CHARIOTS OF FIRE

      Knowing of God is not always an easy thing. Yes we have the written Word of God and we have the Spirit of God, yet it is many times difficult to know some things of God. God wants us to know of Him, that is why He gave us His written Word, that we could know of Him. But there are at times things we just don't get even though we have His Word and study it to understand and yet we just don't get it. Many of the programs for studying the scripture are such that the application of them could be taken into any university and used to study any subject or to search out history. Since they could be used by any university for study then they are a pursuit of man. Some when studying scripture using these techniques of man assumed or even ask in prayer that the Holy Spirit will guide them as they study following man's form in pursuit of knowledge. The best form of study of the scripture is to go first to the teacher sent of God. Jesus was the teacher sent of God while He was on earth and in a way He and the Father are still our teachers yet there is one specified by Jesus. "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (Jn.14:26) We should not only expect the Holy Spirit to guide our thinking, we should ask Him expecting Him to speak to us teaching us about things in the scripture and about things of God, after all the Holy Spirit is God the same as the Father is God and Jesus is God. Each of the persons of the Godhead has a particular job and part of the Holy Spirit's job is to teach us, should we not go to Him to learn? Even though we are not of this world sometimes we use their ways to try to learn about God. God is spirit and we should strive to learn of Him by spirit.
      There are things we can understand by reading the scripture. There are things we can begin to understand when the Holy Spirit guides and helps us to understand and to learn. Then there are things that can't be known by our understanding. Our minds are not capable nor have the capacity to hold the knowledge of some things. These are things we must trust (and seek) God to implant into our beings. I don't know if these things are implanted into our minds or our spirit or just into our being in some fashion. I know there are things we experience of God which we can not really say how we got it or when, we just know we know it. It is a type of 'opening our eyes' that God does. God did this kind of implanting with the prophets in the Old Testament. Elisha had that type of knowledge implanted in him by God. Once Elisha's servant was in fear because an army with horses and chariots surrounded their city. He came to Elisha in panic asking his master what they were going to do. His master Elisha knew there was no need for fear and he knew what they were going to do. He didn't get this by studying the scripture or of being taught in the past by the Holy Spirit. It was a knowledge implanted in him by God whom he trusted and believed. Elisha's servant had not yet received this implant of knowledge about the situation and was in panic because it was beyond his ability of understanding. Elisha prayed God would open his eyes to know the truth of the situation and WOW, the servant seen and knew things he could not have known without this implanting of knowledge by God. 'And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.' (2Ki. 6:15-17) Sometimes this knowledge God implants into our lives is for the moment, as with the servant of Elisha, when we are in a particular situation and God shows us the truth of it which we could not have been taught or have learnt. Sometimes it is something which effects our walk with God and a knowledge of Him we try to shear with other Christians. Sometimes it is a deep knowledge about God and who He is that just blows our mind, it is even hard to contain it. Whether it is 'chariots of fire" we need to see to know God has our situation in control or an implanting of who He is, we need to expect Him to do this when we can know by no other way. Our knowledge is 'not' limited by our understanding or our learning, it is only limited by what we believe and expect God to do in our lives. I believe the apostles and those of the early Church expected this, so why should we not also expect this in our lives today? God wants us to believe and expect. The supernatural should be the norm in the Church today.

                                                    Robert L Doudna 2004