Note:
The following message is the second part of a teaching that consists of two parts.
It is recommended to read the message chronologically.
The following message is the second part of a teaching that consists of two parts.
It is recommended to read the message chronologically.
Here it is no coincidence that Jesus Christ previously healed the woman with the issue of blood, who had already suffered from this severe and isolation causing disease for twelve years (cf. Mark 5:25-34).
Mark 5:25-34:
25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.
26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.
27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”
29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.
33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.
34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.
26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.
27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”
29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.
33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.
34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
The number 12 has special significance in this context because it is mentioned twice. In this context it is connected with the apostolic order and the new administration.
This means that the next generation or administration, represented by the twelve-year-old girl, lay dormant while the old leadership, symbolized by the woman suffering from blood flow, pushed through to sustain the new life of the apostolic order and allow the fresh life to increase in her temple-body.
Through the condition of the woman healed of blood flow who was walking towards Jesus and the daughter of Jairus raised from the dead who was in a reclining condition, we can see the two woods of the cross of Jesus, with the elder revealing the vertical beam and the younger revealing the horizontal beam of the cross of Jesus.
This encompasses God’s call to the older and younger generation of the church – ekklēsia to proclaim and reveal the triumph of Christ before the visible and invisible world. <= (Note: The text set in ‘=>’ is based on a revelatory teaching from the book ‘Redeeming The Time’ by Chuck D. Pierce, published by Charisma House, ISBN 978-1-59979-378-8, page 10.)
The Weighty Glory of God
Returning once again to the biblical passage from Isaiah 22:20-23, the assigned measure of believers includes a measure of glory that each individual saint bears and contributes as a whole to a weight associated with the ‘weighty glory of God’, called ‘kābôd’ in Hebrew.
The word ‘kābôd’ describes, among other things, ‘honor, dignity, glory, majesty, prestige’ and ‘heaviness’ (Note: part excerpt from the Elberfelder Studienbibel on the Hebrew word ‘kābôd’ with word key number 3593).
The presence of the so-called ‘heaviness of God’ points to God or even persons who are in high authority from God. The reason for this is that God is uniquely the ‘King of Glory’ (cf. Psalm 24:7.9-10).
This type of God’s presence is characterized by the presence of His being, which is a consuming fire. Moreover, the LORD is surrounded by a dark cloud (cf. Psalm 18:11).
Psalm 18:11:
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him – the dark rain clouds of the sky.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him – the dark rain clouds of the sky.
By rightfully abiding in this presence, there is an increase of glory in the form of splendor in the personal life of each saint (cf. Exodus 24:16-18 i.c.w. Exodus 34:29).
Exodus 24:16-18:
… 16 and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.
17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.
18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
… 16 and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.
17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.
18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Exodus 34:29:
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.
It is necessary that we allow the hand of the LORD and the power of His Word to anchor us deeply in the revelatory truth of His written Word for this time and the time to come (cf. Isaiah 22:23 i.c.w. Jeremiah 23:29), so that we may reliably lead those whom God has entrusted to us in the responsibility assigned by God.
Isaiah 22:23:
23 I will drive him like a peg (Note: nail) into a firm place; he will become a seat of honor for the house of his father.
23 I will drive him like a peg (Note: nail) into a firm place; he will become a seat of honor for the house of his father.
Jeremiah 23:29:
29 “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
29 “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
The Importance of God-assigned Boundaries
In this context, it is necessary to know your God-assigned boundaries in order to be enabled to responsibly bear the weight of His glory without independently expanding your field of responsibility, which can mean ‘giving in’ in the form of breaking a nail out of the wall in one’s God-assigned position as described in Isaiah 22:25.
Isaiah 22:25:
25 “In that day,” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken.
25 “In that day,” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken.
As saints in Christ Jesus, our mandate is to move in the responsibility assigned to us by the Father and to act dutifully in authority therein. This includes observing the boundaries established and assigned by God and extending ourselves within that framework without pushing the boundaries by ourselves (cf. Deuteronomy 19:14; Deuteronomy 27:17; Proverbs 22:28, Proverbs 23:10).
Deuteronomy 19:14:
14 Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
14 Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
Deuteronomy 27:17:
17 “Cursed is anyone who moves their neighbor’s boundary stone.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
17 “Cursed is anyone who moves their neighbor’s boundary stone.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
Proverbs 22:28:
28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your ancestors.
28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your ancestors.
Proverbs 23:10:
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, …
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, …
It is of high importance that we know our identity and field of responsibility in order to exercise in it the authority that God has assigned to us.
The Expansion of the Boundaries and the Established Boundaries of Jesus and Paul
In order to properly expand the field of responsibility in Jesus Christ before the eyes of the LORD, it must first have been decided with God and expanded by Him (cf. Exodus 34:24 i.c.w. Deuteronomy 12:20).
Exodus 34:24:
24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.
24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 12:20:
20 When the Lord your God has enlarged your territory as he promised you, and you crave meat and say, “I would like some meat,” then you may eat as much of it as you want.
20 When the Lord your God has enlarged your territory as he promised you, and you crave meat and say, “I would like some meat,” then you may eat as much of it as you want.
Jesus and the apostle Paul also lived according to this principle and paid attention to their boundaries (cf. Matthew 15:22-24; 2 Corinthians 10:13).
Matthew 15:22-24:
22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
2 Corinthians 10:13:
13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.
13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.
The Boundary of Authority through God-appointed Leadership
It is necessary that we as the ekklēsia understand God’s order in His kingdom of leadership and authority in order to live in God given and holy protection. It requires healthy submission that enables us to experience the protection afforded us by the wings of God (cf. Psalm 91:1-2).
Psalm 91:1-2:
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Not every Christian is called to leadership, and this must be respected and understood. If we do not respect this, we intervene in a field of authority that leads to a disproportion in the church, resulting in many unnecessary difficulties and dangers such as it was explained with Korah and his company in the Torah (cf. Numbers 16).
The Boundary of Authority through Assigned Responsibility
To walk in the assigned field of accountability in the authority of God, we must know what authority is and how as well as when it takes hold.
In the kingdom of God, authority is a consequence of accountability. Generally speaking, we have authority in any area of the church or ministry only to the extent that we have responsibility for that area. If we have no responsibility for a certain field, we have no authority and mandate in it.
In order to have much authority and be competent in it, we should be under the covering or mentoring of saints who have more authority than we do. This is evident, for example, in the leadership of the people of Israel by Moses and Aaron, the following of Elisha towards the prophet Elijah, and the following of the disciples of Jesus.
Amen and Amen.
In His Wisdom,
Daniel Glimm
