When are you the closest to God? For me, what works best is pacing. That’s right! That movement keeps a strong focus going. It functions a bit like Tongues, blotting out all the junk while breathing in fresh new inspirations. Oh, and it’s very compatible with Tongues!
An important caveat to working at something else while God is trying to get something through to us is that our fleshly mind always wants to distract us. We can train ourselves to recognize the difference, though, between our hanging with God for fellowship and love vs. our stubbornly refusing to listen when there’s an important revelation coming.
Dear You,
What would it take to get you to listen to Me ALL the time? A billion dollars? Or, take all your money away and throw you in prison? Or, something in between? If you EVER took the plunge and gave up ALL human pride, giving your-SELF over to Me, we could live a glorious life right here, right now, in a mansion or in a prison.
W.A.M.L.,
God
“Moses represented all of Israel, and went and met with God. He took the ten commandments of the law covenant and put them in the ark of the covenant, and then …put that ark in the taberacle, in the Holy of Holies. God’s Presence dwelled in that place. In the new covenant. God made a similar covenant with Jesus. This covenant is perfect. Jesus met with God and represented all of mankind. He took your heart, wrote on it God’s new covenant law of love, and put your heart and mind into the ark of the covenant in heaven, which is God’s throne, the mercy seat. You are so joined to Jesus in the new covenant, that nothing can break that. The only way would be to remove your heart from the ark, and God is sitting on that. Your trapped!”
_____ NOT IN YOUR STRENGTH
______ (by Dr. Robin Starbuck)
Moses knew that he was a Jew, in spite of Cecil B. de Mille’s rendition of “Moses”! (Exo. 1-4; Acts 7:20-25) He knew what his life purpose was from God – to lead his people, the Jews, out of the captivity of the Egyptians. But Moses, like a lot of us, sought to do the will of God in his own human strength. God had an entirely different plan in mind – that of carrying it out supernaturally. After all, why would God even think in such limiting terms?
When we ask God for something, let us think big – let’s imagine beyond human frailties. Moses thought he could use his position and power to carry out God’s plan. He even went so far as to kill a man in a display of his own natural strength. it was patently wrong minded, and he paid the price for it. Sometimes it’s hard for us to grasp the fact that God doesn’t need our “tooling around” as if we ourselves were the almighty. First, find God’s will; then find out what His plan is.
We have an awesome God. Let’s be a little bit awesome ourselves by putting everything in God’s hands. He is equal to every challenge and worthy of all the glory.
Baptism is another issue that invites much unnecessary debate. It is a ritual that had its purpose and function before the cross. John Crowder’s* insight lends much needed elucidation:
The “baptism” of the Spirit is not a separate thing where first you only had Jesus, and now you get the Spirit. It just means to get dunked, immersed or have your senses tangibly “filled” or flooded with the Spirit Whom you had all along. After all, He is the “Spirit of Jesus.” Col. 2:10 says “By your union with Christ you are filled with the Godhead” … that means you already have the Spirit … you even have the Father in you too! So “infilling” is not a “second work,” rather it’s about a continual enjoyment – a daily dunking – and experience of the Spirit we already have. Not a one-time or two-time event, but Paul says, “Be ye continually filled …” Eph. 5:18. It’s an abiding relationship – He remains in you.
So, in trying to decide whether or not to undergo baptism, bear in mind that the fear-mongers have no place in this decision. Thankfully, we don’t “need” a ritualistic, public dunking to get us into the Holy Spirit. We have it in spades already on the inside of ourselves!
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* JOHN CROWDER – John loves to push the envelope and provoke God’s people to extreme joy! He is an internationally recognized author, speaker, and advocate of supernatural Christianity. John is on the forefront of a fresh renewal movement marked by ecstatic experience, miracles and recovering the foundational preaching of the cross of grace.
When the Truth is crystal clear, there’s nothing left to do.
Faith does do something! . Something very big! . But maybe not what you thought….
Simon Yap explains
Your faith does not save you. It merely ushers you into a reality [of] which you were ignorant before. The truth is that your sins and flesh had been taken away on the cross.
Now we need to make a distinction between ‘having faith’ and ‘believing’. When you know something to be true, factual, undeniable, there’s no need for faith: the fact simply is.
Simon Yap continues
Your believing thus brings you to a realization that you are already reconciled to the Father.
Sadly when you don’t believe this truth, you live as if [Jesus’] work was never done for you and never finished for you.
You can have faith that your friend will call, as he has for the past 10 years: that’s faith. You can believe that 2 + 2 = 4. It just is!
Now here is Simon Yap’s conclusion and supporting scripture for the need to believe that which is patently obvious:
It’s Jesus who saved you!
1 Timothy 4:10
That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
“THEY THAT BE WITH US ARE MORE THAN THEY THAT BE WITH THEM.” = IS ONLY TRUE WHEN YOU SEE BEYOND THE PHYSICAL SENSES INTO THE SUPERNATURAL REALM.
2 Kings 6:8-16 KJV
Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. [9] And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. [10] And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. [11] Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? [12] And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. [13] And he said, Go and spy where he is , that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. [14] Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. [15] And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? [16] And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. “THEY THAT BE WITH US ARE MORE THAN THEY THAT BE WITH THEM.” PROVES TRUE WHEN YOU LOOK BEYOND THE FIVE PHYSICAL SENSES.
Another inspiration to be gleaned from staying alert to an extra-dimensional impact on our realm is when Jesus was teaching in the synagogue and hit on something that ruffled the feathers of the Pharisees:
Luke 4:28-30 KJV
And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, [29] And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. [30] But he passing through the midst of them went his way, WHAT DID JESUS DO ? . HE PASSED THROUGH THE MIDST OF THEM [UNNOTICED] AND WENT HIS WAY !!!!
Walked right through the midst of his enemies … and went his way!
