When we talk about the mantle of power, we are talking of an outward manifestation of God's power.
1Corinthians 4:20,
"For God’s Kingdom is not in word, but in power."
Acts 1:8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. From which we get the word dynamite. So, we can say, You shall receive dunamis after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.
WHAT IS DYNAMITE?
Dynamite is a powerful explosive used in mining.it is used to break mountains. It means that when the power of the Holy Ghost comes upon you, it will break every impediment to the glory of God.
When the power comes upon you, every hindrance on your shall be exploded. This power will only come upon you when you yield your life into the Lord. That is why Isaiah 55:12 says, *For yea shall go out with joy, and bleed forth with peace :the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
There is a going forth and a being led forth. When the Bible says you will go out with joy, it means that it is possible to go out with sadness. A lot of people go out and come back with peace, that is talking about the peace of God being with you even when you walk through a bad environment. The Bible says that as many as led by the Spirit Of God,they are the sons of God.
As the Spirit of God lead you forth in this dark world, you will be at peace. The mountains and hills mentioned in that passage refers to hindrances on your way, such hindrances will break forth into singing. And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.Everthing will work for your peace. When the power of the Holy Ghost comes upon you, it will break up all the hindrances and they will give glory to the Lord. That is why you need the mantle of power.
WHY DO WE NEED THE MANTLE OF POWER?
1.To witness Christ to the world. Acts of the Apostles 1:8 makes us to understand that the mantle of power will enable us to be God's witnesses. Wherever you go, the fullness of Christ will spring forth through you.
2.To do exploit for God, Daniel 11:32, *But the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploit. In difficult situations, such people will be able to prevail by the reason of the mantle of power.
3.The mantle of power is an emblem of Gods presence :the presence of God cause terror to the enemies all the time. Psalms 16:11:"In thy presence, is fullness of joy at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
The joy of the lord swell in you as the mantle of power falls upon.
4.For ransom from destroyers: Hosea 13:14 "I will ransom them from the power of the grave,I will redeem them from death: O death I will be thy plagues, O grave, I will be thy destruction :repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. "You need the mantle of power to be free from the power of the destroyers.The enemy is out to steal, to kill and to destroy. But by this power,you will be preserved.
5.For the manifest of Christ:Jesus,who is seated at the right hand side of power, said, power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." He He really gives this power to as many as trust entirely on Him. So, His manifestation is the mantle of power.
6.To prevent our hearts from fainting: Isaiah 40:29: He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might, he increase the strength. The mantle of power is needed to strengthen our hearts because a lot of people today cannot cope with the situation of the present world.Satanic technology is advancing and the rate of growth of many Christians today is not adequate to withstand it. As a result of this, a lot of people are fainting and cannot really stand for the Lord.But the Bible says that God gives power to the faint and to them that have no might He increases their strength..
7.To prepare us as God's battle -axes: We need the mantle of power to become God's battle-axes. As the battle with the kingdom of darkness is getting fiercer there is need for us to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light.
How Do Receive The Mantle Of Power
Let us consider the case of Elisha.1Kings 19:19-21: "So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth, and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, let me, I pray thee, kiss my father, and my mother and then I will follow thee.
And he said unto him, go back again, for what have I done to thee? And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, ministered unto him.
The passage is talking about the call of Elijah, The Lord led Elijah to cast his mantle on him, indicating God's call on his life. We can learn some lessons from this passage.
1.The immediate response of Elijah to God's call. The Bible says he ran after Elijah. A lot of us today know that God is calling us to specific things, but we find excuses to delay our response to His call. We procrastinate and by this, abuse His grace upon our lives. For you to receive the mantle of power, you have to immediately respond to God's call. A lot of us would say That until this and that are fulfilled in our lives, we would not be ready to respond. If you really desire the mantle of power for yourself, you have to make up your mind to respond urgently to God's call.
2.Elisha made preparations to follow Elijah diligently without looking back. He decided to give his parents a parting kiss. The Bible he took of oxen, slew them and boiled the flesh with the instruments of oxen and gave people to eat. He organized a farewell party with all he had to tell his family that he was leaving them to follow the Lord whole heartedly And there would not be an occasion to turn back even if the way becomes tough. And even iffhe wanted to look back, there would be nothing to look back on.
There is a need for you to prepare yourself as you respond to God's call. You need to be ready to bear whatever it will cost you to follow the Lord. You need to be sure that you are not following Him just because of the earthly benefits that you will receive, but because of the eternal value attached. You need to count the cost if you need the mantle of power because if there is anything pulling you back as you respond,the fullness of the power will not be made manifest in your life. There is a need for you to prepare yourself home, check yourself and environment, because you cannot receive the mantle of power and environment, because you cannot receive the mantle of power and be idle.
God endue you with power for a purpose. And the purpose may be hard but you will make preparations for it. The Israelites had no water until they suggested ditches. (2Kings 3:16).There was no healing for Naaman until he had the seven dips. There was no oil until the vessels were gathered. And Jesus did not turn water to wine until the vessels were filled with water.
There can be no harvest until the ground has been broken up. So you need to break your fallow ground. There can be no reconciliation without repentance, and no entrance into heaven without being cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. Beloved, you need to count the cost and be ready to pay the price. What is the price? You must be ready to surrender your life and lay your all on the altar of God.
3.Elisha did not make provision for any eventuality :He did not try to keep anything he would fall back on in case things didn't go on well with the call of God. The Bible says, that he slew the oxen with the instruments thereof and it was not done gradually. He submitted totally. Unlike a lot of people would say, I am trying, let me do it gradually.
God wants qn entire submission. A lot of people are not flowing deeply in the power of God because they are yielding gradually. They don't want to give all unto the Lord. They still consider something in the world dear to them better than the riches of God's glory. The Bible says that bidding his family farewell, Elisha arose and went after Elijah, and became his servant.
There will not be a quickening by the Holy Spirit until we are ready to give our allegiance unto the Lord. The glory of the Lord will not be made manifest until all is laid at the altar.
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Shalom