Snapshot: Entering into Resurrection Power

A few mornings ago, on Sunday, the Lord took me into a vision where I saw Matthew 28:2 and 28:3 played out.

"And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow."                            Matthew 28:2-28:3

And He showed me that things that are blocking His people from walking in resurrection life are being removed.  He showed me that obstacles to our supernatural restoration are being thrown aside.  He's making a way for His resurrection power to flow out.  He's making a way for Jesus to be revealed.  He's removing things, and making a way for His power to touch us!

They were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?"                                                             Mark 16:3

Sometimes we wonder this very same thing.  How will Jesus reach us in our lives?  How will we reach Him?  How will we see Him, and have Him transform us so that we can be as He really is? These are all real questions, and they are all created by very real situations.  They are created by blockages--spiritual or physical problems that put us between a rock and a hard place, so to speak.

In the midst of unsolvable problems, we need to know that God has our solution.  We should actively seek His coming.  We need to seek Him until He rolls away those blockages, those roadblocks that cut us of from receiving a fullness of life.

While only God's Spirit can remove these things for us, we have a role to play, too.  We need to cling to God.  We need to flee from sin, and resist the devil.  We need to throw off all our entanglements, as best as we know how.

"My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me"             Psalm 63:8

"Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."                                       2 Timothy 2:22

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."               James 4:7

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us..."                                                                                    Hebrews 12:1

So, there are things we can throw off, too.  There is a small portion of responsibility that has been given us--things that God empowers us to do so that we can choose to do them out of our own free will.  We can throw off sin.  We can throw off hindrances.  We can do this, and as we walk in His will, we can expect the Lord to clear out the bigger roadblocks ahead of us.  God is paving a way for all of us to really know Jesus.

And then the freedom begins.  Then the adventure really begins.  Then we walk in the Spirit, flow with the Spirit, and live filled with the Spirit.  We emanate resurrection power.  It's a lot of fun!  And more than that, it pleases the Lord and brings joy to His heart.

Confirmed:  At the start of Church that day, we started off after worship with a prayer asking the Lord to resurrect us, awaken us, restore us to His life and power.  Awesome!  God wants us to know that there is one Spirit, one mind, and one Body.

We also read John 11 that day, were Lazarus is resurrected.  And we talked about how this raising foreshadowed Jesus' own rise from the grave.  We talked about how Jesus' miracle here pointed to His own future glory.  Below is what we went over in Church--John 11:41-44 . Talk about confirmations!  Our God is so, so good.

So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

Yes, I know You always hear and listen to Me, but I have said this on account of and for the benefit of the people standing around, so that they may believe that You did send Me [that You have made Me Your Messenger].

When He had said this, He shouted with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out!

And out walked the man who had been dead, his hands and feet wrapped in burial cloths (linen strips), and with a [burial] napkin bound around his face. Jesus said to them, Free him of the burial wrappings and let him go.

(Amplified version)

Intercessory Prayer: Glory Clouds and Clouds of Witnesses

Recently, the Lord has been revealing to me a part of His glory.  It all started when I was praying that God would show me what His glory looks like.  Since that time, He's directed me, led me, and quickened to me all things related to clouds.  Hey--He's talking about the Glory cloud!  It took me a little while to figure that out.  He was showing me that His glory is often, well, packaged in a cloud.  Isn't asking the main step on the road to receiving?  Our God is so good.

Then Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you."                         Exodus 24:16

This is the Glory cloud.  This is what Moses saw, and what the Israelites saw, also.  We, too, have been gifted spiritual sight, as the veil has been torn by Jesus.  If Moses was shown great revelations, then we can, too. I always thought it was kind of unrealistic to think in these terms.  But hey--that's what the Word says.

"Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

Hebrews 10:19-22

And after several days of seeing clouds mentioned everywhere, the Lord led me on to pray for the town I was staying in at that time--Springfield, Missouri.  And I saw in a mental pictures cloud filled with glory coming in and resting over the city.  The cloud was beautiful, and was tinted by God and silver colors.  There were angels and beams of light all throughout it.  And I saw that the Lord had sent it in on behalf of those praying for Springfield.  I was kind of surprised by this--wow!  Praise God for revealing His character and His nature to us.

Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy.

Exodus 24:16

Confirmed:  A few days later, I met a man downtown--still in Springfield--that was praying for revival to come in.  He was a much older man, probably from the Assemblies of God, and was hoping in the Lord for a move of God's Spirit and a massive demonstration of His glory.

Confirmed:  There certainly was a show of God's glory in the area of Springfield!  People were healed and shown the power and Love of God.  Many people's hearts were hardened, yes, but to those who were open to it, the glory of God was shown and revealed.

Confirmed:   Today in Church, we read Hebrews 11, which talks about the cloud of witnesses.  So God added another element to this!  In the old testament, the Glory cloud was where God lived, and it was visible.  People usually didn't go into the cloud; they certainly didn't compose it.  And there was only one Glory cloud, assigned to one ministry--the ministry from God of Moses.

But now, Jesus has been endowed with all Glory.  And we are fellow sons with Him.  We are fellow partakers!  We, too, have access to the Glory cloud.  All of us, not just some spiritual leader!  Although it is not usually visible today, don't we walk by faith, and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)?  God's glory today is just as critical to ministry as it was in Moses' time.

I believe that there is actually more than one cloud today.  God is not limited to one area or one dwelling place now, given that He lives within those who believe!  I believe that it is part of the Holy Spirit's work to magnify Jesus--by sending in clouds of glory--to all areas of the world.  I believe that this is part of what our prayers do.  I believe that God sends in a dispensation of His Glory to those who want it most. 

And these clouds of witnesses are watching from Heaven thanks to Christ.  Don't you think they come in glory?  I believe that they are watching, and at times, moving with the Glory clouds that range to and fro throughout the earth (2 Chronicles 16:9).  I believe their eyes move with the Almighty's, looking for those who will be strengthened.  There will come a day when the whole earth will be filled with (the knowledge of) His glory (Psalms 72:19), and that can start with prayer.  That can start with the petition of those who want to believe.  Let's all pray for the coming harvest.  Let's all pray for a fresh release of His Glory.  Let's pray that people are awakened to this--that the eyes of their understanding can be enlightened by the King (Ephesians 1:18).

Fools for Christ--Who's watching?

Today I was led to 1 Corinthians 4:9-10.

"For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have become a spectacle to the entire world--to people and angels alike. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!"

God has put us on display for the entire world. This is something I've been thinking about recently, albeit on a more personal level. Many people might think that what Vanessa and I are doing right now is unusual. And it is. Many people might not approve of our current living situation. On the outside, from an outsider's perspective, the two of us are not accomplishing much, not even for God.  Based on this passage in 1st Corinthians, the forerunners have it worst.  They are the ones who bear the brunt of the world's judgement.

Sometimes the things of God just offend people.  Often they make us look foolish.  You can often discern how someone feels about God based on how react to a testimony of Godly things.  Even those who love you may really, really hate it when you mention our Lord.  It's sad to think about, but what they actually dislike so much is God in you, the Holy Spirit.

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."  John 15:18

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD."  Matthew 10:34-35

Onto a slightly different theme, earlier this morning I woke up with a tangible sense that I was being overseen.  I felt like I was being watched--in a good way!  And I felt the presence of God approving me.  I knew I was justified in His sight.  I was reminded that those in Heaven are also watching over us, and hoping that we will continue on in the Way.  

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" Hebrews 12:1

Like I said earlier, Vanessa and I don't usually have the world's approval.  A lot of people would say of our life that we are not 'doing the right thing', or that we are being 'unacceptable'.  But praise Him that we have acceptance from our Lord and our God.  Praise Jesus that we also have the cloud of witnesses cheering us on.  Praise Him that we have God living within us, working for us to please the Father.

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

So God's pleasure comes first.  His best comes first...and His best may look more than a little unconventional.  Again, as indicated in 1 Corinthians 4:9-10, those who are paving the way for the faith, and for another move of the Spirit, seem to have it worst. The established Church has it easier.  Those with titles and official mission fields are looked upon as higher.  A new wave of effort for God is often taken badly.  It often cuts to the heart.  And it often goes against popular opinion.  But what counts is faith expressing itself through love.  Social standards should not hinder this (Galations 5:6, also see context).

There have been many confirmations for this message.  Below are a few:

Confirmed 12/17:  Vanessa and I were talking about what constitutes an apostle.  A person close to us just started going to a major Apostolic Church.  Also, both of us have seen the Lord Jesus in visions, most recently by her.  That verse that God led me to this morning (1 Cor. 4:9-10) took away a lot of my discomfort.  Often I feel weighed down by the potential disapproval of others, to the extent that I feel like my life is a sort of ongoing spectacle.  But hey, if I were still trying to please men...

Confirmed 12/17:  There were a few messages about salt yesterday.  I felt God remind me that we are the salt of the earth, it's enrichment and it's preservation.  We are supposed to be noticeable to outsiders.  After walking me through some personal teaching, the Lord led me to the Quickened Word website to validate His message.  I'm telling you, this site is like a modern-day, virtual school of the prophets.  Anyways, here is that post.  

I feel this all relates to standing out for the all the world to see.  When everybody sees you, though, there is bound to be those who disapprove.  There are those who will think you are too "out there", or too salty.  There are those who will be even more greatly affected --that's those who will become cut to the heart.  But praise Jesus that He said this:

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." Matthew 5:11

Confirmed 12/18:  As a confirmation to the message about Apostles and their set apart lifestyle that God's given recently, I was led to Psalm 68:24 this morning:

"Your procession, God, has come into view, the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary."

Today, those whom He's called are a part of His procession.  We are part of His army.  This is the end of the procession (1 Cor 4:9-10, as seen above), and as a way of discerning the hearts of the world, the Lord has given us a uniqueness and specificity of calling.  All of us are asked by the Lord to be different.  All of us are obligated to be Holy and set apart.  All of us are called to be salt!  And some will be turned off by this.  Some will be angered and dislike the Will of God.  Some will be unbelieving and ask, "Did God really say?"  

But take heart- - your reward is with Him!  Your justification is by Him!  And your favor is from Him.  Wigglesworth said, "persecution brings purity".  Glory to God!