Showing posts with label Ron McGatlin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ron McGatlin. Show all posts

Shifting to Kingdom Authority

By Ron McGatlin
(Note from Ron: If some of this important writing is new to you or does not seem to fit in your box, please be patient and do not throw it away quickly. Please read to the end before tossing it. If you cannot receive it now, please put it on the shelf in your heart and allow time for the Holy Spirit to confirm or deny it. – Thank you, Ron)
Perhaps the most significant shift since Pentecost is now taking place in the Body of Christ. It is possibly the most significant move of God in the last 2000 years. The order of church as we have known it is changing.
One of the comments heard often coming from prophets that are seeing the shift is that they do not know exactly what it looks like. Yet all would probably agree that there is a significant shaking of all that can be shaken on earth.
How severe will the shaking be?
What will happen to me and my family during this time of shaking? 
What will the governments of nations look like?
How perilous will it really be?

Probably no one has clear answers to these serious questions.
With the light of spiritual revelation and God’s wisdom that is available to those who love God above all else, we can know some specific answers to some other even more important questions such as:
Where is all this going? 
Why is the church worldwide being targeted with vicious persecution?
Why is God allowing these things to happen?
Even many who are aware of the major shift taking place may not yet be sure about where this is all going.
The Quiet Beginning of This Shift
In the 1980s, a major millennial shift quietly began among a scattering of unknown men across the world. Later I miraculously found out about some of these men of God that experienced the same revelation that I received in the same time frame. They were low profile and had no connection or contact with one another. These men were mature chronologically and spiritually. Most had gone through all the recent moves and restorations of God in the church up to that day. God opened the eyes of these men and lifted the cover from the powerful gospel of the kingdom that had been covered for two thousand years. The gospel of the kingdom has now been quietly spreading like yeast in dough, mostly unseen, and from person to person through organic networking.
From the quiet reseeding of the gospel of the kingdom that began in the 1980s, it continued to spread as the powerful revivals and spiritual outpourings of the 90s prepared the people to receive more from God. In the 2000s the sprouted seeds grew and many men and women of God began to proclaim and demonstrate the portions of the gospel of the kingdom that they had received. The same powerful message that Jesus and His disciples first planted over two thousand years ago is now being widely proclaimed across the world. Generations of people are being prepared to experience the fullness of the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. Much of the existing church that is structured from the past is not yet aware of what God is doing.   
The enemy is aware of what is happening and is furiously trying to destroy all the babies and children of these generations in an effort to stop the move of God. Every person who is part of the kingdom of God reality that is coming forth to these generations are becoming targets for annihilation, if the enemy can find an opening to get to them. The enemy is killing as many babies and perverting as many children as possible in an attempt to stop the kingdom generation of people. All of the persecution designed to kill, steal, and destroy anything of Jesus on the earth will only serve to purify the true kingdom age church of God. Priorities will drastically shift to the true values of God. The King and His kingdom will be the number one focus of life among the generations of pure-hearted holy people of power in the kingdom age church of Christ Jesus.
The church systems that in the past ruled with authority over people are finishing their season as the new kingdom of God reality comes forward. The authority of the past church systems is rapidly fading from effectiveness in the Body and in the world. The great shift of our time has to do in part with church system’s governments and functions being changed into the glorious church “ekklesia” of the kingdom of God age. The kingdom “ekklesia” (the gathering of called out ones) is becoming the “basileia” (kingdom) of heaven on earth.
The Church System Authority and the Kingdom of God Authority
To understand the difference in the two let’s begin with a brief look at the roots and development of the religious church system authority. The church system’s structure was never God’s perfect design for the people of God after the time of Christ Jesus. The first century church that the disciples of the Lord knew was nothing like the church systems that began developing shortly after Paul and the other disciples left.
Around the third century the church became infiltrated with pagan practices and ruled over by politically inspired hierarchical systems of men. The leadership of Christ in the Holy Spirit that had ruled in the first centuries left the corrupt church. Man reinstated the Priest system and produced many religious laws or rules for the people. The divine authority that was in the early disciples was gone and man developed church system authority and called it “God Ordained.” 
The politically oriented corrupt leadership of the church that was void of the Holy Spirit began to reach back to the other side of the cross and brought forward a lot of what God had ordained for the Old Testament time before the coming of Christ Jesus.
In the Old Testament day the Priest were established to serve as a mediator between God and man. There was a distinct separation between the priesthood and the rest of the people. The Priests did all of the God stuff, and the people only brought the proper sacrifice for the Priests to offer. Specific rules and rituals were carried out religiously with the people. There was a distinct group of men set aside to rule in the places of worship. Only the set apart Priests were to do the stuff. All of this looked forward to the coming of Christ, and all of it was to be done away with after the cross. The church of Jesus Christ was to be the kingdom of God come to earth fulfilling and ending the Old Testament religious types and shadows.
The church systems to this day have continued to replicate this out-of-order authority structure with many minor variances. Today in church systems, local churches, and ministries the same structure of men ruling over men through a system of “clergy” over “laity” continues to be the backbone of most church governments and functions. This may have many names and forms but is deadly to the functionality of the New Testament kingdom of God reality. The name may change from denominations to apostolic networks or associations or whatever. However, if in fact it is a hierarchy or pyramid of men ruling over the people of God, it is working in the old clergy over laity error that has been prevalent since around the third century.
(Please don’t go yet. Let’s look briefly at the reality of the kingdom church government and function.)
In a natural earthly kingdom, the king is sovereign. The king has complete authority over everything and everyone in the kingdom. Since the king cannot possibly be everywhere to see over and manage all things, he appoints people to manage specific portions of his domain, according to his desires and instructions. Each subject reports to the king, either directly or through an appointed overseer who manages a specific area and answers to the king for the subjects under his oversight. The king delegates his authority to an overseer person because the king cannot be present with all of his subjects individually. A natural or earthly kingdom is like the Old Testament rule of the people. It required delegated authority to function.
In the kingdom of God as in any kingdom all authority over all that is within the kingdom rest in the one KING.
The kingdom (government) of God is very different in some ways from an earthly kingdom. The kingdom of God on earth is the kingdom of heaven ruling on earth. It will always operate from the same reality that it does in heaven. The spiritual from heaven created the natural and has complete authority over it.  
Here are the BIG differences -
First the kingdom of God from heaven on earth is a spiritual kingdom.
God is SPIRIT! God’s Son was with God in the beginning and was part of creating all that is created. The Son of God with God was SPIRIT before coming to earth to take on a human body in order to redeem, restore, and reclaim all that was lost in the first Adam.
All authority in heaven and on earth is given to Christ Jesus the King. Jesus is the only HEAD of the church and the only KING of the kingdom.
All power, all love, and all wisdom is given to Christ Jesus, the SPIRIT KING of earth and of all creation. Father God and the Son are ONE (John 17:21-22).
King Jesus knows what is best to do in every situation and has the power to do it and the love to make it be the best it can be for all His people on earth. 
We are the subjects of His kingdom on earth. We are spirit beings with a soul and body. As spirit beings in a human body we have the potential to be one Spirit with Christ Jesus and carry out His will by His power here in this natural earth.
Unlike the natural king who had to delegate his authority to someone to oversee for him, King Jesus and the Father, in the Holy Spirit, can become one Spirit with us and abide in us to bring forth His own authority. There is no need for men with delegated authority to try to rule the church and subsequently the world. SPIRIT GOD will rule His kingdom in and through His Body and Bride on earth. This is the reality of Christ in you the hope of glory (Col 1:27).
Christ Jesus is still seated at the throne of God, and we are seated with Him there in the Spirit. Jesus was crucified, resurrected, and ascended to the Father. As a “life giving Spirit.” (1 Cor 15:45) Jesus returned to His disciples at Pentecost, just as he said He would, to abide in them by the Holy Spirit to do the greater works in His Body on earth (John 14:12) (John 14 15-20) (John 17 20-23).
While in His incarnate body on earth, Jesus was a man in one place at one time. As Spirit God, He can be anywhere and everywhere all at once. He is both at the throne and on earth indwelling His people.
This is not saying that there is no future bodily return. This is saying that He came as Spirit to establish His kingdom now in us and subsequently into the world. We literally can rule and reign as kings and priests with Him now on earth as we no longer live but the life we now live is His life in us (Rev 1:6) (Gal 2:20).
This is also not saying that there is no place for leadership and leaders in the Body through whom Christ functions. It does mean that we must come to understand the difference in Headship and leadership. More on true kingdom church leadership next time.
Kingdom authority is the authority of Christ Jesus in the Holy Spirit living in His people ruling and reigning on earth as kings and priests.
Yes, as you imagine there is much more to this wonderful kingdom reality for each of us to experience in this life now and in the life to come. The Kingdom Growth Guides are a very good source of moving from religion into intimate relationship in the emerging kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
Keep on pursuing love. It never fails
and His kingdom never ends.
Ron McGatlin
www.openheaven.com basileia@earthlink.net
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Viewing the Shift

By Ron McGatlin

The goal of the ministry of the church.

The primary goal is not a bigger group, more activities or better services, it is not even benevolent acts, nor greater prosperity, and not even more and better evangelism, neither is it healing or emotional healing and deliverance. All of these and more are the results of the goal of the "ekklesia" (assembly of called out ones). The goal is Christ formed by the Holy Spirit in a people becoming His character and His nature in the world producing the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit in the humble and not a work of man's prideful efforts. The Holy Spirit brings the life of Christ within replacing our dead self-life. It is Christ being formed within by the same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead.

Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

The major fruit of the Spirit flowing from the Christ within is love. Unconditional love flowing from a pure heart leads to all the other fruits of the Spirit including joy, peace and faith to name a few. (Galatians 5:22:KJV)

The love of Christ flowing from a pure heart is the most powerful world changing force. Fear, pride, lust, greed, envy, and every evil work can be overpowered by love from a pure hearted ekklesia touching and changing our household and those who abide within then spilling out to the world.

Paul spoke clearly the goal of ministry to Timothy.

1 Timothy 1:5 NIV: The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

The Church is moving to embrace the goal expressed in the early church.

For a number of years the prophets have proclaimed a coming paradigm shift and the return of functioning apostles to help lead toward the new landscape. Many in the past have also added that they had no clear picture of what the new landscape of church would look like.

Now that the shift is in process and the new landscape is coming into view many are extremely surprised and even astonished. Some doubt that it is God doing the shifting. In reality we are all in a state of transition and are at different places in the journey of transition. And some have not yet taken the first step toward following this movement of the cloud and pillar of fire.

Some key words of this season are: intimacy with God, Father's love, "Christ in you", Holy Spirit saturation, soaking, God's manifest presence, transformation, reformation, church without walls and more. Relationship is a major concept of the shift - first intimate relationship with God and then with one another. The love and gifts flowing through relationship are becoming the primary structure replacing institutional structure.

Without brokenness leading to real repentance and real humility it is impossible to relate to God intimately. Intimacy with God is primary. Without intimately relating with God through the Holy Spirit it is not possible to see what is shifting and how it will look. To begin to view some light on the shift it is absolutely necessary to get in close contact with the Holy Spirit and get out of the mind set that our particular flavor of religious system or structure is the final destination. The Spirit must reveal to us that our "system" is NOT the church. We do not go to the church nor join the church. We are added to the church and we are the church. The church is the "ekklesia" (assembly of called out ones). Most every Bible teacher has taught about the priesthood of the believer but it has not really been fully practiced in the past. The "clergy/laity" system made it impossible for the full reality of the priesthood of the believer to come forth.

The church is NOT passing away - the systems are passing away.

In the confusion of the transition some think that anarchy and rebellion are coming against the church and attempting to throw off the leadership of apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd and teacher. If there are any such people out there I personally have not come into contact with them and they are definitely wrong. Let me assure you that the new paradigm will bring forth many times more gifted leaders than we ever had in the passing systems. The Holy Spirit will have freedom to bring forth multitudes of gifted men and women who have in the passing systems been relegated to pew sitting, or limited jobs within the system.

In recent decades many have become discouraged and have left religious systems in search of more reality of God. Often these pilgrims have spent years in a wilderness type experiences. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness before joining with others to fulfill his purposes. Moses spent 40 years in the desert before joining with others and moving toward the fulfillment of His life ministry. Paul also endured a wilderness season. Many scattered wilderness dwellers who had left the old are beginning to re connect and find their place in the ekklesia. For the most part they never wanted to leave God but had to leave the life limiting traditional clergy/laity structure. It is not the way of God to remain isolated from the rest of the body forever though the wilderness experience may have served a purpose and seasons of separation alone with God are often significantly used of God.

We are now coming to understand the difference between leadership and headship.

There is one head of the ekklesia. There are no people to stand as head over the ekklesia or to represent the head to the mature believers. The head is Christ Jesus flowing through the Holy Spirit and living in all his people.

Then you ask, what is leadership?

Leadership implies being in front of a moving group that is following. It simply means those further down the road. They are all on the same road. The mature lead the immature until they are matured and then they lead other immature in turn. Spiritual maturity is being able to clearly hear God and then being able to fully obey. If we are childish and yet have a self-life - if we are plagued by unhealed inner wounds and inner needs that drive us, we will not clearly hear God and will lack the ability to fully obey or carry out the instruction or direction from God.

Another word for mature is elder. Now, we need to lose our understanding of an elder from the passing system of church offices. We also need to lose our understanding of apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastor and teachers as church system offices. Elders lead by example training and assisting the immature. They shepherd and oversee. They allow the maturing disciples to watch them and their lives. Then the elders release the maturing disciples to do the work while they watch. Then they leave them doing the work and relate to the mature ones no longer as sons or daughters but as grown brothers and sisters who are themselves now mature or elder.

The servant gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd and teacher are already in the people while they were yet immature but cannot flow out to others until they are mature (elder). Therefore elders may be by their gifting apostles, prophets, evangelist, shepherds or teachers. The practical reality of the masses flowing and exercising their spiritual gifts greatly multiplies the leadership of the ekklesia. This greatly increases the discipleship and evangelism of the Body.

All this takes place in a multitude of generic family style groups and public gatherings where Christ in the people by the Holy Spirit connects with the manifest presence of Christ from the throne by the Holy Spirit and the true Head is joined to the Body.

This living Body of believers released to function as priests and kings will provide millions more leaders to lead the immature in multitudes of local groups and to flow from group to group bringing the gifts God has given them.

The Holy Spirit will guide everyone who can hear and obey.

Those who cannot yet hear and obey will be led and trained by elders who are matured through much affliction, humbled and purified by the love of God experience, to the point that they can clearly hear and obey. This is God's original design to bring forth the Body and Bride of Christ into the world. Christ being formed in many bodies networked together by the Holy Spirit as the one Body of Christ. It is Christ in you that is the hope of glory and the method for the kingdom of God to function on earth as it is in heaven.

Be careful not to be misled.

It can be easy to be mislead by the fierce reactions of those who are not yet understanding the shift and are fearful of the loss of the systems that have served us for so long. Also do not be mislead by those who would attempt to hijack the developing movement with a repackaging of the passing system practices with new labels.

The shift is not all about how or where groups come together. You can have the old system traditional church in a house or at work and simply continue the traditions of men in a different venue. Or you can have a Christ led first century style assembly in a house or a red brick building. The move is about Christ truly becoming the head in a practical real way and not just in word only.

Consider the timing.

This shift is a work of God through the Holy Spirit and is occurring over a period of time. This will NOT all happen today or tomorrow. It may be years or it may be hundreds of years before this transition season is over. It would be a huge mistake to get into the flesh and try to bring about by human effort what God is doing. It would be equally problematic to try to run ahead of the work the Holy Spirit is doing. Feeding from the tree of knowledge of good and of evil led us into the perversions of the past. Partaking from the tree of life of intimate relationship with God to clearly hear Him and fully obey His direction will cause us to walk precisely in His will and timing. For today and the near future it is certain that the presentation of church will have many and varied transitional models that God will use as much as he can.

Many factors will affect the transition including world political conditions. In increasing parts of the world, the true church is underground because of governmental and religious extreme persecution. While in other places freedom and favor for the church may be increasing.

The Early Church (Ekklesia) Model

In the early church the gifted but humble apostolic servant leaders lived among the people and taught them publicly and from house to house. They ate together with gladness and simplicity of heart. A multiplicity of elders (spiritually mature leaders) cared for the city church that met in houses and gathered publicly daily on occasions.

Acts 2:46: So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,

Acts 20:17-20: From Miletus he (Paul) sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them: "You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, "serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; "how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house,

Pursue Love, It Never Fails,

Ron McGatlin
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Leaving On A Journey

Many of God’s people are just now leaving on a journey that God has been preparing them for all of their lives. It is a spiritual journey that is manifested into the natural realm. It is first experienced in the spiritual and is worked out in the natural. Though the destination is not completely clear, enough is known about it to call us forward to seek to fully experience the promised destination of a greater new life. There is no turning back allowed on this journey.

Luke 9:62: But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Not everyone who is going will make the journey at the same time. However, individuals should be led by the Spirit to gather in groups to make the final preparation and leave on the journey together. It would be very hard if not impossible to complete this journey alone. However, much of the individual’s initial preparation may be made with only the Lord as companionship and fellowship.

This is a journey from religion and religious systems to spiritual kingdom relationship – a journey from doing to being – from formality to reality – from part-time Christianity to full time oneness with God – from giving ten percent to being one hundred percent consumed in God – from living by the Spirit part time to walking in the Spirit every moment – from a life of saying we believe to experiencing the reality of God. This is a journey into a fresh new lifestyle that is empowered by an intimate love relationship with God and works out of us to impact and change the world around us.

I am reminded of the early settlers of America who left their native lands and established a new life in the eastern parts of the nation. Afterward, hearty pioneers set out in small groups of covered wagons to settle in the west. My own great, great grandfather came from Ireland to America and headed west up the old Oregon Trail and settled in the then wild-west country of Frankfort, Kansas. Our spiritual journey into the new land of kingdom of God living as pioneers and settlers can be compared to the pioneers and settlers of western America.

Everything that is not useful for the journey must be sold. The familiar home and all its furnishings will be left. The neighborhood and the friends that were treasured since youth who are not going on the journey are left behind. The places of treasured memories where couples fell in love and were married and where the children were baptized must be left behind. Even the memories will fade as a whole new reality is experienced on the journey. Many things that seemed so very vital and foundational to past life cannot make the journey and are left behind as a new landscape and new priorities come into being in the new life of transition to the new world.

One group after another will start the journey and then another and another until many are on the trail making their way toward the promise of a new life with God. There are many unknowns about the journey, but they do know that it can be very difficult at times with many perils.

The folks that are remaining in the old land often seek desperately to dissuade people from leaving on the journey. With sincere and loving concern, they warn of potential peril in traveling through wilderness areas toward a largely unknown destination. They sincerely believe that everything needed is there in the old land and even though corruption has invaded the people and threatens to bring them all into seasons of lack and loss of freedom, they still say it is better than leaving the known for the wilderness travels toward a promise only seen in the spiritual realm by spiritual eyes.

Yet the Spirit draws, and those who will follow God hear clearly the call to the new land - the spiritual city of life beyond all they have known before – life as it was intended to be from the beginning – a life completely free from sin and any of its results – a life in the presence of God as He walks among the people and fills their lives with the light of His glory. He will wipe away every tear caused by the sometimes painful experiences of leaving the past and the perilous wilderness journey.

A Spiritual Journey with Real Dangers and Unprecedented Rewards

The earliest travelers on this journey paid a great price and many did not make it through. They did blaze a trail as far as they made it, so that subsequent travelers can follow it to assist them in their journey. As more travelers travel the trail it is more clearly marked and improved. Each group may add some logs in a bog or discover a better river crossing. Some have left devastating monuments beside the trail of their burned-out, wrecked vehicles and shallow graves of those who were attacked and overcome by the enemy along the way.

Since the earliest pioneers there has been an increase of called-out ones selling out and journeying down the faint but increasingly marked trail. Only in the past few decades has there been a dramatic increase in those setting out on the potentially perilous journey. The call of God is reaching many more people including young people who desperately hunger for the promise of abiding in the presence of God in a holy place among holy people. The tragic weight of sin and its awful penalties have become an unbearable burden to these who are selling all, and with God-given strength and determination are leaving the past to make the journey. These are road builders who will prepare the way for the multitudes to come after them.

The trail will be made into a Highway for the masses who will make the journey behind them. Those leaving now are sent to prepare the way for the people of God to move from the past church-age mixtures into the pure and holy kingdom of God, New Jerusalem lifestyle. The road builders must have their personal valleys exalted and their mountains and hills made low within their own lives. They must have their crooked places made straight and their rough places made smooth. The highway is built as multitudes follow and become a straightened, smooth, and level highway of holiness for God.

Some of us are hearing the call, the voice crying in the wilderness.

Isa 40:3-5: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Leadership for the Journey

A new and different leadership is being formed for the transition. The new Leaders have traveled the trail and know the terrain. They are prepared, gifted, and sent to help lead the holy kingdom highway building.

The new leaders walk among the group and not above it. All are on the journey together. The new leaders have been further along the trail and experienced more brokenness, cleansing them from all the mixtures of the past.

Gifted apostles and prophets are sent by God for transitional leadership. These humble leaders have been emptied of self and the resurrection life of Jesus imparted into them by the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. Christ Jesus has unhindered free reign to flow into and through them. The supernatural works flowing through them are only surpassed by the presence of the wisdom of God that formed all creation and the love of God that overcomes evil in its presence.

Isa 35:8-10: A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, though a fool, shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; it shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

The End of the Journey

For each of us and collectively all of us, the end of the journey is fully becoming the Bride of Christ pictured as the New Jerusalem of God and ruling and reigning with Him in a renewed world transformed by His love, wisdom, and power.

Rev 21:9-10: Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem,

Rev 21:2-5: Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."

On a broader, worldwide scale beyond the journey of the highway of holiness people, the transition of the world will be catastrophic and cataclysmic as the pride and loftiness of man and all that lifts itself against God will be dissolved by fire and the land resettled by the holy, pure Bride of Christ people ruling and reigning with Christ. And of His kingdom there shall be no end.

Mat 13:41-43: "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Isa 9:7: Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Keep on pursuing love. It never fails
and His kingdom never ends.


June 11, 2009, Ron McGatlin
www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net


Visit Northwest Prophetic for a complete archive of regional prophetic words, or to submit a word. Submissions welcome, particularly from or about the Northwest.





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Box Canyons And Dead Ends

God continues to release increased light in this time of shaking and change. Situations that we have viewed for a long time seem to be illuminated more clearly almost daily. It is like a cover is being removed and the view of the kingdom materializes in the people's vision. The pieces seem to come together with precision and clarity. Much that we have known and practiced is being shaken. It is being exposed as inaccurate or incomplete in light of the kingdom. Even some strong beliefs that the church in general has held on to for hundreds of years are being clearly exposed by the Holy Spirit and altered or replaced with kingdom truth. We are on an amazing journey and have reached a pivotal point in this spiritual journey that began in the first century.

Referring back to our previous analogy of the covered wagons crossing the USA to settle the west and our spiritual journey, the Spirit is speaking some things relative to making it through to the end of our journey to kingdom. There are enemy forces that will do all they can to stop people from participating in the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. The enemy employs many devious schemes using many snares and diversions to hinder or stop the people in their journey toward New Jerusalem lifestyle on earth. There is a strong resistance to the kingdom.

Mat 11:12: "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.”

Jesus Is the Way

Christ Jesus is the trail, the road, the highway that we must follow. He is the leadership that will guide us unto the Father and all He has promised. Jesus is the strength and the wisdom to make the journey into the kingdom of God lifestyle.

John 14:6: Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

It is the Spirit of Christ living in us by the Holy Spirit that enables each of us to lay down our life to the death of our self-life and become one with God. Abiding in Christ and He abiding in us releases His resurrection life into us and through us.

Rom 8:9: ….the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Rom 8:11: But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Rom 8:14: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Our journey involves the process of Christ in us overcoming our self-life and all that the enemy has planted into us of the fallen world’s ways. This is a journey we must willingly volunteer for and fully give our entire hearts and lives into.

Taking a Wrong Trail

Along the trail of life headed toward the kingdom of God lifestyle one of the devious schemes of the enemy is to cause us to take a wrong turn off the trail onto another. One of the most serious mistakes that can be made is to take a wrong turn into what looks like a good trail that appears to go in the direction of the desired destination. However, the end of it is a box canyon with steep walls in all directions leaving no way to move ahead. The only option is to turn around and go back to where the wrong turn was made. This can be a long journey of wasted time, strength and resources of life. The enemy will set up many spurious dead-end trails to divert travelers from their course.

If we follow any other trail other than Christ Jesus, we will not arrive at New Jerusalem the ruling city of the kingdom of God on earth. If we are following after a religion with its forms, rules, and future projections, we are not on the way to New Jerusalem. If we are led by political philosophies and agendas or worldly wisdom and natural reasoning, we are not moving toward the kingdom of God. If we follow after or seek anything first in our lives above the kingdom of God and His righteousness, we are on the wrong trail traveling into a box canyon and will arrive at a dead end.

The Religious Trail

Many believers have come to a place in their religious church experience where they say within themselves something like this, “There has got to me more. This can’t be all there is. There must be more to God than what I am experiencing.” They have come to the end of a box canyon and cannot move forward.

There journey may have begun on the right trail and started really well in coming to know Jesus as Savior and learning the Bible. It was exciting to hear of the love of God that caused Jesus to go to the cross to die to save us from our sin. Life got a lot better and fellowship was good. There was a fresh cleanness and sense of well-being at meetings. It was the time between the meetings when old sinful habits and fleshly desires wore away our goodness and caused us to slip again and again. Our focus was consumed with our daily battles and temptations.

Finally, for some of us after falling away and becoming in disfavor with our group we came into contact with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and received power to resist our temptations. Then we learned to praise and experience God’s presence in meetings and were thrilled with the joy of it.

Yet, we were still absorbed in ourselves, our joy, our healing, our sacrifices and eventually our ministry to others. We felt really alive when we ministered to others powerfully. So why in the world were we still not truly satisfied. How could it be that even in all this our thoughts were that there must be more than this? Still something was missing and we knew not what. Soon there was no place further to go and we cried out to God for more, more revival, more of His presence, something to help us with our lack of deep inner satisfaction.

We turned to other things to fulfill our needs for joy and satisfaction. Many turned to “acceptable” worldly pleasures and entertainment for excitement. Some turned to gathering worldly possessions and expensive toys. Some built big churches or big ministries with lots of prestige and great offerings. Many slipped into romantic involvements that brought temporary excitement. Soon every foolish, lustful, sinful practice of the fallen world was being perpetrated to restore excitement and pleasure to our lives. While we were doing it we were keeping up a Christian religious facade. Were we trying to replace the loss of the fresh exciting spiritual life of moving onward toward the real kingdom of God?

(Author’s note: I use the first person because I am part of the church and not altogether from personal experience.)

Of course, I know this was not exactly the same for everyone but in general many have lost vision and find the trail they were following has ended in a box canyon experience.

Moving back to following Christ Jesus and seeking the kingdom

All religion followed to its end leads to a place of being walled in on all sides. The early church began on the good trail to the kingdom of God. A wrong turn into religion was made not long after the first century apostles left the scene. There is both a church-wide many centuries old religious trail that departed from the trail of Christ Jesus and His gospel of the kingdom. There is also for many a current individual scenario taking place. Both of these have come to a dead end in a box canyon.

We have all been involved in this journey down the wrong trail. We are either yet in the canyon and moving toward the dead end wall or we have turned around and are coming back out. From this deep box canyon there is no view except straight up. Those who settle here can only wait for Jesus to come and lift them out to heaven. There is no view of Christ and His kingdom now on the earth available to those who settle in the canyon. As far as some can see this world is only a dead end. All hope for victorious life is in heaven after this life or in the bodily return of Christ to take them to heaven.

Some believe this world and all that is in it belongs to the devil. They are only waiting to die or for Jesus to come down and lift them from the dark box canyon of no hope for kingdom in this lifetime.

Others who would not settle have received great light that there is more but it cannot be seen over the religious canyon walls. The horizon is very near on three sides blocking the view. However, God has sent His messengers with the great news that there is a real kingdom beyond their limited horizon. This is one of the most glorious happenings of modern times. The glorious truth of the reality of intimate relationship with God and Christ Jesus as the way to the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven is being restored to the called out holy people of God. The bright light of the kingdom is again shining forth on earth and many are leaving the darkness and coming to the light.

The only way out of the box canyon is to turn around and go back down the trail until we reach the place where the wrong turn was made and get back on the right trail. Back to Jesus and out of religion. This means leaving behind much of what we had received while on the wrong trail. Like the journey into religion the journey out is made one step at the time. Without the Holy Spirit to comfort and empower us and bring increasing enlightenment of the kingdom we would not make the journey back to following Jesus and seeking the kingdom first.

The journey out can be more difficult than the journey into religion. For me personally it was like a death experience. Until I received the fresh light of the gospel of the kingdom, no one could have told me that portions of what I believed and taught had been derived from intellectual discernment of the Bible and doctrines of demons or traditions of men passed down from the ages of darkness through religious systems that functioned without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Much of what I had fought to defend and to keep pure was actually fallacious doctrines. The false teachers and false prophets I thought I was fighting against were no more false than much of what I had been taught and was teaching to others.

Back On the Right Trail

The view is awesome. The horizon is far away and the kingdom reality is in view and already functioning in our lives. There are no more walls of limitation. Life is no longer without purpose and is no longer about us or for our pleasure. It is all about Jesus and His pleasure. We are so fulfilled and our part in the kingdom becomes clear. We are a part of the Body of Christ bringing forth His kingdom to change the world. The power of God working within us causes our lives to be productive and a sense of significance in the work God gives us to do. Actively putting Christ and His kingdom first in our lives causes us to be humble servants with a sense of fullness, satisfaction and rest in our lives. His presence through the Spirit fills us with joy and even in persecution we are not beat down but fully at rest in Him.

Following Jesus and seeking the kingdom brings hope and victory into our lives no matter what our situation. We are strengthened to do the mighty works of God bringing hope to all who will receive.

Mat 11:29-30: "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Mat 6:33: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Mat 6:10: Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

For more on the journey from religion to relationship in the kingdom, the Kingdom Growth Guides and other books are available on this site for free download.


Keep on pursuing love. It never fails and His kingdom never ends.

Ron McGatlin

www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net


Visit Northwest Prophetic for a complete archive of regional prophetic words, or to submit a word. Submissions welcome, particularly from the Northwest.

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