The Shot heard around....
The Spiritual Realm
In the Spring of 1775, Boston was under martial
law. The port was closed to commerce and British General Gage was the military governor of Massachusetts. Tensions
between the British and the Colonists quietly boiled until April of 1775 when General Gage was ordered to take definitive
action to quell the growing political rebellion. He chose to seize the provincial stores and munitions in Concord. He
figured that there could be no fight, if the colonials had nothing to fight with.
On the evening of April 18, 1775 Paul Revere and his companions made their infamous
rides to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams in Lexington.
The British expedition departed for Lexington from Charlestown at 2 A.M. on the morning of April
19th.
The Minutemen turned out and planned for the British arrival. Approximately seventy minutemen were
on and around the Lexington Common as approximately seven hundred Redcoats marched up to them. The British
commanders had ordered their men not to fire, but someone did fire what would become known as "the shot heard around
the world". When the skirmish was over, the bodies of eight Minutemen; fathers, sons and husbands laid
breathless on the ground. The American Revolution had begun.
The British did march on to Concord, however, the Colonists did regroup and forced the British out of
the town.
Our congregation has lovingly chided me
repeatedly for how many "favorite verses" I have. Sometimes it seems that whenever I read aloud from
the Bible I preface it with "this is one of my favorite passages" as I am doing now.
Good has battled evil all throughout time. Just like the battle that took place in
Lexington; in the Bible we read of another battle that took place. In the book of Second Kings Chapter
6 we find Elisha camped with his servant in the city of Dothan. Syria was warring with Israel at the time and the Prophet
Elisha was providing divinely inspired information about the Syrian army to aid the King of Israel. Because of this,
the King of Syria sent his army to capture Elisha so that the king could pursue Israel unencumbered.
One morning Elisha's servant awoke to find the Syrian army surrounding
the city in which they were staying. The servant was understandably quite concerned and so he immediately
summoned Elisha. What was Elisha's response?
Fear
not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
2 Kings 6:16 KJV
And then Elisha prayed;
Yahweh, I pray thee, open his (the servants) eyes, that he may see. And Yahweh opened the
eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of (heavenly) horses and chariots of fire round about
Elisha.
2 Kings 6:17 KJV
There
was a heavenly host of God's army surrounding and protecting the city and specifically Elisha from the enemy!!
But only those with eyes to see knew that Yahweh was protecting them. Imagine what the other city occupants thought!
Elisha prayed blindness upon the approaching army,
lead them away from the city and eventually allowed them to return home.
As in the story about Elisha; do you think there was a "heavenly host" fighting with those men at
Lexington? How else could approximately 70 farmers, butchers, bakers and candle stick makers stand up to approximately
700 of the Kings well trained army?
Friend just like
Elisha prayed for the eyes of his servant to be enlightened; did you know that you can pray for wisdom
and knowledge to face the challenges that you have in your life ? Listen to the Apostle Paul's prayer
in the book of Ephesians:
Wherefore I also, after
I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention
of you in my prayers; 17 That the God (deity) of our Lord (supreme being) Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah
(Christ), the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The
eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the
glory of his inheritance in the saints, Eph 1:15-18 KJV
Now reread it this way out loud. As you read aloud this time consider a challenge in
your life that you need spiritual eyes to see better.
17 I pray that the God of my Lord Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah (Christ), the Father
of glory, may give to me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: 18 That
the eyes of my understanding will be enlightened; that I may know what is the
hope of my calling, and the riches of the glory of His inheritance to me,
Eph 1:17-18 KJV
Friend be encouraged today.
What an exciting time to be alive. Do you realize that Yahweh, the Creator of the universe created YOU to be here on
earth today as a vital part of His people? In such a time as this He created you to fulfill history! It
is no accident, no chance of happenstance that you were born in this day and time. He placed you here
as a special part of His body to fulfill your purpose in Him.
As you walk out His plans and purposes for your life, trust in the sovereignty of Yahweh as He calls His heavenly
host to help you in your time of need. As Elisha told his servant: "Fear Not"!
I may not know what your specific calling is but I do know
that you are called to pray and take action just like Elisha and the Minutemen did. I know that
you are called to walk out the mission that has been reserved just for you in these last days. I know there is a part
of the plan that only you are destined to fulfill
By
presidential proclamation the first thursday of each month of May in America has been designated as a National Day
of Prayer and I strongly encourage you to participate in that because Scriptures reveal to us that there is strength in numbers.
But friend you don't have to wait for that.
Spiritually
speaking you can be the one who fires "the shot heard around the world". Go forward in prayer as
you do your part to restore righteousness in America. Go forward in prayer as you do your part to restore
righteousness in your state. Go forward in prayer as you do your part to restore righteousness in your community.
Go forward in prayer as you do your part to restore righteousness in your family and in your personal life.
Pray that all of our eyes are enlightened that we may all know the hope of His calling in all of our lives here in
America.
In the Bible Yahweh has revealed to
us that this is the path to restoration, freedom and life. Start today with a renewed commitment to that end.
Blessings to you in the name of Yahweh and Yeshua.
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Thank
you for doing your part to restore righteousness in America and throughout the world.
But
seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matt
6:33 KJV
Blessings,
Rayphe
