Our Christian life is a journey which Scripture portrays as a progressive journey that has unimaginable rewards for those who finish the JOURNEY.
This journey finishes at a spiritual or inner place called Zion. It is a place of manifest glory, power, and the realization of the goal.
This all takes place while you are still on Earth. God’s desire has always been to have men and women with a heart like His heart. He desires for His children to become mature sons.
We see this progressive growth portrayed as 30-fold, 60-fold and 100-fold in Mark, chapter 4, verse 8. We also see this in the layout of the Tabernacle of Moses, which is divided into three levels of growth and advancement, namely the Outer Court, The Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies.
Very few throughout the ages have made it into the highest level of growth. When Jesus was at a wedding in the town of Cana, He turned the water into wine, thus keeping the best wine until the last. There is a wedding to take place in these end times, where the Bride will make herself ready for the marriage of the Lamb.
This generation will see a great number of Christians who have finished the journey and made themselves ready by availing themselves of the grace of God that is now available for this generation.
God saw King David as a man after His own heart. King Saul had failed and God raised up David. 1 SAMUEL 13:14
14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.
It took a man after God’s own heart to defeat the last enemy In the Promised Land and finish the journey to Zion. 2 SAMUEL 5:7
7 Nevertheless, David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David. The battle for Zion is a battle we must win in order to finish the journey. God will have many who will go on from where they are now to the final destination, and in doing so will possess the Kingdom, bringing heaven to earth.
This is not so much in what you have done for God but it is in whom you have become, namely in conforming to His image:
MATTHEW 7:22–23 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
There is no doubt that there is a battle ahead: a battle between light and darkness. DANIEL 11:32b
32b But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
This journey begins at Egypt and finishes in Zion. The Children of Israel were set free from Egyptian bondage by applying blood to their households. This involved the killing of a lamb and smearing its blood on the doorposts of their houses; this became an ordinance in Israel known as the Passover (Exodus Chapter 12).
The journey begins by being born again. You must be born again or you will not see the Kingdom of God. When Israel crossed the Red Sea, the rule of Pharaoh was forever broken over their lives, but they now had to prove their loyalty and obedience to God, who had delivered them.
The next stage on the journey took only fifty days. The number fifty speaks of Pentecost. After Jesus rose from the dead, the disciples had to wait fifty days in order to experience the next step of the journey, which was the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
This occurred during the Old Testament Feast of Pentecost. The Scriptures tell us that Jesus was seen for forty days after His resurrection, then the disciples had to wait another ten days in the upper room in order to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts chapter 1:3–5).
ACTS 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Note that the word “fully” is used here. There was a fifty day period between keeping the Passover, which speaks of our salvation through the born-again experience, to Mount Sinai, which speaks of Pentecost.
This fifty-day period brought them to Mount Sinai. However, we need to understand that this was not their final destination. There final destination was Mount Zion in the Promised Land.
ACTS 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
This pointed to the second phase in the journey that we are to take: the baptism in the Holy Spirit. However, this was only part of the journey. The final destination was Mount Zion in the Promised Land.
We see this picture in the layout of the tabernacle of Moses which he built in the wilderness. The Tabernacle of Moses in the wilderness is a picture of the journey we are to take. There were three compartments in the Tabernacle or Church in the wilderness.
1. The outer court was open to the elements. There was an altar (the brazen altar) on which sacrifices were made. This spoke of and pointed to our born-again experience through the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross. This stage was never meant to be the final
2.The next level was the Holy Place. This was a covered room with a table with bread on it and a seven-branch lampstand and at the far end was an altar of incense.
This spoke of and represented the experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. This second level on the stage of our journey was the level of Pentecost. It was a good place where the anointing of God was via the candlestick, from which revelation and intimacy stemmed, and was pictured in the Table of Shewbread. There was also an Altar of Incense that speaks of worship, prayer and intercession. While all these parts of the journey are good. It is not the final place we are called to go to.
3. The final stage was a small room at the far end which was called The Holiest of All or the Holy of Holies. This was a place of the manifest presence and glory of God, A place of unlimited possibilities.
PENTECOST THE SECOND PHASE OF OUR JOURNEY
The great Charismatic Move of God in the 1970s was a great and powerful move but it only represents the second level to which we are called to go, namely the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Countless Christians across all denominations experienced this part of the journey. But here lies the problem.
Most denominations were founded around a particular truth. Lutherans founded their denomination around the teaching of Martin Luther: salvation through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus. While this was good it was only the start of the journey. They stopped at this experience and never moved on.
The same became true of the Baptist denomination, and finally the same is true in regards to the Pentecostal movement. The great charismatic move of God in the 1970s also gave rise to the prophetic ministry although there were very few prophets in those days.
The danger always lies in the deception that we have reached all that God has for us. While the journey from Passover to Pentecost is good, it is not the final experience and place that God has for us, we must move on.
There was one final place in the tabernacle of Moses in the wilderness, it was called the Holiest of All or The Most Holy Place. This was a small room with only the Ark of the Covenant in there with a Mercy Seat above it.
This was a place of infinite power and intimacy with God. This is the final place of the journey. A place that is described as Mount Zion in Hebrews, chapter 12.
The tragedy is that one whole generation of God’s people died in the wilderness and never made it over to the Promised Land, the final part of the journey.
This Promised Land was the place where the power and glory of Zion awaited them. They had experienced salvation through the blood and the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but they died in the wilderness not attaining to all that God had for them.
THIS TRAGEDY IS REPEATING ITSELF AGAIN TODAY IN THE CHURCH. We are on a journey and we must keep moving on in this JOURNEY. Many are not moving on, they are deceived into thinking that they have all that God has for them, and many are actually very happy with the current experience they have in God and have no desire to move on.
However, God will have a glorious Church moving in great power and authority, walking in a relationship with the Lord that will surpass all that has gone before. This is the glorious end-time Church that the prophet Isaiah spoke of and will birth the rise of true Apostles.
ISAIAH 60:1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen (shoots forth from within-over you) (to emit like rays of light) upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. 4 “Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you; Your sons shall come from afar, And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
Sadly, many have never moved on further in their journey to the Promised Land. Millions of Christians have died in the wilderness like the children of Israel. These Christians were born again, baptized in water and the Holy Spirit, but they never moved any further on.
They made it to heaven but did not fulfill their highest destiny, which is to be conformed to the image of Jesus while still living on this earth in the flesh.
While this may seem quite radical to some, the Scriptures make it very clear that there is much more for us before we finally reach heaven.
The Apostle Paul said, “I press towards the high calling in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). Paul here was not talking about getting to heaven; he was talking about something that could be reached while here on earth–while still in the flesh. Paul later was to write this:
HEBREWS 6:1–2 1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
In other words, Paul was saying that there is much more, and we must go on and finish the course. You are alive in this hour by appointment and destiny. Don’t die in the wilderness of missed opportunities.
This new creation man cannot reach his fullness and the fullness of God’s divine purpose unless one sees the big picture.
Millions of born-again Christians have died not having grown up into all that God has purposed for them. This falling short does not mean that they did not make it to heaven. It means that they did not reach their full potential as the New Creation Man.
Now, this does not mean that no individual has ever reached God’s fullness of the New Creation Man, as there have always been some exceptional saints of God in all ages that rose to the stature and maturity that God had for them.
There were some who walked with God, whom like Enoch, were taken bodily into heaven. However, in these days God is preparing a bride who will rise to the occasion, taking hold of all that God has for them. The bride must make herself ready; merely experiencing the rapture does not make one ready.