I used to wreck every family vacation with spiritual warfare, until I learned to live out of the THIRD HEAVEN! I would spend all my time fighting territorial spirits, principalities and demonic entities. As a young person I had a very intuitive, discerning spirit. Because of that I could feel everything in the spirit realm. I lived under a constant sense of spiritual warfare. I was always having to rebuke oppression off of myself. This battle became very wearisome. I was operating in a genuine gift of discernment, but my focus had become so demonic that I lived in constant spiritual warfare. Then one day God made a statement to me.
The Lord has said in His Word that we are to come boldly before His Throne! The blood of Jesus gives us full access. Nevertheless, this does not allow us to come in arrogance. We come dressed in the mantle of humility in the Royal robes of Salvation and Righteousness. Arrogance and religion have no place at the Throne. Pride does not exist in God, cannot exist in heaven, or at the Throne. God wants His Body to get clean, get dressed, and get ready to dwell in Glory, to be granted full access to the Throne room. When Joseph was summoned to go before Pharaoh, he washed and put clean garments on.
I have had a private "prayer language" since I was 18 years old. No one taught me how to pray in tongues. I was raised in a church that didn't teach about the spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament. In fact, the first person I ever heard speaking in tongues was me, at the moment Jesus baptized me in the Holy Spirit. I don't think of myself as superior to anyone because I have this gift. Most people have never heard me pray in tongues because I do it in my private devotional time. But because I've written about it and preach about it often, some people have questioned it or even accused me of promoting false teaching.
Fear is "false evidence appearing real." Though this is often true, there are times we are and should be afraid, such as when a lion is breathing down our necks! God designed a built-in mechanism for those times called the fight-or-flight response, also known as the acute stress response. This is the response our body has when we are afraid, whether it is a real or perceived fear. Our bodies will release hormones to help us deal with the issue or to run away to safety. We will feel our hearts racing, our breathing increase and blood rushing to our limbs. The blood flows from our veins to our extremities to get us out of danger. When this happens, we aren't thinking; we are just getting out of the situation ... and fast! Then we return to normal.
Recently, I had a dream that I was sitting across the table from a prophet, and we were having a discussion about the season we are currently in. What struck me was the level of creativity that this particular prophet carried. As we discussed the new era, I responded to all they were saying by saying, "Yes! We are in a time, right now, of only God." I knew in the dream that the Lord was speaking about the unprecedented miracles and demonstrations of His power. I felt a strong sense in the atmosphere that if God doesn't show up, then the "impossibilities" won't move.
One thing that I've discovered in my life, and maybe you have too, is that heaven is very much the atmosphere of worship. God is at the center of all the activity going on in heaven. In heaven, everything is "revolving" around Him. We see in the Book of Revelation that "The Throne" is the centerpiece of everything that goes on there. There are seraphim, cheribim, angels, the living creatures and the saints all crying, "Holy! Holy! Holy is the Lord God Almighty Who was and is and is to come." There is a literal river of worship that flows out from heaven which invites us to join in.
With all the expectations for Christians, especially with anything ministry related and with all the hype there is out there, it is important to learn what GOD expects of you. Some are really good at having a long list of "rules" for you to go by, but they aren't always the Ten Commandments, or the Bible! Many try to do things to lock you into a local system or even a way of giving that may or may not be inspired for you. Now I am not trying to threaten, although I know some will read or feel it that way, but if our conversation with God is there and growing as it SHOULD - because Jesus said His sheep would hear His Voice - then there needs to be some liberty there as well.
"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." John 14:2-7 God focused, faith-filled thoughts empower us to manifest the Kingdom of God and the righteousness of Christ. Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing in the realm of the spirit. When we behold as in a mirror the presence of God we will learn how to express, reflect and create or manifest what we see Father God doing in the Spirit. "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a (reflective)mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:18
The Revelation of Ezekiel's wheel within a wheel is a divine mystery to the body of Christ. There have been a number of commentators over the years that have given their best interpretations of this divine revelation, but the wheel has remained a mystery in the minds and hearts of most Christians. This is much like lifting a diamond into your line of sight, where you will see the glistening rays of light flash from many different angles. Each angle is unique, bringing new and more beautiful flashes of light, yet it is still one single entity just like the revelation of the wheel. Each ray of greater revelation makes up the wheel within the wheel. I humbly shine my bit of light on this powerful revelation.
Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. Acts 16:6–7 The more areas of your life you involve the Lord in, the more you can experience His protection. You can even ask the Lord to guide you in something as seemingly natural as your travel itinerary. In fact, read the passage above. The apostle Paul allowed the Holy Spirit to lead them at every step.
Follow Up
