PLAYING ENOUGH?

Last summer in Savannah, GA I saw this tire swing with moss on it. The adage 'a rolling stone gathers no moss' reveals that only something neglected grows moss on it. Somebody quit playing on that swing.

I once heard John Arnot say that while being powerfully touched during the outpouring of the Spirit in the late 1980's-early 1990's he realized that God is playful. I have found the same to be true. He really loves to have fun. Even Jesus was anointed with the oil of gladness above His brethren (Hebrews 1:9), and actually endured the cross, despising the shame for the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus once said, 'whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it' (Mark 10:15). Childlike playfulness is a prerequisite for accessing the Kingdom!

Being playful is an attribute of many very successful people. Notice the following quote by B.C. Forbes, founder of the major business journal Forbes Magazine:

“Many of the most successful men I have known have never grown up. They have retained bubbling-over boyishness. They have relished wit. They have indulged humor. They have not allowed “dignity” to depress them into moroseness. Youthfulness of spirit is the twin brother of optimism, and optimism is the stuff of which American business success is fashioned. Resist growing up!”

According to the Bible joy is strength. Without it we will not persevere in the difficulties of spiritual things and the problems of life.

Do you play enough?

SEATED IN THE HEAVENS...How's your seat?

Dimitri from Switzerland asked me this question:

"My name is Dimitri, I'm 24 years old, recently moved to Switzerland, and I'm studying the phrase "seated in heavenly places" for quite a time now. Can you tell me more about your insights and experiences? I read your blog and you just mentioned it shortly."

My brief response:

Paul reports in Ephesians 2:4-6 that we were instantly seated in the heavenly places when we were given new life, born again, or saved (depending on your phraseology).

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,"

Being seated in the heavens is not a state we come to because we 'matured' into it but were born into it. That means every believer has access to the heavenly realm, the realm of power, blessing, benefit, etc. But functioning from that place of access is something you must learn how to do, which is an aspect of living by faith. Healing, power, miracles, provision, prophetic words, all of those kinds of things come from that heavenly place. (For example, when Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, where did the additional food come from? Heaven!)

Being born again, which means 'born from above or born from heaven', does not mean one instantly and successfully draws from that realm, but that one is eligible to do so. One must press into it, or become actively engaged in the realm of the heavens to experience it and draw from it. In Matthew 11:11-12 Jesus addressed this concept when he said the violent or the strong and forceful ones seize the kingdom by force:

"Assuredly, I am saying to you, There has not arisen among those born of women a greater one than John the Baptizer. However, the person of most humble station in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Indeed, from the days of John the Baptizer until this moment, the kingdom of heaven is being taken by storm, and the strong and forceful ones claim it for themselves eagerly, for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John." (Wuest Translation)

A key understanding about functioning out of the kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God is that we must energetically lay hold of this realm that we have been given access to. One mistake many make is that since they have not been successful in living the supernatural life they assume they do not have access or that God has yet to do something necessary for them to do so. As a result many fall prey to common 'religous' snares such as legalism, and/or other perversions of our Christian faith in an attempt to move in power. Jesus gave this simple yet profound answer to this issue when asked how one continually does the works of God:

"Then they said to Him, What are we to do as a habit of life in order that we may continually be working the works of God? Answered Jesus and said to them, This is the work of God, that you continually be believing on Him whom that One sent off on a mission" (John 6:26, Wuest Translation).

You access the heavens by believing in Jesus, who He is, and particularly who He is in you. You believe, move in faith, and learn how to function in that wonderful realm.

Robin

EXITS

In Ezekiel 48 the prophet tells us about the city of God called "The Lord is There". He tells us that the city gates are named after the twelve sons of Jacob. He doesn't call the gates ENTRANCES, which is the perspective I normally have about gates. Instead he calls them EXITS. Have you ever wondered why? It's because Ezekiel has a heavenly perspective of life and GOD wants to get out of us.

He is inside every believer but many believers are yet to believe that the One they believe in is inside them. Unbelievable!

Many are crying 'Lord, come!' when the Lord is saying, 'He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water' (John 7:38). We are trying to get God inside us while He is inside us wanting us to let Him get out and help somebody, supernaturally.

Are you looking for a downpour or an outpour? I'm looking for the awakened church to have a corporate 'outpouring' of the Spirit of God. This difference of perspective and understanding determines your experience.

Are you looking up... or down? I recently wrote on my facebook site:

Things are looking down... When you are seated in heavenly places you are 'over' all your issues and problems and only then do you have an accurate view point!

Up or down? Which way are you looking? Remember. Your perspective will determine your experience.

GEORGE LIELE: FORGOTTEN PRINCE

The very first Biblical commandment containing a promise is "Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you." (Deut. 5:16). We should not only honor our natural parents but our spiritual ones as well. Do we not want it to go well with us in the land our God has given us? One spiritual father who has scarcely been remembered, never mind honored is George Liele, a slave who was so radically converted that his master set him free to preach the gospel. In December of 1777 Liele established not only the first Black Baptist church in Savannah, GA, but the first Baptist church there of any kind. It remains to this day and is named First African Baptist Church.
After the Revolutionary War Liele indentured himself to a British officer to avoid being re-enslaved by the family of his former owner. After paying off his debt he established a church in Jamiaca of over 500 slaves. He predated Adoniram Judson, called the father of American missions by thirty years, and William Carey, another pioneer missionary, by ten years. He is a true hero of the faith and needs to be recognized for his accomplishments.
George Liele was reported as having the same preaching anointing as did George Whitefield, one of the most remarkable evangelists in history and a primary force in turning the spritual tide in North America prior to the obtaining our independence from England. It is time to remember both of these men and pray that others like them will be anointed to trumpet this next great awakening so needed even now.

Tomorrow's Bread...Today.

How amazing that God gave us a model prayer,a form (not a formula) that we my fill in ourselves, providing us with a checklist of all the prayer essentials. It is found in Matthew 6 and is known as the Lord's prayer. I can't imagine God not answering the kind of prayer He showed us to pray, can you?

As I have looked through each part I have concluded that 'give us this day our daily bread' part doesn't seem to fit as well as all the other parts, each identifying major spiritual issues, like: Honoring and revering God -'hallowed by Your Name', laying hold of the heavenly realm -'Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven', the huge issue of the relationship of forgiving to being forgiven -'forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors', being kept from temptation beyond our endurance -'and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one', concluding with this overarching faith proclamation -'For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever, Amen'. To me it almost sounds like in the middle of the prayer form we are saying, 'and by the way, while you are helping me with all of these major spiritual issues, don't forget my sandwich please'.

I discovered that Bible translators had difficulty accurately translating the phrase, 'give us this day our daily bread'. I feel like there was much more intended by those words of Jesus than a plea for each days food. (Imagine believing that the bounty of heaven could be our portion and then throwing in a plea for food.) Those words could have been translated, 'give us tomorrow's bread today'. What might that phrase mean. Here is what that means to me: 'provide today what we need for tomorrow, in advance'. It could be extrapolated to mean, 'reveal to us the future and provide us with what we need to be successful. In the early 1970's, as Roe v. Wade was being passed, successfully taking the lives of over 50 million children many of the popular Christian books were about being raptured out of the world to escape the looming great tribulation. Those influences helped cripple the church by robbing us of future generations. The escape mentality robbed the church of a solid hope for our future.

'Give us this day tomorrow's bread' speaks of the supernatural nature of being a christian. It lives in light of a bright future. Since we have a tomorrow, Lord, give us what we need to fulfill it today. If in fact we can have the reality of the kingdom of heaven manifest in our daily lives 'in earth as it is in heaven' then we can live today with tomorrows help. Anyone who knows more about tomorrow than society does in general is in a place of supernatural wisdom and insight and is in a place to succeed. Imagine knowing today the state of tomorrow's stock market. Imagine knowing and having today the healing, the wisdom, the provision that you will need for tomorrow. Much like Joseph who understood the future, made provision for it, laid hold today of tomorrows provision, we should be able to sustain, impower, and impact our generation for what is coming by receiving revelation from God for what is coming.

God wants to restore our hope, our future, our very inheritance. What has the enemy robbed you of? What has God given you today that speaks of your tomorrow? What are you asking for so that you can become all He has intended for you to become? Lets talk about it.

Parking Lot Tree

My recent Savanhah, GA minstry trip was a successful one. Many of those who attended were touched by the power and presence of the Lord. Some were healed, some returned to the Lord, and some repented and were restored of some specific personal issues. Those who attended did most of the 'hands on' ministry. The Friday evening meeting was one of the top ten meetings of my life. It was powerful. We are going back the first weekend in in November, 4-6, to the same place:St. Luke United Methodist Church, 9114 Whitefield Avenue, Savannah. Meetings begin at 7:30.

Now, about the tree. While I was there I saw this massive live oak tree, about 50+ feet tall, in the middle of a vast parking lot. It spoke to me something very important. Look at. Think about it. What does a live 100 year old oak tree in the middle of a parking lot, say to you?

HAVING SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW YOU HAVE

Can you have something good that you don't know you have? I believe you can. In Genesis 28 Jacob said, "God is in this place and I didn't know it!" I have heard people say, 'How could God be where you are and you not know it?' Well, God is everywhere at all times, but He doesn't always manifest Himself everywhere. Over the years I have realized that His manifestation is often related to our recognition and appreciation of Him. God inhabits praise (Ps. 22:3). We enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise (Ps. 100:4, 95:2). Our appreciation matters to Him and affects His actions toward us.

You can be seated in the heavens and not know it. Being seated there is the equivalent of 'being in the river', 'flowing in the Spirit', living a Holy Spirit empowered life, etc., etc. God is amazing. He seems to skip some of the steps we may impose on people. Paul writes...while we were yet sinners, or dead in trespasses and sins...He raised us up, made us sit in the heavens in Christ...(Eph. 2:5-6).

If you are a believer and yet don't know that you are presently seated in the heavens, than I prove my point. You have the best seat in the house! But, if you say you know that you are seated there, and yet are not moving in some aspect of the 9 power gifts of the Spirit, then you still don't experientially know it, or yet worse, you have a concept of the truth that has kept you from the reality. We can know the reality of a life empowered by God. Don't stop until you do.