Jeanne Stewart - NEW SEASONS OF PROMISE

New Seasons of Promise

Jeanne Stewart, Oklahoma

Have you ever been so hungry for a sweet, juicy, pear in winter? Does the thought tantalize your taste buds? But winter is not the season for pears! In the natural, the season for perfect fruit comes with much preparation after all the elements of weather and care are fulfilled. In the realm of the spirit we ripen our spiritual fruitfulness in the principles of God’s Kingdom as we walk the seasons of His training grace.

Let me share with you a situation in the work place of a godly woman whom Father God has been teaching, ‘mercy triumphing over judgment’ (James 2:13), for the past year. Misunderstandings, discontentment, disappointments between her supervisor and herself had been building over a period of time. During this phase (season) the Lord was revealing His word to her in kingdom principles and her maturity in grace and mercy was growing with great passion spiritually. One morning while talking with her supervisor about job duties and accountability, both became increasingly angry. Words were exchanged back and forth that turned into a competition of rage between the two. As all irritations came out into the light that had been hidden, both left that place hurt and wounded as neither acted like the position each truly was to represent. Her supervisor’s responsibility was to guide fairly the work and she was to represent God’s kingdom of love and respect of authority, but the meeting had become like a third grade recess fight only with words. Over the next week neither spoke and the atmosphere of the work place was strained with hurt emotions. The Holy Spirit convicted her heart of sin and to acknowledge it as such. He moved her to ask forgiveness of her boss for the words she had spoken in anger. She confessed in tears and explained the sin of slander which had brought shame to his position of authority and God’s.

As she was obedient to the Spirit’s instructions, she has now entered a new season of fruitfulness and is taking a new turn into the death of self-will. She learned that it was not enough to ask forgiveness. She had to see what she did as sin and an insult of authority, no matter who seemed wrong or right. She is learning the judgment side of mercy by the hand of God through authority.

Let us go in scripture to 1 Kings Chapters 17-19 to understand a new season in the life of Elijah. Being from the tribe of Benjamin, he was an influential prophet of ninth century B.C. during the reigns of Ahab and Ahazian in the Northern kingdom of Israel. His prophetic activities emphasized the unconditional loyalty to God required of the nation of Israel. Because of wayward Israel’s widespread idolatry, he appears in the role of God’s instrument of judgment between the true worship of Jehovah and the false worship of Baal. From hiding in the Kerith Ravine, being fed by ravens and drinking from the brook we go to the widow at Zarephath where Elijah prayed and her son was restored to life. This widow noticed that the power he walked in was from God as she spoke, ‘… now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth’ (1 Kings 17:24). From there the Lord instructs Elijah to present himself before King Ahab with the message that the Lord would provide rain after the land had been in drought for three and a half years. King Ahab had married Jezebel, the daughter of a pagan king and she had influenced him into the worship of Baal. It was at this time that Elijah challenges the 850 prophets of Baal and Asheroth to a contest on Mount Carmel (1Kings 18:21). Each side would offer sacrifices to their God without building a fire. The ignition by fire would prove the strongest god and thereby reveal himself as the true God. Jehovah God proves Himself true as Elijah’s sacrifice was consumed by fire from heaven, and Israel responds strongly back to favor God. All the false prophets of Baal and Asheroth are slaughtered at Elijah’s command. Queen Jezebel is furious over the fate of the prophets of Baal and vows she would take revenge upon Elijah and he flees to the desert for fear of his life, being the only one of the Lord’s prophets left alive.

We now see a different Elijah hiding in a cave at Horeb, the mountain of God. God asks Elijah two different times, ‘… what are you doing here, Elijah?’ (1Kings 19:9,13) Elijah had come to a new season in his life as a prophet of God. Up to this time we have seen the confident and boldly proclaiming prophet of God. Now we see the man, weary and fearful, without the power of God; a place we all have come to in our lives of ministries and encouragement to others.

We as believers, the Bride of Christ, grow in strength and fruitfulness through the difficulties (seasons) of everyday life here on earth before we take our final move to the heavenly home with Him for all eternity. To be spiritually fruitful (productive) we must allow the lessons of grace to develop us through our seasons of change. The law was given to call sin against God as sin in all our actions, in thought and deed. Calvary’s blood sacrifice brought the promise of healing grace through repentance from sin. The Holy Spirit reveals to us these areas through His convictive power to grow us to completeness in Christ. The ripeness of our spiritual fruit is lived out daily as we walk and work among those around us, bringing God honor in everything we say and do. Calling those things in us that displease Him as sin, and dealing with our own heart is a daily walk of a penitent lifestyle. The church today needs to see and understand that sin is anything that comes between us and our heavenly Father. Anything that wedges between our spiritual growth and takes away from us our desire to please Him above all else becomes as an idol.

An interesting thought in this story is found in verse one of chapter 19 where Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Ahab did not consider the strength of Jehovah God as the one true God doing all, but spoke of it as if it were Elijah doing some magical scheme like the false prophets of Baal were in the custom of doing. In the role of the Bride we have a mission to preserve the worship of the one true God in a pure form without any mixture. Our uncompromising stand may often endanger our popularity by bringing us into conflict with those in positions of power and positions of leadership in our world today. But we need the new seasons in our lives to keep us sharp and ever moving closer to that perfect place of all total surrender of our way unto His.

Elijah ran away from Jezebel, taking himself out of the situation. He had had enough, he wanted to die, he was no better than his ancestors. (1Kings 19:4) The woman in the situation with her boss was becoming discontent with where she was working. Both took action but both over-reacted because God was moving them both into new seasons of something new to do for the Kingdom of God. Elijah was to anoint Hazael as king over Syria, anoint Jehu king over Israel and Elisha as prophet in Elijah’s place. God was not done with Elijah, God was moving him into a new place of mentoring. The woman was to be the image of God in the work place, being His voice of understanding and patience as she lived out the Kingdom principle of love, forgiving.

As the Church (Bride) let us go on and move past where we walk, what we think is truth, and progress on into that new season, advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity. As heirs of His promise, the very certainty of the presence within the veil, we can be sure that our Father God has a divine purpose behind every single trial we endure in the changing seasons of our spiritual growth.

‘And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself any more, but your eyes will constantly behold your Teacher and your ears will hear a word behind you, saying … this is the way; walk in it, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left.’ (Isaiah 30:20-21 Amplified)

We the Church (Bride) must see those things that keep us weak spiritually as sin and calling it sin, turn and repent so that our lives may bring forth the promise, yielding fruit in due season as we ever move forward in His mercy that triumphs over judgment.

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