This one revelation was so big I could not even understand it until God gave me many layers of foundational learning over many years first. It is so big and far reaching in its implications it has the power to change how you understand the purpose of Church, ministry and yes, even your very life\u2014if you are ready for it.<\/p>\n
And so this idea is really too big to share here in it\u2019s entirety, unfortunately. So I had to write a whole other book to do that. It\u2019s because this idea connects about a dozen other revelations together, each of which needs to be explained properly to get the full impact of the revelation Jesus gave me which is for the reformation of the church to release people to walk in the Kingdom. <\/b>It is for the development of the New Self, our full restoration\u2014the true purpose of New Testament Ministry\u2014it is in truth the model of our new life he told me. What I end up doing is giving an hour long discussion just to share the short version of this huge picture and I can\u2019t do that here. So to get the full picture look for the teaching I call The Foundations of the Kingdom<\/i>, which is both on-line and in print in various formats. But this conversation with Jesus was it\u2019s core idea. <\/p>\n
Prophecy has many purposes obviously, as it is simply God communicating to us, but the highest purposes will have to do with revealing who God is, and secondarily who we are. So teaching us his deep, sacred secrets and revealing his high, eternal ways are the most powerful purposes prophecy has. So this great revelation may be the highest message, the highest purpose for which he ever prophesied to me. This is the culmination in a way of how I learned about prophecy.<\/p>\n
<\/br><\/p>\n
Spiritual Building Blocks <\/b><\/p>\n
You see, God had been teaching me various secrets of how Paul ministered and each revelation was like a building block in my understanding. This included learning from 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and especially chapter 2 about the need to \u2018minister in a demonstration of the Spirit and power,\u2019 and not to minister in mere \u2018talk\u2019 or in \u2018eloquent speech\u2019 and especially never merely in Man\u2019s wisdom. 1 Corinthians 4:20 goes further saying the Kingdom is NOT a matter of \u2018talk\u2019 <\/b>or \u2018word\u2019 or \u2018logos<\/i>\u2019\u2014but of \u2018dunamis<\/i>\u2019 or of power\u2014it\u2019s a manifestation of the Spirit simply put that brings the Kingdom, not merely words spoken about it. <\/p>\n
Following this yes, there is teaching, but only teaching of the \u2018sacred secrets\u2019 revealed to us by the Holy Spirit: eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has entered into the mind and heart of Man what God has prepared for those who love him\u2014yes, but HE HAS REVEALED it to us <\/b>by his Spirit<\/b><\/i>\u2014and THIS is what we must talk about. Sharing spiritual ideas with spiritual words which unfortunately the carnal mind simply cannot comprehend. <\/p>\n
Jesus also taught me how important it is to Lead as Servants, explaining this at length; and also to serve people primarily by delivering the Holy Spirit to them; also how essential it is to empower and equip people to walk in the various gifts and callings he outlined in Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12 not only in Ephesians 4:11. This is so crucial because only as \u2018each does it\u2019s part\u2019 can the body come to maturity; and people therefore must to use the gifts God has given them to serve the people\u2019s needs \u2018for the common good\u2019\u2014which is why they were empowered with those various gifts to do good with in the first place!<\/p>\n
He was teaching me what I called the \u2018prayers of an apostle\u2019 in Ephesians. It became more clear why Paul was praying not for wisdom to understand God\u2019s love but the strength to experience it\u2014to \u2018know\u2019 his love like Adam \u2018knew\u2019 Eve and afterwards she had a baby! That\u2019s how God wants us to know his love, to know it beyond knowledge\u2014But what is beyond knowledge<\/i>? I asked him! \u201cOh that\u2019s easy!\u201d He said, \u201cBeyond knowledge is Experience.\u201d <\/b>It\u2019s the experience <\/i>of God and of his love that is lacking in the Body and this is where the most vital growth needs to be from here on out if we are to become mature. <\/p>\n
He also gave me direct revelation of Grace, charis<\/i>, which is not forgiveness or mercy as many think, but is Power or Strength. He brought me to the Throne of Grace and explained that grace is the power to stop sinning, not permission to keep on doing it. Grace is the empowerment from the Holy Spirit giving us ANY STRENGTH including gifts, character, prophecy, healing, wisdom and any power from God\u2014Grace or charis <\/i>is Paul\u2019s word for the Anointing basically, and knowing this opens up revelation of over 10 key verses people often quote on grace but simply do not understand and so cannot gain any real benefit from. <\/p>\n
Then revelation of what I call spiritual Communion came which led me into the ministry of leading people into having direct personal conversations with the Holy Spirit, which I already published a short book on. EVERYONE can hear God\u2019s voice in their own hearts if they would quiet themselves down and listen. <\/b>I try to lead people into direct meaningful communication with God on the most essential dynamics of our relationship with Him first: Who are you? Who am I? Do you love me?\u2014Next He then revealed the Mind of Christ to me and that just took my breath away! <\/i><\/p>\n
But if you recall me sharing when I was 19 or 20 and still living in New Hampshire, Elizabeth the prophetess, as I called her, gave me a word that God would begin to teach me himself, something at that time that I could not even fathom, and he would show me what I would think were separate ideas one by one, but in fact these were all like building blocks and then one day <\/i>he would show me ONE BIG IDEA <\/b>she said that would somehow tie them all together into one huge picture. So far these ideas I just outlined were the building blocks\u2014now he was about to show me the One Big Idea.<\/p>\n
So I told him that I was learning secrets of how Paul ministered, but I realized that Jesus\u2019 ministry was higher than this still but I had no detailed explanation from the Bible on it like I did for Paul. So I asked Jesus to show this to me\u2014show me the detailed explanation of Jesus\u2019 own ministry\u2014this is what I sought. Well, He immediately brought me to Luke 4, Jesus\u2019 first recorded sermon where he read from the scroll of Isaiah (and they all wanted to kill him). I knew this quote was a paraphrase so I went to the source, Isaiah 61\u2014but it was all Greek to me. <\/p>\n
I just didn\u2019t understand it so I got very quiet in his presence, fixed the eyes of my heart on Jesus, opened the eyes of my heart because I wanted to see him and hear him speak so he could teach me, so I could be taught by God … and then he began to speak. <\/p>\n
The verse in NIV reads: <\/p>\n
1 <\/sup>\u201cThe Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, OK, stop there. <\/p>\n What\u2019s happened already? This already encapsulates most everything people do in modern evangelical ministry. <\/b>How so? This already covers the preaching of repentance, the Gospel of Salvation, and being born again. <\/p>\n What? You\u2019re making that up.<\/p>\n No, I\u2019m not. This reads the \u2018anointing\u2019 was on him to empower him to \u2018preach\u2019 \u2018good news\u2019 to the \u2018poor.\u2019 <\/p>\n The \u2018anointing\u2019 is the baptism of the Holy Spirit Jesus got in the Jordan that fateful day before his temptation and power ministry began. <\/p>\n The \u2018poor\u2019 here means the \u2018poor in spirit\u2019 or the \u2018repentant ones\u2019… but how did they become \u2018poor\u2019? <\/b>How did they know to repent? They heard and obeyed a message from One Calling from the Wilderness about Judgment on Sin and Mercy for turning back to God. This was John the Baptist to them, but it is also others like him who preach a similar message to us now, and like Elijah did when he called the fire down on Mt. Carmel \u2018returning the hearts\u2019 of the people back to God. The message is ancient but still relevant and still being preached today: Repent, get baptized and so you shall be saved. \u2018Turning people back to God\u2019 is the classic ministry of all true prophets. (Jeremiah 23:22) And this prepares \u2018the way in their hearts\u2019 by making them \u2018poor\u2019 so they will be in fellowship with God and so open to learning more from God from now on\u2014not only more lessons on sin and repentance, but increasingly on the blessings to the obedient, the mystery of the New Self, etc., but which sometimes the immature are yet unable to grasp and may even resist. <\/p>\n I mention the uncanny parallel between Moses and John the Baptist: both had \u2018water\u2019 names, both peached a law, both led people through a baptism\u2014but neither were able to enter or bring people into the Promised Land \/ The Kingdom. Note Jesus never baptized anyone in water.<\/b> His disciples did, but not he. (John 4:2) Note Paul also said he was not sent to water baptize but to preach the gospel. (1 Corinthians 1:17) What ministry greater than salvation was Jesus then preaching? What gospel then was Paul ministering if he was not ministering water baptism? Not merely the gospel of repentance unto salvation you see, but instead the Gospel of the Kingdom. Not only the baptism with earthly water symbolic of cleansing, but the baptism of the Holy Spirit for actual empowerment and spiritual transformation.<\/p>\n This may be the real reason why Moses could not cross that second baptism, why John was not recruited to be an Apostle. They represent a first stage of ministry that must be distinguished from the next one, which in both cases was only able to be completed by Yeshua (Joshua, Jesus) and only after a second \u2018baptism\u2019 experience. <\/p>\n Jesus was anointed to preach Good News to a people who were already prepared to hear his message by being repentant and water baptized beforehand, as it says in Luke 7:29-30. Gabriel the angel and his own father, Zechariah, prophesied John the Baptist would give the people the knowledge of salvation. People who repented and got water baptized under John were therefore \u2018saved\u2019 any way you look at it. The Gospel writers all say John preached a message of a baptism of \u2018repentance unto salvation.\u2019 This was before Jesus was revealed, or crucified or ascended mind you. <\/p>\n Also note, when John saw Jesus he asked for the baptism of fire he had seen a vision of and that he told everyone to look to the coming Messiah for. John said he only had water, but after him one would come who would baptize in Spirit and in fire. John obviously saw the outpouring at Pentecost and asked Jesus for this baptism when he saw him that wonderful day in the Jordan. <\/p>\n But Jesus said no! <\/p>\n When Jesus ministered he always said the Kingdom of God he was demonstrating was coming, it was close, it was near to them <\/i>… it was not yet there for them because he needed first to be crucified, then be resurrected, then ascend and then a month later EVERYONE could get this Baptism once he poured out his Spirit on All Flesh\u2014not only for himself, or only on Jews, or only on Levite or Cohen priests, but on ALL FLESH! Only then would the Kingdom come to anyone prepared to accept it. <\/p>\n So this first verse, \u201cThe Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor,\u201d means Jesus was empowered to preach but only to the water baptized, repentant, \u2018saved\u2019 people … rather these were the only people prepared to HEAR him. This is also what Luke says in Luke 7:29-30\u2014John the Baptist was himself not in the Kingdom, and being the greatest born of women, the least in the Kingdom was yet greater still than even he. The people who were baptized by John accepted this teaching; but the Bible teachers who were not baptized by John did not\u2014or rather could not. <\/p>\n Many, even most ministries today are only doing something akin to this preparation ministry still and like John are mainly baptizing people in water, making basically disciples of the Baptist in a way of seeing it. This is an essential foundation, but it is not yet what Jesus demonstrated and called the Kingdom. Both are good news, but one is better, higher, and yet it also builds upon the former. Jesus told me the way most people minister in church will never produce his Kingdom. <\/b>Jesus also told me not to call it step one and step two, or phase one and phase two\u2014there is a preparation and then … it\u2019s the Kingdom.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n So now looking back at Isaiah 61, the second and third verses describe this Gospel Jesus preached, demonstrated and ministered. The verse says, \u201cHe has sent me to\u201d … OK, wait, who is \u2018He\u2019? The Father! OK, but who is the \u2018Me\u2019? That\u2019s Jesus back then, but today it is also going to be the people Jesus sends in his place, in his name, empowered in his Spirit to do the same work he did. It\u2019s his Kingdom ministers\u2014it\u2019s ALL OF US basically who are willing to serve him in the Kingdom who are Spirit-baptized, mature, equipped and sent out. <\/p>\n Let\u2019s keep going and we read until the end of v3 which in NIV is: <\/p>\n \u201cHe has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,<\/b> <\/br>to proclaim freedom for the captives <\/b> So the Father sent Jesus, and Jesus sent us, for as he is so are we in the world\u2014but here\u2019s where he began to openly talk to me …<\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n To Heal the Broken Hearted<\/b><\/p>\n I then I saw a vision of a broken heart. It was not like a cartoon heart shape with a crack in it, no. It was a heart that was sickly, pale and all shriveled up: <\/b>It was not fat, red and round, but skinny like a carrot and pale white\u2014it looked more like a white turnip actually!<\/b> A heart in this condition is sick, broken, nearly lifeless, but Jesus suddenly began to wrap it in thick bandages, wrapping it up so it would heal properly. <\/p>\n I didn\u2019t need a long explanation of what this ministry looked like, because at this time we were very active in Inner Healing ministry for many years already, laying on hands to people with emotional pain and letting the Holy Spirit flow directly to the pain, healing it by the touch of the Holy Spirit\u2019s presence\u2014not by counseling or therapy mind you, but by the penetrating and prophetic Holy Spirit power tools that cast down arguments and impart understanding often without even saying a word! People would begin crying deeply as God healed their broken hearts when all we did was lay on hands and pray. The Holy Spirit told me once, he can\u2019t help himself. When he shows up, he brings healing! <\/b>Our job is therefore just to help him show up.<\/p>\n Laying hands on a person asking for prayer and seeking God\u2019s prophetic insight to understand what is wrong and what to do about it, and then binding, loosing, proclaiming, breaking, healing, creating\u2014whatever ministry the Holy Spirit leads you to do\u2014is one of the most rewarding types of ministry I\u2019ve ever been involved in.<\/b><\/p>\n People often carry wounds in their hearts from childhood even, and these hurt places become anchors to sin, ties to demons and curses and are the source of all kinds of bad behaviors! Counseling, incarceration and vain pursuits cannot remove the wound, they can only help people deal with their symptoms.<\/p>\n But the Holy Spirit goes right to the source of these behavioral problems and solves the source of the pain and sin. You can do more good to a person by laying on hands to them and letting the Holy Spirit flow to heal their broken hearts than you can accomplish with a million dollars worth of professional counseling. <\/b>I challenge you to try it and keep the receipts!<\/p>\n So I didn\u2019t need God to explain this very much so he didn\u2019t say much about this to me at that moment beyond showing me that turnip-looking-heart vision. Jesus has come not to only \u2018preach\u2019 about healing but to actually reach the pain in our hearts with his healing presence and restore the broken hearts to the condition they would have been in had there been no trauma. <\/p>\n But also it helps to understand that such healing is not \u2018automatic\u2019 for Christians to enjoy. Like all promises there needs to be FAITH to receive it. This means to me there will also be people who have specialized training from the Lord to operate in this area as a ministry. There are people called, gifted and empowered to serve the Body in the Ministry of Inner Healing. <\/p>\n We had so many years of testimonies, and often did this on a weekly basis in some form, but I still didn\u2019t understand why we were doing it.<\/b> I puzzled over this. What we were doing was not in John 3:16. It was not a part of Romans 10:9-10. I could not see it reflected in the ministry of the four gospels and did not see it mentioned in the Epistles. So why was it so helpful, so wonderful and why was the Holy Spirit so keen on us doing this?<\/b><\/p>\n We even used what we call \u201cCommunion\u2014spiritual fellowship with the Holy Spirit\u201d to do inner healing a lot and would lead people to see Jesus in spirit themselves and ask him to lead them back to the moment of their greatest pain. Facing it with Him and asking him in that moment of need, abuse, confusion: Where were you when I needed you! \u201cI was right here with you. Look!\u201d he often said and he would revisit their trauma, this time with them being conscious of Him being present. Crying, laughing, freedom! People hide from this deep pain and He even told me, yes, it hurts to face that pain again, but He is with them now and this time the pain only lasts for a moment whereas the freedom he will give them will last for all of eternity. <\/b><\/p>\n When I saw the vision of the broken heart that looked like a turnip I knew very well he was talking about this ministry we were so devoted to. The problem I had before is that I didn\u2019t understand how this was a part of the Gospel. We saw the Lord do MIRACLES in people\u2019s hearts on a weekly basis and I asked God, It\u2019s good and all, but I want to see REAL miracles. And He said, \u201cThese ARE real miracles!\u201d <\/b>He showed me inner healing is more real, more eternal than healing any physical wound. People can go to heaven with a broken tooth, a deformed foot, a missing arm. But can they go to heaven with a broken heart? Deformed attitude of forgiveness? Missing acts of repentance? Invisible, deeply personal, Inner Healing IS a real miracle ministry, <\/b>one that has direct consequences to people being able to repent of sin, open their hearts to God and walk with him into Heaven. I\u2019m sorry for not realizing sooner how important it was! <\/p>\n So this ministry is good news, it is a part of the Gospel, just not the gospel of salvation exactly. So where does it fit in? It is the beginning of the experience of the gospel of the Kingdom, which is not a matter of talk (logos<\/i>) but of power (dunamis<\/i>). It is not a matter of doctrines but of experiences; it is not a matter of denominations but of transformation. <\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n Freedom for the Captives<\/b><\/p>\n Next as I read, \u2018to proclaim freedom for the captives\u2019 Jesus spoke explaining that we are being sent to free the people. <\/b>And I asked, to free them from what? And He said immediately, \u201cOh, free them from ANYTHING that binds them!\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n I have a lot to share on this topic as well but I will have to leave that for another time. But just consider: What do people need freedom from? From whatever has captured them.<\/b> So this runs the gamut from deliverance, casting demons out, deep cleansing, breaking addictions and curses, but it is also bad habits, hobbies, passions, careers, car, toys, games, fashion, music, friends, facebook, fantasies, lifestyles and even political views. <\/p>\n Much of this pollution is too small and grimy to bear specific attention. Would you seek deliverance for eating too fast? But the accumulated effects of thousands of dirty thoughts and bad attitudes builds up over time and does indeed affect our freedom. And people can get so bound they can\u2019t even help themselves to be set free any more. And you can\u2019t free them from these chains with a logical discussion or witty argument. <\/p>\n When it came to deliverance, I saw that in the Gospels of course, but not so much talk of it in the Epistles. But I didn\u2019t yet have a scriptural picture of how it related to other types of ministry. <\/p>\n And this definitely overlaps with Inner Healing. There is some common ground. One clear area is how people\u2019s thinking or beliefs were being bound by both woundedness and spiritual bondage. The solution again was not human arguments like counseling or therapy. <\/p>\n Human arguments, <\/b>the Lord told me, are like flicking a light-switch, they only work to change surface thinking but they lack the power to fix any underlying reason a person is bound or deceived. <\/b>Flicking that switch cannot restore disconnected electrical power, fix a short circuit or repair a broken light bulb. The Holy Spirit however CAN change the root causes for ANY wrong thinking in the deep heart and that\u2019s why Paul said our weapons are divinely powerful to destroy strongholds, arguments and every lofty opinion raised up against the knowledge of God. Only the Holy Spirit can do this! Human arguments simply cannot. <\/p>\n So this is not a fringe interest for problematic people, <\/b>it is the main pathway to freedom and maturity for all who are in Christ and want to be transformed into his image and find the freedom of his promises enabling them to walk in the higher blessings of the Kingdom. <\/p>\n And again these promises of God are not automatically enjoyed by believers\u2014they are available, but you need to first understand them and then stretch out your faith and lay hold of them sometimes quite purposefully. <\/b>If people do not directly engage the strongholds in their lives with decisive and powerful prayer ministry to break them off, they will simply never find freedom in those areas and such people will simply never mature into proper saints free in the Spirit. <\/p>\n So you can see that ministers trained to operate effectively in these areas are so valuable to the growth and maturity of the Body at large. May we have more and more who are trained to do so! If there is a complex need such as this, there will be people God raises up to minister freedom in it. <\/p>\n People just don\u2019t outgrow the abuse they suffered as a child and can die at 99 years old still carrying wounded bitterness from childhood\u2014with all the accompanying bondage and spiritual blindness this has caused. <\/p>\n Yes, if you die in Christ all this is washed away, but what heavenly rewards will you get if you left all your work on earth undone because you were too bitter, angry, tempted, selfish, greedy, vain and unfocused to help anyone?<\/p>\n Now consider the problem of being in bondage to curses and sins add to it the combined effects of having a broken heart and you can see what a problem people face. In fact these two areas are closely related: sometimes the bondage is attached to a wound, sometimes the bondage makes the heart break and become even more bitter. The curse that has no cause shall not come, <\/b>and if we can remove the cause of a curse attaching itself to a person we can likewise remove the effects of that demonic manifestation causing them further harm. But if the wound is not cured under the bondage they often remain overly sensitive and in pain still. These works of the Spirit are closely linked. <\/p>\n So like I said before we do not do this ministry by using wise arguments or crafty schemes but by laying on hands and even praying for people privately in our homes even hundreds of miles away. And again this is an entire ministry area as well and so there are people empowered by God to do this full time! Thank God for them, and for Him giving them to us! <\/p>\n Let\u2019s just be clear that these strongholds MUST BE PURPOSEFULLY and SYSTEMATICALLY BROKEN. \u201cThe Promised Land,\u201d Jesus told me, \u201chas walled cities in all the best places.\u201d <\/span><\/b>The Kingdom of God advances by VIOLENCE the Bible says. What violence? Jesus told me it is the violence of a faith that WILL NOT BE DENIED!<\/b> So freedom from bondage is achieved by the effort of focused, applied faith. It does not come \u2018automatically!\u2019 It needs to be actively taken possession of and he says yes, everyone\u2019s heart when they first come to salvation in God will have strongholds \u2018in all the best places,\u2019 its things like: trust, peace, kindness …. you name it!<\/p>\n Again, we had been delving deep into curse breaking, deliverance and fighting demons by this time so I had a good grid or context to understand this so he did not explain it much to me at that time beyond saying those few things, and so he continued to explain more to me. <\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n Release from Darkness<\/b><\/p>\n Now part three reads \u2018release from darkness for the prisoners\u2019 and I immediately thought he meant opening their spiritual eyes to see revelations from him. Knowing my thinking, or maybe I said this to him, if this was about seeing visions and revelations, He said, well not quite. \u201cIt\u2019s not seeing <\/b>revelations<\/b><\/i>,\u201d he said, \u201cit\u2019s seeing THE Revelation \u2026 of WHO GOD IS.\u201d <\/span><\/b>Wow! It\u2019s not seeing visions from God, it\u2019s seeing The God of Vision. <\/p>\n Prophesying tomorrow\u2019s weather will be sunny and fine with a 40% chance of light showers in the afternoon may be a true prophecy, a true divine insight, but so what? Well, if you are planning a garden wedding it\u2019s surely important but still, no one\u2019s life is going to be fundamentally changed by knowing that in advance. But seeing Jesus in your house in heaven and hearing him tell you, \u201cI love you, I love you, I love you! I\u2019ll shout it from the tops of the highest mountains until you get it!\u201d Feeling the Father\u2019s awesome power and unimaginable glory IN PERSON and having Him let you sit on his lap while he shows you how he rules the angels … Oh, the Holy Spirit is just a joy to be with! You\u2019ll see. He\u2019s Joy as a Person!\u2014It is having these kinds of <\/b>experiences <\/b><\/i>that change a person\u2014permanently. <\/b>So it takes face time, spirit-to-Spirit fellowship, real interaction in spirit \/ Spirit. So this is what he was talking about as the third aspect of his ministry to his beloved people, his Bride\u2014removing our blindness to seeing who God really is. It\u2019s interactive, personal and powerful to transform us into the image of God we are beholding. <\/p>\n So the Lord had been teaching us how to fellowship with him in the Spirit and how to teach people to do it as well, and we called it having Communion with him since I used the Greek word John used, koinonia<\/i>, but Jesus takes the religious formality out of it and said he simply calls that having fellowship with him. <\/b>And all we are doing is helping people push past the Veil that separates the Spirit from the physical world of the Flesh allowing God\u2019s people to openly converse with the Lord in two-way conversation. We did this to great effect in so many settings, but more and more people are discovering this exact discipline all over the world right now, and calling it many different things. <\/p>\n But again, I didn\u2019t see that so clearly in the Scriptures. I knew Jesus lived like that\u2014even higher than that as he was enjoying the \u2018limited omniscience\u2019 of the Mind of Christ as it is called. And also I think John in his old age did this when he wrote his Gospel account and quotes a very long section of prayers that Jesus spoke privately to God while John himself was asleep, and when he woke up Jesus was being arrested. There was no time for Jesus to tell him or any other living human these things obviously and I know John\u2019s account of the private prayers of Jesus in the Garden are 100% true, so God must have either brought John back in time to watch it so he could later write it accurately, or maybe the Spirit just told John openly what Jesus prayed. Probably the former, but anyway I mean I can see evidence of the deeper levels of communication with the Lord in the Scriptures\u2014so I felt I had a good handle on Communion \/ Spiritual Fellowship with the Holy Spirit, but I still didn\u2019t see how it strictly was a part of the \u2018Gospel\u2019\u2014especially the gospel of salvation.<\/p>\n And after leading people in this wonderful experience over and over again we started to focus on leading people to first ask Jesus three personal questions as a way to set their relationship on a stable footing. When they first connect with God in spirit, and begin to be able to see him with the eyes of their heart, the question first we invite them to ask him is, \u201cWho are you?\u201d <\/b>We want to let Him explain himself to them in a personal way. Second we invite them to ask, \u201cWho am I?\u201d <\/b>and to listen to how He talks about you, describing the version of YOU he sees\u2014the New You, the Eternal You, the New Self, which he showed me is superhuman, heroic, a mega warrior, yes a Superhero basically. That\u2019s the You that God has made when you were Born Again\u2014but our memories of life on Earth obscure this reality from our view until our minds are more renewed. Let him tell you what he thinks of you, I guarantee it\u2019s going to rock your world! <\/p>\n Third, we lead people to face Jesus in spirit and ask him the hard question: \u201cDo you really love me?\u201d <\/b>Most people have only doctrines of God\u2019s love for them, and no real experience of it. So we want to help people face their fears, ask Jesus this directly, let just him speak to your open heart in spirit and let him impart this truth to your deep inner man that only Him telling you this deep truth personally can ever really do. <\/p>\n So we know that \u2018we now with unveiled face behold the Lord, as in a mirror, and are being transformed into the image we are beholding.\u2019<\/b> So we teach people to do this in Communion, and this is the deep work of God Enlightening us, Releasing us from Darkness, that he was talking about in Isaiah 61. People need to SEE GOD for who he is and this is what transforms them.<\/b> So when Jesus told me this I finally began to understand more confidently why this was indeed such an important ministry and is a key of the Kingdom\u2014not just a fringe interest or novelty we had come up with for dealing with difficult people. <\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n A \u201cYear\u201d of Favor<\/b><\/p>\n But when he explained the fourth blessing to me it all came together! This showed me just how interconnected the first three issues were. I\u2019ll share this fourth part and then go back and explain more of what I mean. <\/p>\n The next part is the Year of Favor. Some versions say the Year of Jubilee, or other terms. I asked him what does this mean and He said this is a time when He basically answers our prayers more.<\/span> <\/b>Why now and not before? Because, he said, now we are no longer so much a part of the problem as we were before. <\/span><\/b>The sinful behavior, bad attitudes, bitterness, unforgiveness, selfishness, ignorance and unbelief we previously had in our hearts which was caused by our wounded hearts, spiritual bondage and ignorance of God\u2019s real nature … all this was driving God\u2019s blessings away! Now that we are well on the path to wholeness, God\u2019s blessings fall on us in a way previously interrupted or prevented by our disobedience, unforgiveness and ongoing sin.<\/b><\/p>\n He simply said it\u2019s a \u2018year of favor\u2019 simply because, \u201cNow I answer your prayers more.\u201d <\/span><\/b>What a wonderful way to live! <\/p>\n But oh no! I looked at my wristwatch to see what the date was\u2014when did the year start? Am I\u2019m missing it! Is it almost over? I began to panic. <\/p>\n \u201cOh no, it\u2019s not that kind of year,\u201d He said. \u201cJust think of it as a very long time.<\/i>\u201d <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Oh, what a relief! I was still not very secured in my friendship with the Lord and didn\u2019t really feel that blessed. When he said it was a \u2018year\u2019 I thought maybe I\u2019ve missed already nine months of opportunity of having my prayers answered more! No, it\u2019s not that kind of year! <\/b>Amen. Now I see that the \u2018year of favor\u2019 may very well last decades, and I\u2019m sure it will, probably it will last for many us right into eternity! <\/p>\n But can our bad behavior really drive away God\u2019s blessings? I\u2019m just waiting for someone to say, \u2018That\u2019s not true. It\u2019s all by grace, our behavior doesn\u2019t matter.\u2019 But first, grace, or charis,<\/i> does not mean this. Grace does not mean forgiveness or mercy but instead is a free empowerment by the Holy Spirit so we can stop sinning and be changed into his image. It\u2019s Paul\u2019s word for the Anointing basically as I already said briefly. But second, even 1 Peter 3:7 says simple things like just fighting with your spouse will hinder your prayers: <\/p>\n 1 Peter 3:7\u2014Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. <\/b>(ESV)<\/p>\n Anyway I know what the Lord spoke to me and that\u2019s what he said. When we stop being so wounded, bound and ignorant of Who God Is he answers our prayers more as we are no longer such a part of the problem as we were before. <\/b><\/p>\n People ask mature believers to pray for them all the time. Why would you need to? Because we expect God will answer their prayers better, and he does. But why? Why does my elder in church get his prayers answered faster and more completely than me? Well, because they have stronger faith, are closer to the Lord than us babies, and being more mature and more intimate with him they just somehow receive answers to their prayers easier. So we can all grow in faith and grace and there are real benefits for doing so.<\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n A 3-fold Freedom<\/b><\/p>\n So let me just look back at those first three ministries again because now we can better understand how they are connected and why experiencing them is so vital to enabling us to walk in the Kingdom. Woundedness, spiritual bondage and spiritual blindness<\/b> are all interconnected. And this freedom is not a doctrine to adhere to, but transformations to undergo. They are not verses to memorize as much as they are experiences of restoration from the Spirit of God for us to enjoy. <\/b>There are therefore also ministries and callings that people are empowered to operate in to bring these transformations into people\u2019s lives purposefully. <\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n If the Enemy has a \u2018Walled City\u2019 in our Hearts<\/b><\/p>\n So when Jesus was healing me one time I was shocked to see so much was broken inside my deep heart and he said yes, after being born again we must undergo much inner healing, adding, \u201cThe Promised Land has walled cities in all the best locations.\u201d <\/span><\/b>The Promised Land is my heart! It is a country. The Kingdom is WITHIN me. It is a country! <\/p>\n So if the enemy has captured a \u2018walled city\u2019 within my heart, the Holy Spirit is not free to be able to flow through me in that area. Therefore I am not going to be able to experience the fullness of his blessings, intimacy or goodness in that area either. Let\u2019s say it\u2019s about trusting God to heal me, which I struggled with for a long time. Or my confidence that he would provide for my monetary needs if I decided to serve him full-time and quit my corporate job, another thing I struggled with for many years. It could be humility \/ pride, kindness \/ bitterness or self-control \/ indulgence. If these \u2018walled cities\u2019 remain under the control of demons of unbelief, affected by the chaos and ruin of worldly thinking, then I CANNOT easily enjoy God\u2019s blessings in these areas. <\/p>\n Unbelief may come from a wound, fear, a bad experience, lack of confidence, a lack of feeling loved by a parent, a lack in many ways … and this wound is exploited by a demon or curse which can attach itself to such a wound like a fly or bacteria infecting an open cut might. This soreness affects the heart again and this ongoing pain and frustration blinds us to the Goodness of God\u2014and while you can assure people he is good and faithful, only sometimes people have a hard time believing you. <\/p>\n So inner healing, deliverance and supernatural enlightenment are linked: blindness is caused by woundedness, a wounded heart lets a curse attach, a curse reinforces the pain of a wound keeping it unhealed and painfully sensitive which also causes blindness to God\u2019s love and goodness. <\/b>I\u2019m not sure the best way to say this but these three areas are definitely interlinked. <\/p>\n For example, I\u2019ve met people while ministering in the public square who were drinking with their work mates. One guy said he did not believe in God, was obviously a chain smoker and heavy drinker but he also shared his alcoholic dad abused him as a child. Can I pray for you? I ask. He says, I don\u2019t believe in that rubbish! Then you won\u2019t mind if I do it because nothing will happen anyway, right? Oh, OK, fine, he says. But it\u2019s a right waste of your time, mate. Well, good, just sit right there and Holy Spirit please flow into his heart and touch him where he needs your love and healing. Oh wait a minute, why are you crying? I\u2019m not crying!! I got some dust in me eye! Then I get a vision, Oh! Holy Spirit please go back in his past the heal that little boy who loved his father but the father didn\u2019t know how to love him back and just hurt him instead. Oh, I see the football match! Oh, I see the scar. Oy! You\u2019re bawling! No I\u2019m not. Someone give this guy some tissues! No, I\u2019m not bawling … braa haa haa … AHHH!!!!, <\/i>he screams! We\u2019re in a public square where he was drinking with his mates don\u2019t forget. A few minutes later after we feel the anointing subside we now try to explain the Freight Train of the Holy Spirit that just ran him over. And oh here, have a cigarette. Oh that? I really have been trying to quit. Nasty habit really. I think, yes, I don\u2019t want to have another cigarette as long as I live. Well then, let me ask you about what you said before, that you don\u2019t believe in God. Oh, well, you know, I was just, well, you know, maybe I\u2019s just being … ok, honestly I do believe in Him, I do, I do. I know he\u2019s up there looking after me always. I just, I don\u2019t know, I guess I was just hurt<\/i> from the way me dad always treated me.<\/p>\n So I\u2019ve seen scenes like that play out over and over. People find healing change from God\u2019s Spirit and all we do is pray and maybe lay hands on them too. Human arguments cannot do this. God\u2019s presence on the other hand can\u2019t help but do it!<\/p>\n So when Jesus told me this it made me realize these kinds of ministries are a core part of the restoration of our souls,<\/b> and this is the only way people are enabled to walk in the fullness of the Kingdom. Only it is beyond the scope of ministry that is solely focused on preaching repentance unto salvation\u2014so it is beyond the Gospel of Salvation\u2014but what it was, was the integral work of the Holy Spirit in what I now understand was the expression of the advancing of the Gospel of the Kingdom in their hearts. It is the way people are enabled to find the Kingdom, walk in the Kingdom, receive the many and manifold blessings of the Kingdom. Maybe you can describe it better than I can, but when people have undergone inner healing, enjoy spiritual freedom and have begun to experience open communication with the Lord in various ways and begin to See him, to see Him as he really is … this restoration and intimacy ushers in what he called \u2018the Year of Favor\u2019 or \u2018the Year of Jubilee!\u2019 Can someone say \u2018Amen\u2019 with me? <\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n The Day of Wrath \/ Day of Revenge<\/b><\/p>\n Now verse 2 has a second part and when he explained this it terrified <\/i>me. Jesus would proclaim the year of the Lord\u2019s favor … but then the day of vengeance of our God. Some versions say the Day of Wrath. <\/p>\n What is this Day of Wrath then? I asked cautiously, \u201cWho are you angry at?\u201d I was afraid what the answer might be.<\/p>\n \u201cYour enemies,\u201d<\/b><\/span> He said, adding it was all the people who hurt me. I started feeling better! I now realize the better translation may not be \u2018wrath\u2019 but \u2018revenge\u2019 or \u2018vengeance.\u2019 Basically, it\u2019s PAY BACK TIME!<\/p>\n But then I wondered why was it a YEAR of favor but only a DAY of revenge, isn\u2019t that unfair? His favor lasts but his revenge\u2013OUR revenge\u2013 is so short lived? And this is what He told me\u2014and I will NEVER forget it. It terrified me! Why is it only a day? And he said: <\/p>\n \u201cIt is only a Day <\/i>…\u201d <\/span>but his voice changed! <\/p>\n He spoke more slowly, as his tone dropped lower and he sounded … well, angry<\/i> and He said:<\/p>\n \u201c… because <\/i>…\u201d <\/span>and there was a pause while he seemed to be catching his breath in anger and then he began to raise his voice:<\/p>\n \u201c… WHEN I GET ANGRY <\/i>and DECIDE to ACT <\/i>\u2026.\n<\/p>\n N O T H I N G C A N S T O P M E !\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n I freaked out! It IS the WRATH of GOD!! <\/p>\n The tone of His voice reflecting His ABSOLUTE POWER and the Indignation of God was so SCARY \u2026 I am still feeling it right now \u2026 the charge of electricity of the Fear of the Lord. <\/i>All I can say is Don\u2019t get God mad! That\u2019s it! <\/i><\/p>\n And the Fear of the Lord we are talking about is not some cordial respect. I mean it! And I began to feel, can I say \u2018sorry\u2019 for the enemy? Not sorry in a theological sense, but I became aware in this moment of revelation \u2026 that Satan is gonna get it! <\/i>There are no words in human language to describe the HURT that God is gonna put on him! EVERYTHING is going to be recompensed! Everything!<\/i><\/p>\n When God does this, punishing Our Enemies, it is going to be too scary to watch and I don\u2019t think we will even be able to! We\u2019ll shield our eyes. It will be AWFUL, in every sense of that word! Awe-full!<\/p>\n When Mitt Jeffords saw the Angels in Heaven God showed him their minds and thoughts and he saw that they all carry a great and mighty FEAR within them. Why, he asked God, is there Fear in the back of the minds of the Angels in Heaven? And God said, \u201cBecause they saw what I did to their companions who joined Satan\u2019s rebellion and they are STILL afraid of me to this day.\u201d <\/b><\/p>\n If God\u2019s wrath is enough to scare the ANGELS for millions of years, ought people still living under the threat of judgment, still wandering aimlessly through the valley of decision fear him as well? It is not just a warm regard we are talking about. <\/p>\n So part of the Good News is that God will himself avenge us for the pain and suffering the enemy afflicted on us when we were subject to his cruelty because of our sin. The Day of Wrath is real. And it is coming. <\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n To Comfort and Provide for Those \u201cIn Zion\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n The next blessings, numbers six and seven if you were counting, are that God will \u201cComfort and Provide\u201d for those who mourn and grieve in Zion. Comfort and provision means much of what you think it means! But what is Zion? Where is it? Because only people who are IN IT will get this Comfort and Provision. It\u2019s simply the Kingdom. It is not church people, or just \u2018Christians\u2019 in bulk, but only those who are in the Kingdom who will find these blessings. He gives them a Crown, Oil and a Robe instead of the ashes of mourning, loss and despair. <\/p>\n People forget that the City in Heaven will one day be relocated to the Earth. (Revelation 21!) We however do not need to wait until that day to enjoy the blessings of God in the land of the living, because if God indeed lives freely in our hearts we can enjoy this now. The breach caused by sin has been remedied, people should begin to act like it! Those who live in the Kingdom do!<\/p>\n The Good News is this: Emmanuel, God is With Us, and we can experience heaven on Earth, here, now. The things lost to Man by Adam\u2019s sin are restored and there is a huge recompense due us as well. <\/p>\n But again, and this seems to be the linchpin of the whole matter: the nature of this \u2018good news\u2019 that Jesus preached, demonstrated and ministered is not merely what is spoken about, it is not just a doctrine or only a matter of \u2018talk\u2019 but it is something that has to be DONE to us for it to be received and enjoyed. That may be why James says, \u201chearers only deceive themselves but the DOERS are blessed.\u201d<\/b> We need to DO these things to lay hold of these blessings. This is why this is not just a message, or a doctrine, or a belief or opinion but an experience<\/i>\u2014it is something MINISTERED to us, something RECEIVED by us, something DONE … yes, something EXPERIENCED by us. The Kingdom is not merely something thought of\u2014it is not a matter of word, talk or \u2018logos<\/i>\u2019\u2014it is something that comes<\/i> in reality, in power, in dunamais<\/i>, and which remains within us.<\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n A Seven-Fold Blessing\u2014Gives 21 Effects<\/b><\/p>\n These seven transformative blessings experienced by God\u2019s people have an effect on their lives that is so profound it cannot be hid. They shine! By my way of counting, I count seven transformative blessings, but 21 different effects. That\u2019s just my number, don\u2019t get hung up on it, get hung up on what it looks like. <\/p>\n So first, notice the change of pronoun. <\/p>\n We saw at the start that HE sent HIM to THEM; that is: the Father sent Jesus to the repentant people prepared to hear him. Then it explained how Jesus was sent to minister restoration to THEM.<\/p>\n But now the focus shifts and we read what happens to THEM who were restored and they are first TRANSFORMED into Oak Trees of Righteousness … <\/p>\n I suppose you tell me what you think would happen if a person underwent TOTAL inner healing, COMPLETE freedom from any limiting bondage, then FULL enlightenment of God\u2019s reality, love and enjoyed intimate friendship with the Holy Spirit all day, every day? God\u2019s year of favor comes simply meaning their prayers are freely answered; God\u2019s wrath unfolds meaning I suppose no one can get in their way, and they live in a world saturated by Divine comfort, unlimited provision, supernatural joy and unstoppable energy. Miracles would flow freely. Angels would be working overtime. People near them would be healed and repent without ever being preached to or prayed over. We\u2019re already seeing this and now we can maybe begin to understand why!<\/p>\n So if you placed THAT kind of person into a ruined city, how long before the news crews would begin reporting miracles, healings and resurrections en masse<\/i>? A week? A month? Surely less than a year! That\u2019s how I summarize the rest of this verse, but I put it all here in NIV to show what it says THEY become. But the pronoun shifts again and THEM becomes YOU:<\/p>\n \u201cThey will be called oaks of righteousness, a<\/b><\/p>\n planting of the LORD <\/b>for the display of his splendor.<\/p>\n 4<\/sup>\u201cThey will rebuild the ancient ruins <\/b>and restore<\/b><\/p>\n the places long devastated<\/b>; they will renew the ruined<\/b><\/p>\n cities <\/b>that have been devastated for generations.<\/p>\n 5<\/sup>\u201cAliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will<\/p>\n work your fields and vineyards. <\/p>\n 6<\/sup>\u201cAnd you will be called priests of the LORD<\/b>, you<\/p>\n will be named ministers of our God<\/b>. <\/p>\n You will feed on the wealth of nations, <\/p>\n and in their riches you will boast.<\/p>\n 7<\/sup>\u201cInstead of their shame my people will receive<\/p>\n a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will<\/p>\n rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a<\/b><\/p>\n double portion <\/b>in their land, and everlasting joy will<\/p>\n be theirs.<\/p>\n 8<\/sup>\u201c\u2018For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery<\/p>\n and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them<\/b><\/p>\n and make an everlasting covenant with them<\/b>.<\/p>\n 9<\/sup>\u201c\u2018Their descendants will be known among the<\/p>\n nations and their offspring among the peoples. All<\/p>\n who see them will acknowledge that they are a people<\/b><\/p>\n the LORD has blessed.\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n 10<\/sup>\u201cI delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices<\/p>\n in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of<\/p>\n salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,<\/p>\n as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a<\/p>\n bride adorns herself with her jewels.<\/p>\n 11<\/sup>\u201cFor as the soil makes the sprout come up and a<\/p>\n garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD<\/p>\n will make righteousness and praise spring up before<\/p>\n all nations.\u201d<\/p>\n I can only highlight a few terms here. The Oak Tree of Righteousness these people become is like the Blessed of God in Psalm 1. This is the opposite of what John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:10 (NIV) which reads:<\/p>\n \u201cThe ax is already at the root of the trees, <\/p>\n and every tree that does not produce<\/b><\/p>\n good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Arguing with the Pharisees, Jesus said, in Matthew 15:13 (NIV): <\/p>\n 13<\/sup>\u201cHe replied, \u2018Every plant that my heavenly<\/b><\/p>\n Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. <\/b><\/p>\n Everything, every PERSON the Father has not \u2018planted\u2019 will be cut down. Well, here in Isaiah we are dealing with THEY whom the Father HAS planted. They are \u201ca planting of the Lord, and will Display his Splendor\u201d and Glory! That\u2019s us!!\u2014or more to the point\u2014it\u2019s YOU! <\/p>\n And again consider thoughtfully what effect such people would have on the Earth as they \u201crebuild, restore and renew\u201d ruined cities? <\/p>\n I saw Jesus over Jerusalem once and he was crying over his ruined people. What I can do to help I asked? He picked up one dusty, broken brick and said, \u201cYou can restore the city one person at a time.\u201d <\/b>This work is slow and time consuming, and it requires careful, personal ministry to do it, to restore these broken \u2018living stones.\u2019 And who else is equal to such a task but these people who God has personally prepared to bring restoration to the cities ruined for generations? Think of it. Just think of it! <\/p>\n Next they will be given the wealth of the nations\u2014this word can be read as ethnicities\u2014not really \u2018countries\u2019 but \u2018peoples\u2019\u2014but to us here it simply means the \u2018unsaved\u2019 or what we as Christians call the \u2018world.\u2019 This verse is partly a reference to the \u2018wealth transfer\u2019 we often hear prophesied about! Everything in the \u2018world\u2019 that is under the Enemy\u2019s dominion is basically stolen and being used for perverted goals and to enslave Mankind. When God\u2019s people are capable, spiritually prepared, willing and obedient they will be given this wealth so it can be used for its original redemptive purposes. Let that sink in a bit. <\/p>\n These people\u2014YOU, it now reads\u2014will also be called Priests; you will be called Ministers of our God! And this means it\u2019s not only for a few special \u2018called\u2019 or \u2018gifted\u2019 people but for \u2018whosoever\u2019 will take the Kingdom by force: the force of a faith that won\u2019t be denied, and lay hold of the transformations that turn people into a Christ-like kingdom of children of God. It\u2019s everyone who walks in maturity. Everyone who walks with God\u2014it is being offered to you! <\/p>\n So Revival therefore is not merely a program, not a just concert, not somehow a three-part series on DVD … it is THESE PEOPLE transformed by the Holy Spirit and then unleashed on a dark and dying world. <\/b><\/p>\n Don\u2019t waste your time making program fliers and just rehearsing the latest trendy Christian music … spend your time on inner healing, deliverance and leading people into unveiled direct fellowship with the Lord in Spirit. THAT is what is going to bring revival. <\/p>\n Then finally, let me mention verse 9 regarding the community: <\/p>\n 9<\/sup>\u201c\u2018Their descendants will be known among the<\/p>\n nations and their offspring among the peoples. All<\/p>\n who see them will acknowledge that they are a people<\/b><\/p>\n the LORD has blessed.\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n This verse in NIV is clear enough to most people, but I want to point out one key word here, the word \u2018People\u2019 in the phrase \u201cthey are a people the Lord has blessed.\u201d The actual word is not \u2018People\u2019 but \u2018Seed.\u2019<\/p>\n Oh no! Really? Yes! These \u2018people\u2019 are \u201cthe SEED!\u201d And everyone who sees them will know and acknowledge it! THEY ARE THE SEED that God has blessed. The Seed of Abraham! The Seed of Christ! And its on display for everyone to openly see!!<\/p>\n The story of faith in the Bible really begins with the story of Abraham and God promises his \u201cSeed\u201d will be blessed: we know this is Jesus, but Jesus also said, if \u201ca seed\u201d of wheat dies it can produce many more \u201cseeds.\u201d In fact the promised blessing of Abraham through Jesus will come to rest on and be claimed by a great multitude of people if they can find his Kingdom, and for those that do EVERYONE will ACKNOWLEDGE that they got it! This is what this verse means. You can\u2019t hide a city on a hill. You don\u2019t cover a lamp with a trash can! No, you LET IT SHINE, Baby, SHINE! Amen!<\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n I … shock<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Words failed me … by this point I was in total shock taking all this in\u2014speechless, and for me that is saying A LOT!\u2014seeing finally how inner healing and deliverance and \u2018Communion\u2019 fit into the Gospel and resulted in the ministry of the spread of the Kingdom of God in people\u2019s hearts\u2014this was one BIG thing, but I was in double shock to see the picture emerge that these people, the THEY of Isaiah 61, are a vast army of overcoming Warriors of Love, blessed kings under the Great King\u2014the Army of God. They are literally the army made from once dead Dry Bones, the very vision of Ezekiel 37. It will be an Army of Christ-like overcomers turning the WORLD Upside Down\u2014maybe turning it right-side-up is more like it\u2014but they are the ones restoring the cities ruined for generations and walking in the great promises of God from all the way back to Abraham, for these promises are all YES IN CHRIST, amen?<\/b>\u2014And these are the people who finally laid hold of them! And I think YOU must be one of this great number, I mean one of the THEY in the Restoring Army of Overcomers\u2014because I don\u2019t think you would be able to read this far if you weren\u2019t. I am one, he told me. What about you? <\/p>\n Letting this huge picture settle into my heart it began uniting dozens of other separate revelations I had seen over the years, many of which I mentioned at the start of this section, connecting them into One Big Picture … just as he said so many years ago would happen to me … This left me stunned, at a total loss for words. I had found what I was looking for (what I think he led me to search for) and I finally exclaimed in excitement, \u201cThis is the MODEL of your Ministry!\u201d<\/b> <\/p>\n At this Jesus said, \u201cNo, this is the Model of YOUR New Life.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Heaven can come to Earth\u2014it will later I know\u2014but we can live in this reality here, now, if we let him mold us like clay into the masterpiece of sculpture he wants to make us into. Satan will RAGE against these \u2018Little-Christs\u2019 so God seems to be planning a sudden reveal party near the End to lessen his ability to stop them and increase the combined effect of their lives and ministry they release on the people living in Darkness. <\/p>\n But however God does it, it is Isaiah 61 that reveals the key paradigm of Christian Kingdom ministry revealing the real purpose of our lives as ministers and the real methods of how to spread the experience of the Kingdom to the Body at large. And it\u2019s not by might, nor by our power, not by our programs, nor by our doctrines, not by sermons, not by ceremonies\u2014it is only by deep, multi-faceted, very personal and very frequent interactions with His Spirit purposefully transforming us into His Eternal Image. <\/b>This therefore needs to be our main goal as Kingdom ministers. All else is fluff. All else is meaningless details. Dare I say useless endeavors and vain busyness? Yes, I dare. <\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n From Salvation to the Kingdom<\/b><\/p>\n So when I saw this with clarity my goal shifted from merely preaching salvation to ministering the EXPERIENCE of Full Restoration and Transformation that he explained to me in this verse. I finally began to see the difference between the Gospel of Salvation and the Gospel of the Kingdom: One is but a narrow door to lead people into the other, and just as many people fail to find the former, many also enter the narrow door yet fail to Embrace the miraculous possible lifestyle of the later. <\/p>\n I began explaining the Narrow Door was a preparation ministry to prepare people to hear and see the Kingdom but what Jesus ministered was a next step beyond salvation. And Jesus said, Don\u2019t call it a next step … it\u2019s <\/b>The Kingdom. <\/b><\/i><\/p>\n So people not only must go through the Narrow Door of salvation, they must maintain a continual walk as a repentant, humbled person from there on out. Repentance is not a one-off. People must live continually from now on as one of the Poor In Spirit\u2014it is a lifestyle one must never turn back from or abandon. We do go on to maturity and somehow \u2018leave the elementary teachings behind.\u2019 But no, it is not that we stop repentance from dead works, etc., of course not. We live by the Spirit and avoid these things by instinct, so much so we don\u2019t need to spend a lot of time focused on talking about them anymore. Tell your two-year to take that toy out of her mouth! Don\u2019t touch the wall socket! Don\u2019t run with scissors!! Well, after you reach High School you just stop talking about these rudimentary things. Do we now touch wall sockets? Do we now run with scissors? Well, yes, we might because we are being trained to install wall outlets. We are being trained in First Aid and Quick! Get the Scissors!! So we must go on to visions and revelations but it is only by continuing through the passage this Narrow Door leads us into that we may find the Kingdom. <\/p>\n And do tell people the \u2018narrow door\u2019 does not lead to narrow hall, a confined space or a tiny house; it leads to an expansive Country. The Promised Land is a Country but it is inside of our hearts; the Kingdom is WITHIN us and yes, it is a entire Country, nothing narrow, small, dark, poor or tiny about it. <\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n New Goals, Methods and Tools<\/b><\/p>\n So when my GOAL of ministry changed, my METHODS also needed to change\u2014and that required that the TOOLS I must use to reach these new goals according to these new methods must also change. <\/p>\n All of these ministries are vital to restore God\u2019s broken people, one person at a time, to enable them to carry the presence of God within them and not collapse. Most everything can be accomplished by laying on hands, a prayer in authentic faith, the flow of the Presence of God. God intervenes and saves, heals and enlightens people sovereignly all the time … that\u2019s true! But still, to walk this path continually and enjoy these blessings in full it is never \u2018automatic\u2019\u2014so it comes by seeking with some understanding, by standing in revealed faith … it is not laid hold of by accident! And that means it can be accelerated by the service of trained, equipped ministers who specialize in these areas. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n God asked me to build him a theme park and I was at times straining under the task. Then I had a dream where I was confused about accomplishing this and I saw a customer service information desk and asked her to please help me. I said I was told to go to the park I am building and I was already given a key they said, but no one ever gave me a key and I don\u2019t know how to find the park land. She checked the information sheet on her desk and nodded in agreement saying, \u201cYes. Here is your Key.\u201d And she swiped her palm into mine like she was passing a key to me and not wanting anyone to see it\u2014but there was no key. Then she gave me directions but ones I could not follow. \u201cOpen that door and go left, right, right, left, right, left, left, right, left …\u201d Even MORE confused I looked at my empty hand and said, \u201cBut you didn\u2019t even give me a key!!\u201d She checked her the notes on her desk again and again did the same thing, \u201cHere is your key,\u201d swiping my empty hand with hers … Only later I understood. Let me say it simply. Are you waiting for the Secret Key of Knowledge to unlock the power of the Kingdom? Well, the secret is … there is no secret. If God says you can do it, that is already the secret. That is already the key. <\/p>\n Faith is a confidence in what you don\u2019t see. Walking by faith in the God you can\u2019t see is a key that the Spirit gives you every day you walk with him. Being Spirit-Filled is so much more than just speaking in tongues. <\/p>\n People however are still operating within an old mindset, an old wineskin, using old methods to achieve old goals\u2014goals and methods they understand which often are not only very \u2018natural\u2019 and \u2018earthly\u2019 in nature, they are also quite similar merely to the preparation work modeled by John the Baptist. Yes, it\u2019s still good, but still so often quite focused on using largely \u2018natural\u2019 methods and tools to achieve goals natural man understands. They are therefore mainly producing converts that have more in common with disciples of John the Baptist than the disciples of Jesus Messiah. It\u2019s nothing to really worry about: if they have been truly Born Again in this process and truly converted they will be able to See and Hear the message of the Kingdom when it is shown to them, but we ought to be more clear to understand the difference between on one hand: the Mind of Man, the Church of Man, the realm of ministry under the influence and control of the Natural ways of the Flesh of Man to achieve the Desires and Goals of the Man\u2014and how this is fundamentally inferior to the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, the Baptism of the Spirit leading to Open Fellowship with the Lord\u2014which operates by the understanding of the Spirit, according to the ways and methods of the Spirit, to achieve the Desires and Goals of the Spirit\u2014it is from the Lord who IS the Spirit, and who is now dwelling in our hearts in an ever-expanding domain as we yield to the Spirit at work in our mortal bodies. But even these Words of the Spirit make no sense to the people who continue to walk in the flesh, the carnal mind of Man. <\/p>\n And I do apologize for only being able to share briefly on this topic and not be more thorough here, as this is meant to be a book focused on How I Learned About Prophecy<\/i>, but this discovery of Isaiah 61 (and the related Keys I present in the teaching I call the Foundations of the Kingdom<\/i>) is the crowning revelation of this journey of enlightenment. The Spirit of Prophesy is the Testimony of Jesus and this is the high, end goal of prophecy, to reveal Jesus and his Kingship, his Kingdom and our identity as his royal children to us. <\/b><\/p>\n It\u2019s nice to know tomorrow\u2019s weather and all that, but the Great High Purpose of Prophecy is to empower us to walk in the KINGDOM as we come to personally know The Great KING of it. This is the goal for which Prophecy has been given to us, as it is very much like an engagement gift, and what we will finally receive is not merely a house, or wealth or a jewel of great value but a Husband. HE himself is our Reward. Knowing HIM intimately is the real gift! <\/b>The gift of prophecy is only a token of that union while we wait for the actual honeymoon! Are any of you getting excited yet? Good! Let it come!<\/p>\n Also understand the hardships and privations, humiliation and abuse I had to endure to be able to reach this discovery means this revelation is very valuable to me, but yes, I do now share it freely. <\/p>\n This great Gem, these great Pearls are what God openly taught me during the most cruel hardships I ever faced and that I hope never to face again. So what is prophecy to me? A personal audience with the Divine, who is himself the Greatest Treasure, the Greatest Pearl of Incalculable Price\u2014the Kingdom is unparalleled, but don\u2019t forget it doesn\u2019t even work, it is not even a thing without the King from whom all of it flows. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This one revelation was so big I could not even understand it until God gave…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":8,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapters","category-key-chapters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prayermountainbohol.com\/8plussplash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prayermountainbohol.com\/8plussplash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prayermountainbohol.com\/8plussplash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prayermountainbohol.com\/8plussplash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prayermountainbohol.com\/8plussplash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/prayermountainbohol.com\/8plussplash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":414,"href":"https:\/\/prayermountainbohol.com\/8plussplash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55\/revisions\/414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prayermountainbohol.com\/8plussplash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prayermountainbohol.com\/8plussplash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prayermountainbohol.com\/8plussplash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prayermountainbohol.com\/8plussplash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.<\/p>\n
and release from darkness <\/b>for the prisoners,
2<\/sup>to proclaim the year of the LORD\u2019s favor <\/b>
and the day of vengeance <\/b>of our God,
to comfort <\/b>all who mourn, <\/br>3<\/sup>\u201cand provide <\/b>for those who grieve in Zion
<\/br> to bestow on them
a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.<\/p>\n
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
\n<\/i><\/p>\n