For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. Hebrews 2:1. King James reads, lest at any time we should let them slip; however, the truth does not slip. We drift away from it. No spiritual state is maintained automatically. A business will not be a great success if it is neglected. The easiest way in the world to fail and go broke is to neglect a business. Nothing dishonest needs to be done, just be negligent. This principle applies also to the things of God.
Gravity is pulling us down. We must watch our posture lest we slump and all the internal organs become cramped. Everything is continually subjected to the downward pull. Yet salmon do not reach the spawning grounds by floating down the river, but by fighting briskly up against the current and over the rapids.
God sets before us many wonderful truths, but we are cautioned to give closer attention to them lest we drift away from them. This is based upon the principle that to whom much is given of him much will be required (Luke 12:48). Because of the flow of truth and the blessing that God has given, we find easy access both to losing out with God and to going on with God. If we neglect the truth God has given, the consequences are deadly and swift. If we give attention to it, the results are quick and effective. God has given the miracle-creating Word. We cannot neglect it; we do not dare neglect it. This business of serving God requires twenty-four hours a day, and it may take a little more. We may need miracle days to handle it.
For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. Hebrews 2:2–4. We are facing the same thing today. The gifts and the ministries of the Spirit with the signs and wonders confirming them are coming to our hearts also. How will we escape if we neglect them? We cannot. We cannot neglect our health repeatedly without having it take its toll. Likewise, we cannot neglect all the good things that are heaped upon us spiritually.
After the warning in these first four verses, we see one of the most outstanding pictures of what God has in mind for all of us who walk with Him in the Spirit. For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, “What is man, that Thou rememberest him? Or the son of man, that Thou art concerned about him? Thou hast made him for a little while lower than the angels; Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, and hast appointed him over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in subjecting all things to him (to man), He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for every one. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. Hebrews 2:5–10.
God is saying, “Is not this inhabited world to come” (not “age” but “inhabited world to come”) “going to be under the sons of God?” This was His plan: that all things would be made subject to man, and it came to pass through Jesus Christ. Verse 14 explains: Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.
I am sure that when God made man in the Garden of Eden, He did put everything under his hand, and Adam had a lot of authority. Enough of the remnant of his abilities and capacities are still present to make us realize that they are held in abeyance and one day will come forth. The greater part of a man’s knowledge is in the subconscious level. The abilities and accuracy of the subconscious is fantastic; it is able to control reactions to such things as heat, cold, and time; yet we do not walk in that.
People can learn to condition their subconscious responses and attitudes so that they do not continually wipe themselves out by a great morass of conflicting feelings. For instance, if in your subconscious you have accepted failure, perhaps because of early childhood experiences, you can consciously strive for success; but some subconscious motivation will impel you to fail anyway. There is a great deal to the power of man’s mind, but God is in the process of redeeming it.
The fullness of the Holy Spirit operates at the subconscious level. We do not consciously frame the words when we speak in tongues; but rather they seem to come forth from some subconscious prompting and teaching of the Holy Spirit, with the result that in the Spirit we give thanks well and in the Spirit we are speaking mysteries (I Corinthians 14:2, 17). The Holy Spirit uses the subconscious. If we realized the blessings of tongues, every one of us would give himself to a great deal of their use in personal devotions.
We use tongues very little in the church, which is in accordance with Paul’s teaching in I Corinthians 14. We place greater emphasis on prophecy, exhortations, and the speaking together with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Paul said, “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all.” He understood that the Holy Spirit brought a conditioning to the subconscious as he was worshiping and praising God in tongues.
Tongues are given as the exercise while the flow is coming inward, and prophecy is used while the exercise of the Spirit is outward. When you prophesy, you edify others; but Paul wrote in I Corinthians 14:4, He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself…. There is an inflow. In New Testament times, when believers received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues, it was a sign and manifestation of an inward flow. Just a simple exercise of tongues done in real purity will do a great deal to condition you to accept the new day God is bringing.
There are people in the world today who can move a piano by concentration, without ever touching it, those who have flashes of events that are coming in the future, and those who can stand in a room and tell what has taken place there. There are men employed by governments who can hold in their hand the garment of a murder victim and reproduce the scene to the very description and name of the murderer. We know these things are happening, but very few people seem to possess these abilities. It is not a matter of evolution, of trying to come into them, but of devolution—we have lost them. Man had these abilities before the fall; but with the fall, man lost his authority and was driven out of the garden. Then the work of redemption began. God’s plan was that everything be put under subjection to man, but we do not see that yet; we do see Jesus, who came down and suffered death to partake of glory and honor and to be exalted. As we come into Christ, the creative purpose of God for man will be fulfilled.
A walk with the Lord has great creative aspects to it, as we link ourselves with the divine, creative omnipotence. In Christ, God made all things. Without Him was not anything made that was made (John 1:3). Our blessed Lord Jesus was the active agent of the Trinity in creation; therefore, when He dwells within us, it should produce a true creativity within us. We see this already evidenced in our midst in the writing of beautiful poems, psalms, and songs. There ought to be more of this, and it should be expressed and shared. We want our children to come forth, not just with the capacity to think through problems in a functional way, but also with creative talent. If we have the vision, we will see fantastic things come to pass.
God is bringing into subjection the world that was made. Part of that subjection will see the judgment of evil and hostile spirits committed to the saints of the Most High (Daniel 7:22). We will see Christ prevail. I believe we are living in the very season of Christ’s return to this earth, and He is preparing a people who will walk with Him right into the Kingdom. We must set our hearts upon this vision above everything else!
Returning to our Scripture, we read in Hebrews 2:14–18: Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels (or lay hold upon angels), but He gives help to the seed of Abraham. (Christ is helping us.) Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
In this day of creativity, we are to walk under a great anointing to create in all areas—music, literature, art—while in the world, we see only confusion in these areas. Everything the world has is coming to an end. It is waiting for something. A consecrated people who have learned to function in a new realm will bring forth music that the world has never before heard.
Years ago in a revelation and vision from the Lord I heard music that had dimension to it, and God gave me a word that it would come. Our songs are not yet perfected, but they are foretastes of a new style of worship that the earth has never heard before. If we press on, we can be those who introduce it and bring it forth. We can have music like no one has heard before. We must not become caught in the ruts of the past. We must let the Lord bring creative sounds such as we have never heard.
We will break through in music and in worship. The greatest songs, the greatest music, the greatest psalms to be heard are yet to come; and we must have faith to see them created. We may be just a small group of people; but with the vision ever before us, we will do it. It is not as dependent upon great musical talent as it is dependent upon revelation from the Lord. The world has been earthbound too long. It is time we begin to explore. We do not have to wait for the millennium. There is music that seems to progress, and there is music that seems to expand, but music has never yet been created that seems to have dimension until it occupies and fills an area. The music God showed me was square music. It has length, height, and depth to it. We will hear it. It would be wonderful if that could come forth from the people of God. It will have to be created by a combination of sounds and vibrations. It will not be dependent upon stereo or a certain number of channels. It will be dependent upon the way vibrations are put together. It will be monophonic, but it will come forth with vibrations which seem to fill everything. Can we believe for the breakthrough into this?
There has been an exploratory, creative moving through the Body in the writing of new songs. Some of them are good and have a promise of a future kind of music to come forth. Some of the songs are almost in a traditional vein but are excellent for worship. Others have a triumphant, militant character that belongs to the Kingdom. Our music should cover the entire scope of music that God is bringing forth.
All the music coming now is transition music, and we should continue to look for changes. The world’s music has gone through various transitions; western, jazz, rock-and-roll, psychedelic. Spiritual music has gone through transitions also; now we are beginning to reach a new level of music. We are writing our own music as the Holy Spirit gives us an anointing, and it is changing.
For a time our services were militant in nature. The prayer was violent, and we had to establish that phase in our singing and in our worship. We have gone through certain phases in the psalms we sing before the Lord. At first they were rather toneless, without melody; then they began to take on form. Later the folk-music style entered in and then minor-chord singing. Little by little the emphasis that God wanted began to infiltrate the music. We are at the state now where anything could happen in this music.
We want to walk in the powers of the age to come, as Hebrews describes it. Abraham did that. He was not landlocked. He sailed the seas of the future. Jesus said, “Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). By faith he was projected into the joys and blessings of Christ. Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, saw the Lord coming with myriads of His hosts. By faith he was translated without seeing death (Hebrews 11:5; Jude 14).
Time is not supposed to be the limiting factor it has become. I am persuaded that the limitations are too often of our own forging; they are chains with which we have encumbered ourselves because we do not have faith to believe. Of all the hours to believe for a change, now is the time, as the world receives the witness by God’s remnant. Before that great coming of Christ changes all things, there will be the witness of a people who have a word from God, who possess the creative force of God within them. It has started. The first chord is sounding, and there shall be no end. We shall be a people led by the Spirit of God in all things.