Posts Tagged ‘Kingdom living’

CORPORATE KINGDOM

Posted: April 8, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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One of the results of personal, individual, kingdom righteousness is that corporate patterns of life will begin to be ordered by the ways and will of God. Men begin to rule everything over which they have authority according to the ways of God instead of the ways of fallen man.

Some people are beginning to realize the degree of dominion and potency delegated to mankind for ruling the world systems and the planet. Mankind is not at the mercy of “mother nature” or any other aspect of the world. On the contrary, the world systems and planet Earth are at the mercy of mankind. The collective effect of multitudes of people living their lives according to the ways of the Babylonian kingdom of darkness is great disorder and stress on all the systems of man and earth. Left unchanged this could eventually lead to total destruction. In contrast, the collective effect of multitudes of people living their lives according to the ways of the New Jerusalem kingdom of God is great peace, order, and prosperity for mankind and the planet.

All systems of life on earth will be positively affected by the kingdom of God lifestyle in men. Social, economic, political, and ecological systems will prosper and eventually come into peaceful order. The negative trends of destruction and disorder brought about by selfishness will reverse and the earth can become renewed. Even the weather will improve as delicate ecological balances damaged by man’s selfishness and greed are repaired. Storms will decrease in number and intensity as global warming is reversed and stabilized causing tropical temperatures to moderate slightly.

Romans 8:19, 21-22: For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God…because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.

With natural understanding, we cannot see nor understand the link between man’s beliefs and actions and the natural systems of the planet. Even with all the knowledge we have acquired, natural man cannot see very far into the spiritual realm. Therefore, we have little understanding regarding the impact of what we believe, say, and do upon the natural occurrences of the planet. We can, however, with the application of some wisdom, begin to realize the cost of the negative ways of man upon the ecological, social, economic, and political systems of our world.

It may be impossible for us to imagine all the ramifications of mankind living in obedience to God. There is more than plenty of everything on this planet that mankind could ever need. Consider what good could be done with the vast amounts of money, resources, and manpower that mankind would not spend on war, if nations no longer went to war. What about the many billions of dollars and man-hours spent on sin-related diseases like AIDS or property loss due to violence and negligence. Consider the tremendous cost of crime. Unbelievable efforts and resources currently go toward providing law enforcement agencies, costly prisons, and an expensive judicial system. And what about the therapy and counseling needed to try to put back together the confused psyche of masses of people damaged by stress and fear? Who can even imagine the total cost of productive lives lost due to drugs and alcohol? The list of costs for disobedience goes on and on. If all this cost could be saved and applied to doing good and loving one another, there would be plenty of everything for everyone.

“Oh!” you say, “This is an impossible dream and can never really happen.” Tell that to Jesus! This is why He came to earth and taught the kingdom of God way of life. This is why He died on the cross, was resurrected, ascended into heaven, and returned to earth in the Holy Spirit to live in man and produce His kingdom lifestyle! You tell Him it can’t be done! Personally, I know by the authority of His Word, it is being done one heart, one life at a time; he is establishing His rule, His kingdom. God is looking for and finding people who will give up their ways, their greed, their needs and wants, to obey Him and walk in intimacy with Him.

Yes, the wicked are becoming more vile. Yes, the numbers of greedy men who despise the way of God are increasing. Yes, the enemy is having a blast stealing, killing, and destroying men, women and innocent children while much of the church seems powerless to do anything about it and, often, even becomes a part of the problem. Yes, we see governments faltering and unable to even slow down the degradation of society. Yes, we see mankind on the verge of destruction by his sinful ways. No doubt the fires of judgment are kindled on earth and the wrath of God is stored up against this evil. Yes, it may get worse before it gets better; but as Christ Jesus lives in godly people it will get better.

What part of this worldly wickedness is greater than God? Even during this rampant evil, there are many extremely godly men and women that God is raising up in the world. These are men and women with levels of commitment toward God and a sense of destiny that compels them to live godly in Christ Jesus. These are not just churchy, religious, baby Christians. They are a mighty army of mighty men and women of God, people of valor that God is raising up in business, in the military, in government, in the family, etc., as educators, scientists, apostolic ministers, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and kingdom teachers. Their primary purpose in life is to intimately know the Lord and totally serve Him.

People of God, it is not time to draw back nor to be downcast. We are entering the most victorious season of earth the season in which the wrath of God’s love will cleanse the earth and the season when the mercy and grace of God’s love will cause the righteous, mature sons to shine forth as the sun (Matthew 13:40-43).

The focus of Christians has been so greatly diverted by theological teachings toward events in the future, that many have missed and are yet missing the awesome potential of God’s provision for today. We are now living in the “end of the age.” This is the time looked forward to by the writers of the New Testament. God is ready and everything is in place to restore His ways to our world. Many individuals are bringing forth the kingdom of God on earth in their own lives and families. Some are doing it without realizing what they are actually doing. Enlightenment and understanding of the kingdom will move our focus from “future end-time theology” to overcoming the kingdom of darkness and bringing forth the kingdom of God now on our planet.

THE END TIMES

End-time theology is an area I have not received great revelation on or that I greatly enjoy looking into. By no means do I think I have all the answers. Bible school and years of being taught different teachers’ views gave me traditional knowledge through other men. Please do not think the things we present are because of ignorance of the traditional views as taught on the “pre’s and post’s” of eschatology. Though I know the views and at different times have held different ones, I cannot rest in any of the many camps of theological traditions. The revelation of the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached and taught replaces our many end-time theological views.

We must begin with the firm realization that the kingdom of God is now, always was, and forever shall be.

We must also fully recognize that Jesus has completely and forever defeated the devil and given authority to believers in His name over all the power of the enemy.

There is no more for Jesus to do apart from mankind to establish His kingdom over the kingdom of darkness on earth. He does not need to return bodily to defeat the enemy and set His people free from the devil’s bondage. Neither has He surrendered this planet or His people to the devil. He does not need to plan another rescue attempt for His children. Jesus has already gained the victory and now lives in His people as the Victor. He waits only for us to stop listening to the deception of the devil and begin to hear and believe the good news of the sovereign “ruler/dominion” (kingdom) of God in us.

Before getting deeply involved in what happens next, we need to fully grasp what is happening now. The urgent matter is not when or exactly how the next theological event will occur. The most important thing by far is that we get a real revelation of who we are in Christ now according to the Word and the Spirit of God.

We would think it very strange if some people were seated at a table of wonderful, tasty food, which included all their favorite dishes prepared just the way they like them. Yet, all they could think or talk about was what they were going to have for supper later. We would think it a real shame and loss for them to miss the wonderful meal prepared for them. The one who prepared the delicious meal would probably be very disappointed as the bountiful gift was ignored in favor of what might come later.

If I was an enemy and desired to steal a bountiful meal from you, one of the things I might do is try to divert your attention elsewhere. Diversion is a trick used by pickpockets and sleight-of-hand artists. God, help me not to be tricked out of Your wonderful provisions. Open my eyes to see who I really am and what I really have in Christ Jesus NOW.

THE NOW TIME

I AM THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS!
2 Corinthians 5:21: For He made Him Who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

I’M BLESSED WITH ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSING IN HEAVENLY PLACES!
Ephesians 1:3: 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.

AS JESUS CHRIST IS IN THE WORLD SO AM I!
I John 4:17b: as He is so are we in the world.

I’M BORN AGAIN BY THE WORD OF GOD!
1 Peter 1:23: …having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.

I’M REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD!
Ephesians 1:7: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

I AM COMPLETE IN JESUS!
Colossians 2:9-10: For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, Who is the head of all principality and power.

MY SINS ARE NAILED TO THE CROSS!
Colossians 2:14b: And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

I’M SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE!
Ephesians 1:13b: in Whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

I RULE AND REIGN IN THE NAME OF JESUS!
Romans 5:17b: those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One Jesus Christ.

I AM MORE THAN A CONQUEROR!
Romans 8:37: Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loves us.

I TAKE DOMINION!
Genesis 1:28: Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion”

I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME!
Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.

I AM STRENGTHENED IN ALL MIGHT BY HIS GLORIOUS POWER!
Colossians 1:9b-10a: being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might according to His glorious power…

ALL THINGS ARE UNDER THE FEET OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! HE HAS BEEN GIVEN TO BE THE HEAD OF ALL THINGS TO THE CHURCH!
Ephesians 1:22-23: And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all.

MY WEAPONS ARE MIGHTY IN GOD, TO THE TEARING DOWN OF STRONGHOLDS, CASTING DOWN IMAGINATIONS, SPECULATIONS, EVERY HIGH THING THAT EXALTS ITSELF AGAINST THE WORD OF GOD! I BRING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE TO THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST!
2 Corinthians 10:4-5: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST HAS ALREADY APPEARED FOR THIS REASON, TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE ENEMY!
1John 3:8b: For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

HE DISARMED HIM, MADE A PUBLIC DISPLAY OF HIM!
Colossians 2:15: Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them in it.

HE HAS GIVEN ME AUTHORITY, WITH THE WORD AND IN HIS NAME TO HAVE POWER OVER ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY!
Ephesians 1:19, 3:20b, 6:10: and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, according to the power that works in us, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Philippians 2:10: … that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…

Colossians 2:9-10: For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, Who is the head of all principality and power.”

Hebrews 4:12a: For the word of God is living and powerful…

Luke 10:19a: Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy…

I ALWAYS TRIUMPH IN JESUS’ NAME!
2 Corinthians 2:14a: Now thanks be to God Who always leads us in triumph in Christ…

HIS WORD NEVER RETURNS VOID!
Isaiah 55:11: So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

I COME BOLDLY BEFORE THE THRONE OF GRACE! I RECEIVE MERCY AND GRACE!
Hebrews 4:16: Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

IN THE NAME OF JESUS I COMMAND THE POWERS OF DARKNESS!
Mark 16:17a: And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons…

What I bind on earth is bound from heaven, and what I loose on earth is loosed from heaven (Matthew 16:19, 18:18). If any two agree on earth, they will have what they ask (Matthew 18:19). If I believe in my heart when I pray and doubt not, I shall have what I say (Mark 11:24). All things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23). If I abide in Him, I ask what I will, and it shall be done (John 15:7). I receive the finished work of the cross, proclaim liberty and freedom, and speak peace. God, help me to realize my potential and to be who I am in Christ NOW.

These attributes are promised in the Word of God. If you are not experiencing them in your life pray in faith and ask God to make them real in your life. Believe you receive them when you pray and you will have them (Mark 11:24). If you have difficulty believing them in your heart, begin speaking them out loud repeatedly. You will find that your heart will begin to believe the truth that you are speaking and eventually you will have what you say (Mark 11:23).

With the heart we believe unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:10). It will greatly benefit our life to plant these truths of the Word in our heart. A good way to do that is to stand and speak them out loud with strength until they become planted in our spirit.

NOW

I AM THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS!

I’M BLESSED WITH ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS IN HEAVENLY PLACES!

AS JESUS CHRIST IS IN THE WORLD SO AM I!

I’M BORN AGAIN BY THE WORD OF GOD!

I’M REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD!

I AM COMPLETE IN JESUS!

MY SINS ARE NAILED TO THE CROSS!

I’M SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE!

I RULE AND REIGN IN THE NAME OF JESUS!

I AM MORE THAN A CONQUEROR! I TAKE DOMINION!

I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME!

I AM STRENGTHENED IN ALL MIGHT BY HIS GLORIOUS POWER!

ALL THINGS ARE UNDER THE FEET OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! HE HAS BEEN GIVEN TO BE THE HEAD OF ALL THINGS TO THE CHURCH!

MY WEAPONS ARE MIGHTY IN GOD, TO THE TEARING DOWN OF STRONGHOLDS, CASTING DOWN IMAGINATIONS, SPECULATIONS, EVERY HIGH THING THAT EXALTS ITSELF AGAINST THE WORD OF GOD! I BRING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE TO THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST!

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST HAS ALREADY APPEARED FOR THIS REASON, TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE ENEMY!

HE DISARMED HIM, MADE A PUBLIC DISPLAY OF HIM!

HE HAS GIVEN ME AUTHORITY, WITH THE WORD AND IN HIS NAME TO HAVE POWER OVER ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY!

I ALWAYS TRIUMPH IN JESUS’ NAME! HIS WORD NEVER RETURNS VOID! I COME BOLDLY BEFORE THE THRONE OF GRACE! I RECEIVE MERCY AND GRACE!

IN THE NAME OF JESUS I COMMAND THE POWERS OF DARKNESS!

We must recognize our potential and become the purified, powerful Bride. Now is the time to lay aside our powerless religious traditions and be prepared as the Bride of Christ, the Body in which Christ dwells. There is a need for healing in the church. The concepts of Babylon have become unhealthy traditions within the church. The faith and practices of individuals have been perverted by relentless attacks from the enemy. God has provided and is providing all that is needed to heal and prepare His Bride.

Keep on Pursuing Love
It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

Living Kingdom Today

Posted: April 7, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
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The destiny of the world is to become the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God potential has come and dwells within the people of God.

The full potential of the destined kingdom of God is now seeded within the fertile soil of the hearts of those in whom Christ Jesus dwells.

The Spirit kingdom growing in the hearts of human beings governs and empowers the lives of God’s kingdom people.

Subsequently, the Spirit kingdom is manifest into the natural world as the life of Christ emanates from God’s people.

Human government opposes the government of God.

The first level of human government is the inner governing of our lives. Within each person there is governance for the individual’s life. Natural man is governed within by his unredeemed soul (mind, will, and emotions) led by a spirit or spirits other than the Spirit God. God’s kingdom people are governed by the Spirit of Christ flowing through their redeemed soul by the Holy Spirit of God.

The natural unredeemed human governance opposes the governance of God within human beings. Therefore, there is internal conflict for the rule of the lives of mankind. This conflict is ultimately the war to rule the world. Whoever or whatever rules in the hearts of mankind eventually rules in the world.

The governments of the world are led by spirits: either ungodly evil spirits or the SPIRIT OF GOD.

There is no such thing as a spiritless government. Secular humanistic government is a government of evil spirits working through unredeemed souls of human beings. To seek to build a government that is neutral to religious beliefs and tolerant of all religions is to deny that the spiritual realm exists and to govern in ignorance.

Again, we find religion in the forefront of the disastrous condition of the world. The mutant form of weak, man-focused “Christian” religion that denies the reality of Christ in the Spirit indwelling His people has abandoned the governments of this world to other spirits. The enemy of God rules in this world where God should be ruling. The Spirit of God in His temple on earth is to be establishing His kingdom first in the hearts of people and through their lives into families, tribes, and nations.

In recent decades a spark has reignited the fire of the Holy Spirit, releasing an avalanche of revelation of “Christ in you (His people) the hope of Glory”. The hope of glory is the kingdom of God reigning within people and eventually in the world bringing His heavenly order to Planet Earth.

The process of kingdom growth within the hearts of God’s people has begun. However, we see the kingdoms of this world not yet the kingdoms of our God. The current dilemma for kingdom people involves functioning in God’s kingdom order in a world not yet ruled by God’s kingdom order.

LIVING KINGDOM TODAY

Even the best secular humanistic governments cannot bring forth righteousness, peace, and joy. Every government that is not on the shoulder of Christ Jesus is destined to fail, and as governments fail people suffer (Isa 9:6-7).

How do God’s kingdom people live in a world of nations yet mostly ruled by men ignorant of the Spirit of God and led by cunning and often ruthless spirits driving their unredeemed souls?

The answer to this question will vary with each person according to calling and specific direction of the Spirit of God. There are many parts to the Body of Christ and the different parts will have different functions.

Some may be led to work on the deep spiritual issues by helping others come to Christ and be transformed. Some may be led of God to work in more surface areas such as the political arena seeking to restrain the evil and press toward less governmental restrictions and increased tolerance for God’s people. Kingdom people will be called to fulfill a multitude of spiritual and practical functions to supply continued life, strength, and growth to the people of God. One part must never condemn another part but connect joint-to-joint as God’s Spirit leads.

The primary requirement for living in a hostile government environment is to be personally intimately related to God in such a way that there is continuous communication in the Spirit. God can direct day-by-day and moment-by-moment by His Spirit within. All hindrances and distractions that can limit our ability to hear and obey the Spirit of God need to be eliminated or overcome.

Christ Jesus is the over-comer, the healer of hearts and the cleanser of souls. Encountering the work of the Cross of Christ and the reality of the resurrected life of Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit is God’s provision for renewing and transforming the heart of human beings to intimately commune with God.

Major areas to be cleansed and overcome that prevent intimately communing with God include things like renewing our minds, healing past wounds, forgiving everyone and everything, leaving past religious convictions and beliefs, abandoning cares of this life and deceitfulness of riches, yielding control of our life to Spirit God, deliverance from other spirits, and abandoning all other idols. All these things and more are provided in Christ Jesus and appropriated by a joint work of our willingness to lay down our lives before God and allowing Him to powerfully cleanse and transform our being to accommodate the very life of Christ abiding within. We are then connected directly to the throne of God as we abide in Him who is seated at the right hand of God. We are then ruling and reigning with Christ in this world bringing forth the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. This is living kingdom today.

Living in the kingdom of Christ today, we endure all things, overcome all things, and are at rest in all situations. Having sought and found this kingdom of God and His righteousness, all things are added to us. Righteousness, peace, and joy fill our hearts by His love (Mat 6:33-34) (Rom 14:17). Faith and believing effortlessly become full assurance and reality of practical experience.

God’s people throughout history have lived powerful lives in God in nations ruled by ungodly governments (Heb 11:32-40). Today, in this time of ungodly governments severely opposing the people of God, a people are being prepared. In this season of the day of the Lord manifesting in the forerunner remnant of maturing sons of God, apostolic leadership of Christ is coming forth to prepare a generation of kingdom people to govern as Christ in families, tribes, cities, nations, and the world. Thus, the kingdoms of this world shall be the kingdoms of our God.

Praise the LORD all you people! Give glory unto the KING who has come to dwell among His people! Glory and honor to His Majesty the Mighty One in whom all the fullness dwells! Worship the One whose kingdom never ends! Our God Reigns!

Hallelujah! Thank You Jesus! Amen!

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

OUTER DARKNESS

Posted: April 4, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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Matthew 25:30: “And cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Revelation 21:27: But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes abomination or a lie.

Matthew 8:12: “But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The illustration we used earlier of the king-dome helps me to understand about outer darkness. You remember the gigantic glass dome filled with the presence and light of God. The light flowed out in all directions and dispelled the darkness. Everywhere the light is, the darkness must flee. But everywhere the light has not yet reached, the darkness remains. Envision the light reaching out in a large circle around the dome. As far as it reaches, there is light; at the point where the light stops, the darkness begins. These outer regions from the dome could be referred to as “outer darkness”.

The powers of darkness lurk in that darkness around the light, waiting to do their dirty work. They concentrate in the area around the light to try to prevent people from entering the king-dome light. That is why Jesus said the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. There is a “pressing” involved in entering the kingdom – not a violence from or force toward, God, but a violence from the enemy and a pressing or taking it by force by those who enter.

Luke 16:16: “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.”

Matthew 11:12: “And from the days of John the Baptist till now, the kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”

If disobedience is found in us, even though we are sons and are well into our journey in the light toward the Holy City, we are returned to outer darkness for more suffering. God loves us and is faithful to allow us to repeat this cycle as many times as is necessary to bring us to purity and holiness as mature sons of the kingdom. The devil is predictable and will always be waiting for us in the outer darkness to inflict fresh pain upon us until we are able to reckon ourselves dead to self that Jesus may be manifested in us. Then, with repentance and fresh love, we return to our journey into the light toward the Holy City of God.

This does not mean we are eternally destroyed. The powers of darkness mean their dirty work for our death; but, God limits what the enemy can do to His children and all these things work together for our good (Romans 8:28). It is not for our death; it is for our purification.As we walk closer and closer to the dome, the light becomes brighter exposing impurities or imperfections that we could not see in the lesser light.As these imperfections are exposed, we always have two choices. We must repent and allow the light to purify us further, or deny the fault and blame someone or something else. If we do anything other than quickly repent, we again are on our way to outer darkness for more pain and suffering. In the pain of outer darkness, we may think something like this, “It sure didn’t hurt this much back in the light. I believe I will become obedient.”We repent, die to self some more, and are returned to the light on our journey to the king-dome.

I am very sorry to say that, in my own experience, it has required many of these cycles to deal with my independence. The secret is to very quickly and humbly repent. If we do not quickly repent, while we debate it in our minds we are already slipping back toward the darkness.

It is very easy, once we are out of the suffering stage, to begin again to feel our muscles and go back to the independent stage. We think something like, “Wow! I’m glad that’s over. I’ve got it now. It’s all working again now. I can really do it this time”. Here comes the man of faith and power for the hour. Guess what stage we are just about to enter again?

Revelation 21:27: But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes abomination or a lie.

Matthew 8:12:“But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 22:11-13:“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Revelation 7:13-17:Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who came out of great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore, the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 19:8:And to her (the Lamb’s wife) it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

The wedding garment we must have on is “the righteous acts of the saints.” True righteousness is the white robe washed in the blood of the Lamb. The wedding garment customarily was furnished by the host, the lord of the feast. The man who is not wearing the garment is without excuse. It is by his independent thinking that he elects to refuse the offered garment and provide his own. Self-righteousness in its purest form will not be good enough to enable us to walk into the Holy City. The Pharisees did not make it. The spirit of Pharisee will not enter the kingdom walk and, unfortunately, will hinder all that it can from entering. Religion and its pharisaical laws and traditions are part of the darkness that must be pressed through. The kingdom disciple can expect violent resistance from people affected by the spirit of Pharisee.

Matthew 23:13:“But woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for, you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”

As we enter and continue our progress, we must continue to become less and less that Jesus the Christ may live in us more and more. Christ living in us provides all the love and power of heaven to work God’s obedience in us. This is the only garment, the white robe of fine linen that we must wear on our journey to becoming “New Jerusalem”, and living the overcoming life.

Keep on Pursuing Love,
It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

Live in the Spirit – Walk in the Spirit

Posted: April 2, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
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An Apostolic Reality
By Ron McGatlin

In practical reality, what on earth does it really mean to you and me today to live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit?
Gal 5:25: If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

There is much talk today about Apostles and apostolic ministry and government. My email in-box daily contains words about apostolic this or that generally seeking to define and understand Apostles and the change that God is sending regarding life and government in the ekklesia. Gatherings and networks of Apostles are seeking to enlighten one another on the kingdom (government) of God and iron out the different views developing on how we should do church and function in a changing world.

The Spirit of God is grieved within me and my heart is challenged by the absence of living in the Spirit and walking in the Spirit evident in most apostolic discussions. The Spirit is hardly mentioned in the considerations of the “apostolic” meanderings of teachings for aligning apostolically with one another.

Are we making the same old mistakes over again? Throughout recent church history what is deemed the lack of godly order in the people has been answered with increased human leadership imposing safeguards to stem the deviations of false teachings and unorthodox practices. Seeking to keep our doctrine and our practices pure has again and again led to more human organization, structure, and control. Preaching the word of the Bible without the power of the Spirit produces bondage and not life. In every case that I am aware of, this has squelched the Spirit of Christ flowing through the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit has pulled away.

Jesus will not be head with another. God will not share His glory with another. We will not have the headship of Christ and the headship of man at the same time. There is one head upon the shoulders of the Body of Christ.

Establishing more human accountability to other men sounds like a great answer. However, without living in the Spirit and walking in the Spirit, it is just more foolishness of human government. If we live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit, we are fully and completely accountable to the living Father and in full alignment with our great Apostle, the Lord Christ Jesus, and in one accord with others who do the same. It is by the SPIRIT of God, the Holy Spirit that most leaders seem afraid to receive, yield to, proclaim, and impart to multitudes of spiritless “Christians” who are seeking life in the wrong places.

The Holy Spirit bringing the awesome power, wisdom, and love of Jesus is the only way to abundant life. The living water (Spirit of God) is the answer to completely changing the people from the inside and bringing the chaos of foolish leadership of flesh to a complete end with the powerful flow of anointing of the Spirit destroying the yokes of bondage.

Read the book of Acts again. The early Apostles lived and walked in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God was the source of all the mighty works and powerful ministry of the first century including all the mighty works of Christ Jesus Himself. Yes, the mighty life, ministry, and works of Jesus were all done through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Wake up people of God! If Jesus overcame the world and demonstrated authority over the enemy and all the elements of the world by the Holy Spirit, what are you going to do with your Bible studies and apostolic teaching seminars and gatherings without the fullness of the power, love, and wisdom of the Holy Spirit of God Almighty working the life of Christ Jesus in you?????? What good is it going to do if you organize and send Apostles to appoint some elders to try to stem the tide of foolish and childish behavior of Christians who do not know the gift of God or the one who speaks to them from heaven?

Human leadership will never produce the life of God without the same power, love, and wisdom of the Holy Spirit that flowed through Christ Jesus and the early Apostles.

Our centuries of entrapment in man-altered “Christian” religious training is robbing us of the release of the fullness of the power and love of God flowing through the Spirit to powerfully impact and change the wasted people of God and align the gifted servant-leaders in the purposes of God.

Jesus is again saying to those who come to the well to seek life giving water, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you….”

I hear our Lord and Father through the Holy Spirit crying out to this generation, “Oh if you only knew the gift I have for you. Oh, if you only knew who is speaking to you and what my desire and provision is for you to flow in my kingdom into all the world. Oh, If you really knew…”

John 4:10: Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

John 4:13-14: Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Thirsty Christians worldwide continue to cry out to God for more and are not satisfied. If we continue in desperate thirst, it is clear that we have not yet asked of Him and received from Him the fullness of the living water that will cause us to NEVER thirst again but have the water (Spirit) that will become in us a fountain of the Spirit springing up into everlasting (continuous) LIFE. How can we thirst for more of Him when His fountain of living Spirit is flowing up from within us?

This is the ultimate Joy of God and His rest from all striving. We never thirst again. Yes, we may long for others and the world to come into the reality of His Spirit also. And we may, with joy, look forward to the full reality of the New Jerusalem lifestyle forming the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven that fills the entire earth. However, we are living and fully walking in the kingdom now within our hearts as the fountain of SPIRIT of GOD flows up and out of us.

This is the life for which we gladly give up our previous Christian self-life with all its rules and doctrines of human order and accountability. This is the power, love, and wisdom that are the ministry to be imparted by the true apostolic ministry. This is the work that will stop the foolishness of fleshly teachings and practices of the people. The work of the kingdom that more apostolic structure and more Bible studies cannot accomplish. “By my SPIRIT,” says the Lord (Zec 4:6).

This thing began in the Spirit; are we going to try to finish it in human wisdom, understanding, and structuring?

Gal 3:3: Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

Absolutely not! The kingdom of God will not mature apart from our complete dependence and accountability to the Spirit of God our Father and our Lord.

There must be true Apostles pure, holy people of God who so live and walk by the Spirit that no believer will need to ask who appointed them or empowered them. They do not need a title or an organization. They will not promote and build a ministry and will not need to ask provision of any man. These are God’s gifted humble holy men and women who have no life apart from the Holy Spirit of God. They are in the world as Christ to impart life of the Spirit into many. They will not allow others to worship them and set them up as someone special above others. But will impart the same life that is in them to all who seek the kingdom of God with their whole heart.

We need an explosive life ending Spirit beginning encounter with God in the Spirit to me made alive. Then we must decide daily to live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. We will not thirst again but in pure love and power we will speak the oracles of God and flow the works of Christ into the world. This gospel of the kingdom must be preached and demonstrated to all the world and the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God. Christ Jesus shall be seen in great glory and fully honored as Lord and King.

Keep on pursuing love.
It never fails.

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

UNDERSTANDING KINGDOM

Posted: March 30, 2011 in disciples life, teaching, wilderness
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The rich understandings of the kingdom of God are hidden in the Word of God, veiled in figurative, symbolic language that can be revealed to the mind only by the Spirit of God. For centuries we have read and studied the Bible; yet, the understanding of kingdom will be revealed to us only at the level we are ready to receive it and in the season that God desires.

The Bible often uses a natural word about a natural thing to represent a spiritual thing. Once we have the spiritual meaning of the natural word, we can use that word to communicate the spiritual thought. For example, we have referred to the Bride of Christ several times. We all know that we are not referring to a literal bride. A natural bride is one female person who is being married to a husband. The Bride of Christ is a figurative term representing all purified believers who are intimately related as one with the indwelling Christ. The believers may be male or female, old or young, of any heritage, and of any number. Yet, they can all be collectively described in the term Bride of Christ. When the Bible speaks of the milk of the Word, we know it is not talking about a white liquid in a bottle. When it speaks of the meat of the Word, it is not talking about a beefsteak.

John 16:25: These things I (Jesus) have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.

John 16: 12-13a: I (Jesus) still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all trut …

Matthew 16:17b.19: … for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven. And 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.

Mark 4:22-23: For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.

There are key words that unlock the figurative, symbolic language of the Word and open vast areas of kingdom revelation. Many of these symbols and types have been revealed for many years. But some have been more recently revealed; and, most of those we have known for some time have a deeper, freshly-revealed kingdom meaning.

In the figurative Biblical language, much is revealed from simple symbols — from the sea (unstable masses of unsaved without structure), to the fruitful plains (the saved stable Christians), to trees (men’s life structures), to hills (authority structures), to the high mountains (great structures of authority), and on to the highest mountain (the ultimate, authority of God).

To understand the word of the kingdom from the Bible, the disciple must be able to hear the spiritual meaning of the figurative or symbolic language from the Holy Spirit. When I study a passage of Scripture, I pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give me revelation of the hidden, symbolic, spiritual meaning of the words. Then I meditate the passage allowing quiet time in my spirit and mind while waiting to hear from God. After enlightenment or understanding comes, then I begin to check out the concordance, Greek and Hebrew dictionaries, and other Scriptures for confirmation or clarification.

The following are a few possible examples of symbolic language to consider. Try using these as you study and meditate the Word.

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Mountains-Great structures of authority; may be godly or ungodly.

Hills-Structures of authority as mountains; except lesser.

Fields-Lower structures of authority, but still firmament. Usually indicate those saved, as opposed to the sea of lost. As such, they are the fruitful, production areas where grain, fruit trees, etc., are grown.

Valleys-Lower structures than fields, often fertile and well watered by neighboring mountains. May also indicate a very low period — a time of difficulty and hard decisions.

Sea-No structure at all, fluid, blown about, sometimes roaring, unsaved masses of people.

Trees-Natural structures of life; individual men and their life structures, ranging from great men or rulers as great cedars, strong and stable men as mighty oaks, olive and fig trees as prophets or ministers, fruit trees and vines as fruitful Christians to insignificant bramble bushes and ungodly thorns and briars.

City-A corporate structure of life; a spiritual community for the protection and well-being of its citizens, governed by spiritual laws, ruled by spiritual powers, which determine the personality of the city and the quality of life within the city. A city is structured by patterns of life. A great city is a capital or ruling city, whose patterns reach out beyond its city walls or limits to govern a greater area.

Israel-The overall church, including its ruling city, its many different cities, and wilderness areas.

New Jerusalem-The purified, holy, renewed ruling city of God; the remnant Bride Church, the Bride of Christ without spot or wrinkle.

Babylon-The ruling city of the kingdom of darkness; the great soulish system of man characterized by covetousness, immorality, and sorcery; the mother system of harlots and adulterers.

Bride and Wife-The obedient, perfected, faithful and true, ruling city portion of the church where reproduction takes place and mature sons are brought to glory. She is God-seeking and God-serving.

Harlot-The unfaithful, rebellious mistress (person or church) who sells her purity to fulfill her own desires and meet her needs; she does not seek the true God, but is self-seeking and self-serving.

Adulteress-The unfaithful part of the church who has a Husband and pretends obedience to Him, but has other lovers. She seeks to fulfill her desires and meet her needs from sources other than her Husband. She has a divided heart, and her desire is both self-seeking and God-seeking, self-serving and God-serving.

Assyrians, Philistines, Canaanites, etc.-Evil, enemy spiritual forces, demons.

Dragon, Serpent, Roaring Lion, Wild Beast, Fowls of the Air, Adverse Wind, Storms, etc.-Satan and/or demon spirits.

Seed-A living pattern, word, thought, idea, vision; also the offspring made from the pattern. A word or vision from God is a good seed. A bad seed would be the same, but from the enemy.

Soil, Land-The heart of man; the spiritual/natural interface through which seeds from the spiritual realm are planted in the fertile creativity of the heart to be brought forth into the natural realm.

Holy Spirit may be represented in His different aspects or facets as, Oil, Water, Wine, Strong Drink, Light, Rain, etc.

Oil-Comfort, healing, joy, anointing.

Water-Cleansing, washing, or life-giving Word or Holy Spirit.

Wine-Revelation from God, a rhema word from God, unveiled truths of God’s Word by the Holy Spirit.

Old Wine-Revelation from the past; usually a taste has been acquired for it. It is smooth and comfortable to the taste and can put one to sleep.

New Wine-New revelation from God. It is fresh and exciting, but may be very different to the taste and cause discomfort for those who have not yet acquired a taste for the new. It can be intoxicating if we take too much of it by itself. One must continue to feed on the bread and the meat along with the new wine.

Strong Drink-A hard word such as, correction, rebuke, or warning, etc. by the Holy Spirit.

Light-Understanding; discernment; life giving, growth-stimulating word or revelation by the Holy Spirit.

Rain-Outpouring of grace gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Rivers-Continuous flow of spiritual life; flow of Holy Spirit.

Wineskins-The container, or framework, of the inner organized filing system for the revelation of God.

Cloth-A woven network of understanding of life, which may contain intricate patterns of design, each thread fitting together to make the whole.

Flood-A great outpouring of damaging words.

Jewels-Perfected sons or daughters of God.

Fire-Intense adversity for purification or judgment; judgmental or critical words.

Stars-Spiritual persons; men of God.

Heat-Correction or judgment; the heat of the sun, particularly, is intense light that brings correction from God the Father.

Angels-Sometimes symbolizes men of God sent to the church, ministers, messengers, preachers of the message from God.

Trumpets-Sometimes are the voices of the prophets speaking forth the message of God, calling an assembly, focusing attention, and especially blasting forth the judgments of God.

Grain and Grain Fields-Production, particularly annual or periodical production.

Green Grass-Production of the fields, including grain.

Birds-Spirits, either godly or evil.

Crowns-Authority to rule.

Temple-A permanent dwelling place of God, the eternal heart of man where God dwells.

Tabernacle-A temporary dwelling place of God.

Consider the meaning of the figurative words used in Luke 5:36-39. The Lord speaks of patching new cloth onto old and of putting new wine in old wineskins. He also mentions that a man having drunk old wine does not immediately desire the new. Using the key words, it is easy to discern what He is saying spiritually.

What is being said in Isaiah 55, when the mountains and hills are said to break forth into singing, and the trees of the field clap their hands?

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One of the most devastating mistakes people make when seeking to know God through His Word is taking every passage, which can be literally interpreted and applying only literal interpretation to it. The spiritual man learns to literally interpret the true spiritual meaning of the passage through the figurative language of the Holy Spirit. Often there is both a literal meaning and a spiritual meaning. Much prophecy has had a literal, historical fulfillment and a greater spiritual implication. One might think of this as a railroad with two tracks running side-by-side. One track is the literal meaning of the passage; the other track is the spiritual. Many Old Testament terms and passages have a very literal, natural meaning, and may also have a vital spiritual meaning to New Testament believers about the kingdom of God. Many Old Testament events were recorded as examples to us.

1 Corinthians 10:11: Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.

Natural Israel And Spiritual Israel
The nation Israel is extremely significant as God’s chosen people. It was through this nation and the Jewish people that the Son of God came and the Bible was written. The many prophetic writings and historical events of Israel all have spiritual meaning to the church. God has chosen Israel and its ruling city, Jerusalem, as a living message to the world. God’s dealings with natural Israel and natural Jerusalem become spiritual messages to spiritual Israel and spiritual Jerusalem. The spiritual kingdom, the Israel of God, is a new people, a spiritual people to whom origin of nationality, race, color, social cast, or political standing is of little or no significance. It is a kingdom in which all are adopted by the heavenly Father and become true brothers and sisters.

Galatians 3:7,14b, 29: Therefore know that those who are of faith are sons of Abraham … that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 6:15-16: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy upon them, upon the Israel of God.

Spiritual Jerusalem or New Jerusalem is the ruling city of spiritual Israel just as natural Jerusalem or old Jerusalem was the ruling city of natural Israel. As old Jerusalem was the natural figurative mother, that birthed the kingdom into the earth, so now the New Jerusalem is the spiritual mother, the wife of God, the Bride of Christ that is birthing the spiritual kingdom of God into our world. The New Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ, the holy, purified, overcoming portion of the church.

Revelation 21:9-11: Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. And her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

Revelation 21:2: Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride for her husband.

Galatians 4:25b, 26: Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Revelation 19:7-8: Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

New Jerusalem is now coming down from the spirit realm and is now beginning to be formed on the earth. It is the Bride Church, the holy, purified, kingdom people of God. Just as it is possible for a person to be in the nation of Israel, but not in the city of Jerusalem, it is also possible to be in the church, but not yet in New Jerusalem. Not everyone in the country of Israel is in the city of Jerusalem. Neither has everyone in the church become the purified, holy Bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem.

In the beautiful, illustrative, figurative language of God, which is characteristically used by the Holy Spirit to communicate spiritual truths to mankind, God describes the kingdom of God lifestyle in the picture of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 & 22:1-5.

In the New Jerusalem lifestyle, we continuously live in the presence of God as the tabernacle of God is with men. The glory and light of God fills our lives. Pain and sorrow are gone as God wipes away our tears. No more death as eternal, abundant life prevails; we pass from life to life. Righteousness and holiness prevail in our lives as pure gold and clear crystal. There is no night; there are no dark, threatening seasons. There is no more curse. We are under the dome of His protection, and there is perfect peace. We serve Him and rule over the circumstances of life.

Isaiah 62:5b, 12: …and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord; And you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.

In Isaiah chapter 60, Isaiah begins to picture and describe the glory and prosperity of The City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. (v. 14)

THE KING-DOME

Let me share an illustration that helps me understand the concept of the spiritual city of New Jerusalem. Imagine a giant, glass dome filled with the glorious presence and light of God. Inside this huge, spiritual dome everything is as it should be. Everything is in perfect obedience to God’s laws, and nothing that defiles can enter in. The environment is perfectly controlled like a greenhouse. Those who overcome enter and abide inside the dome where they enjoy all the victorious aspects and attributes of New Jerusalem. The enemy has no part and can do no harm inside the dome.

The bright light inside the dome flows out to the countryside in a large circle around the dome. Everywhere the light reaches, the darkness must flee and cannot return unless the light is lessened or drawn back.

People who sit in darkness may see the light from a distance and begin to move toward it. At the point where they actually leave the darkness and enter the light, they have entered the Israel of God, but have not yet reached and entered Jerusalem, the city of God. They have come out of darkness into the light and must continue to journey to the dome. Their goal is to enter the king-dome, the New Jerusalem-purified-holy-Bride-of-Christ lifestyle.

Matthew 4:16: The people who sat in darkness saw a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.

Hebrews 12:22: But we have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born…

We must, through a purifying growth process, come to maturity and walk into the New Jerusalem lifestyle. Many people in the church are now beginning to see the kingdom lifestyle and are moving toward the Holy City.

Just as it is possible to be in the nation but not in the ruling city, it is possible to be in the outer court of the tabernacle but not in the holy place. Many have entered the tabernacle into the outer court, but now must be purified to enter the holy place. The presence of God is in the holy place; all the promises of New Jerusalem are in the holy place. We must come in the gate and partake of the brazen altar, the blood sacrifice for our sins, the atoning blood of Jesus. Next, we must be washed by the water at the brazen laver in preparation for entering the holy place. We must journey on to the candlesticks of the Holy Spirit ministry and on to the showbread being broken before arriving at the altar of incense and the Holy of Holies, the intimate communion with God (the king-dome).

Walking in the kingdom of God lifestyle is all about intimate relationship with God. It is becoming one with God through Christ by the Holy Spirit. It is the five virgins with oil in their lamps entering into the wedding with Christ the Bridegroom. Holiness is produced by the indwelling Christ living in us by the Holy Spirit. It is the mystery Paul spoke of as “Christ in you the hope of glory”.

Psalm 15: Lord, who will abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart….

Hebrews 12:28: Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

Keep on Pursuing Love
It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

Posted: March 29, 2011 in disciples life, teaching, wilderness
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Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom. He sent the twelve and the seventy disciples out to preach the gospel of the kingdom and instructed all His disciples to preach this same gospel.

Is the gospel of the kingdom any different from the gospel of salvation or being born again?

We have preached the cross and personal salvation in Jesus for many years. Is that the gospel Jesus preached? Is it the gospel that the twelve and the seventy preached?

Shouldn’t we be preaching the gospel Jesus preached?

God has been restoring revelation to His church in waves or layers. After one wave comes and men receive it and that layer is in place, then another wave of restoration brings another layer. The newer layer does not replace the last one; it builds upon it.

The gospel of being born again is the first part of the gospel of the kingdom. Although it is vital and completely necessary, it is only a part. One must be born again to see the kingdom of God. To stop at the first part of being born again is stopping and forever remaining just inside the door of the vast kingdom and never experiencing the bountiful life and treasure of the kingdom prepared for us before the foundation of the world.

Most of the teachings of Jesus were focused on what the gospel of the kingdom is and how it works. Vital, basic, foundational principles of the good news of kingdom living on earth are contained in the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament gospels. We will explore these powerful kingdom principles in later sessions.

In recent years, the gospel of the kingdom has been widely restored. The gospel previously preached focused on missing hell and getting into heaven when we died. For the most part, there was little or no real help for living life today. We tended to write off this life and looked forward to dying to have victory or to Jesus’ coming back and rescuing us from this mess. Certainly, the Lord’s bodily return and Heaven, with all its wonder, are primary to our Christian faith. However, the gospel of the kingdom focuses on restoring the rule of God from heaven on earth.

The gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached focused on heaven’s ways coming to earth more than our going to heaven. (“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”) He taught how to live in the highest order of life that would bring peace on earth and goodwill toward men. There is, however, another being on earth that desires his will on earth and not God’s. I wonder who would like to cloud our minds and prevent us from seeing the potential of the will of God being done on earth.

Gospel means “good news”; kingdom refers to“ruler/dominion.” The gospel of the kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God means “the good news of the ruler dominion of heaven, or God”. Or another way to say it is, “the good news of the government of God from heaven on earth.” The good news is that the blessings of God’s rule are potentially available to His children now in this life.

Jesus announced the blessings of His kingdom in that portion of Scripture we call the Beatitudes. He had been preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing the sick, and casting out demons all about Galilee. And seeing the multitude, He began to speak to His disciples, telling them that the needy people were blessed now. The kingdom is finally here, and those who are entering are blessed. Before the kingdom, those who mourned simply mourned. Now they will be comforted.

Matthew 5:3-6: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Let me illustrate the difference between the gospel of being born again just to go to heaven and the gospel of the kingdom with this story.

A man had set out to cross a large swamp in a small boat. He paddled well into the swamp and was attacked by several large alligators. The attack was so vicious that the small boat was damaged and sank. The man was left standing in about waist-deep, murky water with only his paddle to fight off the alligators. The fight was so fierce that his paddle was broken. He was now left with only a stub of a paddle with which to jab and beat the alligators.

A voice heralded from a distant shore, “Hey out there! I’ve got good news for you. An important government man was here a while back and looked at this swamp. He promised to come back someday with a big crew to drain it.”

Jesus’ coming back and the “heaven someday” message is good news. But the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached can also help us with our alligators now. Let’s continue our story.

A man in a boat appeared and glided quickly to the man in the water and asked, “Do you need some help?”

“Yes! Please help me!” the man anxiously replied.

The man in the boat commanded the alligators to stop their attack. Immediately, the alligators swam away. The man in the boat helped the tired, wet and bloody man into his boat. He gave him dry clothes and medicine, which quickly healed his wounds. They immediately were at their destination.

As mankind sees the reality of the kingdom message and its overcoming power the devil will be made powerless. This is why the kingdom of darkness so violently opposes the kingdom of God now message. There is a violent pressing involved in entering the kingdom of God walk. It is not a pressing or violence toward or from God, but from the opposition, the kingdom of darkness.

Luke 16:16: “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.”

Matthew 11:12: “And from the days of John the Baptist till now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”

Often there is more opposition toward the kingdom message than any other. The devil is much less threatened by a message of “heaven some day in the future”. Our seeing the rule of God only in the future allows the devil to continue his dirty work now. The simple message of Jesus, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand,” the kingdom-is-now gospel, draws violent reactions from anyone who, in some way, is infected with or influenced by the opposing kingdom. Religious people and those of one’s own household often become the most violent. The Lord spoke of kingdom rising against kingdom and nation (or tribe) against nation (Matthew 24:7).

Matthew 24:10-11: “… many will be offended, will betray one another and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many, and because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Matthew 10:21: “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.”

Matthew 10:34,36: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. And a man’s foes will be those of his own household.”

Remember that the conflict is between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness” (Ephesians 6:12).

The spiritual battle is for the prize of entering and walking in the kingdom of God lifestyle, not just being born again, nor just going to heaven when we die.

Keep on Pursuing Love,
It Will Never Fail,

Lots of Love,

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

Heaven’s Deepest River

Posted: March 28, 2011 in disciples life, Parents, teaching, wilderness
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We have entered the time of transition to the kingdom of God. God is sending forth His sons empowered from heaven to establish His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Many are having supernatural encounters with God today! – Encounters for empowerment to establish the kingdom of God on earth.

FOR THOSE WITH AN EAR TO HEAR – TODAY – THIS DEEPEST RIVER FROM HEAVEN CAN BE IMPLANTED IN YOU AND YOU WILL BE TRANSFORMED and EMPOWERED. TODAY, GOD WANTS TO TAKE YOU INTO THE DEEPEST RIVER OF HEAVEN.

The supernatural empowerment to establish the kingdom of God is in this deepest river – all the power – all the life – all the wisdom – everything needed. God is now taking His sons to a new place IN HIM.

At this writing I am almost 69 years old and have sought to serve our Lord for 48 of those years. I have had many experiences with God and a few major encounters. What happened to me a few weeks ago exceeded all my previous experiences with God.

One of the most significant past encounters with God happened almost 20 years ago. To help understand what I am about to say, here is a very short nondescript account of some of what happened at that time.

I stood before the boiling fire of Father God and the Lord stepped out from the fire carrying a large sword and said, “Receive your anointing.” He touched me three times with the sword and stepped back into the fire of the Father. Two giant hands of the same fire appeared in the fire. One hand held a large vial like a cup or beaker filled with liquid fire. The other hand held a tall thin empty vial somewhat the shape of a test tube. I heard, “I am going to fill you with my love.”

The Father began pouring the liquid fire from the large cup into the test tube like vial. As the level rose in the vial, liquid fire filled me to the same level starting at my feet and rising up my body. When the liquid fire reached my arms it flowed down to my hands and streams of liquid fire began to flow out the ends of my fingers onto the ground. I was concerned that the liquid fire of God’s love was being wasted. I was told not to be concerned, that there was an endless supply and that I would never run short and to go ahead and be sloppy with it. As the level rose to the level of my eyes the liquid fire began to flow out of my eyes in two small streams just like was flowing out the ends of my fingers. Soon it began to ooze out the pores of my skin and I glowed all over with the liquid fire of God’s love. Though I have not been a perfect carrier of the liquid fire, this experience had a profound impact on me and radically changed my life.

The feeling that nothing greater could ever happen to me was shattered recently as I experienced an even greater encounter with God.

A few weeks ago at a Thursday night prayer meeting at World Revival Church, I was lying on the floor before the altar in the Spirit and God began dealing with me. I began to feel a great desire to be in the fire with God and not just standing before Him. I had never even had this thought before but now it was burning in me. The Word came to me that we have not because we ask not. I remembered that almost 20 years ago prior to that encounter I had asked to see the Lord and to receive anointing.

I asked God to take me into Himself – into the fire with Him.

Immediately I was transported into the fire of God and my life is forever changed. Everything of me is totally ruined for anything but God. I wept inside continuously for weeks and outwardly often. I am consumed.

Heb 12:29: For our God is a consuming fire.

I now have an idea what Paul meant when he said, “And I know that this man–whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows– was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.” (2 Cor 12:3-4)

I had never dreamed what it would be like to really be literally in the Father – in Jesus and in the Holy Spirit – to literally be in the actual Fire of God.

To come to Jesus is awesome. But we need to remember that it is a primary purpose of Jesus to take us to the Father. And that He and the Father are one.

I was exposed to a brief glimpse of the unfiltered pure heart of the Father. I was not prepared for the shock of knowing His heart – His feelings about His children – His desires – His responses to His children – the very affect we have on the heart of Father God astonished me and broke me to nothing.

What I encountered in the heart of the Father has taken my life.

I am about to try to tell you the thing that ruined me for any life other that pleasing and serving Him – The thing that has made me to hate disobedience (sin) with a passion – The thing that has generated an intense passion to bless Him. This is the thing that has removed all shallowness and self focus and replaced it with a passionate depth of love, obedience, desire to serve Him, desire to worship Him and praise Him, and to see His kingdom established on earth.

The first thing that overwhelmed me was the indescribable intensity and vastness of the love of the Father for His people. It is absolute purity and absolute passion an unending unstoppable immeasurable flow of God. I have no words to describe the experience of becoming one with the love of God. It is inexpressible love.

The next thing that I experienced is the thing that killed me. Personally, I believe that this next thing may be one of the things Paul spoke of when he said, in 2 Corinthians 12, “He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.” Could it be that it was not then time for this to be told but that the time has come?

The next thing I experienced in the heart of the Father was unfathomable intense pain – immeasurable sorrow – deep distress beyond measure caused by the indifference of those He loves. The lack of response or improper response to this awesome love has created a vast brokenness in the heart of the Father.

The deepest river in heaven is the broken hearted ness of Father God.

Our Father, the source of all love – the one that is love – the one with love beyond all we can imagine has a broken heart filled with painful desperate passionate longing. One cannot be deeply hurt by those whom one does not love deeply. The more deeply one loves the more deeply one can suffer pain from that love. The love of God for His children and His Bride exceeds all love.

The casualness of God’s people toward His complete passionate love has created immeasurable pain in the heart of God. God’s heart is breaking for His disobedient unresponsive Bride who chooses to ignore His great passionate love and to seek romance with other things of this world.

The pain of His immeasurable love was clearly felt and spoken in the Garden of Gethsemane. The exceeding pain and deep distress in God’s heart is the same pain felt in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus only did what he heard and saw the Father doing. Our God is one. The distinct characteristics and work of Christ and the Holy Spirit become very apparent as they move out from the Father. But inside the Father they are one. The feelings of grief of the Holy Spirit and the deep sorrow of Christ are felt in the heart of the Father.

What was happening in the heart of the Father at Gethsemane?

Mat 26:36-39: Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

Those among us who have loved someone very deeply and felt the pain of that person pulling away from us may begin to grasp the depth of painful longing in God’s heart caused by those whom He loves. Those who have known His love and then allowed their affection to move to something or someone else causes great pain in God’s heart.

Inner pain mixed with genuine forgiveness becomes and increased intensely passionate flow of real love. But if it is mixed with resentment it can become intense bitterness in the heart. God has complete forgiveness and therefore no bitterness. The pain in God’s heart becomes an increased flow of extreme passionate love for His people. This love flows like a deep and mighty river toward all mankind.

God is pouring out his love to all mankind equally. He loves all people unconditionally. He loves those who love Him and he loves those who hate Him. He loves His friends and enemies all the same.

But all do not respond to His love the same. Some come closer and others move further away. Those who come closer receive more because they choose to draw near to God and are greatly blessed. Others, who choose to move away to live in darkness, are cursed by the same love that blesses those who come to His light. Those who do not receive and respond to the love of God offend the love of God.

One definition for jealously is love offended. God is jealous when His love is offended by lack of proper response from those He loves. God refers to Himself as jealous several times in the Bible. Jealousy leads to wrath caused by the love of the husband for His wife.

Exo 20:3-6: “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

Deu 4:24: “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

God speaks of His wife having other gods as committing spiritual adultery. A man destroys himself when he chooses to not respond to the love of God and has affection for other things.

Prov 6:32-35: But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself. Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away; for jealousy arouses a husband’s fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge. He will not accept any compensation; he will refuse the bribe, however great it is.

God’s love offended becomes jealousy. Jealousy arouses wrath and is an expression of the intense passion of the love of God for His people.

God’s pain and sorrow began even before He created man. Lucifer and the angels, who rebelled, greatly dishonored and shamed God in His own home territory of heaven. Perhaps this has something to do with the creation of man in Satan’s home territory of earth. Man was created, in part, for the purpose of restoring honor to God by properly responding to His love. We are just now beginning to grasp that God has an awesome need for us to respond to His love.

Christians today are generally accustomed to looking to God to meet their needs. For centuries we have trusted Him to meet our need for a savior to save us from the penalty of sin and more recently many trust Him to save them from their sinful lifestyles. Many have learned to trust Him for financial provision; healing and other practical needs as well.

But for the most part, we are just now catching on to the reality that we exist to be an object of the love of God and thereby meet the need of God’s heart. Our purpose is to receive and respond to the love of God.

Many revived Christians today have discovered the unconditional love of God and some have erroneously concluded that because Father God has such great love for them that they will be no repercussions for their lack of response to His love. They have not known the pain they cause in the heart of God by frolicking with the Father and then walking away and entering into disobedience to Him.

It is true that God’s mercy is endless and at the cross our sin debt is fully paid. It is also true that the cross must again be visited and the blood applied because of our disobedience. Our “little sin” or disobedience may seem insignificant to us. We know forgiveness and redemption is available for us in the cross. But we do not know the pain in the heart of God every time the cross must again be applied and we crucify the Lord afresh in the heart of God. We greatly pain our loving Father with our carelessness.

The glory of the next great outpouring of God upon the Eastern USA and eventually the world is dependent on the people of God responding to God’s love by drawing close to Him and stepping into the all-consuming fire.

God is greatly pleasured when love arises from earth to Him in heaven. When we respond to God’s love and send it back to Him with our commitment, our obedience, our praise, worship, and honor giving prayer, our sacrifice of fasting, and sacrificial offerings – when we become living sacrifices to Him.

When we respond to His love, the more we give the more we receive. God is so pleased and so gratified when filled with the love response of His people that he pours out blessings of everything we need and more. He comes with His presence in great glory and manifest among His people. He pours out special anointing of healing, deliverance, and miracles of many kinds. We have all the money, all the goods, all that we need to fulfill His plan and more when we respond to His love by giving our lives as a living sacrifice.

We must fill His heart with our total love for Him. We must give Him generous expressions of that love. Those who will sacrifice their self-life to live only for Him and will come all the way into His consuming fire of love bless him. We must fill His heart with joy by properly responding to His unconditional immeasurable love.

The greatest result of all this is that we actually become a blessing and a giver to our loving Father. But surely the next greatest blessing is that as we give we release the deep river of power, strength, wisdom, gifting, miracles, and all that is needed to establish His kingdom on earth. Every apostle and every prophet, pastor, evangelist and teacher of God who fully enters into this fire and sacrifices all as a gift to God will have the empowerment to establish the kingdom of God on earth now.

The powerful love of God will flow through leaders and whosoever will abandon this life and move into the fire of God. All flesh will leave, only powerful spiritual sons will remain, and nothing will be impossible to us as Christ is formed within. Even if we have great revelation of many facts, times, and things they will not profit unless we are put to death by the awesome love of God.

It is time to pray for God to finish us off – to go ahead and kill us now. That we may enter fully into the very heart of God through our brokenness.

There is today an open door without veil before the church to walk into the holy of holies – the fire of the Father himself and it will only be done through brokenness.

We can forget accomplishing anything with our gifts and intellects. In the fire of God, only our weakness of brokenness will provide the flow of power to make our revelations work to change the world to the kingdom of our God.

All aspects of life will be affected as people are consumed by the love of God. Those who minister will do so by the supernatural power of the kingdom of God. Those who work in government will begin to rule according to the power of the kingdom of God. Those who work in business will begin to work by the principles and power of the kingdom of God. Those who do anything will do it for the kingdom of God, by the supernatural power, and according to the principles of the kingdom of God. This is the season of change from the ways of self centered greed based life to the serving giving love of the kingdom of God ruling all life.

Sons will be raised up in all walks of life and service. They will receive and respond to the love of God and order their lives and all they possess or influence by the kingdom for God ways. There will be many fathers and many teachers in the land bringing forth the truth of God by the living example of the clear word of their testimony.

This is the season of the transition. The source of power for the transformation is the love of God. The method is our responding fully to the love of God by taking that final step into the very fire of God rather than just standing nearby.

Keep on Pursuing Love,
It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com

HEARING BY THE SPIRIT

Posted: March 22, 2011 in teaching
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Kingdom Growth Guides PART 1 (#001) thru (#011)

Living The Kingdom of God Lifestyle
Journey From Religion to Relationship

Growing in the gospel of the kingdom

HEARING BY THE SPIRIT (#001)

Is it possible that after all this time we are beginning to realize that we have not been preaching the same gospel that Jesus preached?

Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom. Some of the smartest men in history have diligently studied and searched the Scripture in minute detail yet could not hear the gospel of the kingdom.

Jesus preached and taught profound deep, hidden mysteries of the kingdom of God that cannot be discovered by human intellect. They are spiritual truths that can only be transmitted by the Holy Spirit and must be received in the spiritual ears of man. These spiritual truths imparted into the heart of man become keys to unlocking the supernatural reality of the kingdom of God that can enable man to live now on earth in heavenly order and power.

The wisdom from heaven that Jesus imparted to His disciples is higher and greater than the earthly wisdom of man. It cannot be discovered by the intellect of man. Only the spiritually mature who truly love God are given ears to hear the mysteries of the kingdom that Jesus preached.

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God…..1 Cor 1:21

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1 Cor 1:25

However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:6-10

Jesus spoke in parables of figurative symbolic language that appeared, to those who did not have a spiritual ear as only simple stories. The deeper kingdom meanings have been misinterpreted by generations of theologians who could only ascribe meaning according to the limited light of the time. But for those who could hear, Jesus’ figurative language imparted treasures of wisdom of God’s kingdom principles and values for life.

Matthew 13:10-17: And the disciples came to Him and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing, you will see and not perceive; for the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and turn so that I should heal them.’

But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

Jesus made it clear that some were given an ear to hear the mysteries and others were not. They couldn’t hear because their hearts had grown dull. Spiritual eyes and ears must be open to hear the mysteries. Without hearing, no amount of study can unlock the mysteries of the kingdom. These things must be received by impartation through intimate relationship with God through the Holy Spirit.

Are our spiritual eyes and ears opening?

Only in the past century has a portion of the religious church returned to the practice of seeking to hear God directly. For many centuries the general view was that the only way to hear God was through reading the Bible. There has been a long season of dull hearts, hard-of-hearing ears and closed eyes. The marvelous power and flow of God’s Spirit, which had been birthed at Pentecost was lost to dulled hearts. Religion replaced a living relationship with God.

The backbone of the religious church for centuries has been studying about God in the Bible. Theology (the study of God) is an intellectual exercise that cannot discover the hidden mysteries of the kingdom that Jesus imparted to His disciples. The supernatural power and heavenly wisdom of God is not obtained through intellectual study. The Bible is a spiritual book that becomes alive only by the Holy Spirit. Intellectual knowledge of the Bible can only produce opinions that are determined in the minds of men. The many different opinions of men in the religious church created schools of thought that divided people into many thousands of powerless denominations.

The backbone of the relational church is intimately relating to God and hearing Him by the Spirit. The objective of assembling in groups in His presence is not to learn about God but to know Him and intimately relate to Him. The purpose of assembling in groups is to experience intimate relationship with God and with one another. Our gathering is to be a living experience with the life-giving Spirit of Christ in the Holy Spirit imparting life and wisdom. A corporate gathering is also an experience of expressing our love for God in sincere praise and worship.

The kingdom-age church is returning to the reality of hearing and following the voice of God. Jesus instructed us to hear Him through the Holy Spirit. The disciples saw and heard God and listened to Him above the words of men.

John 10:27: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me.”

Acts 4: 19-20: But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

John 16: 12-14: “I (Jesus) still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”

John 16: 25: “These things I (Jesus) have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.”

What hinders our hearing the voice of God? What prevents our receiving the revelation of the deep, hidden mysteries of the kingdom?

The first century disciples heard and walked in miracle-working power. Why can’t we?

The short answer is that we do not have ears to hear. But why?

Here is a big clue for us.

The disciples that walked with Jesus heard but didn’t really hear until after the Holy Spirit came and filled them. After Pentecost the things they previously heard began to make sense and they walked in the beginning of the kingdom of God lifestyle. Jesus did not speak or demonstrate the miracles of the kingdom of God until after the Holy Spirit came upon Him and remained.

Hearing from God involves the Holy Spirit.

Hearing the deep hidden mysteries involves having ears to hear the word of the kingdom. Many who are involved with the Holy Spirit may hear God; yet, may not have ears to hear the deeper mysteries of the word of the kingdom. We cannot by effort attain ears to hear but we can meet the qualifications and get into position to receive ears to hear. In 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 that we have already looked at, two major keys are pointed out to hearing the deep, hidden wisdom:

Spiritual maturity and loving God

Spiritual maturity has to do with the experience of walking in the Spirit. It is not necessarily a chronological matter. The process is to be filled with the Spirit and emptied of self. It involves looking to the Spirit for guidance and not to our own understanding. This will be a big change for most Christians and can be very difficult for the theologically-trained mindset. Our first tendency may be to quickly turn to our past methods of employing our minds to search our stored knowledge and the Scripture to figure out what to do and to discern truth. Asking and then waiting for God to speak to us by His Spirit will require some retraining of ourselves. Maturity comes from the exercise of walking in the Spirit’s governance and not our own. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age (mature), that is, those who by reason of use have their (spiritual) senses exercised to discern both good and evil, (Heb 5:14).

Loving God involves laying down our lives and truly loving Him with our whole hearts.

Mark 12:29: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”

Only the pure heart can truly hear the hidden mysteries. The desire to have a pure heart is not the same thing as having it. The intent of the heart is not enough. It is from the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks and our conversation of life emanates. If our hearts are filled with love by the Spirit we have a pure heart

Do we really love Him? Is there anything in our lives that we love as much as, or more than, we love God? What really abides in our hearts? What fills our thought life? What desires truly are deep in our hearts? What really is important to us? Where do we really get our delight? Do we really delight and abide in the Lord? Or do we just say we do? Do we hope we love God more than anything, and hope we delight in Him, and hope we abide in Him? Mature love knows that nothing else comes close to God. There is no very close second to the love for God in the spiritually mature.

The price we must pay to hear the deep, hidden mysteries of God’s kingdom wisdom is a willingness to lay aside everything in our lives that is important to us, to figuratively sell all that we have to buy that “perfect pearl”, that “field of hidden treasure”. We must be willing to lose our lives to find the true life in God.

Matthew 13:44-46: Again the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls who when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Luke 14:33: (And Jesus said), “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”

Matthew 16:24-25: Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Mark 10:29-30: “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands and, with persecutions and in the age to come, eternal life.

Let us purpose in our hearts this moment to release to God everything that is precious to us. Let Him have our wives, our husbands, our children, our ministry, our business, our hobbies, our health, our reputation, our need for acceptance of men, our religious convictions, our pet doctrines, all traditions, our secret desires, our very lives, anything in which we delight. Can we trust Him with these things? If we truly believe that He loves us and what He will do is best for us, we can release all to Him without reservation, to do with as He pleases.

If you are willing, or if you are willing to be made willing to release all that is in your hand, head, and heart, so that you may hear mysteries of the kingdom, pray the following prayer from your heart. Fill in the blank with those special things you need to release. It is important for you to sign and date the prayer agreement. Entering into and signing the prayer agreement serves as a spiritual stake of commitment set in time. The signer is not seeking to hear a word from the author or even just to receive revelation from this work, but is specifically seeking to hear deep mysteries from God that will greatly impact and empower his or her life.

Only as God’s ultimate wisdom permeates our hearts can we know real peace and fulfillment. And only as we give our all to God – all we have, all we are, and all we care about, will we be in position to be given ears to hear the deep hidden mysteries of the kingdom of God.

Matthew 13:9: He who has ears to hear let him hear!

PRAYER AGREEMENT

Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I repent and turn from all that is in my heart before You.

Now by an act of my will, I release to You all that is precious in my life. I specifically release to you my business, my family, my ambitions, my possessions, my __________ __________________, _____________________, and my ______________________ .

God, I am one who truly loves You. Jesus, You are my Lord. I esteem You above all else. Nothing or no one else is my Lord.

In the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I bind all the works of darkness, blindness, deception, delusion, man’s traditions, and religion that are affecting my life. I loose the Spirit of revelation in my heart.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I choose to open my spirit to receive that which was previously hidden, to receive Your wisdom. Grant to me the mind of Christ. Holy Spirit come in power, speak into my heart hidden mysteries of the wisdom of God. Fill my heart with the light and life of God. Give me ears to hear in my heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Prayed on this date ________________

Signed ___________________________

For questions or assistance contact Ron McGatlin basileia@earthlink.net

Keep on Pursuing Love,
It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

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