When Adam fell, the whole human race fell with Him, and the earth was subjected to futility.
The reason Adam fell was because he was given a choice, and God knew he would fall, that is why Jesus Christ was crucified before God created the heavens and the earth.
The choice Adam was given was to obey the Father, or live independently of Him, and Adam choice to live independently of God because he loved his wife more than he did God.
When we receive Jesus (the living Word), the Father gives us the authority to become a child of God, and Holy Spirit overshadows us, and the Father impregnates our spirit with the seed of God(The living word) by commanding light to shine into our spirit.
Our spirit is the lamp of God, and the entrance of the Word of God into our spirit gives light, revealing the way to the tree of life, which is the image of Jesus Christ.
When our spirit becomes alive unto God, it becomes conscious of God, and we become a life-giving spirit, a new creation, and we begin our journey by learning how to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
Awareness is necessary in a walk with God. Awareness makes the difference between the religions of the world and what God is doing in His remnant.
A walk with God is not a matter of organization, educational programs, doctrinal structure, or business enterprises. The denominational world has tried that route.
By the world’s viewpoint, we have nothing exceptional. What we do have is not very commercial, intelligent, or appealing. We make no studies of public opinion to determine how to appeal to people’s interests. There is nothing in favor of our walk with God, humanly speaking.
The basis of our walk with God is the Lordship of Jesus Christ, but it goes a little further than that. The key is in our awareness. We are coming into the time of the Parousia, and a warning is given in I Thessalonians 5: Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. Verses 1, 2. It is a matter of awareness.
Oftentimes a person is not even aware that a thief has entered his house. A man may wake up in the morning and find all the bureau drawers pulled out and the contents scattered; his watch, radio, and other valuables are gone. He realizes that while he was sound asleep in bed someone, who perhaps had a gun, was in his bedroom. He was not a bit frightened because he was sound asleep. But if he had been awake and seen someone with a gun robbing him, then he would have been frightened, and rightly so. He would have been aware of the danger.
Paul said, “Danger is coming upon the world of which they are not aware. It is coming upon them like a thief in the night.” While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. Verse 3. The destruction will come as birth pangs come to a woman with child; the travail will come suddenly. When a woman is in labor, it is too late for her to decide if she wants to go through with it. There is no turning back then. The earth will suddenly feel birth pangs, and it will be too late then. There will be no way out. Even now the world is moving toward an inevitable crisis that will strike in every area of the world.
Our life in America is fairly comfortable, and we talk about our food supplies; but all over the world millions of people are dying of starvation and disease. Lack of food and inadequate diets, which lower resistance to disease, cause many children to die in infancy. In some cases the statistics of how many people die of starvation are not released. We do not realize the magnitude of the problem; it is a matter of lack of awareness.
But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief, for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. Verses 4–6. You must have an awareness of what is going on in the spirit realm, a deep awareness. You do not dare read of what is happening in the world. The government is so riddled with corruption that it is frightening; it takes sleep from you. It is better not to have an awareness of the world; in fact, your focus must not be on it.
A church is either large or small, not by numbers, but by attitude. A small church is focused on its own interests. A large church is focused on the Kingdom of God, on trying to bring it forth. Awareness makes the difference. A pastor must bring his people into an awareness of the vision God has set before them. If they do not have the vision, they perish (Proverbs 29:18). If they do not have a word from God to walk in, they begin to think small. They begin to think about their own little problems and other people’s problems, and may become preoccupied with criticism of one another. The awareness of the Kingdom and of the greatness of the whole vision is needed.
Jesus looked over Jerusalem and wept, for the people did not know the day of their visitation (Luke 19:41, 44). Christ said He would have gathered them under His wings, as a hen doth gather her brood, but they would not (Luke 13:34). All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:3. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew Him not. Verse 10. A whole generation of people were not aware that the Creator walked in their midst.
In these days the spirit world is very close to us. Many angels are deployed to walk among us in these strategic times. Too often we are aware of devil assault instead of being aware of God’s sustaining power and of the hosts who are with us. We need to open our eyes and have a greater awareness. Elisha’s young attendant was surprised one morning by the Syrian army which surrounded the city. They were sent to capture Elisha because he always revealed their plans. The young attendant was afraid and wondered what they were to do. Elisha said, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. II Kings 6:16b. Elisha prayed for the Lord to open the young man’s eyes so that he might see. The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and he saw the hills filled with the horses and chariots of the Lord (Verse 17). Elisha was aware of God’s host. The young man could only see what was coming against him. The difference was a matter of awareness.
Greater is He who is within us than he who is in the world (I John 4:4). If we were truly aware of the Lord’s presence with us and of His great love for us, we would stop trying to meet our problems alone; we would come into a perfect trust and rest in the Lord. The word “Parousia” means “His coming,” but more accurately, “His presence.” He is with us.
Christ said, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b. Ever since the Lord ascended to the right hand of the Father, He has been with His saints in a specific way. But the Parousia means that there is a special manifestation of His presence in a period when He will reveal Himself to many. He will appear in a great apocalyptical revelation; many events will happen during that time. This is the age of the Lord’s manifestation.
Awareness is a matter of dialing in. It is a process similar to using a radio. A person can choose his area of awareness. Some people dial in to station S.E.X. That is all they are aware of because that is what they have tuned in. Other people are dialed in to station F.E.A.R. Every time they pick up a newspaper they start shaking. They fall apart.
David, in the midst of wars and tribulations, said, I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:8. If you think that the Lord has forsaken you, just turn on the switch and tune in. He is right there. These are the days of His presence, and He will be real to you. If you have had no visions, it is your fault. Old men will dream dreams, and young men will see visions (Joel 2:28). Whether you are old or young, you can dream or see a vision, prophesy, and do the will of the Lord, if you tune in to it. What is available to you is a matter of your awareness.
Many people are not aware that these days are days of destiny. They may read many news publications, but they are still unaware of what is really happening. We are to be a people of awareness. We are to be the ones who know exactly what is taking place, who are aware of the Lord’s presence, aware of the Lord’s authority, and aware of the Lord’s victory for us. We can be overwhelmed with our battles if we are unaware that Christ fought the battle and won it for us. It is a matter of what we tune in to. Some people live their lives with a magnifying glass through which they analyze all their troubles. A magnifying glass or microscope can make even a tiny bug into a monster. David said, “Come, magnify the Lord with me. Let Him be great” (Psalms 34:3). Nothing in the world will reduce our troubles down to the right size as much as an awareness of the Lord, an awareness of the victory, an awareness of what He will do for us.
Jacob, when he fled from Esau, stopped to rest and lay down to sleep with a rock for a pillow. He was afraid that Esau would kill him. The Lord opened up the heavens, and Jacob saw the angels of God ascending and descending on a ladder. The Lord made a covenant with him; He said He would bless him and bring him back in peace (Genesis 28:15). He awoke, very much afraid. He said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. Genesis 28:16b. Jacob began to make a small monument. He said, “This is the house of God, and I was not aware of it” (Verse 17).
When you are going through the rocky and hard places, sometimes you are running from things that you have caused yourself. Be honest about it. You can blame Esau, but Esau had good reason to kill Jacob. Even though God was working His will, Jacob had stolen from Esau. A little late, Esau appreciated what he had lost, and he swore he would kill Jacob (Genesis 27:42). As he ran, Jacob may have felt sorry for himself; he may have missed his nice soft bed and hated that rock he slept on; he could have found many things to grumble about. But God awakened his awareness that He was with him. God was going to lead him out and bring him back. God would take care of him. Jacob was God’s man; he was called of God, and God was not going to let him down.
We must become aware of the Lord’s choice of us, aware of His favor, aware of His presence. We must be aware of our relationship to Him, aware of the position that we have with God. We must stop thinking as if we were poor. We are heirs of God, joint-heirs of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17). It is a mutual relationship. We are the Father’s choice, His beloved. He lavishes upon us many things. When we understand our position, we have won one of the biggest steps of faith. The promises of God are often set aside as ineffective. We want to believe them; we try to believe them; but we do not really believe in our relationship to the Lord. We do not really believe that He loves us, that we are chosen vessels before Him. When we do not believe that, we tend to discard the glorious promises and covenants that He wants us to possess.
The difference between a big church and a little church is that a big church has a big vision. The people constantly develop their awareness of who they are in relationship to the Lord. They develop their awareness of the Lord. That is what makes a service. The potency of prophecy and psalms is determined by people’s awareness of the Lord. Tune in to Him when you are singing or prophesying. Be aware of Him. You are not exercising the gifts of the Spirit; the Lord is ministering through you. Be aware of the Lord’s speaking; be aware of His presence.
Awareness is also the key of resisting temptation. It is the key of overcoming anything that harasses you, any habit that you do not want to master you. As long as you are unaware of the Lord and of His presence, you fight on your own; and that is a good way to be beaten. When you are linked to His presence, bound to Him in a relationship and in a destiny that He will bring to pass in your life, then it is not difficult to resist anything.
I don’t really have any more hobbies or interests because I have been studying for the Ministry. The Scriptures became my focus. I loved them, searched through them, thirsting after the Lord, knowing that they would reveal Him. What have I gained? What have I lost? How can I evaluate my life? One thing I know: I live twenty-four hours day with an awareness of the Lord. I never read a Scripture without it living for me. I do not think that anything is greater than coming into an awareness of the Lord.
When I see people unaware of God, I want to cry over them and shake them at the same time. They are missing a great deal. They are not aware of what God wants to mean to them. They do not know their potential in the Lord. They do not realize the walk they can have with God.
Your focus can be so trained and so directed that you are thinking very much on a human level and only aware of human things. You can be an enemy of the very thing that could bring spiritual awareness in your life. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. Philippians 3:18, 19. According to Paul these men were walking, but they were minding earthly things. Their focus and their awareness was misdirected.
Jesus said, Remember Lot’s wife. Luke 17:32. She was such a part of Sodom that, in spite of angels dragging her out of the city doomed to destruction, she looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. She was not aware of the Lord. Her two daughters were forced out of Sodom and lived in a cave with their father Lot. They were so afraid that they would not be married or have children that they plied their father with wine on two successive nights, and when he was drunk, conceived children by him. The Ammonites and the Moabites were the results of those incestuous relationships (Genesis 19:32–38). They did not realize that God had something for them because their focus was still on an earthly plane.
Abraham, the friend of God, was out of tune with everything around him. He knew he was going to be the father of many nations, and he knew God loved him. He was content to walk with God. An awareness of the Lord has always made the difference between the people who succeeded in God and the people who did not. The people who succeeded, according to the Word of God, were the people who tuned in to God. They became aware of Him. The people who did not make it were the people who were aware of everything but the Lord. They became fearful of heart.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman that if she knew who spoke to her she would ask of Him and He would give her living water (John 4:10). She then asked for the water, but only so that she would no longer have to come with her pitcher to draw. She could not relate to what Jesus was saying, though she did call the whole city out to hear Him. A real awareness of what the Lord wants you to have is very necessary.
You can become overly aware of the satanic assault against you; you can become so tuned in to assault that you lose the awareness which the Lord is trying to develop of Satan’s defeat. Satan has no authority. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. John 12:31. Become aware that the devil is defeated; do not be aware of his assault. When you sense his raging, remember that Satan rages because he knows his time is short (Revelation 12:12). The more the battle comes, the more the enemy rages, and the more aware you should be that his time is short.
Tune in to the Lord’s coming. The Lord is manifesting Himself; this is the time of His presence. Determine to be aware of the Lord, and dial out the satanic assault; then you will walk in victory and be one of the overcomers. You will overcome Satan by the word of your testimony and the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:11).
Some things will have to fade out of our focus. Others, we will have to dial in to. There are prophecies over us and promises that God has made to those who walk with Him of which we should be more aware. We should be aware that the limitations, which seem to be imposed upon us, are not really legitimate, for God has given great promises and liberation to us. If we were constantly aware of the prophecies, of our destiny, and of the Lord’s working with us, we would discard many ideas and attitudes which are nothing more than fear. Fears and unbelief produced by circumstances and satanic assault are Satan’s efforts to get our focus on him instead of the Lord.
How do you develop an awareness of the Lord? There has to be a conscious concentration on it for a while. Give yourself to everything that would produce it. When you worship, focus on the Lord. When you read the Scriptures, focus on the Lord. When you listen to a sermon, ask yourself what the Lord is speaking. When you hear psalms, do not be critical of the quality of the singing. When you hear prophecies, do not regard the eloquence. Listen to the Lord. He is trying to communicate, and God has many ways of doing so. God has a thousand faces; He has a thousand different voices; and He has a thousand ways to express Himself. He can reach you; do not be surprised when He does. He can talk to you through a small child whom He has anointed or through an old, seasoned saint. Listen. Become aware.
Become aware of the enemy’s defeat; realize that he is a liar. Every time a thought of discouragement and depression floods you, tune in to whom is speaking. Many times you accept emotions, thoughts, and ideas that are right out of the pit, from Satan. Identify what they are; be aware of them. Ask the Lord to give you discernment to sense His presence, to sense what He is saying, and to sense the Word that undergirds you.
Let the Lord be great in your sight. If He is lifted up, He will draw all men unto Himself (John 12:32). Until the Lord is great to you, He will not be great to those who see you. They will never be drawn to the Lord if He is not great to you first.
To summarize this message: there is a great contest for your focus. God wants you to focus on Him. Do not put your focus on the wars, rumors of wars, distress, famines, earthquakes, and false beasts. Do not focus on any of those things. When you see all those things coming to pass, focus on the Lord. Look up, for your redemption draws nigh (Luke 21:28). There is a contest for your focus. Satan wants you to focus on your circumstances, on the battle, on the problems. If he can get you to do that, he has brought a good measure of defeat to your life, and he defeats you. If you focus on the Lord and become aware of Him and if the Lord Jesus Christ is absolutely everything to you, the other things will fade into insignificance. Anything can be overcome if you keep your eyes upon Him.
Lord, if our focus has been removed from the real goals, from the Word, we pray that You will forgive us and help us set it right. Lord, rebuke any distraction that causes us to think little, to think fearfully, to think with unbelief, terrified that our lives will never attain the perfect will of the Lord. Turn our hearts back to You. Let there be the total, absolute, unconditional focus upon Jesus Christ as Lord in our lives.