II "THE GOVERNMENT SHALL BE UPON HIS SHOULDER"
II - ‘THE GOVERNMENT SHALL BE ON HIS SHOULDER “
Sunday Evening 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Preached by: Carolyn Sissom
Excerpts from Chapter 4, The Political Spirit by: Faisal Malick
In Acts 13, we see another example of divine order being established in the early Church. Barnabas and Paul are separated out by the Holy Spirit to do the work for which God had called them. They are sent out with an apostolic anointing and authority. One of their first missions is to
The proconsul was the highest governing authority in the region. He was the Roman Emperor’s top representative on the
13: 9-11): “Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, ‘O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.’ And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.”
The hand of the Lord comes upon this man and strikes him blind. The government of God is in operation, exposing the false and revealing the truth. “Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.” (Acts 13:12) Something happens when the Sovereign Lord commissions Paul. The hand of the Lord comes upon Paul for his apostolic ministry, and he is sent into this territory to do a work for God. It had nothing to do with Paul as a person. He did not come up with this idea on his own. He was there to establish God’s divine authority, government, and sovereign rule. When someone interfered, they came up against the hand of the Lord. When God’s government comes, this type of power operates freely.
“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, and upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.”
In the Old Testament, we also read about kings and priests who attempt to set up their own governing systems. These patterns are recorded for us so that we can begin to discern the works of this “politicizing” tactic of the enemy. Though they were priests and representatives of God, they subtly opposed God’s rule and sought to operate according to their rules. King Solomon falls prey to this toward the end of his life by marrying women who worship false gods. Solomon allows them to bring their idols into his home and to continue worshipping them under his watch. As a result, God tells Solomon that He will remove the kingdom from his heirs and give it over to one of his servants. After King Solomon dies, there is a dispute about taxes under the kingship of Solomon’s former servant, Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:35). God’s nation on the earth, Israel, set up by the Godly David (under the Hand of God’s sovereign government) lasts less than two generations before it is divided because of Solomon’s compromise (1 Kings 11:31).
God says to Solomon that He will not give the whole kingdom over to Jeroboam, However, He will hold a little back for David’s descendants, for David’s sake. But the ten northern tribes come under the rule and kingship of Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:35).
This is where we begin to clearly see false government take hold in
Not long after Jeroboam became king, he notices that, because the temple was in Jerusalem, all the tribes of Israel have to go to Judah at least three times a year to celebrate the many feasts. As a result, Jeroboam thinks that he is losing popularity and fears that he will lose control. So he issues a decree that the ten tribes, no longer have to go to
In order to fulfill his plan, Jeroboam appoints his own priests. In so doing, he has not only established a false government, he is also establishing a false religion. By operating politically rather than righteously, he creates a false order of priesthood so that he can keep the people under his power. That is the intention and motive of his heart.
We saw this recently when the Queen of the Ant Hill told the Bishops that they must educate the people about immigration from their pulpits. This is the political spirit of false government at work to set up a false religion.
In First Kings 13, we read about a young prophet who goes to the altar of
“And behold a man of God went from
He goes on to prophesy, “this is the sign which the Lord has spoken: surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out” (1 Kings 13:3). In the next verse we read, “When King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in
Jeroboam has been running things according to the strategies of the political spirit for a while. He doesn’t realize that a prophet has come who is carrying God’s Kingdom authority. This young prophet represents a higher government than the false government Jeroboam had set up. So what happens next? “The altar also was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of god had given by the word of the Lord” (1 Kings 13:5). When the king sees this, he says to the man of God, “Please entreat the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me” (1 Kings 13:6). The prophet does entreat the Lord on the king’s behalf, and God shows mercy and heals his hand.
Years later, the rest of this prophecy is fulfilled. Josiah over-throws Jeroboam’s temple and some of the priests who are killed were the ones Jeroboam had ordained. Josiah overturns the false order of priesthood and government and restored a righteous one (1 Kings 23: 15-15). Josiah is God’s Kingdom man operating under Kingdom authority. Again, Josiah had nothing to do with this choosing. He was chosen from his mother’s womb.
The purpose of God’s government, for the most part, is corporate. Similarly, though a prophet may bring a word to someone individually, the purpose of the prophet is to bring direction and correction to the people of God as a whole. The prophet is the church's modem. The prophet brings insight about seasons. His/her primary purpose is to speak corporately to the people or the region that he is called to or to those in places of influence concerning God’s eternal and Kingdom purposes in the earth.
It is not the prophet’s job to make people listen to the message. The political spirit goes as an ambassador to a nation. He may say to another country’s officials, “I have a message for you. If you don’t stop terrorizing our people and destroying our embassies, my government will retaliate.” If they don’t listen, the political ambassador pulls out an M-16and starts firing. As an ambassador of the
In our personal lives, too many of us are used to pulling out the guns instead of leaving things to the hand of God. We are used to dealing with the enemy in our daily battles. We have been taught to take authority over the enemy and fight whatever comes against us. Bu this is a previous revelation of an old season having to do with personal authority. When we step into an assignment representing God’s government, we can’t take it upon ourselves to get into skirmishes with the enemy. We must simply deliver the message that we have been given and let the Spirit of God take care of the rest. We have to learn to give place to the wrath of God by moving our personal self out of the way to make way for His government to respond.
As of this writing, the political spirit is at work to stab
The primary reason that God is establishing His government is to expose the false governing system that the political spirits works through and to empower us to overcome it.
A new era of divine order and authority will test the hearts and allegiance of God’s people. The foundation of God’s government is being laid. Flawed foundations will be broken up as fallow ground. Whatever is counterfeit will be removed. A new government will begin to manifest. God is raising up a people who will exercise His governmental authority---a people with the purest, most noble hearts. This is why we have been brought through these seasons of alignment and character testing. God does not want His authority abused. As representatives of God’s government, we will truly reign as kings and priests in these last days.
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
Scripture from K.J.V. Paraphrased from chapter 4, The Political Spirit by: Faisal Malick.
Comments and conclusions outside of the Text are my own.