There is absolutely nothing that
compares with it! To what I am referring
is the presence of the Lord. Everywhere
I travel, and even in our own ministry in the Hurst, Texas area, people are
crying out to not only experience God's presence but to also see Him face-to
face. Because seeking more of His
presence has become all-consuming for me, I can with all honesty say that I
believe this has come with a great price.
Precious believer, I believe that as Christians, we are all in this
place-seeking His presence more!
Why? Because there is so much
uncertainty that we are facing today- that is one reason. It is difficult to
have faith each day as we face the difficulties in the world.
Jesus told his disciples that
they would be offended at Him and fall away (see Matthew 24:10). The word
offend is the Greek word skandalizo (pronounced skan-dl-id'zo.) Some of its meanings are to "entrap" and to
"trip up." Thus, causing one to fall
away or to sin. The main word we
associate with this is the word "stumbling block." In biblical times, those with cruel intent
would deliberately place a block of wood in front of someone blind and as
he/she walked, they would stumble over it and the perpetrators would then
laugh. I know you feel as I do and are
imagining how cruel that was. But Jesus
told his disciples that He, himself would be a stumbling block. And to those who are blinded to truth or to
those who are blinded with mindsets-every one of us might stumble over present
truth and kingdom manifestation-as we are also "blinded" to new wine He is
pouring out.
Jesus was warning his disciples
that He would become a stumbling block to many- this is because He had come
with the purpose to die on the Cross.
His kingship was not of this world, yet many believed He would become
the present king in the natural to govern.
In other words, Jesus was not fulfilling their expectations and mindsets
of what should be happening!
Again, aren't many of us the same
way? It is difficult to maintain faith
in a world of problems. If we do not
guard our hearts, we will look at our circumstances with natural eyesight and,
therefore, stumble over situations rather than putting complete trust in
God. This is why we need more of His
presence- we will be strengthened as we see Him as He is!
His Strength through Hard Times
For me, the realization for the
need for more of His presence was fully realized after my mother died from
liver cancer. My sister, Pam, and I had
brought mother home during her time with hospice care and she and I were her
main caregivers. Never before had I
cried out to God in the way that I was as I watched her waste away-day after
day. Yet, through it all, Mother never
gave up hope of being healed. I, on the
other hand, was amazed at her great faith.
When I realized that she, a dying
person, had more faith than I was demonstrating, I realized I needed a heavenly
invasion. I desperately needed heaven to
touch my earth and I needed to see God in this situation, somehow. As a result, I began to write a book, Heaven
Touching Earth; How to Hear the Voice of Heaven ((available through the Elijah
List). I learned that if I could witness
His presence that I would be strengthened to face my daily challenges. One of
the ways I know that I am in His presence is when I hear God's voice- so I
focused on that manifestation at the time.
I had a whole list of questions to talk to God about- number one was,
"Why aren't You healing my mother?" Yet, each day Mom would say, "Sandie, grab your
computer and write some more about hearing heaven's voice." She was an active part as she released her
faith for me to write and each day we prayed that both of us would experience
more of God's presence.
Again, being completely honest; I
thought Mom was on the same page as I was because I felt that the Lord was
preparing my heart for her to actually go to heaven and see Him face to face-
in heaven! This was because I did not see positive changes in her physically,
and I was doing the best I could to hold on to what little faith I seemed to
have left. On the other hand, she had no
intention of waiting to be in His presence by that avenue- no way! She wanted His presence there with her that
minute- right where she was in the house- and not physically dying to see Him. Oh my, what faith and courage Mother had.
I would peck away on my computer,
writing the book for hours on end it seemed.
Then I would then take breaks to talk to Mom about her childhood. I wanted memories tanked up so that I could
easily recall our time together at a later time. We would always end up
discussing the goodness of God and how wonderful His presence was. Being on many drugs for pain, she would often
slip in and out of consciousness. She
often slept with a smile on her face and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that
the Holy Spirit was ministering somehow to her.
Then, I would seek further revelation as to how to hear God's voice-even
in the midst of great trials. God was
faithful as He poured out revelation as to how to touch heaven and bring it to
earth. Hearing His voice and witnessing
His divine presence became more and more important to me.
Maybe you have been a caregiver
to someone diagnosed with cancer- or maybe you have been a caregiver to an
elderly parent. Maybe you have a sick
child and you have been standing for a physical healing. It's important not to ever give up! Do not allow your natural circumstances to
rob you of pressing into His divine presence.
It is possible to hear the voice of the Lord which will encourage you
through difficult times. Your natural
understanding could cause you to become offended and you will stumble and be
tempted to fall away. This is not a time
to cower down to what we see in the natural, but rather to access the unseen
with greater faith. My heart is to encourage you right now and to empower you
with great faith in a God that does what appears to be impossible.
The Divine Visitation
Mom went to heaven in September,
2007. She is forever in His presence.
Though we did not see her healed here on this earth, she is walking the streets
of gold with Jesus and having a glorious time.
Although I grieved, I did not allow her death to cause me to stumble,
but that experience caused me to hunger and thirst for more, God more! I am determined to be like Mom and witness
more of His presence now and I am realizing that there are many believers who
feel the same way. You can press into
asking Him for more- right now. He will
be faithful to speak and manifest His presence.
Ask God to invade your atmosphere as you spend more time ministering to
Him. Ministering to God is different to
ministering to his people- I'm realizing this truth at this time. I need to sing songs to Him in intimate
worship- this will cause His presence to manifest. As you sing in worship remember this point; I
believe it will change your life!
It was in February of 2009 when I
had a divine visitation that radically changed my life. First, let me just tell
you what I was personally going through.
I was having brain seizures that were puzzling even the neurologist. I
would lose hours of time, even days without remembering anything. Yet, after the doctor ruled out a stroke, I
grabbed my computer and was hungering to continue to write another book. In fact, I was right in the middle of the
book Crushing the Spirits of Greed and Poverty:
Defeating the Strongholds of Babylon and Mammon (click here to order)
that I came under a tremendous demonic assignment. For over a month I had been prey to demonic
visitations during the night and I was certain this was because I was exposing
a territorial stronghold that was robbing God's children of their
inheritance-spiritually and physically! I have been amazed at how many
Christians are yoked with a spirit of Mammon.
Many are not aware that Mammon is the actual name of a false Syrian
god! If you have a fear concerning money
please be aware that the enemy may be contending for your worship. Remember, what you fear, you give power
to-even worship if a lot of attention is given to that fear.
Again, as I stated, writing a book like this
caused much contention with the enemy.
After all, he wants to enslave us.
Then one night, after being completely exhausted from the warfare, I
cried out for God's presence. I was at
the point of actually believing that I was the problem in this equation and
that I had maybe committed an unforgivable sin and this is why I was under such
a demonic assault! Even though I knew
that all of my sins were forgiven at the Cross, I was so tired and exasperated
that I couldn't think straight! Have you
ever felt that way? Read on.
As I cried out for His presence,
suddenly a lightning bolt shot through the room. A surge of uncontrollable power hit my head
and brain and for over an hour my head was jerking, bobbing and
uncontrollably! I knew that it was God,
but I also thought what if this is somehow changing the shape of my head- or is
this affecting my face- will my eyebrows end up pointed like Dr. Spock on Star
Trek? (I know; it's a woman thing I
suppose). Then, I heard the voice of
Jesus. He spoke with electrifying
power. His words to me will always
remain at the forefront of my life's quest to seek Him more. Jesus said to me "Sandie, don't you know I
would never leave you or forsake you?
There is absolutely nothing you could ever do that would cause Me to
stop loving you. And, when your mind is
renewed you will understand how much I love you."
God's Grace and Love
Within minutes the electrical
charge left and I got out of bed to write down the visitation. It has been several years since the
visitation and I must admit that ever since that night I have been on a quest
for more of His presence. Each day in my
prayer time, I keep asking Him for more and quite often I have reminded the
Lord that Moses asked to see His glory and that God honored Moses' request:
Ex 33:18-23 (NIV) Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory." And the LORD said, "I will cause all my
goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in
your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have
compassion on whom I will have compassion.
But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me
and live." Then the LORD said,
"There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a
cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see
my back; but my face must not be seen."
Though He hid Moses in the cleft
of the rock and passed by to where Moses only saw His back, I am convinced that
even then this was a shadow of Christ, the Rock, and the New Testament example
of the Lord revealing His glory through Christ.
In fact, as believers in Christ we each represent God's glory on this
earth, but I believe it is because of who Christ is in each of us; as Col 1:27(ASV) states..."to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches
of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the
hope of glory. (my emphasis)
I am excited each time I remind
myself that I am "hidden in Christ," and that because of Him, I am seated in heavenly
places! (see Col 3:3 and Eph 2:6).Believer, God is hiding you right now in the
cleft of the rock. The Rock is Jesus
Christ and no matter what you are experience, you are hidden completely in
Christ. Be assured you are protected,
loved and provided for. His glory is in
you and that you are seated in heavenly places with Him. It's time for you to see yourself as
victorious over every situation. His
grace will be there for anything you need as you move forward, leaving the past
behind and possessing every promise!
I am totally bent on learning
more and more about the grace of God and His divine love for me and for those
who are willing to co-labor with Him to build His kingdom. I had witnessed His presence in a very
tangible way and this has made me desire even more of Him in my life. I have realized that many people are content
to discuss the presence of God, but are many willing to pay the price to seek
Him daily and truly experience and encounter His presence? You can have this
same experience as you are also called to co - labor with Him.
His presence means everything to
me now. Without His presence, I don't
want to even attempt to minister. Though
it is still costly, I still contend to seek His presence. Realizing that I have had to die more to make
more room for Him in my life is not even a fair exchange. Whatever I have to pay for more of His
presence is pale in comparison for what Christ did for me on the Cross. I believe the visitation I experienced was
because I kept crying out to know Him more.
As you also cry out for more, He will visit you and He will speak to
you. I believe it is a season of favor
for each of us and that He will answer us when we pray. (see 2 Cor 6:2 and
Isaiah 49:8)
By the way, did you notice that
when Moses requested to see God's glory that God referred to His "goodness"
passing before him? I love that- because
I now understand that God is always one hundred percent good! I am hidden in Christ, hidden from the enemy
and hidden from harm. I completely trust
His goodness, don't you? If you don't trust His goodness, it is possible that
you have stumbled due to a past disappointment.
Dear one, don't allow any disappointment to cause you to miss your
appointments in God! If not careful, any
of us could develop a hard heart due to a past disappointment. Repentance is what will begin to cultivate
your trust in God. Repent means to
change the way you think- so change how you feel concerning God's
goodness. The Word of God declares that
God is good. After repenting for your
lack of trust, then find scriptures that prove that He is is full of grace and
that He is always good!
Deeper Encounters
It is my heart's cry for even
deeper encounters. I desire for everyone to know God in a more intimate
way. As I have deep encounters, it
empowers me with more faith and empowerment to demonstrate His kingdom on
earth. As I minister, I have felt the
Lord prompt me to pray for people in pain and amazingly the pain leaves their
bodies! Why should I be surprised? God declares that it is He Who heals,
right? Many times I never lay hands on
anyone- others pray for those needing healing and yes, God still heals. So, precious believer, it is not Sandie Freed
doing the healing. Yet, it is His
presence that shows up and then He just takes over! I have been witnessing frozen shoulders
completely healed, arthritis leave bodies, necks and backs healed and
barrenness completely healed. I have
also ministered alongside my husband and we have both see God completely heal
cancerous tumors- they just disappear!
I truly believe, with all of my
heart that God is answering my prayers and times of crying out for more! You can ask the same of Him - maybe you can
start right now!
Allow Me to Pray for You:
Father God, I know that it is Your
desire to reveal Your divine glory through us who believe. I pray for each reader today that you would
draw them unto Yourself and that You would begin to reveal Your glory in them
and through them. Lord, I join each
reader in crying out for more of Your presence! Without You and Your presence
we will never be completely fulfilled.
You are all that we need in life to be content. Empower each of us as we pursue destiny and
the demonstration of Your Kingdom on earth.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Dr. Sandie Freed
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