Enjoying The Pleasures of God - Divine Consolations

By John Crowder
Sons of Thunder
www.thenewmystics.com

I would like to address the often misunderstood subject of "divine consolations." The early apostles, saints and Christians throughout history enjoyed the ecstasies and manifestations of God's presence, which today we often call by many names: spiritual drunkenness, being slain in the spirit, getting whacked, etc. The biblical word for this experience is "extasis" or "trance" and is found throughout the New Testament, as well as the Old. In history, these manifestations had many names in many great revivals and awakenings: enthusiasms, fits, jerks, exercises, etc. The Christian mystics of the church called these experiences "consolations."

Some of the mystics cautioned against pursuing manifestations inordinately, as they felt it distracted us from God. But this was not always the best theology, to separate these out as gifts from the Gift Giver. Christ is both the Gift and the Giver. He is the Minister of the New Wine and the Wine itself. The most famous mystics did not really practice what they preached, because they spent far more time in ecstasy than the average believer today. Some went into continual ecstasies for five, eight, thirty, even thirty five years straight. Although they were in extreme rest and contemplation ("soaking" or "practicing God's Presence"), they still saw thousands of conversions and countless miracles because of their peacable, trusting, restful enjoyment of God.

Do not feel guilty about enjoying the pleasures of God. There is no law against such things. Christ is both the Gift and the Giver. He is both the Drink and the Minister of the Drink. Religion will let you enjoy Him -- but not too much! Religion wants you to have a moderate, "lukewarm" desire. Never to extreme. Surely not fanatical. It is linear and Greco-Platonistic to separate Love from the feeling of love. We pursue ecstasies only in that they are a state of divine love to be eagerly desired. True contemplation is much deeper than verbal forms of prayer or worship. It is aboutintimacy, which is the foundation of revelation and all other gifts.

When we speak of activating a state of trance, or pursuing rapture, we cannot consider it a formula in the Western, Greek rationalism sense. This is a deeper way. The mind alone cannot traverse these paths, nor is it sufficient to tread where the heart has not first ascended. We do not humanistically climb into a trance state the way a sorcerer or drug addict would do, through their own deviant means. Our entrance is simple: we believe that Christ has already opened the Heavens on the cross! When I believe that I am already in Heaven - seated with Christ (Eph. 2:6), then I also believe that I am also seated in the wine room. I am already in the treasure room of Heaven. I may not feel it. My circumstances may not show this to be true. But when I choose to believe the good news, then my feelings and my circumstances begin to line up with the truth. To the extent we really believe, we can continually experience the ecstasy of His presence and a continual lifestyle of supernatural manifestation. There is never a need to tone it down or pull back. We are resting in His finished work.

Belief and love are heart issues. Religion wants to catch you up in outer forms, but God wants you to be continually consoled in your heart by His love.

The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men” (Is. 29:13). What systematic approaches are powerless to accomplish, yet the blazing lamp of divine love achieves effortlessly, for “the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chron. 16:9).

There is no theological explanation. No form. No methodology to the practice of His presence. Its reliance is on the blind fury of faith – it hinges on abiding. It is a relationship.

“This is what the sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In returning and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength. …” (Is. 30:15)

As my inner man learns to be still and know that he is God (Ps. 46:10), I learn His still small voice. I find that I am already in the Secret Place, not because of my prayers, meditations or righteous actions, but because Christ was able to accomplish what I was powerless to perform.

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. (Ex 14:14)

Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. … There remains, then, a rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest. (Heb. 4:1)

Stillness not only enables us to better hear the voice of the Lord. Rest is one of the most productive weapons in spiritual warfare. When the mystics of the church entered into deep rest, the phenomena that came over them - which today we call being "drunk in the Spirit" - was given a theological term called "ligature."

Ligature is ceasing of inward abilities. As ligature sets in, you may not be able to think, read or even speak coherently. You are overmastered and overcome by His love.

Many Christians are trumpeting the urgency of the hour and the demands of more activity to turn the demonic tide in this fallen world. Surely there is an urgency to save souls and be salt and light in our society. But the job is ultimately not ours to accomplished. Jesus finished the work on the cross. He overcame the devil. His work was not just "one step" toward finishing the process. The problem is that most Christians don't fully believe the gospel. They believe their circumstances. When you stand on the truth that the work is finished, that belief begins to manifest in your life, ministry and all around you. Our work is simply to "believe on the one He sent" (John 6). The God of peace will soon crush satan underneath your feet.

Spiritual warfare is fundamental Christianity. You have an enemy that hates you intensely and is relentlessly looking for ways to take you out. But it is in the eye of the storm, in that place of perfect peace and stillness, where it cannot affect you. Jesus slept through a storm. We must learn to practice our peace and throw our anxieties onto the Lord. Anxiety is not a virtue. When the enemy begins to assault us, the first thing we must learn to do is run to the secret place. Go to the place of worship. We are not called to run from battle. But we must learn to stand in the presence of the Lord.

Holy Spirit is not intimidated by chaos. In fact, He thrives on it. That’s the place of His greatest creativity. He hovered over the chaotic face of the deep and created a masterpiece.

Worship and warfare go hand in hand. David was a man after God’s own heart. He was one of the greatest warriors that ever lived, but he was also one of the greatest worshippers. A warring lover. If you become a true worshiper, you will become a true warrior. You will route foreign armies and overturn wicked thrones and dominion. How? Love. Faith. Rest. Trust.

Coming to a place of peace is critical to maintaining our position in God. You don’t have to wring your hands and wonder if you’ll ever become prophetic, move into your destiny or push the enemy out of your affairs. If you simply believe the word and dwell in the Secret Place with God, you will naturally see all these things come to pass. All it takes is falling in love with Him.

God's Road to Revival: Southern California – The Fuse Has Been Lit!

By Chad Taylor
Consuming Fire Ministries
Email: info@consumingfire.com

I Saw a Fuse Being Lit

As I watched a video of a series of outreaches in Southern California, I saw a fuse that was burning intensely. A great fire had been kindled and the fuse of historic revival was ignited. I saw a fuse that began to burn in a divine route, and a divine course was strategically positioned and certain cities were in the direct line of fire of this "Road of Revival."

This fuse was rolled into a tight bundle and it was clear where it began: Anaheim, California. A city of over 300,000, it by no means is the largest in this region, but its location is a hub of activity that accommodated people from around the world. Like a Jerusalem in the Bible it is an epicenter – the ebb and tide of millions, and a great fuse of revival is being lit.

As the fuse began to burn brightly and become luminescent, and to my surprise, it went out in two entirely different directions – north and south. It weaved its way into city after city like a scarlet thread of God's grace and power. It burned brilliantly and it illuminated and enlightened people to the knowledge of God everywhere it burned.

A Great Stirring in the Hearts of People

Anaheim was founded in 1857 by wine makers and grape farmers. From this historic hub will now come a great harvest of fruit that will impact and heal the nations of the world. All of its history paled in comparison to the intent that God has now for her future.

I saw trees or righteousness bursting through the fallow ground of old systems and methods and springing on the scene with witty inventions and groundbreaking ideas for outreach, charity and missions. It was certainly a renaissance of revival as the Gospel according to Jesus in Luke 4:18 took center stage:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."

I saw this brightly lit fuse burn into Fullerton, Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana and a myriad of other cities nearby. The fire of revival – a great stirring in the hearts of people for the things of God – burned in their hearts. It was like one great outreach or crusade as every city was busy with its poor, lost and unreached. The beaches were filled with baptism.

This fuse continued to burn intent to reach its southern border. It collided with Mission Viejo, San Clemente and Oceanside as it burned down the I-5 corridor into San Diego. Everything was burning with a single purpose and focus as churches of all sizes, denominations and backgrounds gathered in the streets, parks, beaches and stadiums in a crescendo of worship and outreach. The sky was red and was lowering as the Spirit of God filled the horizon.

The universities and colleges became "powder kegs" and exploded under the heat of God's fire. It was like something torn out of a history book when great orators and theologians could be heard on the universities such as C.S. Lewis and D.L. Moody – yet now they are young and unorthodox and their approach is radical and fresh. Youth everywhere were preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Book-ends of Revival From California to Asia

The other end of the fuse burned northward through Cypress, Signal Hill, Torrance, Hawthorne, Downey, Maywood into East Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and greater Los Angeles. The streets were on fire! Like a lava flow from an exploding volcano it burned everything in its path. It was bright, brilliant and breathtaking.

This fuse burned and impossible to extinguish as it had been in the past. Los Angeles and San Diego were two great book-ends of revival as it spread like an inferno around the world. Asia was on a direct line of fire as great shafts of fire shot out hitting all of Asia and the East. It was like a firework finale as sparks and streaking light like lightening lit up the foreign horizon with revival from Southern California. Its destiny was intact.

City after city looked like glowing embers of fiery light as I looked down from an aerial view. I saw open graves like Lazarus as ministries that seemed no longer relevant or remembered suddenly rushed on the scene and their first love reignited as they did the first works God had originally imparted to them. Many were bikers, former gang members, rough and ruddy like David in the Bible, but their hearts melted in the hearth of God's fiery love. Everywhere this fire burned as Southern California was consumed with the Fire of God.

"I came to set fire to the earth, and I wish it were already on fire!"—Luke 12:49

The Holy Spirit Oil Gusher

By Doug Grills
Glory Mountain Pastor
www.glorymountain.com

The context of my potentially prophetic observations entail a conversation with a client of mine who has over 40 years experience in the oil business building oil derricks and other major structures for the industry . I asked him why this gusher seems unending in its gushing. As I suspected, he indicated that this may be the largest discover of oil in the history of the USA. That would explain it since most gushers don’t normally gush for weeks.

Please do not think I am implying that God deliberately mucked up His planet to get a prophetic word out, rather I think this is an example of taking the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. Seeing through a glass darkly…

This gusher may be a prophetic sign of the Holy Spirit Gusher we are experiencing as the reaper and sower run into each other in the harvest. The parallels are exciting and numerous, so let’s change BP from “British Petroleum” to “Bountiful Providence”. Consider the following:

1. The volume of oil (Holy Spirit) seems to be a mystery. Just as Jesus had the Holy Spirit without measure, so shall we.
2. An oil spill of this magnitude has never happened before just as the latter day outpouring will cover the entire earth .
3. The initiation of the gusher was in contradiction to natural man’s plans.
4. The oil is coming from a deep place, more than one mile under the surface of the ocean.
5. The oil is passing through the water to reach the surface symbolic of the Holy Spirit coming through the “water of the Word”.
6. All of man’s efforts to eliminate the environmental results are being frustrated. You can’t just “mop up” the Holy Spirit deluge.
7. The oil is flaming on the water surface. Baptized with the Holy Spirit and Fire.
8. The aftermath will be very expensive. The wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just, the end time wealth transfer. The world’s loss could be enormous.
9. A prophetic painting shown Sunday at Glory Mountain was of a golden oil tsunami with fire on the surface and the sand in front of the wave was the same color as the oil in the Gulf.
10. Oil is our primary natural energy source just as the “oil” of the Holy Spirit is the Believer’s primary Energy
11. There seems to be no man made device capable of stopping it.
12. Some “heads are going to roll” in the natural realm. I expect the wealth transfer will involve some career losses from the original holders of the world’s assets.

Concerning This Week's Earthquakes

John Pata
Glory Mountain Prophet
http://www.glorymountain.com

I was given this word by the Lord Sunday morning April 4, 2010 - Resurrection Sunday.

The Lord prefaced the word with Matthew 27:50-53, with special emphasis on vs. 51 “and the earth did quake and the rocks rent:”

The Lord said, “As when I hung on the cross and cried with a loud voice and gave up my spirit, the veil in the temple was rent in half, the earth shook and the rocks were rent, a great fear came upon the people. But I say to you, if they would have known the plan of God taking place behind these things, they would not have feared but would have rejoiced!

I say to you, I am sending a shaking of the earth again and a renting of the rocks as a sign to my people that I am working behind the scenes releasing a good plan. For when the quake takes place my people shall sense in their spirit that I am up to something good, however, those who do not know me shall fear.

I am shaking California, tearing down spiritual strongholds, and am releasing a spirit of freedom, liberty, fire and power upon my people, signs and wonders, doors of ministry. Religious spirits are coming down, my people that have been held captive are being set free by my strong hand…be encouraged says the Lord, this is a great plan I am unleashing upon my Church.

The quake will be a sign that it has begun”

That afternoon, California started to experience (per the news) 100 earthquakes of a magnitude of 3.0 or higher within a 21 hour period. Even today, another shaking took place.

John Pata

Overwhelmed - by Circumstances

Victoria Boyson
Speaking Life Ministries
http://boyson.org

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing—James 1:2-4 NLT

The story of Cinderella is a poignant one, because many of the key elements in the story can be found in the lives of people God has raised up for His glory and purpose.

Note to all men reading this: Now, before all you gentlemen quit reading because I've mentioned Cinderella, please stick with me and I'll show you a Cinderella-type man in Scripture.

Cinderella was a girl whose mother had died when she was young, but was dearly loved by her wealthy father; she lived well and was favored and loved by him. Truly, her life was blessed and she had everything she needed, but her father didn't think so. He married again to give her a mother and family. But shortly after he remarried, he died.

Her father, I'm sure, had no way of knowing how he would devastate his daughter's life by the decision he made to take a new wife. Suddenly, at her father's death, her life was tragically altered. She not only lost her father, her home and her position in her family, she was also stripped of her own personal identity.

She, herself, had not changed. But, through the actions of her step family, she, who'd once been a loved and favored daughter, now became a servant. She was no longer loved and honored, but rejected and abused—a continual outcast in her own home.

It's one thing to be robbed and cast out, but to have to stay and serve those who robbed you is quite another. To sit and have to watch them enjoying or even mistreating things you once cherished would be extremely difficult. And the longing to feel a part of the family, yet never having that longing fulfilled is like experiencing a continual wounding with no time to heal. It would force you to try anything to get them to love you. Yet, the more you would try, the more they would despise you.

According to some versions of this classic tale, Cinderella attempted to go to a royal ball at the palace with her step-mom and sisters in an old dress of her mother's. Her sisters, being spurred on by their mother, tore her dress to pieces, leaving her in rags. They literally and emotionally stripped her of all she knew and was in life; they left her nothing. She was stunned, emotionally numb, alone and devastated by their actions.

But here's where her story takes a surprising turn. At the moment she'd reached her lowest point, she met her fairy godmother, who begins at once to transform Cinderella's world. The fairy godmother came to her in her moment of despair and showed her love, which is what Cinderella needed the most.


"Cinderella Man"

If you remember the story of Joseph in Genesis 37 and Genesis 39-45, he was a most beloved and favored son of his father, Jacob. His mother died giving birth to his younger brother, but he still had the love of his father, and oh how Jacob loved him. He gave Joseph many privileges and gifts his brothers did not get. Most importantly, he gave Joseph his love (Genesis 37:3). This created heated jealousy in his brothers toward him; they hated him for it, so much so they planned to murder him (Genesis 37:20). Through a twist of fate, instead of murdering him, they sold him as a slave—perhaps a fate worse than death (Genesis 37:21-28).

Joseph spent 13 years as a slave—as someone's property and a prisoner. He was accused of being a degenerate going after his master's wife, when in reality, the opposite was true (Genesis 39:6-20). His life had been stripped from him physically and emotionally. No longer a most beloved, favored son—now owned and wrongfully imprisoned.

If anyone had the right to become angry and bitter, it was Joseph. The Lord had shown him amazing visions and dreams of all he would do in his future (Genesis 37:5-11), yet his life went in the complete opposite direction for years. It could have seemed to him that God had tricked him or lied to him, but Joseph clung to his faith in God (Genesis 39:2-5 and Genesis 39:21-23).

All that was taken from him and done to him turned out to be the preparation for the fulfillment of his dreams. As he said to his brothers, "Don't be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives" (Genesis 45:5). He continued, "So it was God who sent me here, not you!" (Genesis 45:8).

Reflecting over the years Joseph had spent in Egypt, instead of blaming his brothers for all he'd endured, he saw their hateful actions as tools in the Lord's hands to prepare him to rescue millions (Genesis 45:6-7). Joseph's life changed dramatically, went from being the favored son of his father to a lowly slave and prisoner, and then suddenly became second in power over the world he lived in (Genesis 45:8).

Cinderella's transformation was as swift and as telling. From beloved daughter - to - slave - to princess who ruled alongside her husband. They were both stripped of all they knew and held dear, but we see in the end that the ill treatment they endured prepared and equipped them for their great destiny.

Why did God allow Joseph to go through such severe testing you may ask? Well, in Scripture we find examples of those raised to greatness without the preparation, only to fall and lose sight of what really mattered.

King Solomon, son of King David, was the richest, wisest man in history (1 Kings 3:11-14). He inherited his father's kingdom, which was great indeed, and God blessed him with even more (1 Kings 3:11-14). However, he did not have the preparation for the throne that his father had. David went from shepherd (1 Samuel 16:11) - to warrior (1 Samuel 18:5-7) - son-in-law to the king (1 Samuel 18:17-27) - escaped fugitive, running for his life (1 Samuel 19-24) - living in caves (1 Samuel 22:1-2) - pretending to be a madman (1 Samuel 21:13) - having his wives taken from him (1 Samuel 30:1-5) - being despised and rejected (1 Samuel 4-8) and then suddenly to be made king of all Israel (2 Samuel 5:1-5).

We see however, in King Solomon's life, that because he didn't have to endure what his father did, he fell away from God later in his life (1 Kings 11:4-6). "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36 NAS). What benefit were Solomon's vast wisdom, riches and fame if it cost him his relationship with God?


Clinging to God's Love

Many of you have been going through a similar stripping process. You are confused and hurt, you may even feel at times abandoned by God. What often hurts the most is the continual betrayal by those who should love you, but don't. It hurts to see the hardness of other's toward you as though you don't matter. At times, you've felt psychologically numb due to the actions of others.

Yet, though you've been stripped, robbed or betrayed you still cling to God, because going through your own personal anguish without Him is even more unthinkable. In the midst of your desperation, you find you still have the one thing that truly matters—you still have God. And, He then, becomes your everything and you feel like the wealthiest person in the world.

Indeed, through all your trials, you are being prepared for your destiny, and it will be great. One day you will look back on this time, like Joseph, and see that God has used it all to prepare you for your future. Knowing your destiny was great, He wanted you to be prepared, so you would not fall when the real test comes: the test of success.

And so He wouldn't lose you in the midst of all the blessings He longs to give you, He needed to make sure your foundation was solidly grounded in Him, that your faith was thoroughly tried.

If you find yourself in similar circumstances, then know: you are truly loved by your heavenly Father, resting in the palm of His hand. Your life belongs to Him and He will see that you are ready for the untold blessings He's kept in readiness for you, anticipating your destiny. You are His beloved and favored child - you belong to Him - His special creation.

Maybe you can see images of your own life in the story of Cinderella, or perhaps Joseph's story is far too familiar to your own. To whatever degree you can relate to him, remember his story changed as he clung to God. Our story, too, takes on a new and rich purpose when we meet with God. He makes all things new, even the painful events of our past. He makes beauty from the ashes of our lives (Isaiah 61:3). So, wherever you are, surrender your ashes to Him and watch Him make something beautiful of your life.

Please pray this with me: Dear Father, I need You. You are all I have, You are everything to me. Comfort me and make something beautiful from my life. I surrender all that I am into Your hands and I ask that You fill me with all of You. Whatever You have for me, I receive with open arms because I know it's from You and I trust You with my life.

Victoria Boyson
Speaking Life Ministries

Discerning the Angelic Presence

James W. Goll
Encounters Network • PrayerStorm • Compassion Acts
Website: www.encountersnetwork.com

I am bringing you some prophetic teachings on discerning the angelic presence which is an excerpt from my book Angelic Encounters. I have always loved making the supernatural understandable and obtainable to everyone, and I trust this will do just that for you!

With expectancy!

James W. Goll


Discerning the Angelic Presence

Have you ever seen or felt an angelic presence—or a demonic one? When we "see" or "sense" or "feel" a spiritual entity nearby, we have discerned its presence. This chapter is devoted to the topic of discerning the angelic presence, because it's vital to be able to distinguish spiritual origins and outcomes when you're dealing with supernatural realities. Both good and bad (fallen) angels are spiritual beings, and we need the gift of discerning of spirits when we encounter them.

In general, discernment always involves the evaluation of some kind of evidence. We can only accomplish this by using our five bodily senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch. We notice something; then we start sifting quickly through the incoming data. We discriminate between the pieces of evidence and we detect patterns. Then we decide what to do, based in large part on what our discernment tells us.

Discerning (or distinguishing) of spirits is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 12:10). This gift is a little different from the gift of the word of knowledge, in which facts are simply dropped into our minds or hearts. With discernment, you have to consider what is happening around you. Did what just happened make your skin prickle? Did the room just get brighter or darker? Did you hear a noise? Did you perhaps smell or taste something? Is what happened from a good source—or a bad one?

To discern spiritual realities, we need spiritual perception. We need to know what we're dealing with. Is this thing just my imagination, or is it coming from someone else's human spirit? Is it demonic? Is it in fact an angel? Is it the Holy Spirit?

God doesn't just take the gift of discerning of spirits and plug it into you, fully developed. Normally, it takes a lot of practice to get good at it, and some of your "discernment lessons" will involve making mistakes. That's also true of the learning process for your general discernment, which is part of your maturation as a disciple and which stems from Bible study, experience, and discipline. You will need both kinds of discernment when you find yourself involved with supernatural happenings. It's important for each of us to want to be one of "the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil" (Hebrews 5:14, NASB). Don't forget—you can always ask God to give you more ability to discern spirits and more mature discernment in general.


Discerning Spirits With Your Five Senses

In cooperation with the Word of God, the name and Blood of Jesus, etc., the other primary "discerning equipment" we possess is our Holy-Spirit-anointed human spirits (which can sometimes be called our "sixth sense"), consisting of our five bodily senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch. None of us ends up using all of our senses to the same degree. We tend to "specialize" because of our God-given personalities and types of experiences. At the same time, we need to remember that if we find ourselves in the midst of an unusual spiritual experience, it might be one of our less-used senses that can best contribute to our discernment.

For example, for many people, sight is the biggie. What if, one day, one of these vision-oriented people begins to smell something. That's it, just a smell. Nothing else is happening. It's not a good smell; it's the acrid smell of ammonia. "Ah, a bad smell!" he thinks. "So therefore a bad spirit must be in the room." He scrutinizes the place, but his eyes tell him nothing. He does notice that he doesn't feel bad. On the contrary, he feels fine, merely curious, somewhat "prophetic."

Basically, discernment is perception. Sometimes it is as simple as an inner knowledge, a "gut feeling" that we cannot explain. That kind of spiritual perception is often so subtle that we can easily miss it or dismiss it as a mere hunch. But the more we yield our natural senses to the Lord, the more God can anoint them and make them more sensitive to discern. It's a progressive unfolding.


I Saw...

You see things with your two eyes wide open. You also can see things with your eyes closed, you know—visions are often seen this way. You also see things when you're sleeping—unless you are physically blind, almost 100% of your dreams will be memorable because of their visual content.

It's no wonder that, with so many ways of seeing, we so often rely on our sense of sight when we're discerning supernatural events. Our sight—both external and internal—is one of our most valuable senses. Sometimes it may be no more than a flash of light that brings a strong sense of a spiritual presence into the room. Other times, we may see an outline form or even a kind of fog of God's glory filling a room. We may observe a kind of shimmering presence or, of course, a fully defined vision, perceived in our mind's eye or with our wide-open physical eyes.

The prophet Ezekiel was overwhelmed with visual input. "In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the Heavens were opened and I saw visions of God" (Ezekiel 1:1, NIV). He goes on to describe in detail what he saw in Heaven: a fiery windstorm, four living creatures with four faces each and four wings and four hands, four wheels full of eyes, and much, much more (see Ezekiel 1-3).

Apparently, John the beloved disciple saw with his physical eyes what he received from the angel in his book of Revelation, although, interestingly, he first heard a voice like a trumpet, and...

...then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.—Revelation 1:12-14, NASB

In other words, John quite naturally looked with his eyes to see what had made the loud sound. And there was plenty to see, including a number of angels:

I saw another strong angel coming down out of Heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land.—Revelation 10:1-2, NASB

Seeing and hearing are often intertwined, aren't they? Let's look at some Scriptural examples of how people discern spirits through hearing.


I Heard...

Later in the New Testament, we read about how Cornelius, who "clearly saw in a vision an angel of God." Cornelius hadn't expected that. He was jolted even more when the angel spoke his name in a commanding voice, "Cornelius!"

And he said to him, "Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea."—Acts 10:3-6, NASB

Those were pretty specific directions. Cornelius didn't waste any time. He gathered his men and went to Joppa. No one had to teach him about discerning what he had heard. He knew he had received a message from God.

Even though hearing is one of the most common ways of receiving a heavenly message, it's not limited to hearing spoken words or sentences. People can hear the sound of wind, such as occurred on the day of Pentecost. That happened to Michal Ann and me that time when a supernatural wind came blowing through our closed bedroom window and woke us up to receive angelic visitors.

People hear bells, thunder, a telephone ringing, heavenly music. The variety of options is endless. I know a woman who was awakened from sleep by a small noise, only to overhear a short conversation between two angels, whose illuminated faces she could just make out as they stood next to her bed. "Is she really going to do it?" said one, referring to a very difficult undertaking that the woman was feeling led to initiate the next day. "Yes," said the other. That's all she saw or heard, but that snatch of conversation assured her that she could expect angelic help in the morning.

Keep looking, keep listening, and keep tuning in with all of your other senses to distinguish God's envoys from counterfeit messengers.


I Smelled...

As noted in an earlier example, spiritual discernment can sometimes come through our sense of smell. Many people have testified to sensing the presence of the Lord accompanied by the smell of roses.

At times, it is possible to identify the enemy's presence in the same way. A particular place just may not "smell right," even if we don't quite know why. Sometimes we can identify a rotten-egg odor or other noxious smell. If there is no logical, natural explanation for the unpleasant odor, it may be an indicator that an unclean spirit is present.

I have found that I am able to discern a certain form of addiction in a person's life by using my sense of smell. I can smell a type of smoke that I associate with the addiction, and then I know how to proceed in ministering to the person involved.

The sense of smell is not prominently portrayed in the Bible accounts of discernment, in spite of the fact that we ourselves, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, are described as carrying His "sweet savour" to the world around us:

But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph (as trophies of Christ's victory) and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere, for we are the sweet fragrance of Christ unto God, among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.—2 Corinthians 2:14-15, AMP


I Tasted...

What about discerning a spiritual presence through the sense of taste? Have you ever heard someone say, "That just leaves a bad taste in my mouth?"

The prophet Ezekiel (whose extensive experiences could be used to illustrate all five senses in overdrive) was treated to a spiritual tasting incident. Remember the scroll he was told to eat?

"But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you." Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which He unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe. And He said to me, "Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and He gave me the scroll to eat. Then He said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.—Ezekiel 2:8–3:3

Another supernatural scroll was consumed by John, who recorded what it tasted like:

So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour , but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey." I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.—Revelation 10:9-10, NIV


I Felt...

It's certainly true that we can feel or "sense" spirits, but here I want to refer strictly to physical touch, the kind of feeling that happens through the nerves in your skin. This is the area of sensitivity that is the strongest in my own life. And, yes, angels do touch people to get their attention, to communicate with them, and sometimes to hurt them, if they're bringing God's judgment. Here are a few Scriptural examples, with the "touch words" in italics:

Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep.—Zechariah 4:1, NASB

Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.—Acts 12:7, NIV

Your sense of touch comes into play when your skin or scalp tingles, and also when you feel pain that is meant to communicate a message to you. At times I receive physical pains in my heart that indicate to me that some kind of heart-wound has occurred in another person's life. These pains alert me to be ready to minister freedom and healing to the other person.

So we see that we can discern spirits (angelic, human, and demonic) by various means, if we are anointed with the Spirit of God. At different times, people see, hear, smell, taste, or feel the touch of another spirit. Our Holy-Spirit-filled spirits are our ultimate sensors, and we can continue to grow and mature in this realm for as long as we live here on earth.


Closing Prayer of Consecration

Holy Spirit, we present to You our eyes (our natural eyes and the eyes of our hearts) and we ask You to anoint them to perceive, to distinguish, to differentiate. We present all of our senses to You and we ask You to keep us on track. Anoint our senses to perceive heavenly realities. Help us to steer clear of counterfeit spiritual experiences. May complete access be given to the Word of the Lord in our lives. We are covered with Jesus' Blood, Amen.

Blessings to Each of You!

James W. Goll
Encounters Network • PrayerStorm • Compassion Acts
Website: www.encountersnetwork.com

Get on Fire! Supernatural Fire is Falling!

Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda
Mahesh Chavda Ministries
Email: info@maheshchavda.com
Website: www.maheshchavda.com

John answered them all, saying, "I baptize you with water, but He who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."—Luke 3:16

As we've enter into 2010, the Lord is emphasizing the fire of His Spirit upon us. We often focus on the Holy Spirit as the Oil of anointing, the refreshing River we drink to quench our spiritual thirst, but we are sensing the Lord wants us to come into a greater revelation of His fire.

Acts 2:2-3 describes the fire that fell at Pentecost, "And suddenly there came from Heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them." Those 120 that were baptized in fire became blazing torches for the Gospel, turning the world upside down. Wherever they went the fire of Pentecost spread, and they were in revival.

God uses the natural to give us a connection point to the supernatural. Just as water is essential for life, the Living water of the Holy Spirit is essential for our spiritual well-being. Fire in the natural, brings light, warmth and power. Where there is the fire of the Holy Spirit, there is empowering, understanding, illumination and revelation. When God gave Moses that amazing, redeeming commission to deliver a nation from bondage, He came through fire: "And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed" (Exodus 3:2). God's fire is a supernatural fire—it purifies, heals, blesses, redeems, empowers, restores and creates.

Everyone who has experienced personal salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit has been ignited with the Fire of the Spirit. The Lord wants us to steward His fire so He can give us more. Abraham was a man who knew God. He walked in revelation and was a man on fire. But he teaches us something important. When God said, "Come worship Me on Mount Moriah," Abraham arose early and prepared to worship. He took the knife, the wood and his son. But he also took the fire with him. The whole action is called worship: "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you" (Genesis 22:5). Abraham went to Moriah to offer his son, knowing that God who had promised the Son was faithful to provide. But he carried the fire for the sacrifice with him. The Lord revealed Himself to Abraham as Jehovah Jireh. And the Lord will reveal Himself as our Provider again. But we need to bring the fire. Part of our worship is to kindle and fan the flame in our hearts. Catch the fire, and become carriers of His glory.

"I set myself on fire and people come to watch me burn."—John Wesley


How Do We Stay Ablaze?

I (Mahesh) remember the Charismatic outpouring of the '60s and '70s. A fire came in California that set ablaze hundreds of thousands of people. It didn't just rest on one group or one denomination. It consumed and burned everywhere it went—Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians and Hippies were awakened to the Holy Spirit and filled with the fire and power of Pentecost. It was an amazing time. We were touched and transformed by the fire of God.

I had a friend who ministered with me during those years. He was a worship leader and was passionate about God. His heart burned to see the lost come into the Kingdom. I had not seen him for over thirty years, but on my recent trip to Dallas he was there. He is now 71 years old and is as passionate and on fire as he was back then! No one has put that fire out; it has only increased in his life.

We all need to be like this man. God sets us on fire, but we need to stay ablaze! How do we do this? There are three elements that are essential for fire:

1. Fuel
2. Kindling
3. Oxygen

If any one of these are missing, you don't have fire. What was the fuel of Pentecost? People—the substance that could burn. What was the kindling? It was a company of people in one place hungry for God, harmonizing with each other and Heaven in corporate prayer. What is the oxygen? The sound of the mighty rushing wind! The breath of God. We stay ablaze as we make room for the breath of God in our lives, living in daily communion with the Holy Spirit. When there is not enough oxygen, the fire dies down, but when you fan the flames, it blazes. We fan the flames by gathering with other Believers. Staying plugged into our local church, fellowship, prayer, communing with the Lord in our prayer language and immersing ourselves daily in His Word.

When we are on fire:

• Oppression and depression have to flee.
• We are consumed with love for Jesus that grows greater and greater and will never cease.
• We desire to be transformed and conformed into His image.
• We have evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
• It is easy to cooperate with the Lord in prayer, fasting and worship.
• We want more!
• We ignite others!

Revelation 3:15-16 says, "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth." God is clear—He is looking for burning men and women. If you are spiritually asleep or lukewarm, let the fire come. Are you hot? Fan the flames more. The more you welcome His fire, the more it drives you to burn brighter and hotter with prayer, thanksgiving and praise. Let us position ourselves in 2010—"Here we are. Set us on fire!" Let the breath of His Spirit blow on us so that we burn brightly.

...Our God is a consuming fire.—Hebrews 12:29

In the realm of the Spirit we see God putting a match to light a revival fire that is going to bring in a harvest of souls. We are not going to see isolated campfires, but a raging wildfire sweep across this nation and the nations. At Pentecost it did not matter their background, their education, their circumstances—it was the fire that made the difference, igniting and empowering a company of Believers to turn the world upside down. We see this pattern repeated again and again, more recently in the Welsh and Azusa revivals.

When God's fire comes, barriers come down, bigotry and racism are burned out, and liberty, joy, holiness and the revelation of Jesus Christ flourish. God pours out His Spirit on everyone who is hungry and thirsty for more. God is telling His Church—Get on fire!

Let us become living torches of revival in this hour!

The Power of Being a Friend Will be Unleashed in 2010

By Bill Yount
Blowing the Shofar Ministries
http://www.billyount.com/

Do you know why internet communication is taking the world by storm? It is bringing friends together—old friends, new friends, future friends. I have met one friend on there I hadn't seen or heard from in twenty years! Some people with whom I thought our relationship had come to an end are now adding me as a friend on their venue. I realize "adding me as their friend" may be through some mistake or through another person's suggestion, but nevertheless I see the hand of God bringing people together.

We were born for relationships, and as the earth is being shaken and men's hearts are failing, I hear the world crying out for "a friend in 2010!" I believe the key that unlocked the hearts of people when Jesus came to earth was Matthew 11:19: "Jesus was a friend of publicans and sinners"—and He still is! I believe just being a friend to someone begins to open the Heavens over that person's life for God to reveal Himself through.

Your Enemy Today Could Very Well Become Your Best Friend in 2010

The first sign of a strained relationship is often a lack of communication through words. We often hear offended people say, "We had words between us." And it's words that can bring a broken relationship back together again. I am reminded of an old song by the Bee Gees: "It's only words, and words are all I have to take your heart away!" In spite of strained relationships, ongoing communication with words will often breakdown walls of division and strife.

God often puts something we need in the person we don't like. Don't count anyone out in your relationships, even the hurtful ones. Your enemy today could very well become your best friend in 2010! In the words of Abraham Lincoln, "The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend."Proverbs 16:7 says, "When a man's way please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."

On the Internet you get to think before you say something, and that probably gives all of us a friendly edge in communicating. I am sure many family and friends of soldiers at war treasure the words of their loved ones through writing although they don't get to see them. I then realized how we don't literally see God face to face either, but it's His written Word to us in the Bible that draws and reveals His face to us in intimacy.

How important are His words? Psalm 138:2 says "You have magnified Yourword above all Your name." It's through the words of Jesus that we truly get to know Him and what He is like. It's the same with people. If we saw the person's face but they were wordless, we could never get to know who they really are. You can tell who a person is through their words.

Even what seems to be frivolous internet communication, like someone telling us what they are doing right now or thinking about, is building bridges in everyday life. We get to know people in their everyday lives and begin to discover we all are so much alike and have the same needs to be loved and feel needed. I know a few people who, in person, don't say much and they are hard to get to know, but through the Internet their words light up the screen expressing their heart, and I have gotten to know what makes them tick. One person whom I know, who in person is so quiet, has just released a book that she has written. This person is full of creative words of life that reveal her significance.

2010 is the Year You and Your Best Friend Were Born For!

Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."

I would like to share about a true earthly friend that seems to surface once in a life time surpassing all internet and earthly communications. That once in a life time friend who knows all about you and yet loves you no matter what. They discover the worst about you and yet nothing surprises them for you have gotten to know their shortcomings too. That friendship is Heaven sent and reminds us of God-given friendships throughout the Bible, such as Jonathon and David and Ruth and Naomi. They were born for each other's adversity as well as their destiny.

1 Samuel 18:1, "...Jonathan loved David as he loved his own soul." And Ruth said to Naomi in Ruth 1:16-17, "Where you go I will go and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and thy God my God. Where you die, I will die and there will I be buried."

By now, through all of your relationships on earth, a best friend has surely surfaced. If not, I believe a best friend is coming forth to be with you in this coming year to help you through to your victory against impossible odds. And you were born to help your best friend through whatever they may face. 2010 will be a defining year for friendships that will prove "two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him that is alone when he falls; for he doesn't have another to help him up" (Ecclesiastes 4:9,10). Perhaps in many of our ministries and lives our greatest need is not for finances but friends. Friends just naturally want to help each other no matter what the need may be.

Even Jesus, on earth, seemed to have a best friend who seemed closer to Him than any of the other disciples. It was John, the "Beloved." He leaned on Jesus' breast at the last supper and showed up at the crucifixion when the rest had forsaken Him. Jesus' love for John had cast out all fear in Him, even the fear of death. Jesus even trusted John with the care of His mother as He was dying.

John had such a relationship with Jesus that he wrote a whole book about Jesus called Revelation. This book is a revelation of Jesus and how we overcome in the midst of a chaotic world. "And they overcame him (the devil) by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death" (Revelation 12:11). It's interesting that John was not afraid of death, and yet he ended up living the longest of all of the disciples. John had the heavenly attitude of "Whatever happens, we win!"

Proverbs 18:24 "A man that has (or who wants) friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

Father, in Jesus' name we thank You that You no longer call us servants but Your friends if we love You and love others (John 15:14, 15). Even when we were lost, You were our best friend who came and found us. Help us to show ourselves friendly to this hostile world. Help us to be God with skin on for those who don't know You. Help us to allow You to love through us that many will find You as their best friend forever in 2010!

"What a friend we have in Jesus!"

God's Global Warming

By Barbara Wentroble

"For many today would speak of a global warming. I would say that I have a global warming for I am igniting a flame within the hearts of My people throughout the earth. This is an hour that it has been like fire shut up within your bones. But I am coming with a release this hour. No longer will the fire be shut up within your bones, but I am getting ready to release My holy fire in the earth. Watch Me as I bring a global warming in the hearts of My people; as I melt the very coldest of hearts in this season.

"Even a new evangelistic anointing will be upon you. I am going to cause the fire that has been withheld for so long to break forth. Now enter in to a new time when I shall break forth on every side. Watch Me begin to war. Watch Me begin to loose My fire in the most unlikely places. Even in those places where there has been an attempt to silence My voice, I say I'm getting ready to break out. No man, no government will be able to stop My voice in this hour. So know that the warming that I am bringing will be a holy fire and it shall be ignited throughout the earth through My people in this new season."

Tsunami

By Doug Grills
Glory Mountain Pastor
www.glorymountain.com

About five years ago, I had stepped out of our home one evening to spend some time with the Lord. The bigger spiritual context prior to that moment was that I had had about five years of emotional healing in which God spoke to me regularly and radically loved me through His kind words and spiritual love experiences that rocked my world toward wholeness. The Radical love of God was massaged into my battered and bruised past like a healing balm that forever settled any doubts of His enormous love.

The Lord had determined that since I had been healed so much by His Love, that it was time to balance the love of the Lord with the amazing fear of the Lord. This Tsunami experience was so profound in its affects that I subsequently spent several months trying to understand and integrate the fear of the Lord in my life. It propelled me into the scripture and every book I could get my hands on that dealt with the fear of the Lord.

Here’s what happened that life altering evening. Without warning, as I stood on the little patio in the back yard that night I went into a trance or something totally unfamiliar to me. It is very difficult to describe what happened because it was totally new to me and so much in the spirit that words go begging to explain it. All I know is that time ceased. I don’t really know if my spirit man left my body or what state I was in. Nothing like it has happened since. Any awareness of my natural surroundings was absent…like nothing physical existed. I was totally unaware of myself spiritually, mentally or physically. I don’t know if I was still where I was when this started.

All of a sudden I was overwhelmingly aware of The Almighty Presence of God. It was like being engulfed in the Spirit of the fear of the Lord (Isa. 11:2). His presence was so real, so touchable, so thick, and so astoundingly present. This will sound contradictory, but I was saturated with the peaceful, holy, dread of the power of God. It gave me an understanding of John the apostle saying he “was like a dead man”. I was so overwhelmed with the dread and fear of God’s power I knew He could exhale me into oblivion with one slight breath. I was faced with a reality over which I had absolutely no control. I was completely oblivious to everything except for the stunning dread of His power. Simultaneously there was not one ounce of negative fear or concern that I was in danger.

Regretfully, the experience ended, and I slowly reentered the natural world, the night darkness, the cool of the evening. Although my ability to recall things if seriously impaired, that experience is as fresh as yesterday. Actually it was so hyper-real, so impacting, that nothing I have ever experience in life was more real than it was.

It took sometime to reenter the physical world. In hindsight I can express what had happened to my, but at the time I was so stunned that I reentered disoriented. I was shaken to the core and I remember asking the Lord, “Help me understand what happened. Give me a metaphor, a picture, something, anything to help me get my mind around what happened.”

The answer to my request came in the form of a tsunami vision. This was not only for my edification, but it was also a prophetic picture.

So, here’s the vision. I’m standing at the edge of the water on a lovely sunny beach with my eye closed, just enjoying the sun listening to the waves. I opened my eyes to see I was standing in front of a one hundred foot high wall of ocean with my nose touching it. The wall went as far as the eye could see. It was a massive wall of blue green ocean ready to crash on me and drive me into the sand beyond recovery. I knew the pure tonnage of all that water was my preview of death.

Simultaneous I knew the ocean was a massive benevolent force for food and the source of our rain supply vital to our farms.

My greatest fear was realized. I began to see the top of the wall begin to tilt toward me, and sure enough the 100 foot wall came crashing down on me. In that moment, dread and fear engulfed me. Can you believe it, after the wall fell I was left standing and it felt as though my hair had just been gently rinsed.

God, I believe, is saying that the coming tsunami will have elements a la Ananias and Saphira. Phenomena provoking awe and wonder will abound. Simultaneously we will see the tonnage of dramatic healings crashing down on us for us to initiate and enjoy. The latter reign has a benevolent tsunami tucked away in it. Awe, dread, and jubilee joy will be our heartfelt experience.

Doug Grills

2010 - The Year of Explosive Glory and Supernatural Manifestations

By Mark Griffo
GloryMountain
www.glorymountain.com

2010 - The Year of Explosive Glory and Supernatural Manifestations - Listen Now (MP3)

Two Prophetic Words for 2010

By Mark Griffo
GloryMountain
www.glorymountain.com

Prophetic Word 1 - Listen Now (MP3)

Prophetic Word 2 - Listen Now (MP3)