|
"THE TREASURE
HUNTER" |
As an apostolic generation emerges, we should see in them a people who are
driven to recover and release the destiny of others. They will look past
obvious weaknesses to find priceless treasure hidden in their hearts.
The apostolic man or woman tirelessly searches through the refuse of the devil
to discover in the people the enemy has abused and entangled in sin, the hidden
treasures awaiting him. He possesses the heart and mind of Christ and views
people through the eyes of redemption. He is a treasure hunter and he views the
world quite differently than most. He does not look for his treasure in the
storehouses of palaces, but in those who have been discarded and abandoned by
the enemy.
Fields of Treasure
True treasure, in his
eyes, is that which is discovered in the forgotten fields, where the unkempt
grass has grown and masks the treasures hidden in it. Others, who were more
concerned with getting to their destination than helping their brothers, have
passed by this forgotten field without giving it a second glance. They have
inevitably missed some of the greatest treasure God could have bestowed upon
the body of Christ.
Seeking to become the embodiment of Christ, the treasure hunter looks for the
great among the lowly and meek. It is the greatness of Christ in him that
enables him to recognize the greatness in others. With patience unmatched, he
listens to one heart-wrenching story of neglect and abuse after another, each
more disparaging than the last. With the precision of a diamond cutter, he
dissolves the wounds of the past with the compassion of the cross.
One after another these forgotten treasures are restored, given dignity and a
position in the family of God. The treasure hunter's esteem for them,
gives them a sense of value that they have not know before. Able now, through
the esteem of the treasure hunter, to receive the love and forgiveness of a
heavenly Father they had not known, they gladly become loyal servants to the
Lamb.
Through his gift of appreciation, the treasure hunter has raised their value.
Now others, who before did not understand them, give way to the estimation of
the treasure hunter. They open their hearts and receive the hunter's newly
found treasure and welcome them into their trust, as they themselves were once
the object of his search.
With his God-given authority, the treasure hunter has raised the value of his
brother. Now this forgotten treasure can take up his rightful position in the
army of the Lamb.
The Army of the Lamb
A deeper look into the life of the treasure hunter shows us he has surrounded
himself with the treasure that other's have deemed unworthy. Yet, these
unworthy, broken people have banded together under the guidance of the hunter
to form a powerful army.
What a frightful sight they have suddenly become to the enemy. Those he has
beaten and abused - those he has thrown out and treated with contempt - have
come back to haunt him. Now he sees before him an unstoppable force made up of
his discarded refuse.
He thought he had destroyed them, reducing their value through bondage to sin.
But now he sees them standing before him, bold and stouthearted, undergirded by
the evaluation of the treasure hunter and the love of heaven.
This army is consumed by their goal: to alight upon their enemy and dismantle
the kingdoms of darkness, to retrieve those caught in his webs of delusion.
Familiar Faces
This great army is outfitted with weapons made from Satan's own handiwork.
Every bondage and bruise he has inflicted on them, every episode of painful
rejection and humiliation, has been turned into a powerful weapon aimed at his
chest.
The enemy anguishes when he realizes what he has done. He has not reduced this
treasure to trash, but he himself, through his evil efforts to rob, kill and
destroy, has created his own worst nightmare - redeemed souls bent on his
destruction.
One by one he looks at their familiar faces and he sees the broken marriages,
the deaths, the lost dreams, the defeats of sexual immorality. The weapons he
used to inflict pain on them in an attempt to destroy their destiny have now
been turned on him (Rom
8:28). These weapons are now even more
powerful than before, because they have become a part of their destiny and have
been enveloped by the mercy of the Lamb.
He knows that these "enemy seeking warriors" are not naive as they once were,
but they now know how he operates. They have learned a lot from their failures
and he knows they will use that knowledge to destroy him.
These great warriors will not be beguiled by selfish ambition and pride. They
have walked through the fire of affliction and shine now with the radiance of
heaven. Their strength lies not in themselves, but in their love for one
another. They esteem their brother as better than themselves and would
surrender their lives for them if necessary.
They are fearless, because they have suffered all that hell has thrown at them,
yet they have endured it. They live not for themselves now, but for the kingdom
of heaven and the Lamb. They are passionately devoted to their King and will
give their all to build up His kingdom.
In one glance, Satan has seen that those he had tried to destroy...will destroy
him.
Nothing Left to Throw
He cannot convince them to hate themselves anymore as he once did, because they
have received their righteousness through the life-giving blood of the Lamb. He
has nothing left to throw at them because these warriors have become familiar
with his ways and will use that knowledge against him...he is terrified.
He knows that his time is close, that the seed of the woman, whom he has
feared, has come to crush him. The seed of the woman will crush his head (Gen.
3:15), the seed of the woman that he thought had destroyed her. The seed of sin
and rebellion towards God has been turned into the mightiest, most destructive
weapon on earth. That SEED, the seed of sin that he planted into her heart with
his rebellious lies (Gen. 3:4-5), has been transformed and has sprung forth. It
has developed, through the cross, into wisdom and strength and has now turned
against him.
By his own enticement, he has trained this army. With his own destruction and
rejection he has armed them.
He knows better than anyone else, as he looks into an endless sea of faces of
people he has tried to devour, that as he sought to dethrone the beloved of the
Father from their place in His heart. As he sought, with hateful jealousy, the
destruction of the apple of God's eye, he has sealed his own fate.
The souls he yearned to destroy have now become unstoppable warriors!
United in Christ
They are the united body of Christ. Armored in selfless love for one another,
they no longer stumble over each other as they once did, they refuse to "break
rank." They esteem the leadership of the treasure hunter and wait for
instructions from him. They look to him in anticipation for the command to
attack - to be released to fulfill their destiny.
As the treasure hunter leads an army of unwanted, unvalued, yet priceless
treasure rescued from the rubble, he lowers his sword and points it directly at
the enemy and unleashes what hell has feared. With one word they are dispatched
to plunder the kingdoms of darkness.
As they invade the realms of darkness, they retrieve countless souls once
deemed as useless and as hopeless as they themselves were once thought to be.
They trample the enemy under foot, overwhelming him. He can give little
defense.
The enemy of the Lamb crumbles in defeat; the work of his life is stolen in a
moment. The kingdom of darkness is raided and more hidden treasure is recovered
and sent to the fields of grace...heaven on earth...the church, where newly
trained treasure hunters await their arrival.
Having defeated their fallen foe, they stand and look towards heaven and in
unison they cry, "FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AND THE LAMB!"
by Victoria Boyson
Web:
www.boyson.org
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