Waiting on the Rooftop…
As I read today the Holy Spirit spoke and the word rooftop jumped off the pages of my bible. I was intrigued to understand the word God was revealing to me, and thought how many times have I seen this word, and never once had I thought twice about it…. I was reading 1 Samuel 9:25-27:
After they came down from the high place to the town, Samuel talked with Saul on the roof of his house. They rose about daybreak, and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get ready, and I will send you on your way.” When Saul got ready, he and Samuel went outside together. As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us”—and the servant did so—“but you stay here for a while, so that I may give you a message from God.”
It then says that he was anointed as a ruler over the Lords inheritance in 1 Samuel 10:1:
Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance?
And after his anointing to be king by Samuel the Lord came powerfully on Saul in 1 Samuel 10:6:
“The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.”
Just like Saul was anointed, and the Spirit came powerfully on him, when we accept Jesus into our hearts, we are anointed with the Holy Spirit of God…and just like God was with Saul, God is with us, ready to lead us and speak to us, it is part of our inheritance. Just like when God anointed Joshua, he told him nothing could stand against him. Like Joshua, as a believer nothing can stand against us all the days of our life, he is with us always and will never leave us as we see in Joshua 1:5:
“No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
God is with you too, just like he was with David as Psalms 78:70-72 says:
He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.
He took David from a shepherd of sheep, to the shepherd of a nation. He can and will do this with you as well if you let him. Go to the rooftop to seek him, and you will find your hidden treasure and inheritance. Exodus 34:9 references Moses when speaking about anointing and the inheritance that comes from being his anointed:
“Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”
In the Old Testament his inheritance meant that the Lord goes with them. Now our inheritance is that the Lord is always with us, literally always with us once we accept Jesus:
Once we are anointed by accepting Jesus, The Holy Spirit meets us on the rooftop and gently leads us where the Father wants to take us. My inheritance is that the Lord goes with me always…I charge myself and you today after reading his word, to keep doing what your doing. God will use the mundane and ash of my past, and of your past, and turn it into the fruit of your future.
Just like the many great men of faith who went up on the rooftop, so did Peter,
In Acts 11:5-14 Peter went up on the roof to pray:
Ac 11:5-14
About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.
When he was obedient to God’s leading he went to the rooftop to pray, and the fruit of obedience was that he fell into a trance, heaven opened up, and he had a vision. So rooftop not only means elevated mindset on focusing on the things from above, but also means when you are on the rooftop you are living in prayer. Rooftop also is referenced when seeking healing in Luke 5:18-20:
Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
Men tried to seek healing for a sick friend by carrying their friend into the house to lay before Jesus. They were unsuccessful, so they did what? They went up on the roof and lowered him into Jesus. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they went up to the rooftop before they were able to seek healing for their friend. Everything in scripture references scripture and this scripture in Luke 5 is referenced from 1 Samuel and in Matthew 24.
So Being on the rooftop, is stepping out in faith before we know the outcome. It is the inheritance taken hold of once we are anointed by God, living as His chosen child. Living on the rooftop is meeting God and knowing he is always with you. It is living life unafraid of the things of this world, and setting our eyes on eternity. It is being in constant prayer and seeking healing before King Jesus. It’s believing that He is our everything, and that he can do everything His word says he can do. It is living in elevated state of mind “keeping our mind on the things that are from above(Colossians 3:1-2).” It is also as Matthew 24:17 says:
“Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house.”
In other words, it is being focused on eternity, staying in our housetop mentality, not being tempted to go down into the house to get our cherished worldly possessions. After the word says this in verse 17, in verse 21-22 talks about the coming days of great distress the world is moving towards:
For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
I find it so amazing that our God weaves together hidden meaning in His Word revealed afresh everyday through the Holy Spirit. It is days like today, when the Holy Spirit speaks so loud to me, I see the word of God as a physical living entity, the text comes alive (Hebrews 4:12-13).
Housetop (Matthew 24) is also referenced as a call to be unafraid of the world, to think eternally and know that victory is coming. He has overcome the world, HE KNOWS THE BEGINNING FROM THE END as Revelation 21:6 says:
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
We know He is victorious. The last, and maybe most import call of the word rooftop is mentioned in Luke 12 calls us to proclaim from the roof the message of Jesus:
Luke 12:2-5
There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.⭐️
“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
It encourages us to proclaim the sweet whispers of the Holy Spirit that we hear spoken to us in the inner rooms or heart of our temple (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). We need to take what is hidden to the world, but exposed by the Holy Spirit to believers, and to unashamedly proclaim his truth, love, and victory from the rooftop. It says that those who don’t know Jesus have a veil over them, unable to see the truth in 2 Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 3:14-18
But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Only through belief in Jesus the Christ is the veil taken away. If you and I don’t share the good news, the world will never know Him. In this current and coming age of persecution of the church, it gives encouragement to not be afraid of the things on this earth. As believers we should live knowing that nothing can harm us (psalm 91:9-12, Jeremiah 32:17, and Luke 10:19), but we also need to have healthy fear of our maker. We need to LIVE on the ROOFTOP in obedience to the King of Kings, because he and only he controls the destiny of humanity as Matthew 10:26-28 describes:
“So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
His cry to his sons and daughters now, as it has always been, that we should live as those expectant for his ever approaching arrival. In the Old Testament when the King was about to arrive or be anointed a trumpet was blown, as seen when Solomon was anointed as King in 1 Kings 1:39-43:
Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” And all the people went up after him, playing pipes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound.
Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they were finishing their feast. On hearing the sound of the trumpet, Joab asked, “What’s the meaning of all the noise in the city?”
Even as he was speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in. A worthy man like you must be bringing good news.”
“Not at all!” Jonathan answered. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king.
Just as the trumpet was blown before the birth of Jesus to announce good news or the arrival of the coming King, our call today, in the now, is to blow the trumpet, or proclaim his truth from the rooftops.
His promise to us when we meet him on the rooftop is this in Hebrews 13:5-8:
Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
If he met the ancients on the rooftops of their lives, he will meet you today. So focus on the things from above, meet him on the rooftop, live proclaiming his truth to the world in chaos, be separate, set apart, and minister to others through your life. Be obedient where he has led you, and even if it seems mundane, it is sometimes in the mundane and the broken that he prepares you for your true call. And you never know you could be that lowly shepherd of sheep that is faithful in little, that becomes a leader for his kingdom, a shepherd of people.
Luke 12:8-9“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.
Scripture mentioned but not used
Colossians 3:1-2
Living as Those Made Alive in Christ
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Hebrews 4:12-13
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Body as a temple: 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
Nothing can harm you:
Psalms 91:9-12
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
Jeremiah 32:17
“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
Luke 10:19
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you
Ashes are my Beauty 