Chapter 6
Crossover – the Priesthood & the Kingdom
The word ‘Hebrew’ means ‘one who has crossed over’ from another place and first appears in the Bible as ‘Abram the Hebrew’ (Gen 14:13). He crossed over River Jordan, the threshold of the temple of God and came into the Holy Place (Gen 12:6-7). The Epistle to the Hebrews is address to the company of saints who has crossover!
The Kingdom in Heaven is waiting…because it is already and not yet here!
But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began (Acts 3:18-21).
A. ‘When the Day of Pentecost has fully come’ - Firstfruits and Pentecost
The Feasts of the LORD in Leviticus 23 are events marked by fullness of time and seasons. ‘Fullness of time’ means when a required work is completed and the desired result is achieved, then come the harvest of its fruits (John 4: 35-36). ‘Seasons’ means a cyclic period of time with the accompanied atmosphere and climate. Pentecost is not just the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) in the Pentecostal tradition! Jesus the Christ is the firstfruit of the New Creation by the works of the Holy Spirit on the Man Jesus. After the works of the Holy Spirit is fully done, it is time to wait for the harvest of the fruit. When the fullness of time for the gathering of the harvest has fully come or ‘when the Day of Pentecost had fully come,’ Jesus (at age thirty, meaning ‘maturity’) was presented to God as the finished Product or the firstfruit of the works of the Holy Spirit during his water baptism in the River Jordan (Matt 3:16-17). The temple was completed to house the indwelling Holy Spirit. There was a declaration of the decree from Heaven and the infilling and indwelling in Jesus Christ. He became the Living Temple of God. That was Jesus’ day of Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacle began as God tabernacle or dwell within Jesus in fullness (Col 1:19, 2:9 c.f. Rev 21:22, 22:5)
In the upper room in Acts 2:1-3, the disciples of Jesus Christ waited for ten days, from the Day of Jesus’ Ascension to his Day of Enthronement, for their ‘Day of Pentecost’ to fully come. They were the firstfruits of Jesus’ work whom he formed to be carriers of his mantle and spirit, the Spirit of Christ, which is the spirit of Jesus made perfect (John 20:22, Heb 12:23, Rom 8:9b) and when their ‘Day of Pentecost had fully come’ Jesus presented his firstfruit company of disciples to God the Father and all the heavenly hosts in Heaven and received the seal of approval with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the temples of his apostles. It was also the Day of Exaltation and Enthronement of Jesus as King. On earth as it is in Heaven, His ecclesia was established on earth with the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) to make ready their firstfruits for ‘the Day of Pentecost to fully come’ in each of their fullness of time and season. His disciples were commissioned as His apostles to prepare the firstfruit in the Church and to present to Jesus the King and God the Father their harvests or Pentecost! The Kingdom comes but its fullness come when after ‘the Day of Pentecost has fully come’ on their harvests so that the Spirit of God can fully tabernacle in the living temples of the ecclesia. True apostolic work is to prepare the firstfruit company and to get them ready for their ‘Day of Pentecost’ so that God can tabernacle in the living temples among the people. There are much uncovered truths in the tabernacle, priesthood and feasts of the Old Testament that must be taught to the people of God. The Old Testament must be understood in the light of the New Testament and in Christ Jesus.
1. Heaven is waiting…
God is waiting for the Feast of Tabernacles when the fullness of the Pentecost or Product of the New Creation is reached so that He can tabernacle among them (the Feast of Tabernacles) for His new Kingdom inauguration. He already has the Pattern and the Prototype of the New Creation in the Person of the Man Jesus the Christ. The King of kings had been installed and kept waiting …His Colony on the earth is still being prepared for the firstfruit and Pentecost! The Church needs to be awakened and realigned to her destiny.
The Head of the Church, Christ Jesus, and our King wants to deliver the Kingdom in the Colony on Earth to God the Father.
Then come the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27 For "He has put all things under His feet." But when He says "all things are put under Him," it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:24- 28, insert is mine)
Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voice in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and forever (Rev11:15)
The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged. And that You shall reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth." Then the temple of God was opened in heaven…" (Rev 11:18-19)
2. We have a purpose, process and product in our life on earth
The ‘Then’ indicates sequential events in a process, first the firstfruit, then ‘the Day of Pentecost has fully come’ and finally the ingathering or Tabernacles. Firstly it is the blueprint or pattern, then the building itself and finally the housing estate. We as citizens of the Kingdom in the Colony, are in the process of maturing into the firstfruit for our Pentecost as we learn to bring His rulership and righteousness in us and in our ‘Garden’ and we continue the Kingdom colonization, not by confrontational as militant activists, but through permeating by succession according to the spiritual principle of the godly Seed reproducing after its own kind. We are to reform and transform the systems of the world when we ourselves are first reformed and transformed by the Word of God. Joseph reformed and transformed the taxation of Pharaoh and dealt with the root problem of the people loving breads and not wanting to work with their hand with seeds.
"And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food for those of your households and as food for your little ones." (Genesis 47:24)
God created His Colony on Earth as the Platform for the Purpose with the Process of Preparing the Priesthood, trained to live and rule in righteousness in the Colony of the Kingdom of Heaven for His New Creation, which is the New Governing Body of Priest in the order of Melchizedek. It is God’s Plan and Purpose in preparing, purifying and producing us so that ‘in our light they see Light’ (Ps 36:9). We are earmarked for His new Priesthood.
The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool." The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! (Ps 110:1-2)
The Colony on earth serves as a platform for us to be trained, nurtured and developed until we come into Zion. It is in this spiritual state that we are able to have rest (the completed works of the Holy Spirit within us to make right the fullness of function as living temples of God) and reign in His righteous rule. The Church is to mature to this spiritual position through His divine process.
Babe (Gk nepios)--> Child (Gk teknion) -->Teen (Gk paidion) -->
Son (GK huios)
In this Platform of the Colony of the Kingdom here on earth, we will be exposed to all sorts of evils, difficulties, sufferings and pains due to sin. We will be exposed to all kinds of authorities and powers, to all sorts of people, relationship, problems. We may be faced with injustices, evils and unrighteousness and with a sense of hopelessness. We may yell at God and said, “Why me?” or we may be so frustrated in seeing the innocents and the weak suffer and yet powerless to doing anything. It is a platform of hardship and yet by His grace, we can overcome. Its purpose is for us and the angelic hosts to see the contrast between good and evil, light and darkness, righteous and unrighteous and all the evil and all the good in man. It is a platform meant for us in Christ to taste, to understand, to learn and to be Light in the midst of such darkness and to overcome darkness with increasing light. It is a platform of refining gold through fiery furnaces and the forging of hammer and anvil of the blacksmith. Yet in all these, the Holy Spirit is our Teacher and Comfortable to form ‘the Christ in us the hope of glory.’
I have seen Christians who are strong but have no resilience. We must be toughened to be overcomers. There are so much ‘noises, pressures, deceptions, norms, lights’ and we are not to melt in the heat. We are to colonise the earth and fill all the lands with the Kingdom of God with His Truth and Light in God's method and His way. And then the End will come! (c.f. 1Cor 15:24-28, Rev 11:15-19) The End is near when the Temple in Heaven opens again as we becomes His living temples here in the Colony.
Matthew 24 tells us of the cycles of 'evening' and morning' - periods of dim, darkening and darkness of deception, distraction, destruction and every period of 'evening' will expose darkness and give the potential of 'morning' dawning. History has shown man is able to learn from history and not to repeat it again. Godliness always prevails over evil. It will mark the end of one era, a regime, a political administration, dictatorship, ideologies, wars, natural disasters, etc and the beginning of another. In the midst of all these shakings, the wicked will vanquish and the righteous prevail and dominion over natural disasters like typhoons, pandemic, earthquakes and other limitations will increase with technological advances. Mankind will learn of the righteousness of God that cannot be shaken!
3. The Melchizedek Priesthood in Zion
And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matt 24:14).
It takes God to form the man with His own hands and put him in His Garden to serve and guard His Sanctuary. Likewise God took 40 years to prepare and form the Israelites whom He saved from Egypt, the land of slavery for the priesthood in the Promised Land. Through the wilderness journey, the old man must be crucified (Rom 6:6) ‘and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness’ (Eph 4:24). They were forged in the hot furnace of adversity. They were transformed from victims to victors.
slaves --> saints --> soldiers-->sons
4. Why crossover to enter the Promised Land – to obtain inheritance!
The answer is Inheritance! At last the God’s people arrive at the eastern bank of River Jordan in the Plain of Moab (Joshua 3). They are about to crossover the River Jordan into the Promised Land. They were now made ready to crossover in true righteousness and holiness, having being circumcised by Joshua. The mark of priesthood is heart circumcision! They were crossing over the threshold into the Holy Place where only the priests are allowed to enter. God has a major lesson for them. Now they are to execute His righteous rulership until the land has complete rest. His destination for them is Zion, the Throne Room of God. Those who can enter all the way into the Most Holy Place like David will receive the inheritance. The inheritance has two parts:
- A spiritual inheritance for impartation to the next generation for succession and
- A divine inheritance of God to be His Melchizedek Priesthood for His new Kingdom.
The Israelites, as priests of God Most High, were to execute His righteous rulership on themselves in self government and in God's place by succession through reproduction of the Seed until the entire Promised Land comes into rest in Zion.
5. Our Continued Incarnation in Christ in Heaven
‘David and the Tabernacle of David’ is a picture of those who attain to Zion and become as matured Seeds, having obtain a spiritual inheritance and stature to become spiritual reproducer after the dimensions of the Seed in them (see the Davidic Covenant and ‘the sure mercy of David’ in 2 Sam 7:11-16, Psalm 89:30-37). Noticed the spiritual dimension within David as he transfer the blueprint, mystery and wisdom of the temple to his son Solomon (1 Chron. 28). For those who attained to Zion and obtained the dimension of the Melchizedek Priesthood, before we die, we have reproduced our life and ‘continued incarnating’ in the lives of our spiritual successors on earth in fruitfulness and multiplication.
After we die and have ascended, we continue and commence our priestly service in this role and function in Heaven in our ‘continued incarnation’ immediately after their physical death on earth (Rev 20:4-6). There will be an eventual victory ‘parade’ in heaven when and where we are publicly acknowledged and decorated with glorious body (Rev 5) when we receive our inheritance and reward of a more excellent name than angels in the Kingdom in Heaven.
Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth. And a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute on them the written judgment - this honour have all His saints. Praise the LORD! (Ps 149:5-9)
Jesus received these two aspects of the inheritance.
a. He becomes the captain of our salvation. In Hebrews chapter 2 Jesus was able to enter into the Most Holy Place as David was able to take Zion and therefore Jesus is able to bring many sons to glory because He was perfected through suffering and destroyed the power of sin and death. He knew the spiritual dynamics and spiritual dimensions to bring us into the Most Holy Place... Hebrews chapter 2 described the spiritual inheritance Jesus obtained for His Bride.
b. He received a more excellent name than all the angels (Heb 1:14) as His Inheritance. He is named 'The Son of God' and exalted to sit at the right hand of God and reigns as King of kings.
6. Our Inheritance - a more excellent name!
In Genesis 28:1-5, Jacob had to run away from his home because he had cheated Esau of his birthright. Isaac called, blessed, charged and said to Jacob to receive 'the blessing of Abraham' on one condition - to keep purity without contamination (not to marry daughters of Canaan).
What is this 'blessing of Abraham'?
After all Jacob already obtained 'the firstborn blessing' and will inherit all that is of his father Isaac and of his grandfather Abraham! In Genesis 32, after 20 years of divine process, Jacob was about to receive his divine inheritance. In verse 26 Jacob said "I will not let You go unless You bless me!" The blessing that Jacob received was a change in his name from Jacob to Israel. 'The blessing of Abraham' was Abram received a new name to become Abraham (Gen 17:5). The divine nature of Yahweh, 'ah' is now part of Abram, he is now Abr 'ah' am.
Acts 17:24-30
24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising.
2 Peter 1:2-4
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
The Man Jesus also received his inheritance when God gave him a more excellent name!
'Having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they' (Heb 1:4)
'Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth' (Phil 2:9-10)
Name in the Bible denotes nature, character, and the intrinsic substance of a person. Receiving the name 'Son of God' as our inheritance means God has completed His works in us by the Holy Spirit, bringing us to successful completion the divine journey from the Red Sea to Zion. We are formed in divine nature, wisdom, stature, heart, spirit, and rulership, tested, proven and approved and God is able to put us into the Garden to serve and guard His Kingdom. When we attained Zion, we have rest. The anti-Christ is against Christ from manifesting inside our life. When the work in us is completed, we are ready for our inheritance and we are ready to reproduce the Seed in us. To receive a more excellent name than angels as Son of God means we have the divine nature of God inside us and we are able to fully function as God function, in His Image and in His Likeness. There are still Christians who don't believe we can be ‘perfected’ here on earth and that we can only be perfected when we go to heaven. It robs them of their inheritance in Christ. The divine nature is more than just nice character and behaviour; it entails wisdom, stature, authority, governmental grace, power of the Word and of the Spirit. It requires sound theological understanding as most tends to look at the external situation.
7. Our earthly journey with God is all about obtaining the inheritance.
Our journey begins when God save us by His grace for Egypt or Nod, the land of bondage and wandering. We cross the Red Sea, through the wilderness and crossover the River Jordan where our priesthood begins until the Temple is built inside us as we arrive at Zion! When we successfully entered all the way into the Most Holy Place or Zion, we already have spiritual stature, holiness and wisdom and able to lead many sons to glory through life impartation.
8. The way in...
The Gate at the east of the Tabernacle is where evangelists bring people to Christ. It initiates the process of salvation by the grace of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
The Brazen Altar is the first furniture in the Outer Court and at this level issues of the flesh, worldliness and self are dealt with. Pastoral ministry is needed to comfort, encourage, assures and motivates the people. Teachings are needed to give them the needed understanding for repentance and renewal of the mind. This is the dimension of the Baptism of John (Acts 19:3)
The Brazen Laver is for the washing with the water in it. At this level, the inner man and heart of the people are dealt with. It will require the grace of servants of God who are sharp in the ministry of the Spirit. They carry spiritual radar to detect and discern the spirits and hearts of men. They are spiritual gatekeeper with a holy indignation against falsehood and deception. They are also builders in the Spirit where the inner man is cleansed, strengthen and built accurately. The prophetic grace and teachings they released provides counsel, direction and admonishment to prepare the saints ready for the crossover. It releases powerful spiritual dynamics and spiritual intensity inside of us. It activates the power of the Holy Spirit within us to overcome the gravitational pull of the power of sin. It enables us to soar with wings of eagle. Without this spiritual 'jet engine thrust' we cannot fly and soar. We are heavily laden like a chicken trying to fly instead of like an eagle soaring! True matured prophets are like the 'best friend of the Bridegroom'. They must carry the Spirit of the Bridegroom and not allow their own spirit or soul to contaminate the water. It is a ministry of utter responsibility and consecration and circumcised heart and it can be easily compromised (c.f. 1 Kings 13). It must be crystal clear water from the Throne to displace the water of the River Jordan (Joshua 3:13-17). This is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:4-6). This level is to prepare the saints for the next stage by crossing over the threshold into the Holy Place as priests.
The Golden Lampstand, the Altar of Incense and the Table for the Showbread are in the Holy Place, exclusively for the priests only. In the congregation of a local church there are open groups or small groups like cell groups but there is a closed group called out and are invited by matured ministers, through the leading of the Holy Spirit for discipleship, mentoring and fathering. These are the ecclesia. The same pattern is in Jesus calling out his disciples among the followers to follow him. At this stage the requirement for consecration is very much stringent in order to upkeep the condition of the spiritual state. It requires constant ministering to the LORD, a crucified life and in the ministry of the Word and Spirit. The focus at this level is on the priestliness and self governance in righteousness. It is the Baptism of Christ at this stage and the consecration is tested because the veil must be removed for the next stage into the Most Holy Place. There is no short-cut and it is a lengthy process.
In the Most Holy Place, there is the Ark of Covenant where the Mercy Seat of God is. The contents of the Ark were the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments, a jar of manna, and Aaron’s rod. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the Ark. He is the living Ark. In Him is the substance and spirit of the Ten Commandment, He is the fullness of the Word made flesh, and the fullness of authority and power given to Him as the High Priest and King of the Kingdom. It is the dimension of maturity as living Arks and carriers of the governmental grace and Sabbath Rest. This is dimension in Mount Zion.
B. Seven Stages into the Kingdom
While the first phase in the wilderness deals with sanctification, purification and qualification, the second phase in the Promised Land which is spiritually the Holy Place with Zion as the Most Holy Place, is for training to reign in true righteousness, holiness and wisdom. They have to undergo the seven stages into the Kingdom, progressing from the Outer Court, which is from the Red Sea to the River Jordan which is the threshold of the temple. Crossing over River Jordan they entered into the Holy Place as priests and maturing in kingly function until they were ascended to Mount Zion, which is the Most Holy Place. Jerusalem is a pictured of the New Jerusalem in Rev. 21.
These 7 stages are:
- See the Kingdom
- Purified for the Kingdom
- Enter the Kingdom (Gilgal)
- Subdue for the Kingdom
- Dominion by the Kingdom
- Reign in the Kingdom
- Inheritance of the Kingdom
1. Seeing the Kingdom
When we are born again we must know that God took us out from bondages and slavery to bring us into His Promised Land. We are on an exodus. The Passover signified a new season or kiaros in God for us who was born again. We are delivered out from darkness and bondages to be brought into His Kingdom of Light. We must be taught apostolic doctrine of the Kingdom as foundational teaching.
We must understanding and see the Kingdom (John 3:3). For generations the Jewish slaves in Egypt knew and have the prophetic hope of the Promised Land that God will bring them into. The errors of preaching the Gospel that we are saved in Jesus for heaven creates passivity and pervert the grace of God into cheap grace. We must see the Kingdom and understand the entire journey to receive our inheritance!
2. Qualified for the Kingdom
In the wilderness journey, we are sanctified and purified for qualification into the Kingdom as priests. The wilderness journey is about the old sin nature in us dying at the cross to remove the worldliness, the flesh and the self. This is the Brazen Altar of the Outer Court where the burnt offerings are burnt. Having been circumcised in the flesh and the washed at the Brazen Laver by the Holy Spirit, we have a pure heart with a clean and strong spirit and are made ready to cross the River Jordan and enter into the Holy Place to serve as priests of God.
Jesus also began his ministry after baptizing and coming out of the River Jordan. River Jordan is therefore the deciding line whether we qualify as His priesthood and progress to obtain the inheritance in Zion. It is the threshold into the Holy Place of the Temple. The qualification for priesthood is very stringent. God is holy and the priesthood must be holy. Any priest with the following twelve blemishes are disqualified and not allowed to come before God (Lev 21:16-24, c.f. Ezek 44: 10-31))
- Blind - spiritual blindness, no enlightenment, unable to discern spiritual condition
- Lame - not able to walk properly on the words of God
- Marred face - ugliness, not mirroring the glory of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18)
- Any limb too long - imbalanced and overemphasis.
- Broken foot - unreliable, always late
- Broken hand - cannot give
- Hunchback - not upright
- Dwarf - a stiff necked person
- A defect in the eye - unable to focus, blind spot, prejudice
- Eczema - itchiness, restless, unstable, easily circum
- Scab - not under godly authority with a submissive heart, a wound that did not healed, unforgiveness
- Eunuch - impotence, have the form but no power, unproductive
Luke 1 tells us of the priest Zacharias was disqualified by God when he did not have the capacity to believe the proceeding word of God by the angel Gabriel. He was mute.
3. Entering the Kingdom
It requires the circumcision of heart (Joshua 5:3). This is done by a spiritual matured father who is able to discern and detect spiritually the inner being. The matured spiritual father knows the requirement of God in holiness. It was Aaron transferring onto his sons in the priesthood. Moses transferred to Joshua many spiritual dimensions and dynamics because Moses stood before God face to face. It took Joshua many years of formation to carry the mantle, spirit and the God of Moses. Moses as the spiritual father of Joshua was able to nurture and developed Joshua in the Spirit of God. In impartation, Moses was able to impart into Joshua the following (Duet 34:9-12)
- The Spirit of Holiness before God
- A stature before all power and principalities
- A stature before all of Pharaoh
- A stature before the Body of Christ
- The Spirit of Wisdom before the seven mightier nations
In accurate and successful functional succession, the spiritual son will receive 3 dimensions of his spiritual father (c.f. 2Kings 2)
- The mantle - this is the exoskeleton or 'the well' that Jesus mentioned in John 4. It is the life and lifestyle or the pattern that is able to hold, contain and protect the purity of the spirit content within. It takes many years to form this pattern as it must be caught and the senior man is able to form because he knew within himself what he is carrying and how he is able to carry and contained it. He knows the pitfalls of a contaminated or leaking cistern.
- The spirit - once the spiritual capacity is enlarged and the right mantle is able to contain and not leak like broken cisterns and the spirit man resonate with the spirit of the senior man, the impartation enables spiritual deposits to be received, retained and to be released.
- The God - Once God approved of the life transfer and impartation, there is connectivity and continuity in what God began in the spiritual father to the son and the dimension seen in the father is now downloaded onto the son. The son is now able to be the carrier of the Living God as his spiritual father did and the destiny intended by God continued.
a. The ancient apostolic pathway to maturity and discipleship
It is very important to understand this spiritual process of discipleship. A matured man of God entered in and stood before God and he came from His Presence in the Most Holy Place, carrying in him spiritual deposits, like Moses with his face glowing. He carries spiritual dimensions, stature and understanding to shape and bring many sons into what he had touched and handled. We see this pattern in Moses to Joshua, Elijah to Elisha, Jesus to his apostles, Paul to his disciples. It is the transfer to divine pattern and it involves understanding of spiritual dynamics and spiritual dimensions. It is life impartation. It has to do with divine activities and not simply ‘twelve classroom lessons of Discipleship 101’.
Joshua carried a spiritual stature and dimension that enabled him to bring others to the inheritance. Joshua knew the Pattern and he was able to circumcise the new man for them to crossover the threshold (River Jordan) of the Temple. Joshua was to face 'seven nations greater and mightier than you' (Duet 7:1) and it is most important that he received the Spirit of Wisdom together with his spiritual stature to prevail over these seven nations! This is a very important spiritual principle. In the process of the making of the man of God, God chose a man and form him as an honourable vessel. Thereafter God releases revelation to him and most zealous ministers rush out to serve and met with strong resistance. They have to wait for the final stage of the release of the spirit of wisdom by God.
b. The importance of reaching the spiritual stage of Gilgal
We must successful completing the first 3 stages in order to be able to crossover the River Jordan. And thereafter we must be nurtured and developed in the seven spiritual dimensions in Gilgal to be ready for the training, development and formation of Melchizedek Priesthood in us. We have to be matured into the spiritual position of Gilgal to begin the new phase of the priesthood, which is to learning to reign in kingly anointing.
c. Spiritual dimensions in Gilgal are:
i. A New Man – You become a strong spiritual men with spiritual capacity developed in of strong spiritual atmosphere and under strong spiritual dimension of ministers who carried the dwelling presence of God. This is the type of priests in Joshua 4:3 ‘…where the feet of the priests that carried the Ark of God stood firm that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off’. To mature the church spiritually you need priests that are able to carry the Ark of God on their shoulder. It requires prophetic and apostolic grace and dimensions. Pastoral, evangelistic and teaching graces are catered for 'Outer Court' ministry.
ii. A New Circumcised Heart by Joshua, the man who carried the Pattern of God. Joshua was a matured man of God and he is now a reproducer of the Seed, function like a father to perform the circumcision of heart (Josh 5:7). If you are not circumcised in your heart in holiness, you are not able to circumcise other because you just don’t have the spiritual dimension to do it (v.7).
iii. A New Passover marking a new kiaros, a new phase, a new lifestyle, a new role (Josh 5:10). You are no longer a child but maturing into sons. You are prophetically aligned, prepared and equipped for the process ahead. Once a victim and now a victor, learning how to thread with the sole of our foot onto our destiny.
iv. A New Spiritual Capacity to be able to take new spiritual foods (Josh 5:11-12) and going on to perfection (Heb 6:1). You have the capacity for solid food and are not dull of hearing. Your inner man is tuned and resonance with God’s voice. New capacity also requires new skills.
v. A New Revelation of God as Commander of the army. You are now no longer with victim mentality and are ready to learn to reign as victors in Christ (Josh 5:13-15). Once a slave in Egypt but now a soldier, a man of war, able to crossover to takeover for His Kingdom to come.
vi. A New Consecration – ‘take your scandal off your foot’, your new power and might, the new strength in your spirit man, the zealous fire within you must be consecrated in your walk with God and not run ahead of Him. With great power comes great responsibility and restraint. The meek shall inherit the Kingdom. Patience is a godly virtue to develop.
vii. A New Assignment – You are now to bring His Kingdom down by learning to subdue everything that is against it. You have to learn to take your massive ‘Jericho’ down and breakthrough all resistances, limitations and barriers to enter the divine rest. It requires you to tap and develop what you already have in thoughtful wishes and not wishful thinking. You are to make things happen and not wait for things to happen. It requires knowledge, understanding, skills and wisdom. You develop the grace to prevail and the wisdom to govern. You develop governmental stature and grace as king/priest in His Garden.
4. Subduing for the Kingdom
First they must learn how to subdue. Sin has twisted every aspect of a person and his life, causing disharmonies in the ordered system. It is out of alignment to God’s divine creation order. To subdue abnormality or impairment in the operation of a specified ordered system requires that the sole of our foot thread upon it. People who are lazy, indifferent and oblivious will never made it. Joshua was commanded by God to subdue everything in the Promised Land and he also taught his leaders the ‘how-to’ of subduing in Makkedah (Josh 10:24).
To be able to subdue, you must have the Spirit of Holiness. Holiness means you must love what God love with a perfect love and hate what God hate with a perfect hatred. In order to be able to subdue, Joshua was trained to have a divine hatred for the Amalekites (Ex. 17: 8-15, Duet 25:17-19). In order to subdue Jerusalem, David defeated the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are hated by David's soul) (2 Sam5:6-8). Lot was righteous but not holy and he was compromised in Sodom, which eventually destroyed everything of his. The local churches face many problems because of the Amalekites, the Jebusites and Philistines. The believers must be taught well to cooperate with the grace and the inner working of the Holy Spirit in their inner being and mind. Many pastors must be well equipped not to be destroyed in their ministry and their family and life.
A priest cannot have any defects or else he is disqualified as a priest (Lev 21:21). Through the sanctification process from the Red Sea to the River Jordan, a redeemed person is made wholesome again. All the defects inside of him which is caused by worldliness, flesh and self are fixed and he crossed over the River Jordan into the Promised Land in pries/king function of the order of Melchizedek to serve and guard. He begins learning the kingly function of reigning. There are many areas of his life that must be subdued, e.g. his spouse and children, his family and resources and his ‘Garden’ plot. Any time he is distracted from the grace and intimate walk with God, the deception of the flesh, worldliness, and self will creep in and his consecration is compromised. It is zero tolerance!
To subdue requires the person who has the authority to exercise it so that chaos and disorder is brought under control. He must do what is right! There are many times what is right to do was not done! By doing what is right, all the wrongs will eventually become right again. For example in a family unit, the father must exercise and not exert his authority as head to maintain discipline and order and to ensure all members of the family keep to their allocated function in their roles and responsibility and boundary. He ensures all the proper functions in the ordered system of the family resulting in righteousness, peace and joy!
Right or Righteous
It is necessary at this point to differentiate between right and righteous. Our world is full of ugliness. We have the right to seek and do justice but our right must not make us unrighteous. We can be right but not righteous lawfully, morally, ethically, and spiritually. We must win by righteousness. There are spheres that God has given us the authority to act e.g. our family and our land and there are boundaries we have no authority in. I serve in a communist society that is corrupted and oppressive but we are to be His Light and not His burning torch! We must not be activists with militant zealousness but with meekness of the Lion, yet appears as a Lamb as though it had been slain. We have a cause and we win by righteousness. We choose to lose if we cannot win by righteousness!
5. Dominion by the Kingdom
After subduing the disruption and disorder caused by the dysfunctional parts in the ordered system, the disharmonies are brought under control and are contained. The causes of the disruption are identified and one by one it has been rectified. The potential of the enemies are still present but they are neutralised. They are contained and restricted. They are kept under discipline, vigilant and enforcement with a firm hand. King Ahab and Jezebel were still around but they cannot give trouble to Elijah after he learned how to subdue them and he went about undisturbed developing and raising a new generation in Elisha and Jehu.
Sin has twisted every aspect of a person and his environment from the original divine order God created. To have dominion requires bringing into alignment and subjection to its original divine order and function. There is revival, renewal, reformation, restoration and transformation. It means to fix something that is not functioning properly back to its original intended function. This requires us to have sound knowledge and understanding, skills and competency to fix something so that it functions properly. The scale is wide, from fixing a wobbling door to fixing a complex city transport system for a population of 5 million people! To subdue means the chaos is contained, to have dominion means the cause of that particular chaos is contained and fixed temporary so that you are able to progressively rectify the problem. It will require the Spirit of Wisdom.
The wall of Nehemiah is about the Spirit of Wisdom. In the times of Nehemiah, the altar and the temple were rebuilt but the walls of the city were in ruin and Nehemiah rebuilt the wall. The wall is meant to keep what is inside, inside, protected and not contaminated. The wall is meant to keep what is outside, outside! The gates or openings must be strengthened so that the gates of hell cannot prevail. To have dominion is the ability to keep what was subdued within and keep what is yet to be subdued outside and contained it from disturbing or disrupting the peace within. It has to do with boundary.
For example, a financial debt causes tremendous stress which must be subdued and then the root cause of it removed permanently and new skills learned and wisdom acquired in wealth accumulation and wealth distribution so that you can reign over the finance in your life and family. But it takes a process from financial stress to financial freedom and then to financial independence. Having dominion means that you are able to subdue the root cause of it and to contain the situation and stress that was compounding upon you and your family. You are now able to see 'light at the end of the tunnel'. So little by little you overcome totally and eventually you are totally free and able to reign over this area of your life. It can never trouble you again (Ex 23:30)
6. Reigning in the Kingdom
Once you are able to subdue a situation and eventually have dominion over the various situation of disharmonies by containing it and putting it under control, you are now able to deal with the root cause of the malfunction. Once a permanent solution is achieved, the problem is permanently rectified; you are now able to have complete peace and rest. From now onward, you are able to reign peacefully and normally. For example in the family, all your children, your spouse, relationship with in laws, neighbours, the job, the schooling, the finance, the household…everything within your authority and under your watch no longer gives trouble to you and you are progressively able to deal with them step by step until it is completely rectified. Once that is achieved, you enter rest and begin to reign.
In the recent Ebola outbreaks in West Africa in 2015, the spread is subdued and contained. The health authority has dominion over the situation but the whole health body has yet to reign over this deadly virus. The day a permanent cure is discovered and the Ebola virus can no longer give us threats, we enter into rest and are able to reign over it. Ability to reign means we are back to our normal function of living as God created, instead of trying to fix problems here and there. You have brought all the various parts to function well as a whole in an ordered system in righteousness, peace and joy. The Kingdom of God has fully comes.
7. Inheritance of the Kingdom
Once you have subdued and have dominion over a situation and one by one you are able to reign in all the domains of your 'God-given Eden', until it no longer troubles you, you have entered into rest without any future disturbances and disruption. You are now able to focus on multiplying the blessings God has given to you and be fruitful until you have no lack. You grew in strength and your spheres of impact and influence enlarged. You have built a strong wall of wisdom all around your inheritance to protect it and you can now focus on succession to your successor. You are able to transfer and impart into the succeeding generation the stature and the wisdom for connectivity and continuity of your legacy and the rich heritage. Therefore you are able to provide a head start and a springboard for the increase of the Kingdom to the succeeding generation with your godly legacy, heritage and inheritance.
The process of God is linear but the cycle of life is cyclic and generational. Each generation (30 years lifetime) endeavours to press forward and have breakthroughs. Each generation seeks a better future for their next generation. This pursuit of destiny in the Kingdom of God is generational. Each generation has the spirit of destiny and the pursuit of destiny powering them forward toward the unknown but with steadfast hope and faith in God.
C. Understanding the different stages of our spiritual life
We live in levels and arrive in stages in life. At different stages of our maturity, the way God deal with us is also different. The journey of Israel highlights this:
a. In the past, it was God who worked for them to deliver them from the Egypt, the place of bondages.
b. Then God worked in them to deal with the flesh in the wilderness
c. And God worked with them in denying the self in Edom and Moab
d. Now God worked through and from them in the Promised Land.
You can see a different degree of divine sovereignty and human responsibility as we matured. God’s interventions in miracles were often and plenty in the beginning of exodus journey but when they entered into the Promised Land, miracles were less frequent because they had learned self-government. The problem in the Book of Judges is that they forgot the fine thin line of stewardship and ownership. Self autonomous does not means God is not in charge! Queen Vashti in the Book of Esther made the same mistake. The palace was the platform for God’s purpose and not for her own personal pleasure, preference and priority. Platform, podium or pedestal – stewardship vs. ownership, entrusted or entitled, we have to be vigilant not to be trapped.
1. Taking down your own Jericho
Jericho was the first major barrier God made them face. It was a stalemate situation. It was completely sealed both inside and outside. Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. (Josh 6:1). The church in the wilderness had enjoyed all the blessings of God but for maturity, God wants them to crossover the River Jordan and learn to overcome all limitations (remember they saw gigantic fortified cities in Numbers 13:28 and now similarly they faced Jericho). In the beginning God took our hands and led us, and then we watch as He acted to show us, and now He wants us to act as He watches us! You must have certain amount of spiritual stature to bring down Jericho. There is divine partnership which also requires our responsibility and response. God said, “Now you put the sole of your feet on it!”
A military strategist will observe that there is a way in to the heavily fortified walls of Jericho. The way out is also the way in! The two spies were lowered by a rope through the window down the city wall from Rahab’s house for she dwelt on the wall (Josh 2:15). A scarlet cord marked this point for future entry. Marching around the walls of Jericho will take some time each round and each time during the marching by the Joshua’s army, everyone on top of the walls of Jericho will follow closely and be alert for fear of a sudden attack. This was a decoy to distract the enemy. At the rear Joshua would send his commandos up into Rahab’s house by climbing up the ropes to her marked window. Every day during the march, a small group of commandos were inserted in and by the seven days, a sizeable company of Joshua’s best warriors were able to attack the city gate from within with a coordinated all out attack from the front. The walls fell down flat.
It shows us the following of how to take down our Jericho:
a. There is always a way to fix the problem. ‘Know yourself; know your enemy, a hundred battles, a hundred victories’ (Sun Tze’s Art of War). Study everything about the obstacle.
b. Step by step, slowly but surely. Doing what is right and all the wrongs will be made right.
c. Determination and disciplined to overcome and not status quo. You cannot give up and still win!
d. There are always window of opportunities. Seize it in strategic steps to get stronger but win by righteousness
e. Think creatively and unconventionally.
Once you subdue something and have dominion over it, you increase in spiritual stature. That same limitation, problem, trouble, temptation or weakness can never bother you again! You’ve gone up a notch in spiritual authority. The evil spirits in Acts 19:15 declared “Jesus I know, and Paul I know”…that is spiritual stature! It is like finding an effective vaccine or permanent cure to a deadly virus. The virus is still around but it cannot trouble you anymore. Imagine when all deadly forms of viruses are subdued and we have dominion over them, we have total victory and peace. This is the meaning of Sabbath rest. In the process of subduing and having dominion, you have learned the spiritual technology in overcoming it and now you are able to impart to others this technology. This is the meaning of your spiritual inheritance! You have a spiritual stature, with a spiritual authority and with a spiritual technology and spiritual wisdom for spiritual impartation.
We must remember our main enemy is death. The last enemy is death (1 Cor.24-26). The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23), the sting of death is sin (1 Cor. 15:56). The penalty of sins had been dealt with by the Blood of Jesus Christ but the power of sin can only be overcome by the formation of divine nature or godliness inside us. Our primary focus is ‘the Christ in us, the hope of glory’. When Light is in us, we can bring Light in the Lordship of Jesus Christ over all enemies. Everything accomplished, achieved, accumulated and acquired must be for this single purpose only – “Let there be Light! In your Light they see light” (Ps. 36:9)
2. People change but not much
Many believers try to live a Christian life by their normal life. They attend Sunday services and hear the teachings. At times they are encouraged, stirred and motivated but eventually they are leaked and are empty again. They are leaking cisterns. In the church building they are ok but when they go back home, they go back to their 'norms'. They change but not much. They go back to their 'normal' mode! To be overcomers and not conform to their 'normal' mould, they must deliberately and diligently overcome the ‘gravitational pull’ of the norms.
a. Really want to change - like to change, hope to change will never change a person. He must really want to change! They must be aware of the programming cycles that is conforming them.
b. Discipline of a fasted life - fast or cut off everything when you are in your natural comfort zone. Must be able to discipline his /her body and bring it into subjection or become disqualified (1Cor 9:27)
c. Saturate with things of God - saturate every moment with things of God, atmosphere, words, thoughts, practices, habits, friends, surroundings etc.
d. Nurture and develop the heart and inner man. This requires intensity in the spirit and spirituality.
e. Memorise and meditate on every inspiration of the Holy Spirit with the Scriptures. Nurture and develop it until it is internalised and living inside you.
f. Vigilant in guarding your spiritual state and condition. Did it leaks? Was it still inside? Is it stronger and clearer? This requires alertness and vigilance of your spiritual condition.
g. For every 'Jericho', there is always a way to take it down, step by step; slowly but surely! (1Cor 10:13). Seek, knock and find and it will be given you.
3. Territorial Governmental Anointing
Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizaph and Shen, and called its name Ebernezer, saying, "Thus far the LORD has helped us." So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. (1Sam 7:12-17)
Territorial governmental anointing or grace is a powerful spiritual dimension of a person who is the carrier of the Living Ark, the Indwelling Presence of God. Samuel demonstrated the spiritual dimension of territorial governmental anointing (1 Sam 7:12-15). It is the ability to subdue, have dominion and reign over a territory and bring the Kingdom of God onto it. Samuel was the Living Ark and he carried the full dimension of government of God inside, he had the 3 fold anointing of priest, king and prophet. Once your life is fully dealt with by God, you can also brings the Kingdom of God onto your life, your family, your home, your work and your ‘Garden’. The evil spirit acknowledged and announced the presence of Apostle Paul "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" (Acts19: 15).
4. Who are the spiritual Philistines?
We understood that the Promised Land in Canaan is the Holy Place. It is the spiritual place of God where only His priests are allowed in. The Philistines are those spiritually uncircumcised in the heart or the ‘Ishmaels’ who have the faith of Abraham and were circumcised in the flesh but have the heart of an Egyptian. Like Ishmael who was located within Abraham’s tent, the Philistines are located inside the Promised Land, which is the Holy Place and are always near the things of God. They are the tares among the wheat. They are the trees of knowledge of good and evil and not the trees of life. In Genesis 2, the tree of knowledge of good and evil is already inside the Garden of Eden and God warns us not to partake of them.
3 main things the Philistines will do:
a. Resist the advance of God's government - They want to be 'like God' and do 'like God' or the 'Likeness' of God but are not God like and don't have the 'image' or God-likeness inside them. David called Goliath 'this uncircumcised Philistine' who defiled the armies of the living God (1Sam 17:36). The Philistines are present in the leadership and government of the church. David was trained by God to deal with these uncircumcised wicked rulers or leaders (c.f. 1Sam17:34-37 with Proverbs28:15)
b. Stopped up the wells of the father - In Genesis 26:14-15 the Philistines have spirit of envy and will choked the living water from the wells of spiritual father. When they stopped all the wells of Abraham, what Isaac inherited all of Abraham…the lands, the servants, the household, all the cattle and sheep will wither and die without water. Without the wells or continuity and connectivity of godly spiritual heritage and spiritual inheritance of the spiritual forefathers , life cannot be sustained. The flow of the River of Life of the Holy Spirit is stopped. All that Abraham left as an inheritance will be torpedo and aborted. The spiritual wells of the apostles of the New Testament Church were stopped by the Philistines in the thousand years of Dark Age of the History of the Church.
c. Returning the Ark by cart (2Sam 6, 1Chron 13, 15) - the Israelites had lost the ways of God which their forefathers passed down. They have heritage but it is history. Despite having a good spiritual heritage but without connectivity and continuity of their spiritual legacy and inheritance, what they have is now history. They now had to learn and copy from the Philistines' way of carrying the Ark in a man-made cart. The heart cry of David, the restorer and reformer, was "How can the ark of the LORD come to me?" (2Sam 6:9, 1Chron 13:12). The Philistines' way is of the world, man-made cart of the Ark whereas God's way is God-made carrier of His Ark. God's formed man to be His carrier. The Philistines offered the broad and easy way but God's way is by entering the narrow gate and difficult is the way (Matt. 7:13-14) David was the living ark in the Tabernacle of David. God's way is the priests He had formed and placed to carry His ark on their shoulder (Joshua 3:3,6,13,1Chron 15:11:15)
5. Priestly Life in the Holy Place
There are three furniture in the Holy Place, namely the Golden Lampstand, the Table of Shewbread and the Golden Altar of Incense. Here is the spiritual life of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. In here God work through and from us. We are priests serving God and guarding His government in the Colony. The Golden Lampstand is made of pure gold signifying the divine nature of the Word of the Spirit and Holy Spirit of the Word, the divine source of our light but we must prepare the oil to keep the lamps in the Lampstand burning. We must be “pressed in Gethsemane (olive oil press)” for the oil. It requires our consecration of a crucified life of holiness. We must bake the breads for the Table of Shewbread signifying we must study and dig deep into the Word of God to bring solid foods for His people. We must also minister before God at the Altar of Incense and wait on Him to receive illumination, inspiration, revelation, instructions and commands and be led by Him.
It is the wonderful grace of God who saved us and brought us through the wilderness to prepare us for the Promised Land. As we grow in various stages of maturity, God wants His people to put on muscles instead of fats! We must serve God with a clear conscience and not be guilty of innocent blood in withholding the whole counsel of God to the people.
26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. (Acts 20:26-29)
Joshua brought the people of Israel into their inheritance but they were not able to obtain the inheritance themselves and God did not obtained His inheritance in them and the cycles of defeat and recovery happened in the Book of Judges.
I served in places where God is denied as an ideology and for several years I worked in a very oppressive atmosphere. There were anguish, disappointment and discouragement in continuing the work and there is a deep cry to God for answer. It is my habit to carry a little note book where I sketched a logo copied from Apple Newton and wrote “Let there be Light!” on its cover because many times I get illuminations from the Holy Spirit and would quickly note it down. For decades, this logo and phrase “Let there be light!” has somehow become iconic within me. I would cry to God “LORD Let there be light! Let this place, this nation be lighted up by your Light”… "How can I bring the Light of God to me and to this place?" My spiritual receptors were activated when the Holy Spirit illuminated Isaiah 59 to 62 and I was glued particularly to Isaiah 59:19 “The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against the enemy who come in like a flood.” To lift up a standard! What is this standard? The answer is in verse 21 “a new dimension of His Spirit and His Words” with the accompanied result in Isaiah 60:1 “the Light comes and more and more Glory will be seen in this nation! The dynamic process is:
Spirit --> Word --> Light --> Glory
I got the answer and the process from God but how am I going to communicate it? What is this ‘standard’ that God is lifting up against the enemy like? How is this Light going to be like? I needed a product and not something abstract to be able to progressively develop this standard? I was led to Revelation 1:20, the Lampstand!
Rev 1:20
The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. NKJV
The lampstands are the churches but most of the churches in the area where I serve are struggling. They have all the activities of a church but the atmosphere is not conducive for the Holy Spirit. Again I cried out to God “How to light up the lampstand?” I was constantly asking, seeking and knocking until I found it. The lampstand has seven lamps or seven lights. This is what I received from the Holy Spirit and you may ask what about Isaiah 11 but this is given to me in the context of the place I am in against the prevailing spirits. The Spirit of Holiness contains these 7 spectrums.
There are 7 spiritual dynamics / characteristics of the 7 lamps in the Lampstand
- The Spirit of Truth
- The Spirit of Righteousness
- The Spirit of Sacrifice
- The Spirit of Honour
- The Spirit of Sonship
- The Spirit of Mercy
- The Spirit of Wisdom
Apostle Peter also mentioned of the seven dimensions of fruitful growth in faith in 2 Peter 1:5-8. Natural light has make up of seven rainbow colours. The product of this seven rainbow colours is the natural light we see. The above seven lamps or spirit dynamics, which are continuously lighted by the supply of oil of crucified heart, will produce the lampstand for the place I am working in. In my personal experience I realise it takes personal willingness to choose to walk in the light of the first four spiritual dynamics and the remaining three spiritual dimensions is lighted up divinely by God’s holy fire from above. The seven spiritual dimensions are:
i. The Spirit of Truth – it is the essence of truth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, guiding us to all truth of God, present truth and proceeding truth. The people must be trained to be lover of truth and walk in truthfulness. Sin is hidden because it is part of us but the veil is only removed in Christ. Many believers are students with head full of cognitive sense knowledge, trying to live a Christian life with a root of sin, having the form but not the power of a crucified life.
ii. The Spirit of Righteousness – the place is not run by the ‘Rule of Law’ but by corrupted authorities and there is little avenue to receive justice unless it is done the unconventional way. A new standard is lifted up in righteousness lawfully, ethically and morally. We win by righteousness and we choose to fail if we cannot win by righteousness.
iii. The Spirit of Sacrifice – greed is everywhere. The poverty mentality always want to gain and profit from others without any hard work. There is that entitlement mindset because the economic is badly handled and inflation is very high and not enough jobs. The rich from foreign lands come in to exploit, the powerful are opportunists, and the poor are hopeless. Many wanted to serve God in such a tough situation but greed and covetousness is rampant in the churches. The spirit of sacrifice must be imparted…it is pure love until it hurts and still continue loving and serving. Hard works but dignify (Eph 4:28). The sad thing is many well meaning foreign Christians has aided in this spirit of greed and covetousness by their handouts with unintentional consequences. The butterfly struggling to come out of its cocoon can never learn how to fly.
iv. The Spirit of Honour – when you have no stature, you seek status. Status seeking will cause competitions, leading to sectarian and bitter fighting and bad mouthing. David was about to raise up 400 distress, in debt and discontented men in the cave of Adullam (1 Sam 22:1-2) to become dignified honourable mighty men because David’s life was impacted deeply by Samuel, an honourable man (1 Sam 9:6). Once you are secured inside in God, there is no need to seek status. We must learn to honour those on top of us, ahead of us, beside us and below us.
v. The Spirit of Sonship – Jesus as the Son in his life, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension and exaltation. Many people seek for a name but Jesus was given a name by God. The servants of God in the churches must understand the process of sonship and the commissioning of the call when God give you a Name; there is no need for name cards anymore. “Jesus I know and Paul I know; but who are you?” the evil spirits answered (Acts 19:15)
vi. The Spirit of Mercy and Compassion – once God brought you up this high to Himself, His love is made part of you and you will always think of others. It is no longer you; it is all about them and for Him. You want to go to them, not because you have to but you want to. There is this passion of God within you to go to them. The achievement and accomplishment cannot hold you; there is a greater cause to pursue.
vii. The Spirit of Wisdom – God has formed the man and given him the message. He is on a mission, he received the mandate and finally he received the Spirit of Wisdom that will allow the messenger, with the message, who is on a mission with a mandate to bring in the masses that will create the momentum for the movement. Let there be Light and the light has comes! The enemy came in like a flood but now the Light is coming in like a flood.
6. The Light Manifesto
My disciples are trained to walk in these seven lamps as priests of Light in the Holy Place. They are the products of my ministry. Pastors and leaders must be very clear in the product of their ministry. There is a pastor of righteousness in Logos, Nigeria whom I sat under his teachings and caught the spirit of righteousness and he is the only man I know who is very clear of the product he is producing in his church. I emulate from him and modified it to create the “Let there be Light” Manifesto for the context in the place I ministered. I am very concerned of the type of disciples I produced, the type of priests for the Kingdom! I constantly ask myself and God, "Have I touch the dimension of the Melchizedek Priesthood?" Because in our light, they see Light! (Ps 36:9)
Summary
This chapter is the most crucial in your destiny. It focuses on the priesthood and the Kingdom, particularly the priestly life in the Holy Place. It is the battle between lifestyle and life. The Book of Judges and 1 Samuel correspond to this chapter. It is here your priestliness is tested, you will differentiate ‘right and righteous’, life and lifestyle, status and stature, shadow to substance. It is here there is a change of priesthood between the Levitical and Zadok priesthood (c.f. Ezek 44). The ‘cave time’ in Adullam is the metamorphosis. Study what happened to the tabernacle at Shiloh (Ps 78:60, Jer. 7:12, Mk 11: 15-17, Lk 21:6)
There are few pointers to take note:
1. Gilgal – The spiritual state must be maintained by priestly consecration, ministering to God and the ministry of Word and Spirit and the right company. Loss of consecration will result in spiritual decline from Gilgal to Bochim. Be vigilant of the works of flesh and carnal. The secret is ‘contact without contamination, compromise or conformity’.
2. Spirit of Holiness – Develop this inside of you ‘Love what God love with a perfect love and hate what God hate with a perfect hatred’. You can be righteous but not holy. Let your Light shine brightly but gently, never burn others. Keep your peace and find your space. There is a difference between coined ‘anti social’ and ‘selective social’.
3. Philistines – They are around the things of God and will hinder and irritate you. Never allow your inner peace to be disturbed, frustrated, discouraged, impatience or defiled. It is ok for David to run away from Saul to seek his own space. Learn to rest in the LORD and maintain your internal peace. Be careful of snares for position, prestige and power, careful of the lifestyle from choking the Life in you. Beat your body lest you become disqualified. Don’t seek a name; God will give you the name. Wait for your time. At this stage, you learn to contact without contamination and the power to prevail.
4. the 'Samuel' – prays and seeks for him. These are those who are in the Most Holy Pace but don’t rush in. You may not be ready for it ‘you want to and you are able to’ is different. It is not Samuel but God you must face.
5. Wisdom – ‘Samuel’ is able to show you how to move about the midst of Saul. Move wisely like David (1 Sam 18:14-16)
6. Cave time – Be noble, honourable and righteousness in your cave of Adullam. Don’t lose your priestliness in spite of injustice, hurts, betrayal, and rejection. This is most crucial test – the substance is forming inside, your stature is growing.
7. Ziklag – growing strong in your own space and stronghold
8. Hebron – separate from soulish things internally, emotion, mind, spirit and completely secured in God. The veil of the Most Holy Place is removed (2 Cor. 3 - 4)
9. Zion – Throne Room, Temple, Rest and succession.
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