Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Read Standing on the Shoulders of Giants Online
Authors: Steven Brooks
B
OOKS BY
S
TEVEN
B
ROOKS
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Working With Angels:
Flowing with God in the Supernatural
A
VAILABLE
F
ROM
D
ESTINY
I
MAGE
P
UBLISHERS
© Copyright 2008 – Steven Brooks
All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Emphasis within Scripture quotations is the author’s own. Please note that Destiny Image’s publishing style capitalizes certain pronouns in Scripture that refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and may differ from some publishers’ styles. Take note that the name satan and related names are not capitalized. We choose not to acknowledge him, even to the point of violating grammatical rules.
DESTINY IMAGE
®
PUBLISHERS, INC.
P.O. Box 310, Shippensburg, PA 17257-0310
“Speaking to the Purposes of God for this Generation and for the Generations to Come.”
This book and all other Destiny Image, Revival Press, Mercy Place, Fresh Bread, Destiny Image Fiction, and Treasure House books are available at Christian bookstores and distributors worldwide.
For a U.S. bookstore nearest you, call
1-800-722-6774
.
For more information on foreign distributors, call
717-532-3040
.
Reach us on the Internet:
www.destinyimage.com
.
ISBN 10: 0-7684-2736-3
ISBN 13: 978-0-7684-2736-3
For Worldwide Distribution, Printed in the U.S.A
.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 / 12 11 10 09 08
This book is dedicated to every believer who, at times, has felt isolated and misunderstood by other Christians due to sovereign supernatural experiences which they have encountered from the Lord. As you read these pages, may you feel refreshed and encouraged to know that it is “normal” to live in a realm where the wonders of Heaven invade your normal, everyday life. It is my specific prayer for you that your heart be stirred continually to venture out on the Word of God beyond the elementary truths and into the deeper spiritual realities that Christ has prepared for you to walk in.
I would like to express my love and appreciation to my wife, Kelly; my daughter, Abigail; and Matthew and Jennifer for your constant encouragement and inspiration. Also, I want to say “thank you” to our entire international team of ministry partners who pray for and support this ministry. Together we are working for what truly counts in the world to come.
Chapter 1 Where Are the Mantles?
Chapter 3 The Biblical Pattern
Chapter 4 Mantles Throughout the Old Testament….
Chapter 5 A New Testament View of Mantles
Chapter 6 Examples Throughout Church History …
Chapter 7 Making the Most of a Mantle
Chapter 8 Guidelines for Receiving a Mantle
Chapter 9 Let the Holy Spirit Choose Your Mantle….
Chapter 10 How I Received My First Mantle
Steven has penned another valuable work that is certain to open new doors of understanding to the Body of Christ. The subject of mantles is a topic that stirs great interest in the hearts of many diligent seekers of truth, but there has been an overall lack of material on this subject, until now.
Steven opens the Scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments to shed light on the dynamics of how mantles are given and received. The transferring of mantles has been an ongoing experience from the earliest of biblical times up to the present-day Church Age. As the Lord’s return draws nearer, there is an acceleration that is taking place within the Church. There is a mantling of Kingdom authority and power coming
upon those with hungry and sincere hearts that will surpass any previous outpouring of God’s Spirit. The Lord has saved the best wine for last. As the end-time generation stands on the shoulders of all the previous generations, there is to be expected a greater corporate vision to know and fulfill every desire within the heart of God.
As you read the pages of this book I encourage you to expect a quickening by the Holy Spirit regarding the mantle, or mantles, which God has prepared for you. Just as the Holy Spirit led me to lay my hands on Steven one day and pass on certain mantles that are upon my life, so also will the Lord find a way to equip you to fulfill your calling and purpose. The Bride of Christ is to be clothed (mantled) in white linen. The Lord’s own garments of righteousness are for us to wear. As you seek Him continually, the Lord will supply every mantle, anointing, and grace needed for you to stand in the place of your intended calling. For His glory, you will be mantled to display His attributes to draw others to a deep and intimate walk in Him.
Wade Taylor
Washington, DC
Internationally recognized author and Bible teacher
Throughout this book I have included examples of individuals whom the Lord has graciously bestowed mantles upon. By doing so I wish to express that I am not trying to promote anyone nor endorse any particular teaching. For example, I share about the Catholic saint, Padre Pio, who walked in a remarkable mantle which was later transferred to another individual. This does not mean I am in full agreement with the teachings of the Catholic church. I believe we are saved by grace through faith, and not through the doing of good works. At the same time I understand that many of the Catholic saints had a level of devotion to the Lord that far surpasses what I normally see in evangelical type churches. We (the Body of Christ) can all
learn from each other as we drink from the same stream of Christ Jesus Himself. Through this book my focus and desire is to show that God is still placing mantles upon willing hearts today.
HAPTER
1
Where Are the Mantles?
Several years back while walking through a local home improvement store, I heard a woman say in a loud voice, “Where are the mantles for the fireplaces?” The first part of this statement had a distinct supernatural ring to it that really caught my attention. In this hour, I believe God is saying, “Where are the mantles?”
Where are the mantles of great saints of old who walked in the authoritative power of the resurrected Christ and went about destroying the works of the devil? Those saints of past generations have gone on to be with the Lord, but their mantles are still available for us to reclaim and take further today. Spiritually speaking, these mantles are to be worn in “fiery
places.” Just as a decorative mantle often rests above a fireplace, we today can walk in mantles and see the Lord deliver us out of every fiery trial and difficulty that the devil would bring our way.
Mantles are not meant to be put on and then for an individual to go around proclaiming, “Look at me, I have Brother So and So’s mantle!” You can be sure that anyone who goes around boasting that he or she has inherited some great mantle is in reality actually proving to have no true mantle from Heaven. One who has received true authority from God will walk in humility and display the love of Christ toward others. Once attained, these mantles will be of great aid and assistance to help you accomplish the work that God has for you to do in the earth. When trials and tribulations come, you will prove to be more than a conqueror because of the increased anointing of the Holy Spirit upon your life. The psalmist David said:
But my horn you have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil
(Psalm 92:10).
It’s time for a fresh anointing. It’s time to take the mantle that God has for you and begin to do the greater works that Jesus spoke of. Just as in the time when Elisha received the mantle of Elijah, we are now at a fork in the road concerning Church history. We must be free to move in the power of the Spirit and not be bogged down in thick religious mud. We must be free to move past basic elementary and foundational truths in the Word of God and venture on to maturity. Many churches are camped out around the simplest of Gospel truths, but they have no understanding that there is so much
more to enjoy and experience. What did the writer of the book of Hebrews say?
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so
(Hebrews 6:1-3 NIV).
I read a translation one time that said, “let us get on with it.” There have been times when I have sat in on church meetings and the preacher would preach a basic salvation message and share the whole redemption story all over again. I would look around the room and could easily discern that everybody in the building was already saved and born again. Then the preacher would give an altar call at the end of his message and invite any lost soul to come forward for salvation. Of course, no one came forward because everyone was already saved!
Many believers today are camped around basic Bible truths and have never moved on. If I were in school and never moved past the first grade after having been there for ten years I would become greatly concerned. Yet many times in the church, this type of spiritual lethargy is considered normal. If a person has been in the church for ten years and still does not understand simple truths such as instruction about baptisms (water baptism by immersion and baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues) and cannot explain these simple truths clearly to someone else, then there needs to
be a renewed focus on anointed teaching to help the people of God move to the next level.
God is moving in the earth today. His Word is always the same, but God chooses to reveal Himself through fresh expressions of His grace with each generation. We should not expect Him to duplicate past revivals and previous outpourings of His Spirit. While I am sure there will be many similarities between the old moves of God and what He is now doing, we should open our hearts to receive the blessing that He has for us which will be unique, distinct, and different than what has been previously known. We need to look back for wisdom concerning previous moves of God to learn what failed and what succeeded–but we need to focus on the “now” because we can’t go back, only forward.
It’s a historical fact that whenever God begins to move in a fresh way, most of the opposition comes from the “old guard” that refuses to receive the new wine of God’s Spirit. The “old guard” does not refer to older people, but points to those who have become settled and satisfied in their current place of spiritual mediocrity. However, there is such a hunger in the people of God today for more of His Spirit that there is no stopping or turning back regardless of the opposition. When the Spirit of God is moving, people show up. Some come out of curiosity; some out of spiritual hunger; while others come to find fault which can be found anywhere if a person looks hard enough, because we are all imperfect vessels.
