Wednesday, November 26, 2014

At the Cross


“If you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” Isaiah 1:19

The total area of my life which was brought under His sovereign authority when I made Jesus the “Lord” of my life is “the good of the land”. Each day there is a progressive awareness of the commitment that I have made to His Lordship. His sovereignty must extend to every area of my life.  Each day I must confirm His total control over my life and circumstances. This commitment will be tested many times as I am presented with the opportunity to make choices. If I yield my will and make the choice to be obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit at that moment of testing then I will be changed, as that "New Creation" life of the Lord is released within me.  I am changed from "glory to glory" from "faith to faith" and from “strength to strength”. The Lord is always present during these testing’s waiting to see how we respond and react to the circumstance that he has placed before us. As we make our choices for the Lord his abiding presence will grow in our lives and manifest itself in ways we never imagined both in the "here and now" and throughout eternity. It is pleasing to The Lord to come to visit the “Garden” of our life circumstance to see how the choices we have made have extended His dominion into new areas of our life. Each choice has a consequence and our failures can be traced to the choices we have made. The Lord will shine His redemptive light into our heart to reveal choices we have made and attitudes in our heart that are not compatible with where He desires to take us. The old wine skins will burst if we don’t allow this ever deepening work of repentance to take place. This division of soul and spirit will reveal the thoughts and intents of our heart and bring us to a place where we are completely undone. We are emptied and filled many times. The capacity to be a channel for His endtime Glory is the new wine skin. He must increase until we are brought to a place of complete dependency on Him. Many are called but few will choose to endure this process and be reduced to this level. There are many seeker friendly gospels being proclaimed that are dripping with sweet words of man’s wisdom. They are easy to spot because the Cross is missing.

Luke 9:23 (KJV)
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Our Makeup



The Lord prompted me to create this diagram that shows some of the aspects of our makeup.
I hope to touch on each dimension in future posts as the Lord quickens. 
There is always a price for everything we do. And, it's a different price for different souls, at different times.
Sometimes the "cost" isn't made clear until years down the road. But one thing is clear, the power of choice 
now rests with us. As we walk with The Lord and desire more of His presence we become sensitized to The 
Holy Spirit. We become keenly aware of things that are harmful to spiritual life. It becomes important to rightly
choose what we "see" and "hear" because we literally take it into our being.  Our eyes are truly the 
windows to our hearts and souls, and likewise our ears.  What we choose to see and listen to, ends up residing 
within us and will ultimately find some type of expression. 

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4.24)

"For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. (Luke 8:17) 

The things of the world are as weights that keep us from running the race of The High Calling in Christ.
There is a day dawning when everything will be revealed. Ultimately what resides within our hearts
will be known. We can fill that place with things from this life or we can surrender all to The Lord
and become an expression of His Life. In Revelations the overcomer is as a "sea of glass". A life that
has become a transparent expression of His Life. Guard your heart each day with all diligence.
It is from the abundance (what we allow in) of the heart that the mouth speaks. It is the very essence
of who we are. All that is of eternal value flows from within our spirit as love that can fill our hearts
with His Life. All that the enemy would seek to do comes from without. We choose each day to fill
our hearts with things of the spirit realm or things of the natural realm. Temporary things or Eternal things. 
Light or darkness....Life or death.....May we choose Life…

Matthew 6:22-23
22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.                                                        23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness,
how great is that darkness!


Thursday, November 20, 2014

Testimony



The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”  Revelation 19:10

This “testimony” which the Lord desires to express is “imparted” within us through our times of communion with Him, as we “wait upon Him.”  As he quickens us, His “testimony” (that which He desires to say through us) becomes the ‘spirit of prophecy’ within us.

The “spirit of prophecy” goes beyond the prophetic gifts in function and purpose.  The “gift of prophecy” is an enabling that functions through our being yielded.  The “spirit of prophecy” flows out through our relationship to the Lord, which enables Him to speak through us.


This abiding prophetic anointing is the result of time spent in the presence of the Lord.  As we spend time with Him, we become increasingly more like Him and begin to understand His thoughts and desires – our lives becoming the expression of His life.  We will then have the right word, at the right time, to be given in the right place, to the right person.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Heart Door




“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”  Revelation 3:20

The Lord is knocking on the “heart door” of those who are actively desiring to better know Him – those who love His presence and are seeking to commune with Him on a higher level of relationship.

If these qualities are to attract the attention of the Lord so He will begin to knock upon your “heart door,” you must first spend quality time with Him by “waiting upon the Lord” in anticipation of His “knocking” upon the door of your spirit.

There are two steps in this process of “waiting upon the Lord.

“Blessed is the man that hears Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors.  For whoso finds Me finds life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord.”  Proverbs 8:34-35

In the first step, we look toward the gate (door) in worshipful anticipation, waiting for His presence to be manifested to us.  When the Lord responds, we can begin to “wait upon Him,” acknowledging His presence as being with us, and then actively “cooperate” with Him in whatever way He may lead or direct.


If there was ever a time when we need to be led by the Holy Spirit - our being in the right place, at the right time, with the right word, it is today.  We are to be good stewards of this “calling” by keeping ourselves available so we can hear and become a vessel through whom the Lord can speak.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Dissatisfaction



Let it be remembered that each time before there is spiritual progress in your life before God, you are brought into a place of pressure where there is a dissatisfaction with your current condition. All progress starts from dissatisfaction. You must be pressed to a point where you feel you have come to the end and that you just cannot continue on any longer in your current state. It is this spiritual hunger that refuses to be satisfied with anything in the natural realm that propels us into Gods best for us.

Monday, November 10, 2014

New Wine




“And no man puts new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.”  Luke 5:37-38


We are this bottle.  Jesus is telling us that we must have a capacity to hear a fresh word from Him that is beyond our present understanding.  We must have a spiritual ear and capacity to hear fresh revelation and understanding, beyond that which we heard in the past.

Friday, November 7, 2014

I Love Them




“I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me...That I may cause those that love Me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.”  Proverbs 8:17, 21

As we express our love for the Lord, it will bring a response from Him (I love them that love Me), lifting us into a higher level of communion and fellowship with Him.  As we look toward Jesus in an attitude of receiving, the “substance” of His being will flow into us, to change us into His image and likeness.

As we continue to dailywait on the Lord,” to receive the impartation of spiritual life and strength that is essential to our spiritual well being, there must be a parallel “crucifixion” of our natural, soulish life.  This is accomplished as we commit to the cross all things which are contrary to our spiritual development - that seek to hinder or replace our times of waiting before the Lord.

The Lord will, through this process of crucifixion, remove the agitations and all that rebels against our becoming “still” before Him.  We must pass through this time of “processing” before we will be able to fully experience the release of spiritual life that the Lord desires to make available to us.

Our ability to “wait upon the Lord” will increase as we “wait upon the Lord.”  As desirable and well intentioned as they may be, relationships with other Christians will never nurture or satisfy our spiritual hunger.


There must be the lifting of our being into a “vertical” relationship with the Lord - an intimate, personal coming to the Lord Himself, as coming to a person who desires to be known.  As we “wait in His presence,” He will make Himself known to us.  Then, we will be better able to fellowship one with another.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Making Him Lord


Acts 17:28 (ASV)
for in him we live, and move, and have our being; 

The Fruit of Making Him Lord is.....

His consistency in my devotion,
His fervency in my prayers,
His simplicity in my lifestyle,
His humility in my attitude,
His purity in my motives,
His faithfulness in my commitments,
His unselfishness in my relationships,
His forgiveness in my conflicts,
His gentleness in my actions,
His kindness in my marriage.
His blessings in my brokenness,
His strength in my weakness,
His courage in my convictions,
His joy in my circumstances,
His will in my priorities.
His contentment in my disappointments,
His wisdom in my decisions,
His discipline in my day,
His vision in my dreams.
His purpose in my steps,
His peace in my storms,
His presence in my home,
His power in my life.
His tears in my eyes,
His voice in my ears,
His thoughts in my mind,
His work in my hands,
His words in my mouth,
His love in my heart.

Making Him Lord means that..... .
in me,
with me,
around me,
before me,
behind me,
below me,
above me . . .
I've been saturated with more of . . . JESUS!

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: 
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, 
who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 KJV

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Growth Process 3



In practical kingdom business growth there is a process involved in the word from heaven becoming manifest into the natural world.
Patience is required to reap a harvest. There is a space of time between the planting and the production. Our part is to patiently wait for the harvest and to care for the soil and the growing seedling or plant. There is nothing we can do to make the seed have life. God puts the life into the seed, and He causes it to sprout and grow. We can and must, however, provide the proper atmosphere, nutrients and care for the seed to grow to fruition.
This means holding on to the idea or vision even when we cannot see anything with our natural eye that indicates the idea is growing. The larger the idea or vision the longer the gestation period. A large work like a large animal or plant takes a much longer time. A chicken is birthed in only three weeks and is fully-grown in about twelve weeks. A human baby is birthed in nine months and takes about twenty years to be reach maturity. You can grow a radish in the garden in a few weeks; an oak tree will take many years.
The vision may be lost if we abandon it. Many worthy works planted by God in the hearts of men have failed to come to fruition because they were prematurely abandoned. If a brood hen sitting on eggs leaves the nest even one day too soon, all the chicks in the eggs will be lost.
The seed planted in the soil dies and is reborn a living plant. This eliminates any potential of human effort adulterating the pure supernatural natural growth process. The temptation is to abandon God's plan during the time of the death and rebirth transformation.
John 12:24: "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
Just as a natural gardener works to care for the soil keeping it loosened so that it does not become too hard for the seed to grow, we must keep our heart-soil tender by forgiving and receiving healing for all offenses that can press down and harden our heart. The soil must be kept moist and the temperature in the proper range by the presence of the Holy Spirit. We must keep the weeds of useless words (bad seeds) out of our soil. Useless, negative words or thoughts will grow weeds that rob nutrients from the good seed and prevent them from growing properly. 
We must not only allow time for growth, we must also allow space. Seeds that are going to produce a large plant will require more space in the soil of our heart. Planting too many seeds in too small a space will cause them to grow improperly and bear little or no fruit. After the plants are up and growing, it may be necessary to remove some of them in order that there will be adequate space for growth. With some plants, it will be necessary to prune or trim the limbs to provide space on the plant for good fruit to grow. 
Keeping the weeds out means taking every thought captive. We must remove the thoughts that would hinder the growth of the growing vision. Negative thoughts of doubt, worry, and fear will choke the vision. The enemy of the vision will always attempt to plant the seed that “you cannot do it”, or “you are just not capable enough to do whatever God has said.” He is exactly right. We cannot do it. We are not supposed to be able to do it. God does it!  We must hear, believe, and obey what God tells us to do next. The earth brings forth the crop by itself. 
Thinning the plants means that we may need to lay down some really good ideas in order to concentrate on the more important vision. Our heart-soil just is not big enough and enriched enough to bring forth all the good ideas in the world at one time. If there are too many ideas or visions in one heart, none of them will grow well.
Trimming and pruning branches means cutting off excessive or wild growth of the vision. Too many branches on a fruit tree may cause the fruit to be small and may cause disease because sunlight cannot enter. Branches that are too long or improperly shaped may break when the fruit nears maturity. We may need to limit parts of the idea or vision as it grows.   
We are the manager of our garden. What we choose to hear and believe, what and how we think, are the seeds that will produce our life and affect change in the world. Setting our minds on things above and meditating the things of Christ produces the life of Christ and heaven. Bad thinking always produces bad life. God thinking always produces quality life. The difference between the man who tries hard but always accomplishes little in the kingdom and the man who is of much valuable service is what each hears and believes. In other words, how they manage their gardens.
All the seemingly unrelated negative events that consistently happen to the unproductive man are the product of bad seeds growing to fruition. All the seemingly unrelated doors of opportunity and blessings that consistently come to the productive man are the results of good seeds. Nothing happens until somebody believes something.
Remember “the earth yields crops by itself.”  We cannot make growth, but we must care for the soil, thin and trim the plants, protect the seedling from a hostile environment and predators, pull the weeds, shoo off the birds, and above all, keep the soil moist with the presence of the Holy Spirit through prayer. Communing with God in prayer and meditating the word (thought, vision, seed) in the Holy Spirit is the process by which the natural growth and eventual harvest will come.
Prayer and meditation is speaking to and hearing God. Speaking to and hearing God does not only involve audible words. Communing with God also involves speaking and hearing by pictures and feelings. It is seeing and feeling what God is saying as well as praying visions and feelings to Him.
Prayer and meditation is experiencing in the spiritual realm what God desires to bring into the natural realm.
To intimately commune with God, one must come to a place of inner quiet where the thoughts and distractions of the world can be silenced. Close your eyes, quiet your soul, and seek to enter into the presence of the Father. Ask God what He wants to do with your life today and wait quietly before Him. When you have a clear word, a vision from God, meditate it in your spiritual mind. Look at it. Understand it. Get to know it. See it happening. Feel how it feels. Then pray the vision back to God. With the vision in your spirit, go to Him and ask Him to give you the vision He has shown you. Daily continue praying this way. You will find that the vision will change some. It will become more detailed with a little more of this and a little less of that as God continues to clarify the vision in you. 
You are now pregnant with the word from God. The vision is now alive within you. Allow yourself to become excited as you feel the first movements of the living vision within you. Original creation is beginning to be reshaped as the vision in the spiritual realm begins to impact the physical realm. All over the world things may begin to move or adjust in order to set the stage to bring about the vision that God has placed in your heart as a seed. 
Next, begin to speak the vision out loud into the earth. Share it with those who can hear. Let your passion for the vision come forth as you speak it to others as God directs. You may need to begin writing it down or sketching it out on paper. Don’t be alarmed if the vision is a thousand times greater than you think possible. Remember it is God’s baby; He will bring it to birth.

Be faithful to pray the vision and be ready to take whatever next step the Lord shows you. Wait and watch for the opportunities and circumstances that in time will appear before you to birth the vision.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Growth Process 2



Psalm 127:1-2: Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.  
The heart of man is God's spiritual/natural interface. Spirit God and physical earth meet in the heart of man. Two realms meet heaven and earth connect in the heart of man.
The pure heart of man is like a fruitful garden. It receives spiritual seed from God and grows it into the natural world. (The earth yields crops by itself.)
The soil must be moistened and protected by the life giving brooding of the Holy Spirit. 
The pure heart of man is God’s production center on earth that fills the world with God’s plan and rule. Only the pure heart of man is the wife of God capable of intimately relating to Him, receiving seed from Him and giving birth to God’s plan and rule into the earth. If we love God and intimately relate to Him, we will receive His seed and become pregnant with God’s plan. If, however, we love another god, its seeds will be planted in us.
THE FIRST AND SUPREME SEED OF THE KINGDOM IS CHIRST JESUS
The kingdom of God is Christ Jesus. The Seed of God was sown into the world when Christ became a man to redeem and restore the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
All who receive Christ Jesus are seeded with the King and the kingdom of God. The King and the kingdom of heaven is planted in the heart soil of God’s people by the Holy Spirit. The presence and power of God in Christ Jesus are in the world through us to release the kingdom of heaven on earth. The seed of the Son of God in us planted by our lives into others produces many sons of God on earth.
Things in the world are changed through the process of the seed and natural growth.  We cannot change our character and actions by trying hard. Trying to stop doing something we want to do, or trying to start doing something we do not want to do will not make permanent changes. We must change what we hear, what we think and what we believe. We must receive new seed, the seed of Christ that will grow and change who we are and what we want to do.
Every word from God within us is a seed that can grow into the natural world. Man shall live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Christ Jesus is the Word from God. Every vision, thought, feeling or communication in any form from God is through Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit of God. Christ in us is the hope of glory.
Luke 8:15: But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience (endurance). 

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Growth Process 1


In the kingdom we cannot build a life, a business or a ministry. We cannot build the kingdom of God. Everything of the kingdom of God must grow from a seed from God through a heavenly natural growth process. We must receive good seed in good soil and let the earth grow it. Indeed, this is a great mystery.
We will become what we hear and believe (receive) in our hearts.  “As you believe, so be it unto you.” “Your faith has made you well.”  “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” “With God all things are possible.”  “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”  
Natural things are often pictures that can be used to show us spiritual things. Consider the natural growth process of a stalk of wheat that begins with a dormant seed. The seed placed in good soil sprouts and soon grows roots below ground and a small green blade breaks through above ground. The green blade grows and becomes a stalk. Then, a head begins to form on top. Next, the grain begins to grow in the head. The mature seeds in the head are seeds like the one that was planted. The seeds left alone will dry and eventually fall upon the ground and begin the process over again except there are a multiplied number of seeds.
A seed (word, thought, vision) planted in our heart-soil becomes a belief as it sprouts. The belief becomes a conviction as it grows a blade. A conviction becomes our attitude as it grows a head. Our attitudes become our actions as the full grain in the head becomes seeds (words & actions) sown from our lives into the world to sprout and grow into the natural world.
This is the supernatural natural process of bringing the desires and plans of God from heaven into the natural world. By this process, spiritual seed/word/vision from heaven becomes natural reality in the world. Through this growth process the world can be changed to become as it is in heaven.
 
Mark 4:26-32: And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
And He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.”

1 Corinthians 3:6: I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.