Articles

Early in the morning upon awakening, there was a message in my heart for the body of Christ. The Lord impressed me that His eye is on the love of the body of Christ for one another. The Lord, himself gave this commandment to all believers.

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, If you have love for one another." John 13:34-35

The old favorite song says, "I will cling to the old rugged cross" and so what does that mean to us who love Him and serve Him day after day? Is it just a song we sing to comfort our religious needs or satisfy our church programs? I hope not.

Jesus Christ absolutely was the Son of God and He came to us in order to cling to that old rugged cross between heaven and earth. As the blood dripped and His life on earth was drained out a great sin debt was paid. A triumphant victory was won that would finish the complete work of redemption for all mankind, the earth, every universe and all that exists which all belongs to His Father, the "ONE" TRUE CREATOR GOD.

One day the whole universe and every human being will know that the blood of this King of all Kings, and Lord of all Lords, has cleansed the whole eternal creation from a great revolt of sin and rebellion. This prideful fall first took place in the very throne room of God by His most anointed cherubim Lucifer, now called satan, the deceiver, and the Father of lies.

The heart is the center of our being in the natural and in the spiritual. It was created by God to pump the blood through our bodies that carries all the life nutrients and oxygen to give us the breathe of life. The Bible says the life of the flesh is in the blood. (Leviticus 17:11) God is the creator of our spiritual heart as well, for we were created as spirit, soul, and body (I Thessalonians 5:23).

Heart problems are still the number one killer of mankind. I would dare to say it is still the number one killer of God life in us as well. The life of God's Spirit flows out to every area of our lives from our spiritual heart. The fullness of Christ in us is all about the condition of our heart.

Jesus said it is all about the heart when He said the Kingdom of God is within you. It is in the center of your spiritual being. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. He prayed for the Kingdom to come to earth for God's will to be done. It starts in the hearts of born again men and women, then spreads to the heart of a family, the heart of a church, the heart of a community, and even the heart of a nation.

The solid foundation of God stands having this seal: The Lord knows those that are His. Beloved Church of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, we must examine our faith that we do not neglect so great a salvation that has been given to us in Christ Jesus.

I believe the Lord wants to call something to our remembrance today. Do we as His church, His people, really know with experience what is in us because of Who is in us? Do we really realize the power that is within us? So we access what resides within us to live this life as the victorious glorious church that we are destined to be. There is nothing greater in this world than Christ within His genuine disciples.

We must know and experience in life, that greater is He in us than he that is in this world. Christ living in us is our hope of glory. Beloved God wants to do something inside out with His own people beyond our ability to ask for or even think of according to the "power that works within us." Holy Spirit is the God on the earth today and wants to move through us without measure. Jesus promised us as He left this world that He would give us another who is just like Him and He, the Holy Spirit, would be with us and in us forever. Church, within us is all the power or authority we will ever need over all the powers of darkness. Within us is all the love we will ever need even to love when it seems impossible. His peace is within us to remain like a solid anchor in the midst of every circumstance we face in this life. Within us is all the joy we will ever need whether life gives us roses or lemons. Within us is His divine faith to rise up above all the issues of life and defeat the flesh, the world system and all demonic plans of satan to rob, steal, and kill God’s creation.

God is doing a great work in the lives of those He knows are His; for we are the workmanship of the Lord created in Christ Jesus. Therefore we know all things in our lives work together for good because we are called of God and love Him. God is causing many to "lose all to win" the eternal inheritance and prize awaiting us. This losing all is a heart issue and the issues of mind patterns, desires, soul ties and habits. In some cases it may even be houses, lands and jobs.

If those who belong to the Lord will put off everything concerning the old nature, which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and put on the new man, which was created in Christ then true righteousness and holiness will flow within. The Holy Spirit is within to renew in the spirit of the mind to His word and His ways. Believers are to have the mind of the Spirit, the mind of Christ. The word renewed in the Greek is a derivative of neÑov, which means "recently born, new man, or new self." Every believer must experience his or her mind born anew in the Spirit. The mind must go through a complete metamorphous. That can only happen as surrender takes place in obedience to the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. Many keep their hearts divided by mixing the new man in with the old mindsets and learned ways. The result is "no real change." Even for some of God's great ones some of these old patterns of thought are their worst enemy. Except we allow a new mind to be born in us we will not encounter the fresh new and constant regeneration of the Spirit of God. If the old does not pass away all things cannot become new. If the old wineskins are not exchanged for new wine skins God cannot pour in the new wine of the Kingdom for this hour. It could be said, "can you lose your mind to find His?"

The Lord recently spoke to me very clearly ,"There is a presence you long for so there is a praise you must have." We must be presence driven in all we do. As Moses said to the Lord in Exodus 33:15, "I do not want to go where your presence does not go with me."

I do not want to do anything or go anywhere the presence of the Lord does not go before me to sustain me, to carry me and surround me for His glory. As I thought on this I penned the following words as they flowed in His anointing. May they speak and bless you with His presence.

"Lord, I must have your presence. It is more to me than this life I live
As the song goes Lord, I need Your presence more than the air I breathe,
More than the song I sing, much more than anything."

Introduction: Part One

"Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Lord is there is perfect liberty." Wow! What a scripture in 2 Corinthians 3:17

What can we say? The Holy Spirit is the Lord over the earth now because of our Divine Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who purged creation and destroyed the sinful revolt with His lifeblood. Holy Spirit, as the third person of the Godhead was sent out from God the Father to the earth by Jesus Christ to live in and with all those who would believe through His life, death and resurrection. Now do not take lightly those three words, (life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ) for they speak of us experiencing a life-changing encounter with a living God for the rest of our lives. It is a supernatural event that lasts for an eternity. You must be living in this event to know Holy Spirit and understand He is Lord on the earth for you now.

Jesus Christ is God the son and a resurrected man who has become the first fruits of a resurrected immortality for all those who will wholly follow Him in this temporary life. He is the Lord of all Lords; the King of all kings who reigns from heaven at the right hand of God the Father. He lives constantly to search our hearts with His word and intercede for us to be fully sanctified body, soul, and spirit that He might present us blameless before the throne of our Father God.

I do not even feel adequate or worthy to approach this subject as if to know enough to expound on, but what little He has shown me I desire to share with you. I hunger and thirst for more constant fullness of His glory in my life as I am sure many others do as well.

"What is the glory realm? It is the realm of eternity. It is the revelation of the presence of God. It is the manifestation of His presence. He is glory. He is everywhere, but glory is the manifestation of that reality. Earth has the atmosphere of air, whereas the heavenly atmosphere is glory, His presence. When glory comes down, it’s a bit of Heaven’s atmosphere coming down to us, a taste of His manifest presence." - Ruth Heflin

If Christ be in you then that Glory is in you. He is the air of your spirit, the atmosphere of the Kingdom of God within you. Christ,the Glory of God ,is the wisdom of God in you and the power of God in you. Christ in you richly and fully sets you apart into the Glory of God. Christ in you redeems you back into the original plan , placing you into the righteousness of the Glory, clothing you with the righteousness of His glory and giving to you the power to live and move and have your very being in the righteousness of His glory. (I Corinthians 1:24,30)

I have been constantly seeking of the Lord for direction to stay on course with His great plan for this season. Recently He spoke to me: "I will not leave you without instructions." I was impressed to go to Joshua and the Lord began to show me that 2007 was the year for many in the Kingdom of God to cross over to a promised place in Him of living fully alive in the Holy Spirit. I spoke some of it in our ministry only later to find the Lord is speaking it to many others as well. I believe each one receives it a little different so I will share what the Lord has given to me.

First of all the picture given us in Joshua of God's people crossing over the river Jordan to the promised land foreshadows where God is with the church right now. Jesus Christ is our Joshua, our commander in chief, our Lord of Hosts and He is calling us to a Holy Place in Him, where we must take our shoes off to stand there. According to Hebrew custom that is to relinquish all our own self-rights to everything. We must follow His voice, the instructions of the Spirit without question, or doubt, or hesitation as they did even though it had never been done this way before. Every thing was going to change. The manna raining down from heaven would cease. They would not be fed in quite the same manner. Now they would eat the fruit of the land. There would be great reform that would take a battle but would end in great rest and peace.

These words penned by the Holy Spirit in Paul grip my heart: "That I may lay hold of that for which Jesus Christ laid hold of me." Oh Father God, make the reality of the heart and power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ alive in us, body, soul, and spirit. Paul writes with such passion "I count all things loss for the excellency of knowing Christ Jesus." Paul's heart cries from his pen to be found in Christ, "that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." He says, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected: but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me."

Paul possessed the enduring love for the Lord Jesus through his submission to the Holy Spirit dwelling within him. This love would take him through all the trials and tribulations he would face as he proclaimed the gospel wherever God sent him. The Apostle Paul endured to the end that he might be counted worthy of becoming a son of the resurrection. He laid hold of the fellowship of sufferings and the power of the resurrection to receive the prize of the high call in Christ Jesus. He will know the final redemption, to be manifested as a son of God, changed into immortality with a new glorious body fit for the new heaven and earth.