The Word of God has a progressive, unfolding quality to it. The Lord indicated this when He told His disciples, “I have many things to tell you, but you are not able to bear them now” (John 16:12). In I Corinthians 3:2, Paul pointed out, “You ought to be ready for the meat, but you are still getting the milk; I cannot give you the meat.” Christ and the apostles were always aware that there was a Word that people could hear, and there was a Word that they could not hear. It is the same with us. Through the dealings of God, we are prepared to hear each Word that comes and then to walk in something which we have not walked in before. When we are thrown into a situation that devastates us, it brings forth a refining and a purifying so that the Word can lift us up to a new realm.
We are under pressure on whatever realm we are living—but the pressure is not so that we can find deliverance in that realm, or overcome the circumstances in that realm, or finally resolve relationship problems in that realm. All of that pressure is designed rather to bring us up to a higher realm than we are on. The life of Joseph is an illustration of this.
The whole book of Genesis seems to revolve around certain characters, such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I believe that the lives of these various men of God illustrate the successive ages of the Scripture. The story of Joseph is the last of the great biographies in the book of Genesis. His life, more than any other, is a counterpart of the people who live in the end time. Under Jehovah, Joseph was raised up, almost like a savior, to save all of humanity. In spite of the famines that were to bring the nations to their knees, God provided through Joseph the plenty that would be their salvation (Genesis 41). This is a picture of what will happen in this end time also, as God’s remnant becomes an instrument of both judgment and blessing. The life of Joseph has many similarities to the life of Christ, as well as to the end-time ministry of the remnant.
Joseph was one of the youngest of Jacob’s sons. His mother had been barren before he was born whereas Leah, Jacob’s other wife, had been very fruitful. In spite of the fact that he was not the firstborn of Jacob, Joseph was the one chosen by Jacob to receive a coat of many colors (Genesis 37:3). In the East, such a coat was a symbol: The child who received it was usually the father’s favorite and the heir. Because of Jacob’s favor, Joseph could have become very arrogant. But this did not happen because the Lord gave him a Word (Psalm 105:17–19).
Joseph could have had a history very similar to that of Absalom, whom David spoiled and pampered, never denying him anything he wanted. Absalom went down in history as a Judas of the Old Testament. After he conspired against his father, Absalom fled to Hebron, the stronghold of the nephilim (II Samuel 15). It is possible that Joseph could have been like Absalom if God had not brought a great deal of disfavor and dealing upon him. Joseph was hated by his brothers, and even his father chided him over the visions and dreams he had of ultimately prevailing over his own mother and father in rank, importance, and influence (Genesis 37:4–11). Joseph’s brothers had no valid reason for hating him and rejecting him as they did. Today, we also can see no valid reason why organized or denominational religion should be so hostile toward the remnant, for they have done nothing against them.
In the unfolding story of Joseph, we see that his fortunes went down until finally he became a slave. We too have become bond servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, we who have had a revelation of His Lordship. Becoming a bond servant does not lead to any exalted position; instead, it can lead to an imprisonment and a malignment of your whole life. Joseph experienced all of that. But I want to challenge you with this idea: Joseph was not really heading downward; actually, he was rising to a higher plane. It was in prison that he became a prophet and was able to discern the dreams of prisoners around him (Genesis 40). Despite all that he did, still he was not recognized; he was not even remembered by those he had helped. Yet through all of these things, he broke into a realm in which he moved as a seer prophet. He became a man of great wisdom, ready to take his place on the throne beside Pharaoh (Genesis 41). Egypt at that time held a position of great prominence and domination over the world. Joseph, as an alien and a foreigner, proceeded to lead the civilized world as few men have ever done in their lifetime.
Why do we receive personal ministry? Not in order to have a great ministry. Instead, you come for ministry, so that you can be shifted from the level you are on to a higher level. Such a change is rarely accomplished by an apparent promotion. As it was with Joseph, this is usually accomplished by a demotion from the level you are on.
As a result, you may go through a devastating experience in the Lord, in which you say, “I cannot handle it!” But you will have to handle it! “Well, then pray for me and get me out of it!” That is not the answer either. Others cannot minister you out of what God put you into. What you must do is wake up to the whys and wherefores of what is happening.
The Lord is teaching us that the Kingdom is the realm of our spirit. We have passed through days in which the worship was soulish, even in this end-time move of God. Before that, the Pentecostal movement also experienced a great deal that was soulish. But the Lord wants to bring you into the realm where your spirit is communing with the Holy Spirit in such direct revelation that you are receiving the Word from the Lord yourself, as prophets and prophetesses.
God is very concerned that you reach this level. How do you reach it? By the abasement He puts upon you in the realm where you are. Persecutions are not designed just to give you trouble. The difficulties that you experience are not designed just to see how long you can endure them, or how much you can bear before you give up. This is not their purpose at all. Their purpose is to bring you to a higher level.
I and II Thessalonians contain teaching on the whole scope of end-time events, including the coming of the Lord, the son of perdition being revealed, and so on. In I Thessalonians 5:23–24 Paul prayed, And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly (or entirely—the whole person is to be sanctified); and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. He will accomplish this in you!
In the complete picture of an individual, the physical, the soulish, and the spiritual aspects of his nature must be understood. Many people start out in a walk with God while living very much on a physical level. They may be athletes, such as baseball players or football players. Their entire life is involved with physical activities, and they compete in that realm. Yet at the same time they still have a heart that reaches unto God until they attain the soul level. The physical and the soulish are more or less balanced in their lives.
Many of us find that God is trying to bring us up to a realm that we really abhor. We responded fairly well in the intercession, in the earnest prayer, and in the joyful jubilee music. This indicates that in our walk with God we had reached up to one of the highest levels of the soul realm that is attainable, and we found that God really met us on that level. But during this time, we found that God was still trying to get us to break through to something more. Creativity came, with inspiration to write songs and to do many things of that nature. Even so, there is a realm higher than that, where a person can be led by the Spirit. If we walk in the Spirit, we know that we will not even fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). Both the soulish and physical realms are put in subjection and remain unfulfilled, or crucified, for the one who really attains to the walk in the Spirit.
One way to get a good picture of walking in the Spirit is to read the seventh and eighth chapters of Romans. Notice that the seventh chapter talks about the oppression and bondage they were under because of the law of sin that was working in the flesh (verse 23). But they broke out of that.
They were freed from the law of sin and death through the Lord Jesus Christ, who brought them into the realm of spirit (Romans 8:2).
When we minister to people, we are striving for the realm of revelation that has been opened up. We want to see everything in the light of the spirit realm of the Kingdom. For example, in premarital counseling, I am not interested so much in discerning the couple’s compatibility with each other. Rather, I am more interested in their answers to these questions: “Are you willing to be focused on the Lord in spirit? Are you ready to be one in spirit?”
I do not know how the prophecies in the Old Testament about longevity will be fulfilled. Is it possible that for many people, longevity will precede the experience of entering into resurrection life? Or will some enter into resurrection life first? I do know that the days of a man shall be as the days of a tree (Isaiah 65:22). Death at the age of one hundred will be considered untimely (Isaiah 65:20).
These days, even the scientific world is talking about longevity. But as we strive to break through, the test is upon the physical realm more than ever before. Once we move completely into the realm of spirit, however, we will enter into the provision that will actually wipe out everything else which hits the physical realm. We will wipe it out! We will have our greatest breakthrough when we truly walk in spirit.
There were men in the Old Testament who touched this realm. I cannot believe that it was because of their diet only, for there were others who went out in the wilderness and ate manna just as they did, lived a certain number of years, and then died. In forty years time, probably at least two or three generations died. Only those who were under twenty years of age when they left Egypt were saved alive; they were the ones who were to go into the land of Canaan (Numbers 14:29–31). What was it that made a couple of them so strong—like Caleb, who could go in and take the mountain of the nephilim as his inheritance? (Judges 1:19–20). What was it that made Joshua so strong, even as an old man? When Moses died, at the age of 120, “his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated” (Deuteronomy 34:7). Caleb and Joshua came close to reaching that same age, and the aging process had not affected them either. It cannot be said that they had the best of care. Vitamins were not the cause of their strength; others had the same diet, and yet they died. There must have been some reason in the spirit which made Caleb and Joshua so strong.
Instead of focusing on resurrection life from the physical side, we need to focus upon the effect of spiritual forces on longevity, when we reach into the Lord and our spirits commune with Him. This is the realm of revelation; this is also the realm of pure impartation of life. In the lesser physical and emotional realms, you sometimes find that once the “froth” and “bubbles” are gone, not much remains. For instance, in the soul realm there is a great deal of emotion and feeling; there is much overevaluation of an emotional experience. But when you finally evaluate what really happened, you realize that although you received something, it was not the overflowing portion you had thought. On the other hand, when you reach into the realm of spirit, you find that there is not the capacity to assimilate everything that you receive. You cannot retain it all! Your spirit can take more from God than your soul, but it still will not be able to contain everything that is being beamed toward it. “My cup overflows” (Psalms 23:5).
On which level did the people live in the Old Testament times? When God talked about marriage, there were certain truths He made clear. Genesis 2:24 tells us, “The two shall become one flesh.” This meant that a marriage was accomplished just by the physical union of two people. Paul referred to that when he said, “Know you not that he who is joined to a harlot is one flesh?” (I Corinthians 6:16.) In other words, a physical act of union brought about a oneness of flesh. Because marriage was on that level, Moses made a provision, by a revelation from God, that a marriage could be dissolved by a writ of divorcement (Deuteronomy 24:1).
When the Pharisees approached Christ about this, He said, “Yes, Moses did that because of the hardness of your heart, because you could not reach into what God really had for you. But from the beginning of the creation it was not so” (Mark 10:4–6). It was never the intent and purpose of God for life to remain on that fleshly level. All the way from Genesis and throughout the Old Testament, this principle applied: “The two shall be one flesh.” In Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, God brought revelation of the next step—the Kingdom. In fact, we will find all the New Testament truths explained for us by the Old Testament application of them. The explanation will not be on the level of the Old Testament, but on the level of the Kingdom, an age ever expanding ahead of us.
Malachi reveals that God wanted one spirit in a marriage. Why? Because He sought a godly seed (Malachi 2:15). Whenever the regenerated spirit, in the image of God, truly prevails, we will be a new creature and all things will be made new. Everything old will pass away (II Corinthians 5:17).
It is true that we do not see this now. People may say that they are born again, yet they are still walking in many expressions of the old Adamic nature. This is because we have not yet seen that born-again, regenerated human spirit coming forth in such a total image of God that it dominates the soul and dominates the physical, with all of its instincts and impulses. When this occurs, is it not possible that a person will be able to walk in perfection?
Because we are still in the transition period into the Kingdom, we continue to have extensive premarital counseling and checkouts. Of course, if a couple wish, they can go to the justice of the peace and be married. They can even do what several million people in the United States are doing right now; they can live together without benefit of a marriage license. In fact, the latest trend is for the woman to go to court, claim that she has lived with the man for a certain length of time, and demand half of the money he earned during that time. The woman sues for a wife’s rights and privileges, just as though they were married. The law is beginning to recognize that particular kind of procedure.
This is the opinion of the world, but God has another viewpoint entirely. He is seeking for a godly seed! He is not seeking ways whereby people can work out legal procedures and live in a fleshly relationship in which they are somewhat compatible with each other. He is looking for something far greater—where they will be one spirit before the Lord. And out of that oneness of spirit can come forth such a marvelous heredity that God will get what He desires: a godly seed. The children born into the Kingdom may not be born into resurrection life, but they will be born without the handicaps and curses that are upon the old flesh.
If a couple had a marriage checkout and they still have problems, those problems are immaterial. If God brought them together, then their marriage is not the problem! The problem is that their marriage must come up to the level where God wants it to be. This realm of spirit, in which the level of spirit predominates, will be the key of every relationship. For some time we have concentrated upon how to enter into oneness by relating and communicating. But we will never achieve that oneness by only trying to relate or trying to communicate. We will be one when we flow into the oneness that is in the Lord on the level of spirit. Then everything else will work.
We are all aware of the way that human institutions, including marriage and the home, are being shaken. God is demanding a spirit level, and when that level is violated because one or both of the partners do not want to walk with God and do not want that dedication to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over them, then the marriage will be shaken severely. Decades ago, prophecies began coming that God was going to shake all things (Hebrews 12:25–27; Haggai 2:6–7). Every calling, every commission, every relationship, every experience we had would be shaken! Every one of us would find that the Living Word would come and shake us—and that is exactly what has happened. Furthermore, it will continue to be this way.
As the ministries come forth, we should not try to solve the problems that occur in churches. For instance, a brother who is having a problem in his church may feel that unless he leaves, he will never grow in God. But just the opposite is true. Until he rises above that, and realizes that the pressures upon him are like a travail, to expel him out of the comfort and complacency of the womb and bring him into a new existence in the sight of God, the problems will keep on coming. That is the reason he is having problems.
God has a way of bringing you to a certain level and then cutting things off until it seems as though you are in an extremity. This does not mean that He is forsaking you. Sometimes it is very difficult for people not to believe that God has developed a hostility against them. They tend to think that their problems could not be befalling them unless God hated them and had rejected them. Take a very objective view when people go through various problems. They must go through these experiences. They will enter into that testing on one level, and they will come out of it on either a lower level or a higher level. If our Lord is to do a quick work in the earth (Romans 9:28), if He is going to bring forth an army that will not break ranks (Joel 2:7) and that will all see eye to eye (Isaiah 52:8), and if He is to have a people who will know their God and be strong and do exploits (Daniel 11:32), it will be because there is absolute oneness among them. That absolute oneness will be in the realm of spirit; it will not come about in any other way. It is evident that God is bringing into the Kingdom a great variety of people. In spite of the differences in social standing, educational background, morals, abilities, intelligence, cultural opinions and feelings, God is bringing them all together. These differences make it almost a miracle for them to relate to one another.
I have found that the Lord has anointed me to proclaim the Living Word in language that is plain and simple. Why has He done this? It has to be that the Living Word comes, “not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power” (as Paul said in I Corinthians 2:4).
Only people who hear it in spirit will be able to respond to it (I Corinthians 2:6–15).
Religious people find it difficult to respond to this Word. Frequently someone will say to me, “I cannot understand how you can have such a Word from God and yet not have a huge following.” The reason is that those on a lower level hear on a lower level. This truth is pointed out in John 8:43 where Jesus asked the Jews, “Why can’t you understand My Words? It is because you cannot hear My Word.” You see, the physical has its faculties, the soul has its faculties, and the spirit has its faculties. We could compare it to the different vibrations of sound and the various wavelengths of light. For instance, there are sounds that your ears cannot hear, but a dog can hear them. Whistles with vibrations beyond what a human ear can hear are used to train police dogs. When a signal is given, the criminal cannot hear it, but the dog hears it and helps catch the criminal.
Blessed are they that “have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches” (Revelation 2:29). In Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church he wrote, “I pray that the eyes of your heart will be opened, so that you will be able to see and understand” (Ephesians 1:17–18). This indicates that there are different kinds of eyes. Jeremiah was speaking about the different levels when he wrote, … O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not; who have ears, but hear not. Jeremiah 5:21. Jesus quoted from this prophecy when the disciples asked Him why He taught in parables (Matthew 13:13). It is amazing to see how the Lord taught. He spoke in a parable, so that those on a spiritual level would hear it, but those on a lower religious or soulish level could not hear it. And they were the ones who plotted to kill Him.
Blessed are you, because you have been brought in to hear things on a spirit level. If you were to share these same things and explain them to some of the Pharisees of this day—some of the rulers of Christianity—they would most probably reject them. In fact, they might even do a lot of research and distribute seeming evidence to show that we are doctrinally wrong. This the scholars have already done for centuries; and it is the same shallow basis of persecution today. Such action only reveals the blindness of their own heart and their own lack of understanding. One cannot blame them, because they do not see the truth. They do not understand it. They do not hear.
The difference between the Laodicean church and the Philadelphia church has to do with the capacity and the level that each church lived on. The Philadelphia church was not judged. The Laodicean church, however, was judged. The Philadelphia church was not very mature. Yet an open door had been set before them that nobody could close, because they had a little strength, they had kept His Word, and they had not denied His name (Revelation 3:8). The Laodicean church—to whom the truths of the Kingdom would be presented during the last phase of the Church age—did not have very many who were able to hear. Nevertheless, they boasted that they were clothed, while they were naked; they insisted that they were rich, while they were poor; they claimed that they could see, but they lacked the eye salve which would enable them to really see (Revelation 3:17–18).
After John had finished the message to that church, he looked and saw that a door was open in heaven. Immediately, he was caught up in the Spirit to behold the wonders of revelation (Revelation 4:1–2). This is what God wants to do with us now; let us see and hear His summons to a higher level in the Spirit. Do you realize that this is a veiled dispensational revelation? The Lord is giving us the key of interpretation of the Scriptures that will continue to unfold, slowly but surely.
This revelation is so veiled that we will not be able to go on with God unless we develop the capacity to hear what He is saying. We were told at the beginning of this move of God that we must learn to wait on the Lord. We love to worship, and our worship is reaching a higher level. In fact, worship can be the gateway to waiting on the Lord. There are many who love prophecy, who love the gifts, who love the ministry of the Word—but there are not very many who love to wait on the Lord. Are you repelled by the emptiness and fruitlessness of listening for God to speak when you feel as if you do not have an ear to hear? Then you must break through so that your spirit can hear what God is saying. This move came about by waiting on the Lord. From the very beginning, we have emphasized that no one will prevail through to the goals that God wants him to reach until he too comes to wait upon the Lord and hear His voice.
Are you still dependent upon the ability of a few people to receive a true Word from the Lord? Are you guilty of failing to receive the Word yourself? Are you dependent upon the ministries who know the voice of the Lord and have revelation? No doubt this is true of many. To various degrees, we have to conform to the necessity for confirmation, yet we may have distorted the truth of confirmation. It is distorted when you go from one ministry to another, asking, “Give me a Word from the Lord,” and then you compare those words to see if they are the same—assuming that if they are, you have received confirmation. That is not the way in which the true law of confirmation functions. In I Corinthians 14:29–30, Paul gave us the right guidelines to follow: Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other Judge. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. II Corinthians 13:1b makes the law of confirmation very clear: In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
When the disciples went forth and spoke the Word, there were many who had heard from God. They loved God and knew already what He was going to say. When Peter came to the house of Cornelius to speak to those assembled there, he did not initiate a revelation. The revelation had already been given to Cornelius; he had already heard from God. He had the Word in his heart. Peter was sent to confirm what Cornelius had already received (Acts 10).
The goals that God wants cannot be achieved until all the people in the New Testament churches everywhere wait on the Lord and learn to hear the voice of the Lord. We want something more than soulish eyes and soulish ears. Open the ears of your spirit! Open the eyes of your spirit! Go beyond the soulish level. It is not enough to hear the Living Word in such a way that your soul leaps for joy and you experience pleasant, confirming emotions about it. You must break through to that high realm where you hear whatever God is speaking, and you see whatever God is showing.
The greatest illustration of this is the ministry of Jesus Christ Himself. He did nothing on His own initiative (John 8:28). He said, “I do nothing of Myself”(John 5:19). Knowing that He was God incarnate in flesh, He nevertheless emptied Himself of divine prerogatives until He was in the same position that you and I are (Philippians 2:6–7). By the Holy Spirit, His spirit was in tune with the Father. Jesus said, “I do nothing but what I see the Father do” (John 5:19). “I do not speak anything but what I hear the Father speak” (John 12:49–50). “I do always those things which please the Father” (John 8:29). When you see how Jesus always responded to the Father, you realize that He walked wholly in the realm of spirit. He had the Holy Spirit; the Father had given Him the Spirit without measure (John 3:34).
God will do that with us also. He will give us the Spirit without limit. We will be able to do the will of the Father perfectly because we will see what to do; we will know what to do. This already has begun to some extent in our walk together with the Lord.
Years ago I was very much aware that in the realm of soul, the anointing for discerning of spirits rested upon me. I was able to discern demonic spirits and cast them out. But after I came into greater discerning of spirits, I realized that I wanted something more. When I looked at a person, I wanted to see what gifts God had for him, what ministry He had for him. I wanted to see where the Holy Spirit was hovering over him, ready to give him spiritual gifts. For years now I have moved in that anointing. When I minister to someone, I see what God has for him and I see where he is spiritually. I am really not too concerned about what he has done wrong or where he has been stumbling, because most of these problems will be overcome as he rises to the next realm. The important thing is to see what God is doing in his life.
Never criticize a little boy because he cannot reach the cookie jar; just give him enough time and eventually he will be tall enough to reach it. Never criticize somebody because he seems to be at a lower level. Just feed him, take care of him, and see what he can become. Almost every mother probably looks upon her son as a potential president of the United States. She is looking at her son with the eyes of faith, of hope, and of anticipation; she is not focusing upon things that are wrong. Even when other people give up on him, even when she herself realizes that she could have a juvenile delinquent on her hands who might possibly spend much of his life in prison, a mother will still persist in that hope for her son.
Likewise, the tendency that I have to see only what God is doing in a man’s life has opened the door for me to refuse to give up on anyone. What a person has done wrong does not seem to be of any lasting consequence. I may be disturbed about it at the time, but it does not seem to affect my thinking about him. By revelation, my spirit has seen that person in the light of God’s will for his life; and to me this is the only reality I need to face! In the unfolding of the Kingdom of God, we will need a great deal of faith and perception. We must have eyes to see and ears to hear in this realm that God is bringing forth.
Are you feeling bogged down and discouraged because of various problems and difficult circumstances? Then you are making a big mistake. Just because the brook Cherith has dried up and the ravens are no longer feeding you, as happened to Elijah (I Kings 17:1–7), do not let that stop you from moving on to a whole new level of ministry, a new level of miracles. God must bring you to the place where you realize that you are positioned out of the former freshness and refreshing which you experienced in the old realm.
A good illustration of this has to do with my experiences while in the Pentecostal movement many years ago. There were times when I spoke in tongues and shouted and was so blessed. At times I experienced holy laughter until I could hardly stand it. Many wonderful things happened! But I cannot go back to those experiences, because they were on an elementary soul level. As I pressed on into God, I wondered, “What is the matter with me? Am I losing out with God because I cannot be blessed that way anymore, because those same experiences do not mean as much anymore?” In those days we knelt around the room on prayer benches, seeking a blessing that would sustain us so that we could go on for another twenty-four hours, at least. There are many ways of being fed, each on a different level, and each way has a satisfying effect for the moment; but the most sustaining is in the realm of spirit.
When the disciples offered Jesus food at the well of Samaria, He said, “I have had something to eat that you know not of” (John 4:32). I believe that Jesus was saying something beyond what we normally understand in those words. Sitting there, He was very satisfied, very full. Had somebody given Him something to eat? Something had fed Him—fed His spirit. He said, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me and to finish His work” (John 4:34).
In a certain state of immaturity, you can be sustained by blessings. You can be held on course by personal ministry and counseling. When you cannot get a Word yourself, the prophets will give you a Word so that you can find your way. But God wants to do more than give you a “Seeing-Eye dog” into the Kingdom. He wants to give you spiritual sight so that you see where you are going and you yourself can see what God has for you. He wants to open up your spiritual sight and give you the strength to do things you have never done before, to run without becoming weary, to walk without fainting, to mount up with wings as eagles (Isaiah 40:31). How does that come? By waiting upon the Lord, by learning to commune in your spirit with Him.
We have much to learn about waiting and worship. After we learn, we will be far more effective in our spiritual warfare. The churches struggled so that they would not become sectarian and be frozen at a certain spiritual level which they would never be able to overcome. They have accomplished that goal. What God wanted has been accomplished. But where do we go from here? It is not a matter of changing direction or methods. Let us stand in His presence. We must move into it! When you learn to live in His presence, with your spirit in communion with the Lord, then you will be able to clearly perceive the things of God.
Revelation 4:6–8 describes creatures continually before the throne who are full of eyes. They have eyes in back, in front, and all around. As you progress in God, you develop more eyes. You can see what is on the right hand and on the left. You can see all the places where you have been and what God accomplished there. You can see where you are going. Those who are full of eyes are the perfected spirits that stand in the presence of the Lord. Do you want to be one of those living creatures of God who are full of eyes that see? All of our counseling should be along that line. Instead of trying to find answers for those who are completely blind, help them to see for themselves. Give them this counsel: “I do not want to tell you where you are or where you are to go; but I would like to give you some eye salve, so that you can see it for yourself” (Revelation 3:18). In other words, having spiritual sight is more important than having the moment’s guidance.
Personal ministry to an individual should focus on the revelation which will challenge him to walk on a new level. When I counsel someone, I am not concerned about the decisions he should make. The idea is to create for him a new level and to help him into it. From that new positioning, the Word he needs will come to him. Then confirmation will confirm the Word that God has given him.
I do not believe that all prophets walk on the spirit level. This was the case with David, even though he loved the Lord and was a man after God’s own heart (I Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). From his psalms have come more prophecies about the Lord Jesus Christ than from all of the other prophets, yet he never seemed to have much spiritual insight. David seems to be a prophet of the realm of soul, not of the realm of spirit. He danced before the Lord with all of his might (II Samuel 6:14). How David loved the Lord! He would do anything for the Lord. But he never reached the place of spiritual sight. When he needed revelation, he went to the high priest and asked, “Show me now, what is the will of the Lord? Do I go up, or do I not go up?” (I Samuel 30:7–8.) David was always inquiring of the Lord for signs and answers. God often gave him answers that he was not even aware of. David wrote psalms containing prophecies and facts about the Lord Jesus Christ and His death that no one else ever received. But David did not realize it. He thought he was in the middle of a problem and calling unto God, pouring out his soul to the Lord—while unknowingly he was prophesying about Christ!
We must continue on so that we reach the level where we are able to really see. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord … Hosea 6:3. This is the whole key of the breakthrough into the realm where we will function as prophets of God. It is true that God wants many other things done too; but most of our progress spiritually will come about through obedience to directions that often do not seem to be reasonable or related to the total, final objective of our life.
An illustration of this is the person who is directed to go to college, study a particular subject, and thoroughly master it. He is obedient up to a point, but after he graduates, he wonders, “What shall I do with this knowledge?” Then when he is told to do something completely unrelated, he may wonder why. The answer is that his obedience to the Lord is more important than what he is actually doing.
Many times the Lord has commanded people to do things that did not appear to have any lasting merit or value. When Jehoshaphat and King Jehoram told Elisha that the Moabites were coming against them, the Word of the Lord told them, “Go out in the valley and dig ditches!” To go out and dig ditches seemed unreasonable; but it worked! (II Kings 3:16–24.) In Egypt the Israelites were told to take a hyssop brush and sprinkle blood over the door (Exodus 12:22). Another unusual direction, that of sending the singers ahead of the army to praise the Lord, resulted in a fantastic victory (II Chronicles 20:21–26). Always, these things in themselves seemed at first to have no meaning, no lasting merit or value to them.
What was it that Jesus asked of the disciples? “Leave all; then come and follow Me.” In essence, He was also saying, “Let the fish rot in the sun. Let the tax collector’s bench and the money just stand there” (Matthew 4:19; 9:9). The Lord was always asking people to do something that was very expensive and seemingly pointless in the accomplishment of it. But it was always a challenge of faith so that the spiritual sight would be opened up on a new level.
I Kings 19:19–21 relates how Elijah threw his mantle on Elisha while Elisha was plowing. Elisha ran after him, saying, “Give me just a minute to go back and say good-bye to my parents; then I will follow you.” Elijah answered, “What have I done to you?” Elijah actually knew what he had done to him—but did Elisha know? From his actions, we see that he must have realized what had happened to him. He hewed up his wooden plow, built a fire, killed a yoke of oxen, and prepared a meal. From then on, he followed Elijah and ministered to him. He lived with Elijah, poured water on his hands (II Kings 3:11), and cared for him. When Elijah asked him what he wanted in return, Elisha said, “I’ll take twice as much as you have” (II Kings 2:9). His eyes were really open; he knew what it would mean to have a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.
Those thousand prophets who will go through the land will not need any “Seeing-Eye dogs.” They will not only see God directing them, but they will also be able to see the whole spirit realm in the struggle with principalities and powers. They will bring down the principalities and powers! The only difficulty hindering the army of the Lord at this particular time is a lack of clear vision to see the enemy. It is one thing to say, “I’ve got my gun, Lord; just show me where to shoot.” It is another thing to be able to see for yourself where the enemy is!
Have you been called to be a prophet or a prophetess? If you do not know, then consider this: Did God ever tell anyone, “You will never be a prophet or a prophetess”? You need to know who you are!
Where you have been may have been good, but God must make you aware that it will all dead-end at a certain level. It is when the brook dries up (I Kings 17:7) that God reveals Himself, saying, “Go down now, because I am going to bring judgment to Jezebel and the prophets of Baal. I will bring an end to the idolatry of Israel.” After devastation, after the work of the cross, we always have to take another step before we move into the greater fullness of the Lord. The devastation we experience is somewhat of a mystical mystery, for we cannot always explain what happened to us or why. There is a deep cry of spirit, a travail and agony of the soul before God, and out of it comes something wonderful.
If you have really heard this teaching Word on the level you are living, then you are ready to break through to the next level. This Word is set for the rise and fall of many in the Kingdom (Luke 2:34). If you truly receive it, you will find an explanation of why God’s dealings have been upon you for a long time. You will see for yourself why He dealt with you as He did.
Some of these truths sound familiar, but in the past we have not heard them in the same way we are hearing them now. We have not seen them as we are seeing them now. This is the time to deeply experience them. No longer will the Word be a vision afar off; it will be a present reality that we appropriate. We are reaching up.
No matter what you go through, continue to worship the Lord. The basic which will still remain in the spirit realm, which exists also in the soul realm and in the physical realm, is worship. In every service, continue to approach Him with worship and thanksgiving. The book of Revelation speaks of those who stand in the presence of the Lord. They have so much insight and perception that nothing comes forth out of them except pure adoration and worship to the Lord. Out of worship like that, there is a tuning in to the authority that represents the Kingdom. Everything that ever happens to us will be based upon being on that level where we stand in His presence and worship.