Today's lesson is one learned from many years of personal experience walking with God. The Holy Spirit has revealed these deep truths over and over again.
Hebrews 5:12
For although, considering the long time you have been believers, you ought now to be teachers of others, you really need some one to teach you over again the very rudiments of the truths of God, and you have come to require milk instead of solid food.
There comes a time in every believer's life when the Holy Spirit desires to bring deeper truths. Some would resist this growth in God and seek to remain babies in Christ. This is not God's will.
1 Corinthians 3:2
I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
1 Corinthians 14:20
Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.
Hebrews 5:11
We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand.
Hebrews 6:1
Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,
1 Peter 2:2
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
Hebrews 6:1
With this in mind, we should stop going over the elementary truths about Christ and move on to topics for more mature people. We shouldn't repeat the basics about turning away from the useless things we did and the basics about faith in God.
Strong meat (such as the deep things of God, the mysteries of the Gospel; those which are more hard to be understood, received, and digested; such as the doctrines of the Trinity, of God's everlasting love) is what is being presented and served up in this deep spiritual meal today.
Do not choke on this meal. If you do not understand it, do not discard it. Tuck it away in your heart for future revelation by the Holy Spirit as you grow up in Christ and come into spiritual maturity in Him.
Be like Mary:
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Luke 2:19
Hosea 14:9
Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.
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The Body of Christ is making a final push into the Kingdom.
The burden and the focus of prayer is resting upon the apostolic ministry, who as the first-fruits must partake first of what God has to give.
However, you are not concerned for Him in a personal sense; rather, you are concerned about the apostolic ministry and the apostolic company which is coming forth.
As soon as you truly become involved to pray over this, the warfare begins.
The attacks which you face while you intercede are designed by Satan to distract you from one simple objective you are set to believe for:
the liberation of the apostolic ministry so that it flows freely and so that every restriction is removed, those in his spirit, in his circumstances, and in particularly those within his own mind.
The knowledge and the ability may be in his spirit, and his spirit may be preconditioned and anointed to do God's will, but there still may be too much of a wall between his conscious awareness and what God has placed in his spirit.
The ability to tune in to this is part of the liberation.
The Lord has witnessed that He brings forth the first-fruit ministry in the end time for the ministry of judgment.
This has never been fully manifested, but it will have to be. Otherwise, how will the Church or the remnant triumph?
They must be able to judge the forces which at the present time overwhelm them. They must stand in all humility, judging these great forces that come against them.
The establishment of this judgment is very essential.
There are several truths you must keep in mind when you pray. Satan will try to give you a false burden so that you will pray about insignificant needs or with a spirit of sympathy, instead of praying the way God wants you to pray.
This happens in many ways.
God gives a Word; then someone adds just enough to give it a little twist and to cloud the purity and the focus of that Word.
You may have a burden to pray and the devil comes to give you one sympathetic thought that causes you to deviate from the prayer.
Do not let anything rob you of the simplicity that is in Christ ( II Corinthians 11:3 ) .
Also, do not let yourself be robbed of the simplicity of the burden that God is giving. Do not become so involved with insignificant details that you miss praying for the one thing that is necessary.
Satan is a master at getting us to do good things and thus miss the best. Do not allow your life to be spent in this manner.
We will be merely a group of mediocre people if we are busy doing the second best. We must do the best- we must see the release of the apostolic company.
What good is anything else if we do not start at the foundation?
God must minister to the apostolic company and help them.
The ministry of judgement should be in action. Judgement should be sweeping the Church, and we should be seeing the effects of the promises we have claimed.
Our earnest prayer is very important. We must give ourselves to it and believe God.
Something else we must remember is that in the intercession it is very easy to become religious and to groan and weep, thinking that we are praying effectively.
The devil loves that because it is the prayer of people who do not believe what God said. They are trying to get God to do or say something when He has already done and said it all, and it only remains for people to claim it!
There should be rejoicing in our importunity, because we know that our faith is bringing the promises of God into fulfillment. It is like travail.
A pregnant woman does not need to ask the Lord to give her a baby- she has her baby. She only has to finish growing it and the get it out into the world to live as a human being.
Likewise, we do not need to worry about whether or not God will move in the earth.
He is moving. He is speaking. He is restoring. He is giving gifts.
He has given thousands of promises. Our only concern is for the promises to come into view. What ever seems to lie fallow must spring into fruitfulness.
Paul said that destruction will come upon the earth as travail upon a woman with child ( I Thessalonians 5:3 ).
Even the judgments that we are seeking are not punitive or vindictive, or intended only to destroy.
It is simply that God will judge anything and everything- whether it be people or thoughts or attitudes- that stands in the way of what He wants to bring forth.
Just as travail is with hope, so also are the coming judgements with hope.
God is not about to destroy the world; He is about to establish His Kingdom. The judgements are the preliminary action to get rid of the Antichrists and the false prophets.
Everything that is not of God will come down.
Revelation 18:20 tells us, "Rejoice, O apostles and prophets, for God has given you vengeance over Babylon, quickly and speedily.
You must be involved in this with all your heart. Subordinate your own personal problems and prayers to what God is speaking.
Once you see the big picture, then you can ask the Lord, incidentally, to loose you from your problems.
If you see the big picture, you will fit yourself into it and see your problem as part of it. Are you praying for God to deliver you from your present state of finances?
Why?
So that you can buy a new car? Maybe God does not want you to have a new car?
Instead, pray that the Lord will let you see the battle, the finances and everything else in the light of what He is doing in the earth.
Subordinate your personal interest and fit yourself into what God is doing in the Body of Christ.
In that way you will be praying in the will of God. When you become less important than the Kingdom of God, then you are where God wants you.
Most people will not do that.
To them, nothing in the world is as important as they themselves and their needs, their aches and their pains. Consequently, their needs continue they are not subordinated to the Lord.
Once you are praying for the will of God, all these other things will be added to you ( Matthew 6:33 ).
Seek first the Kingdom of God and your aches and pains will be healed; you will get your deliverance and everything you need.
This honest dedication to the Kingdom of God is what the Body of Christ must be praying for.
In the intercession a number of signs will come to you. It is important that you know how to interpret these signs which are unique to this end-time walk.
One that you will notice especially is an attack that comes in the right shoulder joint.
Authority is represented in the shoulder. In medieval times, when a person was made a knight, the sword was placed first on one shoulder and then on the other.
The prophet Isaiah said of Jesus, "The government shall be upon His shoulder" ( Isaiah 9:6 ) .
Jesus said, "Take My yoke upon you" ( Matthew 11:29 ), and that yoke is upon the shoulders. For a person to have his neck in the yoke is a sign of servitude.
Therefore, both the sign of the bond servant of Christ-that is, His lordship over us- and the sign of the authority which He designates, appear in the shoulder.
Recently this sign has been centered on the establishment of the apostolic ministry. God is concerned about that, and Satan is battling it.
God wants His apostles in the earth, not because apostles are needed for the foundation of the gospel, but rather because they are necessary for the gospel of the Kingdom which is to be preached in all the world.
The apostles are coming forth in the end time for the establishment of the Kingdom, not for the establishment of the Church.
The apostles in the New Testament time established the early Church. Some were chosen to be apostles before the cross.
They were chosen to establish the gospel message in Israel and to sit on the twelve thrones in judgment over the twelve tribes of Israel ( Matthew 19:28 ).
Then after Christ had been crucified and the gospel was to go to all the world, many others were chosen besides the original twelve.
After Judas' death, Matthias was chosen to bear witness as one of the twelve for the sake of Israel ( Acts 1:15-26 ) .
Then Paul came forth as the apostle to the uncircumcision ( Galatians 2:7 ) .
Titus (II Corinthians 8:23 ).
Timothy ( Philippians 2:19-22 ) .
Epaphroditus ( Philippians 2:25 )
James the Lord's brother Gal 1:19
Andronicus and Junia Rom 16:7
Silvanus and Timotheus 1Thess 1:1; 2:6
Apollos 1 Cor 4:4-9
Two unnamed brethren 2 Cor 8:23
(The word translated "Messenger" in these verses is the same Greek word translated "apostle" elsewhere.)
These were among the many others who were apostles to the Church besides the original twelve ( excluding Judas, of course ).
These were the apostles to the Church.
In the end time, there are also apostles to the Church, but they are specifically anointed to be apostles for the Kingdom.
Wherever an apostolic foundation s being laid, it cannot be said that it relates only to the Church.
When in the history of the Church has there been the particular emphasis on worship in the Spirit as it is coming now?
When has there been such a great profusion of signs and the prevalence of the gifts of the Holy Spirit as are found now?
Never, not even in the early Church. This is another age- the transition period between the end of the old age and the beginning of a new.
The signs that are coming to us are not mentioned in the New Testament. If the early apostles moved in them, the Bible does not tell us.
That is one of the truths which remains unto the end time to be openly revealed. there is no indication that the apostles had a symptomatic revelation when they healed the sick; however, now it is easy to stand in front of a sick person, feel his symptoms, and then heal him.
This is another age, and while every truth of the blood of Jesus Christ and of the foundation of the Church remains, certain other elements are injected which indicate that Romans 8:11 is coming to pass.
There we read: "If the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He will quicken your mortal body."
Read that carefully.
Verse 10 tells us, And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Even when Christ is in you and your spirit is alive to God, your body can still be dead to God: you do not see Him, smell Him, hear Him, taste Him, or feel Him physically.
Though you may be in Christ- Christ is in you and your spirit is alive because of righteousness- the body is still dead because of sin.
Verse 11:
But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.
This means that God the Father is injecting His Spirit into His people, so that the physical senses are coming alive to God.
God's people begin to see in the spirit world.
They begin to smell angels, which is a beautiful experience; or they notice putrid odor of demons.
They begin to feel different signs in their hands.
All of this means that the body is coming alive; it is the beginning of immortal bodies.
In these days of the Kingdom, God's people will not be in the world without a sensitivity to the Spirit. They will not have to guess what the will of God is.
The whole purpose of this walk in the Spirit is that the foundational ministries will break down the barriers and open the door for the quickening of the mortal body to finish its course.
Then the manifestation of the sons of God will come forth rapidly.
You will see the spirit word and will know what is happening in it. Everything is moving toward that.
Do you find signs in your hands, in your forehead, in your nose, in your cheekbone, or in your jawbone?
Have you felt the sign of the presence of the Lord in the crown of your head? What is happening? You are coming alive!!
Your mortal body is coming alive!
This is what the prayer for the apostolic ministry is all about. This is what God is doing now. I must break through to see and to live in the other world.
God has made me a teacher, and when I break through, I will teach you in ways that will be so practical that you can move into it too.
Therefore, do not be distracted from the focus of the prayer.
Nothing is as important right now as this breakthrough. When we break through, the other problems can be handled with rapid dispatch.
Do not let criticism, wrong feelings, wrong attitudes, or bitterness enter into your thinking.
The devil will try to get you to look at one another and be critical, but do not do it!
Keep your eyes upon the one objective that is really important. Something that is far more important than personal feelings or personal attitudes has been set before us, and that is why you must lay everything on the altar.
Do the will of God, as it is being revealed. We must not be hindered in it.
Pray for one another that the Lord will help us to have only one desire: to do the will of the Lord for the greater glory of God, without any ulterior motives.
It is not easy to lay everything on the altar. Together we must believe the Lord to help us.
Besides the signs of authority and of serving, there are other signs that have opened up to this end-time walk in the Spirit.
Many designations come in the hands.
The sign of the priesthood is in the right thumb. According to Exodus 29:20, the priests were anointed on the right ear, the right thumb, and the great toe.
Therefore the the sign of worship and the sign of the kings and priests will come in the thumb. The sign of authority is also in the thumb.
Judges 1:5-7 tells that when the Israelites captured a certain king, they cut off his thumbs, thus severing his authority.
Before he himself was conquered, that same king had caused seventy other kings, with their thumbs severed, to sit at his table.
The sign of judgement- judgement of what is right and what is wrong, of what is true and what is false- also comes in the thumb.
A sensitive person has a built-in lie detector right in his thumb, so that he can tell what is true and what is false by the sign.
Usually the sign in the right hand is the true and the sign in the left hand is the false.
Another sign in the thumb is that of the apostle. In the forefinger is the sign of the prophet, and also of the word in authority.
The middle finger is the sign of the evangelist, the false sign indicating seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, or that which would present false doctrine.
While the function of an evangelist is to win souls, the false ministry comes to seduce.
In the forth finger comes the sign of the pastor; in the fifth, the teacher. If there is an adverse sign in the right forefinger, it indicates a false picture.
For example, the cut-off sign at the base of the left forefinger means that the judgement of God is cutting off a false prophet.
Usually signs about a woman are found in the left hand, and signs about a man in the right hand.
If the flow of signs to you is in that direction, from right to left, you will get signs of the true in the right hand, and signs of the false picture in the left hand.
That way you will know what Satan is doing. The flow is generally from the right to the left, but sometimes it works the opposite way.
Women sometimes have opposite signs, with true signs on the left and false on the right.
You may wonder what the sign feels like.
When the false sign is present, there is a crawling sensation. That is a bad sign. When the pain is very sharp and intense and oppressive, that is satanic.
But when the anointing is strong, it has a warm, almost burning quality to it, and you can feel it moving through you with the witness of the Spirit. Then you are getting the true sign.
You must remember that there are many signs. Some signs come simply because the Lord is making you sensitive to another world.
However, God is not sending all the signs; some of them are satanic. A pain in the back of your neck does not mean that God is giving you a sign that the devil is hitting you, and you are open to react and feel what is happening.
You are being made alive to the spirit world- to God, to the devil, and to human spirits alike.
You must learn to identify the sign, whether it is God, or the devil, or a human being.
After a while, with practice, you can recognize what is a human spirit, what is a man, and what is a woman.
However, do not try to fly before you can crawl.
First you must learn the difference between what God is doing and what the devil is doing, between a true sign and a false sign.
A certain sign does not always mean the same to everyone. The same sign- an anointing on the lips, for example- may come to four people: one who has the ministry of a prophet, one with a deaconess ministry, one who is an elder and a prophet, and one who is to have mostly a ministry of revelation.
By this sign the prophet may be anointed to cast out devils and the deaconess, to speak words of encouragement and consolation.
The elder prophet may have words of authority to prophesy over people and set them free.
The fourth one may have a ministry of revelation that will be directive.
The anointing of the lips can vary, and each person will have to discern what the anointing is for according to his ministry.
A sign in one man's hand may mean that he is going to impart, while the same sign in another man's hand may mean that he is going to heal.
You must know what the sign means by the distinctive and particular anointing of the gift that the individual has or is to have.
Therefore, you cannot just go by the signs; their interpretations are much too complex. It is much easier to learn the voice of the Spirit.
Follow the leading of the Lord and let the signs come to confirm. At this particular time, the signs do confirm because it is evident that we are coming alive in our mortal bodies to the spirit world.
Our understanding in this area is not far enough along to be completely trusted, but t certainly should not be ignored.
We will not develop the signs if we do not move in them.
Another area in which many signs come is the ear. A good strong feeling in your ear means that there is an anointing and your ear is open to hear the Word.
It may also mean that the Word of the Lord is coming.
But a sharp pain in the ear lets you know that a lying spirit is working on you. The sign of a lying spirit also hits in the bony ridge right behind the ear. The signs vary there.
A sign upon the ear can be a sign of priesthood ( Exodus 29:20 ) .
A ministry of the Word may have a sign upon his ears when he is ready to preach. It means that he is going to hear the Word of the Lord for the people.
If his ears pop and there is no natural cause for it, it means that the Lord is preparing the people to hear something that they should hear, even though it may seem radical to their thinking.
Different signs come in the feet. If your feet feel as if they are on fire, remember the promise in Joshua 1:3 that wherever the sole of your feet shall tread, that is the land you shall possess.
You are anointed to take possession of the inheritance that God has promised. However a sign in the heel is different.
That is the bruising of Satan. Romans 16:20 tells us, "It shall please God to bruise Satan under your feet shortly."
In relation to this we also have the promise of Genesis 3:15, that the seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent.
Christ is fulfilling this prophecy through His Body. Although the bruise sign is painful, it is a good sign, a positive one.
It is often the sign of Satan's defeat in the matter of intercession. Claim it, fr he is being defeated as you pray.
An anointing of the Lord in the center of the top of the head comes to open your spirit to God. Anything from the center back to the crown represents an area of openness toward God Himself.
If it feels clouded and heavy, and really more like an ache, then the devil is working on you to cloud your spirit at a time when God wants it open.
( Sight is not one of them. Though important, it is probably being held to the last. )
The senses of hearing and of smell are functions that have been restored. Consequently, anyone who is developing a sensitivity to the spirit world may hear vibrations; and anyone who is entering into real discernment of spirits will feel an alive sensation to the spirit world, the nasal passages open up first.
When the Body is moving into a new level of prophetic authority or ministry, your muscle control may be affected until you can hardly move.
The sign feels almost like an overworked muscle, and it shows that you are trying to move in but are getting a reaction to it.
It is always helpful to remember what has been happening to the apostolic company and to the Church as a whole and what God's purposes are through them.
If you know what God is doing and saying, you can relate yourself to it, and usually you will come out with the right interpretation of the signs.
Of course, if you are a free spirit, you often will have the sign of something before it happens.
Then you walk into it prepared, and that is even better.
As our bodies are becoming alive to the spirit realm, these signs come to confirm that we are interceding according to the will of God.
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