The coming days will bring
greater dimensions of darkness in the world; yet our hope is for the appearing
of God's weighty Presence.
As I am putting the final touches
on this article, my daughter-in-law is preparing to give birth to my grandson,
Isaac. It was prophesied before his conception that his birth would be a
prophetic sign for our ministry and mark timing for the body at large. I do
believe something is about to arrive and the dawning of a new day is imminent.
The child of covenant and promise is about to be birthed.
Even so, I find myself in this
spiritual dilemma; I've seen the great needs of our generation, yet I'm being
compelled by the Spirit to pull aside and "wait on God." Presently, I
have been required to remain at home for a season. I am daily spending hours in
prayer, meditating on God's Word and waiting upon the Spirit. There is
something of vital importance that we must obtain in this season that is
essential to move forward. Perhaps many others are in a similar place.
The Open Door
As emphasized in Revelation 3:20,
the Lord stands at the door and knocks and to him who hears and opens the door
to his heart, the Lord will dine with him. This is an individual commission and
requires an individual response. On the other side of the "open door"
we will find Living Word revelation vital for this season and the Heavenly
blueprint.
The fullness of the ministry
model God has ordained to respond to the great needs and challenges of the 21st
Century is not presently on the Earth. It is something that we must obtain from
behind the veil in the unseen realm. It is the hidden manna reserved and set
apart for this generation that will equip the Bride of Christ without spot or
wrinkle and empower her for the harvest.
Hebrews 8:4-5 tells us how Moses discovered the Heavenly pattern
for his generation.
Now if He
were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer
the gifts according to the Law; who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly
things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the
tabernacle; for, "SEE," He says, "THAT YOU MAKE all things
ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN."
It seems that oftentimes Moses
was required at the most inopportune time to pull aside and ascend the mountain
of God to receive insight, instruction and empowerment. It was on the mountain
that Moses obtained the heavenly pattern for the Tabernacle and God's ordained
order of worship. So it is today.
Lessons Learned
Great value is placed upon
learning from our past mistakes. In the prior generation many distinguished
leaders found themselves captured by doing things for God and unknowingly lost
their sensitivity to the voice of His Spirit. It is imperative that we guard
against doing so much for God, when our invitation is to do things with Him.
Even so, that is in no way an endorsement on complacency.
Our highest purpose is to have
relationship with Him. Intimacy with the Lord is the essence of our design in
Creation and the highest purpose in the restoration of all things. To walk with
God in the "cool of the day," is still our foremost aspiration. It is
in that place of "union" that we are empowered to influence our culture and
manifest His Kingdom.
The earth is entering into a
season of travail. World systems will be powerless in responding to the needs
that are about to be present in the earth. Even those obtaining revelation
through spirits of divination are prognosticating essentially the same thing.
Only when anointed with the Holy Spirit can the Church impart wisdom and
revelation that will provide genuine light in this dark generation!
The day is fast approaching when
the prophetic ministry of the Church, through the spirit and power of Elijah
resting upon a company of people, will once again encounter the "prophets
of Baal" in a Mount Carmel showdown. We must contend for that higher standard.
When the genuine is present, it
makes the counterfeit appear all the more perverted. The Church should not fear
to take the prophetic gospel to the marketplace where our enemy is presently
attempting-often successfully -to dominate. This generation is desperate for
authentic spiritual representation from the Kingdom of Light.
In another Old Testament example,
the 400 prophets of Ahab each received spiritual revelation containing measures
of truth, yet the origin was a deceiving spirit the Lord allowed because of
Ahab's unrighteous leadership. A true prophet of God, Micaiah, was then
summoned who was able to soar above the deceiving spirit and receive a true
revelation from God's heart (1 Kings 22:1-28).
Spiritual discernment and a good
foundation in truth clearly identify false revelation, thereby motivating the
believer to press in all the more earnestly to receive the genuine. The Spirit
of Truth will render the false spirits of revelation powerless, as with Paul,
Elijah, and other loyal servants of the Lord. Instead of their prophecies
bringing numbness to us, those with the true revelatory mantle will precipitate
immobility and disarray in the camp of the enemy. Light dispels darkness. Amen
David's Example
Although David's destiny was one
of greatness and divine favor, he was required to endure times of separation
and hardship before being released into the fullness of his calling. It was
during these difficult times that character was being forged to prepare him for
being a king. Decisions he made in the wilderness helped formulate the pattern
of David's life when he ascended to the throne.
A similar situation has occurred
for many in the Church. It appears our enemies are prevailing, despite great
promises given to us by the Holy Spirit. However, it is during times of
disappointment and hardship that divine character is formed in us; we are
purged and purified from our own carnal plans and agendas and equipped to
faithfully accommodate the anointing. Righteous decisions that are made during
these dry intervals will reap immeasurable dividends throughout the coming
seasons of great prosperity that we are transitioning into.
While experiencing the baptism of
trials, it is challenging to wait upon the Lord for His perfect timing in
releasing all His promises to us. Like David, we cry out to the Lord, "How
long must we endure these difficult and trying times?" Patiently, the Lord
admonishes us to "be still" and wait for the completion of His
sanctifying work of grace within us, allowing the full release of His anointing
through us.
However, our tendency during
these times is to "do something." So we often misinterpret ministry
activity as "doing the will of the Father" and confuse endless motion
with progress. In Matthew 7, Jesus describes many who were involved in ministry
but their eternal destiny was outer darkness.
Not
everyone who says to Me, "'Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven; but
he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. - Matthew 7:21
In doing the Father's will, we
access the Kingdom of Heaven and find favor and grace during times of need. In
the Scripture, one of the Hebrew terms translated as "salvation" is
yeshuash, which denotes deliverance, welfare, prosperity, and victory. Its
unique application bespeaks deliverance from present troubles and the assurance
that the Lord is aware of our condition and will intervene on our behalf. He
assures us, saying:
"I know
the plans that I have for you," declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not
for calamity to give you a future and a hope. - Jeremiah 29:11
Our Savior's plans for us are for
welfare and prosperity, not calamity. However, wilderness experiences are
allowed to establish godly character in us and to allow us to sow seeds of
righteousness that will reap bountiful harvests in the seasons ahead. We must
pray with the same assurance as David, despite the external circumstances and trustingly
realize that the Lord is faithful to His promises. Not one of His promises has
ever failed in all of history.
Beholding God's Beauty
After years of walking with the
Lord, David gave expression to his heart's longing. He had ultimately concluded
there was only one thing he truly desired and one thing that would fully
satisfy the purpose of his life: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days
of his life and to behold the beauty of the Lord and meditate in His Temple
(Psalm 27:4).
David's passion was to gaze upon
and perceive the Lord's beauty and delight in His loveliness. His expression
signifies an experiential comprehension of the beauty realm of Heaven. Can we
behold the King in all His beauty?
In Isaiah 33:14-15, the Holy
Spirit through the prophet Isaiah asks a revealing question: "Who can live
with continual burning?" Or, in other words: Who can live in an atmosphere
where there are perpetual expressions of God's justice? The prophet provides
the answers:
1. The one who walks righteously.
2. The one who speaks with
sincerity.
3. The one who rejects unjust
gain.
4. The one who shakes his hands
so that they hold no bribe.
5. The one who stops his ears
from hearing about bloodshed.
6. The one who shuts his eyes
from looking upon evil.
Such a person lives in a state of
consecration and purity, which allows them to dwell in the heavenly heights;
their refuge will be the impregnable Rock. Such a person's heavenly bread will
be provided and their spiritual water source will be sure. Such a person's eyes
will see the King in all of His beauty and will behold the far-distant land
(Isaiah 33:14-17).
Although the Lord first appeared
as the suffering Lamb, He is now being revealed as the victorious King.
Presently, Heaven is unveiling the Lord's great glory and kingly authority. It
is our outstanding privilege to be offered the opportunity to possess anointed
eyes to see, behold, and perceive the revelation of the King and His Kingdom
design.
To Behold by Revelation
According to biblical scholars,
the Hebrew word chazah means "to see, behold, or select for oneself."
It appears fifty four times, and in every period of biblical Hebrew. Chazah
literally signifies the ability to see "in a prophetic vision or as a seer
in an ecstatic state." In Numbers 24:4 the word means to see by way of a
prophet's vision, to see with intelligence and by an experience.
The oracle of him who hears the
words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, yet having his
eyes uncovered,
Through biblical promises,
opportunities are given to apprehend experientially the glory attributes of God
in perceptible and tangible ways as we "wait" upon Him. The sum of David's
passions were captured in that one thing.
May it also be our chief desire
to see, behold, comprehend, and explore the mysteries and infinite riches of
the Lord's goodness and beauty and discover His plans and purposes for this
unique hour in which we live so that we can build according to God's ordained
model.
Paul Keith Davis
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