Volume 6 - Issue 2 - October 2002
 

UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY

By Bishop Gary S. Brooks
 

Psalms 91:1-2

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.”
 

We have come to an hour that we must know of a surety that we really are abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. With the constant threats of war and terrorism in the nations, which therefore threatens the economy of the world, and it is this therefore that is causing the nations to fear death, and to fear the possible loss of financial stability. It is also revealing the fear that is presently dwelling in the hearts of God’s people. It is causing the people of the Lord to question their own mortality and faith, the Lord’s ability to preserve them, and their relationship to the authority and spiritual covering of the local church. It is also causing the ministers of Christ to question their faith, their calling, and the validity of their ministries. It is revealing, in the hearts of 5-fold ministers, the fear of losing their sheep, the fear of not having sufficient money through tithes and offerings to do the work assigned to them, and causing them to question their own relationship to the covenant benefits, blessing, and protection of the shadow of the Almighty.

I believe that all things work together for good to those that love Him, who are the called, according to His purpose, and that the Lord is using these present circumstances to restore the fear of the Lord in the hearts of His people. For the thing that we fear the greatest will come upon us, whether that be the fear of the Lord, or the fear of losing our present standard of living, our households, jobs, ministries etc., and what we possess. I am not speaking death to anyone, but rather I am stating that our fear of the Lord must be the greatest thing in our life, and will swallow up every other unhealthy and demonic fear. Without the fear of the Lord men have no choice but to insure their lives from loss, and to change their manner of living in faith to walking in agreement with fear, to somehow protect themselves from loss.

Look at these words of King David in Psalms 34:3-11 and be encouraged by them... “O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto Him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.”

See also the pattern and the heart of the new testament church in Acts 9:31 “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.”  Let us also receive the admonition of this word in Hebrews 12:28, “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:” 

The word “shadow” in the Hebrew language is defined as “a defence, through the idea of hovering over, or to shade”. Isaiah 4:5 reads, “And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.”

We must realize that the glory of God is in us in Christ. For we have this treasure in the earthen vessels of our bodies, and it is Christ in us that is the hope of glory. So the hope of glory that is to be revealed is in us and through us, for the glory of God has taken up permanent residence in His people. The glory of God is the explanation and the exhibition of the Father Himself as was seen in His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. But now we must see that it is the Father’s will that upon all the glory (that’s us) there would be a defence! The Father has provided a covering of defence to be upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion (that’s you and I individually), and upon all of our assemblies (that is our churches and ministries).

King David was rehearsing about Israel’s time in the wilderness and wrote in Psalms 105:39 “He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.”  The defence (canopy, covering, protection) that was upon all the glory in that day is the covering cloud that the Lord has provided to be for a covering to all of His people in this day. Again the word “covering” implies to shadow. We are to be overshadowed by the covering cloud of His blessing and protection by our abiding under the shadow of the Almighty.

This is the same covering cloud that overshadowed our Lord Jesus Christ, Peter, James, and John on the mount of transfiguration. 

Matthew 17:5, “While He yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.” Mark 9:7, “And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him.”

Luke 9:34-35, “While He thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him.”

If we want to revelate a little deeper in understanding, then this is also the same cloud that received Jesus out of their sight when He ascended. It is also the great cloud of witnesses that we are encompassed about with. Selah.

The shadow of the Almighty is the shadow that was upon the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we read in Acts 5:12-15 after the death of Ananias and Sapphira,  “And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them. And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.) Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.”

We need to understand that the shadow of Apostle Peter was not necessarily a natural shadow cast by sunlight, but rather that his shadow was the shadow of the Almighty that he himself was abiding under. The believers recognized the shadow of the Almighty upon Apostle Peter and upon the Apostolic ministry of the church, so they had gathered themselves and submitted themselves under the authority of that shadow. For it is clearly seen in Acts 2:42-43, “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.”

The secret place of the Most High is our Lord Jesus Christ, the true tabernacle. He is the Father’s House, and in Him are many dwelling places. The secret place is revealed in our lives by our living and abiding in Christ, and He living and abiding in us. This is the mystery (the secret) “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” (Col. 1:26-27).

But, according to our opening scripture, not only must we dwell in the secret place of the Most High but we must also be abiding under the shadow of the Almighty, that we may be able to say of the Lord that He is my refuge, my God, in Him will I trust, and that we may expect with confidence all the benefits of the blessing and protection of the whole text of Psalms 91. We can’t just say that He is and then that will somehow place us under His shadow. The prerequisite of being able to really say that He is, is that we are in the secret place, and that we are abiding under the shadow of the Almighty! This really does go directly to the heart of covering now. It is clear to me, by the Spirit, and by the manner of the new testament church in the book of Acts, that we must all now be abiding under the shadow of Apostolic ministry, in this hour, to really be abiding under the shadow of the Almighty.    

The phrase “abiding under” does not go over to well with the sons of God in this hour. For this phrase implies that we have made up our minds, it is our life and our manner of living (our lifestyle), it is how we will continue and conduct our lives, and it is our permanent dwelling place TO BE UNDER the covering and authority of something other than that of our own selves. The word “under” is even more wonderful, for it implies to be in subjection to, and to be subservient. Romans 6:16 states, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey”.  In fact, to be under is really telling us that whatever it is that we are under, we have willingly placed ourselves under its authority and control. Being “under” also states that I am also in agreement with the authority that I am now under. Being under does not seek its own will in the matter of walking in agreement with the authority that it is under. For did not the Master say in John 5:30, “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me”.

So we have a choice set before us. We can either choose the fear of the Lord and willingly subject ourselves to abide under the shadow of Apostolic ministry, or be like the rebellious sons of Isaiah 30:1-3, “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion”.

I do realize that submitting to apostolic covering is a real trust issue with God’s people. There has been a lot of abuse of authority by false apostles, who are political and self serving, whose measure and comparison in ministry is one another (not our Lord Jesus Christ), who are holding the truth in unrighteousness, and are taking unfair advantage of the faith of the Lord’s sheep, all for their own gain. There is also great abuse by the immature and unlearned that are appointing themselves and others to be apostolic because, to them, it is now the latest Christian fad to be an Apostle or Prophet along with the “Bishop epidemic”. The true “office of a bishop” (1 Timothy 3:1-7) is now being set forth more abundantly in the Body of Christ. The term “Bishopric” is new covenant terminology that defines “Apostolic Ministry and Apostleship”. Acts 1:20 records, “For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take”, and Acts 1:25 connects this statement with, “That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place”.

Therefore we must understand that the word “bishop” is a title, not a gift. The word “bishop” describes what it is that an Apostle who is in the office of a Bishop does, that is, being diligent to take the oversight in his or her bishopric of their local church, and also extra-locally with the set men or women of God in other churches or ministries who have submitted themselves under the authority of that bishopric. All Bishops therefore must be Apostles. Anyone presently engaged in a bishopric and is not an ordained Apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ has no business in the office of a bishop.

We are not expected by God to submit ourselves to that abusive form of authority of false apostolic ministries, and neither can we use that as an excuse not to follow what is right in this matter. There are true apostolic fathers living in this day. Not a one is perfect, but He who is perfect is with them. When we realize that we are not submitting to man but rather to the same shadow of the Almighty that the man, or woman, of God them self are abiding under, then it takes our eyes and faith off of man and onto the Lord Himself and His Apostolic ministry. It is with this same understanding that we are considering Him (Christ Jesus) the Apostle and High priest of our profession, and not any man (Heb. 3:1). Then we may submit to the gift of Christ the Apostle that is in that human vessel, and we’ll obey God and not man. Then we are in submission to God and not to a man. Then we are abiding under the shadow of the Almighty in confidence, and not trusting in the shadow of Egypt (in bondage to fear, a covering not of His Spirit, and the place of limitation).

For when He ascended He gave gifts unto men, and He gave some to be Apostles… and He has set some in the church, firstly Apostles. When we really come to understand that abiding under the shadow of the Almighty is about the covenant benefits of His blessing upon us in prosperity, provision, power, pleasure, and protection, then we will run to Him to trust under His wings and say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust”.