We all know what a hand-me-down is. And we all know what a legacy is. And, depending on the nature and form of the hand-me-down and legacy, and how well they have been preserved, they can be just as lovely and just as much the treasure they were in the very beginning. And sometimes, just sometimes, they can be even more so… A friend in Arizona commented by e-mail: "The glitter for the many is so very dazzling and deceptive. I need only listen briefly to the liberal elite to know that they favor, "whatever seems right to a man". How sad. How shallow. How wanton. How disturbing. Then again, until they have tasted and seen the real deal they can't know the beauty of God, and the estate they, by default, ignore or deny." She was responding to a paragraph in last week's article, Headlines and Headliners, that stated: "There are lessons to be learned in all of this. There is a hope out of the past that lingers today, and it glitters, not with gold, but with wisdom borrowed from the ghostly pilgrims of yesteryear. One thing we all learn quickly – life is short and it is always over before we are ready to say goodbye. What a pity we do not always learn what we were born to grab hold of before that day arrives…" Kathleen speaks of an "estate" that is lost "by default" because it is all too often ignored or denied. She speaks of the first estate, God's great salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. It is a divine estate. It thrives on hope that is born of faith that feeds on Godly wisdom. It is called the blessed hope. It has been passed down through the generations by the Holy Spirit who has been companion and guide to the ranks of the pilgrims of yesteryear and the remnant of the Philadelphia Church today. And it continues to shine in the eyes of the faithful... This divine estate has been offered to all men of all the ages, with a hand-me-down-promise: you can work in it, sleep in it, bathe in it, and be laid to rest in it. It is the blessed hope and trust of the pilgrim-warriors that walk with God... Such an estate is enriched with hand-me-downs and legacies of trust. The Sovereign of this estate knows the heart and mind of every legacy bearer and the story of every hand-me-down. He alone chooses out men and women from the ranks of the faithful, and sometimes He calls them from their mothers’ wombs. Such wisdom is above the reasoning of this world, it is outside the loop of understanding for the barking, snarling liberals and the radical dissidents. It is millions of light years beyond the scope of mortal vision, and it is beyond the vision of the professing Christian who has not launched his own search for more of God. Though such gifts are available to all, only the truly faithful can believe, and only the truly grateful can reach out to receive… One cannot find if he does not seek. One cannot receive if he does not ask. And one cannot ask if he does not believe… So come with me and let us applaud the wisdom of heaven, the delight of the Father and the Kingship of the Son as we join them in praise for the hand-me-downs… In this world hand-me-downs are often despised as used, second hand, worn, faded, sagging, and sometimes threadbare. Legacies (such as cold pulpits and lukewarm congregations) are sometimes received without appreciation, mourned as painfully neglected, virtually worthless, an unwanted burden often in need of spiritual polishing and buffing. But there have been times when some humble pilgrim sacrificed all he had to protect such a legacy from the designs and the snares of the destroyer. This is of no real wonder. After all, it is to the humble that the hand-me-downs are given… It all comes down to the commitment and motive of the heart. Pride will survive for awhile, before it crashes, but a determined perseverance in the midst of adversity will march through hell if need be to pluck a soul to safety. To this foot soldier goes a hand-me-down… God is delighted to gift His children with the hand-me-downs of previous generations. And of course, the weary dusty pilgrims don’t mind if the hand-me-downs appear worn, faded or threadbare. What starts the tears of gratitude to flowing is that they are special, the most coveted and precious hand-me-downs in existence, either in Heaven or on Earth. I speak of the mantles worn by the prophets of old, mantles of the martyrs, of the evangelists, of the apostles, and the mantles of humble saints and servants that were buried long ago, mantles that are saturated with the anointing and the Spirit they walked in. Elisha inherited the mantle of Elijah with the additional gift of a double portion of anointing for the working of miracles. Joshua inherited the mantle of Moses with the laying on of hands and the promise of God: “I will be with you as I was with Moses.” John the Baptist came in the Spirit and anointing of Elijah. He had walked, sat, stood and slept before the Lord for unknown numbers of years in humility and fellowship, his mantle dripping with the oil of the Spirit and the Word. The older and more-worn the hand-me-down garment is, the deeper the anointing and the power of those that wore it before. Only a few realize the honor of receiving such a mantle. In the Old Testament the mantle was usually a woolen robe. The Prophet wore it or carried it with him at all times because, when the sun went down at evening, when it turned cold in the desert, he needed his robe to wrap himself in. And we can be assured that his robe became saturated with his anointing as he walked, as he slept, and as he ministered to the needy… Then one day a man by the name of John arrived at the Jordan River, breaking 400 years of prophetic silence in Israel. The people were stunned by the form and message of this man. Indeed he was a wonder to see – a real attraction as people came from miles around to hear him… So this was what a prophet looked like? Well, he was different alright. He looked wild in his camel’s hair wrap and leather belt, and his call was like a cry from the wilderness, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” Later, after John was martyred, Jesus said to the people, “Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist; notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matthew 11:11). As the first few centuries A.D. passed and persecution continued with martyrs numbering into the multiplied thousands, mantles of specific anointings were laid upon the shoulders of the receiving saints by the Lord Himself. These were applied supernaturally, and only those with discernment could see them through the eyes of the Spirit. Even today, one knows when the mantle descends, and when it is applied and wrapped around the shoulders. Most of the time it is light - but sometimes it assumes the heaviness of the burden we feel… Just as God has preserved and kept Moses and Elijah for the day they will return to Jerusalem during the tribulation, He has preserved the spiritual mantles of the saints for the saints that would come after them in each new generation. You see, those mantles are filled with the Holy Spirit, beginning with the mantles of Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – and on down the line – mantles of righteousness, of prophecy, of humility, of the warrior… There are diversities of mantles but we must all wear the mantle of humility – we must – if we are practicing total submission to the Father. True humility is submission – that’s what it is… Legacies are hand-me-downs too and these come to us in the form of spiritual gifts and/or special lifetime or temporary assignments. The receiver of the gift must always trust the gift giver implicitly or the gift will be taken away. In the same vein, the gift giver must trust the receiver of the gift to the outer limits of obedience, for if the receiver ever betrays the trust of the gift giver, the spiritual gift or assignment will be taken away. Trust is a must for a supernatural legacy lends continuity to an ongoing story – an account of courage and valor in the ranks of the faithful – a fight to the finish that will take place at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Legacies – mantles – spiritual gifts – callings - assignments – anointings: these are all gifts and hand-me-downs that rest in the hands of the Father. That’s why they glitter. They are in the hands of purest wisdom. They have been honored by the faithful of the past. Now the deeds and words of those faithful are honored by the Father, and someday these same hand-me-downs will testify of our own words and deeds when we appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. We should never be ashamed or hesitant to wear the hand-me-downs that Heaven offers. We should never be ashamed or hesitant to present and hold precious the legacies of the King’s Spirit. If we are ashamed of Christ in this life, He will be ashamed of us when we stand before the Father. If we deny Him before men, He will deny us before the Father. If we refuse His hand-me-downs and His legacies, we will be the big time loser of God’s best in both worlds. I can only imagine what it would feel like to be introduced to Gideon and hear him say, “I have been told you refused to wear my mantle and another was chosen to take your place.” How would one respond to that? Or perhaps, one is introduced to Samuel who asks: “I have been told you rejected the call and mantle of the Prophet, refusing to serve the Lord with your voice because you didn’t want to offend anyone or appear foolish to others. Did it not offend the Lord when you refused Him?” When you answer the Lord’s calling, don’t look for the glitter of wisdom on your robe – it is there - but even the glitter is bowed before the brightness of the Lord. Seek and honor the gift giver rather than the gift, seek and honor the trust He may find in you, seek and honor the privilege of continuing the story – the legacy – and a sure way for those that follow – Seek and honor – and that will be enough… Joan Krempel |