heart good for God to do the miraculous in and through my life! We need to cross Un-Crossable rivers in order to Press us beyond the Memory of yesterday and in order to Demonstrate His Presence in our life today but thirdly. God wants us to cross Un-Crossable Rivers: In order to: C. SECURE a TESTIMONY for tomorrow! 4:6 That this may be a sign among you, when your children ask in time to come, saying, "what do these stones mean to you?" 7 then you shall answer them that "the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord . . . And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever! God was not merely interested in one group of people, God had a New Generation on His mind when He set this miracle up! God told Joshua to get 12 men, one from each tribe to put huge stones on their shoulders and go back down into the Jordan. The priests were still standing in the middle of the miracle with the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders. These 12 men had to place these huge stones where the priests were standing with the Ark of the Covenant. And then they had to place 12 stones on the side of the Jordan where they were going to be sleeping that night (4:3). What was the purpose of the stones? These stones were object lessons to be used to tell their children about the Faithfulness of God and the Faith of God's People the day God supernaturally parted the Jordan River and God's people marched through the Jordan on dry ground! It is interesting to note that God made the spiritual leaders stay in the middle of the miracle for a longer time than any of the others (4:1-3). In 2005 we were privileged to be part of a new church God birthed. This new church started with Bible studies in homes, and then we began meeting in neighborhood clubhouses. When we were ready to constitute as a church we met in an Aquatic Center and then we moved to a Public School. One of the verses God used to speak to me in a powerful way was Joshua 3:3 When You See the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God . . . you shall set out from your place and GO AFTER IT . . . but always remember you have never passed this way before! I shared this promise from the Lord with our people on many occasions. I understood this to mean that one day the time would come when we would have more permanent facilities and I would know when this time was and where this place was "when I see the ark of the covenant of the Lord our God. It was in January of 2007 and we were breaking our 21 day fast by observing the Lord's Supper. The Director of Missions of our Baptist Association had called me that week and said there was a church property that he felt fit our church perfectly and he wanted me to see it. The New Work Foundation of our Baptist Association had just taken possession of it or was in the process of working out the legalities associated with it. It was cold that day and there was not any heat on in the building, but we did get to tour the facilities. This was a remarkable piece of property and the church building had previously been the victim of some of those church arsons in Georgia and Alabama. However, this church had undergone a 1.5 million dollar renovation. The Association and the New Work Foundation really wanted us to have this property and they were pressuring us for a decision on buying it from them. They were gracious to allow me to go back multiple times to walk through and pray in and around the property. But there was one room that they did not have a key that unlocked the door. They knew this was the Pastor's office but the window on the office door was covered with paper so that you could not see in and the door was locked so you could not get in and that was not that big of a deal, it was just interesting or intriguing. We asked our people to meet with us out at the property and the Director of Missions met with us to go over the special financing options they could give us in order to help us own this property and facilities. I knew that the congregation really wanted to have this property and I would like to have it as well. But the final decision would come down to what I wanted to do or what I believed we should do. In other words, whatever I said to do, the congregation was going to support it. On the final day when they needed to know one way or the other, I told the Director of Missions and director of the New Work Foundation that I really would like to get inside the one room, the Pastor's Office that had always been locked so that I could see it and pray in it. So, they got a locksmith to open the door and when they opened the door, I will never forget what I saw. When I opened the door the office was completely empty and to the left there was small room with some book shelves in it and sitting right in the middle of the floor was a replica of the ark of the covenant of the Lord! When I saw the replica of the ark of the covenant of the Lord sitting in that room, the Spirit of the Lord reminded me of the verse God had given me when we first began the journey of starting that church, "when you SEE the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God . . . Go AFTER IT! Some of you might wonder what I did when I saw the Ark of the Covenant. Well I can tell you that I had me a weeping, running and shouting spell! The purchase of that property was an Un-Crossable river but when we put our feet in the water, the Un-Crossable river began to dry up! When we had our church meeting to tell them what I sensed the Lord was saying and why. Everyone was gathered in the worship center and I had four men that I told about the replica of the Ark of the Covenant and they were in the office with it and when I got to the part when I had to tell them why I thought we should "GO AFTER IT" I had the men march into the worship center carrying the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders! The name of the church by the way is Truth Tabernacle of Praise. Our name came from John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and Tabernacled among us, we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and TRUTH! I am convinced this is one area we have failed our present generation! We have failed to live in such a way as to allow the Lord to do fresh Signs and Wonders among us so that we can Secure a Testimony for Tomorrow's generation! Either we do not have any miracles to tell this present generation or we have been grossly negligent in telling them about our miracles! Joshua told the children of Israel that the miracle God was going to do for them TOMORROW was so that this may be a sign among you, when your children ask in time to come, saying, "what do these stones mean to you?" 7 then you shall answer them that "the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord . . . And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever! In closing, how many of you would like for God to do a new thing in you, to you or through you and if He does, you will find a way to "memorialize it" or "tell about it" to this present generation and to any generations that might follow after this one? Have you received the Promise of the Father? Have you been endued or clothed with Power from on High? Is your life, your testimony being used by God to initiate change in and through your church, city, country? Would you like to receive the Promise of the Father? It begins with receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and when you do, He gives you the gift of eternal life. And that is not the end of the journey, it is the beginning of the relationship. The Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you, and He will introduce Himself to you in undeniable and unmistakable ways. How long has it been since you have experienced a manifestation of the Presence of God in your life? Would you like to experience another one? How THIRSTY are you for a fresh drink of new wine? If anyone thirsts, let Him come to Jesus and DRINK and out of your innermost being, out of your belly will FLOW life changing, life altering rivers, streams that produces change! When Jesus spoke these words (John 7:37), He was speaking of the Holy Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive, because the Holy Spirit had not yet been given and He had not yet been given to them because Jesus had not yet been GLORIFIED (in their life)! Are you willing to allow Jesus to be glorified in your life today? If you are thirsty, you must drink and if you drink, you will not be disappointed!