Tag Archives: jesus

The Pursuit of Gods Glory

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In our spiritual journey, we often find ourselves yearning for something more. We look at the body of Christ, seeing good works and sincere efforts, yet sensing that something crucial is missing. I recently attended a service and at the end saw believers’ earnest seeking prayer and earnestly praying for people. Yet in my spirit it seemed something was missing. I have discovered the thing that has plagued me for along time in why I’m discontented. It is I’m seeing partial glory and not a full glory. Even as I look at my own ministry I see times when the fullness of Glory was moving and times of partial glory. That missing element is a degree of glory missing. The full, tangible manifestation of God’s presence in our midst.

Glory isn’t just a concept, or a manifestation.  It’s the essence of God’s nature. The Greek word “doxa” describes it as brilliance, splendor, and radiance. The Hebrew “kabod” speaks of honor, majesty, and weightiness. This glory isn’t meant to remain distant or theoretical. Scripture repeatedly emphasizes God’s desire for the earth to be filled with the knowledge of His glory, as the waters covering the sea.

This glory isn’t waiting to invade from the outside. It already resides within every believer. Christ in us is the hope of glory. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us. We were created from Glory to return to glory. Glory should not be foreign to us since it is part of our makeup.

So why aren’t we seeing more of this glory manifested? The key lies in revelation and faith. Revelation is the unveiling of spiritual truths, while faith is the trust and conviction that leads to action. We need both. Revelation without faith remains theoretical. Faith without revelation can be misguided. When we combine deep revelation with activated faith, we create the conditions for glory to flow.

Consider the early church. Peter’s very shadow brought healing as he walked by. This wasn’t the shade created by the sun on an object. It was the radiance of glory emanating from within him, touching lives wherever he went. Charles Finney carried Gods presence onto a train and outbreak of glory occurred, leading to spontaneous repentance and salvations. These weren’t isolated incidents, but examples of believers who understood the glory they carried and learned to release it.

We’re entering a new season where God is restoring the manifestation of His glory to those earnestly seeking it. This isn’t just about signs and wonders, and miracles, though those will certainly be present. It’s about a creative glory that will confound human wisdom and understanding. We’re moving from partial experiences to fullness, from individual pursuits to corporate destiny.

This glory isn’t meant to be hoarded but released. It’s not about waiting for a special “cloud” to descend in a meeting. Or to see certain manifestations as a sign of God presence. These are only the fruit of Glory more than the Glory. The glory is in us, waiting to be activated and shared. When we grasp this truth, our approach to ministry and prayer shifts dramatically. Instead of merely asking God to heal someone, we can release the healing presence of God that resides within us. Where His presence is, sickness cannot remain. Where His glory dwells, the kingdom of God

dwells. But where the glory is manifest the kingdom is manifest and vice versa.

We’re called to glory and virtue – not just as distant ideals, but as a present reality to be lived out. This call comes with Gods divine enablement. God has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us. We’re raised in incorruption, glory, power, and spiritual vitality – not just in some future state, but here and now as we learn to access and live from these realities.

But maybe most important it’s glory that creates true oneness among believers. Our best human efforts at unity often fall short, but when we encounter and release God’s glory together, we find ourselves supernaturally aligned. We become one as Jesus and the Father are one. This was the prayer in John 17 and Jesus said he would give us the exact same glory so we could be one with him and the father.

How do we step into this glory-filled life? It begins with recognizing that Jesus, the living Word, is our access point to realms of glory. He was the word made flesh. He was glory incarnate. Every scripture is a potential gateway into heavenly dimensions because it carries glory within it. As we meditate on scripture, allowing the Holy Spirit to illuminate truth, we position ourselves to both receive revelation and exercise faith. This combination becomes the catalyst for releasing glory in tangible ways.

The journey into glory is the birthright and calling of every believer. We were created for glory, to be carriers and releasers of God’s tangible presence. As we pursue this high calling, we’ll find ourselves moving from hope to faith, from asking to declaring, from waiting to activating. This pursuit will challenge our comfort zones and stretch our understanding. It requires letting go of secondhand, intellectual faith and embracing firsthand encounters with the living God.

Will we answer the urgent call to glory and virtue? Will we allow revelation and faith to work together, creating the conditions for God’s glory to flow freely through us? As we do, we’ll find ourselves part of a movement that’s bringing heaven to earth in unprecedented ways, touching lives and transforming communities with the tangible presence of God.

Christmas Story Through Revelatory Eyes

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The Christmas story has much more to it than shepherds, wise men and a manger. We all know the birth of Christ and the amazing moment of time not only for the earth but all creation. Emmanuel, God is with us. But what lead up to this moment most don’t know and the spiritual activity we assume was normal when it was far from it. During this time:

Prior to Christ birth there was the 400 silent years The Jews returned from Babylonia captivity. Israel did give up their mixture but didn’t spend the time in preparation for the Messiah to come. Aaron’s priesthood was restored but the temple was neglected and so was the teachings of God to the people. Because of this the people stopped tithing, began to mistreat their wives and married pagans.

The language shifted from Hebrew to Aramaic and Greek. Along with this some of the customs were adopted as well. Antiochus the Great captured Israel and sold the priesthood which Desecrated the Holy of Holies.

Then the Maccabees Revolution BY Judas Maccabeus came in 165 BC. Called the “hammer” of Maccabee it was to break the walls of darkness and restore light back to temple practices. But 1oo years later in 63 BC Rome gained control of Israel.  Pompey entered the Holy of Holies and desecrated it.

From here the new priesthood would become politically motivated and 2 groups were formed. The Sadducees who were liberal and practiced Greek ideas. They did hold to the Torah – first 5 books. The other group the Pharisees were conservative, and long with scribes made laws without regard to the effect upon the people. Multiple synagogues were erected for worship and social activity. Religious and civil matters governed by Sanhedrin who was the Chief priest with 70 lesser priests.

The Daniel 8:14 prophecy of desecration of the temple was fulfilled over 2400 days. All of these events caused the bulk of the Jews to doubt a messiah was coming and felt abandoned by God. They never pursued what Malachi had instructed them.

In this state Jesus is birthed.

Jesus’ birth was one of great events the earth had seen. Born of a virgin, God incarnate. The supernatural was unleashed upon the earth in a new dimension. Suddenly the silence broke. God was speaking and speaking with great signs and wonders. Spiritual dreams, signs in the sky, prophecy, angelic visitation and supernatural conception all showed a new season had come to the earth. A supernatural season. A new birth of freedom was upon all.

We have Joseph and Mary, but we also have Elizabeth with John the Baptist in her womb. Whose spirit communicated with Jesus before birth causing Elizabeth to feel the supernatural excitement. We have wise men who came to Jesus following a supernatural sign. They believed when a new star appeared a new king was born.

Zacharias who was a priest in the temple who had been believing for the Messiah just happened to be in the temple and the angle of God spoke to him. Incense was offered one time a year as it symbolized the prayers of the nation. That’s why it said he was waiting for his moment. Who was given the privilege to offer the incense was by casting lots and you were only allowed one time in your life this privilege. So, this is his only time in his entire life to do this! ALL EYES ARE ON HIM. During this time a large number of people are praying at times of incense. He had an angelic visitation from Gabriel like Mary did and He lost his ability to speak because he doubted God but gained it back at the birth of John.

There is also Simeon who the Holy Spirit was upon him as well and he was waiting for the Messiah. He had the highest title of honor being a Rabbi. He also was a great Sanhedrin and the president of a college. Along with Anna, a prophet who was an intercessor serving God in prayer and fasting, she was a widow of 44 years who spoke of the coming messiah. She was 84 years old, which was very special to live that long, but what she knew in her spirit of the coming Messiah was keeping her alive.

Elizabeth who brought forth John went into hiding for 5 months, the number of grace. It was the hiding of God like the 400 silent years before the revealing of God. John was birthed before Jesus. The prophet before the Apostle. The prophet pointing to the next office. John’s name means Jehovah has graced. The word birth means genesis! Both john and Jesus were “genesised” coming from the origin point. John was in the lineage of priesthood so later in the wilderness he would be seen as a prophet priest.

The Angel Gabriel comes to Mary in the 6th month, representing the month of humanity and mankind. Luke 1:26. She is told she is highly favored. It is not the angels opinion but Gods, which the angel is convey the message to her. Mary has to wrestle with this message. It is a new identity she has to receive. She has fear and the angel comes back and says fear not. She was fearing being an outcast and possibly stoning being pregnant out of marriage. But when she accepts the angels’ words she has found favor (past tense) she then conceives! She conceives after she has accepted her identity.

Now Mary brings forth the savior.  But also brings forth the Chief Apostle and High priest of a new order of priesthood after the order of Melchizedek. Our savior is born. Our apostle is born. Our high Priest is born.

So, what am I saying? There was so much symbolism, so much supernatural activity, so much God intervention, angelic activity, signs and wonders in this moment of time. Yes Jesus was born with all of heaven invading the earth. A new course was being set for us today. A new and living way had life surrounding it.             

Where do Doctrines Come From?

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Today we have lots of beliefs and much more even some open belief system. Where do doctrines we practice come from? Are they biblically based? What really makes a doctrine? Ill try to just give a quick overview and you can do some more digging.

The word doctrine is actually a Latin word, doctrina, meaning “teaching, and instruction”. It is defined as a belief system that has a body of teachings or instructions, which has principles in how that belief system is operated. Again, all belief systems have a foundation that comes from a doctrinal statement of what they truly belief.

Men have categorized biblical doctrine into class of study. You have heard of these as these are the main classifications.

  • Anthropology           Doctrine of Man
  • Angelology              Doctrine of Angels
  • Hamartiology           Doctrine of sin
  • Soteriology              Doctrine of salvation
  • Christology              Doctrine of Christ
  • Ecclesiology            Doctrine of the Church
  • Eschatology            Doctrine of future things
  • Pneumatology         Doctrine of the Holy Spirit

Now all these help us see what we truly believe and to also see just how broad and all-encompassing certain topics are. Before we set these in place we looked at experiences that happened in belief systems. We looked for expressions of these experiences and these became sources of early doctrine. These are seen in orthodoxy:

  • Revelation.
  • Tradition.
  • Bible.
  • Liturgy.
  • The Councils.
  • The Fathers.
  • The Saints.
  • Canons.

Now both of these sources can have lots of pitfalls and over emphasis. They also are coming from how men decided to categorize or what they felt was valuable. Many times, this is based on personal preference or even opinions.

But the bible is noticeably clear only speaking of “Doctrines” through five distinct areas.

  • Doctrines of men    Man made rules to help maintain disciplined life. Generally, ends in control or intellectualism.
  • Doctrine of devils     False doctrines detrimental to all humankind
  • Doctrine of God       Foundational spiritual laws governing all existence, as we know it.
  • Doctrine of Apostles    Guidance of the church into understanding the above two doctrines
  • Doctrine of Christ     How the spiritual principles of God affect humankind.

Doctrines of men is everything we listed out in the above two sections as truth is put into a man-made structure for interpretation. The belief statements in a ministry can include their own perspectives. Rules verses freedom or a heavy focus on certain actions. If there is manipulation you are seeing doctrines of men.

Colossians 2:22 (KJV 1900) — 22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

Mark 7:7 (KJV 1900) — 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Ephesians 4:14 (KJV 1900) — 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

The doctrine of demons is the mixture of Biblical truth and occultism or practices. It is the worship of angels, or deities and even men. It is the enshrining of relics, altars and burning of incense. It is focusing upon departed saints as well. The doctrine of demons comes through men and many times is mixed with the doctrines of men. Much of the time it works with a religious spirit as well. It is where eastern meditations come from, astrology, yoga, new age, wicca, magick, Qabalah, Chaos magic, satanism, freemason, Daughters of Eastern Star, Astro project, ceremonial magic, Transcendental Meditation, and a host of others that are embrace and even promoted in church structures.

1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

2 Timothy 4:2-42 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 43 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Next, we have doctrines that come from God. These would be sovereign actions or laws. They show forth his creative position as the creator and the covenant keeping God.

Deuteronomy 32:2 — 2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, My speech shall distil as the dew, As the small rain upon the tender herb, And as the showers upon the grass:

God’s doctrines show forth his righteous position as a righteous judge. As the lord of his creation. As one who is providential and works in the hearts of men and humanity. That he is supreme in love, authority, and decision. Paul’s said it best in:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 — 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Next, we see the doctrines of Christ in Heb 6:1. There is much to say about this as most people do not even realize these doctrines are something we should have a firm grip on.

Hebrews 6:1–4 — 1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this will we do, if God permit. 4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

Notice it says plural dead works, baptism and laying on of hands. This section of scripture would take many blogs to understand, and I suggest you study this out on your own. I do have a video on it in the Pathway Discipleship Video series on YouTube.

But Jesus came as one to model what the doctrines of God were and how they were to be placed in our lives. John 7:16  Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. His doctrine was only an extension of the fathers. But he made the fathers doctrines his very own. Mark 4:2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine… 

They were very adamant to maintain the right doctrine and did not take it lightly if the doctrine was getting off or was false. To have right doctrine was a sign that you truly belonged to God the Father and the Son. But if the doctrine someone had was off it was not to be allowed the privilege of entering your house nor was the person carrying it.

2 John 9 -10 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

So, the help maintain the Doctrine of God and Christ we have the Apostles Doctrine. It was a governing of both doctrines and a further explanation of how to walk it out between us.

Acts 2:42 — 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

It was how the kingdom of God and the interaction of the king redeemed man. It was a doctrine of cause and effect, and a doctrine of actions. The expectation was believers would do what Jesus, and the father had already determined. There would be heart felt devotion and self-courage. So, it was a doctrine of:

  1. Doctrine of Governmental Oversight of the Kingdom and the Church
  2. Reinforcement of the Teaching of Jesus and the working of the Holy Spirit
  3. The advancement of the Kingdom
  4. Establishment of new doctrines based on the current moving and advancement of the church through the Holy Spirits activity.

This can best be summed up in the following verse Paul spoke of to the Ephesian church.

Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

  • One Body               Kingdom thinking not denominationalism.
  • One spirit                The Spirit does not contradict Himself.
  • One hope                Only one way of eternal life
  • One calling               To be conformed into the image of Christ.          
  • One faith                 Only one belief system
  • One baptism           Repentance (metanoia)
  • One God                 The Most High God

The Godhead -Three as One

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The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most important doctrines of the Christian faith. But also, it is one of the hardest to comprehend. There is one God and there are three distinct persons of God. All are fully God in doing the overall will, but they are not 3 Gods merged as one. For me as a young believer I found this hard to follow or understand. So, I will try to give some insights to help us.

Let us start with the word “trinity” means “tri-unity” or “three-in-oneness.” The word “Trinity,” is the theological word Christians use to refer to the Godhead. But the word trinity is not found in Scripture. The real word is the term “Godhead” (theiotes) is used three times in Scripture, Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20; Colossians 2:9.

Romans 1:20 — 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

The word Godhead means divine nature, the state of being, deity, divine and it refers to all three people of Godhead. So how does this Godhead work? So, we see the trinity as three distinct personalities. Each has contrasting functions and even types of approaches. Each with distinct roles to accomplish a set purpose. We see them not conflicted with each other but in harmony with each other. They move as one interconnected force but are also sperate forces. But for me the easiest way to see the Godhead is all are heading to the same outcome, a relationship with creation. We see this in one of the great commissions.

Matthew 28:19-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have  commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Here he states to baptism them or submerge them into the Godhead. Specifically, each one. Submerge them into the power of the Holy Spirit, the redemption of the son and the sovereignty of the father.

1 John 5:7 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

This is the clearest verse showing the three as one as it is stated plainly. Here we see all three bear record in heaven or testify. They all have the same task but the individual interactions with us are different.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4, Mark 12:29).

The verse says, “Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our Elohim is a united Jehovah.” The Hebrew word for one is Echad which stresses unity while recognizing diversity with that oneness. Now how does this look in function?

Looking at creation, the father decided a plan, the son (the word) carried out the decree while the Holy Spirit empowered both plan and decree to manifest. We also can see evidence of this in many places in the scripture of how they work both separately but together. God the Father planned redemption (John 3:16; Gal. 4:4; Eph. 1:9-10) God the Son accomplished redemption for us (John 6:38; Hebrews 10:5-7) God the Holy Spirit was applied redemption, sent by the Father and the Son (John 14:26; 16:7; 15:26)

When we begin to understand each role, we see no competition but collaboration. Father is typically understood as the originator and creator. He sustains spiritual laws, is sovereign and is the essence of glory. The Son (Jesus Christ) is the redeemer who came to earth to sacrifice for humanity, is the example of the father’s nature, shows how spiritual laws and doctrines are applied through love, mercy and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit is the sanctifier who dwells within believers, guiding and empowering them. The one who is the comforter, teacher and guide. All three are fully complimentary to each other. And all three are working towards the same outcomes. All three have the power to perform what is needed. All three are acting as one!

Now lest look at some examples.

The Father testifies of the Son.

Matthew 3:17 — 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

The son testifies to the Father.

John 5:19 — 19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

The Son testifies to the Spirit.

John 14:26 — 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

The spirit testifies to the Son.

John 15:26 — 26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Another example is:

  • The father sent his son —- he was the decision maker of the plan.
  • Jesus was conceived with the aid of the Holy spirit — the working of the plan.
  • The son became the redeemer upon the earth — the Sons fulfilment of the plan.

But we also can see the Godhead at work in specific sections of scripture.

Ephesians 4:12 — 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

When I see three things in a verse or a section, I ask can I see the Godhead? Most of the time I can simply apply the functions and what each carry. In the above verse the question is who perfects the saints? JESUS.  Who does the work? HOLY SPIRIT. Who is concerned with the body? FATHER. The Godhead is involved in the government of God concerning his creation!

Here is another example:

Hebrews 1:3 — 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

The brightness of his glory – the father. Express image of his person – Jesus. Upholding by word of his power – Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:4–6 — 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

Now this verse is more obvious as it spells it out. Diversity of gifts – Holy Spirit. Administrations – Jesus. Operations – father. The Godhead understanding is not just a New Testament theology, but we can also see the Godhead in the Old Testament as well. We already talked about Genesis and creation but let us look at another verse.

Haggai 2:7 — 7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: And I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.

Again, asking simple questions. Who does the shaking? HOLY SPIRIT.  Who is the desire of nations? JESUS. Who brings the glory? FATHER.

It is amazing to see the pattern and as they say, once you see it, you cannot unsee it. This insight early on in my walk with God helped me see that God is not 3 Gods but is one made up of three very distinct personalities with very distinct functions. I hope this helps you in a better perspective of just how dynamic God is and his multi-dimensional abilities.

The Glories Upon the Earth

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Last night my wife and me were talking about a book I wrote in 2014 called The Breath of God. Today I wanted to post a blog concerning our discussion.

The book was a divine inspiration God gave me over 30 days of being locked away with him. I wrote all 300 pages during that time. In the book the Lord showed me the book of Ezekiel and how in it is 4 distinct times the breath (Ruwach) of God came. In between these breaths there were certain glories that also were released because of the breath. Our conversation last night was about where we are at in the process.

I am amazed by this pattern that has unfolded over the last 10 years. It is very distinct and once you grab hold of the revelation it is easy to see unfolding. But like many prophetic revelations God gives there are overlaps of time and cycles. There are also people at different maturity levels and understandings. But the patterns are there and continue to unfold whether we understand them or not. Here is a very brief overview of the 4 breaths and seven glories the Lord gave me:

The first breath – First Glory – The Glory with The Captivity.

Ezek. 3:12-13, 15 “Then the Spirit (breath Rawach) took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place. I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels… then I came to them of the captivity.”

This is an illumination glory or an awakening glory. It is where God shines light into the hearts of men 2 Cor. 4:6. The Breath of God carried him to the place where the glory was. The frustration a watchman experiences is seeing the lack of relationship with the Lord that causes a lack of spiritual life. This is the same as the outpouring in the upper room, Acts 2:1

The second breath – Second Glory – The Glory at The Inner Gate of The Temple

Ezek. 8:3-4 “And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. And,behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there.”

It is a freedom glory bringing deliverance, expressiveness, outward manifestations because of inward work. Now the breath, instead of carrying him, lifts him to the place of second heaven. It is a glory above the glory of man upon the earth. This relates to the outpouring into the streets in Acts 2:5.

The third glory – The Glory Moves to The Door of The House

Ezekiel 9:3–4 — 3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side; 4 And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

This is an honoring glory of His character. Honor opens doors and this is a glory of entrance. A glory that requires sanctification. This is the Acts 3 glory seen at the gate beautiful, which revealed the divine origins of God.

The Fourth Glory – The Glory Fills the Court to the point of touching the Cherubim.

Ezek. 10:4 “Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’s glory.”

This is His filling glory. It requires his Presence. It is his nature being formed within us. It is an Acts 4:31 moment and focus.

Fifth Glory – The Glory Moves to The Eastern Gate

Ezek. 10:18-19 “Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim… the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’s house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.”

This is a dividing Glory, a separation of holy from profane and an entering into the true holiness of God. It is a national purging glory. It is seen in Acts 5.

The Third Breath and Sixth Glory – The Glory Moves to The Mountain on The East

Ezekiel 11:1 (KJV 1900) — 1 Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord’s house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

Here we have another breath and again it lifts him. This is a covenantal alignment glory. A supernatural knitting of hearts for common purposes. A oneness of John 17. The forming of one new man and a corporate expression of a corporate man no longer divided but as one. These 25 men representing the Ecclesia or government of the city. We see this in the beginning of Acts 6.

The fourth breath and 7th Glory – The Glory Fills the House he has built, and He is now in the House!

Ezekiel 43:5–7 (KJV 1900) — 5 So the Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house. 6 And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. 7 And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcasses of their kings in their high places.

Now the breath takes him. It is transparent glory or transcended glory. The corporate man is formed, and He is now dwelling in the house. We become a doorway to heaven as they peer into us, they see heaven because of our transparency. These will be outward expressions because of inward work. This is where the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God.

Now as you can see there is much to each of these. I have watched the overall themes of these 4 breaths and 7 glories played out in real life. But where are we in the process? That was the discussion we had and that is where the discussion always seems to lead in the countless groups that have done book discussions and studies on “The Breath of God.”

So, I want to help us understand exactly where we are. As I said, many are in different journeys of spiritual time and maturity. But God has a timetable as well and it continues to unfold. Some will know the times and seasons and others will experience times and seasons. Some will open and lead a season, and others will be the participants.

As I see it from the one who got the original revelation, we are waiting for the third breath to occur. It is starting to come forth because of the indicators of the Glories that follow. Many are in the fourth glory and are experiencing new degrees of filling by God. Others are moving into the fifth glory and are seeing holiness in a new light. As a nation we are in a national purging right now. Decisions are being made for righteousness or what is profane. It is indeed a dividing glory. The fifth breath is focused upon the Eastern gate. To me this is symbolic of Washington DC. As the sixth glory is focused upon the mountain in the East.

Still others are working towards a one new man and a corporate expression. They are forerunning the sixth glory. It has not yet come because there needs to be a breath of God first, but the pioneers and forerunners are already seeing the next place God is about to open.

I know this all might seem very new to you and may be hard to follow but what I tell people is you must go in the spirit to the place the revelation came from to understand it. My quick summary is this. Some are beginning the third and fourth glory. Others are in the fifth and still others are forerunners in the sixth. These are the overlaps of people in different journeys. But I know we are all waiting for the next breath to come. We all are in one of the glories that is between the second and the third breath. The third breath we desire is not yet here because God is endeavoring to do something together with the corporate man and is giving time for people to get caught up.

I hope this short teaching helps you in some way to see you are part of a grand plan of God. That our lives are connected more than we think. We are all heading to a single destination of spiritual life and may be experiencing frustrations of why the delay. I hope I brought some clarity of what God is working out in people who are at various stages. As I travel and speak, I see these different dynamics in separate groups. I can honestly say, oh God is working this in you because you are in this glory. My prayer is that you to can see this as well and hasten what God is doing in the earth.

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The Lost Art of Tarrying

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As I began to do an in-depth study into the early Church, I wanted to discover the ancient paths that we have lost and they obviously had found. Amazingly, I discovered a very old but seldom taken path, the art of tarrying. For some it might be contemplative prayer, for others it is silent prayer and for others, it is meditation. Some would say it is the harp and bowl model and others would call it soaking prayer. But tarrying is more than any of these types of descriptions. Most of these are primarily focused around the presence of the Lord. But tarrying has both presence and divine purpose associated with it.

Luke 24:49 (KJV 1900) — 49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Jesus commanded them to tarry until a certain aspect would occur, to be endued with power from on high. The word ‘endued’ means to be wrapped in light or to be totally enveloped. It also can mean to be mantled. The word ‘power’ is the word dunamis and means grace, but also means the nature of God himself. He told them to tarry until this wrapping of God’s character and mantle was upon them.

The definition of tarrying is to wait with anticipation and expectation, not to sit idle. Tarrying is worship, prayer, decree, studying, but all these are outward actions. Anticipation and expectation are issues of the heart. Jesus was essentially saying to them ‘go position your heart and keep it positioned until My character is mantled upon your life’!  The actions of worship, prayer, decrees, etc. help keep our heart positioned correctly but are not actually ways of tarrying. Tarrying is sitting with expectation at the feet of Christ.

In the account of the upper room, they were given this commandment to go tarry. However, earlier, Jesus had asked them to come with Him as He tarried before the Father. Mark 14:34  My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.   He asked them after finding them sleeping, could they not watch one hour, verse 37. He modeled tarrying as He had deep conversation with the Father concerning the destiny of His life and the redemption of the world. He was in agony as He poured Himself out before heaven’s throne and received final instructions. Yet when He returned, He found them all sleeping. This is much like the Church today. In our prayer meetings, 24-hour worship and prayer, etc., we tend to go through the motions but our hearts are far from Him. We need to be awakened and that is what true tarrying will do. It awakens you to God’s purposes.

In the garden, Jesus invited them to tarry but at the upper room, He commanded it. This command was a necessary one as their hearts had proven in the garden to be far from the things of God. I believe God is again, not inviting us to this ancient path, but commanding us to come and tarry. The first invitation was for one hour. Imagine His disappointment then, but also even today, as many cannot pray for an hour even when giving God their wish list, all He wants is for us to come and sit and hear His heart.

In Acts in the upper room, they went, not knowing how long they would be in the process. We know it to be about 10 days. A quick work was being accomplished. When it was finished, the purpose of God was formed inside of them and the nature of Christ was upon them enabling them to fulfill the assignment. You see, true tarrying has nothing to do with you and your needs and everything to do with God’s plan and purposes. It is a deep cleansing process and deep gut- wrenching moments as He reveals both our inadequacies and His divine nature. It is as if we are at odds with them and all our so called “prayer requests” hold no real value of being answered compared to the glory He is revealing to us.

As we look at this time of tarrying, we see Peter arising and preaching the first message after being endued with power. It is roughly ten to fifteen minutes in length by what we see written and 3,000 converts were made. How many of us would be willing to tarry for 10 days, speak 10 minutes with such power from His nature, and see 3,000 added? Within 24 hours of the answer, there were 3,000 converts. We have lost the ancient path of tarrying before the Lord!

Most of our messages are powerless and hold no real revelation. They do not prick men’s hearts and shift culture. We spend time in study and prayer but we must spend time in tarrying. Tarrying forms His nature within us, which empowers us. Tarrying enables our plans and message to be discarded and His picked up. Tarrying allows us to not just preach with enticing words, but to preach with power and signs and wonders.

When Jesus slipped away to pray to the Father, He modeled tarrying more than any other things. He was having a dialogue with the Father and conveying His heart as He received the Father’s heart. He then came forth out of these times and moved in great power.  

Acts 1:7–8 (KJV 1900) — 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

These verses in Acts say again, what will happen in the tarrying.

Times in the Greek is chronos meaning ‘measurable time, like minutes, hours, days’

Seasons in the Greek is kairos meaning ‘divine moments in God He has ordained’

(Own) Power in the Greek is exousia, which means ‘authority or the legal right’

(Receive) Power in the Greek is dunamis, which is ‘the origin of the very nature residing’

As we look at this, we can see that tarrying is going to produce something that is more important than even knowing times and seasons or even the legal rights because it will produce the living nature of Christ within us. Tarrying conforms our nature to His nature thus enabling us to move in the full power of the Holy Spirit.

We have often pondered on what they did as they gathered for all those days. Did they reflect on scriptures? I believe they did, trying to find answers and explanations to what this power would be. We see Peter speaking from the book of Joel as a fresh revelation, which was possibly a recent place he had just read. Did they sing and worship? Probably, as they were excited to be counted worthy of this new dimension creating questions none of them could answer. Did they pray? I’m sure of it. They needed answers and I’m sure they were full of questions. Did they discuss Jesus’ words? Absolutely! His words were why they gathered. They probably had in-depth conversations about them and the possible meaning. The one thing we know happened is that they created an atmosphere to draw the Holy Spirit and created one accord. The act of tarrying has all these elements in it, not in the mechanical processes we tend to do, but in a living, life- giving and flowing purpose. The tarrying was for a reason, not just because it was something needing to be done. It was a container built by human spirits hungry for God.

You see, their approach was not seeking results; this is called ‘search theology’, which is constantly looking for results to validate God. They knew there would be results. He had promised and commanded and spoke with authority that this would come to pass. They had a ‘harvest theology’, which means they understood the promise’s ultimate result would occur. Their seeking and the difference in tarrying over simply praying is; praying is searching while tarrying is knowing. Instead of them searching God, they were allowing God to search them. They were in a quickened process of obstacles being removed from their lives so they would not block the intentions of God. Now that’s real tarrying! They were at a critical moment of time, the second time the word ‘tarrying’ was asked of them. Let us go back to the garden and look at that time again to help us see the importance of tarrying.

Matthew 26:38 (KJV 1900) — 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

Tarry means “to continue”, “tarry”, “endure”, and translated miscellaneously five times. 1 to remain, abide. 1a in reference to place. 1a1 to sojourn, tarry. 1a2 not to depart. 1a2a to continue to be present. 1a2b to be held, kept, continually. 1b in reference to time. 1b1[1] to continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure. 1b1a of persons, to survive, live. 1c in reference to state or condition. 1c1 to remain as one, not to become another or different. 2 to wait for, await one.

They had not become one yet. They definitely were not of one heart and soul and they still were not one with Christ. Jesus saw the lack in the human nature to understand spiritual things and the process needed to create that oneness. Imagine His disappointment as He came and saw them sleeping.

Matthew 26:40 (KJV 1900) — 40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

Here He is at the most critical part of His assignment upon the earth and He desires to share this moment with those closest to Him. Yet they are sound asleep. As I said earlier, this is the state of the Church and few in this hour are awakened. Even among those already awakened, few are tarrying and we wonder why things are not exploding. We are again at the most crucial moment in the life of Christ in the Church upon the earth. We are at a real point of death to self unlike anything we have ever seen before. Dying to self has become so cliché and has no meaning unless combined with tarrying before the Lord to receive His instructions. However, for those who do tarry like Christ did with His Father, there will be loosed a resurrection power that will far exceed anything we have seen and done. Our later years will be greater than our former and we will do greater works!

Luke 24:29–30 (KJV 1900) — 29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. 30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

Another time the word ‘tarry’ is used is after the Resurrection and Jesus is on the road to Emmaus and meets two followers. They asked Him to abide but Luke wrote that He tarried with them. He did not spend much time yet suddenly their eyes were opened. You see the actions of Jesus tarrying created awakening. His tarrying had corresponding actions.

We see another time that Jesus left the normal actions of life and tarried at a well. (John 4) The other disciples went to get food but as Jesus told them later in John 4:34 My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work”.  His tarrying at the well was intentional and had a specific result; it confronted a woman’s heart and brought healing with the overall results being the conversion of multitudes of Samaritans.

As we begin to look further, we see times that Apostle Paul tarried as well. He specifically states that his tarrying would produce a certain result.

1 Timothy 3:14–15 (KJV 1900) — 14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: 15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Paul tarried so the reverence he had would come upon others. He believed his tarrying would be a living example for others to follow. We might interpret this as his length of stay, but I see it as his length of time spent before God. After all, he could stay for a long length of time but if they did not see His actions before God, they would not have reverence. It was a specific type of tarrying that Paul did and he invited others into it to experience it.

We know Jacob wrestled all night for God’s blessing. In my opinion, he was tarrying before the Lord. He did not know how the blessing would come or what it would look like but he did know not to give up. The scripture says he wrestled but the wrestling was probably more with himself and his responses before God. His act of both wrestling and tarrying allowed him to walk away marked by God for the rest of his life, a reminder of a turning point in his life.

Daniel also tarried and fasted for 21 days to get an answer. Interestingly, his words were heard from the first day, but his tarrying was enabling the spiritual realm to be cleared so his answer could come. It appears tarrying faith can both put into motion and hold in motion the angelic host until the answer is brought forth upon the earth. Perhaps much of our spiritual warfare is not effective because we don’t really tarry in faith. Maybe it also has to do with our lack of fasting, another ancient path that has been lost or at least greatly diminished.

Like all things, ancient paths require the right heart attitudes and motives to be effective. If our heart condemns us not, then we have confidence before God. If we are feeling condemned or are walking in sin, rebellion, or lack a desire to live a fully committed lifestyle of true faith, our confidence will reflect this. Confidence does not just come for us to feel good about ourselves but it comes to empower the desire to abide in God … to pursue His presence, to tarry until He comes.

However, what else keeps us from tarrying before God? A prayer less life. Prayerlessness keeps us from tarrying because we might be confronted about areas of our life in need of change. God wants to deal with your heart BEFORE you tarry with Him. Notice I said with Him. Tarrying is about a discussion of partnership of God’s intentions into the earth. Prayer tends to be a more one-sided discussion as we make requests of God. Tarrying is God making requests of us! God wants to shift things in our personal lives and before tarrying can truly be effective, things must be confronted with prayer and worked through in our own walk with Him. Tarrying is for the corporate Body as prayer is for the individual. God does not want our times of tarrying to deal with our personal sin issues but the sin issues of a region, people group or nation.

When we tarry before God, we are also tarrying before His holiness. We are seeing the beauty of holiness of which David so beautifully described. We are at a place of awe and reverence. If our heart is right, then tarrying shifts our position from entering into His holiness to tarrying in His holiness. We stay sustained in this place as a supernatural exchange occurs. We receive more of His nature and our nature fades. We understand His ways and paths because they are holy. We see the ravages of sin upon humanity and God’s overall love and plan. We are truly coming under His Lordship to be a tool empowered to make change. The actual degree of Lordship we see exercised today is directly related, I believe, to the amount of time spent before the Lord simply tarrying. When Lordship is lacking, a deep relationship is not in place. As you study the scriptures, the overall plan of salvation has little to do with the actual act of forgiveness and more about Lordship and the walking out of forgiveness under Lordship. I am not demeaning the work of the cross but simply stating it is the invitation and not the final destination of our walk with God!

Tarrying is not about spending time to find or receive a blessing. God may or may not reveal that portion to us. Tarrying is about a transformation process. It is about a journey with Him. If you are struggling in tarrying and it is hard for you to simple sit for a length of time of say, two hours, then possibly you are still coming to the Lord with a blessing mentality. You will know you have made the true transition into fully tarrying when it becomes a joy instead of an obligation. When it becomes an expectation. The reality is, the ones who can tarry a long time have found a real secret ancient path. That is the tarrying is the blessing! This is the joy of being with Him, not asking anything of Him but His dialogue! Now that is joy unspeakable and full of Glory and the half has not been told!

Micah 7:7 (KJV 1900) — 7 Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: My God will hear me.

What we are tarrying for can be summed up in this “that a portion of His holiness would rest upon us.”

  1. Tarrying before God will enable us to be kept by the power of God.
  2. Tarrying transforms our nature.
  3. Tarrying before God will release hidden mysteries.
  4. Tarrying before God will cause clarity to come concerning spiritual truth.
  5. Tarrying can become a lifestyle and not an event.

 

Thought Life & And Paul’s Resurrection

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2 Corinthians 10:3–6 — 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Philippians 4:8 – Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Isaiah 26:3 – Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

In the past few weeks many people have been in their thoughts and head space. When you’re in headspace you’re not in faith. The kingdom and its principles only work by faith not by emotional health or intellectual thought process. When our thoughts or emotions dominate then the kingdom becomes dormant. If the kingdom is dormant or asleep then spiritual awakening is not present.

Our thoughts create the world we decide to live in. Our thoughts are so powerful they can make us believe things that are not true, and even distract us from the truth. Our thoughts can even create things that hold greater value to us than what God is creating. This wrong thinking causes our faith to activate to form what is temporal and even leads us to not be committed to Gods truth.

I want to turn to the account of Paul’s life in Acts 14. Paul and Barnabas come to Iconium and have opposition. This opposition is coming from unbelieving Jews who are stirring up gentiles. Look at what the verse says:

Acts 14:2 — 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.

They made their minds evil. What caused this was because they were unbelieving. The word unbelieving means to be unwilling to be persuaded or to withhold belief and to withhold obedience. All of these are intentional decisions to do the opposite of what they knew to do. They were in rebellion that was coming directly from their thought life. The outcome was the Gentiles minds were made evil. The word evil means to do evil, to ill-treat, to embitter, to exasperate. It was so bad they turned on the brethren. The outcome of the offense was a divided city V.4

Acts 14:3 — 3 Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

But Paul continued in the midst of division birthing, to continue in his assignment. Eventually the division formed pitting some with religious people —- some with the Apostolic kingdom group. It was so bad they wanted to stone Paul, which means execute him. So, Paul goes to Derbe and Lystra only a day’s journey on foot. Lystra is where Paul will choose Timothy for the mission (Acts 16) and it is here he first meets him.

At Lystra Paul continues preaching and heals a crippled man. This time instead of praying and seeing healing he activates the man’s faith to stand. He has figured how to go beyond the minds and thoughts he just experienced, and to see faith supersede it.

Image the thoughts going through Paul’s mind concerning all he is experiencing and seeing. Most people would draw back but Paul pressed forward. Not only is Paul fighting his own thinking he is also fighting people’s unbelief and a group of people wanting to kill him. But he is also fighting sickness in his own body as he touches on this in Galatians 4:13 as he speaks of first preaching to them having much infirmity!

The crowd calls them gods specifically Jupiter and Mercurius which they worshipped because of what they saw. The miracle was so great they wanted to offer the sacrifice of an oxen instead of just small animals. But here came the group from Antioch seeking to kill Paul and kill people’s faith. This group followed Paul for a season.

Acts 14:19–27 — 19 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.

Stoning was for blasphemy, among other things. It was not seen as a punishment by hitting someone with a few stones but was a form of execution. The person stoned would be checked for 3-5 minutes to be sure they were not breathing. Then the person was drugged outside the city to rot. Paul states in 2 Cor. 11:25 he was stoned and in verse 23 he was “in deaths often.” Paul could be stating he died and was resurrected many times.

20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

The disciples at this time were Eunice, Barnabus and a young emerging son called Timothy who was 15 years old. From this moment of resurrection Paul then writes later:

Philippians 3:10 — 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.

The word conformable means to take on the same form or likeness, to come to be like him in his death. Paul after such an experience returns to the city and continues to preach and tells the disciples “Through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

We in the west do not want to enter tribulation to see the kingdom come. Tribulation means trouble, affliction, anguish. It means to be pressed up hard like grapes to get wine. But the outcome was that Paul established the church in that region. He ordained city elders. Paul also now had a working model of the church to be formed all over the globe coming out of the Acts 15 Apostolic counsel meeting.

The deepest places of the power of resurrection is where the deepest tribulations occur. Looking back at how the thoughts of others could have stopped Paul. Paul’s own thoughts and infirmity could have stopped him. Anywhere along the way it would have been easy to quit and be justified in doing it. Yet without this confrontation of others thoughts and influences, the model of ecclesia God desired would not have the right foundations.

Today let us not draw back when other people’s thinking opposes our kingdom assignments. Let us not allow opinions to dictate. Nor let our own thoughts of inadequacies or sufferings talk us out of our assignment. If you suffer because of your own poor choices is one thing, but to suffer for righteousness’ sake releases the power of resurrection.

International Ministry

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I am just getting back from another trip to Nigeria in West Africa. I am not going to make this blog about typical mission’s report because I don’t do typical missions when I go overseas. I go to equip and train leaders. I go to give leaders council about critical situations going on in ministry and the nation. I release kingdom dynamics through apostolic and father graces.

The nations of the world are no different than America even though their cultures are different. The same problems exist in different levels and degrees. Some are masked and packaged differently. Some are at extremes that make them easy to see while others are deeply hidden. But when it is all done there is a root problem, a root demonic force is activity, that is crushing against humanity.

As I have now done over 24 trips into the nation over 20+ years I have seen a metamorphous take place. I must say in many ways the Nigeria church that I first saw with great faith and miracles has been diminished and discouraged by the new standards of the measurement of success that has come from the west. The same problems we face as kingdom people they face as well. The true Kingdom is in smaller places as they hold the greater revelation. As I do each time coming from a trip, I contemplate the comparisons both good and bad. Here are some of them.

In Nigeria there are new problems that exist. Problems created by seeker friendly prosperity driven ministries. These ministries I am ashamed to say patterned themselves after what they saw in the America church and specifically as defining success. Large ministries, large crowds and lots of entertainment driven programs. These have become the pinnacle of arriving at the top. The prosperity gospel and seeker friendly approach have created places of a powerless church. Some large churches do multiple offerings. Offerings for health, husbands’ health, children’s health, prosperity in business, prosperity in life, and on and on, all in one service.  People are desperate as they suffer in poverty, they are reaching out to anything that appears could help, even if it is has twisted the word of God. The people are in poverty as leaders are prospering. Forms of religion but denying the power.

The embrace of the kingdom of God is present and operational but not widespread but growing. Apostles and prophets are in place but there are excesses like in America. Many claim apostleship and to be prophets but actions are contrary to the word of God and the grace needed is not there. Currently there is a movement unfolding on university campuses. Students and young adults claiming to be apostles and gaining following through all kinds of means including voodoo. Voodoo is also being practiced by scammers into America, and by boys desiring sex with girls. The witchcraft in America is subtle but still here, just disguised in other forms of manipulation. Any form of manipulation is a form of witchcraft.

The false positioning of leaders has made them take on titles to hold, without the grace that comes with it to release. Like the American church everyone desires a title to be affirmed and feel important. Most do not go through the process of suffering and development. A real doctrine understanding of Biblical government is needed and a house cleaning of true from false is needed. Sounds like America. The Kingdom churches that are in place are healthy and stable. The excesses are the fringe churches and even large networks of churches.

Since 85% of current church structure worldwide is made up of less than 80 people, the real barometer to look at is these smaller churches more so than the less than 3% of mega churches and 5-8% of medium churches. The same holds true in Nigeria and other nations as America. Senior leaders of larger churches have no need of the fivefold graces available and have done building by charisma, good administration and possible compromising to be relevant. Their programs and technics have brought them accomplishment. The smaller churches are willing to embrace the Ephesians 4 graces, and the impact when they do is very high in spiritual growth and kingdom vitality. The bulk of the work needing to be done is the investing into the hearts of the leaders of these kingdom expressions. They are open, teachable, honoring and willing to steward the church properly in biblical alignment. We are to advance the kingdom as God builds His church. As God builds the ecclesia, we then have the rulership of the kingdom. If we are building a church, then we for the most part we are building our ministry or our own kingdom at times. Steward the church – build the kingdom.

As I have travelled all these years I have invested in the leaders of ministries as it will affect a multitude under them. Let’s say a conference of 300 leaders who each have 80 members is an influence on 24,000 people! That influence is more than most mega churches. This is why I do leadership training. These leaders are highly appreciative of the sacrifice in going and giving of yourself. If you are a gifted teacher, I encourage to consider how you can invest into these leaders. I find it very rewarding each time I go that I know there is a lasting and eternal impact.

The people of Nigeria have a deeper joy than the church in the west.  Their joy is deeper because it is based on faith in Christ, and not over how circumstances are around them. They can be living under great distress and an unknown future, yet they are resolute when it comes to life and expressive of heart when it comes to worship. Something the America church could really learn from. These types of things always make it hard to come home, as they are pieces of authentic faith. These people are experiencing real life traumas and events and have found a way through Christ to indeed overcome. In the west we embrace the traumas and hold them higher than the freedom we could have. We allow them to affect our worship, thoughts and how we see life. That is why it takes time for me to process back into western faith and what we consider normal, even though it might not be authentic.

In the west we have so much. Because of this we lose value of what we have available to us. We have excellent sound, worship, teaching, electricity, buildings, hot showers and luxury items to do life. We have lost honor for the journeys true men and women went on to be formed and discard their words taking them lightly. In other nations the opposite is true. A seasoned man or woman of God is treated with respect and honor. It is knowing the process that was required to bring forth wisdom. The years of service and the sacrifices made are held in esteem. In America all of these holds no real value. What seems to only gain respect is if the person has met my need, or if they have placed me in a position to be recognized, or if their ministry is a certain size. In Nigeria a person’s honor is held as part of how they are seen. Honor is in the culture both in and out of the church. I am not talking about making people idols or putting on pedestals but giving honor where honor is truly due.

I tell you the work in nations is great and the response is even greater. America is in need as well but is blind in contentment. We believe we do not need the fullness of God but are willing to live in portions of fullness. We live compartmentalized lives of faith. We decide what we will or not believe and do. We take time to process truth to fit our lives while in nations truth is embraced with faith and understanding comes as they walk it out.

I believe if all I did was ministry in America, I surely would be discouraged. The change is slow and at times unappreciated. I am thankful that he has counted me worthy to go to nations. I am thankful that I am not wasting what I have been given. I am thankful to be part of the Body of Christ universal and can see the kingdom amongst the nations as well as here in America. 

Defining Biblical Church

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Today we have many different concepts of church. We have the biblical definition of the ecclesia. We then have differing opinions of the original Greek word. We then have denominationalism and the 45,000 flavors and branches and splintering’s. Yes, you read right 45,000. Then we have the moral mixture of LGBT etc. We then have the different tags of seeker friendly, hyper grace, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Kingdom, Apostolic etc. As we look at each of these how do we really know if it is a church by Gods standards. After all that is what really counts.

In each of these can be found a measure of truth. Some are closer to full truth than others. Some have mixed truth with personal preferences. Others have a mixture of truth and man-made doctrines. Still others just have manmade structures. An unbeliever is becoming increasingly confused about what to believe as we keep allowing cultural influences to define what we believe. We are close to going over the edge of just having an open believe system.

Part of this is due to no apostolic bible-based accountability. Another part is secondhand truth due to a busy society that demands more time than we have, so our pursuit of studying Gods truths is secondary. It also is due to so many translations of the bible which have moved from word to word to thought to thought to paraphrased and finally opinion.

So, I want to endeavor to give you what the Holy Spirit said to me on this. I have tried to define the church we see or should see many times. I see the unbalance and not conformity of one new man in the body of Christ as well. I start the journey looking at the original intentions of God in the church birthed at Pentecost. The first church everyone was truly born again, truly water baptized and received the mind of Christ, truly was filled with the spirit. This way they saw the kingdom John 3.3 and entered the kingdom John 3.5. These three things were foundational and authentic. They also brought union with Christ and formed one body around the understanding of these truths and the experiences these truths brought. No one in the early church had a belief of not being spirit filled.

Just because the name church is on the name and the IRS papers are filed does not automatically make something Bible based. It does make them recognized as a religious organization or institute. I believe this definition would cover the majority of what we see with signage and religious rituals and practices. The question I have is do we think Jesus and the early apostles would approve the current definitions of church?

Many people are in pre-new birth, seeking and practicing religion, but not placed in the true one body. Religion binds the individual to a hopelessness of sin. “The Faith” frees the person into a kingdom destiny and purpose. What seems to go on is people deciding what is the best fit for what they belief vs being fit by how God would fit them in. The early apostles would die for “The faith”. Wonder how many leaders of religion and faith are willing to die for what they believe? Maybe that sorts some things out as well.

The church today is like the church of Thyatira in Rev. 2:18. We have done many things and have kept people busy doing things. Works, charity, service, faith and patience are all listed in the Rev. 2:19. But works is listed twice. We have gotten caught up in the activity of ministry. The superstardom of ministry. We have allowed Jezebel, which is a spirit, room in our activities. We have created false prophets and even false ministries. We have not solid doctrine V.24. But I think most of us can sort out what is wrong. But can we find answers that are correct or give better definition?

1 Corinthians 12:12 — 12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

The Christ is the Head and we are the members of one Body. Christ does not join himself to a harlot, or a prostitute. He joins himself with those who have been redeemed. The body is not all who say they are even Christian. The body is all those born again and have started the journey of salvation, walked away from sin, and embraced the provision of the finished work of the cross. This defines the activity of redemption that leads to the infilling of the spirit. These two are the beginning definition of the church or ecclesia as we know it. As we remove church from our vocabulary of what we currently say is church and say Body of Christ it becomes even more evident of how God may view what He is building. His goal is to build a body into a governing dimension he called ecclesia. Now we have a third definition.

Ephesians 4:1–7 — 1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

The Holy Spirits focus is not just on the individual as separated from others but as connected to the whole corporate one new man being created. The Holy spirits role is to build “One New Man”. The Holy Spirit knows this will be the full expression of Christ. This new man is created in holiness, because of the process of redemption and Holy spirit infilling and activity. This is not embracing any and all belief systems for the sake of unity. Unity is no concern to God but union with Christ. This is the fourth definition, who is reflecting union with Christ and reflecting his image, and not a tainted image of our preferences or own belief system.

Ephesians 1:23 — 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

His body is the expression of his fulness. This fullness fills each other as we gather. The whole connected body that is filled to full with Holy Spirit is “The church” and there is no other church. So, what Holy Spirit showed me is the biblical definition of church is:

A redeemed body that is reflecting and evolving, regenerating and reproducing the very image of Christ not just each individually but corporately. This is done by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit forming the exact image of Christ individually for a corporate expression. Once that image is formed, they become an ecclesia that is ruling and reigning. This is the only church that God recognizes, which is first a living Body filled with the life of God according to biblical president and truth. The Holy Spirit first introduces Christ into the believer, and in so doing He is forming in all who believe one Christ, constituting one Body, and that is the Church as in the New Testament. It must be redeemed, it must be filled with Holy Spirit, it must come into governing, it must reflect Christ image.

You see it not the things you do…. It is the reflection of Christ and the Holy spirits activity. Without these you are apostate. It is the battle between Freedom verses Religion and Life verse Ritual.

The Power of Words

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1 Corinthians 14:9 “So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? For ye shall speak into the air.”

In today’s culture, we have so many slang terms. If you are like me, you might find yourself looking them up online in the slang dictionary! Words carry power, yes, but each word also has a specific meaning that we are trying to convey.

In the body of Christ, we often interchange words loosely, thinking we are saying the same thing, but we’re not. Many have joked that we need a dictionary for our “Christianese.” When you call out the exact meaning of a word someone used out of context, they might brush it off saying, “Well, you know what I mean.” Yes, I think I know, but actually, I don’t.

When Jesus and the apostles spoke, they did so with precision, having carefully thought out what they wanted to say. They were slow to speak and quick to hear. They chose their words carefully, understanding that what was said or written would be scrutinized to grasp its exact meaning.

Today, we often rely on a second-hand gospel that does not compel us to study to show ourselves approved. We simply accept whatever doctrine is passed down and do not verify its truth. Consequently, many interpretations of scripture are inaccurate, and some are even untrue. This leads to a loss of meaning, causing us to come to our own conclusions, often misled. We have lost the art of deductive reasoning and replaced it with Google, creating an open belief system.

The problem we face is a loss of vocabulary. During William Shakespeare’s time, the average person had a vocabulary of about 57,000 words. Many were very descriptive to convey the thought presented. Today, that number has dwindled to about 3,500. Even I did not like to read. I barely passed English, vocabulary, and speech classes in school. Yet, here I am today, authoring books, blogs, creating content, and speaking at conferences. What changed when I got born again was that I started a new life—a life of excellence, defining who God is and how I fit into His plan.

This new life required me to pursue excellence in everything. It required study, discovery, meditation on God’s word, and many other disciplines. But overall, it birthed in me a desire to delve deep into the origin of words, understanding their development, and unlocking the mysteries they held about the creator. Ezekiel described his heavenly vision as “like unto” and having “the appearance of,” indicating his struggle to find words. Paul said he saw things he could not speak of. Both men lacked the words to convey the grandeur of God. Today we too lack the vocabulary to properly convey spiritual truths. This happens to me sometimes as I come to not having the right vocabulary.

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Today, we have so many “experts” on what the Bible says. Most are not learned in hermeneutics, exegesis, or other theological disciplines. Many do not even know what these words mean, yet they want to correct those who are well-studied. I have discovered that many words mean something completely different than the sentences we form around them. Before I introduce a new, misunderstood area, I engage in extensive study. Topics like Eschatology, Kingdom, Apostolic, and the Realms of God have required over 150 hours of study each before I felt ready to teach on them. I find if I study the words used in scripture, I find hidden meanings never mentioned that sheds new light onto the overall truth. We have a responsibility in what we reproduce.

The reality of reproduction hit me hard when we had our international school network with sixty schools and 3,000 students graduating yearly. Most graduates started churches, often before even graduating. If each church averaged one hundred people, that is 300,000 people influenced yearly by the words spoken. Over ten years, that is 3 million people. Talk about feeling the weight of responsibility!

Matthew 12:36-37 “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

Words do carry meaning, but often, the definition is mixed with human reasoning, religious doctrines, and personal preferences. Terms like repent, kingdom, apostolic, revival, awakening, reformation, born again, salvation, water baptism, spirit baptism, and adoption are frequently used out of context. This lack of precision hinders spiritual growth and maturity. Accurate definition of these terms and others is crucial for proper understanding and spiritual development.

Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; But his heart is not with thee.”

Like all hard questions, understanding the meaning of words requires a kingdom perspective. We use Greek and Hebrew to define words, but the language of Jesus’ time was Aramaic. The kingdom had come, and words were used to describe it. The Kingdom perspective brings a whole new meaning to the words used and the thought expressed. Like the word Ecclesia. Jesus used the term from the surrounding culture. It meant governmental rule to the Romans and to conquer and bring new territories into their culture. To others it was the senate who set laws. And still others it was city elders who settled disputes. Look how far away we are from this definition today.

I want to encourage those in ministry to deepen their understanding and study to find the meaning of the words they convey. Define what needs to be said with clarity. Invest in tools that help create depth in you. As leaders, we reproduce what we do—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Mis-defined truths lead to future battles and pride, while correctly defined truths create freedom for others. It is about the living legacy we are all responsible for passing on accurately.