Tag Archive for: heavenly

WHO IN THE WORLD ARE YOU?

By Patricia King

Jesus stated to those who opposed Him, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.” John 8:23

He further explained the following to Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”– John 18:36

In the world but not of it.

We are in the world, but we are not of the world. Jesus prayed in John 17 that the Father would not remove us from the world but that we would be kept from the evil one. We are mandated to represent the Kingdom of heaven in the earth. In 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, Paul taught that when Christ is in our life we are new creations. We are Kingdom creations. Our citizenship is in heaven and we have been commissioned as ambassadors in the earth for the Kingdom of God. An ambassador carries govern- mental authority in a foreign land as he/she represents the nation he/she is from.

Ambassadors have diplomatic immunity in the nation they live in and are governed by the law of the land they come from. Do you know who you are in this world? You are a new creation. You are a citizen of heaven. You are an ambassador for Christ.

Jesus lived in two realms at the same time and so can you. He lived in the natural realm while in the earth but also in the heavenly realm or the Kingdom realm. He explained this to Nicodemus in John 3:12-13.

How do we live in the Kingdom realm while in the earth?

Jesus taught an important key for living in the world as a Kingdom citizen. In Matthew 18:1-4 He explains that we cannot enter the Kingdom realm except we come as a child. He was referring to the innocence, faith, and the realness of a child. When you are childlike, a whole realm opens up to you. Young children are not usually afraid of what people think about them. They have innocent faith and believe what their parents say. They are not concerned about paying the bills or taking on weighty responsibilities. Oh, to be a child! This is the key to entering the Kingdom and enjoying Kingdom life. Jesus wants us to be “child-identified.”

Who In The World Are You?

You are Christ’s representative, an ambassador, a co-ruler with Him, and a Kingdom citizen. But above all of these, you are God’s beloved child. Oh, how your heavenly Father loves you! Oh how He wants you to experience freedom as His precious one.

God’s Bosom

“No one has seen God at any time; the Only-begotten Son, who is in the BOSOM of the Father, He has declared Him.” John 1:18

What heaven is really like? It is to be in the bosom of your heavenly Father. You can catch a very fade glimpse of something alike when you are hugged by your earthly father or mother. The bosom of your parent is the place where you want to be. The bosom speaks of a great intimacy; Jesus is in the Bosom of the Father and in Christ you are in the same place, are you aware of this? I don’t want to sit on a throne in heaven just give me some space in the bosom of my heavenly Father and this is more than enough to me. The bosom of the Father can contain all of his children yet it remains intimate for each one. The bosom of the Father is the very center of heaven, you are in the heart of God, you are in a place rich in love for you night and day. You are in a place of security, protection, freedom, revelation, power and majesty. No word can describe the glory of being in the Bosom of the heavenly Father.

God longs for intimacy with you, many can hear God’s voice or see visions of the throne, this is wonderful and I want both but I long for something more, I long to touch him, to feel him and to worship him closely that I can be lost at my daddy’s feet. I want to be able to say with John the beloved: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have TOUCHED–this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” 1 John 1:1. In his bosom, you will be healed, restored and be made whole, in his bosom you will be victorious and stay victorious, in his bosom you will sense your great value unlike the prodigal son who reached the level of pigs and felt cheap and worthless when he abandoned his father. This place is so real to me and is so scary to the devil that he always tries to dethrone me out of it but no one can pluck me out of my Father’s hand but me John 10:29. Do you know this intimacy?

Glory to God
Tony Francis

The Truth about Prayer

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. (Romans 8:26-27)

It’s my firm belief that having a strong and a powerful prayer life begins with the revelation that I don’t know how to pray. This is what we just read in Romans 8:26 “we do not know what we ought to pray for” and scriptures always tell us the truth about ourselves. Bottom line, you and I don’t know how to pray God’s will. Then why would God tells us to have a prayer life if we don’t know how to pray? How can we respond to his calling and be successful in our prayer life as his priests?

I need HELP! Exactly! When you say: God Help! You are actually calling upon the name of the Holy Spirit for he is the Helper; he is your helper in your prayer life. One day, the disciples of Jesus woke up spiritually to the fact that they don’t know how to pray, thus they came to him asking to be taught how to pray, they wanted a prayer life like Jesus. So Jesus taught them by the Holy Spirit to pray the Lord’s Prayer according to their need at that time. I am not saying you can’t pray it nowadays, it is a wonderful pattern of prayer and we can learn much from it, what I am saying is that if you approach the Lord today asking him how to pray, I assure you he has something new to teach you by the Holy Spirit to pray forth. It is wonderful to pray the biblical prayers, but I believe that prayer is the outcome of a personal relationship with the Master; it is a personal encounter with the Spirit of Prayer.  If we only have written prayers to pray, then we don’t need the Holy Spirit. I believe in both, the Spirit and the Truth lifestyle. The time changed, the need changed, the prayer changed but the Holy Spirit has not changed. He is always here to pray through you, to birth prayers in you that will release the will of the Father on earth as it is in heaven. Let your attitude always be “Lord, what’s on your heart to pray? “ Prayer was never intended and designed by the Father for us to be done on our own, from one side. Prayer is a partnership with the Holy Spirit, it is being in agreement with him, and it is being tuned to his desires and his will. We don’t pray our will; we pray his will to be done. How can we know his will? The Holy Spirit knows God’s will and he reveals it to you. Heaven is waiting on you to stop depending on your resources and start cooperating with the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is your prayer partner, you are not alone. Trust him to pray his perfect prayers through you.

Romans 8:27 “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit”, did you notice in this verse that God searches our hearts when we pray, not our souls or flesh? This tells us that our prayers must come from our hearts, our spirit man where Holy Spirit dwells. Didn’t Jesus tell us when we pray to go to our secret chamber and pray from there? Prayers that are cultivated in intimacy with the Holy Spirit in your inner man will be rewarded openly by the Father.

These 3 revelations will revolutionize your prayer life: First, know that you don’t know how to pray. Second, know that you need to partner with the Holy Spirit in prayer. Third, know that you need to pray by revelation, prayers inspired by the Holy Spirit. We read in Exodus how God commanded Moses to build the tabernacle according to the heavenly map he showed him. This tabernacle is full of symbolic elements. In the Holy, where the priests used to minister unto God, you see the candlestick, the table of showbread and the altar of incense. God commanded Moses that the oil of the anointing which represents the Holy Spirit must be made according to his formula not to men. So it is for the incense! Incense must be God-made not Man-made. Incense represents your prayers (psalms 141:2). Your prayers must be God-made when you minister unto him. You can’t fabricate your own incense; it is non-sense to God. When you pray, let the Holy Spirit download to you his own formula of incense. Exodus 30:7-8 “Every morning when Aaron maintains the lamps, he must burn fragrant incense on the altar. And each evening when he lights the lamps, he must again burn incense in the LORD's presence.” Aaron couldn’t burn the incense to the Lord before he lights the lamps first. It is a must to pray by revelation, by illumination, this is not only for the prophetic people in the church, this is the ministry of the priests to all and in Christ you are one! The Holy Spirit will reveal to you what to pray but you do the burning by releasing it in faith “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16)

Glory to God
Tony Francis

My Testimony

“Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.” Hebrews 12:9-10

My father disciplined me for a little while as he thought best for me and I am thankful! Are you familiar with this verse “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”? (Matthew 7:11). What my father thought was best for me was in many ways evil and hurt me, but no blame, because he thought he was giving me his best and sincerely I appreciate his efforts in raising me up, God bless him. It isn’t always what people do to you that hurt you; mostly it’s what they don’t do for you while the bar of your expectations is so high, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” and in many ways what my dad didn’t do for me made my heart sick.

For those of you who don’t know my dad, here is a little bit of background for you: my dad is so old because of his late marriage at the age of 50, so I grew up in an environment where my friends at school and my community around me used to tell me: “your grandfather is so funny” and with a bitter smile I answer: “he is my dad”. He’s now 84 years old, in a good health and I’m believing for his salvation. He was always there to provide for me, I didn’t lack any material blessing at all, in fact I lived in abundance, in a big prosperous house, with the best games, the finest clothes, the best school and education in town … while I was living as a rich boy outwardly, I lived a severe poverty inwardly, in my emotions I was a beggar for the fatherhood love & affections. I don’t remember my dad playing with me or affirming me especially in my most time needed of my shaping as a man, more than that he didn’t model to me this strong father figure, where he rebukes me in doing wrong or even slap me! He was tender in character all the time, trying to correct me always with gentle words, until I hungered to see him slap me just to feel his strength, funny huh? He didn’t train me to carry responsibilities nor to face challenges, thus when I grew up the storms of life swallowed me; even I couldn’t stand its slightest breeze. I was so naïve inside and emptiness in me was horrible. I won’t discuss here the consequences of such things but believe me I was mentally, emotionally and spiritually sick and handicapped from head to toe. I was a living dead, well not quite, a living dead doesn’t feel, but I was feeling all the pain of the world. I was raised in a very beautiful home but because of my dad’s absence in my personal life I felt like an orphan homeless, I was lost in the rooms of my life and later I made it my aim to seek for the alternative as soon as I grow up and the world was gladly waiting for me with open arms to embrace a sinful life to journey from pit to a deeper pit and from deception to another.

Did I choose all that? Well some of it, I was aware that some decisions I should not have made but don’t blame a sick hopeless person, blame those who tasted the glory and forsaken it for the lesser. I think the prodigal son was crazy, how could he leave such a wonderful Dad? In the prodigal son’s story, I think the son was bad, in my story my father’s absence was bad. After I came to Christ, and his glorious light shone upon my darkness, I learned about the heavenly Dad but it was mere theology and head knowledge rather than a radical life changing experiences with him. If you were to ask me some spiritual questions, I would have raised my chin up and answered you boldly about my solid sound doctrine. I would have answered the same if you were to ask me about the trinity and the Heavenly Father but did I know him by experience? Not really! My friend, I tell you the truth, everything bad and deformed in my experience with my earthly dad was projected in my relationship with my Heavenly Father, without knowing. I always thought that this up there Father is distant, uncaring and an old guy on the throne. I always felt disconnected with him, I know he’s there hearing me and providing but I was not able to connect intimately with him. I treated him the same way I treated my dad, I used to bring him my list of needs in prayer to provide and then leave. I didn’t express my love to him and I didn’t think he would say it back to me or even wanted to touch me. My perspective of this perfect Dad who is like no other was deformed with the filter of my imperfect experiences. Until the moment my Heavenly Father started to visit me to introduce himself to me … and here my story begins!

Glory to God
Tony Francis

Relationships like Heaven

I am wondering how relationships look like in heaven? How do people treat each other up there? But before I proceed talking about relationships I want to shed a light on this idea that I find foundational. Relationships are a divine concept and issue from the heart and the nature of God because as you know God is a Trinity, Father Son & Holy Spirit. He is one God in 3 separate persons that share the same nature, divinity and unity. God the Father has a will separate than the will of the Son and the Holy Spirit, that’s why we see Jesus surrendering his will to the will of his Father before he went to the cross. (Luke 22:42)

The Concept of relationships is from eternity and this glorious fellowship in the Godhead is intimate even before the creation of Angels. Everything good initiates from God and he wants us to enjoy this eternal pleasure of being involved in godly relationships with him and others as he is with himself and his children. God is a relational God and everything he does is based on this and he made you a partner with the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14). People who are in heaven are looking at the throne of God and at his right hand where Jesus sits and the Holy Spirit who is before the throne and they are beholding this glorious fellowship going on in the Godhead and are mirroring the exact same thing with each other.

Jesus: “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:44-45). See? God’s nature is the guideline for our relationships and the more we are transformed into his image the more our relationships will be holy and heavenly not the opposite, work on being changed first and not on changing others or the relationship itself. Jesus also said: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34- 35). Jesus first modeled practically before us how to do it. Oh if you really want an exciting glorious life of blessed relationships, look at the Trinity! God longs that relationships in your personal life, in your church, in your workplace, in your family, in your community, in your school, in your university and in the marketplace to be on earth as it is heaven! Let God coach you in relationships and bring you revival!

 Glory to God
Tony Francis

When fathers abandon you

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. At about three o'clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” Then Jesus shouted out again, and He released His spirit. (Matthew 27:45-46, 50)
 

Our blessed Savior tasted all kinds of pain on his way to the cross and while he hanged on it there but the last pain he experienced just before he died was the pain of fatherhood abandonment. It was so dark around him; didn’t also feel so dark when your father abandoned you? Jesus shouted twice with a loud voice and released his deep painful sonship cry asking why? Why? I don’t get it, I am supposed to be your son, you can’t let go. A father-son relationship must not be broken at all. Jesus shouted twice with a loud voice and gave up his spirit because he could tolerate anything but this. Abandonment kills you!

Maybe you too have experienced in some way your father’s abandonment but you didn’t cry out loudly although you are suffering from the pain of rejection and your destructive lifestyle shouts this clearly. Drown in drugs, in alcoholism, in pornography, in failures? Maybe you doubt everyone? Maybe you are a workaholic, a perfectionist? You gave up on doing life healthily and the way you are living is nothing but a loud cry hoping that your father hears your big unanswerable WHY!

We live in a fallen world and our fathers raised us up the best way they know how, our leaders, our pastors, our friends and even you and I are the same but the heavenly Father is the only perfect dad in the universe. It was the huge penalty of our sins that separated him from his son for a while so you and I will never experience in Christ his abandonment. There’s nothing that can separate us from our heavenly Father because Jesus paid the price of abandonment once and forever. Today if you are in Christ, hear the heavenly Father declaring over you his glorious eternal unbreakable promises: “You are accepted in the beloved and I will never leave you nor forsake you”.

You can read this devotion also on Patricia King's website:

http://www.xpmedia.com/article/17386

Glory to God
Tony Francis