"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11
From the moment we've first believed, we've became aware of the presence of the Lord. We're always in His presence. We're always belonging in Him. So why don't we always feel joyful?
It's because of our unbelief. See, Jesus needs to be real to us right now, in 2 minutes, in 2 hours, and in 2 days. He needs to be continually sanctified in our hearts (1 Peter 3:15)--continually adored.
Our work and our choice is to believe in Jesus (John 6:29).
Constant joy is real--it's not too good to be true! We as believers accept the gospel, so we should also accept every piece of 'good news' that flows from it.
We can't give ourselves God's joy, but we can yield to it. We can yield to the cleansing truth of the word. We can yield to the hope of glory. We can yield to the love of the Holy Spirit, and be joyful no matter what.
I was at work last week when God showed me something that got me soo excited. And the verse started coming....
"Remember him--before the silver cord is severed..." Ecclesiastes 12:6
We need to believe God at His word. See, all are called to become sons and daughter, but to be chosen, we have to remember (Matthew 22:14). We all have to believe Jesus!
Our true identity is in Him. Our true birth is the second one--from above, from heaven. Creation longs for our awakening and realization of the life Jesus is taking us to (Romans 8:22).
Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.
John 3:3, AMP
Once we realize this, once we conceptualize that our citizenship is of heaven, we will walk in an upward call. The earth won't have such a hold on us!
See, the silver cord is the substance of our lifeline to the Father, to the heavenly realm. We receive an influx of our daily bread 24/7. We receive constant nourishment and a table is set for us wherever we go, even in the presence of our enemies (Psalms 23:5). We yield to Christ in us, the Kingdom of heaven within us (Luke 17:21)--we yield to the hope of glory (Col 1:27). It's an upward call.
See, the silver cord connects your spirit and your body. And once you believe, you are part of the body of Christ--which has been raised up with Him into the heavenly places! It's your brand new umbilical cord! And it won't be severed. There's a call for all to remember Him.
"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus..."
Ephesians 2:6
We have this connection to the Father whether we feel like it or not. When we believe, we receive! You don't have to pray for peace--it's within you. You don't have to pray for life--it's been there since you first believed. Just lay hold of it (Matthew 11:12). Lay hold of it and yield to God's truth, and His life will flow. The stream that makes glad the city of God is within you(Psalm 46:4)!
Ever wonder why the Spirit flows out from your belly? It's because that's where your connection is! That's where the silver cord brings union. That's where you're knit to Jesus.
"He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."
John 7:38
*Amazing confirmation: Less than 10 minutes after I got home and told this whole thing to Vanessa, our Mom, without having any idea what we had been talking about, insists that I see a certain picture that she'd taken a few days before. Here it is:
(The brightest ray is coming from the belly--from the cross!)
"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" Romans 10:17
"...Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise." John 5:19
"For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak." John 12:49
In order to operate in the gift of faith, we need to draw closer to the Lord. We need to hear His will and act only based on that. This is a trust thing!
God wants us to operate in the creative gift of faith. This is a place of prophetic inspiration and declaration. We pray according to His will on heaven, in order to see His will happen on earth!
God gives good gifts to us--liberally and without finding fault! And He wants to give us the gift of faith to empower us to reach others for Him.
The gift of faith moves us to simple and restful prayers. We need to realize the power of simply saying our Master's name! As we do, the supernatural will just start to flow.
The Word says we prophecy in accordance with our measure of faith, and it is the same with healing prayer. The more faith we have, the more we'll see, because our own unbelief can hinder God. We can all acknowledge God's power, and as we do, the more we'll see His power at work.
It's for freedom that we've been set free. We are free to eagerly desire the gift of faith. Desire leads to the revelation that God's been holding out the blessings to us all along.
"And I will do whatever you ask for in my Name, so that the Father's glory will be shown through the Son. If you ask me for anything in my Name, I will do it."
John 14:13-14
We need to recognize the promise here. We need our faith to be built up, or else we risk hindering the coming influxes of God's glory.
God wants to give us increasing faith. He wants to take us on from one level of trust to another. We're free to step out in faith, and we're free to be released from the doubts of our own human logic.
We don't need to be afraid to ask. We need to be ready to ask, so that we can readily receive. Whoever asks receives (Matthew 7:8).
As much as we decide to try, that's the extent we're going to see. God takes pleasure out of bold prayers.
About a year ago, Vanessa and I noticed that something strange was beginning to happen. Whenever we were out on the streets, people would say that they were sure they had seen us before. Normally they would ask if they had seen us earlier that day. People always seemed to think that we'd been at a movie with them earlier that afternoon or something.
This happened about a half dozen times within one week--almost every day. We noticed that God was telling us something! People were recognizing us according to God's eternal purpose on this earth. Before they saw us in person, they knew us in spirit.
This went on for about a week. Then I began to get frequent feelings of deja-vu. I noticed that they happened whenever I began doing something important--like when I ministered in a new place, when I encouraged someone, or when I did something for the first time. I'd get the sense that I'd seen this all before.
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
Deja-vu began marking times and seasons. I realized it was the Holy Spirit confirming that I was on God's predestined path for my life (Jeremiah 6:16).
"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,"
This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls"
Jeremiah 6:16
God has given us as Christians lots of ways to receive direction from Him. He allows us to know the unknowable so that we can confidently walk along that ancient path.
The Holy Spirit's been giving increased guidance through visions recently. There's a measure of foresight He reveals so that we can walk how He wants us to. It's called the spirit of prophecy! (Revelations 19:10) God's foresight--what He shows us--is always given to bring us closer to Jesus.
So, here's some recent stuff the LORD's been doing....enjoy the high quality video! (well, I thought it was uploaded in HD...oh well)
“In the last days” God said, “I will pour out my Holy Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men dream dreams.”
But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 19:14
Recently God has been at work (well, I guess He's always been at work...) among kids. We've been blessed to see several healing miracles in the last week, all because parents, children, and friends decided to come together and simply trust God. All it takes is a little faith! Jesus provided the substance for our healing some time ago....
