Published on June 6th, 2008 | Articles, Guest Posts

This guest post comes to us from Graham Cooke at Graham Cooke Ministries.

Four Aspects of Intimacy

Graham Cooke

An intimate relationship with God intimidates the enemy. Our conversation with God smells sweet to Him–”When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints,” as Revelation 5:8 says. Intimacy with God involves four things-adoration, affection, appreciation, and abiding.

Adoration is an emotional response to the love of God. We cannot receive the love of God without having feelings about it. The love of God is not simply an intellectual process; He gave us feelings so that He could touch them. An emotional response to the love of God usually involves tears–but these are tears of trust. As we come to understand and love the nature of God, we find that we don’t need everything to be right in our lives. “These things are true, but You are more real to me,” we say. “I don’t need everything in my life to be perfect, for I know that You are honorable and trustworthy.” I am not suggesting that we leave our pain behind us when we worship. Just the opposite in fact: God wants us to bring that pain to Him. He wants to love us through it, to look us in the eye and touch us. “I’ll meet you in it,” He whispers. “Come and give it to Me–and I’ll give Myself to you.”

Adoration involves joy, happiness, and laughter. Many Christians need to challenge themselves to smile more. Adoration, after all, is passion with intentionality. It is an emotional response to His love, His touch, His nearness. We can learn to anticipate the Holy Spirit’s deep love for us and return it to Him. Worship is an affair of the heart, while adoration involves discipline and determination within our feelings to stay connected to Him.

Affection, the second part of intimacy, involves loving God with our mind. We need to love the Lord with all of our mind, which means we need to let Him check our thoughts-as we are having them. We lift Him up by accepting the thoughts that are blessing God, and discarding the ones that don’t. This takes focused attention to start. After several weeks and months, however, we have fewer and fewer non-God thoughts. Our mind is renewed! “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth,” Paul counseled in Colossians 3:2.

A key way to show affection toward God is to meditate on the goodness of His nature. Meditation isn’t scary; it is merely thinking deeply about something. I love to meditate, and I spend two or three months a year doing it. Think deeply about who God is and who He wants to be for you. Don’t worry about what He is doing with other people or other places; think about your relationship with Him. Where is He taking you? Meditation is a key to intimacy. By loving God with our mind, we develop confidence in Him. We create an unbroken fellowship by being God-conscious.

Intimacy also involves deep appreciation. In all things, we must give thanks. It is part of our DNA as human beings that we be grateful. If I eat a great meal in a restaurant, I want to thank the server and the chef. It’s just natural! If someone gives us a beautiful sweater for Christmas, we want to say thank you. If someone scores a touchdown for our team, what are we doing when we stand up and cheer? We are showing our appreciation. If someone wins a gold medal, or overcomes a daunting deficit to win, we jump up and down. We are thankful to be a part of that historic moment.

“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus,” Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Intimacy has a voice, and we need to be vocal in our praise and gratitude. Thanksgiving is not just for the Thanksgiving weekend; it should be an everyday occurrence. Real intimacy cannot be hidden. It transforms us. To get there, however, we need to press into communion and praise. We have to live with a heart captured by God. Appreciation is often a tool God uses to draw us closer to Him. When we enter His presence, He usually tells us something He loves about us. He is just very good at being grateful–and we need to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead in that.

Finally, intimacy involves abiding. “Abide in Me, and I in you,” Jesus said in John 15:4. “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” When we keep our consciousness focused on God, our faith increases exponentially. “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life,” as the writer said in Jude 20-21. Abiding means we value and honor our relationship with God above all others. The Holy Spirit responds to that intimacy by teaching us how to stay, rest, and dwell in Christ.

Published on June 6th, 2008 | Articles, Guest Posts

This guest post comes to us from Francis Frangipane at Francis Frangipane Ministries.

For Dreams to Come True

Francis Frangipane

Just because we walk and talk does not mean we are truly awake. Zechariah was not sleeping when an angel roused him “as a man who is awakened from his sleep” (Zech. 4:1).

Perhaps we too need to be shaken from our slumber to possess the promises of God! Amazingly, in spite of all the signs, wonders, and warnings announcing that we are truly in the last days, Jesus also said there is a mysterious drowsiness that we have to overcome. Indeed, immediately after highlighting the various evidences of the end (see Matt. 24), He compares the church to virgins who “all got drowsy and began to sleep” (Matt. 25:5).

Virgins sleeping at the end of the age: This seems incomprehensible with all the signs in the heavens and wonders upon the earth, not to mention the increasing presence of Christ. Yet this phenomenon is something we each battle: the tendency to become spiritually drowsy and lose our focus as we wait for the Lord’s return.

There is a subtle activity of the enemy that dulls our perception and seduces our zeal. Our vision takes a backseat to other less important aspects of life. From the beginning, the voice of Satan has had this lulling effect on mankind. Eve’s excuse for disobedience was, “The serpent hath caused me to forget” (Gen. 3:13 Young’s Literal Trans.).

This sense of spiritual forgetfulness, of drowsiness, is the cloud of blindness that we each must discern and overcome. It was in regard to this that the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart through the following dream.

There was a temple standing in an open field. My view of the temple was from its side, about 200 yards away. I could not see its front, yet it must have been completely open because great light flashed out from the inside; it pulsed like lightning, yet was solid like sunlight. The block of light issued straight out, and I knew this light was the glory of God.

The temple was so close that I knew that with a little effort I could enter the glory of God. His holy presence was clearly within my reach. There were also others directly in front of me that I recognized as people from church. Everyone seemed very busy. And while the temple and its light were visible and readily accessible to all, every head was bent downward and turned away from the light; each was occupied with other things.

I heard one person say, “I have to do laundry.” Another said, “I have to go to work.” I could see people reading newspapers, watching televisions, and eating. I was sure everyone could see the light if they wanted to — even more sure that we all knew His glory was near.

There were even a few people reading the Bible and praying, but everyone maintained the downward thrust of their gaze; each had a mental barrier of some kind between themselves and the place of God’s presence. No one, in fact, seemed capable of standing up, turning, and steadfastly walking into the very near glory of God.

As I watched, suddenly my wife lifted her head and beheld the temple in the field. She stood and walked without pausing toward the open front. As she drew closer to the light, a garment of glory formed and thickened around her; the closer she went, the more dense the light surrounding her became until she stepped in front of the temple and turned completely toward the blazing face of God.

Oh! How jealous I felt. My wife had entered the glory of God before me! At the same time I realized that there was nothing stopping me from approaching God’s presence — nothing except the pile of things to do and responsibilities that, in truth, ruled my life more than the voice of God.

Pushing the weight of these pressures from me, I determined to rise and enter the temple myself. But, to my great regret, in my dream as I rose up, I suddenly woke up!

The longing and disappointment within me seemed unbearable. I had been so close to entering God’s presence. How I wanted to enter the temple and be swallowed up in His glory!

I cried, “Lord, why did You let me wake up?”

Instantly, the word of the Lord responded to my cry. He said, “I will not have My servant’s life fulfilled by a dream. If you want your dream to come true, you have to wake up.”

Breaking Passivity; Setting Priorities

Beloved, today, God is awakening us to the reality of His presence. The promises the Lord gives us in the Scriptures must become more to us than dream-like realities only reserved for the hereafter. Moses frequented the glory of God! Israel’s seventy elders ate and drank in God’s resplendent glory (see Ex. 24: 9-11). Jesus unveiled God’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration! Paul says that we all can behold the glory of God and be transformed by it (see 2 Cor. 3:18).

For this reason, the Scripture says, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:14). If we truly want Christ to “shine” upon us, we must arise from the distractions that entomb us in lethargy and spiritual darkness.

Right at this moment, the presence of the living God is near enough to hear the whisper of your heart. But if we want our dream of standing in the presence of God to come true, we must wake up.

Published on June 5th, 2008 | Articles, Guest Posts

This guest post comes to us from Paul Keith Davis at White Dove Ministries.

The Brides End-Time Harvest Anointing – Part 2

By Paul Keith Davis

We are now entering a season of harvest and a time that will be known as the Brides Revival. Church history has witnessed many expressions of outpouring and revival, but nothing like the days ahead when the Bride of Christ emerges in maturity and surrendered devotion to the Bridegroom.

Overall we are presently in the last days harvest but it will come in multiple waves. The first harvest will be a harvest of harvesters, followed by a season of intense training and equipping. Following that, the greatest harvest of souls throughout the earth will transpire in the Brides Revival.

Those individuals who have yielded to the preparation process will experience the transformation of their perceived wilderness into a flourishing garden with pools of spiritual water. For them, a season of breakthrough will be accomplished that makes them a spiritual habitation of God’s presence and the Sevenfold Spirit of God.

In essence, there will be a deposit of the “spirit to overcome” delegated to believers who have yielded their hearts and souls with unwavering desperation for the person of Jesus; that is what it mean to be the Joshua generation. The Joshua commission is the anointing to “overcome.” Heaven’s empowerment will be granted to experience individual breakthrough. This grace will allow us to plant spiritual fields and vineyards that will produce bountiful harvests.

Opening Heaven’s Armory

Jeremiah prophesied that:

The LORD has opened His armory and has brought forth the weapons of His indignation, for it is a work of the Lord GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans – Jeremiah 50:25

Heaven’s “storehouse” to which we are now given greater access is a prophetic portrayal of the divinely powerful weapons that have been provided for us through Christ’s sufferings and more importantly His resurrection. It is resurrection life that He desires to delegate. In this spiritual armory are mantles of spiritual authority and power as well as great ministries of healing and creative miracles that will result in restored limbs and organs.

Days of divine visitation are clearly marked with the miraculous. The Latter Rain revival that was initiated in 1946 is remembered as one of the most significant expressions of God’s miracle working power recorded in modern church history. Many historians say it was the greatest outpouring of power since the early church.

The last 120 years of spiritual activity has functioned in the order of Moses. Clearly, Moses was one of the greatest men of God who ever lived. His intimate friendship with the Lord set a standard we aspire to today. Even so, the totality of his original mandate was not fully achieved in his lifetime. The Lord put the Spirit that was rested on Moses onto Joshua, who then carried the people into the promise.

Moses brought the people out of Egypt under God’s mighty hand of power through miracles, signs and wonders; but, that generation did not cross over into their destiny because of their “stiff-necked” condition. According to Deuteronomy 29:4, they did not possess the revelatory anointing essential to co-operate with God.

Their eyes and ears were not opened and their hearts were not devoted to the revelation of Heaven’s plan. As a result, they were disqualified and a season of discipline ensued.

Nevertheless, the next generation under Joshua’s leadership emerged with spiritual hunger and desperation that captured Heaven’s attention and positioned them for their inheritance. That is the same model we have followed over the last century.

It is the Gift of God

The Bible clearly outlines that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of Lights. God is Light and in Him there is no shifting shadow. Consequently, we are likewise called to be light in the midst of this dark generation.

It was by His own will that he gave us birth as “sons of the Kingdom” and the “Bride of Christ” by His Word of Truth; these two callings are two sides of the same coin. We are designated to be a form of first fruits of His creation and a representation of what the “sons of the Kingdom” are called and consecrated to be.

Through his epistle to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul admonishes us to conduct ourselves as children of light. He said,

Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord – Ephesians 5:7-10

The surest evidence of the “children of Light” and the Bride of the Bridegroom will be the clear presence of the fruit of the Spirit. This place in God qualifies us for the supernatural endowments of the Seven Spirit of God and empowers us for the harvest.

God’s righteousness will begin to reflect the Spirit’s nature in our lives. The display of His character in us is ultimately pleasing to the Lord and the reflection of His Light that we must possess.

Marked by Heaven

The biblical mark of the “sons of the Kingdom” and the “Bride of Christ” as highlighted in Matthew 13 saying,

The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom….the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels – Matthew 13:37-39

If we are to function as the Bride of Christ and the “light” of the world, we will possess qualities consistent with the Bridegroom and children of light by allowing Christ to be fully manifested in us. The identification, anointing and purpose of this company who overcomes are listed below.

Their Identification-The manifestation of the Fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-24

1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self-Control

Their Anointing— The Seven Spirits of God- Isaiah 11:2

1. Spirit of the Lord
2. Spirit of Wisdom
3. Spirit of Understanding
4. Spirit of Counsel
5. Spirit of Might
6. Spirit of Knowledge
7. Spirit of Reverential Fear of the Lord

Their Purpose – To reveal the twelve names illustrating the divine character of God and His primary redemptive attributes manifested in the Person of Jesus.

1. Lord Our Shepherd
2. Lord Our Provider
3. Lord Our Righteousness
4. Lord Our Peace
5. Lord Our Healer
6. Lord Our Banner
7. Lord Who Sanctifies
8. Lord Of Hosts
9. Lord Most High
10. Lord Who Smites
11. Lord of Recompense
12. Lord is Present

Our Mandate

The prophet Ezekiel was taken to a valley of dry bones. He was not instructed to condemn them, but to prophesy life to them. He said,

I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, “Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’ “Therefore prophesy and say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.

That is our hope and expectation. We desire to breathe life into dry bones and begin to see them take shape and form a troop of those who overcome.

Though the western church may look like a valley of dry bones, I believe the Lord sees her prophetically as an exceedingly great army. We are convinced our nation and the western church has an incredible destiny yet to be fulfilled as a leader among nations to introduce the Brides Revival globally. When people are given a glimpse of their individual role in that destiny, it transforms them and sets them on the course to repentance and the impartation of the Christ-like nature.

They see the cause of God and are forever changed and have the joy of their salvation restored. We are seeing that happen now. Strongholds of hopelessness, despair, depression and other oppressive mind-sets will be overcome when God’s “Zoe” life is breathed into this army and begin to functions as the Bride of the Bridegroom.

Published on June 5th, 2008 | Articles, Guest Posts

This guest post comes to us from Wade Taylor at Wade Taylor Ministries.

Launching Out Into The Deep

Wade E Taylor

Some time ago a minister said, “We do not accept the present move of the Holy Spirit, as it is shallow; we are waiting for the deeper visitation.”

I asked the Lord about this, and was given the following understanding:

“And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon Him to hear the word of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake; but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And He sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.”

“Now when He had left speaking, He said to Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.” Luke 5:1-4

“The people pressed upon Him to hear.” Our being in the place where we can receive the anointed Word should be more important to us than seeking satisfaction from other things. The Lord will respond to our need when we place Him first in all that we seek and desire.

“But seek you first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

This is a primary requirement for the deeper working of the Lord in our spiritual experience, and will lead to the approbation of God resting on our lives (divine favor).

“He… saw two ships.” These are always present, and speak of a choice that must be made, “His way” or, “our way.”

“He entered into one of the ships.” The Lord will step into our “need” when we choose His way.

“He… thrust out a little from the land.” The “land” speaks of the natural realm – our everyday life experience, with us in control. The “water” speaks of the spiritual realm – the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit, with Him in control.

The fact that He only “thrust out a little” means that the water is “shallow.” It is here that we learn how to respond to the presence and power of God. This includes learning how to respond and function in the gifts and movings of the Holy Spirit. Our response may result in laughing, shaking, falling, weeping, or, in an outward manifestation of joy. These responses to His presence will be as varied as we are.

Jesus chose to teach us in shallow water, so we can learn how to function in the deeper realms of the Spirit. This can be compared to children being given “educational toys.” In shallow water, there may be some mixture, our feet touching the land under the water (sometimes us, sometimes the Spirit). But, it is here that we make our mistakes and learn the principles that will prepare us for the “deep.”

Therefore, some consider these movings of the Spirit to be spiritually shallow. If we become critical or judgmental of these manifestations, we may grieve the Holy Spirit and be left behind, becoming spiritually barren.

Only after Jesus had taught the people in the “shallow” place could He say, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a draught.” Here, the response will be in deeper levels of burdens for others, repentance, or prayer and intercession that will not only change us, but will deeply impact the lives of others.

Now, the “principle” that the Lord spoke into my being, in response to this minister’s statement:

“If we do not meet the Lord in the shallow places, we will never be prepared for the deep, and we will miss having a part with Jesus in the coming day of His power.”