If it
weren't for the fact that God has "moved
into our neighborhood," we
would be entirely without hope.
God is revealing the beauty of His world in our
neighborhood as we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and speak to us. It is
beautiful as we give unto Him the praise and worship that He deserves; our
praise is replaced with the very person of Christ Himself.
"But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the
praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst
deliver them."
Psalm 22:3-4 (KJV)
As we begin to see that God has created all things,
including the demonic principalities and powers which rule this earth, it begs
the question, why would God create beings so dark?
If we are honest, we must
realize they didn't start that way, the evil principalities and powers began in
the heavenly council as ones who were appointed to serve God on the earth, but
they were corrupted by the wicked master of lies himself.
Even when we were in
darkness and deception was chasing after us, we followed our own ways and
desires before we came into the light of Christ. The reason darkness exists is
that the light of Christ could pierce through that same darkness and bring
glory to God.
"All who are led by
God's Spirit are God's sons and
daughters."
Romans 8:14 (CEB)
It takes the sons and daughters of God who are led by the
Spirit to listen to what the Spirit is saying, and walking the path that is laid
out before them. That path involves ruling and reigning with Christ by
interceding with prayers and requests to God.
And also by us closing the (spiritual) door
on the enemy's evil activities and stopping him in his tracks from advancing,
and at the same time opening the (spiritual) door for ministering angels of God to do what
needs to be done. We can commission these angels to do our bidding and
releasing life and light to all of God's children.
It mentions that this is part of "the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven"; this is how kingdom life looks.
"My heavenly guide brought me to the river of pure
living waters, shimmering as brilliantly as crystal. It flowed out from the
throne of God and of the Lamb, flowing down the middle and dividing the street
of the holy city. On each bank of the river stood the tree of life, firmly
planted, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and producing its sweet crop every month
throughout the year. And the soothing leaves that grew on the tree of life
provided precious healing for the nations".
Revelation 22:1-2 (VOICE)
The river of pure living waters represents the flow of
the Spirit that pours through us; once it is flowing, there is nothing that can
stop it. Who would want to? The river of living waters is a constant and
energetic flow that is effervescent and intoxicating to anyone who experiences
it; anyone who is touched by it wants more.
That is a flow that is meant for God's sons and daughters
of whom all of us are; we were meant to be immersed in this flow to experience
the sweetness and beauty of the Lord's presence which brings with it healing and restoration,
which is described as pure water flowing through us.
Next to this flow is the tree of life, the tree of life represents Christ, who gave His life on a tree. His death becomes our
tree of life.
"Everything has an order. The body is not animated
first by the spiritual but the physical; then, the spiritual becomes its
life-giving source. The first man, Adam, came from the earth and was made from
dust; the second man, Jesus, has come from heaven. The earthman shares his
earth nature with all those made of earth; likewise, the heavenly man shares
His heavenly nature with all those made of heaven. Just as we have carried the
image of the earth man in our bodies, we will also carry the image of the
heavenly man in our new bodies at the resurrection."
1 Corinthians
15:46-49 (VOICE)
The goal of our faith is to become one with Christ and to
live in victory as Jesus is victorious. We have been given everything we need
to live a life that is full of the Spirit; we carry within us the inner
knowledge that we will be transformed as we walk daily with Jesus.
The Christian life is not static as some have imagined it to be; there is constant
change happening in us and around us as the Spirit of God leads us.
As Christ
Jesus abides in us, we are not conformed or shaped by this world; our minds are
transformed into the mind of Christ.
We are being prepared for a glorious event
described as the Lamb's wedding feast. Jesus is described as the sacrificial
Lamb or the scapegoat who bore the sins of the world upon Himself.
He is
also described as the Bridegroom who will return and receive His bride. Notice
that Jesus is not returning to set up a kingdom, He is returning to receive His
Bride and the Bride are His priests who already know their place in that
kingdom, for they had already begun ruling and reigning with Him long before Jesus
decided to come back.
Entering
into the fullness of the "New Jerusalem," will come over time,
it will come in us as the Spirit of God leads us. The Spirit of God reveals who Jesus is in
much deeper and more profound ways. We
have only begun to see what God is up to.
But as the Scriptures
say, "No eye has ever seen and no ear has ever heard and it has never
occurred to the human heart all the things God prepared for those who love Him."
God has shown us these profound and startling realities through His
Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep mysteries of God. Who
can see into a man's heart and know his thoughts? Only the spirit that dwells
within the man. In the same way, the thoughts of God are known only by His
Spirit. You must know that we have not received the spirit of
this rebellious and broken world but the Spirit that comes from God,
so that we may experience and comprehend the gifts that come from God.
1 Corinthians 2:9-12
(VOICE)
The first
order of things will be gone, and a new order of things will emerge in Christ.
"Now, if anyone is enfolded
into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the
old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new."
2
Corinthians 5:17 (TPT)
It is
exciting to know that we are made new in Christ Jesus, and everything of this old life is crucified with Him on the cross.
We now live in this new life!
Be Blessed;
Stephen Barnett
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