While I was waiting before the Lord preparing for our monthly Home Group Meeting the Lord impressed upon me Ephesians 2:18-22. I really love it when the Holy Spirit opens up the Scriptures to me in revelation, especially when He opens up something I have been holding before the Lord for years. There are many things I do not know that only God knows and He is not telling, so I must wait. I often wonder why God does not open them to me I thought maybe God does not know, well that is foolish God knows everything if not then He would not be God. After some time of playing a game I call stump the dummy (me being the dummy) I rested in knowing God is God and I am not, it is like prayer. Why do we pray? God knows what we need before we even ask. Jesus told the disciples, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” (Matthew 6:6-8) It is not God needs to be informed of our needs, but we have a great need in us to tell Him. I believe the importance of prayer is not the communication to God, but the communion with God and it is in our telling we find a peace and solace in our heart and spirit. There seems to be so much in God (the longer I go it seems the less I know) I have experienced and then forgotten (maybe I am the only one this happens too) having to relearn the lesson again and again. I am not sure if this is good I hope so, but until I can manage to be able to eternally hold on to certain divine principles in my life, I guess I will have to continue in learning and then relearning if need be.
For a few months I have been sharing on the Body of Christ; how ministry was about being obedient to God’s word to us in doing what He desires and not going and doing things for God on our own, how the Body of Christ is not a denomination or religion, but a spiritual expression of God to the world. How we must be one with God before we can be one with others and unless we partake of His death we will ever be able to walk in the newness of His life. How we must walk in restrictions and limitations, to die to our selfishness and self-seeking ways so that we can be able to be strengthened in the inward man, by God, enabling Him to bring us to the purpose and end He has created us for. Now that all brought us to lesson three (of a four part teaching) on the Body of Christ – the Building of the Body of Christ where we looked at the importance of willfully entering into God’s building program and allowing God to pull down those areas in our lives that have been built by others and our worldly affections. All of our religious traditions and practices will be exposed for the world to see and our heart will be filleted for us to see. We learn operating in spiritual gifts and abilities is not a sign of spiritual maturity, oh no signs of spiritual maturity are: knowing when to speak and when not to speak, giving honor where honor is due, able to give to someone who can never repay you, or saying in the midst of being affliction it is good to be afflicted by God. These are signs of spiritual growth and development not needing to be delivered, but able to stand strong in God while all of hell assails against you. Being developed and not delivered is God’s objective in our lives and if God has to deliver us from this situation or another situation do not think we have succeeded oh no we have failed. God will deliver us only because He knows the work of God in our lives is in jeopardy of being lost. My friend God does not want to deliver us He wants to develop us as He did with Moses, Daniel, the Three Hebrew Children, and even His precious Son (is the servant greater than the Master?), and so too in our lives. This way of the cross, the death to our self-life (God’s building program) is the “more excellent way” Paul was re-teaching to the Church at Corinth. “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. 28And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. 29Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? 30Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? 31But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.” (1 Corinthians 12:27-31) This “more excellent way” my friend will kill you dead, but that is okay this is another objective of God, He knows if we can lose our life for His sake then surely we shall find. Jesus told the disciples, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26) You can find in the Gospel of John similar words from Jesus, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. 24Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 25He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” (John 12:23-25) Losing comes first in God then finding, death to self in God first before glorification which is a divine spiritual principle.
Now here is where the verses from Ephesians come in. I have always been told and taught for many many years God’s grand plan for our lives is to be able to conform (even transform) our earthly character and nature into the heavenly character and nature (His icon) of Jesus Christ. Now this is true, but here is where this thought stopped. The obvious next question is why? Most denominations say so we all can go to heaven, but that does not make sense in God we seem to have this projection towards going to heaven, but that is not what the Bibles says, man is of the earth and is made for the earth and the earth will be man’s home for all eternity. God is not so much concerned about heaven as man is, but God is concerned about having an abiding place. In 1 Kings we read, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?” (1 Kings 8:27) And the eternal answer is, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” (Psalms 24:3-4) Adam was given the earth (Genesis 1:26-28) and Adam sold it (through disobedience to God’s word) so when Christ came He not only redeemed us, but also redeemed all creation that groans and moans under that sin until there is a great release in all creation a great redemption for all creation out of the bondage and coming soon there shall be a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness and here comes the Bride, the tabernacle of God, out of heaven from God to earth and we shall reign with Him forever, where in heaven? Oh no we shall reign with Christ on the on earth. In revelation we read, “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9)
Now I cannot not explain it or even come close to understanding it, but God Almighty the creator of the heavens (all three) and the earth desires His eternal dwelling place, His eternal habitation to be in the heart of man. Please do not ask me to explain I get a headache just thinking about it, but God designs to live in humans as His eternal abiding place that is God’s intention. Therefore when He calls us He calls us with the objective to make us what He needs for us to be in order to fulfill all of His intentions. We must have clean hands and a pure heart for God to be able to dwell in us. This is why, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) We must become the workmanship of God so He can make us His eternal habitation. God “hath before ordained” not man, but God. So He calls us and out from those He has called there will be some who will respond to the presence of the Lord and the working of the Holy Spirit and the leading of God and the convictions of the Holy Spirit and the word of God and the message of God, there will be those who respond and give God what He wants and those He will choose and the others He will not choose because there has not been a proper preparation and conditioning, a proper arrangement which allows us to fulfill God’s intention and to function as God has ordained. Strange as it may seem God does not desire to dwell in temples made with hands; huge buildings with fancy landscaping and stain glass windows, God desires to live in our heart and for our heart to be His eternal habitation. In the Book of Acts, Steven told the religious folks of his day, “Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, 49Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? 50Hath not my hand made all these things?” (Acts 7:48-50) and they killed him. Make no mistake my friend if you say the same to the religious folks of today they too will kill you. I have felt in the past and still feel today the sting of their rocks and their lies spoken against us. The more you go with God and stop running with man from show to show the more of the sting of death, which is sin (1 Corinthians 15:56), you will feel.
What a revelation from God, we are to be conformed into the character and nature of Jesus Christ our wonderful Savior so we can be an eternal abiding place, built by the Holy Spirit of God as an eternal place of God’s habitation, “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:18-22) Let us desire to become that eternal abiding place of God. Let us allow God to work so in our lives through His dealings and judgments to such a degree we too will be able to stand with clean hands lifted and pointed to the heavens with a pure heart open before God for all the world to see.
