"For As this Age Ends, Certainly Heaven Will Be Within Reach"

Since time began, the Kingdom of Heaven has been an interactive reality in man's destiny. God (and angels) spoke to man "from Heaven" (Genesis 21:17; 22:11; 22:15), the Lord gave man promises and blessings from Heaven (Genesis 24:7; 49:25), and when necessary brought judgments upon wicked men "out of Heaven" (Genesis 19:24).
Indeed, the revelation of God's Kingdom in the Sacred Writ is no incidental issue. The Bible records several hundred verses where Heaven or God's Kingdom is mentioned in its various phrasings. It is this Kingdom that I'd like us to consider, first as it is revealed in the Old Testament and then as it was manifest in power through Christ in the New Testament. Our focus will remain upon God, of course, yet we must also learn of that realm that surrounds the Most High: His eternal abode.
This realm called Heaven is not only "real," but it is "an everlasting Kingdom" that "endures throughout all generations" (Psalm 145:13). Nations rise and fall, men and cultures emerge in pride and vanity only to disappear, yet God's Kingdom abides forever.
The Time is Fulfilled
For all the references to Heaven in the Old Testament, with few exceptions, the actual life of Heaven remained remote and inaccessible to the common man. Israel had the Law and the Prophets; it had moments of glory and divine visitation. Yet, the Kingdom of God was greater than even Israel's standards of righteousness.
It was out of Israel that the Messiah came, yet His message was not a restoration of the Law. It was the proclamation of God's Kingdom. Both Jesus and His forerunner, John the Baptist, heralded the same incredible word:
"The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel" (Mark 1:15).
The time was fulfilled? Yes, a new dispensation had arrived! The Kingdom of God was at hand? Yes, Heaven was within the reach of men. The realm of God had come near! The message of the Kingdom was without precedent, yet it was so! Every manner of sickness was healed instantly at the touch of Jesus' hands, for Heaven was at hand! The demonically tormented were instantly set free, for Heaven empowered Jesus.
Yet, as the Holy Spirit empowered Christ, so He empowered and commissioned His disciples, and Heaven manifested through them as well! Through the battalion of His disciples, the authority and compassion of Heaven flowed. They had power to heal, to deliver, even to raise the dead.
"And as you go, preach, saying, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand'" (Matthew 10:7).
Heaven, "at hand?" What did that mean, but that Heaven itself, once remote and inaccessible to common men, was now close enough to reach from where men were.
Beloved, this is what Jesus said Church should look like! Healing, deliverance, power: the Kingdom of Heaven manifested through the lives of surrendered, yet believing men and women. And this is what the Church will look like before Jesus returns.
This Gospel of the Kingdom
Jesus knew there would be a great falling away from God's Kingdom. He warned of false prophets and teachers arising to mislead many. Certainly, we have seen our share of watered-down, superficial Christianity. Yet in spite of our failings, Jesus made a remarkable prediction. He said,
"This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14).
In spite of a great falling away, there is a great gathering back to God's Kingdom. Let us hear Christ's words with faith. He said before the "end shall come" and He returns, the Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached to all nations. He did not say that the whole world would be subdued before He returns, but that the whole world would witness the Kingdom of Heaven, preached with power, before His return.
Let me emphasize His reassuring point. He said, "This Gospel" – that is, His Gospel, His teaching, the "words in red." If we focus on becoming like Him in obedience to His words, He promises to increasingly accompany our preaching with His power to perform miracles, signs and wonders.
He said, "This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached." Not the Gospel only of salvation (as wonderful as it is!), but also the message of the Kingdom. The Gospel of salvation is free. We cannot access the Kingdom without experiencing salvation by faith in God's grace. Yet, many in the Church have been parked in the realm of salvation without ever seeing and believing the promise of God's Kingdom.
Beloved, our theology has been diluted by unbelief and dead traditions. We need to return to the words of Christ. We need to press into the reality of God's Kingdom. For as this age ends, certainly Heaven will be within reach.

Francis Frangipane

Elijahlist

"Future Battles - Victory Belongs to the Lord!"

Missiles that Loiter
Recently, I watched one of those cable shows about modern technology in which they described a new breed of "missiles." These missiles have the ability to loiter. Up to this point I always thought "loitering" was something that was prohibited. In the small town where I grew up, I can still remember the local policeman walking up to groups of kids standing beneath the "No Loitering Allowed" signs and telling them, "Move along."
Modern missiles can now be launched from hundreds of miles away and sent into a targeted region before an attack begins. Computer savvy warriors fly these missiles in a way similar to a kid using a joystick to play a video game. Once the missiles arrive in the targeted region they simply fly around in circles, loitering behind a nearby mountain range just out of enemy radar.
When the time is right, and the target is acquired, a new command is sent to the on-board computer and the smart missile flies over the mountain range and into the adjacent valley, destroying the target. Depending on the fuel economy mode, some of these missiles can do this for hours and even days if needed.
Our Prayers Are Being Sent Up to Loiter Until the Time When the Commander of Our Faith Releases Them
As I heard of this futuristic weaponry, I thought of prayer and the warfare each Christian faces. Many of us pray for the immediate needs of our families and ministries—the things we see and feel, but have you considered that God has us pray for future battles?
In future battles, when our lives have yet to arrive on a distant battlefield, our current prayers are being sent up into eternity to loiter until the time when the Commander of our faith releases them into a future target.
As the Spirit prompts us to pray, our prayers are gathered and then, in God's perfect battle plan, delivered back into time in a massive onslaught against the encampments of hell. Our prayers wait for the voice of the Lord to deliver their payload of victory.
Revelation 5:8 describes an end-time scenario that speaks of stored prayers that are released at a later date:
"And when He took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God's people."
Some of the prayers that will be released in Revelation 5 will be thousands of years old. You and I are praying some of those prayers right now. In these golden bowls are the prayers of the Apostle Paul and other Believers from the early Church. In these golden bowls are the prayers of the persecuted Church of today coming from some distant village deep inside China. The bowls in Heaven contain prayers that span thousands of years of Kingdom history.
The Battle Always Belongs to the Lord
In the Book of Joshua the great warrior is about to die. He is reviewing Israel's history and future with God and how their battles will be fought. In Joshua 24:12-13, Joshua, speaking for the Lord, said:
"And I sent terror ahead of you to drive out the two kings of the Amorites. It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory. I gave you land you had not worked on, and I gave you towns you did not build—the towns where you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them."
Maybe this is what Paul was talking about when he told us to "put on our spiritual battle garb and simply stand." You and I may show up on a battlefield dressed for war with a sword and a bow, but the battle always belongs to the Lord.
Before We Arrived God Became a Terror to the Things that Terrify Us; Blessed Be His Name!
Throughout history, the Church has walked among the ruins of hell's encampment, knowing that God had gone before them. We, also, will walk into places of victory. We will realize that the prayers of our ancestors have been poured out upon our impossible situations. We will be humbled and amazed at what we see around us.
Can you imagine what it will be like to know that many of us are about to walk onto battlefields where we will see the enemy already devastated? Many will walk into the shattered encampments of hell and know that something supernatural has visited the battlefield prior to their arrival.
As we come upon these places of victory, what should our response be? As the ruins of hell smolder around us, God is asking His people to raise up the sound of worship that may contain words like these:
"God has visited this place in power before our arrival. The sword and bow we brought to the battle did not secure the victory. Before we arrived God became a terror to the things that terrify us. He has poured out His glory and the prayers of His saints and has devastated the work of hell in this place. This victory belongs to the Lord! Blessed be His Name!"
Garris Elkins

Living Waters Church

Elijahlist

Day1

The BeginningIn the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).

Understanding the beginning is the beginning of understanding. The first verse in the Bible may include the four most important words ever written—"in the beginning God." The understanding of this one verse is the foundation upon which all truth is based. Before we can comprehend the end of the age, or our present purposes, we must first understand the beginning. This is the foundation upon which everything else is built. "In the beginning God"—these four words are worthy of a lifetime of study, and will be the basis upon which an eternity of worship will be founded. We exist because of God. We, therefore, owe Him everything. He alone is worthy of our worship and devotion. At the end of the age, the most pressing philosophical controversies still revolve around our origin. This is understandable because when we answer this one question right, the answers to all other questions are possible. If we answer it wrong, the door opens to almost every form of darkness and deception. Just as the strength of a foundation will determine the magnitude of what can be built upon it, the depth to which we understand this one truth about our origin can determine the spiritual strength of our entire lives. When we understand that we had our beginning in God, and that He made us for His purposes, we are compelled to return to Him. The truth of our beginning is also the beginning of all truth. Since He made us, we are His. Therefore, His purpose and His plan must guide us. If God made us, then we can no longer claim to be the centers of this universe. He is the center. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is I Am. All things will be summed up in Him. Just as every compass will point to the magnetic north, all else will ultimately point to Him, the magnetic pole of truth. With this pole of truth in our hearts, we have a basis for every decision—what is His will? All things came from Him and all will return to Him. This is our destiny and the goal of our lives—to return to the One who made us, and to serve Him in all things. Also implied is the importance of all beginnings. How we begin our day will probably determine the quality of our day. How we begin our marriages will have a lot to do with the quality of our marriages. How we begin our jobs, ministries, or any other venture, will determine their foundations. How something is started is often the primary factor in the quality of what is finished. Projects begun on an impulse are just as quickly and easily abandoned. For any significant project that is accomplished, great care must be taken while laying the foundation. The foundation is the single part of any building that is used every day. If it collapses, the rest of the building will collapse. The Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 3:11, "For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." Knowing Jesus and abiding in Him is the foundation of our spiritual lives. We may build many things upon this foundation, and we may learn many great truths about His ways and His purposes. We may do great things for Him, but coming to Him every day, and doing all that we do with Him instead of just for Him, is essential if we are to bear true spiritual fruit. Paul also wrote in Ephesians 1:9-10:
He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. In Him. The ultimate purpose of God is that all things will be summed up in His Son. If we do not keep the ultimate purpose of God as the focus of our lives, and assure that all we do is founded in Him, we will continually be distracted by the lesser purposes of God. Many are distracted from the River of Life by the little tributaries that feed it. If you want to stay in the River, keep your focus on Jesus Christ in all things. No other foundation can be laid that will stand.

Day2
The Plan

And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep (see Genesis 1:2).The Hebrew word that is translated "without form" is tohuw (to'-hoo), which is defined as "a desolation, desert." In the KJV this word is also translated "confusion, empty place, nothing." The point is that the Holy Spirit can make a glorious creation out of the most desolate place. He can also bring forth a glorious new creation out of the most desolate, confused, and empty life. The most important step in any journey is the first one. If we are going to get where we are going, we must know where we are. The Lord also seems to delight in beginning with that which is formless and void. Or, we could say, He likes to start with a clean canvas. One of the most wonderful truths of Christianity is that when we come to Him, we are born again, and all things become new. Part of the good news of the gospel is that in Christ we can start all over. We do not just start a few things over, but everything! When the power of His cross begins to work in our lives, we are redeemed, and the power of redemption flows through us to redeem everything in our lives. Some translators have rendered "formless and void" in Genesis 1:2 as "chaos." That too, has an important application. If the Holy Spirit took the earth that was in such chaos, and brought forth a creation of such beauty and symmetry, He can do the same with any life that is offered to Him. Regardless of how much chaos our lives are in, He not only will straighten it all out, He will make it glorious. By watching the Holy Spirit bring order and new beginnings to lives, we can learn much about the Lord and His ways. Even though we begin again afresh, let us not make the same mistake of thinking that we have the wisdom and knowledge to do it right. When we are born again, we come to know our complete dependence upon our Creator. This alone will enable us to avoid the traps ahead so that we do not fall again to the same mistakes. The Apostle Paul stated:
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God (I Corinthians 1:26-29).Every fresh new move of God in church history began with those who really did not know what they were doing or where they were going. Like Abraham, they had to leave the country that had form and substance, to seek God in a place that was still formless and void of definition. Just as Paul had to be struck blind in the natural so that he could see in the spirit, we too must become void of our own visionbefore we will look to Him. However, the Lord does not leave us in this state, but begins to show us what He is building. Then He can give us the plans for the mansion He wants us to add to the glorious city thatHe is building. At the beginning of our journey, we must understand that we are not just taking a random course, but it is a part of His plan for us. Everything seems to be formless and void at first, but as we follow the moving of His Spirit, a beautiful creation, our new life in Him starts to take shape. In fact, God's plan for us is so comprehensive that He knew us before the foundation of the world, and our calling was known at that time. The foundation of our purpose is for us to become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ—that we become like Him and do the works that He did. This calling is upon every believer. He has also given each of us a very specific part to play in His overall plan. It must be our quest to search for our part in His plan. Abraham may not have known where he was going, but he did know what he was looking for. He left everything to be a part of what God was building. This is also our quest, to be a part of what God is doing.

Day3
The Spirit Moves

And the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters (see Genesis 1:2).With the first mention of the Spirit, He was moving. The Holy Spirit is the agent of God who does the work. He is ever moving, working, and bringing forth the purposes of God. It is crucial for every Christian to know the Holy Spirit, and learn how to follow Him in all things. In order to do this, we have to keep moving. The nature of the Christian life is to be moving and going somewhere. The Christian life is never stagnant, but flowing like a river. We have a destination and a work to accomplish with the Holy Spirit. In the beginning "the Spirit of God was moving," and the Spirit continues to move. That is why the River of Life is a river, not a pond or lake. A river is always going somewhere. A river starts as a single drop of water, and then becomes a little stream. Next, the stream gathers with other streams from the country side, and the river grows until it reaches its destination. The Lord intends this for every life. We are called to a journey that grows continually in both life and power. If we stay on the course, Proverbs 4:18 will be true of us: "But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day." We all begin as a single drop, a single soul among the teaming billions on earth. Then, "if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another" (see I John 1:7). Our journey is not alone. There is no other fellowship on earth like that which is found in the church of Jesus Christ. We are called to walk with other souls. If we stay on course, we will gather with many others who are going to the same destination. Our little streams should then join others, growing all of the time into a mighty river. The church is also a glorious gift. Each soul is a marvelous treasure to be discovered.When the Spirit moved, life came forth. The formless void became a symphony of such harmony and beauty that we will for eternity continue to marvel at the wonder of His ways. The Holy Spirit still loves to take even the most desolate life and turn it into a glorious symphony of life. However, He also builds with permanence. Our God planned from eternity, and as King Solomon understood: "I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him" (Ecclesiastes 3:14). To the degree that we work in harmony with His plan, we will be used to do that which will last forever. This is called "having fruit that remains." The church is the "new creation" of God. When we look at the beginning of the church, we are observing a second beginning with consequences no less profound than the first beginning. When the spiritual state of the earth was formless and void, the Spirit moved again and the church was born. All life springs from the Spirit of God, and we will only have true life when we learn to move with Him. As we behold His work, we learn never to be discouraged by the present state of things. The more desolate it is, the more glorious His work appears. If our spiritual lives are not getting better day by day, and increasing in life and power, then somewhere we have missed a turn. If this is true for you, do not proceed any further along your present course, but return to your first love, your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. There you will find the Living Waters that can alone satisfy your soul and lead you to your destiny. Do not let petty differences with others separate you from those whose destiny is joined to your own. This is how many turn from the course. Stay in the River. The Christian life is one of movement. However, it is not a random movement, but one with purpose. This purpose is still turning that which is formless and void into a glorious new creation. If we allow the Spirit to move through us, we will also be constantly searching for those whose lives are formless and void. We will become a bridge for them into the glorious, creative purposes of God. When we begin to see with His eyes, we will not see any person or situation as worthless, regardless of how empty and useless they may now seem. When we begin to see with His eyes, we begin to see potential in people and situations that before were seemingly hopeless. He said in Jeremiah 15:19: "If you return, then I will restore you—Before Me you will stand; and if you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become My spokesman…."

Day4
The Light
Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light (Genesis 1:3).

Without light, we could not see. Light makes all things manifest. After the Spirit moved, His first great task was to bring forth light. Light represents truth, and as soon as the Lord begins to move in our lives, His first task will be to shine the light of His truth into our lives.

It is interesting to note that light was created before the sun, moon, and the stars, and did not take place until the fourth day of creation. Light was created before the vessels that were to manifest it. Jesus is the Light of the world, and He existed as One with God before the world. We see this in John's great explanation of Jesus at the beginning of his gospel:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,

even to those who believe in His name (John 1:1-4, 9-12).

Jesus was the plan of God from the beginning. He is the Son who makes His Father's heart glad. In everything that was created the Father looks for the reflection of His Son, and in everything that was created there is a message about the Son, as Paul explained in Colossians 1:16-17:

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him.

And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

"In Him all things hold together" reveals that He is the binding force in all of creation. The light was created before the sun, moon, and stars as an eternal testimony that He must be given first place in everything. Every new believer needs to be saturated with the revelation of whom Jesus is before their attention is turned to all of the other doctrines of the faith, or an understanding of their place in the church. The Light, Jesus, must have preeminence in all things. He is the first, and He is the last. Jesus is the Light of God, and all things will be summed up in Him. We must know Him first.

As we read before in I John 1:7, "but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another." This Scripture makes clear, if we depart from fellowship, we also depart from His light. If we break fellowship with His people, we will also be breaking fellowship with Him. Christianity without fellowship is not true Christianity. The Lord created His church so we would all need one another. No one will get to their destination in Christ alone.

Church life can be one of the most glorious, and most difficult, experiences we can have. Amos 3:3 states, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (KJV) This does not imply that we must agree on everything to walk together, but we walk together in the things upon which we do agree. Every Christian agrees that Jesus Christ is Lord, so every Christian can walk together to some degree. There should be at least some level of fellowship between all who hold to the basic truths of the faith.

As we walk together, understanding and agreement will grow. To have fellowship, we must start by looking for things upon which we agree, rather than those upon which we disagree. This will enable us to stay in the light, which requires that we "have fellowship with one another" (I John 1:7). Likewise, when we start breaking off fellowship with God's people, we will start walking in darkness. We cannot be joined to Jesus Christ without also being joined to His body, the church.

Day5
The Separation
And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night… (Genesis 1:4-5).

Yesterday, we discussed the fellowship and union that we have with the Lord and other Christians. At the same time the Lord is joining us to Himself and His people, He will also be separating us from the darkness in our lives, and those who walk in darkness. This is a necessary process if we are to abide in Christ Jesus.

After we come to know Jesus as the Light, God begins to separate the light from the darkness in our lives. This can be a difficult time because it is easy to become so distracted by the darkness that we lose sight of the Light. It is crucial for us to always keep our attention on the Lord, who is our Light, even when the Holy Spirit is convicting us of sin, or revealing people or situations that we must avoid.

Darkness represents sin. The light will immediately begin to reveal the sin in our lives. Even small matters that we never thought about before, such as telling little lies, suddenly become dark and ugly. There will be a strong tendency at this point to just turn the light off. When we come to understand the grotesque nature of all sin, the exposure of that sin can seem intolerable. We must either turn the light off and go back to our old lives, or remove the sin. There can be no compromise. If we are to proceed, light and darkness must be separated. The Lord Jesus said,

"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away;

for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment" (John 16:7-8).

When the Holy Spirit moves, He always convicts us of sin, but He also reveals the counter to our sin which is righteousness. Then He will show us the consequences of sin, which is judgment. It is hard, but it is essential before the new creation can begin to bloom in our lives. When we are confronted with the realization of the depth of our sin, we are compelled to cast ourselves upon the mercy of God at the cross. We can only find peace at the cross of Jesus, and there He becomes our Savior. His cross becomes the peace and joy of our lives. It is a hard work to have our sin exposed, but we have relief and comfort at the cross. Always flee to the cross!

There is deliverance from the darkness in our lives. When we see the darkness, the light becomes even brighter. We must see the darkness and how utterly dark our sins are, but the purpose in the darkness being exposed is to separate us from it. Therefore, we must not become overly focused on the darkness, but turn immediately to the light. We are told in II Corinthians 3:18:

But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord,

are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

We must see our sin in order to repent. We are not changed by seeing our sin, but by turning to the Lord and by seeing His glory. Whenever our sin is exposed, we must repent, then quickly turn to the Lord and His righteousness. Our goal is not to become perfect people, but to abide in the One who is perfect. Our righteousness will never be in us, but will always be in Him. It is not what we do, but what He has already done, that changes us.

If we start focusing on the darkness in our lives, we will fall into a black hole that is very difficult to escape. Do not look for darkness in your life, but allow the Holy Spirit to shine the light on it. When He exposes the darkness, He will also give us the truth that sets us free. Our goal must always be to keep our attention on the light, and let the light expose whatever darkness is in our lives. See it, repent of it, and then keep following the light.

As we follow the light, much of the darkness will separate from us automatically, which is why Jesus said love was the fulfillment of the Law. If we will follow the two simple commandments, to love the Lord and to love our neighbors, we will fulfill the whole Law. If we love the Lord, we will not worship idols, etc. If we love our neighbors, we will not murder, envy what is theirs, or steal from them. As we grow in the light of God's love, the darkness will be exposed and separate from us. Follow love, and you will follow the Light.

Day6

The Day
And there was evening and there was morning, one day (see Genesis 1:5).

Here we see that a day begins with the evening. This is a prophecy that with the great things the Lord brings forth, there is usually darkness before the dawn. This is a consistent truth throughout the Scriptures.

For example, Israel was subject to four hundred years of slavery before they were led into the freedom of the Promised Land. Their oppression became the greatest just before they were set free by the power of God. The great saints of Scripture usually went through a period of darkness before they were brought forth into the purposes of God. Joseph had to go through slavery and imprisonment. King David was persecuted by Saul, and chased by the very people over which he was called to rule. Jesus had to go to the cross and die before He could be resurrected to His place of authority and glory.

Between the place where we receive the promises of God and the fulfillment of those promises, there will almost always be a wilderness that is the exact opposite of what we have been promised. In order to test their faith and purify their hearts, the children of Israel had to wander through a desert, where there was no water, before they could get to the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. We will go through trials too. Even so, as we are told in James 1:2-4,12:

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life,

which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

Every trial in our lives is allowed for two purposes. The first is to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ, which is the fruit of the Spirit. The second is to bring us to a place of maturity where He can trust us with more authority to do the works that He did, which are through the gifts of the Spirit. Therefore, we must seize our trials as James encourages, counting them as joy, because they always lead to the dawn's light. We also have the great promise in I Corinthians 10:13:

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man;

and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able,

but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.

God is the One allowing the temptation, and He is also in control, so we are never tempted beyond what we are able to endure. Therefore, when it gets so hard that we are getting close to the limit of what we can take, we should also know we are getting close to the end of the trial.

We are also assured that there is a way of escape with every trial. The way of escape is always the same, and that is the cross. If we would go to the cross and die to ourselves, our own ambitions, and the cares of this world, which are usually the roots of our trials, we would immediately find a peace that goes beyond human understanding. We are called to be dead to this world (see Galatians 6:14). What can the world do to a dead man? It is impossible for a dead man to feel rejected, abused, taken advantage of, or be concerned with loss. If we would go to the cross daily with all that we are and have, we would be the most free people the world has ever seen.

If we would go to the cross and die to our own interests every day, we would also be free to love without reservation. Love that is not self-centered is not controlled by the fear of pain or loss. Neither does this love try to control the object of our love.

Just as there could be no resurrection without there first being a death; there can be no victory without a battle. Like the tests we take in school to go on to higher levels, every test we endure in our lives is so we can go on to higher levels of maturity in the Lord. We should see every test as a great opportunity. The greater the test, the greater the opportunity. Always remember that regardless of how dark it seems to get, the light will certainly come, just as surely as the sun will rise every day.

Day7
Heaven
Then God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."

And God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse

from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.

And God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day (Genesis 1:6-8).

Immediately after we start the process of separating the light from the darkness in our lives, we must look up and begin to see the expanse of heaven. Heaven is not a fairy tale, nor a carrot on a stick that the Lord uses to make us be good. It is more real than the physical universe, and heaven is above the physical universe. Neither is heaven beyond the farthest galaxy. It is a realm in our very midst, and one which we can see and begin to experience now, as we are told in Ephesians:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6).

At the very time we are struggling with the darkness that manifests in our lives, we begin to see both how dead we are in our transgressions, and how the Father has raised and seated us with His Son in the heavenly places. As we behold the glory of the heavenlies, where Christ is seated, far above all rule, authority, and power, we know we have been placed with Him by the power of His cross, not by our own righteousness. We do not just cover the darkness in our lives, but instead we must rise above it into a new and ever expanding glory.

The earthly minded will constantly try to restrain those who are seekers of God with such statements as, "Don't become so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good," which is precisely the opposite of true wisdom. Heaven is the realm in which we are called to abide with Christ Jesus, and the only truly effective ministry we will ever have on this earth is originated from that position. The church that becomes too earthly minded is not doing the earth any good. We are called to be a bridge between heaven and earth, and to represent the reality of all we have been given in Christ Jesus in the heavenly places. Christians should be so saturated with heaven that it is more real to them than anything in the natural realm. Only then will we reveal the light that is more powerful than any darkness, and begin to call the earth out of her terrible night into the dawning light of Christ.

"From that time Jesus began to preach and say, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"' (Matthew 4:17). The entire message that Jesus preached on the earth was centered around His teachings on "the kingdom of heaven." Most of His teachings began with "the kingdom of heaven is like...." If we are to understand the message of Jesus, it is fundamental that we understand the kingdom of heaven.

The Apostle John recorded in Revelation 4:1: "After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things." That voice is still calling to all who will hear. There is a door open in heaven and the Spirit is beckoning us to come up there. The ultimate quest of every Christian is to walk the earth from a position seated with Christ Jesus in the heavenly places.

Therefore, our prayer must be the one that He taught His disciples, for His kingdom to come, and His will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven (see Matthew 6:l0). We can never be too heavenly minded. The true good that we are able to do on earth will be dependent on the degree to which we have attained the heavenly treasures. We must always keep our devotion to obey Matthew 6:33, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you."

Day 8

The Nations
Then God said, "Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.

And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:9-10).

In Scripture, seas often represent nations, as we see in Isaiah 17:12: "Alas, the uproar of many peoples who roar like the roaring of the seas, and the rumbling of nations who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters!" This is also seen in Revelation 17:15: "And he said to me, 'The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues."'

In the previous verses in Genesis, the Lord established the heavens. Immediately after this, He established the seas, which represent nations. As Paul explained in I Corinthians 15:46-49:

However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.

The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.

As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.

And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

The new creation follows the same pattern as the original creation. Immediately after we have our place established with Christ Jesus seated in the heavenly places, He then wants to give us a vision for the nations (seas). As was written concerning the Son in Psalms 2:8: "Ask of me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Thy possession." The church is the Lord's bride, but the nations are His inheritance. He created the nations, the different cultures and peoples, and they each have a specific and glorious purpose in Him. The Great Commission was:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).

We were not saved just so we can sit in the heavens, but so we can go forth with the glorious message of the cross. We need to be firmly established with the Lord and His authority before we go, but then we do need to go. If we do not live with a mission in life, we will be counted with the backsliders, or old wineskins. Our love for the Lord compels us to see that He will receive the reward for His sacrifice—the nations.

When the Lord finished separating the water into seas, which represent the nations, He said that it was "good." God obviously loves the diversity of different cultures and nations. He has deposited unique gifts in each one which reflect His own nature. The first response of those who love the blessed Creator, when meeting those who are different, should be the expectation of a deeper revelation of the Lord's ways through them. Our differences are not meant to contradict and conflict with each other, but rather to complement one another. As the Scripture teaches, even those with the gift of prophecy only see in part. To see the whole picture, we must put our part together with what He has given to others. To have an accurate view, we need each other. After the Lord divided the waters into different seas, He said that it was a "good" thing.

Loving diversity is one of the basic natures of God. However, this is one of His basic characteristics that much of the church has tended to neglect. The pressure toward conformity is not from God. He loves diversity. Accordingly, those who know the Creator should be the most creative and free people on earth.

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).

Day 9

The Seed
Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed,

and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seed in them, on the earth"; and it was so.

And the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind,

and trees bearing fruit, with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.

And there was evening and there was morning, a third day (Genesis 1:11-13).

The basic understanding of both the old and new creation begins with understanding the seed. As stated yesterday, the Lord loves diversity, and to protect and preserve it, He created seeds that would only bear fruit after their own kind. Every plant has a role to play in the balance of creation. If a plant or animal was to lose its uniqueness, it could not play its role, and the balance that enables life as we know it on this wonderful planet would begin to erode. Knowing this very well, one of the basic strategies of the enemy is to destroy life and to blur the distinctions that God created. Fully accomplished, this alone could undermine and unravel the harmony of the creation that is necessary to support life.

If life is to go on, the basic differences between men and women cannot be compromised. The way a man and a woman become one is not by the man becoming a woman or the woman becoming a man, but by the recognition and appreciation of the differences. If this appreciation ever ceased, the human race would end. The reason the Lord created every seed to bear fruit "after its own kind," was so the uniqueness that perpetuates life would continue. As the Lord explained in The Parable of the Sower, words are also seeds. Seeds grow up to become plants that bear fruit. What is growing from our words? What will the fruit of our words be like? If we speak out of bitterness, we are planting bitter fruit in the earth. If our words are filled with faith, hope, or love, we are planting trees that will one day bear the fruit of faith, hope, and love in the earth.

I live in the highlands of North Carolina. On our mountain there are thousands of apple trees. Apples were supposedly brought to this region by Johnny Appleseed. He used to say, "Any man can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the apples in a seed." No one seems to know how many apple seeds he planted in our area, but now, two hundred years later, there are millions of apples harvested each fall. Like seeds, our words also take time to sprout. We may not even be here to see the fruit of them. And like seeds, words are very likely to multiply. Let us consider each day that our words will bear fruit, and determine we will only sow that which brings forth the fruit of the Spirit.

The Lord also compared faith to a seed. Jesus told His disciples that if they had faith the size of a grain of mustard seed, they could move mountains (see Matthew 17:20). History testifies that there is no force on earth that can stop true faith. The disciples not only moved mountains, they moved nations and empires. They understood the principle of the seed. If even the seed could move mountains, what could the full plant do?

Just as the wise King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 18:21: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Let us be sure the fruit of our words will be something we will want to eat. Are our words imparting life or death? Are they building people's faith or feeding their fears? Are they bringing forth love and reconciliation, or division and strife? Remember, whatever the fruit is bearing, we ourselves will have to eat it eventually. We are told in Ephesians 4:29-32:

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification

according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

According to this Scripture, a primary way we can grieve the Holy Spirit is by letting unwholesome words come from our mouths such as those from bitterness, wrath, anger, etc. Let us determine that we will not sow these seeds, but rather always speak words which will edify and build up one another.

Day 10

The Lights
Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night,

and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;

and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so.

And God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night;

He made the stars also. And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,

and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.

And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19).

The sun is the power which makes all life possible on the earth. Therefore, it is often used in Scripture to represent Jesus, who is likewise the source of all life as we read in Colossians 1:16-17: "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." The Lord Jesus was with the Father before the foundation of the world, and was the Creator of the world as we see in John 1:1-4,10:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

Jesus is not only the One through whom all things were made, He is everything that the Father loves. In every thing created, He was looking for the likeness of His Son. He is looking for His Son in us. To know Him is to know the Father and have eternal life. Just as the sun is the source of our physical life, and life on earth would perish instantly if the sun went dark, so Jesus is the source of all life. Even those who do not know Him cannot live a moment without Him.

The moon represents the church, which is not the source of light, but reflects the light of the sun. Just as the moon rules the night, the church age has been a dark time for mankind. Yet in spite of all of her flaws and mistakes, the church has given light to the nations. Just as the gravitational pull of the moon controls the tides, the church has had enough pull over the nations to be a great influence on the events in this age. However, she is not the Light, and can never rule over the nations until the Light Himself returns. The church's purpose in this age is to give enough light to those who will use it to make it through the night.

Stars in Scripture often represent messengers. The Lord explained that the seven stars which He held in His hand represented the angels of the seven churches (see Revelation 1:20). The Greek word translated "angel" is aggelos (ang'-el-os), which literally means a "messenger." This word sometimes denoted angelic messengers, but often represented a person, especially apostles who were the special messengers of the New Testament. This is generally understood to be the meaning of these "stars" in Revelation, because the words given to the seven churches were to be delivered to the "angel" of each church (see Revelation 1:11-20). Because angelic messengers did not need to have such words delivered to them in writing, these "stars" have always been considered the leaders of each of these churches.

As stars are used for navigation at night, the Lord has been faithful to send His messengers to the world to help men navigate through the darkness. Messengers have come and helped steer the course of history, but we must always keep in mind that all men are "lesser lights," as we always seek to walk in the greater light of Christ. When the sun rises, the stars disappear. Likewise, when the Lord returns in His glory we will not be so impressed by any man, even the greatest spiritual leaders. However, while there is still darkness, we need those who have been sent with a little light to help us through the times. It is right that we honor our spiritual leaders, knowing that they have been sent to help us stay on course. When the Son arises and the day dawns with the full light of Christ, we will not need spiritual leaders, but until that time we certainly do.

MorningStar Ministries

"For As this Age Ends, Certainly Heaven Will Be Within Reach"

Since time began, the Kingdom of Heaven has been an interactive reality in man's destiny. God (and angels) spoke to man "from Heaven" (Genesis 21:17; 22:11; 22:15), the Lord gave man promises and blessings from Heaven (Genesis 24:7; 49:25), and when necessary brought judgments upon wicked men "out of Heaven" (Genesis 19:24).
Indeed, the revelation of God's Kingdom in the Sacred Writ is no incidental issue. The Bible records several hundred verses where Heaven or God's Kingdom is mentioned in its various phrasings. It is this Kingdom that I'd like us to consider, first as it is revealed in the Old Testament and then as it was manifest in power through Christ in the New Testament. Our focus will remain upon God, of course, yet we must also learn of that realm that surrounds the Most High: His eternal abode.
This realm called Heaven is not only "real," but it is "an everlasting Kingdom" that "endures throughout all generations" (Psalm 145:13). Nations rise and fall, men and cultures emerge in pride and vanity only to disappear, yet God's Kingdom abides forever.
The Time is Fulfilled
For all the references to Heaven in the Old Testament, with few exceptions, the actual life of Heaven remained remote and inaccessible to the common man. Israel had the Law and the Prophets; it had moments of glory and divine visitation. Yet, the Kingdom of God was greater than even Israel's standards of righteousness.
It was out of Israel that the Messiah came, yet His message was not a restoration of the Law. It was the proclamation of God's Kingdom. Both Jesus and His forerunner, John the Baptist, heralded the same incredible word:
"The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel" (Mark 1:15).
The time was fulfilled? Yes, a new dispensation had arrived! The Kingdom of God was at hand? Yes, Heaven was within the reach of men. The realm of God had come near! The message of the Kingdom was without precedent, yet it was so! Every manner of sickness was healed instantly at the touch of Jesus' hands, for Heaven was at hand! The demonically tormented were instantly set free, for Heaven empowered Jesus.
Yet, as the Holy Spirit empowered Christ, so He empowered and commissioned His disciples, and Heaven manifested through them as well! Through the battalion of His disciples, the authority and compassion of Heaven flowed. They had power to heal, to deliver, even to raise the dead.
"And as you go, preach, saying, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand'" (Matthew 10:7).
Heaven, "at hand?" What did that mean, but that Heaven itself, once remote and inaccessible to common men, was now close enough to reach from where men were.
Beloved, this is what Jesus said Church should look like! Healing, deliverance, power: the Kingdom of Heaven manifested through the lives of surrendered, yet believing men and women. And this is what the Church will look like before Jesus returns.
This Gospel of the Kingdom
Jesus knew there would be a great falling away from God's Kingdom. He warned of false prophets and teachers arising to mislead many. Certainly, we have seen our share of watered-down, superficial Christianity. Yet in spite of our failings, Jesus made a remarkable prediction. He said,
"This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14).
In spite of a great falling away, there is a great gathering back to God's Kingdom. Let us hear Christ's words with faith. He said before the "end shall come" and He returns, the Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached to all nations. He did not say that the whole world would be subdued before He returns, but that the whole world would witness the Kingdom of Heaven, preached with power, before His return.
Let me emphasize His reassuring point. He said, "This Gospel" – that is, His Gospel, His teaching, the "words in red." If we focus on becoming like Him in obedience to His words, He promises to increasingly accompany our preaching with His power to perform miracles, signs and wonders.
He said, "This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached." Not the Gospel only of salvation (as wonderful as it is!), but also the message of the Kingdom. The Gospel of salvation is free. We cannot access the Kingdom without experiencing salvation by faith in God's grace. Yet, many in the Church have been parked in the realm of salvation without ever seeing and believing the promise of God's Kingdom.
Beloved, our theology has been diluted by unbelief and dead traditions. We need to return to the words of Christ. We need to press into the reality of God's Kingdom. For as this age ends, certainly Heaven will be within reach.
Francis Frangipane

Elijahlist

The Day
And there was evening and there was morning, one day (see Genesis 1:5).

Here we see that a day begins with the evening. This is a prophecy that with the great things the Lord brings forth, there is usually darkness before the dawn. This is a consistent truth throughout the Scriptures.

For example, Israel was subject to four hundred years of slavery before they were led into the freedom of the Promised Land. Their oppression became the greatest just before they were set free by the power of God. The great saints of Scripture usually went through a period of darkness before they were brought forth into the purposes of God. Joseph had to go through slavery and imprisonment. King David was persecuted by Saul, and chased by the very people over which he was called to rule. Jesus had to go to the cross and die before He could be resurrected to His place of authority and glory.

Between the place where we receive the promises of God and the fulfillment of those promises, there will almost always be a wilderness that is the exact opposite of what we have been promised. In order to test their faith and purify their hearts, the children of Israel had to wander through a desert, where there was no water, before they could get to the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. We will go through trials too. Even so, as we are told in James 1:2-4,12:

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life,

which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

Every trial in our lives is allowed for two purposes. The first is to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ, which is the fruit of the Spirit. The second is to bring us to a place of maturity where He can trust us with more authority to do the works that He did, which are through the gifts of the Spirit. Therefore, we must seize our trials as James encourages, counting them as joy, because they always lead to the dawn's light. We also have the great promise in I Corinthians 10:13:

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man;

and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able,

but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.

God is the One allowing the temptation, and He is also in control, so we are never tempted beyond what we are able to endure. Therefore, when it gets so hard that we are getting close to the limit of what we can take, we should also know we are getting close to the end of the trial.

We are also assured that there is a way of escape with every trial. The way of escape is always the same, and that is the cross. If we would go to the cross and die to ourselves, our own ambitions, and the cares of this world, which are usually the roots of our trials, we would immediately find a peace that goes beyond human understanding. We are called to be dead to this world (see Galatians 6:14). What can the world do to a dead man? It is impossible for a dead man to feel rejected, abused, taken advantage of, or be concerned with loss. If we would go to the cross daily with all that we are and have, we would be the most free people the world has ever seen.

If we would go to the cross and die to our own interests every day, we would also be free to love without reservation. Love that is not self-centered is not controlled by the fear of pain or loss. Neither does this love try to control the object of our love.

Just as there could be no resurrection without there first being a death; there can be no victory without a battle. Like the tests we take in school to go on to higher levels, every test we endure in our lives is so we can go on to higher levels of maturity in the Lord. We should see every test as a great opportunity. The greater the test, the greater the opportunity. Always remember that regardless of how dark it seems to get, the light will certainly come, just as surely as the sun will rise every day.

Morningstar Ministries

"God is Opening Up Heavenly Access Points! New Doors Open, Old Doors Close"

God is opening your future! He is setting you up for a promotion! You will see the effectual working of His power as He deals with the adversaries in your life, and shuts the enemy's access points, for good. The Captain of Hosts will give you courage and strength as you move forward into the expansive, spacious fields He has prepared for you. To the faithful, He hands keys of access to the doors that He opens for you to see the impossible happen.
Understanding Authority to a Greater Degree
Any time the Lord begins to bring breakthrough, one of the first things He does is to bring forth revelation (a key) concerning it, which is permission. He gives you the exact key for the exact door. When the Lord reveals something to you, the Lord is giving you permission to have access to it and authority in it.
I sense the Lord releasing this understanding of our authority to access the doors He is opening for us. What good does it do just to know that God is opening a door? Revelation helps us recognize the door. He does not want you to play a guessing game wondering what the door is. Nor does He want you out door-knocking or pushing on doors. Your key fits your door and authorizes your access to it.
Throne Room Ministry
Another vital key I feel He is releasing now is the open door of Revelation (see Revelation 4:1)—Throne Room ministry. Many of you reading this article are heading for a supernatural promotion this year, the blessing of understanding the operation of the Kingdom. What does that look like? Examine the Apostle Peter's breakthrough in Acts, Chapter 2, the day of Pentecost. Recall that previously he had denied Christ, but there we see the sudden filling of the Holy Ghost. Afterward, he preached the Gospel and 3,000 people were saved. He walked up to a lame man and said, (paraphrased) "Give me your right hand; as I have received, I freely give," ministering out of the gift.
But head over to Acts, Chapter 5, with me where Peter had a bigger breakthrough—a spacious door opened whereby wherever he walked the sick were healed in his shadow. He had a promotion in glory! Whoa. How would you like to have that kind of promotion? Some open Heaven ministry!
Guess what? That door has already opened to us through Jesus' finished work but, for the most part, we have groveled in an earthly mentality. The Church is awakening now into the fullness of who we are in Christ and the unlimited Throne Room access that we have. God is releasing to the Body the revelation of a deeper understanding of our permission to access the Throne.
Gift of Faith
Here's another key—the gift of faith. The gift of faith brings with it a season of breakthrough. The world looks a mess right now, but this is the time for breakthroughs that defy all odds in the natural—like the supernatural opening of prison doors, a time of prison-to-praise opportunities. Long-closed doors and doors that have kept people in bondage—imagine them opening up in instant breakthrough!
How many Josephs are about to be birthed? You may be bound in a prison, but in reality, you have just been kept safe until it was time for your door to open, a time of transition from prison to palace. This type of favor, this type of faith for breakthrough is being released right now.
Other Keys
There are many other keys of the Kingdom mentioned in the Bible. Revelation 1:18 references keys for the unseen realm, the keys Christ has of Hades and death. Matthew 16:17 reveals to us, through Christ talking to Simon Peter, that our Father who is in Heaven reveals things to us. This would be a key of knowledge: "...for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in Heaven."
What a key! I want to know what the Father is saying and doing. That is some promotion! We are all frustrated and dissatisfied in the Church—so desiring to see the things we have not seen...we are ready to see them! The Lord is causing our frustration; He is ready now to break you out of your prison and promote you to the palace! This is a kingly anointing and commissioning of God.
Further on in Jesus' reply to Simon Peter, He said, "I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven" (Matthew 16:19). You will know what is bound! Do you know what this authority looks like? You can decree a thing because you have seen it with your spiritual eyes.
As Believers, we already have liberty and freedom because we can "see" the victory that Jesus has already secured at Calvary. We are coming to fully awaken to our inheritance and we will point to the power of the Cross as we walk everyday life under its victory. We will say, "No! That is already won!" God will cut off and shut once and for all those constant besetting doors in your life as you realign for your greater opportunities. The grace for it is here right now.
Favor for Evangelism
I know that in my own life I can see examples of God's promotion after periods of being faithful to the calling that He has placed on my life. For several years, I worked as a youth pastor, then as a senior pastor. I was faithful in those things and then the Lord led me into a traveling ministry. It did not start big. I would preach to small home groups and on street corners near schools to reach out to the youth. To get their attention, we would make a lot of noise, a real scene.
One time we visited the second poorest county in Texas. Everyone told us, "Don't even try—it's hopeless." We bought a thousand hotdogs, a thousand buns, two huge big coolers of Kool-Aid, and transported it all to a gang-infested area. We set everything up inside of a tennis court and shouted, "Free hot dogs, free Kool-Aid!" When they converged, they tried to intimidate us, and I have to say, my legs shook a little.
So the main guy, the "big kahuna," the gang leader for the region shows up outside the courts—and he is ferocious looking. But I knew I had the favor of the Lord. As he grabbed a cup from my hand, his hand trembled and I thought, "He's just as scared as I am." Bolder now, I fed his crew and started to preach. The gang leader was the first to come forward to give His life to Jesus. Listen, he didn't walk up, he ran! Five of his pals followed suit. That's favor! We just heard a few months ago that the fellow is preaching his heart out! Praise God!
Favor for Restoration of Desolate Heritages
These are the words of God the Father to His Son: "In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You as a covenant to the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritages" (Isaiah 49:8).
An acceptable time means favor. In a favorable time, God has heard you. In a favorable time, He will cause you to inherit the desolate heritages. Why? "(So) that you may say to the prisoners, 'Go forth,' to those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.'" (verse 9). The New International Version (NIV) reads (paraphrased), "...those who are hidden in darkness will see a breakthrough..."
It is the acceptable time, the favorable time to see a restoration of the things that have lain desolate for years; true works of the Lord. Doors about to re-open, double doors, wells that will flow again to see salvation go forth, to see the Covenant of Christ go forth, and to see people come out of darkness.
"Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In."—Isaiah 58:12
"And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations."—Isaiah 61:4
Not only does the Lord desire to put favor upon you for new fields of opportunity, but I know that I know, as I stated in Part One , that if there were ever a time when we've seen trickles of the old wells, the time is now for them to burst forth. We have seen little breakthroughs, little trickles from some old wells, but the Lord is about to break open the earth—wells will flow again.
"Rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together. I, the LORD, have created it."—Isaiah 45:8
The earth will open up and bring forth salvation. The Lord doesn't want us just to look back to say, "1948." That was the year of healing revival in the land. Thousands of people all over the country descended on revival tents to see the healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't want us to just look back to what used to be. He desires those things to flow even greater than they did before. That takes favor!
Only God can favor us that way. When He favors a group of people or a generation to receive the restoration of dormant desolate heritages, the flows will be tremendous, the breaches will be repaired, and places to dwell in will be restored. You can be a part of that. He wants to favor us. I am convinced that many things we have endured over the course of the last few years have been preparation for when the wells begin to flow again. Moreover, we will not just look to the old wells but also the fullness of everything that He promised.
Favor for Wells
I have had visions of the old tent revivals. In those visions, I stood in the back to watch the proceedings and mostly I saw hungry, desperate people. It is time for cities to be hungry and desperate for God again, for people like that young gang leader to run desperate to the altar of God to be born again. Won't it be great when the news of the city isn't the football game win but what is going on down the street at the great tent revival?
When people cannot understand why they want Jesus and it is because the earth has opened up and the rivers are flowing again! These are great and spacious old and new opportunities for us! Yes, we need the old, but we need to see the new as well—the greater flow!
Expect the restoration of old mantles, too—similar anointings to those of Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, Aimee McPherson, Kathryn Kuhlman, Smith Wigglesworth, William Branham, and others. But they're all just little tokens of the Well, the Holy Ghost! When the favor of God was upon them, masses came to know Jesus, many were healed, and many celebrated and lifted high the banner of Jesus. These old wells can flow again, but they can be greater.
New wells can be dug for transformation of entire cities. A city transformed in a day, how about it? God might use you to affect that! Are you ready to see canopies of glory so on a city that anyone who enters its gates is set free by the glory of the Lord? How about masses of humanity crying out for a loving God?
A Job 29:6 Walk
"When my steps were bathed with cream, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!" You have said, "I've longed for that." You have said, "Yes, Lord," time and again, but let me tell you, a time is coming when He says, "It's now!" When His favor is over you as part of a favored generation who will witness the earth break open, the wells of salvation pour out, and righteous rain pours down, with thousands coming to Christ.
I pray He saturates you with His favor, that the next two years of your life are the most blessed ones you have ever had in the Lord. I pray so much favor upon you that multiple doors open for you. I pray a Job 29:6 walk of favor on your life! I pray favor on your children and your children's children. New opportunities are coming!
Favor for Freedom and Confidence
God will give you the ability to recognize your new opportunities in the Lord. You will see yourself in a fresh, new way and emerge out of a prison mentality and into a palace mind-set. Our stinking thinking can really rip us off! But guess what? Isaiah 22:22 will happen for you.
"The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; so he shall open, and no one shall shut; and he shall shut, and no one shall open."
Old ways will shut down and old sources won't be able to feed you any longer. "If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt" (Job 12:14a). "...He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens" (Revelation 3:7).
No more lies, no more deception, no more oppression, no more depression. You will see yourself as who you really are in Christ Jesus. You will walk with a new step. You will walk with Holy Ghost boldness. You will walk in the confidence of Christ in you, the hope of glory. You will walk in a place where the giants in the land will not overwhelm you. This is a place of saying, "We are well able!" You will walk as Paul says in Ephesians 6:10, STRONG in the power and the might of the Lord.
God promised me this. I have no doubt! I can't wait to see you this time next year. Listen, your decree will be, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" Your decree won't be lip service. YOUR LIFE WILL BE THE DECREE. You will be a living epistle. It will not be what you say but what you live. It is what your life will display.
Spontaneous Combustion
Do you know what it is like when the Lion of Judah roars? I call it "spontaneous combustion." It transforms the atmosphere. When you walk into heavy prison-like atmospheres, roar, "No!" and the heaviness will lift.
Ears to Hear and Know
"Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound..." (Psalm 89), that is, who recognize the sound. "...they walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance."
Sometimes in my meetings where the atmosphere was heavy with doubt, unbelief, oppression, or depression, I have felt like just giving up and leaving. But the Lord wouldn't let me. Something would rise within me, and I would hear the sound, decree it, and breakthrough would come. Hearing the sound is to hear the unseen. As you decree the unseen, the unseen invades the seen and the breakthrough comes.
Take it NOW!
Do you want to see the favor of the Lord and desolate heritages restored? Why not now? Why not this very moment? Agree with me, and ask the Lord right now:
Lord, break open the double doors. Let the whole earth open up. Let salvation pour out. Let the old wells flow again and new ones bubble up. Let the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear. Let thousands upon thousands come to Christ. Let cities become places people flock to from the country because of the glory of the Lord. Amen!
God promises to bless the generations through our yeses: "(They'll) raise up the foundations of many generations" (Isaiah 58:12). Right now, pray,
Favor me, O Lord. I want favor for new doors. I want favor for the blessing of the Lord. I want favor to behold and grab hold of my inheritance. But O Lord, if you would so grant me favor to see the wells of salvation flow again, for my children and my children's children to get that anointing.
I am telling you, the atmosphere is heavy for that now. It is called the ache, the groaning and moaning of cities. I have never felt it as strong as I do right now, as I travel the nation and the world. Cities are crying out because everything they have put their hope into is falling apart. But you and I, each of us can ask the Lord for favor to see the wells of salvation pour out again in the city. That is a great anointing of favor!
Closing Prayers: New Doors Open, Old Doors Close
Believe for those great and effective doors of opportunity to be opened to you. Ask for the keys that bring you fresh access to His Throne. Remember, access brings authority and gives you permission to enter doors and gates. Revelation opens up deeper depths in Him for your life. Any areas of your life, whether in the natural or in the spirit, that have been prison-like, any kind of bondage or hindrance, ask the Lord to release a key for you to be set free, and for Him to deal with every adversary, that you would go from prison to palace, ruling and reigning in Christ.
It is your time to come out of the place of groveling, for the valleys to be lifted up such that you are living out of the realm of being seated with Christ in heavenly places! It is my tag line: Live life as an overcomer, not as one who is overcome!
Also ask God for the favor to see the wells of salvation, spoken of in Isaiah 12:2-3, that they would erupt out of the earth again for thousands to drink from and "therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." You can be an integral part of the massive harvest that will see thousands of people born again. It will happen, and it will be different from before.
If you have gates that are access points for the adversary that you know need closing, seek to shut them right now! I want you to say to the Lord:
Thank You for favor to shut those doors. Just shut, just shut them. Done! They're done! They're closed! Slam it shut, O Lord. Shut the doors that no man can open back up. Shut the doors, that when they're shut, they're shut forever, and not even I will open them back up, O Lord. Those gates have no access anymore. They were once open and had access, but I say right now by the power of the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, by the sealed power of the Blood of Christ right now, those doors are shut right now. The old is gone. The old is gone. The old is gone!
Listen now for the voice that says, "You are well able in the Lord." God is dealing with the adversary, for access doors in your life that others before you have opened—He will deal with those past permissions, too.
An anointing is here right now to those reading this. There's a battle going on in your mind, that God can't or won't use you in the future because of past mistakes or bad decisions. You are still trying to pay for your mistakes with your own penitence. The Lord does not want you to do that anymore. He wants you to know the freedom that He has already given you in Christ Jesus. He wants to shut the door for good. Stop running from the shadows that have chased you. You don't need to hear the footsteps of the shadow of your past any longer. You just need to hear the knocking sound of the Lord saying, "Breakthrough!"
I decree breakthrough and a closing of those doors in Jesus' name. And I decree that every adversary has been dealt with by the Blood of Jesus Christ! And I decree the new, spacious, great, effective door is opening for you, and you will walk through into your promotion as the Lord deals with the enemy who would try to hinder you from passing through. It is all done through the power of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Elijahlist

The Light
Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light (Genesis 1:3).

Without light, we could not see. Light makes all things manifest. After the Spirit moved, His first great task was to bring forth light. Light represents truth, and as soon as the Lord begins to move in our lives, His first task will be to shine the light of His truth into our lives.

It is interesting to note that light was created before the sun, moon, and the stars, and did not take place until the fourth day of creation. Light was created before the vessels that were to manifest it. Jesus is the Light of the world, and He existed as One with God before the world. We see this in John's great explanation of Jesus at the beginning of his gospel:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,

even to those who believe in His name (John 1:1-4, 9-12).

Jesus was the plan of God from the beginning. He is the Son who makes His Father's heart glad. In everything that was created the Father looks for the reflection of His Son, and in everything that was created there is a message about the Son, as Paul explained in Colossians 1:16-17:

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him.

And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

"In Him all things hold together" reveals that He is the binding force in all of creation. The light was created before the sun, moon, and stars as an eternal testimony that He must be given first place in everything. Every new believer needs to be saturated with the revelation of whom Jesus is before their attention is turned to all of the other doctrines of the faith, or an understanding of their place in the church. The Light, Jesus, must have preeminence in all things. He is the first, and He is the last. Jesus is the Light of God, and all things will be summed up in Him. We must know Him first.

As we read before in I John 1:7, "but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another." This Scripture makes clear, if we depart from fellowship, we also depart from His light. If we break fellowship with His people, we will also be breaking fellowship with Him. Christianity without fellowship is not true Christianity. The Lord created His church so we would all need one another. No one will get to their destination in Christ alone.

Church life can be one of the most glorious, and most difficult, experiences we can have. Amos 3:3 states, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (KJV) This does not imply that we must agree on everything to walk together, but we walk together in the things upon which we do agree. Every Christian agrees that Jesus Christ is Lord, so every Christian can walk together to some degree. There should be at least some level of fellowship between all who hold to the basic truths of the faith.

As we walk together, understanding and agreement will grow. To have fellowship, we must start by looking for things upon which we agree, rather than those upon which we disagree. This will enable us to stay in the light, which requires that we "have fellowship with one another" (I John 1:7). Likewise, when we start breaking off fellowship with God's people, we will start walking in darkness. We cannot be joined to Jesus Christ without also being joined to His body, the church.

MorningStar Ministries

God Says, "You are Greatly Loved, More than You Could Ever Comprehend"
The genesis of this word was originally birthed from a teaching delivered at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Frederick, Maryland. Being on the road most of the time, I was rejoicing at having the privilege of being fed. I heard a powerful message on the subject, "The Kingdom of God." I was greatly impacted by the word (pardon my bias, but it was delivered by my son, Pastor Justin Thomas).
As I was driving home, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me and I felt a great compulsion to seek the Father concerning some of the revelation I had just heard. Within three days, I received the following from God.
God said: "Many of My people are in bondage thinking (falsely) that they are failing Me. They pray, read My Word, etc., yet as the years roll on, discouragement rears its head, then guilt and shame become more than acquaintances, not to mention the harassment of the devil's condemnation. I have some powerful keys for My sheep to avoid this snare."
God Said: "Instead of Thinking You are Failing, Dwell on How Much I Love You"
"This is a truth that must be grasped by all of My children or they will never be able to truly be free. It saddens Me that many of My children say, 'God loves me,' but haven't truly accepted it. When you know you are loved by Me, there is a great freedom, a joy, and a sense of 'No matter what happens to me, I will be OK.' My Son did not say the truth will set you free. He said, 'You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free' (John 8:32).
"You are greatly loved, more so than you could ever comprehend. Each of My children will enter their mansion (John 14:2) accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6). I have received you as a son/daughter, period. Stop looking at your imperfections and study My Word to see how much I love you (Romans 8:35-39). I think of you affectionately every day."
God Said: "Dwell on the Revelation that I Loved You First"
"There is this strong undercurrent in much of My Church that if you don't please Me in all that you do, then (you feel) in some way I simply don't love you like you think I would (because you had some kind of failure). Be careful, I am not saying you shouldn't be obedient or submit to Me and crucify your flesh. But, the work of sanctification is an ongoing process (2 Corinthians 3:17-18; Ephesians 5:26).
Yet no matter how much you do or not do for Me, I will love you the same—unequivocally. That doesn't mean you should be lazy, but who of you completely measures up? None of you, but that is why My Son came to die for you (Philippians 3:12)."
God Said: "The Devil Wants You to Think I Don't Completely Love You"
"Did you know that the devil can get you to think of a certain Scripture...to fool you? He tried it with My Son (Matthew 4:5-6), so he will try it with you. One of the Scriptures that he uses to condemn many of you is Revelation 2:4: "Nevertheless I have something against you, because thou hast left thy first love."
"In the two verses before this one, My Son highly compliments the Church for good works, patience, not putting up with evil people and for being strong and not fainting. But (and here is the truth many miss), you can work hard, be long suffering, resist evil, etc., and still miss the depth of My love for you. You see, I am not saying the fault is because you don't love me enough...My Son is saying, 'You don't know (or have forgotten) how much I love you!' He loves you first...and that is the first love! (1 John 4:19)."
God Said: "Dwell on My Son Being Your Husband, Not a Legalistic Tyrant"
"My prophet Hosea said, 'Therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness and speak kindly to her. Then I will give her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. "It will come about in that day," declares the LORD, "that you will call Me husband, and will no longer call Me Baali (Master)"' (Hosea 2:14-16).
"Above all, My Son Jesus longs to be your Lover. Once you know you are loved, a great weight will be lifted, and then no matter what happens, you will always be convinced that I love you madly. Child, I will continue to love you. As you digest this great truth, then you will truly start to enter freedom and joy. You belong to Me and My Son, and we love you dearly. I loved you first. You will never be able to love Me more than I love you. So, just accept it. Once you do, you will automatically want to love Me back."
God Said: "Stop Feeling Guilty for Not Spending Quality Time with Me"
"Don't misunderstand; of course I want you to spend time with Me. But many think I am mad at them. So many of My children have simply forgotten how much I dearly love them. Instead of feeling guilty for not loving Me enough, firmly grasp how much I love you. Yes, some have distanced themselves from Me because of offences and false brethren, but they misunderstand that I have never stopped loving them (although My heart breaks and longs for them to return to Me).
"My greatest wish is for My children to get to the place where they grasp the revelation of the intense love I have for them. My love conquers everything (1 Corinthians 13). In the book of Galatians 2:6-9, My servant Paul speaks of Peter, James and John. If anyone had a special place in My heart it was these men.
"When My Son walked on earth they were His closest friends. Later they were called the pillars of the Church. Paul was speaking about Peter, and about all the leaders of the early Church, when inspired to write, 'Whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no one.'
"I want you to tell yourself (some need to shout it, repeat it daily, and get it in their heart), 'The Bible says I am as loved and as important to God as Peter, James and John.' Never ask or think or doubt again how much I love you."
"Now, what did you say your problem was?"

Elijahlist

The Plan

And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep (see Genesis 1:2).The Hebrew word that is translated "without form" is tohuw (to'-hoo), which is defined as "a desolation, desert." In the KJV this word is also translated "confusion, empty place, nothing." The point is that the Holy Spirit can make a glorious creation out of the most desolate place. He can also bring forth a glorious new creation out of the most desolate, confused, and empty life. The most important step in any journey is the first one. If we are going to get where we are going, we must know where we are. The Lord also seems to delight in beginning with that which is formless and void. Or, we could say, He likes to start with a clean canvas. One of the most wonderful truths of Christianity is that when we come to Him, we are born again, and all things become new. Part of the good news of the gospel is that in Christ we can start all over. We do not just start a few things over, but everything! When the power of His cross begins to work in our lives, we are redeemed, and the power of redemption flows through us to redeem everything in our lives. Some translators have rendered "formless and void" in Genesis 1:2 as "chaos." That too, has an important application. If the Holy Spirit took the earth that was in such chaos, and brought forth a creation of such beauty and symmetry, He can do the same with any life that is offered to Him. Regardless of how much chaos our lives are in, He not only will straighten it all out, He will make it glorious. By watching the Holy Spirit bring order and new beginnings to lives, we can learn much about the Lord and His ways. Even though we begin again afresh, let us not make the same mistake of thinking that we have the wisdom and knowledge to do it right. When we are born again, we come to know our complete dependence upon our Creator. This alone will enable us to avoid the traps ahead so that we do not fall again to the same mistakes. The Apostle Paul stated:
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God (I Corinthians 1:26-29).Every fresh new move of God in church history began with those who really did not know what they were doing or where they were going. Like Abraham, they had to leave the country that had form and substance, to seek God in a place that was still formless and void of definition. Just as Paul had to be struck blind in the natural so that he could see in the spirit, we too must become void of our own visionbefore we will look to Him. However, the Lord does not leave us in this state, but begins to show us what He is building. Then He can give us the plans for the mansion He wants us to add to the glorious city thatHe is building. At the beginning of our journey, we must understand that we are not just taking a random course, but it is a part of His plan for us. Everything seems to be formless and void at first, but as we follow the moving of His Spirit, a beautiful creation, our new life in Him starts to take shape. In fact, God's plan for us is so comprehensive that He knew us before the foundation of the world, and our calling was known at that time. The foundation of our purpose is for us to become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ—that we become like Him and do the works that He did. This calling is upon every believer. He has also given each of us a very specific part to play in His overall plan. It must be our quest to search for our part in His plan. Abraham may not have known where he was going, but he did know what he was looking for. He left everything to be a part of what God was building. This is also our quest, to be a part of what God is doing.

MorningStar ministries

Charting Our Course Into the Future
The true Christian life is the greatest adventure and the most glorious quest that can ever be known on the earth. Nothing Hollywood has ever produced can compare with the reality of the true Christian life. There is nothing as exciting, as fulfilling, or as compelling as getting to know our King and learning His ways. When this is our daily quest, the focus and devotion of our lives, we will find the path of life that is the bridge between heaven and earth. It is never too late, or too early to start this journey. As we do, we will be used to bring true life to the earth, and bring defeat to our ultimate enemy, which is death.

The goal of these Fifty Days devotionals is to impart a vision for what the Christian life is intended to be from an uncompromising, biblical foundation, with a historical perspective. I purposely sow into each of these devotionals some repetition and review to increase retention. My goal for writing is not literary or artistic achievement, but to promote spiritual fruit-fulness and an irresistible devotion to our purpose for being on this earth.

We are living in extraordinary times. Great changes are sweeping the world. Great changes are also taking place within the church. There are some things, such as sound biblical doctrine, that must never be changed. There are other matters in the church that desperately need to be changed. In general, the structure of the modern church is more an invention of medieval, institutional Christianity than the biblical model for the church. When the church rediscovers her true purpose and makes the necessary changes to fulfill it, there will be no greater force on earth, or one more relevant to the time. In fact, she will begin to live by the power of the age to come.

The changes needed to make the church relevant to the time are not just to make the church "seeker-sensitive," but to enable her to become the living, powerful force that she is called to be. The Reformation of the church has been more than a five hundred year process, but it is far from complete. In fact, there may be as much reforming left to do as has been done to date. Will this take another five hundred years? No. It can even be done in a day. As we are told in II Peter 3:8:

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord

one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

This implies that the Lord can do in one day what we think would take a thousand years. The Lord is certainly patient and, therefore, will probably take a little more than one day to complete this job; but the radical changes that are needed to bring the church into her full purpose can and will happen quickly.

Some of the greatest changes coming will involve the structure of church life and function. We can learn much by looking back at the first century church, however, we cannot fully understand what the church is called to be by looking at the past. We are not called to be the first century church, but the twenty-first century church.

If we are going to understand the church's full purpose, we must begin to look beyond the church to the kingdom. The Lord did not send us to preach the church, but rather the kingdom. We cannot fully understand what the church is called to be without understanding her purpose in preaching and preparing for the coming kingdom of God. As the Lord said in Matthew 24:14:

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world

for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come."

This is not the gospel of salvation, which is generally what comes to mind when we think of the gospel. Of course, we will be eternally grateful for the gospel of salvation, but the gospel that must be preached to all nations is more than this—it is the good news that Jesus is the King of kings and He is returning to rule over the earth. This is the message that must be preached to all nations before the end will come.

That His kingdom would come, and His will be done on the earth as in heaven, was the focus of the prayer He taught His people to pray, and what we have been praying for nearly two thousand years. This prayer will be answered. We are living in the times when this message will be proclaimed across the earth. Not only will this message go forth, but the foundation for His kingdom will also be laid.

To preach this message we must believe it ourselves. If we really believe it, we will begin to live in His kingdom now. To live in the kingdom we must live under the Lord's rule and authority. Is His authority growing in our lives? Are we becoming more obedient and more sensitive to His leading?

If we are abiding in His kingdom our message will not just be in words, but in demonstration of His authority and dominion. As we are told in I Corinthians 4:20, "For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power." Unprecedented power is coming to the messengers of the kingdom to preach the message of its arrival with authority. This is what we are preparing for.

MorningStar Ministries

"Marching Forth—Out of the Battle into the Glory"

As we "spring" into a new season, the Lord wants to bring refreshing to the Body of Christ, as is written in Isaiah 43:18-19 : "Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert."

Alleluia! God's Word is so amazing as it disciplines us. By it we learn to take every thought captive so as not to call to mind former things but, rather, march forward with the mind of Christ. For, beloved, if we look back, we draw back. Surely, rivers in the desert will sustain us as we prepare for a great harvest of souls.

Friends, there have been many long, hard-fought battles, and sin has tried to enter in, but righteousness will have its way! Holy Spirit recently reminded me of the woman at the well who had become entangled in darkness, possibly due to wounds from her past (see John 4:9-15 ). But Jesus met her right where she was at , even as a spirit of death (sin) crouched at her door. Jesus offered her exactly what she needed—living water, life...abundantly. Praise God!

He offers this "living water" to each one of us, no matter what has transpired on our journey—by nature or by nurture. For the Lord sees each person created in the image of God, and "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28 ). How exciting to read of the Samaritan woman hearing of eternal life and running from the well to share the Good News—whose name was Jesus. Beloved, we too are being called to run and share truth as living waters now flow from our bellies (see John 7:38 ). You are a well—go!

Healing Waters Healing Wounds

Many years ago, I had a vision of the Body of Christ, the army of God, marching but wounded. Thousands of men and women hobbled along, clothed in bandages, using crutches to prop them up as they moved forward on the battleground—ever so slowly, but not so surely.

Following the vision, I witnessed outpourings around the world as our Commander in Chief, yet loving Father, poured out His Spirit. It was truly a spirit of love likened to that of a compassionate parent kissing the wounds of precious children—bringing comfort and healing. Of course, that balm is always available as needed. But, His "army" is much stronger today, and we know that offensive troops gain ground quickly. It's time to occupy, Church!

Bless the Lord as He hands out "prescriptions" for wisdom. For if we don't draw upon the healing waters, allowing deep cleansing of the wounds, then spiritual infection can enter in. Bitterness, for example, can become cancerous to the soul if it remains as unresolved revenge. Internal poisons can become like deadly cells, multiplying and attaching to peace and joy—killing and destroying. Wounds that have superficially scabbed over can create barriers, interfering with intimacy with the Lover of our Soul.

The fact is, all warriors for Christ can be wounded in the battle, dear ones, so we must be attentive to the ploys of the enemy. It's crucial to remember, we march on a victorious battleground, so it is actually the deep, inner infection and poison that is the real war . But aren't we blessed to have the cleansing Blood of our Savior to bring healing and total forgiveness to us? Oh friends, ALL things work together for good, for God, and nothing the enemy throws at us is a challenge to the King.

Yes, we encounter temptations and if we're not careful we can create landing strips for the enemy. But we must keep in mind that satan only has as much power as God allows. So what the devil wants to use to draw us away from the Lord, Holy Spirit wants to use to draw us closer to the Lord. In actuality, battles can produce increased Christlike character in us, for godly purposes, and allow His Kingdom to be advanced with power.

If you've been wounded friend, today is a good day to let go and let God . Hebrews 9:22 is a living, active Word that can wash your wounds of all infection. It says, "Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." In other words, no church, no therapist, no religion can do the cleansing Jesus can do, because the shedding of His Blood paid for every sin. There's power in the Blood yesterday, today and forever.

The Power of Choice

Sometimes I think we underestimate the power of choice—a power we see in mankind initially in the Garden of Eden. Beloved, each time we're wounded we can choose to become bitter or better. We can choose to inquire of our Heavenly Father as to how He wants to use every circumstance in our lives to conform us to the image of Christ. In other words, how do we process an event with the mind of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:16 ) so we do not allow sin to take a foothold? We must realize poor choices can cause distance in our relationships with our Savior and His/our family.

Question: What choice did our role model Jesus make each time He was hurt, wounded, betrayed? Answer: Love was always His greatest aim .

Another great example to follow is our brother Paul. We see in Acts 9:16 he was destined for pain in service, even before he was an apostle. The Scriptures read, "I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake." There we have it...we're in good company.

Friends, have you ever been falsely accused? If so, you have even more in common with Paul. He was being falsely arrested in Jerusalem and ended up in Rome as a prisoner of the empire (see Acts 21-23 ). However, it's amazing that while in prison he wrote the letter to Philippi—the epistle of joy. May we do the same, shouting joy unspeakable—salvation—to the world during times of darkness, and letting them know there's an eternal joy from above that the world cannot give and the world cannot take away. We must let them know we can all be faithful, even in the hard times because we know eternity is coming!

Are you imprisoned in some manner, today? Perhaps in your mind, your circumstances, your finances? If so, the epistle of joy clearly gives us keys to freedom. Paul kept his eyes on God! He knew God's peace, God's glory, God's salvation, God's effort and God's ownership. He kept his eyes on Jesus! His hope was in the return of Christ. He kept his eyes on the Gospel, on humility, on obedience, on faith, on knowing Christ, on the power of resurrection, on the sufferings of Christ, on the ownership of Christ, and on the grace (see Philippians 1-4 ). Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!

Of course, the devil would like to bring the focus back on ourselves, getting us to focus on our comfort or lack thereof when there's tribulation. But the Lord has created a divine plan whereby we can put our focus on others, defusing the pain of the battle. "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3 ).

Paul recognized wounds as tools to advance the Kingdom. Listen to what he wrote in Philippians 1:12 , "Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the Gospel." He had made a choice to go through anything and everything for Jesus. He went on to say, "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8 ).

Spiritual battle wounds can be very productive tools if we allow them to complete a work in us—if we consider it all joy when we encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces endurance. If we let endurance have its perfect result, then we lack nothing (see James 1:2-4 ). Did you catch that, friends? We lack nothing—Alleluia!

March Forth into Revival Glory

Okay, we know if something needs reviving, it must be dead. And we always rejoice in a God who causes ALL things to work together for good. How amazing—every spiritual battle wound can help crucify the flesh, allowing us to walk in the Spirit .

So we might ask today—Death, where is your sting? Praise God! Jesus, our Forerunner, conquered death thousands of years ago, and the same power that raised Him from the dead dwells in us—resurrection power. Therefore if we've been crucified with Christ, is it not time for revival? Beloved, if you've been wounded in the battle, if you know the Lord is near the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18 ), then contrition can equal revival . This is one of the keys, Church, for God has promised to "revive the heart of the contrite" (Isaiah 57:15 ).

A contrite heart has been broken and crushed. It's like particles of clay that can be molded into beautiful vessels, ready to carry the glory of God. A contrite heart contains inner brokenness that weeps over sin and sinners and leads others to be revived by the King of kings.

Contrition is powerful! It creates a heart of habitation. For the Lord says, "'Heaven is My throne and the Earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being,' declares the LORD. 'But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit , and who trembles at My word'" (Isaiah 66:1-2 ).

Oh, yes, out of the battle into the glory!

Onward Christian Soldiers

For Christians, the battle wounds we really need to be concerned about are the ones in our souls, when we choose to think sinfully. We must also be alert for the wounds we refuse to pray about or choose to hang onto, not forgiving others, for those can become poison from the pit. Yes, the war rages friends, but the battleground is victorious. Jesus has given you all that you need to win—it is finished. Walk it out, be watchful—recognize spiritual warfare as choosing good or evil.

Each time we find ourselves in a spiritual battle, we must remember that we are overcomers! It's not about the battle, it's about the victory! It's about slaying the giants and advancing Earth as it is in Heaven. March forth! Don't allow any dark cracks in your armor, beloved. You've made it through boot camp with the Lord of victory—so claim your inheritance as sons and daughters of the King! You are not prisoners of wounds from the past but totally free to walk in your true identity.

Take off the grave clothes as He prepares a crown of beauty for His Bride instead of ashes. He gives you the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (see Isaiah 61:3 ). Adorn yourself with faith in God, knowing that all discomforts and sorrow are covered by the Blood of Jesus. Forgiveness is mingled with forgetfulness . Arise, and put off despair as you clothe yourself in the praises of the Lord.

Fear not! Even the heat of fresh fire you may walk through only burns up more infection and ignites more anointing of His Presence. Your light has come! No more hobbling along—prepare for acceleration.

Prepare to MARCH FORTH, aggressively, occupying the land for the King of kings! YOU are a revival!

Elijahlist

Enduring Love
Today I want to talk about the second great test of love, which is endurance. This is what the Lord referred to in His rebuke to the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:4-5:

"But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
"Remember therefore from where you have fallen,
and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you,
and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent."

The most common understanding of this term "first love" is the passionate love for the Lord that they had in the beginning. Certainly it is rare for any married couple to maintain the fire they had for each other in the beginning of their marriage for more than a year or two. Usually marriages move from the fiery passion they have in the beginning, to a love that continually fades in passion. Most claim that this love is actually deeper and more fulfilling, but is it?

What most consider the fiery passion of love is more physical attraction than emotional, intellectual, or spiritual. Sex is a wonderful gift from God that is intended to strengthen the bond in the marriage relationship, but it is far from being the whole relationship. If the bonding does not go beyond sexual attraction to emotional, intellectual, and spiritual bonding, it will be a tenuous relationship at best.

The same is true of our relationship to the Lord. The initial fire and zeal we had when we first met Him is wonderful, but we must go on to know His heart and His ways. The more we get to know Him and His ways, the more deep confidence and faith we will have in Him. Because the fire and zeal that we have for the Lord in the beginning is not a physical attraction, there is no reason it should diminish. In fact, we should become even more excited as we get to know Him better. There is no thrill in the universe like getting to know the Lord.

There is a phrase some of the great saints of the last few centuries have been fond of using. It is "moving deeper into God." There have also been movements called "deeper life" movements. Those I know from these movements usually have a rich and deep relationship to the Lord that is special. However, with few exceptions (and there are some), there seems to be an unwritten rule with many of these that the more mature you are spiritually, and the deeper your walk with the Lord, the less emotional you will be about it. I have even been told their love "goes beyond feelings," which I think is a basic deception. I do not believe any love can go beyond feelings. How would you like for your spouse to say to you, "Darling, I don't feel anything anymore, but I still love you."

I realize many immature believers exhibit their emotions or physical manifestations as evidence of their relationship to God. Yet, even the great angelic beings that dwell in the presence of God, and have since before the creation of the world, still tremble, marvel, and seem to constantly be in awe of the unfathomable wonders of God. After millions of years they will still be going to higher and higher levels of ecstasy and glorious wonder as they behold more and more of Him. I am sure we will all be crowding around doing the same thing.

There may be other galaxies, and worlds to behold and learn from, but there will never be anything in creation more wonderful, or inexhaustibly fulfilling, than knowing the depths of God. Stars may fade after a few million years, but the glory of God will never fade. It is not possible to truly get closer to God without getting even more excited about Him. Much of what some refer to as "the deeper life," may be learning more about God, but anyone who is truly getting closer to Him will grow in their passion for Him as well. It is impossible not to.

If we drift from the passion we first knew, it can only be because we have drifted from Him. Because the church is first and foremost His temple, when we drift from Him, we are no longer abiding in Him, and we will therefore stop manifesting Him. We can still do ministry, and learn deeper things about Him, but the true measure of our spiritual lives will always be by His manifest presence in our lives.

In II Corinthians 2:14 Paul talked about how he "...manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place." If someone comes into the room that is growing in knowledge, it is not likely to get your attention. However, when someone enters a room, who has been in the presence of the Lord and is getting closer to Him, everyone's attention will be irresistibly drawn to them. As Paul continued in II Corinthians 3:7-11:

But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory,
so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses
because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how shall the ministry
of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? For if the ministry of condemnation
has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.
For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory on account of the glory
that surpasses it. For if that which fades away was with glory,
much more that which remains is in glory.

Because Moses had been in the Lord's presence, he reflected so much glory that he had to put a veil over his face. We are also told here that what we should be experiencing in the New Covenant is supposed to be evenbetter than that! One of the ultimate questions we should be asking is: where is the glory? It is in His presence. When we learn to draw close to Him and dwell in His presence, we will experience something even greater than what Moses did. Moses met with Him face-to-face, but we have Him living in us. Hebrews 12:29 tells us "…our God is a consuming fire." If we are truly getting closer to Him, the fire in our lives will be growing.

MorningStar Ministries

"You are Leaving Your Comfortable Captivity and Entering into New Vision and New Authority!"

Border Wars in our Lives!
If you will remember, one of the words to start the year with was, "Watch the Border Wars!" Things are changing around us very rapidly. The enemy could convince you that calamity is on its way, have you retreat instead of advance, and stop you from contending for a greater field. I do not see some overwhelming calamity that changes the course of the way we process life! Therefore, tell dread that could lead you to poverty to leave your sphere. However, I do see a "greater captivity" if we shrink back from contending for the promises for the next season.
These are times that each of us finds ourselves in our own "Border War." We each have a portion! We each have an inheritance! God's covenant plan in your life has borders. The enemy seems to have crossed the line and occupied our portion. Many times he seems to be ruling with an upper hand. However, there are great changes that are manifesting in God's people. There are many adjustments that each of us are going to make. You will defend and secure the borders and boundaries of your portion!
Leaving the Comfortable Structure and Falling into the New!
At the beginning of March, Sheryl Price gave the following word:
"There are those of you that feel you are on the verge of being captured…like pirates came in and took over your ship, and you feel as if you are being forced to walk the plank and go into a place that is not of your own choosing! I hear the Lord saying:
'This is Me! I have caused that place where you have been comfortable in your last season to begin to be disrupted. Even as you walk that walk of faith and go off the last plank (of what you know as secure) and believe you will fall into the sea, I tell you that it is not the sea of destruction, but it is the 'see of faith!' I will cause you to see what you have not seen in the past because your comfortable place has narrowed your vision. I am getting ready to open your vision in a way that you would not think possible!
There is so much for you to see that has been held back by the blinders of the last structure that surrounded you. This is a time of leaving the comfortable structure and falling into the new! I am releasing you from that old structure. Do not seek to return! Seek Me and SEE! I will cause you to see the way I see you! You will be amazed at what you see and what you are called to be in Me. You will be amazed at what you see that you have not seen!'"
Heaven's Play is Being Sent In!
I want to add by prophesying what I recently heard stirring in my inward parts very early one morning:
"This is the time that from the depths of your being you are going to release a new sound. For some of you, the sound will be a shout. For some of you, the sound will be a laugh. For some, the sound will be the groan of travail! For all, the sound that is beginning to rumble in the bellies of My people will stir the old atmosphere that has been filled with stale unbelief. This sound must come forth! This sound must come forth now!
"This will be a day that the enemy will keep pulling toward the left. The sound that comes forth will cause you to break to the right. This sound will look unruly, but the power of the sound will break fear and remove the old structure around you. Like Gideon threshing in the winepress, you will come out of the structures that have wrongly defined My Kingdom identity because of the fear that has developed in your life in the last season.
"Your confining enemy will think you are going up the middle in attempt to score but instead My Spirit is shifting your stance and you will be running an end-around. I tell you today, the sound in your deep inward parts that has been captured will surprise the enemy. You will get past his defensive wall and into the end zone.
"This is a time that I will surprise the enemy with My people's move. The sound in them will create the movement. As you make your end-around, the sound that is in you will stop the enemy's blockade. This sound will send the demonic team that has been sent against you into confusion.
"Get ready, I am making Heaven's play and sending the play in by My messengers! This play will cause the journey from your here to your there that has been stalled to begin to move. The move 'to go ahead' has begun! This is a time of acceleration! You have energies in you that I can unlock and use to burst you past the enemy's line.
"Do not fear the thief that has captured many of the spoils from the past season. I am healing the breach of entry where he entered and established a squatter's residence in your portion. You will burst past his captive strategy. You will leave and then you will return. You will understand the power that he has used to hold you in captivity and then you will return and demand your sevenfold increase.
"I will light your path of freedom. Rejection can't hold you. Past failures won't stop you. The unknown will not make you hesitate. Soul ties from relationships that have been built through emotional dependence rather than covenant alignment will now dissolve. Take one step at a time and keep going. Step! Speed up! Get on your new path and move forward!
"Do not keep starting over at ground zero. You are moving forward. Pick up where you left off and advance. I will fill in the blanks you need for the victory ahead. If you will keep going then I will make you stronger and more efficient. You will have a grace infusion of what you need to know. Pieces will fall in place that you were striving to get positioned. Keep moving on. I have new territory for you to occupy."
Blessings,

Chuck D. Pierce

Elijahlist

Serving the King
There are some teachings in the Bible that are hard to understand, and others that are hard to live by. However, the Lord gave us a mandate that does not allow us to pick and choose which teachings we want to accept and which ones we do not. As we read in Matthew 28:18-20:

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me
in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo,
I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

To summarize, because He has been given "all authority," we are to go and make disciples of all nations, by teaching them to observe all that He commanded. This is an all-inclusive mandate. It is the Lord's obvious intention to return all of creation to His ultimate authority.

However, we are not fit to go forth with this great commission unless He is the Lord of our entire lives. This is not to imply that we must be perfect before He can use us, but how can we go forth teaching others to observe all that He commanded, if we are not devoted to such obedience? Do we live our lives under His authority? Or do we like to teach about it while continuing to live for ourselves, doing our own thing? Do we even know all that He commanded?

This is obviously a tall order, and the first thought that would come to many of us might be, how could we even begin to find the time to accomplish all of this? We should first ask ourselves, what do we do that is more important than this? If we are in fact redeemed, we have been bought with a price and we no longer belong to ourselves, but to Him. Those who have been redeemed are no longer to live for themselves, but for the One who redeemed them.

First, we must come to know all that He has commanded before we can go forth and do it. Did you know if you read just two chapters of the New Testament every day, you will read through it entirely three and one half times a year? If you have been a Christian for twenty years and began reading just two chapters in the New Testament every day, you would have read it through seventy times! You would not only know very well all that the Lord commanded, but His Word would be flowing through you continually, washing and transforming you by the renewing of your mind.

If you added reading just two chapters of the Old Testament every day, you would read it entirely through every year. This would also give you an overview of the entire unfolding plan of God every year. As we are told in I Corinthians 10:11, concerning the events of the Old Testament, "Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." They were written for our instruction, so we must need them.

Now we may think this is a lot of reading, and yes it could take thirty to forty-five minutes every day. That seems like a lot, but how much time did you spend watching television today? The average American spends between two and four hours a day in front of the television. Is that more important than learning what the King expects of us?

What would happen if we spent just as much time feeding our souls as we do our flesh every day? Do we give the King of kings even less time than we do our stomachs? The lives of most Christians would be radically transformed if they just spent as much time each day cleaning up their inner man as they do washing and grooming their physical bodies. Which is more important?

The truth is we give time to the things that are really important to us. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." Many call Him "Lord," but how many really live under His Lordship?

We tend to think of the Lord as we do other human authorities who compel us to do what they say or suffer immediate consequences. However, we are in the age when the Lord is calling those who will serve Him because they love Him and they love the truth.

It says in Ecclesiastes 8:11, "Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil." Jesus is the Lord above all rule, authority, and dominion, but for the purpose of revealing hearts, He has chosen not to execute judgment quickly in this age. Because we are able to get away with things without swift punishment, many drift in their devotion and obedience. This reveals our true hearts.

The reverse is also true. The rewards of righteousness are seldom immediate. Therefore, many drift from righteous devotion. This also reveals our true heart. Even so, the judgment day will surely come. As both Jesus and Paul explained, it will come upon the world like birth pangs upon a woman in labor. That is, as we get closer to the birth, the contractions will become more intense and more frequent.

We have been given a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We build our lives on that kingdom by obedience. It is too late to start building our houses on the rock after the storms have come, just as we are told in Psalm 32:6, "Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not reach him." As our King Himself admonished in Luke 6:46-49:

"And why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say "Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them,
I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house,
who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose,
the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it,
because it had been well built. "But the one who has heard,
and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house
upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it
and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great."

MorningStar Minstries

John Belt:
"Expansion, New Levels, Brightness and Favor!"
"Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes." Isaiah 54:2

Things are accelerating in the Spirit. This is a time of God's favor and overwhelming blessing in the midst of testing times. As we anchor ourselves to Him, building our house on His Words, we will not fail to discover the place that He has prepared for us in this hour.
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you." John 15:7
A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon: "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." Psalm 127:1
We are in a season of building and expansion. The Lord is building the house. In a vision I saw someone adding another addition to a house. I was surprised at just how fast it was progressing. One minute it did not even exist, then the next it was there.
"'Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.'" Amos 9:13
Then I noticed that there was barely enough room for the expansion. For what God is getting ready to do, there will need to be bigger vision and the capacity to be flexible and go with the flow. Change will be an ongoing thing because of the rapid pace and acceleration of God's moving. This will need to be integrated into the fabric of our thinking so that we can just take it in stride and be prepared.
"Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes." Isaiah 54:2
A Time of New Levels of Authority Being Released
"To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" Revelation 3:21-22
The authority of the Lord is going to increase as we pursue Him. In conjunction with this expanded territory of His dominion there will be a coinciding authority released to steward the work that the Lord is doing. With every new thing that God grants to us there is the responsibility that comes with the territory. The new authority is needed, for with the new territory comes new challenges that can only be handled by it.
A Time of the Brightness of His Glory Being Released
"For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising." Isaiah 60:2-3
In this new place that God is building there will be a bright release of His glory. The highlight will be the "brightness" of His glory. As we partake in His glory, we will reflect His glory. There will be a brightness upon our faces. Just as the children of Israel could not stand to look at the face of Moses, so God will restore to us such a glory that the world will be able to see a difference. Because the Lord is building the house, our labors will not be in vain and will not be out of religious ritual and tradition but out of the ongoing influence of the Spirit in our lives.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen." 2 Corinthians 13:14
Communion with God is no longer a chore because we have broken ties with the prevalent evil that seeks to bring God's people into bondage and under a "heavy yoke mentality." You can always tell you are under a religious spirit when your communion time becomes "work." You have lost the "easy yoke" of Christ and have come into a place of superficiality that breeds "striving in the flesh" to accomplish things. In Him there is not striving of the flesh but an ease of flow, because you are simply yielded to the Holy Spirit and find your pleasure in Him. It is never work when it is a pleasure to do something.
Ask the Lord to release a fresh oil upon your head to remove the weights and chores mindset, that He may replace it with a joyful desire to be with Him. What a concept! In that place we will find the brightness of His glory upon our face.
"As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness." Psalm 17:15
A Time of the Favor of God and His "Famous" Anointing Being Released in an Unprecedented Way
"For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield." Psalm 5:12
God will release His unprecedented favor or "famous" anointing upon His people. Because our hearts are to make HIM famous, He will release this anointing upon our lives. Due to the absence of "self-promotion," God will do the promoting and bring His Joseph Company into the places of prominence that He has destined for this time from the foundation of the world.
The wealth of the wicked has been stored up for those who walk with integrity before Him. They will not spend this wealth on their own fleshly desires but will funnel it into His Kingdom purposes for the glory of God. God has tested and tried choice vessels for this purpose.
"A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous." Proverbs 13:22
These are those who have been found trustworthy to handle the wealth of the world. He who has been faithful with little shall be entrusted with much. Those who covet this wealth will not be the recipients, but only those who covet the Lord. This is not any wealth, but a special wealth that has been set apart and is "holy to the Lord."
His favor is for a lifetime. He does surround His righteous ones with this favor like a shield. The pure in heart shall see God and glory in His love, goodness and grace.
The Timing of God is Perfect Yet Offends the Natural Mind
The timing of God is perfect, but it does offend the natural mind. God has His own economy. It is completely separate from the world.
"When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices..." Proverbs 11:10
When the economy of Heaven is functioning in His righteous holy ones, the city rejoices. What this means is that when the righteous tap into Heaven's realities and function from that realm, the realm of Heaven gains access through the gateway of the heart of His people into the earth. The people of God are the channels of blessing that funnel the unlimited resources of Heaven into the earth.
Just as Jesus multiplied the loaves, so God uses His people to release His blessings and provision into the earth. In this way, He gets all the glory. It is beyond our natural (worldly) understanding, because the blessings are from a heavenly outsource. This is why it is of utmost importance that we function by faith with our trust in Him, believing in His faithfulness and desire to be our sole Resource in the earth. It is "In God We Trust."
In His Overwhelming Love,

John Belt

Elijahlist

God Says,

"You Are About to See Me Part the Red Sea Once Again"
The following prophetic word was given by Eileen Fisher on March 3, 2009 during her weekly Prophetic School of the Holy Spirit meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The Lord says, "I am not the God of forgetfulness, but I am an eternal, covenant keeping God. I am an eternal God, the beginning and the end. I have called My own by name. I have numbered and held the stars in My hand. I have kept the universe in balance. My strength is still flowing through you, My people; My strength is still flowing through the land; and My strength is still flowing through your households.
"For There is a New Move Coming Over the Face of the Earth"
"Even when you don't see My hand, trust My spirit. Do not be like those who followed, chasing sign after sign after sign and missing My very presence. For I would say unto you, I long for fellowship. I long for fellowship. I long for you to be in My presence.
"For there is a new move coming over the face of the earth," says the Lord your God. "There will be stillness like you have never experienced. You will even see people on a platform who will be stunned because they will not know what to say because of what I do. You are about to see My agenda being released on the earth in a new way.
"You are about to see Me part the Red Sea once again. But this time it will be different. This time I will come in and part evil from good and good from evil. For that was the purpose for the crossing over of the Red Sea. For they had to leave back the evil things and go forth into the land of milk and honey. You will know this move and you will feel this move. Even in your households I will begin to expose things. Idols will be brought forth, but only to be broken.
"For you are moving into a season where curses have been ruling and reigning. You are going to see them flipped over and move into a season of blessings. You are going to cry out, 'Our God reigns.' You will call forth the agreement that I have been seeking the earth to and fro for, saying, 'Who will believe and wait for the hand of the Lord?'
"For I say unto you, you are a Believers group. Believe, for that is what you are called. Believe, for that is what I ask of you. Believe, for that frustrates the plans of the enemy. Believe, for that causes your faith to rise up. Believe, for that sends the enemy running and scattering, and you'll receive the guidance of My Spirit," says the Lord your God.
"But if any man lacks wisdom, did I not say that I will give it to you?" He says, "Tonight, wisdom is being dropped into your spirits." He says, "Tonight, wisdom is the gift that is being placed in your spirit heart. For you will have decisions made in the knowing of your spirit man, that you will have discernment in the working of My Spirit, for you will no longer work beside My Spirit.
"You Are Going to See the Marriage of the Spirit and the Word Come Back with Faith"
"I am raising up an army who will become radical," says the Lord. "For they will be Spirit-led people, and their Body would be one of restraint. For now, it is the Body who is trying to restrain the Spirit, for you will see that flip," says the Lord your God.
"But you do not understand that some who have been in caves, I am saying to them to come out of that cave, come out of that dead, cold thinking. Come out of that which would only give life, now move into that which would promise the life. For others would say come here for this is life, only to find out that it was a different kind of life than that of My Word," says the Lord your God. "For My Word is alive, and My Word is active, and My Word is true. You are going to see the marriage of the Spirit and the Word come back with faith like you have never seen before.
"Things will get darker around you. Do not, and I say again do not look at circumstances, but walk on top of them in the Spirit. For if you learn this lesson well, you will understand dominion and you will understand what it means to rule and reign in Christ Jesus, not beside Me but in Me because My Spirit is in you," says the Lord your God.
"Long to be controlled by My Spirit for He longs to control you that My Kingdom come and My will be done. That the earth may know and all who live that Jesus Christ not only died but rose again as an everlasting Intercessor. Know that your Redeemer does live and you'll begin to know Me as your Redeemer," says the Lord your God.

Elijahlist

Knowing and Believing
I have been privileged to travel widely throughout the body of Christ, and have been exposed to almost every kind of major Christian denomination or movement. Presently, many of these groups are in conflict with each other, and some always seem to drift into serious delusions. However, even in its present state I marvel at the brilliance of the church. She is, without question, the greatest creation on earth. Even so, her true greatness is yet to be realized. What could be more wonderful, or more of an honor, than helping to prepare her to be the witness of the unfathomable wisdom of God that she is called to be for all ages to come?

Having begun as the most powerful religious and social force the world has ever known, the church fell into extreme spiritual poverty during the time that it became the most powerful political force in the world. Correction, reform, and maturity have now continued for centuries. The church has proven overall to be a wineskin that can expand to receive increasingly pure new wine.

Certainly there is still a long way to go before the church attains her prophesied maturity of not having spot or wrinkle, to be known for her love, and to be clothed in the glory of God. Those without a historical perspective may have a hard time seeing much progress toward this end, but it is certainly being made. Much of the old is presently experiencing renewal, and there are great new movements constantly pouring new transfusions of life into the universal church. These are certainly wonderful times to be alive and to serve in the household of faith.

From the historical perspective it is also apparent that the Lord did use His church even in her worst condition to speak to every age. The Lord has never required one to be perfect before being used, and He has never required His church to be perfect before using her. We do not get perfected in order to get close to God, or to be used by Him, but we get perfected by getting close to Him and being used by Him. In fact, as He demonstrated with Peter on the Day of Pentecost, He seems to delight in using us in a great way right after a major failure. Like a loving parent with a child, He is always quick to pick us up when we fall, and encourage us to keep going.

It is quite revealing that the Lord sent out His disciples to preach the kingdom, heal the sick, and cast out devils before He even taught them to pray! I am not implying that it is supposed to be this way for us, but I do think that we need to re-examine many of our basic concepts of Christian maturity. Many of those who claim to have the deepest understanding of God and His ways are the least used by Him. Why?

The Apostle Paul warned that "knowledge puffs up," and it does seem that many who seek deeper knowledge fall to the pride that disqualifies them from being useful to the Master. However, before we completely write off those who are great with knowledge, let us consider that Paul himself was an exception to this pattern. Even so, he had to be struck blind in the natural before he could see in the Spirit.

In Matthew 22:29 Jesus said, "…Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God" (KJV). This seems to still be true. Those who tend to know the Scriptures err because they do not know the power, and those who know the power err because they do not know the Scriptures. We will continue to fall to error until we know both.

I once asked the head of one of the most successful insurance companies how much training his agents needed to sell their products. I was surprised when he answered that "over-education" was the greatest threat to an agent's success. He himself did not understand why, but they had very solid data indicating that those who were prone to want to know too much before they got started were inevitably the least successful. He said it was the ones you couldn't hold back to sit in a classroom for very long that were always the best. He lamented over the fact that they had such great products that they wanted them to be understood, but he said it was simply a fact that enthusiasm sells ten products for every one that is sold by knowledge.

It is an interesting fact that believers who lead others to the Lord will lead more than 90 percent of them to faith during the first two years after they themselves have been born again. Very few Christians lead others to the Lord after they have been believers for more than two years. The reverse should be true. As we mature and grow in the knowledge of the Lord's ways, and as we walk more and more in the light, we should lead more and more out of the darkness. Why does knowledge, or even Christian maturity, seem to have this very negative effect?

The first is obviously what Paul warned about, that knowledge can lead to pride. It is rare to meet someone who is devoted to deeper knowledge who is not correspondingly prideful and delusional. It is also rare to meet someone with has great knowledge who also has the substance of that knowledge in their life. This should not be.

When I was a flight instructor the most difficult and dangerous students were those who had studied the training manual so much that they thought they knew how to fly. Reading the manual and flying the airplane are quite different matters. I would rather try to teach someone who thought he or she was a great pilot because they stayed in a Holiday Inn Express, than those who were overly devoted to knowledge without experience.

Yet, it is also true that the Lord lamented in Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest...." As we have mentioned, there is a ditch on either side of the path of life and few seem to be able to stay on the path that is between them.

I love the company of those who love knowledge and are always seeking more understanding of the Lord and His ways. I also love the company of those whose faith is effective and are walking as the Lord walked, healing the sick, casting out demons, and shining light into the darkness to set free those who are bound. These should all be in the same group but presently they rarely are. This must change if we are going to attain what we are called to. We must learn to combine growing in understanding and walking in faith, which are both required to do His work.

MorningStar Ministries

Theresa Phillips:
"I Am Opening Up Revelatory Realms and Many will See Heavenly Armor"
During a particular moment in time, I was caught up in a world of the naturally unseen. It is a realm of mystique and wonder. I saw myself being transported to a place of unnatural proportions. I call it "God's own tabernacle of the Heavenlies." The Presence was powerful; I was being lifted beyond my own imagination, and there I was suddenly standing on a surface filled with an atmosphere of grace and power.
The Making of Heavenly Armor
Directly before me was a huge, black onyx pillar; I was amazed at the beauty of it. The black was a color of black not known to me before, so I became very curious. The Spirit directed me to look at the base of the pillar, where my eyes became fixed with fascination. My spirit became excited and fearful at the same time. A holy fear had entered me. I saw an archway filled with amber colored light. This light was illuminating from the archway. Instantly I was inside this archway.
My eyes were being transfixed on the events taking place before me. I was standing in a room of what appeared to be a factory. Ahead of me was a fire with huge bellows being moved above it. There were several strong figures working. They had on white tunics and dark black belts. Their arms were massive, their skin amber in color, but their height was not grand at all—these beings were rather stout. They were humble and exceedingly powerful, yet moved with such grace.
The Presence that brought me there by the Spirit was on my left side. As I turned my head to the right, I saw a shield just leaning on an object near the surface of this awesome place. Instantly the shield was upon my own chest and was glittering like it was made of diamonds.
Then one of the stout beings came to me with a sword he had drawn out of the fire. He motioned to me to open my left hand. He placed in my hand that sword and took measurements of my hand, and then went back to the fire where the bellows were moving; He never said a word to me.As I looked at the fire, I saw something that permitted my eyes to look further. I was seeing the outside of the pillar. What I had perceived as a solid pillar, was now a transparent shelter. Standing on the outside of that pillar was an army of bright, powerful armor. It had every weapon needed to win a war. More armor than any man could count. The armor was standing at attention. In my mind I was wondering, "Why are so many pieces of armor there?"
The Armor of God
The Presence that was my escort began to tell me this was the very armor that GOD had given man in the book of Ephesians 6, starting at verse 10:The Armor of God
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace.
"In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
I asked, "Why is all this armor just standing there?"
I was then told, "This is physical armor, not just a spiritual one. This is the armor that the saints have not put on, yet. It is designed exclusively for My children in battle. It is theirs and theirs alone. No two are alike. Each person has been fitted for this armor to PROTECT them for the tasks I have for them."
I asked, "Why did we not know this before?"
He said, "It is in the very Word you read, but you have not had the revelations of it. I am opening up revelatory realms of My hiding places and many will begin to see this heavenly armor."
The Spiritual and Physical Armor of God
As I began to inquire of this "Godly armor," I wondered one great thing: If it was physical, how can we get it to earth? How is it possible? What is the method?
Then I looked again and I saw an amazing thing. This armor was standing at attention, in ranks and file. It was unmovable. It was strong, it was fierce, it was shining. Then I began to weep, for I knew instantly what it was—what the Spirit was conveying to me. The physical armor is the unity of the Church, established in the heavens before the world began—it is brilliant! It is strong and it is fierce.
It is still being created daily in the forgers' workshop of Heaven with revelations and creative avenues for prosperity, for helps, and for each other, preferring one another over self, and promotion of the Kingdom of Heaven in such a manner that we can believe the Scripture in Daniel 2, verse 44:
"In the time of those kings, the God of Heaven will set up a Kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever."
Yes, it is the armor of the spiritual and physical, fitly joined as one. It is the Body of Christ's Believers of Spirit and Truth, each knowing what they are destined for; each working together to gather in the lost, dying, broken, maimed, fearful and rejected ones. And it is the armor of GOD—the extension of His holy hand, bearing justice and righteousness.
The Church, moving as ONE, clothed in Heaven's armor, is the physical side MOVING His Kingdom—being more than conquerors—for two halves make a WHOLE ARMOR.
Theresa Phillips

ElijahList

"Wounds of Love:

As Ambassadors for Christ, Each Wound Piercing Our Side is Truly an Honor"
What an exciting time to be alive as the Church walks out Isaiah 60:1—arising and shining. What a marvelous season for the Body of Christ to unwrap heavenly gifts from our heavenly Father. In this hour, we must eagerly seek and operate in all the supernatural gifts. We will see an accentuation of the nine spiritual gifts (see 1 Corinthians 12) and great manifestations of the nine spiritual fruits (see Galatians 5:22-23) in 2009.
As we open our gifts, like sons and daughters at Christmastime, we must run with them outside the four walls of the church and share them with the world. Of course, they must be accompanied by love or we will just be clanging cymbals in the streets and marketplaces.
Friends, how awesome to know that wounds of love are transforming you into vessels of light. You have been prepared for a harvest, gathered in by arms of compassion. You have been comforted by the Lord so you may comfort others, loving them to life.
After years of seeing vacant offices in the church and operating as non-prophet organizations, the Lord is restoring His apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These are for the equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up of the Body of Christ. But there's more! We read in Ephesians 4:13 that the building up and equipping continues "until we all attain to the unity of the faith." Oh, how we look forward to attaining maturity so we can possess the full measure of Christ.
So, how do we attain the fullness of Christ and the unity of faith that can empower us to manifest the gifts and see even greater works (see John 14)? How can we be certain we are not clanging cymbals? Well, the key is love, divine love, wrapped in an exquisite, all-encompassing gift named JESUS.
He is the Holy One who was wounded for our sakes. He became vulnerable, even unto death, so love could hold Him on a cross. We, too, must remain vulnerable to love, allowing Christ to transform our wounds into portals, changing us from glory to glory.

ElijahList

"Friendship with God

In Order to Hear From God, We Must Spend Time in His Presence"
"One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord; where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel." 1 Samuel 3:2-4

Before Samuel became a prophet of the Lord, he became His friend. No one was hearing from God for the people. Eli had gone to his "usual place" and did not take joy in being in God's presence as he once had. His zeal for God had diminished, and the joy of just being with God in His presence and listening to Him was no longer there.
"In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions" (1 Samuel 3:1). If Eli could not hear from God, the people would not receive messages from Him. The only words that we receive that are of help to people are words from God. If we don't spend time listening to Him, then we will receive no words by which we will bless and encourage His people.
As a boy, Samuel enjoyed the presence of God. We see a picture of this in 1 Samuel 3. Everyone else in the house of the Lord had gone to bed. The lights were dim and the rooms were quiet. Samuel felt the need to go back into the temple and lie down near the Ark of God instead of going to bed. He just wanted to hang out with God. He was probably thinking that since the lamp of God was still burning in the temple, why not go spend the evening in His presence.
At this point "Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him" (1 Samuel 3:7). He'd never heard God speak, but he still enjoyed His presence. I truly believe that it was because of this enjoyment in God that God spoke to him. He and Samuel became friends.
In order to hear from God, we must spend time in His presence. People need to hear from God; they need to hear the word of the Lord. We can only hear from God if we spend time with Him. We can only hear from Him if we have a relationship with Him. Our relationship to God is the most important thing in our lives, therefore we need to give it the utmost care.
Simply Come
Our relationship with God should not be complicated by a lot of manmade rules about how we get "into" the presence of God. We simply need to put our religious sensibilities aside and come to Him as a child. Samuel had no agenda when he went into the temple, he just wanted to spend time in God's presence. We should never go to God with a rule book in hand, but with simplicity of heart.
Several years ago the Lord showed me just how He wanted me to come to Him. I was lying on my bed trying in desperation to touch God. I did not feel His presence and I felt frustrated, not enjoying my time spent with Him at all. "Help me God!" I cried. In walked my three year old son, Cole. He bobbled into the room with a goofy grin on his face. As he sided up to the edge of the bed he said in a very silly, childish voice, "Hi!" Then he walked away. The Lord spoke to my heart at that moment, "That is how I want you to come to Me!"
God wants us to be free from all of our self-made criteria of what we think He expects from of us when we approach Him. He wants us to come to Him as we are - as a child.
God wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives. He wants to help us with even the simplest, most common tasks. He wants us to be one with Him in thought, word and deed. If we are doing the laundry, then He is doing the laundry. As we experience God in the simple areas of life, then we can rest assured that He will be there for us during the trials of life.
He Chooses to Dwell in Us
There is a secret place inside us where God dwells. When we abide with Him in the Spirit in that secret place, we will see the evidence of His presence with us. "He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High God, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1).
We have the greatest calling to fulfill in all the universe: to live for and with Christ. We are not expected to attain Christ's likeness without God's power living and working through us. We can do nothing without living every moment under the shadow of the Almighty.
His shadow is the shelter of His presence, and we can abide with Him there if we dwell in the secret place. The secret place is not a physical place like it was in Samuel's day. Our secret place is in our own hearts. We can go anywhere and still focus on Him in our spirit and be in the secret place of the Most High. We might be at work, yet we can enter into the presence of the Lord by simply going to the quiet place in our spirit and find Him there waiting for us.
It is in this place where the Lord speaks and we listen. Samuel had never heard God until he spent time in His presence. They developed a relationship with each other. Samuel became one with God; they became friends.
Being God's Friend
Years ago, I went through a season in my life when God shook everything in it. One of the things He shook was my friendships. We moved to another state and the friendships I had previously fizzled out. I tried to make friends in our new hometown, but they just didn't click. I prayed for months for God to open the door to some really good friendships, but nothing came of it. My husband, on the other hand, had no trouble making friends. I was happy for him, but his success heightened my frustration. I cried out to God, "Lord, what about me? Who will be my friend?" He spoke beautifully into my spirit, "I will be your friend; I want you to be My friend." What an honor, what a call, that He would desire to be my friend.
I began to devote myself to a deeper friendship with God than I ever had before. I realized that I had been living as His servant successfully enough, and did not realize the deep friendship I could have with Him. There is no deeper friendship we can have than with our Maker. He created us, knows us, understands us and loves us deeply. We can't convince Him we are anything more than what we are, because He knows us already. When we mess up, He understands why and responds with compassion. When we fall time and again, He is there to pick us up. There is no friend like God.
Hearing the Voice of God
As we develop our understanding of this great friendship, then He can show us how to love others. As we are first filled with the power to truly love others by loving Him and by receiving His love for us, He will give us the words of life that others desperately need to hear. But it only comes through our communion with Christ.
We need to hear the voice of the Lord! We need to hear His voice now more distinctly than ever before, because the enemy, satan, is working overtime trying to deceive us. We can stay out of deception by hearing God's voice. He gives us true wisdom and direction.
Eli had gotten used to residing in his "usual place" in the house of God. We, too, can get too used to our relationship with God the way it is. But God wants us to come out away from our "usual place" and seek Him afresh and anew - to turn from all else and seek only Him. He wants to show His love for us in a new way. He wants us to get to know Him in a fresh way and experience new aspects of His character - to experience new facets of His love.
God is calling you to a deep friendship with Him. Will you except His invitation? Open your heart to Him today and say "yes." Love Him as you have never loved Him before and watch Him enlarge your capacity to love others. Ask Him simply to do it and He will!

ElijahList

The Goal of Life Is Life
As we have considered in our study, our goal is not just knowledge or power, but life. In our pursuit of life we will seek knowledge and the power to authenticate our message, but these are just means to the ultimate goal. The life we seek is the person of Jesus—He is the Life.

The life of God is found first in His nature, and then His works. We do not serve Him because of what He does, but because of who He is. Likewise, our calling is not just to do, but to be. Our calling is to manifest the life that is in Christ Jesus, which He wants to give to a world that is dead in its sins.

There are basically three stages in the process of attaining this life in fullness:

1) The first stage is revelation. This is the revelation of what Jesus accomplished on the cross for us. It includes the glory of our deliverance from our old nature, and the glory of our calling and inheritance in Him.

2) The second stage is working. This is the actual working out of this salvation by the renewing of our mind—our very nature in a way that brings practical deliverance from our old nature and establishes His new nature within us.

3) The third and final stage is revealing. This is the revealing through us of the glory of the salvation of God, the nature of the new creation, and the inheritance that we have been given as members of His own household—sons and daughters of God.

We can see these three basic stages of maturity repeated over and over in Scripture. They are seen in Israel's departure from Egypt, the wilderness, and the Promised Land. We see them in the three parts of the Tabernacle of Moses, the temples built by Solomon, and the temple built by the remnant that returned from Babylon. All of these were prophetic outlines pointing us to know Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

The first stage is basically self-centered because we are learning all we can gain through Christ. Self-centeredness is not wrong for the immature, and immaturity is not wrong when we are young. Infants are almost totally self-centered because they are in such a helpless state. Like children, we must also learn who we are and what we can do before we can begin to relate to others with maturity. One of the true marks of maturity is that we become less self-centered and more Christ-centered and devoted to helping others.

Though the transitions between these stages in our natural lives are usually gradual, they represent specific periods of time in our spiritual lives. The first stage, revelation, is fresh and exciting, but usually quite brief. The second stage, working, is hard, but also very exciting and fulfilling, and where we learn, grow, and see the glory of the Lord in a way that starts to change us into His image. We must get through the wilderness to get to the Promised Land. This is where the greatest trials and temptations come upon us to test the life that we have been given, and to prepare us for the authority we will be given in stage three, revealing.

Stage two can seem like a place where we know mostly defeat and failure, but that is the wrong perspective. We seldom pass one of God's tests with a perfect score. Often we have to be graded "on a curve" with added grace from God in order for us to pass at all. This can be a hard and often depressing stage of our development, which is generally due to our perspectives. We are growing, and even though we may go in circles at times in order to retake the tests that we failed, it was in the wilderness that God's tabernacle was built, and it is in this stage of our growth that the Lord builds His habitation in our lives. It is also through our failures that we learn for certain that He is our salvation and victory. Here our faith in ourselves is reduced and our faith in Him grows. This is the level of truth.

The third stage is when all of the dealings of God are applied and we start to possess our inheritance—which is to live by the power of the resurrection life of Christ. This is where glory is not just revealed to us, but through us. This is the place where we start to fulfill our calling and destiny in Him.

The overwhelming majority of Israelites could only enter the Outer Court of the Tabernacle, a few could enter the Holy Place, but only one could enter the Holy of Holies. Likewise, it seems that very few Christians make it past the first stage of maturity. Many shrink back from the dealings of God that would bring them to a place of Christlikeness. These are the Christians whose faith is an appendage to their lives. They may faithfully go to services, but their understanding seldom goes beyond the knowledge of salvation. Much of their lives is in fact still in Egypt, bound to this present world.

A few go on into the wilderness and begin the exciting life of truly walking with God day-by-day. The first generation of Israelites died wandering in circles in the wilderness because of their lack of faith. Likewise, today it seems that most Christians still do not get any farther than this stage. Many spend their lives going in circles, enduring the same wilderness trials over and over because of a basic lack of faith in God. Even so, those who get this far usually accomplish much for the Lord and His purposes. They build His dwelling place, and help raise up a generation that will cross over and possess the promises of God.

Just as only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, only One can still enter the highest realm. Therefore, for us to enter we must abide in Him. This means that Galatians 2:20 must be a reality in our lives so we too can say in truth, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me." This is our ultimate goal, and this is where we go beyond just beholding the works of God to beholding His glory.

Again, our goal is life. We must know the way and the truth, but life is our goal. If we do not have His life we do not really know the way or the truth either. We do not just want to know about salvation, but have His salvation working in our lives. We do not seek truth for the sake of having knowledge, but to have the truth that sets us free from our old nature so that we can walk in the newness of life. The goal of truth is also life. Our goal is not just to know about our inheritance and the glory of the age to come—we are called to live in it.

MorningStar Ministries

Where Are We Going?
As we have learned, we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (see I Peter 2:9). We are called to be a separate nation within the nations. We are here to live lives that testify of the excellencies of the King we serve. Those who have been born again into this kingdom are a "new creation,"vastly different and superior to the old creation man. We are here to represent the glory and the power of the age to come. We are from the future.

The reason the Lord did not catch us up into heaven immediately after our salvation is because we have a mission on earth. Though we were redeemed from the corruption of the Fall and already have eternal life, we are going through the process of renewing our minds and natures into the new creation nature of Christlikeness. His whole creation testifies that the nature of God is practical and systematic.

The Lord also has a practical, systematic plan for the "restoration of all things." This plan is basically the same as the process of our personal restoration from the old, fallen nature to revealing the power and glory of resurrection life that was purchased for us at the cross. We are going through this process so we can help lead the rest of fallen creation back into harmony with God.

This restoration process will be completed in the age when we rule and reign with Christ over the earth. This is the time that Peter called "the period of restoration of all things" (see Acts 3:21). We are called to be fore-runners and messengers of the coming kingdom. The power of our message will be directly related to the power of the life that is in us. As the Apostle Paul declared in I Corinthians 4:20, "For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power," and the power that we have been given to testify of the coming kingdom is the power of life.

We cannot be witnesses of the Almighty God without power. When we think of power we often think of miracles, but they are only one example of God's power, not the very essence of it. The essence of God's power is the life of God. This is why the author of the Book of Hebrews explains that the Lord's priesthood is based on "the power of an indestructible life" (see Hebrews 7:14-17). Therefore, our goal is not just knowledge or power, but life.

This life is infinitely more precious than anything we could possess on this earth. Many who have walked in the greatest abundance of true life have actually had very few possessions on earth, just like the Prince of Life Himself. There have also been some who have had great possessions, such as the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, King David, and some of the great Christians in history like Count Zinzendorf. However, in all who have true life, there is an obvious focus on things much higher than the treasures of this earth. Those who had true life may have possessed treasures from time to time, but they were not possessed by them.

Our goal is to live and reveal the power of the life that is in Christ Jesus. We use the Way and Truth to lead people to the life. It is our life that makes true Christians strikingly different from all other people on the face of the earth. Again, we are an "alien nation" within the nations. We are a "new creation" that is vastly different from all other men. The difference is not just in our doctrines and beliefs—the difference is the power of the life that we live. We are from another reality and another time. For the message to be fully given to the world, it must be practically revealed by our lives. The body of Christ will arise in the last days as a demonstration to the world, and even to the principalities and powers, of the power of the life that is in Christ.

MorningStar Ministries

Where Are You From?
We have been taking a step-by-step approach to establishing a vision of what we are to grow up into as Christians. We have discussed how we are called to be a "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (see I Peter 2:9). We are called to be a separate nation within the nations whose very existence testifies of the excellencies of the King who rules over us. Christians should be strikingly distinguishable from all other people. We are in fact the "alien nation" within the nations, as we are a "new creation" that is vastly different from the Adamic nature of man.

This "holy nation" also has a different government. Of course, we honor the governments of the nations that we live in because they too have received their authority from God (see Romans 13:1-6), and they are our hosts. Even so, our main purpose on this earth is to prepare the way for the kingdom that is to come, to serve its interests, not just the interests of the nations of this world. That does not mean that we do not seek to be a blessing to the nations, but we serve another King, Jesus. We must place the interests of His kingdom first in all things.

As we proceed toward the end of this age, the "holy nation" will become more distinguishable. It will increasingly become a bright light set on a hill in the midst of darkness. The Christian community will become just that, a community within itself with a powerful and distinct identity. This does not mean that we must live in separate neighborhoods, but that the bond between Christians will grow so strong that they will be recognized as a community of people within the community. We will live by a faith and a purpose other than those that the world lives by.

To further understand just how we are to relate to the nations of this earth, I want to briefly discuss the two different kinds of governments that presently rule this world. Later, we will elaborate on how they are distinguishable from the kingdom of God in their basic functions.

Basically, the present governments of this world can be separated into two kinds, the lawless and the lawful. The lawless nations may have a strong authoritarian government, such as many of the communist governments. If they have a constitution at all, it does not have any real influence because the true rule is at the whim of those in power. In these nations the courts are not established for the purpose of providing justice, but for enforcing the dictates of those in authority. In contrast to this, the lawful nations are those that are established on a constitution that has real strength and a system of justice based on protecting the constitution and the rights of the citizens who live under it.

Generally, the lawful governments will be much better than the lawless, but both fall far short of the government of the kingdom of God. Even in the most lawful nations, law is an art and not a science. By this I mean it can change because of the influences of justice under the law. One who has the most persuasive lawyers arguing their case can win, the merit of facts actually having little to do with the outcome of the case.

In nations so devoted to the rule of law, such as the United States, right and wrong is often determined by what we can get away with, not what is right or wrong. Even though this may be the case, these systems will probably provide much more true justice than those under a lawless system. However, there will not be true justice until the Judge returns and establishes His kingdom based on truth.

For further study of these two basic types of earthly governments, I highly recommend the writings of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. He lived under the lawless regimes of communism and then spent years under the lawful (or full-of-law) government of the United States. He saw both as falling short of bringing forth the best and highest purposes of mankind. With the eye of a prophet, Solzhenitsyn's address, "A Warning," to the graduating class of Harvard (which was published on the front pages of newspapers throughout the country in 1976) shook our nation as few critics of our country ever have. This was probably one of the two most powerful prophetic proclamations made to this nation in the twentieth century, with the other being the "I Have A Dream" speech made by Martin Luther King, Jr. (We published Solzhenitsyn's address in The Morning Star Journal, Volume 3, Number 1.)

In contrast to the best governments of this world, the kingdom of God is based on the highest moral standard—love. We who live in the kingdom should not be governed by what we can get away with, but by what is right and what is of the greatest benefit to those we are commanded to love. It is true that when the King Himself comes to set up His kingdom on earth, He will come with a rod of iron to judge the nations, but even His judgment is founded upon His love. God who is love, does not do anything out of resentment or retaliation. This was proven for all time by the cross. Even if He must destroy a nation, it is because love makes it necessary.

This certainly is "tough love," but true love is uncompromising in its standards for the sake of those loved. As Proverbs 13:24 declares, "He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently." If we do not discipline our children we are not preparing them effectively for the life that they are going to face, and are therefore harming them, not loving them. For this reason, Hebrews 12:6-11 states:

"For those whom the LORD loves He disciplines,
and He scourges every son whom He receives."
It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons;
for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers,
then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them;
shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?
For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them,
but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness.
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful;
yet to those who have been trained by it,
afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

In our lives, such discipline in the form of trials we endure is for the purpose of preparing us for His kingdom. His church must be prepared so we are not only ready for it to come, but also ready to take responsibility and authority with Him when He comes. Everything happening in our lives is training for reigning. Don't waste your trials. They are coming upon you because the King loves you and wants to use you for a glorious purpose. It is by passing these tests that we advance step-by-step into the place of being ready for service to the King.

MorningStar Ministries

Who Are You?
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies
of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God;
you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (I Peter 2:9-10).

The very first group of people to be called a "cult" were the first century Christians. At that time, it was not considered to be a derogatory comment to be called this because the word "cult" was derived from the word "culture." Christians were so different from other people that they were perceived to be an entirely different culture in the midst of the nations at the time. Of course, the word "cult" has a different meaning that we would not want applied to us today, but even so, Christians should be strikingly distinguishable from all other people.

In the Scripture quoted above, we are first declared to be "a chosen race." Have you ever considered that once you became a Christian you became part of another race of people? We are no longer white, black, red, Jew, or Gentile. As Christians we are called to be a different race within the earth that is distinguishable, not by the color of our skin, but by our lives and character. Our lives and character should be so different and powerful in Christlikeness that we stand out because of them.

It is more difficult for minorities not to think of themselves first as a red or black man or woman, etc. Wherever there has been a history of racial prejudice, those discriminated against have their racial identity thrust upon them in a much stronger way than majorities. Even so, if our identity is not first as a Christian, we have much maturing to do. If our attraction to fellowship is not first toward other Christians above those with whom we are just racially identified, it is an indication that we are placing our identity in the flesh above our identity in the spirit.

This is not to imply that there should not be some identity and fellowship around one's natural race or culture. However, if our identity is not first as a Christian then something is awry. This is probably something that is askew with most Christians today because we fail to see ourselves as the separate race that we are called to be, the "chosen race."

The second identity that we are given in I Peter 2:9 is "a royal priesthood." One of the great truths highlighted by the Reformation was the priesthood of all believers that the New Covenant makes clear. How many Christians even think in terms of their priestly calling and duties on a daily basis, or at all? Of those who know this doctrinal truth concerning our priesthood, how many are actually functioning in this calling, which we all have?

Not only are we a priesthood, we are a "royal" priesthood. Christians are the true royalty in the earth. We are sons and daughters of the King of kings. We should conduct our lives with the dignity, grace, and integrity of such royalty. We should also understand that a priesthood is first for the purpose of serving the Lord, but also serving all nations, races, and cultures with intercession and ministry. If our identity is truly with the Lord first, this duty as priests should be foremost in our minds above any other earthly duties or professions.

The final description that Peter gives to believers is that we are a holy nation. The Greek word translated "holy" in this text is hagios (hag'-ee-os), which is defined as "sacred, pure, morally blameless," as well as "religious, ceremonially, consecrated." Recent studies indicate that there is no longer a moral difference between those who consider themselves born again Christians and non-Christians, when just fifty years ago the difference was striking and profound. What has happened? It is the fulfillment of the Lord's own prophecy concerning the last days in Matthew 24:12, "And because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold."

There is clear evidence that in fact most Christians' love has grown cold, and they are no longer distinguishable by their character, or their love for God or one another. Even so, nowhere does it say that those whose love has grown cold cannot be reignited. This too is happening. One of the great revivals that is taking place at this time is the recovery of backslidden and lukewarm Christians.

The Word is also clear that before the end comes there is going to be a church that is pure and spotless. This is one of the primary purposes for restoring prophetic ministry to the church. Just as John the Baptist pre-pared for the Bridegroom the first time he came, there will be a prophetic ministry that will call God's people to repentance in preparation for His second coming. These messengers will be flames of fire, not to condemn, but to save and reignite the passion of our first love in the hearts of the "chosen race, the royal priesthood," that will actually be a separate, "holy nation" on the earth when He comes.

MorningStar Ministries

The Rock
Because Robert E. Lee esteemed loyalty to his native state of Virginia above some of the basic principles he believed, his misplaced loyalty cost multitudes their lives. Many Christians likewise justify their actions, which are in basic conflict with the Scriptures and the nature of the Lord they claim to serve by esteeming loyalty to their nation, denomination, or other institution, above the basic principles of the faith.

This is not to in any way imply that loyalty to our nation, denomination, or even our company, is wrong. Loyalty is a noble characteristic found in every truly noble soul. However, we must esteem loyalty to our God above all of these or they have become idols. We must always obey God rather than men when there is a conflict between the two, if He is truly our Lord.

Many have probably compromised the basic tenets of our faith in this way because they do not really know the basic principles of the faith, having failed to search the Scriptures for themselves. Every nation that goes to war will try to fan the flames of religious zeal on behalf of their cause. Few things are a greater motivation than religious zeal for the devotion and sacrifice required to win a war. Many are duped for the cause of evil in this way. What can we do about it?

If you are wondering where this is leading, I am actually trying to keep you from taking "the mark of the beast." Many have simplistically thought that it will be easy to refuse the mark because they believe if anyone tries to put it on their forehead or hand, especially a mark that includes 666, they simply will not take it. However, a study of this quickly reveals the probability that this mark is far more subtle. It is not just having truth that will keep us from being deceived, but having a love for the truth, which we read in II Thessalonians 2:8-12:

And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay
with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;
that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan,
with all power and signs and false wonders,
and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish,
because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.
And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence
so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged
who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

Robert E. Lee was a remarkably Christlike man in his daily life and demeanor. He once got down from his horse to minister to a wounded Union soldier who had just cursed him. Several times his top generals failed to carry out his orders at the most crucial point in several major battles, in two cases probably costing him a decisive victory that could have won the war. Even so, he never publicly berated his subordinates, but took all of the blame upon himself. He once got up early to personally serve a meal to a junior officer that he had misjudged. He refused throughout the war to sleep in anything but a tent, sharing all the same hardships that his soldiers did. While Union soldiers burned fields, farms, and towns throughout the South, when Lee marched through Union territory he severely punished any who damaged the property of his enemies, and he made his generals pay the full price for any provisions they took from farmers.

Lee was so noble and steadfast in his basic character that few generals have ever inspired their men to suffer such hardship, and to fight so hard. With little to eat, marching sometimes hundreds of miles with no shoes, suffering the news of their homes being burned and farms destroyed by ravaging Union soldiers, rarely in history have any fought with more valor against greater odds, or for a worse cause. Hundreds of thousands of these great and noble souls died fighting for wrong because of their loyalty to Lee.

Loyalty is a wonderful and glorious motivator, but if we are loyal to any person or entity more than we are loyal to the Lord Jesus and His truth, we too will be in jeopardy of fighting for wrong regardless of how noble or valiant we are. In history there have been great spiritual men and women who have led great movements, motivating multitudes to sacrifice and valor for the sake of truth and righteousness. There have also been many with seemingly noble character and courage, who have likewise motivated many to sacrifice and valor for doctrines of demons. Being noble in character is important, but it does not negate the need for a devotion to the truth.

I personally have a great concern for Christians in these times. Too many are like sheep who are possibly being led well now, but it is obvious they could easily be led astray because they lack depth in their own convictions. They have not dug their own wells. They have not come to know the Lord's voice, or His ways, for themselves. In John 10:4, we are told that the Lord's sheep follow Him because they know His voice. They know His voice, not just the voice of a pastor, teacher, or writer. We each have the responsibility to know His voice for ourselves.

We must each dig our own well. We all must go deeper. We must build our lives on sound biblical truth, established in our own hearts. There was a time when Jesus asked His disciples: "…Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" (Matthew 16:13) Of course, men were debating that He was the resurrection of many former prophets and righteous men. Then Jesus asked them who they thought He was. When Peter answered that He was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, the Lord responded with:

"Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood
did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock
I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it"
(Matthew 16:17-18).

The Lord was not saying that He was going to build His church upon Peter, as some have asserted. Jesus alone is the foundation of the church, and the rock that we must fasten our foundation to is the revelation from the Father of who Jesus is. It is not enough for us to just believe in who our parents say Jesus is, or even who our pastors say He is. We must have our own revelation from the Father of who Jesus is. We will never be able to cast out demons "by Jesus whom Paul preaches." The Jesus whom Paul preached was true for Paul, and all of Paul's writings are true and accurate for doctrine, but we must still have more than that—we must have our own revelation of Him, and even our own conviction about Paul's writings. We will not get to heaven because we are close to someone who is born again, or is growing in Him—we must be born again, and grow up into Him.

MorningStar Ministries