This is the last message I will share for the year. Tomorrow morning I am going to the Dominican Republic on a Missions trip. A special thanks to all those who contributed funds for us to be able to provide toys and a party for the children we support there.
In January I told you that this year would be a year of “Heaven on Earth.” It has been for Isabella and me. I pray you can say the same. And I pray that you have come to the realization that you don’t experience heaven-on-earth by trying to make it happen with human ability. God’s Kingdom has already come. It is His desire for his will to be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. But this does not happen as a result of our TRYING. This happens as a result of our DYING. The more you yield to God, His Word, His Spirit, and His grace, the more you will experience, in the earth, what you see in heaven.
Your life is supposed to show the world what heaven is like. Your words are supposed to communicate what heaven is saying. If all people hear when they talk to you is a repetition of what they heard on CNN or Fox News, then they won’t come to you. They can get that on their own. But if they know that they can come to you to hear something different, something Godly, something celestial, something holy, then they will come to you over and over again to hear what heaven is saying. This is how we are supposed to live. We are human conduits of the divine, by God’s grace, and for His glory!
I will close out the year the way I started, by talking about heaven-on-earth. I will recap some of what you have heard this year and then close out with a “thank you” message.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Mankind was created to rule, govern and exercise God’s dominion/authority on this planet. As God rules and reigns from heaven, He created man to rule and reign over the earth. The earth was intended to be an extension of heaven. What God sees in heaven, He intended for man to establish in the earth. Adam lost this position. Jesus came to get it back. Jesus reestablished what Adam was supposed to establish. It’s already done. That redemption is already finished. Once you are in-Christ and Christ is IN you, you are supposed to live your life as a conduit of heaven in this world. As you do, you are not trying to reestablish anything. Your job is to rest in Jesus’ finished work. We are to simply receive and maintain what He already obtained for us!
2. Jesus got us OUT OF everything Adam got us INTO. Because of Jesus, we are redeemed. We are not redeemed back to Abraham. Jesus redeemed us all the way back to Adam, in the Garden, before the fall. Adam was charged to represent God in the earth. That charge is now ours. God lives in us as Born-Again believers. He now charges us to represent or RE-present Him in this world. When you get this revelation you don’t spend your life daydreaming about going to heaven someday. You spend your life focused on bringing heaven to the earth every day, by simply living as a conduit of God’s love and His power in this world!
3. The Apostle Paul said: “Now Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God.” (Colossians 1:15 J. B. Phillips). People cannot see God. But while Jesus was on the earth, they could see Him. The people Jesus encountered could not see heaven. But Jesus, while He was on the earth, was able to bring heaven to them. He walked around displaying heaven’s reality on this planet. Now that Jesus is gone, He left us to continue what He started. People cannot see God today, but they can see us. We are the visible expressions of an invisible God. People may not know what heaven is like, but when they come in contact with us, they are supposed to get a glimpse of it.
In order to fully operate in this capacity, you must see yourself “As Jesus is, in this world.” (1 Jn 4:17). In order to fully embrace your divine assignment, you cannot see any separation between you and God, or between God and you. You must see yourself as ONE with the Father and see Him as ONE with you! You are the visible expression of our invisible God. Live like it!
4. In John 14 Jesus got upset with Philip because Philip asked Him to reveal the Father to them. Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” Jesus lived His life as ONE with the Father. Jesus wanted people to see Him as the physical representation of an invisible God. Guess what? Jesus expects us, today, to live with the same mindset.
5. The day you were Born-Again several things happened:
a) You were translated from satan’s darkness into God’s marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9).
b) You were translated into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son (Col 1:13).
c) You were seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus (Eph 2:6).
d) You were covered by the Blood of Jesus (1 Jn 1:17), sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13), and called to God’s eternal purpose for your life (Eph 3:11).
6. When you understand all that happened when you were Born-Again, you know you are no longer natural to this world.
a) Once you are Born-Again the supernatural is supposed to be natural to you.
b) Once you are Born-Again you are a citizen of heaven (Phil 3:20).
c) You are in God’s Kingdom now and God’s Kingdom is also in you. It’s a whole new world. The old has gone, the new has come (2 Cor 5:17).
7. You are not trying to earn or deserve God’s Kingdom, His power, His authority or His assignment. It’s already yours and God’s part is already done.
a) I have taught you all year and I trust that you have been open to what God is saying. If you have been, then you know that God’s part is already done. His work is already finished in eternity and it is only a matter of time before you see the manifestation of it. God did His part by grace — unearned, unmerited and undeserved. Your part is faith. You must have the faith to believe what God has already provided. God loves you SO much that He even gave you faith (Rom 12:3). He gave you the faith required to believe in his goodness. I pray that you do. I pray that you get delivered from religion and religious activity, that you stop trying to work for what God has already provided, and that you learn to believe and receive what is already done. Living this way is much better than living under The Law and trying to work for God’s blessing.
b) The last thing I will tell you for the year is to enter into God’s rest (read Heb 4). Release the pressure to perform. Open your heart to God’s love. Believe what God believes about you. Allow your spirit to be overwhelmed with His goodness towards you. If you do, you will get convinced of what God wants to do in your life and you will stop trying to convince Him to do what you want. The life of faith is what happens when God convinces you, not when you convince Him. So let the Holy Spirit minister to you. Let Him talk to you about the life God planned for you before the world began. And then simply live that life by faith. This is how you experience HEAVEN ON EARTH!
THANK YOU for allowing me to speak into your life. It is truly an honor. I love you. God loves you more. May the Father manifest His best in your life in this season and may you close out the year strong!
Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. I will talk to you again on January 6th!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I have received Your Son, Jesus the Christ, as my Lord. I thank You for forgiving me of sin, for covering me with Jesus’ blood, for filling me with Your Holy Spirit, for calling me according to Your divine purpose, and for giving me the faith I need to access the grace You have already provided. Your part is grace and it is already done. My part is faith and this is what I do every day. By faith, I lay hold of what You have already provided. I am not trying to make anything happen. You already made it happen. I simply believe and receive what You have already done, and I enter into Your rest as I do. I live The Grace Life and I do it by faith. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
