Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (17 page)

He said, “Friday night in the prayer meeting as we were praying, I heard a sound and I looked up and I saw a mantle coming toward me. It looked like a shawl that would go over your shoulders and it was completely black. Because of the black color, I resisted receiving it because I thought the color could perhaps represent sin. The Lord saw my hesitancy and so He spoke to me and said, “What color is gunpowder?” I said, “Lord, its black.” He replied, “This is a mantle of
heavenly gunpowder
, I desire for you to receive it!” The pastor yielded his heart to receive and he said that black mantle descended and gently came to rest upon his shoulders.

The pastor then announced to the church, “Today Brother Steven is here with us and he and I are going to minister to the sick. I’m going to put this new mantle into action right now. If you are sick, come forward in faith and you will be healed by the power of God.” As I stood there that day next to him, it was a joy to see that anointing of healing power flow out of his hands and go right into the diseased areas of people’s bodies. The Lord opened my eyes to see it in the spirit realm. It looked like a pure, white liquid substance flowing out of his hands. There was some power present that day and notable miracles took place as he and I did a tag-team attack on sickness and disease.

The meeting that morning lasted much longer than normal because of the glorious time we were all having in the Lord. After it was over, the pastor and I both were physically tired. Along with our wives, we decided to go get something light to eat. We thought a coffee house would be good because we could all use a good coffee. We randomly picked a coffee house in an area of town that neither of us had gone to before. I ended up getting my coffee first, so I went and grabbed a table that was outside in a pretty atrium setting. I sat down in the chair and took a big drink of my coffee. It sure tasted good. It’s nice to enjoy the fruit of your labors!

When I sat my drink down on the table I noticed for the first time strange writing all over the table. It appeared someone had taken a can of spray-paint and sprayed in big black letters all over the table the words “
Heavenly Gunpowder
.” At that moment Kelly and the other pastor and his wife arrived at the table. I told them to look at the table. When the pastor saw it
he almost dropped his coffee. He said, “I wouldn’t have believed that unless I saw it with my own eyes!” Kelly went back inside the coffee house to ask them what this meant. The worker at the counter said, “Oh, that’s the name of a Chinese tea we sell here. It has a real kick!” We all rejoiced at this divine confirmation while we thanked God for His explosive healing power.

God has a mantle that’s unique for you. Prepare your heart to receive God’s very best for your life. I’ve discovered that the Lord has a sense of humor. You can expect God to connect with you in a way that is unmistakably Him.

Once when I was ministering in Southern California I had a friend who is a ministry partner call me and suggest that I contact a Christian friend of hers who is an international businessman who was in town for a few days. My friend who lives in Los Angeles said to me, “I know you don’t know this man, but I believe you are supposed to meet him.” I said, “Okay, where is he staying?” “At the Beverly Hills Hilton,” she replied. I got the businessman’s telephone number from my friend and called him to set up an appointment just for him and me to fellowship and get to know one another. I drove over to the hotel and met him on a certain day for lunch.

During our lunch conversation we had a great talk as we both discussed certain issues that the Holy Spirit was emphasizing for the Church. During our talk, I felt certain the Holy Spirit would share with me a prophetic word for this man, but
I never could get anything to share. I’ve learned over the years that if you don’t have anything from the Spirit of God then don’t manufacture something in the flesh. The only leading I got from the Holy Spirit was to share with this man a small book I had written called, “
Where are the Mantles?”
This was the first book I had written and it was self-published. After our meal, I gave him a copy of my book which was actually a very short, abbreviated form of the up-to-date and greatly expanded book you are now holding in your hands. He thanked me for the book and for our time together and then we both went our separate ways.

Two days later I received a call from this man. He said the day he received my book he read it later that night while at the hotel. It only took him a little less then an hour to read all the way through it because it wasn’t very long. After completing the book, he then prayed and sincerely asked God to give to him the mantle that was assigned for him.

He then shared with me how the next day he was supposed to have flown from Los Angeles to Switzerland for a business meeting but he decided to make a detour and stop at a certain church in Northern California to see some friends. While at this church he was told that there was a prophetess who happened to be there. His friends asked him if he would be open to allow this woman of God to minister to him prophetically. As a Spirit-filled believer he said, “Sure, I love prophecy. Let’s see what she has to say.” They took him to meet her, and when the prophetess saw the businessman she said, “Step forward!” As he stepped forward, she looked at him with spiritual vision and
she said to him, “You’ve got the wrong mantle on, step backward.” As he stepped back, the woman of God reached her hand behind him and made a cutting motion with her arm, appearing to be severing the hindering plans of the enemy that had frustrated this man’s finances. Having done this she then said, “Step forward. You now have a new mantle. It is the mantle you have asked the Lord for. It is a mantle of gold.”

Remember, when the Lord gives you a mantle—a special anointing—it will identify with who God made you to be. The Lord knows how to tie things together. The Lord gave this man a mantle of gold. What the prophetess did not know was that this man had just asked to receive his heavenly mantle, and she was also not aware that a primary facet of his business dealings involve investments in gold. Since that day, my businessman friend has continued to move forward in his particular calling of international investment with increased authority and anointing from the Lord. When God calls you to accomplish a certain task, He will also place upon you the mantle to get the job done.

Several years back at a pastor’s conference held in Southern California, the Lord had me minister from the Bible on the subject of mantles. After completing my teaching, the Holy Spirit moved upon my heart to minister prophetically to several individuals in the audience.

A young married couple had come forward who wanted to receive prayer. As soon as I saw them, my eyes were opened in the spirit realm and I could see from Heaven two mantles floating down and coming to rest across their shoulders. Keep in mind that I saw this in the Spirit through the gift of discerning of spirits. In the natural realm they were both wearing nice dress clothes that people normally wear to church. In the
Spirit, however, I saw them each having a beautiful cloth that was intricately embroidered with all types of flowers draped over their shoulders.

Out loud I said, “You are both called to preach the Gospel in Holland!” In the Holy Spirit, I knew the flowers represented Holland. They both fell backward and were gently lowered to the floor by the ushers standing behind them. The pastor of the church then walked up and I passed him the microphone, and he said, “Brother Steven does not know this, but in several months I will be leaving to go and preach the Gospel in Holland, and the Lord told me to take this young couple with me.”

Mantles from Heaven are still falling today. I’ve seen it happen many times. When my wife and I moved from out West and across the country to Moravian Falls, North Carolina, we did not know anybody in the whole state of North Carolina. We simply moved there by faith based upon the leading of the Holy Spirit. It has now been a few years since that move and we now have many wonderful friendships that the Lord has established.

I remember one interesting event that took place when we were still brand new to the area. We had been out on the road ministering from state to state while traveling in our motor home. After having been on the road non-stop for over three months, we returned to Moravian Falls. At this time, we still had all of our belongings in a local storage facility and we would stay at a large guest lodge when we were in town. We stayed at this lodge for a short period of time while we were locating a place to live. When I pulled the motor home up to the
lodge after such a long trip, I was physically tired from having driven all day long and also from having been on the road for such an extended period of time. It was about 5 P.M. when we arrived at the lodge.

As I stepped out of the motor home and stretched my legs, I was thanking the Lord for helping us complete another long ministry circuit of coast to coast travel with lots of ministry packed into it. While I was just walking around relaxing, I came across a friend who was going into the lodge. This woman was one of only four people whom my wife and I had met during our brief time in the town. We were still so new that we only knew four people! When she saw me, she said, “Hey, I’m hosting a minister’s meeting tonight at the lodge. Why don’t you and your wife come and join us?” I thanked her for the invitation and told her we would think about. To be honest, I didn’t want to go because I was tired and also because the meeting was going to start in only forty-five minutes.

After driving all day, I sure didn’t look my best. Driving over five hundred miles every day had made my head feel like I was still moving, even though I was standing on solid ground. It’s kind of like being on a ship for a long time. When you leave the ship and get back on land it takes a little getting used to. Also, driving a large motor home is not like driving a car. It takes a higher level of concentration and consideration of what is going on around you. Yet, even though I was tired, in my heart I knew the Lord wanted Kelly and I to be at that meeting. So, after a quick shave, shower and a change of clothes I was ready to go. We got there just as the meeting started.

My friend who invited Kelly and me to come was leading the praise and worship as she sang and played the guitar. There were about 40 people present for this informal fellowship. Kelly and I took a seat over to the side of the room and we joined in on the singing. We all sang and worshipped the Lord together for about 25 minutes. After that, my friend who was leading the singing sat down and said, “Well, I’m glad we are all here tonight. Does anyone have anything from the Lord that they would like to share?” A woman who was visiting from Tulsa, Oklahoma said, “Yes, I would like to share something. Last night I had a dream about mantles. I believe the Lord wants to do something tonight regarding mantles.”

Then, another woman sitting on the other side of the room in response to the first comment said, “I just read a book by someone named Steven Brooks. He has written a book about mantles.”

Then, one of the older men sitting in the room said, “I think the guy who wrote that book walked in tonight.” Almost simultaneously, it seemed like the majority of the group at once said, “Ah, there’s no way he would be here!”

Sitting over in the corner, I smiled, raised my hand and said, “Praise God, I’m here!” The whole room started laughing joyfully. It was an obvious set-up from the Lord. The man who saw me come into the meeting had previously read my book and had seen my picture on the back cover. He recognized me from my picture. The leader who was hosting the meeting
looked at me with a big smile and said, “Well then, Steven, come on up here and teach us about mantles.”

That night, I taught on the subject of mantles and then prayed and asked the Lord to release the mantles intended for those present in the meeting. Five people had there spiritual eyes opened by the Holy Spirit to see mantles falling through the roof of the building and coming to rest upon certain individuals. What a wonderful time we had in the Holy Spirit. And that, by the way, is how the Lord introduced me to the community of Moravian Falls. I’ve found that if you have a gifting from the Lord, then the Lord will promote you. There’s no need to knock down doors and strain to try and make something hap-pen. Your gifting will cause you to be found out.

Even though mantles are being bestowed upon the Body of Christ to complete the assignments of Heaven, there still needs to be cooperation on our part. Often, before a mantle can be received, one needs to be taken off. We see this in the story of blind Bartimaeus. This man was blind and he sat by the side of the road and begged. When he heard that Jesus was passing by, he began to call out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Even though the crowd around him tried to silence him, he kept speaking out louder than before. The statement
Son of David
was a testimony that this man believed Jesus was the Messiah. The scribes had taught that the Messiah would descend from David and that he would be identified as the
Son of David
. This was a declaration of faith.

Earlier in His ministry, Jesus went to minister in His hometown of Nazareth and there the people called Him the
Son of Mary
(see Mark 6). This was a derogatory title spoken on purpose to voice the mutual disrespect that the people of Nazareth had for Jesus. In Nazareth, Jesus marveled at the unbelief of the people and could not do any mighty works. But Bartimaeus was different. Jesus understood what the statement
Son of David
implied. This is why He stopped and called for Bartimaeus to come to Him.

It’s very important to realize what Bartimaeus did when Jesus called for him. Let’s look at it closely.