DAY 39 “And he carried
me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great
city, the holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven
from God, having the glory of God.” Revelation 21: 10
Revelation 21 and 22 presents
us with the triumphant finale: Christ and His church are inseparable, completely
one, full of the glory of God. The Jerusalem above is free, which is the
mother of us all… i.e. our true heredity is holy and heavenly and only
found in Jesus. The Father never ate sour grapes and our Lord’s teeth were
never set on edge. Spiritual virginity is the ground of being “all glorious
within” with no heredity
of shameful deeds (Psalm 45: 13 is pure new creation reality). But how
you ask?! Cleansing by blood and
purification by fire makes
us fit for purpose for the new Jerusalem. Jeremiah 31: 29 speaks of post-Pentecost
days.
“In those days,
they shall say no more the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s
teeth are set on edge.”
The Cross has closed the door
on the “old man” heredity. However, there is a need to deal with hereditary
curses. The death of Christ is able to deal with everything of your Adam-inspired
first life. True sons have had a profound change of nature because they
experienced what wretched, naked, poor, and blind people they were. God
chose to kill me off in Christ. We need to grow up and experience the Cross
in deeper ways. We can never have a future in the fullness of God unless
we alter our thinking through the Cross of Christ. When we say “I’m born
again” it does not mean two natures old and new in a constant conflict.
Paternally and maternally we are born of God. The word “above” in “Jerusalem
above” is where the word “again” in “born again” comes from, our
spirits are born from above,
by the Spirit of God (John 3: 3, Galatians 4: 26).
We come from the curse of
the old heredity to the blessing of new creation heredity, by the new covenant.
The Spirit of God (as solid as granite when we see the new Jerusalem coming
out of heaven) is writing the laws and words of God into our hearts and
minds (Hebrews 8: 7 – 13). He has made the old covenant obsolete. We have
a new DNA: a divine new anointing out of heaven and abiding
continually within us. We
have all the strengths of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in our spirit
man when we are born from above. The key is the anointing setting alive
the potential of the new creation in our spirits.
“Father God help me to
walk in the Spirit, the place where my old hereditary cannot touch me.
Thank you, You made me over anew and gave me Your life"
DAY 40 “The city had
no need of the sun or the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated
it. The Lamb is its light.” Revelation 21: 23
The glory of God has many
definitions in Scripture: to shine, splendour, weight, beauty, honour,
magnificence, majesty. Here the glory of God is everywhere in the New Jerusalem,
there is no hiding place for sin. The easy going believer who tolerates
sin repeatedly cannot enter His glorious presence. Once, Antony, at 35,
was left battling hideous animal-shaped demons. He nearly died and a brother
was ready to bury the man who started monasticism. He could not move or
speak but was carried by fellow monks to a grave in a nearby village. Once
there he came back alive and asked to go back to the cave of his previous
torment. Using Psalm 118: 7 and chanting Psalm 27: 3 as swords he overcame
the temptations to fornicate, to give in to fear, and the pain that filled
his body.
Suddenly the roof of the
cave seemed to open and the light of the Lamb poured in, vanquishing the
demons. He asked simply “Where were you good Jesus?”
The Master replied, “Antony
I was here, but I was waiting to watch your struggle, but because you have
held your own I will always help you, and make your name famous throughout
the world.”
GREAT FAITH FOLLOWS GREAT
FIGHTS!
Antony stood strengthened
by the visitation. In the glory of God we understand. The greatest success
story for us as we follow on to KNOW the Lord, is to BEHOLD JESUS to become
more like Him. We are coming to a place where we have no need for the natural
support of sun or moon. The fullest expression of redeeming grace is… the
holy city. What Eden was for the old creation, the New Jerusalem is for
the new creation. Every feature of the city is CHRIST – He is the foundation,
focus, material and measure. Nothing exists in its own right. The last
enemy, death has gone. Like Antony’s experience we enter something brand
new. May God and His Son receive all the glory. Surely the best is yet
to come… a totally new dimension of living. The Lord is there! (Ezekiel
48: 35)
“Father, help me to win
the battles over sin and the devil. I will shine as a bright star in the
midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Thank you that I have died
in Christ to sin, self and the devil, I reckon myself now indeed dead to
them, but alive to God through Jesus Christ. Thank you for the armour you
have given me (Ephesians 6: 10 – 18) – I stand strong in the Lord and in
the
power of His might, and
I give You all the glory. Amen.”
DAY 41 “… and the
name of the city from that day shall be “the LORD IS THERE.”
Ezekiel 48: 35
At the end of the Millennium,
the New Jerusalem descends out of heaven. Everything is from the glory
of heaven to the grit of earth. The earth is destined to be a cinder: it
shall be burnt up (2 Peter 3: 10). Every true believer has a deep longing
for a new heavens and a new earth “wherein dwells righteousness”. The presence
and glory of Jehovah-Shammah informs and control every detail in this new
world. The enemy controlled
the old creation because the world was in the sway of the wicked one (1
John 5: 19).
Our present comfort is that
the Lord will be there, radiating His glorious presence to all who love
Him sincerely. We can experience this relentless, reckless love toward
us today.
The two ages to come – the
Millennium and the New Jerusalem – have greater glory than this grace dispensation
of present truth (2 Peter 1:12). Even the Millennium has seven times more
natural light than we know now:
“Moreover the light of the
moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be
sevenfold as the light of seven days…” Isaiah 30: 26
Tozer said, “… the world
is perishing for His presence, but the church is famishing for His presence.”
Only our new creation is
fit for eternal purpose and duty. Our present comfort is that the Lord
will be there, radiating His glorious presence to all who love Him sincerely.
We can experience this relentless, reckless love toward us today. Tozer
said, “… the world is perishing for His presence, but the church is famishing
for His presence.” The first part of that statement we understand because
we were there – outside God’s grace and perishing. The sadness is that
the church is on a starvation diet of the glory of God. Why? Most believers
are not big enough receivers, for a variety of reasons. Peter says “What
manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness…” (2 Peter
3: 11). The word “manner” means exotic or out of the ordinary. The problem
with lack of glory in the church is simply a lack of holiness – too many
ordinary, mediocre and neutral lives. The Lord wants His church back so
that it is filled with glory. He wants the name of the church, its very
nature, to be infused with His Lordship and presence. Extraordinary saints
who are pure in heart (see Acts 15: 9) will share His glorious presence.
“Gracious Lord, I praise
You for the security of Your presence. Thank you for my “no fault” new
creation. Teach me to live from my spirit with holiness of life, liberty
of will, clarity of mind and purity of heart for Jesus sake. Amen
DAY 42 “The royal
daughter is all glorious within the palace. Her clothing is woven with
gold.”
Psalm 45: 13
To be an overcoming believer
we need the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Paul overcame in a prison,
up to his knees in excrement. Some prisoners were asphyxiated and died!
But the apostle told the Philippians he knew the things that happened to
him TURNED OUT for the furtherance of the gospel (Philippians 1: 12). The
setback was a stepping stone. His clothing of salvation
was woven with gold, i.e.
divinity. The supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ is, in effect, a contribution
of the Spirit beyond any need he may encounter. He had a complete assurance
of his deliverance because prayer had made this contribution possible (Philippians
1: 19).
The clothing of the Holy
Spirit does not make us divine beings, but does release the new creation
from our spirits. That makes us royalty. We can reign in life as kings
and priests within the palace of the church, and the environment where
we live and work. But there is a price-tag! The rule of royal daughters
and sons is,
“… for me to live
is Christ and to die is GAIN.”
Philippians 1: 21
An increased level of anointing
will mean more tribulations, more persecutions, more temptations, more
suffering. The standard
GOES UP and so does the
cost!
The standard of eternal living
is Christ: the anointed One and His anointing. The cost of eternal living
is to die out to self. When our
standard of living goes
up, so does the cost! I lived for 17 months in a shed at the bottom of
a garden, rent-free. But three years later had to spend £600 a month
for a 2 bedroom bungalow! A greater standard and a greater cost. It’s identical
in the spiritual life. An
increased level of anointing
will mean more tribulations, more persecutions, more temptations, more
suffering. The standard GOES UP and so does the cost! But the reward is
that the fivefold ministry of Ephesians 4: 11, who handle their responsibility
with holiness of life, will be “all glorious” within the shrine of their
spirits. This principle works for every obedient believer. Indeed, whether
we are
a prophet or not, does not
matter when a soul is a friend of Jesus, enjoying the secret place of fellowship.
Perhaps you are not an evangelist or a pastor, but you can be a holy friend
with the clothing of divinity, able to share His secrets.
“Father, I am grateful
that I am wrapped in a robe of righteousness, woven with gold. You have
clothed me as a king and a priest. Help me to recognize the place in my
life where I must die and, therefore, gain a new anointing. In Jesus Name.
Amen.”
DAY 43 “But we all
with unveiled face, beholding as in a 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 mirror is the Holy Spirit
who leads us into the truth about Jesus, and the truth about ourselves.
The mirror does not lie. It reveals
the pimples, wrinkles, the
dirty collar, and the greying hairs. Here the Spirit of truth reveals the
glory of the Lord and how far we need
transforming. He will show
us our sins and the release of Psalm 51. He used Nathan the prophet to
humble King David, bringing him back to an “unveiled face”. Sin puts a
veil or shadow on our face. Complete honesty is the only policy and the
only prophecy when it comes to experiencing the glory of God. God dwells
in two places: the glory of heaven, and a contrite, broken heart.
The secret place awaits us,
where the Spirit of the living God would write words on the softest thing…
the repentant human heart
Real repentance is much more
than apologizing. When the mirror shows the purity of Jesus, we realize
our wretchedness. In the early church the standard of holiness was so real,
the ordinary people dared not join the church (Acts 5: 13). Unforgiven
sinners don’t hold hands with glorious, holy saints. The Cross divides
humanity. There is another division that is now happening in the church.
Three out of 4 believers
are not preparing themselves for glory through repentance. In the parable
of the sower and the seed only the good and honest heart desires transformation.
Only the noble (one sense of this word is repentant) heart sees the multiplication
and the increase of God. This heart goes from glory to glory, because it
hears, understands and keeps the word of God. Hearing God’s voice comes
to the sensitive heart that worships and takes time in the quietness to
listen, to bow down and incline the ear. 2 Corinthians 3 ends with glory
but begins with the new covenant words of spirit and life. Hearing them
is crucial to our sonship. We cannot come to any conclusion by our own
reason. The secret place awaits us, where the Spirit of the living God
would write words on the softest thing… the repentant human heart. When
we DO the revelation, the glory comes. Let us not become forgetful hearers
only but doers of the word, as we continue in the perfect law of liberty.
We must not forget the place
of conscience, the inward monitor that records the highest it knows. The
Holy Spirit witness increasingly works with the testimony of our conscience
so that we can walk in the light of the mirror.
DAY 44 “But we all,
with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord…”
2 Corinthians 3: 18
Conscience plays a huge role
in this aspect of a mirror. We fail to find true revelation, the mind of
Christ, if we refuse the dictates of conscience. Are we willing to see
how God sees our sin? Our consecration depends on a bloodcleansed conscience.
General confessions like the Anglican prayer book cannot help you here.
The mirror will reveal sins, one by one. After confession and
repentance the blood of
Jesus continually works cleansing. Most of us are very slow in allowing
conscience to probe our life.
We are not attentive. Solomon
sacrificed 1000 bulls before the heavens opened and the dream was given!
Conscience is the window to a believer’s spirit, said Watchman Nee, so
that heaven could shine through. A refusal to listen to conscience defiles
and corrupts
and dulls our whole life
(see Titus 1: 15). The apostle Paul’s great confessions about his conscience
were NO OFFENCE (Acts 23: 1) and NO HYPOCRITICAL LIFESTYLE (2 Corinthians
1: 12). The play-acting of unreality in many saints will lead to deception.
To the carnal Corinthians, he is aware of “another spirit”, an imaginary
counterfeit to the Holy Spirit had been at work. He mourns over
the hypocrisy of unrepented
sins of fornication, lewdness, selfish ambitions, contentions and jealousies
(2 Corinthians 12: 20, 21). The power of the new creation is unable to
come through these saints.
God is not correcting us
by His standard of holiness in terms of communion with Him. A believer
may have little knowledge, and our conscience only demands our obedience
in terms of the light we know. However, every Christian has an obligation
to increase in knowledge. A more mature believer will have more light and,
therefore, a more active conscience, because of greater knowledge. In 1
Corinthians 8: 7 we see
an immature believer with a weak conscience, perhaps unable to enjoy food
given over to an idol. In such a case the mature believer must not parade
his liberty. Therefore, he should not take the immature believer to an
Indian curry house for a meal. The key is FELLOWSHIP with the LORD.
Knowledge given to the immature
believer will prevent the defiled conscience. The knowledge necessary to
give peace is in 1 Timothy 4: 4 which says, “… nothing is to be refused
if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of
God and prayer.” Walking in the light depends on a blood-cleansed conscience
which gives us an unveiled face, that we may see the glory of God…
even in the affairs of ordinary
life.
“Father, give me sensitivity
to walk with a clear conscience - in the light, growing in the knowledge
of God, in Jesus name. Amen
DAY 45 “Therefore,
since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose
heart.”
2 Corinthians 4: 1
We lose heart when our focus
is on the things of the flesh. Glory inspires, invigorates, and builds
us up in the inner man where the new creation lives. Our lives are being
transformed into the image of Christ by the Spirit of the Lord. Whether
we function in Ephesians 4 fivefold ministry, or a gift in 1 Corinthians
12 or Romans 12, the dominant theme in the New Testament is to be like
Jesus. The link between grace and glory and refusing to lose heart is also
found in 2 Corinthians 4: 15, 16. Jesus never claims exemption in any situation,
“…for ALL things are for your sakes”. Everything is for our benefit, but
we must keep the focus right, and never lose heart.
Inside of us we can do nothing.
Outside of Jesus we can do nothing. The process of ruining us (the self-life)
will take many years… but out of the wreck the new creation will arise
through my personality
Only by grace can we enter
and share His glory. The glory of God is exclusive and intrinsic to Jesus
Christ. He could keep it all to Himself. He shares it with us so our sufficiency
is of God. Self-sufficiency wrecks the potential of glory, and when pride
walks into the
pulpit, God cannot turn
up. Death is the answer (see 2 Corinthians 4: 12 for the secret principle
to Paul’s passion). The Holy Spirit ruins us before He releases us. Death
in relation to ourselves is the message of Romans 6: 3, 6, 9 – 11. Inside
of us we can do nothing. Outside of Jesus we can do nothing. The process
of ruining us (the self-life) will take many years… but out of the wreck
the new creation will arise through my personality. We enter the grace
of the death of Christ because of His poverty in leaving the eternal home
of heaven. The overflow and abundance of grace means we will have all sufficiency
in all our moments says 2 Corinthians 9: 8. The more we enter this abounding
grace the more we will experience the redounding glory. However, danger
awaits any brother or sister with spiritual pride. We must never be out
of the position where we can be rebuked by a brother or chastised by the
Lord. If we refuse death in us we open our minds to doctrinal error (especially
an over reliance on positional truth) and ultimately, a dead ministry.
I must decrease for Him to
increase. What does this mean? I must sacrifice the natural to the spiritual.
In order to nourish His life in me I have to die and decrease. The Cross
now works a present death within me, enlarging my soul to be the vehicle
for His glorious life. Just as my career as a teacher was really taking
off and a headship being offered, God called me to a life of faith. When
we
crucify self-realization,
His glory comes through our lives.
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