----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Celebration Ministries International Newsletter
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To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 10:50:30 AM
Subject: Weekly Evotions
Weekly EvotionsApril 20th 2009 The Kingdom Suffers Violence and the Violent
take it by force!
In a not very familiar setting, these familiar words are starkly etched. Judges
17:6 tells us that, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did
what was right in his own eyes.” This is truly a reflection of anyone,
worldwide, who does not live in and participate in the kingdom of God , we all
do what is ‘right in our own eyes’.
Even though that was the case, and there was no king, and no official national,
civil authority, the people still knew a man of God when they saw him. A man
called Micah, from the hill country of Ephraim, recognized the priest. He was
just a, “young man from Bethlehem in … he was a Levite,…” and stopped by
Micah’s house. When Micah asked where he came from, the young man said, “I am a
Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay.”
(Judges 17:9)
Before I continue we must understand that God is Spirit, and the principle He
operates by is the fact that he uses the agency of man on earth to carry out
His purposes. The Holy Spirit is constantly “on his way to find a place to
stay”. Since God created people as the place for the Holy Spirit to live in,
“we are a temple of the Holy Spirit” “Don't you know that your body is the
temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God?
You do not belong to yourselves but to God.” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
Micah recognized the Levite’s priestly anointing, interacted with him,
responded to the opportunity and invited the Levite to stay as his FATHER and
PRIEST vs10 “Dwell with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give
you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes and your sustenance.”
Micah appeared to understand a whole lot more about how to treat the man of God
than many of us do today!
Judges 17:13 “Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me,
since I have a Levite as priest.” He understood his source of blessing, and he
not even an Israelite!
Now in Judges 18, we find the tribe of Dan had not yet received their
inheritance, out to find a suitable piece of land for themselves, but “While
they were at the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young
Levite.” So they turned aside …” How many of us recognize the voice of a man
of God, or invite him in to be our father and our priest? Do we understand the
source of our blessing?
Immediately the tribe of Dan recognized the VOICE of the priest and prophet.
They acknowledged the office and straight away they ask him, ‘Please inquire of
God, that we may know whether the journey on which we go will be prosperous.”
Judges 18:5 “and the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The presence of the
Lord be with you on your way.” They knew what to do with the anointing, they
knew what the anointing was for and how to behave in the presence of the
anointing.
That was all they needed! They headed off, and found a phenomenal piece of
land, so returned to assure the rest of the tribe that they would succeed in
taking it, “for God has given it into your hands,” (vs10) based on the blessing
they received from the man of God. And on their way back to take the land,
abducted the young priest from Micah, vs19, saying, “come with us; be a father
and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the household of one
man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” So the priest
“took his place among the people”. Hence the title, ‘the kingdom suffers
violence and the violent take it by force!’ Dan knew the kingdom when they saw
it and purposely took hold of and took care of their man of God.
PRAYER OF FAITH: Father thank you for giving me greater understanding of the
things of God and the power of and need for the anointing from the man of God
in my life. I want to live blessed, so teach me how to recognize the voice of
the man of God, and give me the courage to seek his counsel and blessing on
every large decision that I make in life. Thank you for providing the cover of
a man of God for us, I will press in, just like Micah and the tribe of Dan, to
seek for and listen to my man of God. Glory to God!God bless you
Pastor Tom
Blog site: www.reformationreport.com
Websites: www.celebrationmin.org , www.celebratelife.tv
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