Entering the Kingdom You’ve Seen (Part IV)

FINALLY – Whatever has possessed you apart from Christ (e.g. wealth, self) will not let you enter the Kingdom.

“Jesus looked around at His disciples, and said, ‘How hard it is for those with riches to enter the Kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were astonished at this saying. But Jesus repeated, ‘Children, how difficult it is for those trusting in wealth to enter the Kingdom of God! I tell you the truth, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.’” (Mark 10:23-25).

It seems this rich young ruler came to Jesus as a model “seeker,” having obeyed all the commandments from his childhood. If ever there was someone ready to walk the aisle, sign a decision card, or pray the Sinner’s Prayer it was this man. He actually ran up to Jesus! Surely this man is a future deacon, elder, apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher! At the very least he can use his wealth as deacon to help support “Jesus Christ World Outreach Ministries, Inc.” No present day Church leader (with very few exceptions) will let this rich fish get away anyhow, he will quickly ordain him as an elder or minister of something. But instead of doing this, Jesus pinpoints the very thing that is going to keep him from entering the Kingdom, and throws it up in front of Him as an obstacle to entering.

As soon as the rich young ruler knows the cost, he turns away, grieving, and we never see or hear from him again. It is interesting that Jesus, even though He loved him, just watched him go. Does this sound like an easy Jesus? Does this sound like a soulwinner? What kind of “fisher of men” is this? What a contrast to the way we solicit converts every Sunday, eventually and under pressure. But have they really counted the cost, or did we just make it sound too cheap? A cheap Gospel results in cheap disciples with no deep roots.
So many are bound by riches, pursuing wealth or blessings, hoping to make it big one day. The pursuit of wealth is as dangerous as the accumulation of wealth, in the Kingdom of God, Christ alone has the preeminence, and you cannot serve two masters. Why are riches such a stumbling block? It all relates to self. For the rich man, self is mostly represented in his riches. For the wise man, self is mostly represented in his wisdom. For the good man, self is mostly represented in his goodness. For the strong man, self is mostly represented in his strength. YOU are your biggest obstacle to entering in. Why? Because there is no room in the Kingdom of God for Christ and Self. To leave the Kingdom of Self and enter the Kingdom of God is indeed a “Narrow Path” that few ever find.

WHO THEN CAN BE SAVED?

“His disciples were astonished beyond measure, saying among themselves, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With men, it is impossible! But not with God; for with God all things are possible.’” (Mark 10:26,27).

If you have endured everything written up to this point, perhaps you are angry, confused, burdened, or amazed- just like the first disciples of Jesus- at how entering the Kingdom is not as easy as you had at first thought. The Scriptures tell us that the Lord Jesus is “full of grace and truth.” With Truth comes Grace, and we will now conclude with how God accomplishes this impossible work by Grace, the will of God is for us to come to the knowledge of truth by His grace.
Jesus said, “It is impossible with man.” That eliminates self-effort altogether.
Some will say, “Oh yes, I can do all these things.” Very well. My advice to those who think they can do it is: keep trying! Perhaps one day you will come to the end of yourself. But the rest of us already know better. The disciples, absolutely dumbfounded by this time, were beginning to question this among themselves: “Who in the world can be saved?” And Jesus frankly said, “It is impossible with man.” This is not being born-again here, but being established in the Kingdom of God. Jesus says you cannot do it, I cannot do it, no human being can do this.

Where does God’s grace begin? It begins with man’s impossibility. It begins with “I cannot.” It does NOT begin with “All these things have I done from my youth until now.” As long as it is possible with man, there is no need for grace. We may be able to fulfill six out of seven things, or ninety-nine out of one hundred things, but when we meet Jesus on the grounds of self-effort there is always “one thing thou lacks.” And this “one thing” is going to stop us dead in our tracks every single time, no matter how perfect we otherwise are. The Lord is waiting for us to know and to confess, “I cannot.”

Jesus tells us, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” The Narrow Gate is Christ, and the Narrow Path is Christ. This explains why the Gate and the Path are so narrow. There is no room for you at all. There is no room for self-effort. There is only room for Christ. To enter the Kingdom is to lay down my life and live the Life of Another. Since I cannot do it, I have to depend upon the Life of Another to do what I cannot do. I cannot enter again into my mother’s womb and be born again, because I am too old; I cannot be faithful to do God’s will at all times, because I am rebellious; I cannot humble myself and be like a child, because I am too proud; I cannot have a righteousness that is outwardly perfect and inwardly pure, because I am a hypocrite; I cannot endure tribulation with joy, because I love myself too much; I cannot find my way out of Egypt and into Canaan, because I am disobedient; I cannot just give away everything I have worked for all my life, because I am selfish. I cannot, and you cannot, and no one can. This Gate and this Path is too narrow, too demanding. It is impossible.

Only one Man has perfectly fulfilled all these requirements – the Lord Jesus Christ – and this Man lives in me now. I thank God that what is impossible with me is easily achievable with Him!

“As you have received the Lord Jesus Christ [Gate], so walk in Him [Path] (Colossians 2:6).”

We come to the Lord admitting that we cannot save ourselves, and He does the saving. That is the Gate. Now we come to the Lord every day, admitting that we cannot enter the Kingdom, and He does what it takes to conform us into His image. That is the Path. Hence, I have no secret for the Christian Life, but Christ. I have no key, but Christ. I have no method, but Christ. I have no formula, but Christ. I have no technique, but Christ. I have no life, but Christ: for it is no longer I that lives, it is Christ that lives in me (Galatians 2:20a). In Him, through Him, because of Him, by Him we may enter the Kingdom. Remember Moses saw the Kingdom but Joshua, Caleb, the bones of Joseph and their generation entered the Kingdom (promised land) that Moses saw. You and I are that FIRE GENERATION that are and will FULLY enter the Kingdom of God by the Force of the Holy Spirit.

“For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.” (Prov. 2:21-22.)

Entering the Kingdom You’ve Seen (Part III)

FOURTHLY – Unless you are righteous inwardly and outwardly, exceeding righteousness, you cannot enter.

“I tell you the truth, unless your righteousness is greater than the Pharisees and teachers of religious law, under no circumstances will you enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20).”

The Pharisees were the strictest sect of Jews. These people were zealously religious, even to the point of giving God a tenth of all their herbs. It was the Pharisee who stood and prayed with himself, “I thank you God that I am not like the others… for I fast twice in the week and give a tenth of all my possessions.” It was the Pharisees who had Jesus arrested and turned Him over to Pilate to be crucified – all the while thinking they were doing the right thing. Before meeting the Lord Jesus, the Pharisaic Saul, led a fanatical persecution against Christians thinking he was doing his duty to God. He had said he was “blameless” insofar as the Law was concerned.

It is amazing to see how many people, even today, try to please God in their own strength with outward works. They wear themselves out with church attendance, ministry, and giving. Unconsciously or not, they believe God will bless them because of their works. While what they are doing outwardly is good, there is an exceeding righteousness that is demanded from them. That is why only few are able to follow this Way. How can you have a righteousness that exceeds a Pharisee without turning into a Pharisee? What a dilemma!

FIFTHLY – Apart from much tribulation, you cannot enter.

“[Paul and Barnabas] strengthened the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “We must enter the Kingdom of God through much tribulation.” (Acts 14:22).

This does not sound like something which would strengthen and encourage folks. Our idea of overcoming is to avoid tribulation, not pass through it. We certainly do not connect entering the Kingdom with going through much tribulation. We think having the victory means eliminating all tribulation. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In order to enter the Kingdom there must be an increase of Christ and a decrease of self. There are some who want the full-knowledge of Christ and want to advance along the narrow path. But they resist the dealings of God, which are meant to push them farther along and deeper into Christ. They find fault with their circumstances, murmur, complain, and resist every contrary thing. After ten, twenty, or thirty years of being dealt with, they are still as stubborn and headstrong as ever, filling up most of the Church’s pews. Paul calls the trials or tribulations of his life “light afflictions.”

SIXTHLY – Unbelief and disobedience is enough to disqualify you.

“So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief… some will enter that rest, but they to whom it was first preached did not enter in because of their disobedience.” (Hebrews 3:19; 4:6).

Most of the Hebrews died in the wilderness between Egypt, (representing the bondage of sin) and the Promised Land (representing the Kingdom of God). In First Corinthians 10:1-11, Paul says that they were ALL delivered, they ALL passed through the sea, they ALL ate the manna and ate the meat and drank the water from the Rock, Who is Christ. In spite of this, they were not pleasing to God and they were destroyed in the wilderness. Twice we are told these things happened as an example to us. They were destroyed because of disobedience. They never lived out of all God had for them. They missed His fullness. Upon hearing this message are you really concerned about your relationship with God? Do you want to “just” go to heaven when you die, or you want the preeminence of Christ to be expressed in “Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done, on earth [in my life and circumstances right now] JUST AS IT IS in heaven?”

Entering the Kingdom You’ve Seen (Part II)

The kingdom of God (the one who runs the kingdom) or heaven (the position where the Kingdom operates) is where Christ has the preeminence as All in All. What we have done is that we have invited sinners to Christ on the basis of their own self-serving needs, or just as entertainment and feel good messages. As a result, most of these people have been sitting like the man that sat at the gate called beautiful: claiming salvation yet never entering the Kingdom, never coming to the full-knowledge of Truth, and never demonstrate the preeminence of Christ over death, sin, self, satan, shame, sickness, disease, poverty, barrenness, hatred, prolonged singleness, weakness, joblessness, oppression, disease, and fear. Oh what a pity!
SECONDLY, The proper confesssion is not enough.
We began by saying that not only is the Way more narrow than we have been taught, but the Kingdom is more profound than we have been taught. The Kingdom of God is “at hand”, “has arrived”, “is among you”, “is within you.” “Thy Kingdom come… on earth as it is in heaven.” Not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord” will enter into this Kingdom. Are we saying confession is unimportant or unnecessary? God forbid! “As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will confess to God (Romans 14:11).” Yet, even if “every tongue will confess,” sooner or later it still remains that not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the Kingdom. It is most difficult to find a religious person who does not claim to be following Christ and does not say, “Lord, Lord.” Even so, they will not enter in based solely on saying, “Lord, Lord.”

The text goes on to say that there are even those who can perform signs and wonders in the Name of Jesus, but the Lord does not even know who they are! Obviously this is a serious problem. Jesus said only few will be saved: many will try to enter but will be unable; few will enter the gate and walk the path in order to find Life. Many are called, but few are chosen.

THIRDLY, Unless you become a child, you cannot enter.

“The disciples came to Jesus and wanted to know, ‘Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?’ So Jesus called a little child and had him stand in the midst of them. And then He said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like this little child, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. So the greatest one in the Kingdom of Heaven is the one who humbles himself like this child.’” (Matthew 18:1-4).

The disciples wanted to know who would be the greatest in the Kingdom. What they were really asking was, “Which one of us is the greatest?” In their question we see that they are heading in the wrong direction already. They see themselves as leaders, as kings, as lords, as heads inside this Kingdom. But Jesus seems to say, “Why do you assume that you have even entered the Kingdom? Unless you change from what you are into what this child is, you cannot even enter, so how can you claim to be the greatest?” Pride is a great stumblingblock. Proud people cannot enter the Kingdom of God. They cannot give up their own preeminence for His.

Jesus had to call a child to make His point. Why? He could have just said, “Humble yourself as a child.” But He did not. There is significance to calling the child over and having him stand in the midst of them. Only after this was done did Jesus say, “Become like this child, or you cannot enter the Kingdom.” So what is the significance? Jesus called the child, and the child responded to Jesus. There is no questioning from the child, such as, “What do You want?” or “Who are you?” Jesus had him stand in the midst of them, and again, the child complies. We do not hear him say, “Why?” or “What are you going to do now?” or “I don’t have time to stand here, I want to go and play.” Instead the child did what he was told; silent, meek, surrendered, obedient. Jesus meant, “the greatest people in the Kingdom are the ones who do what I tell them to do, without doubting.” It is only when we get older that we begin to question everything. We are waiting for Jesus to give us grand instructions and commandments: “Go around the world and proclaim the Gospel full-time” or “Rise up and fulfill the ministry of an apostle” or “I have appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.” But if we cannot hear and obey in the small things, how can we expect Him to lead us into greater things?

Strive to Enter God’s Kingdom Through the Narrow Door (Part I)

“And someone asked Him, Lord, will only a few be saved (rescued, delivered from the penalties of the last judgment, and made partakers of the salvation by Christ)? And He said to them, Strive to enter by the narrow door [force yourselves through it], for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able” Luke 13:23-24 AMP

To conclude that it is easy to enter into the Kingdom of God or to even remain there is a fallacy. I am not debating the fact that many people can see the Kingdom by being genuinely born again. I am talking about entering into the kingdom by being born of water and spirit. Jesus frankly said few are those that are in the strait gate and narrow way that leads to Life. Many for a reason best known to them are trying the impossible. They want to reconstruct the strait gate and the narrow way into the wide gate and wide path. We are skilled at manipulating the emotions of other people to no avail. But it’s time we closely examine what the Lord Himself said about this issue according to him, the way to the Kingdom is anything but easy.

FIRST, Unless you are born-again, you cannot see.

“I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God… unless a man is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3,5).

Being born-again is not the goal, but the first step towards the goal: the goal is the Kingdom of God. We could state it like this: the narrow gate is not the goal, but it is the first thing we must pass through in order to enter the narrow path. Our goal, and God’s goal, is not the gate or we would not need a path. Though we begin our journey by entering the gate, the goal is at the end of the path, not at the beginning of the path.

So what is the goal?

“Who will have all men to be saved (narrow gate), and to come unto the knowledge of the truth (narrow path).” 1 Tim 2:4.

Here we see one will of God with two expressions – a gate and a path. We enter the gate in a moment, but we walk the path over time. We are saved in a moment, but we come to the full-knowledge (epignosis) of Christ over time. Birth is the beginning of Life, not the goal of Life. The goal in view here is not being born-again, but entering the Kingdom.

If Jesus has truly translated you into His Kingdom, then the end has come to sin, unrighteousness, iniquity, fear, death, shame, disgrace, calamity, shakings, poverty, joblessness, cancer, oppression, depression, impossibilities, sickness and disease, diabetes, fibroid, attacks, barrenness, prolonged singleness, addiction and all sorts of things that are outside His Kingdom. This is your portion today.

“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” Col 1: 13.

“By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Heb 11:5.

We Are Not of Those Who Draw Back Unto Perdition

Signs, wonders, and miracles can manifest through a carnal person, and also a demonically influenced person (false signs, and wonders – Ex.7:11,22; 8:7; Matt.7:22; 24:24; 2 Thess.2:9; Rev.13:11-13; 16:14.)  If we look at signs, wonders, and miracles as the “approving” of God over someone’s life we will be greatly deceived. God is after the fruit of the spirit in His people as well as the gifts. It MUST be both the fruit of the spirit and the gifts working together. The Lord is after a people whom He can trust with His gifts. He is testing the hearts of His people (Ex.20:20; Ps.11:4; 1 Cor.13:13). What will we do, and what are we doing with His Temple and the gifts within (Acts 8:9-25)?

In the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matt.13:36-43) we see in verse 41 where the Lord sends His angels to gather out of His Kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness. Since the Kingdom is within “living stones,” we can certainly understand that the wheat and tares are within us. Never before has there been so many who are dealing with sin and old sin issues as well as sin they never knew they had. Some are aware of their issues and dealing with them, while others have made excuses and continue to harden their hearts and hide the sin (Heb.3:8-14). We cannot do this, and we must know it will soon be shouted from the roof-tops if we are practicing lawlessness. Insecurity, temptation in self-promotions, anger, jealousy, competition, lying, twisting the truth, boasting, lust, vain imaginations, and addictions are just a few things the Corporate Body of Christ has and is dealing with.

The Refiners Fire and pressure to change has been turned up, and some have turned back to a false comfort while others have turned full force into the world. Like Lot’s wife who looked back and turned into a pillar of salt from disobedience (Gen.19:26), so are those who look back, allowing their natural vision to dominate and result in hardened hearts toward the Truth.

2010 was the beginning in the workings of Divine order. Great things are happening to those who prepare themselves and come into the Divine order of the Living God. Every prophetic word should have a great big “IF” at the front of the word given. There are conditions to the promises of God.

We are seeing great apostasy in the lack of true, God-called, governmental leaders (Eph.4:11).  The Lord has a remnant of governmental leaders whom He has called and placed. He is also strengthening His leader’s, who for years have been caught up in false order, but their heart’s desire is for all of Him and they are turning towards the Divine. The Spirit of the Lord has raised up a standard and we are about to see the spiritual stature of His standard come forth with powerful consequence.

The Lord desires full possession of his temple, His people. When He has full possession of those who have prepared themselves (the five virgins who did – Matt.25:1-13), they will be His Tabernacle of witnesses to the world. He is returning to be glorified in His saints (a holy people who abide in the Holy of holies) – 2 Thess.1:10.  Within His saints first, He shall establish His glory and be revealed in “power.” These are a people who are in the present truth, and they shall rule the earth in God’s power (Rev.2:26).  He is returning as the King of a kingly anointed people, and Lord of a people who manifest their lordship and office in the holiness of the Holy God Himself.

You Are God’s Tabernacle of Witness to His Glory

In this year 2010, It is still a deep passionate desire of our Father to have a people who want to “know Him.” Not just know about Him, but “know Him” (to apprehend, comprehend, experience, be familiar with, intimate, understand, have wisdom).
Our Father is zealous for His people to be an example, a witness, to the rest of the world of Who and What He is; this is called “the Tabernacle of witness” (Num. 17:7; Acts 7:44).

When Jesus went through the temple with a whip driving out sacrilege, the Jews asked Him for a sign, a verification of His divine mission. Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will build it up.” (John 2:19) The Lord at that very moment in time was standing within the Jewish temple. You can imagine their blind judgment at His statement. It had taken them 46 years to build the temple and this carpenter’s son was going to build it back up in three days! Jesus made no explanation, nor did He attempt to justify Himself, for no man at that time would understand that He was speaking of the Temple of His Body and the death, burial, and resurrection of His body (the Temple) raised up on the third day after His crucifixion.

On Resurrection Day the Lord came “into” the New Temple = New Birth (John 20:22). On the day of Pentecost the Lord moved upon His Temple to confirm & bear witness to the new Temple (Acts 1:8). This new Temple not made with hands was and continues to be made up of individual believers (living stones – 1 Pet.2:5) who trust and believe the Word of God, Jesus Himself (John 1:1-5). You and I who have received Christ are God’s temple. He abides within us.

Since we are the temple we must understand that He will cleanse His Temple.  There have been a few “Godly balanced” prophetic words given, especially over the last 10 years exhorting God’s people to examine themselves and prepare themselves for the coming days. When we apprehend the not so delightful side of God- allowing Him to put His prophetic finger on those areas that are holding us back from His best- our soul is set free from the entanglement of our flesh.

Before we see a lasting revival we will see a powerful cleansing of God’s Kingdom. The Kingdom is within the Temple, and we should be releasing the kingdom from within the temple. Here’s the thing, every one who has confessed Christ as their Lord and Savior has the Kingdom within them, but not every Christian is within the Kingdom (Luke 11:17); this means they will not experience the Kingdom of heaven.

 

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness”. (Matt.7:21-23).

The Golden Altar of Incense

There is much talk in the Church these days about going to the next level or the next dimension in God in order to impact the earth. If we are going to the next dimension or next level in God, then let’s ask the question, What IS IT and how do we get there?

What Is It?
Some have called it the Third Day, Beyond the Veil, the Kingdom Age, the Holy of Holies, Mature Sonship, the Deeper Life, the Christ-Life, the Parousia, the Feast of Tabernacles, the Melchizedek Priesthood, etc. All of these terms point to the same basic spiritual principle.

How Do We Get There?
On the Day of Atonement, the Golden Altar of Incense was moved from the Holy Place to the Holy of Holies. It transitioned from one “dimension” to the next. It is also significant that the Day of Atonement happened right before moving into the Feast of Tabernacles. I believe that if we are truly going to impact the earth by moving into this next “dimension” in God, foreshadowed by the Feast of Tabernacles and the Holy of Holies, there is one thing that will serve as the catalyst to transition us there- PRAYER! Prayer IS the Golden Altar of Incense!

“Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, (WHY) THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL.” Jh 16: 24 “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

Just as with the natural incense in the Tabernacle, the “incense” of our prayer must be lit with a fire that originates with the Father. The prayer that will transition us into the next dimension of God’s glory, the prayer that brings immediate answers that will make our cup of joy to be full must be the “prayer” that is burning in the heart of God! It is time to declare the “prayer” that is burning in Father’s heart!

The Secret Place of Thunder

“And it came to pass, that, as He was praying in a CERTAIN PLACE, when He ceased, one of his disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11:1).

First off, we see that Jesus was praying in a CERTAIN place. Isn’t it funny how sometimes a seemingly unimportant word in the Scripture just jumps out at you? He was NOT praying in an UNCERTAIN place, He was praying in a CERTAIN place. How many times have you felt like you were praying in an UNCERTAIN place, like your prayer was just a last-ditch effort filled with weakness and uncertainty?

As we “wait upon” the Lord in fasting and prayer, we are bound and woven together with His divine DNA (partakers of His divine nature). His DNA is the blueprint, the code needed to construct the components of His purpose being accomplished in the earth and in our very lives. His DNA spells out the Words we “read” by the Spirit, as we decode the instruction. Contained within those Words are the very substance and power to bring those Words to pass! Being woven together with His divine DNA is the place of certainty in this hour of prayer!

Of course we know that DNA appears as a double helix twisting together. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints, or a recipe, or a code, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells. DNA is made of a sequence of simple units, with the order of these units spelling out instructions in the genetic code. This is similar to the order of letters spelling out words. The organism “reads” the sequence of these units and decodes the instruction.

I believe there is a certain place in prayer we must tap into, a place of CERTAINTY and authority! A CERTAIN place in prayer is a place filled with unfolding destiny and expectation of answered prayer. “I ANSWERED thee in the secret place of thunder… Selah.” (Psalms 81:7) I believe that the CERTAIN place in prayer, the place of ANSWERED prayer IS the “secret place of thunder.” It is a SECRET place, it is a place of intense intimacy where we are bound together, woven together with the Lord, a place of being “naked and not ashamed” before the Lover of our soul.

“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.” (Matthew 6:6).

The place He is to be found is a SECRET place. We are also instructed to enter into our closet. The word translated as closet is tameion in Greek. Its’ meanings include: a storage chamber, storeroom, a chamber- especially an inner chamber, a secret room. Friend, there is a storage chamber, a storeroom filled with the purpose and blessing of God that is waiting for us to enter into by God’s mercy (His blood) and grace.

I believe that every time we access this storeroom by prayer it is automatically filled up again with a never ceasing supply! It is especially an INNER chamber, and like the verse says, as we enter we must “shut our door” to all outside and circumstantial influences. I believe that if we do not “shut our door” to circumstantial influences, when we access this storeroom by prayer, we could end up “praying” from a mindset of fear or self-interests. It is time to “shut our door” of discouragement from circumstantial influences and open the “inner storehouse” of Father’s divine intention towards all difficulties!

I believe that the place of answered prayer is the “secret place of THUNDER.” In Biblical symbolism, thunder speaks of mysteries that can only be discerned in hearing the “higher frequencies” of the Voice of the Lord as He whispers “secrets” in our ears.

“Then came there a VOICE from heaven… The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel SPAKE to him.” (John 12:28-29).

Here we have two groups of people who apparently heard the same sound. However, it would seem that some heard a voice- the distinction of words- and some just heard thunder- an indecipherable rumbling. Some had “ears to hear,” some were “dull of hearing.” Even today, not all have ears to hear. Some just hear the thunder as an indecipherable rumbling… Some hear the Thunder as the Voice of the Lord. Our prayers must become that which sustains us through the glorious year because we can discern His true voice. It is as necessary as our breath… in fact it (our prayer) IS our breath, because HE (Jesus who ever lives to make intercession for us) is our breath.