Elijah Now

As people of prophecy most of us have heard the story King
Nebuchadnezzer’s dream in Daniel chapter 2. The multi-metal statue in the
dream was pictured standing on feet made of clay and iron mixed together.
Contrasted with the rest of the statue, the feet were fragile. From that
prophetic image has come the saying, “we all have feet of clay.” According
to wikipedia, “The analogy is now commonly used to refer to a weakness
or character flaw, especially in people of high station.”

Recently we were saddened to learn that a leader who has blessed our
family through his teaching and friendship has clay feet. We all understand
at some level that we are sinful by nature. But to hear the story of the
perfidy in a spiritual leader is both saddening and alarming.

A question that arises when a teacher stumbles is this: What do we do
with the message if the messenger goes down? We believe that even sad
experiences like this can be a blessing to God’s people if we will let them.
Yes, the Kingdom gets a black eye – again. But there are at least four
lessons we are taking away from this sad experience.

1. These are the episodes that remind us to keep our hopes and our eyes
fixed on Jesus. He alone is our hope, our example, and our foundation.

2. We must be faithful to STUDY for ourselves. If our lives are based on
the experience or teaching of another, we are building on sand. We can
learn from others; be inspired by them, to be sure. But we must anchor our
experience in the word of God.

3. Isolation (not to be confused with solitude) is destructive. When we
separate ourselves from the body of Christ, when we believe that truth
as we understand it trumps anyone else’s understanding, we are set up
for a fall. We need to be in regular community with others and maintain
accountability. We all are capable of atrocious sin. We have clay feet and
so do you. Apart from Christ and his Body the church, we are vulnerable.

4. The need for balanced, biblical, teaching on practical Christianity and
relationships is greater than ever before. We must press forward with
all the resources at our disposal to share what we are learning. God’s
message has always been advanced by men and women who are prone to
fall. We can neither ignore sin nor abandon the message.

We must be mindful of Paul’s admonition, “If you think you are standing
strong, be careful not to fall.” I Cor. 10:12 NLT When a warrior falls in Israel,
there is no place for rejoicing. Let us pick up the banner and advance with
renewed determination.