Revelation - Part 1

The advance of truth in the church is correlated to revelation God brings to the church.  For example, Ignatius of Antioch (A.D. 35-108) once received a vision of angels singing in alternating chants.  He then took this and helped introduce antiphonal singing in the church - alternating choirs singing back and forth.  This type of singing is the foundational notion for what we call stereo music and surround sound.  Yet in the ancient Hebrew tradition, this type of singing was performed with psalms and other scriptural writings.  Ignatius helped restore this gift God gave to the church and man through revelation from God.  

Before Martin Luther, the church was stuck in doubt regarding the security of salvation.  There was tremendous darkness on knowing who was saved and going to heaven, and how one could attain this.  But from Luther and many others in his time the proclamation of the doctrine of grace and the sufficiency of Christ’s death on the cross came forth.  Now, the majority of protestant churches proclaim and live by this truth.  And all the time, these truths were evident in the scripture, but not understood...revelation was lacking.

It wasn’t until Paul came along that the gospel became actively proclaimed to the gentiles; yet it has always been God’s heart to do so...see Jonah, Solomon, Daniel and Moses for examples.

God wants to break through with more of His life in the church and in your life particularly.  God’s truth is advancing.

I’m witnessing in my life time the restoration of God’s power in the church.  God has always intended for His body (the church) to be His representatives on the face of the earth.  He has always intended that His body operate in love, joy, peace, etc. as well as other attributes of His spirit...healing, visions, miracles, prophecy, signs and wonders.  For whatever reasons, doubt and unbelief have kept a majority of the American church ignorant of God’s available life.  But that is changing; more and more the body of Christ is being restored to evident truths in the scripture.  There are several churches and individual ministers in America operating in power gifts.  It has become more common for each city in America to have a group of believers who operate in some degree of these power gifts.  That couldn’t be said 50 years ago, 100 years ago, 150 years ago, etc.  In fact this type of language or practicing of God’s power gifts a few hundred years ago would have incited riots and accusations of heresy.  Hey, that doesn’t sound too far off of what Jesus was accused of.

I believe what we are witnessing is the beginning of the resurgence of what God released 2,000 years ago on the day of Pentecost.  And yet, what was released then was just the “first fruits” of the full manifestation of what God intends.  Why do I say first fruits?  As a body, we have yet to enter into the fulness of what Jesus commanded when He commissioned his disciples to heal the sick, raise the dead, and make disciples of the nations.  There are several instances in the scripture as well as throughout the progression of the church where a truth was introduced and gave immediate blessing, and yet the fulness of that truth didn’t come out until many years later.  Christ is an awesome example of this.  The idea of innocent blood being shed for guilt to be removed was introduced by God in the garden of Eden.  Yet the fulness of what God intended was released much later when a babe was born in a manger and then later crucified in innocence for the remission of sins.  As mentioned earlier, God has always intended for the gospel to be preached to the gentiles however the fulness of this revelation didn’t occur until Paul came on the scene.  And in many ways, this ministering to the gentiles is still being expanded today. 

I feel bad for those who have been around ministers who have abused the “power gifts”.   But to encourage those who have been hurt, God has never abused anyone...He is perfect and right in all His ways.  There have been some major abuses and many minor ones...but in some ways this to me is a normal outcome of a church growing and stretching and learning.  Luther wasn’t perfect in his doctrine, but he began the process of entering deeper revelation.  We are in the process of birthing deeper life and if we’ll hang in there the harvest we reap will be more than can be imagined.

How can we participate in what God is doing?  By asking God to open our eyes...by hungering for more of Him...by reading again what God openly proclaims in His word...and by not being stubborn.  God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Pressing into the Promise

At the Voice of the Prophets (VOP) 2012 conference, there were several great speakers and many great messages.  I know that I received a blessing from each of them.  But the two messages that impacted me the most was from Larry Randolph and Graham Cooke.  Larry emphasized how God was moving in the “suddenly”; that this is a year to posture our hearts and lives for God’s next “suddenly”, and that God is about to move in unprecedented ways in the earth.  Graham Cooke’s message was that we need to lay hold of God’s promises and prophetic words that He has given us.  Graham emphasized that prophecy is not an event but rather a calling from God to enter into a divine process to become that which God has declared.  I believe these two words were divinely sent for my heart to lay hold of.

Larry’s message was so timely for my wife and I because of how God was “suddenly” moving us from Pittsburgh, PA to Charlotte, NC.  We moved to Charlotte at the end of April 2012.  In fact it was just two weeks before coming to the VOP conference that we had sold our home in PA and bought a home in NC.  God moved so quickly that I felt like I had to sprint just to keep up with Him.  This move was so not on my radar up until a month or so before we put the “fleece” out for God to confirm things for us.  My wife and I had labored in the ministry for the past 12 years in the Butler, PA area.  We had founded a home church during that time, then got connected with a new church plant.  We led youth ministry,  an outreach ministry, missions ministry, and had led a move in prophetic evangelism.  We had prayed for some time before hand and felt in our spirits that God was speaking change to us; but we had no idea what form that would take.  Then we received so many sudden changes and door openings and literal miracles in such a short amount of time.  It was no mistake that God was calling us to move to Charlotte, NC.  It was such a God thing.  

God has moved in our life to geographically posture us in the place where He will reveal move of His divine destiny for our lives.  I also am focusing on posturing my heart for God to speak to me.  SInce the conference I have been often pondering the messages I heard there and have been walking in a renewed focus on what God has been speaking to me.   

Graham’s message is a challenge to my heart to believe and pursue.  I’ve had a tendency in my life to seek after God but then believing that God was interested in blessing others but not so much myself or family.  The last several years in the Pittsburgh region were years of a lot of sowing but not much reaping.  I think this put me in a state of hearing God’s word and speaking it or showing it to others, but not believing it would come true in my life.  Graham emphasized that God’s promises and prophetic utterances are not as much an event as a divine invitation to enter into a process that will transform us into His image and become that which God has spoken.  I have received many prophetic words over the years, some which have been manifested in my life and many others that have yet to occur.  I have seen the first fruits of some of these prophetic words, but the fulness of them is not yet manifested.  

I especially was encouraged by the thought that when God declares to us that which currently is not, He is saying that we will survive the “transformation” process that is needed for us to inherit the fulness of the promise.  When God spoke to David he would be the next king of Israel, David had no idea what awaited him and what he would go through before sitting on the throne.  I suppose if David knew everything at the time, he might have hesitated and not embraced what God said.  Thank you Jesus, that you don’t show us everything!  I’m beginning to appreciate more God’s wisdom in hiding some things from us.

In Hebrews 11, we have a picture of ordinary people accomplishing extra-ordinary things because of one thing – faith in God. They were persuaded by God’s promises, God’s word. They didn’t quit although difficult circumstances were in their lives.  They kept pursuing the promise because they maintained the vision of what God had said before them.  We know in reading about their accounts in scripture that several of them had doubts, made mistakes, and battled discouragement. Yet at the end of the day, when the curtain was going down and their day had drawn to an end, they ultimately decided to believe. These in Hebrews 11 have run their course.  Their test is over.  But our race is yet to be completed.  In my heart I hear God saying that wherever I find myself “around the track” there is still opportunity to run hard and win. So…how about it?  What will be my legacy?  I hear God saying “Do hard things!  Believe what God has said about me!  Be extra-ordinary!  It’s only a matter of persuasion!”

After hearing Larry and Graham’s messages I went back and began reviewing the prophecies God had given me over the years.  Graham encouraged us to read them often and recite them before the Lord.  Enter into a divine conversation with God about them.  Whenever we receive a word from God, God is giving us an invitation to begin dialoging with Him about these words.  What is so amazing about God, is that when He speaks, the words evolve over time and take on new meaning.  We can hear a word from God that we received 10 years ago and at the time think that we know all that God wanted to communicate.  And then review it again and the word takes on a whole different dimension than what we previously understood.  

When God speaks, His words are full of life and a well that never runs dry.  It keeps giving life.  Very similar to this thought, the Lord gave me a dream a few weeks ago where the Lord said to me, “David don’t you know that there are 850 points of grace?”  As part of the dream I saw a diamond turning over showing the different facets of its cut and shining brilliance.  With each turn, something new and brilliant shined that had not been seen before.  I don’t think God was telling me there are 850 different angles of grace, but that I need to consider that there are many aspects of His grace that He wants to show me.  He is calling me to live in new dimensions of His grace than what I had previously considered.  God’s word is an unfolding abundance of blessing.  It makes absolutely perfect sense to stand on His promise and pursue them even if we happen to be going through a dry time or difficult period where we are tested.  Soon, He will reveal more and cause us to see where we have not seen before.

On June 2nd I woke to the Holy Spirit telling me, "You are exceedingly rich."  I have all the promises of God saying to me that they are “Yes! and Amen!” in Christ.  He has given all these promises so that I might be a partaker of His divine nature.  He is calling me into His God life...a realm that supersedes natural laws and earthly thinking.  He has told me “I am rich” because I’ve heard the wonderful report and I am pursuing Him.  How rich is the man who has God as his divine mentor?  Its the fathers good pleasure to give us His kingdom.  I want to see more of the manifestation of God’s kingdom through my life.  And I believe that I am just on the cusp of seeing God’s glory revealed so much more acutely in my life.

Psalms 145:10-13 says that “All he has made will give thanks to the LORD. Your loyal followers will praise you. They will proclaim the splendor of your kingdom; they will tell about your power, so that mankind might acknowledge your mighty acts, and the majestic splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.”  We get the privilege of speaking about God's glory and his power.  Guess what that means?  He's going to reveal His glory and power to all His loyal followers!  I'm pumped cause that means more divine encounters for us!  We get to prophesy and testify of the glory of the Lord.  He has made us for this!  This is our moment!  This is our time!  We shall shine in His brightness because He has declared it to be so!

Mediocrity vs Royalty

One of the key battles that every man and woman faces can be summed up in this thought...will I settle for mediocrity or will I press through to royalty?

We are tempted to settle for something less than God’s best for us...often to satisfy a temporary craving.  The craving will actually go away if we submit to God in the storm of temptation.  Yet the consequences of our choices in these moments of testing can be destiny changing and long lasting.  There are enormous consequences to the path we choose.

For Saul, it only seemed fitting to bring Agag, former King of the Amalekites, to his royal dining hall and make him grovel under his table.  Wasn’t this the accepted custom when one king defeats another?  Yet this decision cost King Saul the throne he had grown accustomed to (see I Samuel 15).  Shortly after Samuel delivered God’s message to Saul that the kingship would be taken from him, God directed Samuel to go and anoint Saul’s replacement as the next king of Israel.

You might consider this to be cruel on God’s part, but consider that God is not a man and does not behave rashly.  His patience is unsearchable and His wisdom unsurpassed.  This decision by God was a result of God knowing all that was in Saul’s heart and how he would not yield to God.  The Lord gave Saul an opportunity to reign, but Saul didn’t recognize the importance of following hard after God.

Here is an interesting thought.  What would God have done if Saul had truly repented?  Could there have been a turning of God’s intention?  Would Saul be forgiven and given another chance?  Jesus, who is a reflection of God’s own character, taught his disciples that we ought to forgive an offending brother 490 times in a day if necessary.  I think the answer is obvious...of course God would have forgiven Saul.  But Saul never turned to God with all his heart.  There were times when the spirit of the Lord came upon Saul to help him yield himself to God; but these times were short lived episodes and not a lasting way of living for Saul.

This story is a good illustration of what we face in our lives.  We have the call from God to reign with Him.  He has made us kings and priests unto Him.  The Lord has clothed us with the robes of righteousness and has granted us to be co-heirs with Christ in His kingdom.  Now we are in the middle of choosing whether this calling becomes our pursuit or if we will settle for satisfying temporary cravings.

Kris Vallotton in his book Supernatural Lifestyle states that if we are to walk as God’s royalty on the earth, it is incumbent upon us to:

• Pray Unceasingly
• Give Sacrificially
• Dream Unreasonably
• Serve Wholeheartedly
• Love Unashamedly
• Walk Innocently
• Believe Undoubtingly
• Live Powerfully

Notice that this list focuses on things we must do, it does not focus on what we should not do.  A person who is merely religious focuses on what shouldn’t be done; but a man who is walking in relationship with God is focused on pursuing the king with positive actions and intentions.  Saul was caught in the vortex of religious thought...he was worried that his life was being restricted and he was missing out.  He could only see what he wasn’t supposed to do.  His mindset was hopelessly consumed this way because he wasn’t interested in pursuing relationship with God.  Oh what a tragedy this type of thinking can be.

As Christians we are the most unique beings of God’s creation.  We were made out of clay and we have been infused with the Spirit of Christ.  We are vulnerable, yet possessing the eternal.  God is in us.  We are anointed to manifest His glory on this earth wherever we go.  We are mandated to preach the gospel to the entire earth.  And we have been equipped with the same Spirit which raised up Christ Jesus from the dead.  We have the same spirit that was with God when he created the heavens and the earth; the same spirit that moved upon the Red Sea and part it is the spirit that God has put in us to fulfill his mandate.

So, here are some questions for you to ponder.  Have you settled for something less than God’s royal calling?  God can forgive you if you turn with all your heart to Him.  Is there a place in your life where you know God is asking you to lay it down...but you have been hesitating because you can’t see what life would be like on the other side?  God can give you sight as you step out in faith.  Are you stuck in always thinking of what a Christian isn’t supposed to do?  I want to introduce you to the most creative and loving being in the universe.  He has much to discuss with you.

Christians should be the most creative and innovative beings on the face of the earth.  We are the only ones who have the spirit of the living God dwelling in us.  Yet in many ways the manifestation of the church in our day has been dull and lifeless.  It’s time to rise...it’s time to dream...it’s time to believe...it’s time to pursue.  

Come out of mediocrity and enter into royalty!

Yom Kippur - Friday October 7th

Friday, October 7th at sundown marks the beginning of Yom Kippur.  For those who haven't studied the Jewish calendar, this day marks the most important event of the year....the day when the high priest takes the blood of the sacrifice and goes into the Holy of Holies.  It was a day of determination and a passing of judgement on the nation....would God extend mercy or not.  During the week preceding this day, the Hebrew people would be careful to forgive all those who have wronged them over the past year.  They did this because they did not want anything to hinder their prayer for mercy and their prayer for blessing on their life and nation.

I have started a practice in my life to seek the Lord, especially more diligently during this time.  And I have been so blessed to hear from the Lord.  This blog is to encourage you to press into the Lord, especially during this time. 

Last year during Yom Kippur the Lord gave me a dream that was divided into three segments.  The first part of this dream I was in a large church auditorium.  The worship team had just taken the stage and began to sing.  The song was to the tune of "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" but the words were different.  The words were....Let me be your perfect servant, Holy Spirit smile on me...instead of...Joyful, joyful we adore thee God of glory Lord of love.  When the worship team started to sing, immediately I got up and began to worship the Lord.  But the congregation didn't stand.  They were uninterested and dull hearted.  I began asking in my heart what is wrong, why won't they stand.  I began trying to encourage others around me to stand, but only a few responded.  This discouraged my heart, but I kept trying to encourage others to stand.
The scene then changed in the dream, I  was no longer in the church.  In this scene I saw a golden statue of a woman that was nude.  I was looking from the side  The scene then changed again and the Lord's hand was on my heart.  I felt the Lord's favor and His reassurance that He was with me.  And that was the end of the dream.

Now the interpretation...much of the church is dull and not responding to the call of God to walk in holiness and purity.  Why you ask?  Because they have been joined to idols.  The golden statue symbolized idolatry.  This dullness of heart has frustrated those in the church who have responded to the call and are serving him with all they know how.  And God is saying to those whose heart is right, that He is with you, his hand of favor is on you, and He will stand with you in this season.  Don' be weary in well doing, because you shall reap if you faint not.

There is more to be said about the dream, but for now this is what I need to get out.  The Lord bless you as you pursue Him during this season.

David

The Pauper Mentality

I've been reading the bible for more than 25 years now.  However, I know in my own experience there are just some scriptures that haven't impacted me that much.  There are parts of the bible that I'll read, but I don't get a lot of insight into.  I don't think its because I don't want to understand, its just that the lights aren't turning on (or the elevator doors didn't open....please feel free to fill in your own funny saying here).  By the way, if you have a thought on any of these blogs, please don't hesitate to comment or send me an email.  I'd love to hear from you.  You can put in your comments to any of the blog posts at the bottom and the blog site I'm using will help us keep a running conversation on that topic.


So, here is a scripture that I've probably read over about six or seven dozen times but never seemed to impact me....that is until just recently.


Under three things the earth quakes, And under four, it cannot bear up: under a slave when he becomes king (Proverbs 30:21-22a NASB).  


I was reading a book called "The Supernatural Ways of Royalty" by Kris Vallotton and Bill Johnson; and in this book Kris began discussing what this verse means.  And then EUREKA!! God began opening up insight into what He's been doing in my life these past few months.


So why does the earth quake and cannot bear having a slave becoming a king?  This verse almost sounds un-American doesn't it?   Isn't that the whole touted idea that America is the place where nobodies can become somebodies?  I can just see Dan Rather running a story on CNN that extolls the wonders of how a low-down skid row homeless man getting the chance of a life-time and being elevated to being the CEO of Mega-Company USA.


To understand this verse, you have to understand the "mentality" of a slave.  A slave doesn't own anything, he doesn't have any rights, and he has no initiative because his time is not his own.  Consequently, a slave (or paupers) internal thoughts are that he is insignificant and a user rather than a person of resource.  When a person who has a slave mentality is elevated to a position of influence over others, they bring this mentality with them.


A king has tremendous influence over the destiny of the nation he rules.  I'm not talking about a figure-head king, but a king that has authority to enact laws, pass judgments, and direct resources.  A king's decree determines the future of how his kingdom will operate and who is elevated and who is not.  A king's initiatives have far reaching and long lasting effects on his kingdom.  The destiny of future generations of his kingdom is impacted by choices, decisions, and judgments made by him.  In light of this influence, how the king treats his subjects becomes absolutely life changing.


To give a good illustration of this, consider the biblical story of the prodigal son.  When the prodigal son returned to his father, the only thing he could express to his father was a request to have a position as a servant in the home he used to live in.  His father was running to him, had a robe and ring put on him, was hugging and kissing him, the fatted calf was cooking in the background...but all the while the prodigal couldn't get past the thinking of being unworthy to be his father's son.  Oh what a picture this is of the mentality of many in the church today.  God wants to love on us and pour out the goodness of His heart and we're struggling with the thoughts of unworthiness.  This struggle that the prodigal had and we have keeps us from receiving the over-whelming mercies and kindness that the Father has.  And it keeps us from moving into the role of a son...instead we stay in the mentality of a slave even though we are a son.


We are so focused on our past mistakes and who we were, that we can't see who we are. When we accepted Jesus as our savior, we passed from death to life; old things have passed away and all things have become new.  Our destiny has been changed, our heritage is now to be a partaker of the kingdom of heaven.  We have passed from being a slave into being a son or daughter.  There is a vast difference between being a slave and being a son or daughter.  Here's just a few differences:

• A slave takes orders; a son gives orders
• A slave is directed; a son is consulted
• A slave knows actions; a son knows the heart
• A slave knows the decree; a son knows the plan
• A slave has limited access; a son has access to everything
• A slave carries out directions; a son sets the course of action
• A slave sees the king; a son lives with the king
• A slave fears the king; a son loves the king
• A slave operates through obedience; a son operates out of relationship

Please feel free to add your own slave/son differences in the comments section.  I just quickly rattled off some that came to mind.  But as you can see in just these brief few we have a totally different perspective of the king and his kingdom depending on our state of mind.

When a slave is elevated to a position of influence over others, they will treat others as they see themselves.  They will treat others as insignificant and unable to think creatively.  A slave will quickly dismiss the importance of his influence over others not realizing that he is affecting the destiny of those he has been put in charge of.  This can be very tragic.  Very tragic.


Not only will a slave treat others as insignificant, but he will not recognize the value and importance of resources given to him.  And he will interpret events and the actions of others through the lens of poverty.  This mentality will affect the big things, the little things, and everything in between.  


I wish I didn't have experience understanding this pauper mentality, but unfortunately I do.  Here is a most recent example of how this type thinking affects us.  For the past few months I have been woken in the middle of the night, feeling God's presence in my bedroom.  For a while this was bothering me because I wasn't getting any particular message from God.  So why was I bothered....glad you asked.  I began thinking I must be dull or something is wrong with me that I couldn't hear what God was saying.  And then after several months, it finally dawned on me that maybe...just maybe God was showing me His presence because He wants to just be with me.  The pauper says, "something is wrong".  The son says, "Hey Papa, I love you".  


Do you think that just maybe sometimes God wants to just hang out with you?  Love on you without having to have an agenda?  The son says yes; the pauper says maybe (with a little fear of angering the king).


This mentality has to go for us to live in the glorious liberty that God intends for us to live in.  It is absolutely critical for us to be healed in this area of our lives.  This mentality will affect everything we do and how we treat the world around us.  God intends for us to shine the brightness of His glorious liberty to all of creation and particularly those held captive by Satanic deception.


Blessings to you!!

The Kingdom is Yours

In my quiet times with the Lord lately I have been considering the tremendous blessings outlined in the first few chapters of Ephesians. If you ever have self-doubts about God's love or wondering what God "really, really" thinks about you, Ephesians chapters 1-3 has some surprising and soul stabilizing answers.  However, you can't just skim these chapters and expect to get all the "nutrients" for your spirit that God intends for you to get.  

These are prime "soaking" chapters.  In fact I'm finding it hard to make it much past the first few verses in chapter one as I ponder the implications of what the Holy Spirit is saying through Paul.  Here are just a few of my thoughts.

Ephesians 1:3 (NLT) states, "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ."

For you KJV, NIV and NASB users, there is very little difference in all these translations for this verse.  All of them agree, God is to be praised because He has blessed us with every (or all) spiritual blessings in heaven because we are in Christ.  

So, what does this mean?  I've read some commentators that want to limit the believers experience to receiving these blessings once we're in heaven, since in their mind that's where these blessings are.  Other commentators have a narrow view that these spiritual blessings are a legal position that we hold before God in the courts of heaven.

As in all cases, scripture must interpret scripture.  In order to fully comprehend what the Holy Spirit is leading us to understand, we have to review the context of this passage and we have to shed light on this passage by reviewing what God declares in other places in the bible on this subject.  

Context of Ephesians 1:3

Like most writers, Paul starts us off with a powerful statement which is the subject of what he is wanting to speak to us about.  Behind that powerful subject, Paul then provides supporting evidence so that the reader will understand what is moving Paul's heart to write.  The subject Paul starts with is that God is to be praised because He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings BECAUSE I am in Christ.  All of these blessings are for the believer, those who have accepted Christ as their savior.  So here is a brief listing of supporting spiritual blessings Paul gives in this passage.

• God chose us in Christ.  God planned this before the world was made (Eph 1:4a)
• I stand before God in love and without blame (Eph 1:4b)
• I was predestined as an adopted son or daughter in Christ (Eph 1:5a)
• God delights in choosing and placing me in love before Him (Eph 1:5b) - (Or in other words, I have a happy Papa who wants to bless me)
• I am accepted in Christ (Eph 1:6b)
• I am redeemed through His blood (Eph 1:7a)
• I am forgiven because of His grace (Eph 1:7b)
• God's wisdom and prudence has been abundantly poured out for my benefit (Eph 1:8) - Don't skip over this one.  Again it shows the motive of God's heart and how he looks at you and I.
• God wants us to know the mystery of His will (Eph 1:9) - Or in other words He is imparting spiritual understanding to us so that His heart is revealed.
• I have obtained an inheritance (Eph 1:11)
• The inheritance God gives me will bring Him praise (Eph 1:12) - He blesses me, I bless Him and round and round it goes.  It's like a "glory-go-round."
• I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit, which is the "down payment" of my inheritance.  (Eph 1:13-14)

Wow, when you get to the end of just this brief listing you have to be over-whelmed with all these thoughts (if you're not overwhelmed you could be dead).  No wonder Paul's next few statements were a prayer that God would open up our understanding by giving us the spirit of wisdom and revelation.  We need to comprehend what God has done for us by placing us in Christ.

As you were reading through this listing, I hope that what began to take place in your heart was you started seeing that God's spiritual blessings permeate your past, present and future.  God wasn't just giving you something to look forward to and God wasn't just giving you a legal standing.  He accomplished the redemption of "all" of you, including where you are right now.  

If Paul were to list and expound upon all of the spiritual blessings that God imparted to us through His son, the book of Ephesians would have no end.  We serve an infinite God.  There is no possible way that Paul touched on all of these blessings.  He was just skimming the surface, hitting on big categories, or you could say serving the appetizer.  Each one of these Paul mentions are like springboards into oceans of blessing adventure that God is beckoning us to explore.  I really think that's why Paul started to sum up these thoughts with a prayer, "OH GOD OPEN UP THE EYES OF OUR UNDERSTANDING.  GIVE US THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND REVELATION.  WE NEED TO SEE MORE."

Other Supporting Bible Passages

When I started this blog, I had thought about covering other bible supporting passages here.  But after getting to this point I realized there's so much more to be explored in the sections above that I can't cover it all in one blog post.  So I'll just list a few supporting passages below and cover these topics and those left uncovered above in further blog posts.

• Luke 12:32 - Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
• Daniel 7:18 - But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
• Daniel 7:27 - And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.
• John 17:22,23 - The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
• Galatians 4:7 - Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Blessings to you,

David

Who Am I - Part 3

Growing up I remember hearing the story of "The Ugly Duckling."  The story tells of a homely little bird born in a barnyard who suffers abuse from his neighbors until, much to his delight (and to the surprise of others), he matures into a beautiful swan, the most beautiful bird of all. The story is beloved around the world as a tale about personal transformation for the better.^[1] “The Ugly Duckling” was first published 11 November 1843 with three other tales by Hans Christian Andersen in Copenhagen, Denmark.


In many ways, christians resemble the "ugly ducking" in this fairy tale.  We were born in sin and lived in sin until we were born again.  After receiving Christ as our savior, we were transformed into a new creature, something that the world doesn't understand because its not familiar with this "new creation" which God has made.


You know it's funny how the world wants to tell you who you are.  There isn't any lack of opinion coming from your peers, co-workers, neighbors, strangers, and relatives to let you know who they think you are.  And we also have the former barnyard animals (the devil and his minions) constantly trying to define who you are and what your limitations are.  If we are not careful, these voices will define us before we ever find out what our identity truly is.  You know another funny thing is that the world and the devil have no ability to see the future.  So how do they know who we are and who we are going to become?  Truth is, they don't have a clue.  They don't know the future and neither one has the ability to see into the depths of your soul to know who you really are.


Abram didn't know who he was until God spoke to him while he was 75 years old and living in the city of Haran with his dad and other relatives.  At that time God began telling Abram that he was going to become a great nation, a blessing to the peoples of the earth, and he would be blessed.  Later when Abram was still without child God told him that he would be multiplied as the stars of the heavens.  And Abram believed God.  Against all rationale thinking and logic, he believed the report that God gave him.  


David was a young man tending sheep in the valley when one day his older brother called out and told him that a man wanted to meet him back at the house.  When David showed up back at the house an older gentleman walked over, took out a flask of oil, poured it on his head and pronounced that he would be the next king of Israel.  David had no clue he was supposed to be a king until God pronounced it through the prophet Samuel.


Gideon was grinding wheat at the winepress, just hoping that he wouldn't be caught by the Midianites.  Then all of a sudden an angelic being showed up at the winepress and declared that Gideon was a mighty man of valor.  What!!  You mean the scaredy-cat Gideon.  No, God said he was a mighty man of valor.  And Gideon believed (after much convincing) that what God said was true.


There are so many powerful declarations in the word of God about who we are.  When we accepted Christ, we entered into an awesome inheritance.  Our destiny was changed, our character was redeemed, and our identity was baptized into Christ.


I've listed just a few of these declarations below, but I encourage you to go and spend time gathering together what God declares about you.  You need to know who you are.  Because as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.  If you are constantly thinking something contrary to what God declares, it will affect what you do.  The ugly duckling didn't realize it was a Swan capable of beautiful and graceful swimming.  Until somebody told the Swan who he was he kept goofing around the barnyard trying to fit in with all the other ducks but all the time feeling awkward and out of place.  Likewise, you'll not walk in all the capacity for which God has made you when you have wrong thinking about who you are.  God has made you into a valiant warrior, capable of walking in all the spiritual blessings of heaven.  And capable of bringing the reality of heaven down to the earth where God has placed us for a season.  


Oh, rise up mighty man and woman of God.  The hour is short, and heaven is at hand.  Lift up your eyes unto the harvest and go forth laboring in the Lord's fields that He's placed before you.


Who Are You?

• You are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Eph 2:10)
• You are blessed with every spiritual blessing found in heaven since you are in Christ Jesus (Eph 1:3)
• You are a son or daughter of God, adopted through Jesus Christ (Eph 1:5)
• You are accepted in the beloved (Eph 1:6)
• You are no longer a stranger, but a fellow citizen of heaven with the saints and members of God's household (Eph 2:19)
• You are an heir with the Father and a joint heir with Christ (Gal 4:6-7)
• You are reconciled to God and an ambassador of reconciliation for Him ((2 Cor 5:18-19)
• You are a temple of the Holy Spirit (I Cor 3:16, 6:19)
• You are chosen and ordained by Jesus to bear fruit (John 15:16)
• You are the salt of the earth (Matt 5:13)
• You are the light of the world (Matt 5:14)
• You are more than a conqueror through Christ (Rom 8:37)
• You are seated in heavenly places in Christ (Eph 2:6)
• You are part of the bride of Christ and am making yourself ready for Him (Rev 19:7)