In the Beginning

In the Beginning
Genesis 1:1-4
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

“In the beginning, God…” Think back to that day when God started a new beginning in you. Do you remember the day when God said “let their be light in the midst of your soul” and you agreed and said yes. Do you remember how He took you when you were formless, void and dwelling in darkness and He caused the light of Jesus Christ to dawn upon your soul? The Lord began a new day in you that separated light and darkness.
John picks up on this theme in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” In the beginning was the Word…and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Christ is the express Word of God, the expression of all of creation, the breath of God’s own life, the light of His glory and countenance. Christ is that light of the world and the author of life to all of its inhabitance. The light is never a part of the darkness, but rather it always dispels darkness relative to the intensity with which it is present. Darkness cannot comprehend light because it is contrary and opposite in nature to light. Isn’t it only God’s grace and the opening of our understanding by His Spirit that we begin to comprehend the Light of the World? Every candle has a wick, but until it is lit, it remains an object of darkness. Hearing the Word of God, coupled with a quickening of understanding by the Holy Spirit gave us the empowerment to light the candle of faith that burns within our hearts. This light of faith, that flickers and burns within us is of the same nature and characteristic as that which burns in the Light of the World. He has placed His light in us. He has called us to a new day and to walk in the light of the knowledge and revelation of God that He has imparted to us in the Word and through His manifest presence. When lights gather together they grow in intensity, greater dispelling the darkness and lighting the place with His glory. What’s more, is that now, as we walk and dwell in this light, we have fellowship with the author of light and life.
1 John 1:1, John carries on this theme of the beginning, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.” Because we have embraced this life, John 1:12 – 13 tells us that now we have a right to become the sons of God, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” When you are born of God you are given the right to fellowship and commune with God. You are given the privilege and the mandate to live to the praise and glory of Him who now indwells you. You are given entrance and fellowship into His presence with others of like faith. From this beginning we become children of the day who walk in the light, as He is in the light. We become the living signposts, the neon lights that show and direct others to the author of light and life, so that they also might experience a new beginning. We have the fellowship and relationship with the Lord that it speaks of in 1John 1:5-10, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” When we embrace the day and choose to walk in the light, as He is in the light, then we live and dwell in the power and love of God’s forgiveness and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our darkness and sin. We know that we have all had darkness and sin in our lives and in fact we are still struggling with its temptations, but as we continually turn our faces into the light and away from darkness, the power of the blood dispels the darkness with its light and life.
Christ is the beginning and the end, the first and the last and He wants to be that to us throughout all of our existence, both in this life and that which is to come. Continue on in the light of the good work that God began in you from your beginning. Bathe yourself continually in the light of His countenance and glory and that light wherewith He has lit our souls, let is so shine to be a light and a beginning for others.

Blessings,
#kent

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The Righteous shall not be Forsaken

The Righteous shall not be Forsaken

Psalms 37:25
I have been young, and [now] am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Often times the walk of righteousness is not an easy walk. As we draw near to God, and more and more relinquish our life for His, we sometimes can be become discouraged and disheartened. All around us the wicked and the ungodly seem to be prospering and enjoying life while it seems we are facing one struggle after another. While life is an uphill battle for us, it seems to often be a roller coaster ride for others and we may be tempted to mummer, “This is unfair Lord.” The psalmist saw the same thing in his day. He gives an account in Psalms 73 of how he envied the prosperity of the wicked. “For I was envious at the foolish, [when] I saw the prosperity of the wicked (Psalms 73:3).” Do we ever get discouraged and think I’m tired of this walk of righteousness. Everyone is prospering and enjoying life and I’m trying to be godly and yet I’m struggling through life. Where is the equity God? The psalmist goes on to explain what he discovered and the folly of his reasoning. “This is what the wicked are like- always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies (Psalms 73:12-20).” Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where [there is] no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he.” There are times when our vision becomes obscure when we start to look back at the world instead of steadfastly upon the Lord. The enemy would begin to coax our minds and hearts into thinking that the way of the world is far better. He is only able to do this as we get our eyes off of Jesus. We only need to enter into the sanctuary of His holy awesome presence to be reminded of what the end and the destiny is for the wicked and unbelieving. God is not withholding His good from the righteous, He is raising up His righteous to possess and rule all things. In order to do that the “things” cannot possess us. Only He, The Lord God, Pure and Holy, must possess us. Our destiny is not of this world, for this world and all of it goods soon are to pass away and perish with the using, but the possession we have in Christ is eternal and only increases from glory to glory.
Don’t allow yourself to become discouraged by the struggles you have in this world. It is by patience and steadfast faithfulness that we enter in and possess the greatest prize of all, God’s holy nature and manifest presence in our lives. What our God desires to give us is unmatchable by anything in this natural world. We must have the vision of what God’s heart and desire for us is lest we perish in the wilderness, failing to enter in and possess our inheritance by unbelief.
Let us take heart and faint not, knowing that the fullness of our salvation is near at hand. We can know that Paul was right when he said, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God (Romans 8:16-19).” We don’t need what the world has. They need what we have, for the scripture declares that the sons of God will be the instruments of God’s restoration and restitution in the earth. The outward apparel does not always reveal the wealthy man. The righteous is being purified to be the containers of God’s wealth and blessing. The blessing that seeks not it’s own, but is the dispenser of the life and love of God even as Jesus, the pattern Son.
If we want renewed vision and purpose we need only draw near by the blood of Jesus and enter the sanctuary of His presence. When we experience the richness of His manifest presence we will know without a doubt that there is nothing in this earth richer or more satisfying than Christ Himself.

Blessings,
#kent

Persevere to Pursue Holiness

Persevere to Pursue Holiness

Hebrews 10:19-25
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And [having] an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith without wavering; (for he [is] faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Here in Hebrews we are again being exhorted and encouraged to draw near to God. We are not being told to draw near hoping that we’re good enough or hoping that God will accept us. He already has accepted us in Christ and if we are to draw near and have boldness to enter into the Holiest, we must do so based not on identifying with our former selves, but based upon who we are in Christ Jesus. It is His blood that has cleansed us, purified us and given us acceptance before Him. When the Father looks upon us now He sees us in Christ and receives us as such.
One thing the tone of this scripture brings to us is that we do not enter in by the attitude of “I wish I may, I wish I might”. The scripture is saying to us gird yourself up in the confidence of who you are in Christ, with a true heart, in fullness of faith. We know that the blood of Jesus has dealt with the sin issue that separated us from God. We know that His Word is renewing our mind and thinking, washing our bodies with the water of the Word. But do we have a true heart? One that is truly set, fixed and will settle for nothing less than His manifest presence? The Lord is telling us that we have everything we need to enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus. That Holiest is where the light of His glory is present over the cherubim. It is that place in his Holy presence we meet with Father, Almighty. While we have access and provision to come here, it is not a place for the weak and faint of heart and faith. They will not see this place. We are talking about a place and dimension at the mountaintop. Most will not enter in because the path is not well traveled. It takes the passionate person that will persevere in faith, boldness and confidence. God is looking for a people that are wholly sold out to Him, where He alone is the object of the their passion and desire. A people who covet nothing less than His manifest presence and life. They don’t want to settle for just living in Israel. They don’t want to settle anymore for just living in Jerusalem. They have their have their eye single and steadfast upon Mount Zion, where the King reigns. They have been promised through this Word an audience with His Majesty and they will not be detoured by anything until they have come into His presence. They will make whatever spiritual preparations required, but they have determined that they will not be denied His promise. Most of us get discouraged and distracted along the way and we give up on our highest pursuit. The whole reason we meet together and have church where two or more are gathered in His name is so that He might be in our midst and so that we might stir one another up in our passion to pursue Jesus into the Holiest. We have to keep one another focused on our life purpose, which is to know Him and manifest His nature in these mortal bodies.
Hebrews 12:1-4 goes on to exhort us after we have just left the hall of faith in Hebrews 11. It tells us, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Whatever it requires of us, we want to be God-chasers, passionately intent on entering into that place where He has made a way. This is our quest to enter into the prize of His glory and presence. On the journey we will find ourselves changed and transformed, for the closer we get to Him, the more His consuming fire burns away all that is perishable within us. The closer we get the more in His likeness we become. Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Summon up your faith in all boldness and with a true heart and all of your might, pursue the Lover of our souls into the Holiest.

Blessings,
#kent

A Word from the Lord

A Word from the Lord

Romans 13:12
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Leave this day the things of the earthly realm behind you. Look into the dawn of the New Day for from the East arises your salvation and from the West the sun is setting on the former things and the things of this time and place. Open your heart to me and I will fill it. Open your mouth to me and I will fill it. Open your hands to me and I will fill them. I will be your supply and your provision. All of your need is met in me. Lean not upon the arm of the flesh to feed and provide in your day of want. I am your Provider and the supplier of every need. Lean not upon your own understanding, but lean on the council of My Word, for it is the light unto your path and a lamp unto your feet. Take care that you walk in the light of the council of my Word. It is a sword to prove you, to divide and separate soul and spirit. Far too long my people have been a mixture and double-minded in their ways. Let your eye be single and your heart true to the calling that I have given you to walk in My ways and obey My commands, if you do this, then do you love Me. Far too long my people offer up the oblations of praise and worship, but their hearts are far from me. Outwardly they do their homage, but within their heart and their thoughts they entertain wickedness and impurity. I do not judge the outward man, but the inward man, the man of the heart. What value does a beautiful cup or vessel have if it is full of abominations and wickedness?
The fire is sent to purify that which I have sanctified. It will burn with unquenchable thirst until there is no more left to feed its desire. Mercy and grace will wet and temper the steel of godliness in my people, lest they be consumed in judgement. My people shall turn to me from the least to the greatest and those that are mine shall gather beneath My wing. There I will shelter them from the storm. It is a time of pruning and separation so that those who would bear fruit may do so more abundantly and those that are dead upon the vine may be cut off and cast into the fire.
What a man has sown and what he is now sowing will bear its fruit and he shall eat the fruit thereof either to life or to death. Take care how you plant into your life and into the lives of others.
Clay pots hold divine life. Only as they are emptied are they perpetually filled. Stop holding the life till it becomes stagnant and putrified. Pour out that which I place within each one of you. It is only in giving that you truly receive. Release the life. You are not vessels for storage, you are vessel of daily use to wash the feet of common people and make their way clean and sure. Some of you say, what do I have to give? Give your life, your service, and My love that abides within you. With Me there is never a lack of supply or increase. You are shallow, because your deeds are shallow. Become the vessel that is tipped over and poured out. If you sow sparingly you will reap sparingly.
Revelation is coming, but it comes with a price. It must be received with humility and obedience. The revelation of the Most High is revealed in what you live and not in what you know. The revelation of Jesus Christ in you is revealed through a crucified life, laid upon the altar of obedience and service.
Today is the day to seek Me and lay all else aside. I am your refuge, your hiding place, your mighty fortress, but you must truly know me to be hid in me. It is no longer about outward actions of religion and godliness, it is a day to know intimately my heart and come into the inner sanctuary of relationship and abiding that is only found in intimacy and relationship. Come quickly, for the days are getting short and times and seasons are at hand. Rouse you up out of your sleep and slumber and come away with me. I speak these things to you, because I love you. Let him who has an ear hear what the Spirit is speaking to the Church. It is the day for the Bride to prepare herself and make ready for her Groom. Take heed and act quickly.

Blessings,
kent

Instead of Judgement, Salvation

Psalms 114
When Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled, the Jordan turned back;
4 the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
5 Why was it, O sea, that you fled, O Jordan, that you turned back,
6 you mountains, that you skipped like rams, you hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.

Instead of Judgement, Salvation

This is an interesting and prophetic Psalm in the Spirit. Let me just share with you how I am seeing this in the Spirit.
Israel is God’s people, Jew or Gentile, for “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God. (Romans 2:28-29)” So we as the people of God are led by God out of Egypt, which is a type of the world. They are a foreign tongue to us, not because they don’t speak “Christianese”, but because we speak from a spiritual tongue the words of life and truth. Our language is a heavenly language, both in the Spirit and in the natural.
Judah, not Levi, became God’s sanctuary. Levi, represented the priesthood and administration of the Law, which was unto judgement. Judah, from which Christ came, was the habitation or sanctuary of God, the administrator of salvation and the priesthood of Melchizedek.
This Psalm is not speaking in its present day order of Judaism and Levitical dispensation, It is speaking to a new day when Christ is His sanctuary and Israel, His Church, bride and body is His dominion whom through whom He not rules not just over, but out of.
The sea is like the multitudes of the earth, who flee when they look and see. The Jordan, is like the baptism unto death that is turned back as it beholds the life of Christ. The mountains and the hills are the high place in God and in the realm of the Spirit that rejoice and are glad as Christ is revealed and His salvation springs forth.
The earth trembles at His presence, for it beholds the Lord mighty in judgement and dominion, for He took the Rock that has the power and authority to righteously crush in judgement and turned it into a pool, the refreshing waters of life and salvation. Isaiah 41:18 says it this way, “I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.” What Christ can be in judgement as the hard rock, He has revealed first in restoration, reconciliation and salvation. He is the living water and the life-giving stream. The waters of refreshing to all who will come and drink. It pleased God to strike the hard rock that has the right, the authority to judge all men, so that He might be the refreshment of life in a barren and dead place. See oh earth what the Lord has done; in place of judgement He has shown mercy. Micah 6:8 says, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
God has extended His great love toward us, and in place of judgement He has offered us salvation. Fear the Lord because of His goodness and let us never take lightly all His grace and benefits. Let’s just end with this word of encouragement and exhortation from Titus 3:3-8, “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”

Blessings,
kent

The Righteous shall not be Forsaken

The Righteous shall not be Forsaken

Psalms 37:25
I have been young, and [now] am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Often times the walk of righteousness is not an easy walk. As we draw near to God and more and more relinquish our life for His, we sometimes can be become discouraged and disheartened. All around us the wicked and the ungodly seem to be prospering and enjoying life while it seems we are facing one struggle after another. While life is an uphill battle for us, it seems to often be an amusement ride for others and we may be tempted to mummer, “This is unfair Lord.”
The psalmist saw the same thing in his day. He gives an account in Psalms 73 of how he envied the prosperity of the wicked. “For I was envious at the foolish, [when] I saw the prosperity of the wicked (Psalms 73:3).” Do we ever get discouraged and think I’m tired of this walk of righteousness. Everyone is prospering and enjoying life and I’m trying to be godly and yet I’m struggling through life. Where is the equity God? The psalmist goes on to explain what he discovered and the folly of his reasoning. “This is what the wicked are like- always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies (Psalms 73:12-20).” Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where [there is] no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he.” There are times when our vision becomes obscure when we start to look back at the world instead of steadfastly upon the Lord. The enemy would begin to coax our minds and hearts into thinking that the way of the world is far better. He is only able to do this as we get our eyes off of Jesus. We only need to enter into the sanctuary of His holy awesome presence to be reminded of what the end and the destiny is for the wicked and unbelieving as we see the faithful’s hope revealed in His holy presence. God is not withholding His good from the righteous, He is raising up His righteous to possess and rule all things. In order to do that the “things” cannot possess us. Only He, The Lord God, Pure and Holy, must possess us. Our destiny is not of this world, for this world and all of it goods soon are to pass away and perish with the using, but the possession we have in Christ is eternal and only increases from glory to glory.
Don’t allow yourself to become discouraged by the struggles you have in this world. It is by patience and steadfast faithfulness that we enter in and possess the greatest prize of all, God’s holy nature and manifest presence in our lives. What our God desires to give us is unmatchable by anything in this natural world. We must have the vision of what God’s heart and desire for us is lest we perish in the wilderness, failing to enter in and possess our inheritance by unbelief.
Let us take heart and faint not, knowing that the fullness of our salvation is near at hand. We can know that Paul was right when he said, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God (Romans 8:16-19).” We don’t need what the world has. They need what we have, for the scripture declares that the sons of God will be the instruments of God’s restoration and restitution in the earth. The outward apparel does not always reveal the wealthy man. The righteous is being purified to be the containers of God’s wealth and blessing. The blessing that seeks not it’s own, but is the dispenser of the life and love of God even as Jesus, the pattern Son.
If we want renewed vision and purpose we need only draw near by the blood of Jesus and enter the sanctuary of His presence. When we experience the richness of His manifest presence we will know without a doubt that there is nothing in this earth richer or more satisfying than Christ is Himself.

Blessings,
kent