The Elevated Place

It seems as if there is no escaping the fiery darts of the enemy. Wherever we go whatever we do, scores of demonic influences determine to degrade us to the lowest of levels. It is Satan’s business to degrade the children of God. Daily we are bombarded by the arrows that fly by day and the terrors that come with the darkness. Still we shall not fear for when the enemy comes against us like a flood our God will raise up a standard against him.

Beside the fact that Satan is seeking to destroy us, his major objective is to distract us from the deeper things of God. As we war among ourselves and those that claim to be enemies of the church, we drift farther and farther away from the truth. As we wander away from the mark we acquire many yokes that come from Satan. As soon as we step out of Gods will and protection we make ourselves open to the attacks of the enemy. Some may argue that God’s presence is everywhere therefore we cannot be out of His protection, this is simply not true. The one true God will never compel one to serve him. The Bible specifically instructs us that we should not dwell in the council of the ungodly. It is not that we are out of his reach but out of his will. When we walk away from God we basically say to him that we are no longer in need of His hand to guide and keep us.

Samson made his dwelling place in the midst of the wicked. What we observe in the details of Samson’s ordeal is because he was constantly in the enemy’s territory he was always at war. He eventually wed a daughter of the Philistines, not recognizing that the enemy or the blood thereof was now becoming a part of him. For this purpose the bible tells us clearly that we should shun the very appearance of evil and to not allow any place to the devil.

Things we see as harmless today stand in undeniable contradiction to the word of God. Many preachers are afraid to indicate their intention to preach to convert a sinner because we are afraid to scare people away. One Youth pastor said at the beginning of his sermon, “If you think I’m trying to convert you and make you into something you’re not, a bible carrying believer, you’re absolutely right”

Many people say that God abhors the sin and loves the sinner but in reality it is the sinner who has to taste of hell’s flames. Our intention in not to create a church of mediocre Christians who proclaim a banner that contain no significant differentiation from the world. It is inevitable that the church and the anointed are going to be different from the world. The transformation that occurs when an ordinary man comes into contact with a divine God is not skin deep but right down to the bone.

Still today the church has awakened to find herself in the slums of mediocrity. We know where God could bring us to, we even have an idea of what he requires of us but still we are all bark and no bite. Indeed it is difficult to come out of the rut we are steadfastly poised in.

Samson’s wife was murdered by her own Philistine nation for her countrymen sort to take revenge upon the Hebrew. Samson slew the Philistines for this and ascended to a mountain top called Etam, which means cleft. The true anointed of God will always find refuge in the cleft of the Rock of Ages. The Rock of Ages, the Christ, was broken for us that we may have life in Him.

Samson is safe in the cleft (Etam) but his own people decide to deliver him to the Philistines. They asked Samson, “Don’t you know that the Philistines are rulers over us”

Once we see ourselves as broken and oppressed then the enemy will always claim superiority. As mentioned before, we always serve to pull our brother down. The time has quickly dawned upon us when, in its entirety, the theological declarations of some so called biblical scholars and the doctrines fabricated of men must be incinerated with all the other religious jargon.

Some anointed person, whom the Spirit of God has led into all truths, is going to finally arise out of the downtrodden dust of woefulness the church has been sitting in. Samson was taken down the mountain to a place called Lehi meaning the Jaw. When the Philistines attacked him in that low place where no water was the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. Notice Samson did not have to depend upon the writing of the latest television evangelists or the strategic ordinances of a sorry excuse of a decrepit ancient Pastoral committee; he depended upon the Spirit of God. Do not get me wrong, I am not against a good pastor, preacher, teacher, evangelist or prophet for how can we hear unless we have a preacher. Still let it be known that Christ is the head of the church.

Samson is attacked in Lehi and there he finds the jawbone of a donkey. In Lehi, meaning the jaw, Samson used the Jawbone of an ass to destroy the host of the philistines. Samson declared after the great slaughter that the new name for Lehi would be Ramath-lehi meaning elevation of the Jaw. When the anointed of goes into a place God will elevate it to a new level. We need for Jesus to elevate us above the storms and the situations that we are dwelling in. Even though the church often times finds herself in a low state God desires to elevate her place.

The world itself is sinking deeper into a mire of sin and blood lust. We have to remember that while we, the anointed of God are in the world God will transform this place into an elevated place. Let God raise us up.

God's Bidding

Christians should never live in fear of the enemy. Fear is a crippling tool that the devil uses to incapacitate the child of God. Fear creates a loophole through which the enemy can enter the lives of the believers. Engraved within the intellect of the Christian is the fact that God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

Job was an upright man whom God called perfect, he abhorred evil and did that which was right in the sight of God. The bible declares that Satan stood before God. Immediately God took charge of the conversation and one of the first things he talked about was Job. God asked Satan if he had considered Job, in other words he wanted to know if Lucifer had given thought to what a perfect man Job was. Satan acknowledged the righteousness of Job but accredited Job’s love for God to the blessings and protection that God had given to him.

Satan proceeded to pull the wool over God’s eyes or so it seemed. Satan proceeded to ask God if Job would love him for nothing. Satan attempted to coax God, the all knowing, into removing his protective hand from around Job. This is like two boys on a Sunday Morning all dressed up on their way to Sunday school. While walking down the track they come upon a little pond filled with murky water. As they both stare into the grimy unknown the younger says to the older, “I’m sure you’re too scared to jump in there”

The older replies, “I aint scared to do nothing”

“I know you’re scared, I can see it in your face, you can’t jump in” the younger insists.

The older boy says, “I aint scared to jump in”

“Yes you are, scaredy cat” says the younger

“No, I’m not”

“Yes you are” replies the younger boy with an evil little half grin on his face for he knew that he had his older counterpart right where he wanted him.

The elder boy, in such a panic to prove that he could jump into the pond, without thinking closes his eyes and with one mighty leap, jumps right in. The younger boy stands with his hands over his stomach laughing uncontrollably. He managed to coax his older friend into jumping into a muddy pool of water in his Sunday school clothes.

It seems as if this is the exact thing that Satan was trying with God. To make matters worse it seems as if God was falling for it. God Loved Job so much yet Satan convinced him to remove not only the protection that he had given him but also the blessings. “Will Job love you for naught?” was the question posed to God and apparently God wanted to prove that Job would love him for naught.

With this recognized, we stand confused as to how Satan could manage to pull the wool over God’s eyes in such a manner. After all, Jehovah is the God that knows all things and is infinite in wisdom. It must be remembered that our God is the head of all principalities and powers. God was pleased with Job and God called him perfect. We cannot change this or attempt to twist Gods word to find an alternate meaning. Job was pleasing to God and God desired to bless Job more than he had already blessed him. In order for Job to receive a greater blessing he had to overcome a greater obstacle. God would not afflict his righteous servant, so he had to devise a way for Job to be afflicted in order to receive a greater blessing. Satan came up in time. There is no one better to administer evil than Satan himself. While Satan thought that he was afflicting Job he was actually creating an avenue for Job to receive a greater blessing. God is a just God and every man receives a just recompense and Job received the just reward for all the afflictions he faced in righteousness.

On many occasions we only see the suffering without seeing the possible end result. It seems as if the enemy has his way in our lives sometimes but the truth is he is only unconsciously accomplishing the bidding of God. This can also be observed when we look at the life of the dreamer, Joseph.

Joseph’s brethren called him the dreamer for he had a dream indicating that his brothers and his parents would all bow down to him. This dream within Joseph was only a seed. As Joseph wandered in the field looking for his brethren he became lost. Many Christians have a dream and an anointed unction in their lives but still wander aimlessly through the vast expanse of ministry. The bible declares that once we seek we will find so even if we spend some time wandering our steps will be ordered by the Lord. Joseph met a certain man who directed him to his brethren who were in Dothan, a place called ‘the wells’. 

As Joseph’s brothers saw him they remarked, “Behold this dreamer cometh.”(Genesis 37:19)

The plan was eventually derived to cast Joseph into a pit and so they did. Many people see this pit as the worst place but this pit actually saved Joseph’s life. Ruben, Joseph’s elder brother suggested that he be cast into the pit so he would not be slain. It must be realized that sometimes the place we at now, in the pit of our lives is exactly where God wants us to be because the walls of the pit proves to be our protection.

The pit that Joseph was cast into was excavated there to collect rain water. The bible declares that this pit was dry. It is almost as if this pit had some other divine purpose than just collecting water. This pit must have been divinely placed there by the hand of God for the commencement of Joseph’s journey. Joseph’s dream within him was a seed that God had created. All God had to do was find a place to plant the seed. This is why that pit was made ready. While Satan thought that he was killing Joseph and his dream he was actually planting the seed of a dream. Joseph died the day he was thrown into the pit. From that day he was dead to his brothers and his father. The Joseph they knew was now dead but unless a seed falls to the ground and die it cannot bear fruit. Except a corn of wheat fall to the ground and die, it abideth alone: bit if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John 12:24)

Christians find themselves in the pit and question God as to why they are there but the value of the pit must be recognized. With all fervency and rigidity we wrestle to find our way out of the pit. The anointed of God do not climb out of the pit but they grow out of it. This is when we become trees of righteousness the planting of the LORD. God takes his anointed from ashes to beauty, from mourning to gladness, from despair to peace and from the pit to a prince. Joseph’s journey to the fruition of his dream began with the pit and grew from that point onward. The bible did not omit the pit from Joseph’s story for the pit proved to be priceless in the realization of his anointing.

The truth remains; the position God has ordained for his chosen vessels stands vacant. As we journey toward the ordained place we encounter many obstacles but the anointing will break every yoke and destroy the stumbling blocks that hinder the growth of a Christian. The deeper the anointing goes the stronger the Christian grows.

Strain at a Gnat

Matthew 23:24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

            It is imperative that the people we associate ourselves with are anointed and able to see the truth. It a natural instinct of man to judge his fellowman while being quick to indicate his faults while ignoring his own. This is a great hindrance to the anointing. When we find ourselves surrounded by people who constantly bombard us with our shortcomings, we are forced into becoming overly analytical of ourselves and our walk with God. A perfect example of the cruelty of man is seen when the woman who was found in the act of adultery was about to be stoned. John 8:3-11.

Here is an expressive look at what probably occurred to that woman and how Jesus was not quick to judge her. This is from the woman’s perspective.

Run to him

They were chasing me, I knew I was about to die

I remember the voices of angry men shouting ‘Kill her, Kill her’

My breath was now gone but I had to run

Ever time I tried to hide they would find me

In the crowd I saw men that used me, abused me

The same vile men now desired to stone me for sins they themselves shared

This was the end for me

I was caught in the act of adultery

I probably really did deserve to die

After all no god will ever let a person like me live

I ran and ran and ran until there were no more places to run

I couldn't take another step

My legs were too weak

The rapid beating of my weary heart was overshadowed only by my gasps for breath and the shouts of men who hated me

I called the names of those I knew but they looked the other way

Maybe by my death they felt as if their sins would be erased somehow

With a hundred hands tugging at me I felt the skin on my back separate from the flesh as I was dragged through the street

Help me, help me, I cried but no one seemed to hear

The crowd just laughed and jeered some exclaimed ‘the curse of God be upon you’

I remember being thrown against a wall for they were getting ready to stone this unclean woman

I closed my eyes as tight as I could ready to accept this end

The voices became clearer with my eyes shut that tight

I heard one man ask ‘what should we do with this woman for she is a whore and an adulteress

Moses said the she should be stoned what do you say?

To whom was this question posed?

Slowly…… I opened my eyes to see the figure of a man stooping

His slim fingers neatly carved a word into the dust that overlaid that wretched road

This man wasn't like the other men he seemed kind

What was he writing? I looked as hard as I could, momentarily forgetting my ordeal

I could not believe my eyes, he was writing my name

But no one called me by that name since I was a child

My parents died when I was young and they were the last to call me by that name

Moses said the she should be stoned what do you say? The voice of some angry man quickly returned me to the present situation

The goodly looking stranger looked up and said to my accusers

Those of you that are without sin cast the first stone

There was silence no man could condemn me for they were all born in sin

Every man dropped his rock and walked away

That stranger was the son of God for wisdom like that only comes from God

Then he asked me, "Where are your accusers?"

“Rabboni,” I said in fear “I see none”

He leaned over to me and gently said

“Neither do I condemn you”

I felt as if I was too dirty to behold a man as pure as him

Then he said to me, “Daughter”

When he called me daughter I felt better that when my own daddy did it

Plus he actually claimed me when the world forsook me

He said, “Daughter, your sins are forgiven you, go and sin no more”

            We are so hasty to judge one another but the church as one body is supposed to collectively embrace the deep things of God. The bible encourages us to seek God as a group. This is evident when the bible declares; where the two or three are gathered in my name there I am in the midst of them. We look at the splinter that is in our brother’s eye never beholding the beam that is in our own. A person will never grow spiritually if he is constantly badgered by the concept that he is not is worthy to receive from God because he is found in iniquity.

            While we are quick to compromise with the poorly disguised wolves that lurk among the flock we are quick to cast stones of condemnation upon our brothers and sisters that are trying to acquire a deeper anointing in God. Let it be known that even if the true anointed is cast down he will not be destroyed. A good man may fall seven times but seven times he will get back up. The time is now, when the anointed to the bone Christians will arise and shine because the Sun of Righteousness is about to rise upon the church.

            Instead of spending time in search of a gnat, tiny flies in the ointment, let us lift up our eyes to the hills from whence cometh our help. We must eliminate sin and embrace our brother but sometimes it seems as if we embrace sin and eliminate our brothers.  The anointing is what propels the church into every new move of God but if she is divided then she could never stand.

Who do you say that I am?

An individual’s perception of God is directly concomitant to how he will react to and serve him. Those who claim to know God and talk to him as a mother talking to a child has no idea of the magnanimity of the creator. It seems as if no one fears God any more because they have not had a real divine experience with him.

            Once a choir member approached her choir director to explain to him why she had not attended the Saturday practices. “My dad” she explained “He’s in the hospital and is very ill, near death I'm afraid”

            The director replied, “I understand, the Lord will heal your father just have faith.”

            The woman proceeded to exclaim, “I know the Lord could heal him but I told God if you take my dad away from me then I will be so mad at you but I know he’ll understand.”

            What the Christians of today never realize is our God, Jehovah, is a God that changes not. The only reason we can boldly approach the throne of God is because of his son Jesus Christ and his Grace, which is sufficient for us. God is still a God of justice and judgement  A man in the hand of God is like a doll in the hands of a little girl. The little girl could rip the arms and legs off that doll and toss it across the room and no one can say a thing because the doll belongs to her. What the choir member failed to see is that her father was on loan to her from God.

            If we remember the immaculate words of Job, the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord Job 1:21. We can never understand a person unless we have contact with that person. We cannot really know a person just by hearing about him, until we meet him then the true personality of that person is revealed. This is why a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is absolutely, unequivocally vital to the attaining of a true anointing in the life of a Christian.

            Many Christians today rely upon the experiences of others to determine their approach to serving God. We never realize that each man could have a totally different understanding of God because there is so much of him to understand. If we were to ask Christian believers who God is to them most of them would give answers that they have learned over the years. Many would say that God is a friend, saviour  redeemer never giving much thought to who God has really been in their lives.

            Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I the Son of man am?” Matthew 16:13

            His disciples had many names which they heard people say some said John the Baptist others said Elijah. Jesus was not very concerned with who the people thought he was but he was more concerned with whom his disciples saw him as. His disciples had the answers to his first question but they were speechless when he when he asked, “But whom say ye that I am?” Matthew 16:15

            The disciples of Jesus were all with him on a daily basis. They were all exposed to his teachings and they all had the opportunity to converse with him. Peter was the only one in the group to answer, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”

            Jesus answered and said unto him, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee but my father which is in heaven”

            Peter had seen beyond the realm of flesh and blood and as a result the divine revelatory knowledge of God became available to him. This is how the true anointed men and women of God approach the things of God. While an ordinary Christian may attend a church service and get nothing out of it, the true anointed of God, anointed to the bone, sees beyond the flesh and blood. This is why the bible declares that true worshippers will worship God in spirit and in truth. John 4:23.

            The anointed of God inevitably delve into the deeper things of God because there is always a hunger and a thirst for more of God. This hunger of God is ignited by pure untainted love for the father. When we love God we will want more of him and as a result the God will reveal himself.

            We say that Christians should love God but some may ask how can I love God when I am simply not attracted to him. How can I love someone that I just do not have any feelings for?

No one could force a person to love someone else. A person who is being forced may pretend to love but in reality it is just an act. This is a thought many Christian harbour within the mind and are almost afraid to express it to anyone.

            God is so infinite in his nature and characteristics that once we get to know him, loving him is inevitable. To know God is to love him. There is so much to love in God that he is everyone’s type. It is impossible for someone to know God and not love him unless given over to a reprobate mind. One of the greatest commandments in the bible declares, Thou shall love the lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. Matthew 22:37. Every aspect of a human being is designed to love God and the nature of a relationship with him is directly dependent upon whom we perceive him to be.

            The time has come upon the children of God to pause and ask ourselves who do we say that he is. We have never taken the time to explore the divine nature of God therefore our perceptions of him are distorted thus we cannot even begin to love him. It is time the church stop seeking for God and expecting to find who we anticipate him to be. Instead, we should seek him in truth and allow him to be the one true God in our lives and not just an image of a God that we designed in our puny, limited intellects. 

Who Am I?

There are individuals who are experiencing a change in their overall existence. With such an anointing it is impossible to see things the way a mere human being sees things. Too many Christians suffer from a lack of identity. Many people spend a lifetime trying to find their “calling”. Let God arise and his enemies will be scattered thus there will be a quieted open avenue for the clear audible voice of God to reveal his divine will.

Moses thought he knew who he was but all this was changed when he murdered an Egyptian. He thought he was an Egyptian but he found out a contrary truth, he was not recognized as a Hebrew for he looked as an Egyptian this is why Jethro’s daughters thought he was an Egyptian when they first saw him at the well. He did not learn the ways and the customs of a Hebrew home for he was raised in an Egyptian household. Moses became a man void of a true identity until he decided to become a Shepherd, marry and settle down. This is the identity Moses had chosen for himself but God had other plans. Everything in our lives should be in line with the will of God.

Moses saw the burning bush and proceeded to turn aside and see this great thing. As of that day Moses was never the same again. The bible declares in Exodus 3:4 that when Moses turned aside to see only then God called out to him. We have to learn to turn away from some things sometimes in order to see the calling that God has ordained for us. Many people desire to succeed in ministry but also desire to keep their secular status, this cannot work. God’s requirement is that you be hot or cold not lukewarm otherwise he will spew you out of his mouth. How can a man serve two masters and love them equally, he will love one more than the other. Inevitably in the ministry there are things that you must give up in order to be effective. If a man desires to be a pastor and cannot live in the public eye, forget it.

God informed Moses that he heard the affliction of his people and he had heard their cries by reason of their taskmasters’ whips Exodus 3:7. Sometimes the only time we genuinely call upon God is when we face a traumatic experience. The antagonizing suppression of an overwhelming condition provokes a prayer that fulfils the definition of a true worshipper. In our moment of fear and hurt, it is only then we manage to seek God in Spirit and in truth. Only because of the whip the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.

Moses expressed his lack of identity when he asked God in Exodus 3:11, “Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

When Moses asked ‘who am I’ God said, certainly I will be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee’. God did not answer Moses’ question but he revealed his own Identity ‘I that I am’. When we begin to understand God and who he is then we can have an understanding of who we are. God did not answer Moses but he had already informed Moses that he was to deliver the children out of Egypt. God was going to anoint Moses, not as an Egyptian, not as a Hebrew but as the deliverer. God plan was to deliver his people using Moses and as a result unto this day Moses is called the deliverer.

Our identities are determined by what we are anointed to accomplish. It is safe to state then that our anointing gives us a face. Moses had to discard his new found identity that he created for himself in order to pursue God’s calling. When we have a divine encounter with God we could never be the same for this changes who we are. When Moses descended from the mountain after spending forty days with him the bible declares his face shone with the glory of God.

No one could behold the face of Moses neither could he be recognized. The face of a man marks his identity and now Moses’ face shone only with the glory of God. The anointing transforms a man from a mere Christian into the anointed of God. When this occurs we no longer possess our own identity we have his identity and we no longer ask the question, “who am I”

Man boasts that we have been made in the image and likeness of God and of a truth God did perform this but sin deforms the image of man. God is without sin and man was born in it, obviously the image and identity God initially created had been altered. Sin is so much excess baggage; it has become a yoke that has disfigured the image of man after he had toiled under it for so long. After enduring and withstanding the bondage of sin for generations man had forgotten that he was created to be free. As a result he has accepted the slave identity and continues to live with the yoke of bondage. Jesus came to set the captives free and he whom the son sets free is free indeed. The anointing breaks every yoke therefore because of the anointing man could regain the identity that was created for him since the very foundation of the earth.

Moses was anointed to Deliver he became the deliverer. In the same way Gideon hiding in the winepress for fear was anointed as a mighty man of valour by the angel of God. Gideon is one of the greatest warriors in the bible because his anointing gave him an identity contrary to the one the world had chosen for him.

David was a shepherd boy in the field but this was not his identity. He was anointed to be king but greater than that he was a man after God’s own heart. David’s identity is nothing less than the beloved of God, his name means beloved. Proof of David’s identity as the beloved of God is seen in the profound literary orations called the Psalms that he fashioned because of his unrivaled admiration for his beloved.

Solomon is called wise because his wisdom surpassed that of ordinary men and kings. After Solomon had sacrificed to God, God gave him the option to ask whatever he wanted of God. Solomon received an anointing to lead with wisdom that day and because of that gift he is known as one of the wisest men to have existed.

The anointing that is imparted to us creates the identity of God in us. The bible declares that we are part of the body of Christ, members in particular. The anointing is what transforms us into a particular member or part of the body of Christ. Samson is a good example of this; whenever the anointing of God came upon him he became strong. Samson was the strong man, his anointing gave him this identity but it also demonstrated to us that through Samson’s anointing the arm of the Lord was revealed. Samson anointing proved him to be the arm.

David’s anointing was one of love. David knew how to love. We see this in the relationship between David and Jonathan. The bible declares that David’s soul was knit with the soul of Jonathan and he loved him as his own soul. David’s anointing made manifest the heart of God.

A shallow anointing is almost like putting make-up on, it alters the appearance of a person but the identity remains the same. An anointing that infiltrates deep down to the bones is capable of transforming the very structure of the child of God.