How do you convince an elephant that he is not a rabbit? By sending another elephant to live with him.

Form without Spirit is useless. Spirit when allowed to mature will always take Form, one that is fluid and living. Spirit cannot be attained, it can only be received. It comes form a posture of rest, of trust, of letting go.

A man heard that a very important King had come to town and that He loved to visit people's homes. So he invited Him to have dinner at his house. His house was a big mess but before he had time to clean it up, the King arrived.

"Sorry," he apologized to the King, "my place is not fit for your visit!"

The King laughed and said, "It's ok, I'm not here to see your house but I'm here to see you!"

We sometimes forget that God is not interested in what we have accomplished or believed in our own effort but He only wants to enjoy time with us and to create memories together. For this reason, He is not content with just talking to us but He wants to live inside of us. And when He does, everything contrary to Him (sickness, fear) automatically leaves. We are filling and filling, overflowing with everything that He is: rest, peace, joy, hope, love.

A bird set free cannot be caged again; it may return to its cage but its still a free bird in a cage whose lock is forever broken.

Encounter with Reality

Today, I feel like describing the most incredible journey that the last two years has been for me in the Lord. It has to do with discovering what the Finished Work of the Cross means to me and also about freedom and free will.

It began three years ago when a very dear brother Dewen spoke prophetically to me, "God wants me to tell you that there is no such thing as free will." I was shocked and angry because the idea of choice was so fundamental to my understanding of love. I asked Dewen to explain but he told me he didn't know and was only told to relay the message. I wish I could discard Dewen's word but I couldn't because I could feel God all over it. This word continued to haunt me for the next three years.

One of the visions I've had involves me reaching my hands out to Jesus. Oh, I so desired to touch His face so that I would know once and for all that He is 100% real. But every time my hands went close, it was like there was a force field around His face repelling my hands. It became increasingly harder the closer I got to Him. It was frustratingly painful because I desired Him, all of Him, so very much. He is beauty, goodness, passion, all at once. He is complete uttermost satisfaction and enjoyment.

One day, I was hiking and I asked the Lord to bring me higher in worship. I asked Him if I was mature enough to be in His Holy of Holies. I told Him that I understand He is keeping me out to protect me because I would be destroyed in the purest of His presence. Then the Lord spoke. He said, "Son, there are no ceilings. I'm not trying to keep you out. In fact, I'm here to destroy all your ceilings." Then, I heard the shattering of glass and all the imaginary ceilings above me broke. I saw the Father in the purity of His being as He reached down and touched me. I was undone.

I was brought back to the vision where I was extending my hand. My hand came close once again to His face but here was no force field. I reached in and felt the softness of His skin. He glowed in joy and I glowed with Him. I reached in deeper and touched His heart. It throbbed with love for me and I was immediately intoxicated. I said, "wow, I wish I could stay here forever. I wish I could stay drunk all the time!" Jesus replied, "how do you think I feel all the time?" He laughed, "I'm always drunk!"

The way that my hand was finally able to touch His face, it was like a plane had finally touched down on a runway. I was in contact with Reality! I now know what is real, and what are just shadows. His perceptions are perfect and they began to define and realign mine. God is here to destroy our ceilings. He is here to set us free. It is for freedom that he set us free, not for any other reason. Freedom is to be who we truly are in Reality, the way that He sees us, the way that He created us uniquely to be.

[to be continued...]

God is on the move. He is not sitting somewhere waiting for something to happen. He is always doing something really good. Something really good in each of our lives. Every moment of every day.

Breathe

"You cannot breathe out, unless you first breathe in."

Don't worry about solving the problems in your life or getting rid of your issues before coming to God. Just come as you are, take in His Presence and enjoy His love as He permeates your being. He will take care of everything else for you.

Abide

We are the finished work of Christ. But just as every electric appliance needs to be connected to a power source, we are not complete without Him. The secret to the revealing of who we truly already are, the secret to having our perspectives aligned with Reality is this: Abide. Abiding is intentional, just as God is intentional in all that He does. Abiding is relational, just as God is relational in all that He does. Abiding enjoys the other person just as they are in the moment. It is joyful, it is fun, it is intoxicating. Abiding does not create a new reality in us, it merely reveals our true identity. It transforms us through this revelation (to unveil something that was hidden), this renewal (to make as new something that was already there), this redemption (to restore the original value which was lost). 

Graham Cooke has an interesting article about what it means to live in the intentionality of God.

Prophetic Ministry

Some excerpts from "Prophetic Wisdom" by Graham Cooke (pg 43-49)

On waiting on the Lord.

Building a relationship with God secures our inheritance. "Wait for the Lord and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it" (Psalm 37:34). We don't have to worry about our future, destiny, or identity because God has got all of that covered. All these things are simply added to us while we bask in His presence. The plans He has for us unfold in His heart. Once we ensure that we are in His presence and ready to receive them, they will surely flow to us. "The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way," says Psalm 37:23-24. "When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the one who holds his hand." We may stumble, but God holds our hand. Relationship belongs to us, but guidance is His alone. It's not our job to seek God's will. It's our joy to seek His face. Relationship is the key to all things spiritual.

Below, Cooke defines guidance as coming from within us as an outflow of our relationship with God, while direction comes from a third party.

Guidance comes from the Lord through our ongoing relationship with Him. The goal of the Holy Spirit is to teach everyone how to hear the voice of God for themselves. [...]

The Old Testament prophetic anointing made no distinction between guidance and direction. They were one and the same. This is because people did not have the indwelling nature of Christ and were not capable of beling led by the Spirit. Their spirituality was ordained through the office of the prophet and priest who represented God to man and man to God. [...]

The world changed on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is now in people, not on them. In the Old Testament, the prophetic gift was concentrated on a few people. In the New Testament, thanks to Pentecost, the ability to hear God and to move in the gift of prophecy is now available to every Christian (1 Cor 14:1,5).

In the Old Testament, it was okay to go to a prophet to inquire of the Lord. In the New Testament, that would be deemed illegal behavior. We have the indwelling Presence of God and therefore capable of hearing His voice ourselves (John 10:27).

The role of a New Testament prophet has now dramatically changed. The chief role of a prophet is primarily to teach people how to hear God themselves. They train people in how to discern and obey the will of God. They instruct, train, equip and release people in the prophetic gift, ministry and office of a prophet. In the process of that training directive, they also bring prophetic words to individuals and people groups. [...]

In the modern church, many people go to prophetic conferences because they want a prophetic word, not because they want to learn to prophesy or hear God's voice themselves. Prophets are put under incredible pressure to prophesy. I have been given marks out of ten by leaders, most of whom had never prophesied but were comparing me to other prophets they knew. [...]

Guidance is a relational issue, not a prophetic one. If people are not walking with God properly, prophecy will not solve that problem. Prophets cannot come between people and God. We point the way back to God. We equip and empower people to have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus (Eph 1:17). When asked for guidance, a true prophet will first question the current status of people's relationship with God. [...]

The principle is this: we take care of the relationship and God takes care of the guidance. In itself, guidance is the by-product of a right relationship with God. Everything a New Testament prophet does should push people back into their own relationship with God. Direction is God's responsibility, not ours.