New Hallmarks of Christianity in the Kingdom Age

For many reasons we believe that we’re currently crossing an epic historical threshold into a new Biblical age.  From both secular and Biblical history, we can clearly see that each age has its uniquely God-ordained emphasis and graces.  So, what does this newly emerging age hold for us?

In a pointed prophetic word, God said, “I will change the understanding and expression of Christianity on earth in one generation” (Mike Bickle – 1982).  Everyone will have to evaluate the veracity and the possible outworking of this statement.  But if you believe it to be true, what could possibly be substantial enough to make people have a different ‘understanding and expression’ of Christianity?  It has to be more than polished preachers, glitzier media, shorter meetings… OR even more prayer, healings, miracles and a few more resurrections from the dead.  Here are just a few inspiring possibilities which would definitely change everyone’s perceptions!

1. Victory over death the final enemy… immortality of the saints (I Cor 15:26)
   1. “And now He has revealed this grace through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel… “ – II Tim 1:10
   2. “For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” – 1 Cor 15:53-55
   3. “To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, He will give eternal life.” – Rms 2:7

2. Our corporate gatherings meet in Heavenly places – Heaven is manifested in open-eyed awareness of Heavenly surroundings
   1. The first corporate ascension: “Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity…  they saw Him, and they ate and drank.” – Ex 24:9-11
   2. Other passages: Isa 2:2-3, Mic 4:1-2, Lk 9:28-35, Heb 12:23-23

3. Our corporate gatherings physically travel across the earth
   1. “Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.” – Jn 6:21
   2. Ladies of the Golden Candlestick – whole intercessory group ‘left’ for days and came back with artifacts

4. Participation of the saints in manifested form in our gatherings – guest speaking, encouraging, exhorting
   1. Jesus the Pattern Son, modeled how this works on the Mt of Transfiguration – Lk 9:28-31-35
   2. Sadhu Sundar Singh reports in ‘The Mystery of the Maharishi of Mt Kalish‘ that a 300-year-old Christian saint visits and intercedes for people around the world
   3. Chris Reed prophesied in 11/21 – John the Revelator is alive in Turkey and will help people understand his book – Revelations (see video)
   4. Possible church announcement: “Next week Abraham will be speaking to our gathering.” (or Elijah, David, John the Baptist, etc)

4. Participation of angels manifested among us – with open-eyed awareness
   1. “Large army of angels” appear to the Shepherds heralding that “a Savior is born in Bethlehem” – Lk 2:8-15
   2. “For He shall give His angels charge over you…“ – Ps 91:11
   3. “There were many lamps (possibly angels) in the upper room where they were gathered together.” – Acts 20:8
   4.  Consider various angelic options: Heb 1:7, Acts 2:2-3, II Kng 2:11, II Kng 6:17

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Ready for a mind bender?

Many POWERFUL revelations have been restored to the body of Christ in just the last century or so.  Here are some highlights.

Rediscovery of ‘the just shall live by faith’ – 1517
Baptism of the Holy Spirit – 1905 approx
Assurance of salvation by faith – 19xxs
Healing by ‘faith healers’ — 1940-50s
Prophets/Evangelists give words of knowledge – 1950-60s
Shepherds/Pastors find their voice again – 1960s
Teachers made the Word come alive – 1970s
Everyone can heal – 1970-80s
Everyone can prophesy – 1980-90s
Apostles reemerge in the earth – 1990s
Supernatural provision available – 2000s
The revelation of the Kingdom of God – 20xxs
Church begins functioning outside of the building – 2000s
God’s good identity is better than we thought – 2010s
Our new Kainos identity is better than we thought – 2010s
Learning to enter rest and have the faith OF God – 2010s
Access to the Heavenly realm – including angels and many other Heavenly realities!! – 20xxs

Can you believe this?  These are powerful!!!!  Jesus secured ALL of these at the Cross… and they were believed and practiced in the Early Church.  Sadly, we ‘lost’ them over the last 2000 years.  BUT they are being restored – IN OUR DAY!! Thank You, Lord!!

So what makes us think that this amazing restoration process would stop now?  Have we exhausted the full scope of Biblical realities that there are to rediscover?  Now that we’ve come this far, is this where God stops opening up the things we lost?  Hmm.

So, what’s left to be restored?  Well, there are still many realities, but here’s one to bend your mind.

Let’s go way back to the Cross where Jesus secured the possibility and right for us to rediscover and experience all of the previous points.  Well, another biggie is that He also conquered death at the Cross!  So, is it possible that just like the saints contended for each of the items in the list above, God is now waiting for believers to contend for victory over death and the full manifestation of everlasting life IN THE BODY!?

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” – 1 Cor 15:53-55

O boy!  Now that seed has been sown, we’ll have w ait for Holy Spirit to do His work!  This is SO much fun.

Think about it, we’re living in a day where ‘Life and Life more abundantly’ is more real than at any other time in ALL of history!!  And it’s only going to get better and better!  Wow, Wow, Wow!!  What a God!!!

For more on this topic.

–MLH

What if: Our words short-circuit our faith?

So many questions…

If we “ARE seated with Christ IN Heavenly places”… if we already “WERE raised”… if we “ARE hidden with Christ IN God”… if we “ARE blessed with all spiritual blessings IN the Heavenly places”… if we “ARE IN Christ”, etc… then, how relevant are words like: PORTAL, VEIL and THIN PLACE?

And let’s include a couple of common prayers, such as: “O Lord, that You’d come down” and “Let’s invite the Lord to come to our service today.”

But wait!  Didn’t Jesus already come down… 2000 years ago!!  And didn’t He obliterate the veil 2000 years ago?  And don’t we already have Christ the hope of Glory living IN us NOW?

Then, do these words and phrases create faith for now… or do they promote a mentality of distance and delay… distance from God… and delay before we can experience union with Him?

The truth is, those words and phrases were power packed for us, back in the day.  They’ve inspired us and put wind in our sails for many years.  But we’ve grown in our understanding, and now it seems that there may be some incongruency between our  vocabulary and Scripture.

Is it possible that the best narrative and revelation that we had yesterday, isn’t appropriate for today?  Is it possible that holding onto yesterday’s vocabulary could be creating an unbiblical reality in our minds and thereby preventing our faith from having experiential union and oneness with Him today?  And if our outdated vocabulary prevents us from experiencing union and oneness with Him, could we also be short circuiting our faith for walking in our inheritances?

What if we updated our vocabulary to reflect the union that Scripture says we have with God NOW?  What if we simply agreed with God’s word regarding our positioning with Him now, despite what we’ve been taught… or what we feel like?  Would that create a difference in our faith… would it mandate a change in the vocabulary of our prayers… and would it manifest in better experiential realities?

As good as they were in their day, PORTAL, VEIL and THIN PLACE (and related concepts) might have to be filed in the archives. 

Just musing….

Video – ‘No more willy-nilly auto-pilot mode!’ – 10mins

-MLH

Heaven Is Here, Heaven is Now

A brand new song
This song expresses, in thumbnail fashion, the essence of what has gripped our hearts in recent years.  And to our great pleasure, we’ve found many others on a similar journey… and together, we’ve experienced some amazing discoveries.  This reality is Biblical.  It’s inspiring.  It’s for real!  And it’s for us… NOW! 

Influencers/leaders
Over the years I’ve heard several leaders express the following sentiment, so I’m not sure who to attribute it to.  But here is my version of this powerful truth!

“If you want the body of Christ to be somewhere in 5 years, write songs about it now.” – MLH

My ‘dream’
Imagine that the mindset of a whole society of believers is gripped with the revolutionary awareness of our residency in Heaven – NOW!  No distance, no delay.  Heaven is here… Heaven is now!

This powerful revelation is so pervasive and so gripping, that stadiums are filled with men and women caught up in ecstatic joy and wonderment.  Football stadiums have never had such a fever as the overflowing jubilation of saints experiencing this greater reality of their salvation.  Their bodies and souls are being brought into oneness with their spirit man – which is in the Heavenlies.  Our spirit, soul and body are now integrated… in sync with one another… and together, they are brought into oneness with our Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit.  And in this limitless vibrant reality (which is an integral part of our inheritance) there are Heavenly frontiers on all sides waiting to be possessed.  This is life and life more abundantly!

Click here: Heaven Is Here

For reference: John 3:13, John 10:9, I Cor 6:17, II Cor 5:17, Eph 2:6, Col 3:1-4, Heb 12:22-23, I John 4:17, Rev 4:1 and more…

As Mario Bros says: “Here we goooooo!”   Enjoy!

DPM Update – 2022 Jan – Happy New year – changes

Dear Friends

Happy New Year 2022!!

We’re still ‘doing the stuff’
Here’s hoping that you are already seeing promising signs of upgrades and improvements in all areas of your life in this new year.  Although DPM is still fully alive and doing well, most of our communications have shifted to blog posts and a new website (www.ALC.one) which I’ll explain below.  We’re still sharing Jesus and being about our Father’s business, loving His presence and giving Him away.  Fanning the flames of love for God in the hungry hearts of His people is still a very big part of what we do. 

Helping the poor
Helping the poor remains a high value to us.  In fact, in the last couple of years we’ve been partnering with Noel & Mieke Alexander’s ministry Love Mercy, in building widow’s houses in Kenya.  For $750, a decent house gets built, including wood and adobe walls with a corrugated steel roof… usually about 12’ x 15’ divided into 3 rooms… sometimes larger depending on their family size.  The pic on the left is the place Widow Jane and her children lived before getting her house… and the pic on the right is Widow Louise’ finished house.  Can you imagine what they feel!?!?  Seeing the widows’ smiles and knowing where they came from, to what they’re moving into, is a great joy to us!!  If your heart is so moved, we’d be glad to connect you.  

New emphasis for us in last 2 – 5 years
Even though the nature and character of God never changes, His emphasis surely does.  That’s easy to see in Biblical history and I’m sure that each of us can see that in our own personal history.  Well, there has been an awakening and transition in our hearts to pursue the Heavenly realm… the other and greater part of every believer’s being.  In a few words, we’re learning to live the ‘ascended life’… discovering what it means to live ‘above the line’… the ‘line’ that some might say separates Heaven and earth.  The short of it, goes something like this:

‘Elevator speech’ 
“For 2000 years Christians have tried to live our best life as earth-based humans.  We knew there was a Heaven… but we had very little experience with it… or encounter in it.  Even though the largest and most consequential part of our being – our spirit – is already ‘seated in Heaven’, most people had no faith that they’ll experience Heaven until after our ‘ticker’ stops.  In a sad and strange way, that mentality makes death our ‘savior’.  Hmm.

But in Jn 17:24, Jesus longs for us to “be with Him where He is, so that He could show us His glory”.  So where is He?  In Jn 3:12, He referred to Himself, saying, “I am in Heaven.”  Literally, He was on earth AND in Heaven simultaneously.  And the message is that He wants us to learn to live in these dual realities equally well, like Him… after all, He’s the Pattern Son.

We all believe this, because it’s in the Scriptures.  But we haven’t practiced it well.   We still pray as earthlings.  “Will you rend the Heavens and come down”… “We invite You to our meeting this morning”… “Let’s pray for the Lord to come”… “Let’s ask Holy Spirit to come to our revival next weekend”, etc.   All of those common prayers locate us squarely on earth versus in Heaven.  Question: How would those prayers change if we really believed that we were “seated in Heavenly places”?

We’re finding much grace to experience Heavenly things that were normally put off until the ‘millennium’… or until after death. We’ve had more Heavenly experiences in the last couple of years than in all the rest of our lives.  Scripture has come alive like never before.  And the realities of relationship with God have been enhanced exponentially.  And boy, is it a ton of fun!”
End of ‘elevator speech’

Well… people of similar passion began rallying and experiencing a deep hunger for more.  So, we began regular meetings and established a banner of Ascended Life Community (ALC).  Not only is there local momentum, but in regional pockets around the US, people are rallying around this theme.  We’re confident this theme will become a common part of Christian experience in the future.  It has inspired us to radical changes in perspectives, mindsets, prayer posture, vocabulary, spiritual experience… and much more. 

http://www.ALC.one
In our growth, we’ve discovered many resources and are accruing stories and insights, etc.  So www.ALC.one has become our new ministry web-home and the place to find tons of resources, such as: books, blog posts, articles, music, podcasts, a searchable video channel, stories, events, etc.

Change of ages
If you hang around us very long you’ll hear us comment that the globe is entering a brand new age in history.  There have been several epic age changes in Biblical history.  And interestingly, in every change of ages, God institutes a very different mode of operation between man and God.  Consider: Do you think you would have recognized and caught the age change if you had lived 2000 years ago; the transition from Judaism to Christianity?  Good question, right?  What if indeed we were in an age change now… would you know how to detect it?  Validate it?  And flow with God’s new emphasis?

You may have heard a common prophetic word, believed by many, “God is changing the expression of Christianity in a single generation”.  That sounds all fun and exciting… until we realize that it might effect some of my religious ‘sacred cows’.   What would I do then?  (Remember the transition 2000 years ago.)  How many God-instituted ‘sacred cows’ of the OT, got ‘sacrificed’ on the ‘altar’ of a “new and living way”?  Did I hear an “Ouch!” of painful relinquishing… or the ‘O boy!’ of excited adventure.  Food for thought!

Through mankind’s history, the central and core values of love for God and walking with God have never changed.  Those have remained constant from Adam, all the way through Abraham and David till Jesus, etc.  But, the external practices of religion surely changed several times in those 4000 years.  And we believe that we’re in the exciting throes of another one of those wonderful epic change of ages.

To be sure, the core values of relationship with God, love for His heart and Presence, tenderness of heart, love for our neighbor… those values that we all hallow… are actually enhanced and magnified like never before.  Truly!

Anyway, that is a little update on a new dimension of our journey in the last 3-5 years.  For more, visit our new website.

First ALC Gathering
In Oct 2021 we hosted our first larger-type ALC Gathering in Kansas City… a conference for all those interested in this ascended life theme.  There were overwhelming responses like; “I’ve found home…” “This is my tribe”, etc.  Several things characterize our times together: spontaneous flow, open worship, group participation, prophetic seeing, travel in the Spirit and much more.  It went so well that we’re in the planning stage for another ALC Gathering in Nashville this Spring and then again in KC this Fall.

ALC School
Last March we started a twice-monthly online zoom school with sessions focused on exploring this ‘ascended life’ theme.  These sessions always include group interactions, a teaching topic and activations.

What are others saying about the ascended life?
Since you asked, here’s a video of an Oct 2020 sermon by Bill Johnson in which he highlights Jn 3:13 and Rms 12:2 and a few of our ALC themes.  View: 19:15 – 37:30 mins 

Bill Johnson quotes
“Some people call this the ascended life.”
“It is my desire that we understand and learn to practice this in the next couple of years.” 
“I feel that the difference between praying/living from earth versus praying/living from Heaven is the difference between being a servant and being a son.” 
“Some of what we think comes with the return of Christ, comes with the renewed mind of Christ.”

Wrap it up
Suffice it to say, that being a son and daughter of God has never been more inspiring.  We’re more alive in God than ever… and my basic motivational gifting – being a pioneer – is more engaged than ever in my life.  Despite the gloominess of politics, covid and societal ills, it feels like the future is bright and hope-filled.  It’s a proven fact, how you view life determines the way life begins to come to you.  As our perspective becomes more Heavenly-places-filled, the clouds of darkness get exchanged for the Son of Heaven dawning a bright new day.

“The path of the righteous grows brighter and brighter even unto the noon day sun.” – Prov 4:18

If you’d like to talk further on these subjects, please view our website first.  It may answer some of your questions.  Then if you’d like to talk, feel free to email.

Our blessings and much love!!
Mark & Debbie Hendrickson

11011 Olive St
Kansas City, MO 64131
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Dwelling Place Ministries (DPM)
www.dpmkc.org
Ascended Life Community (ALC)
www.ALC.one
Beyond the Map blog
www.marklhen.wordpress.com
Facebook
www.facebook.com/marklhen

Look what I found!

Stories to Inspire

Are you ready to translate or travel in the Spirit?  Well, get ready.  It’s becoming much more common.

In history we’ve heard of an occasional crazy cool story of those who have traveled in the Spirit on missions to other places in the world and then returned to tell the amazing stories.  We’ve even heard of a very few who’ve brought back artifacts… or maybe they still had dust on their feet from their travels on dirt roads, etc.  These accounts intrigue us immensely, but may tend to stretch our envelope of credibility. 

In the middle 1900s there was a group of intercessors in California called the ‘Ladies of Gold’… and they were members of a prayer ministry called the Golden Candlestick.  There are confirmed accounts that these ladies physically traveled in the Spirit for up to days at a time… and then returned with artifacts from their Heavenly missions.  A book entitled Ladies of Gold: The Remarkable Ministry of the Golden Candlestick – Vol 1 by James Maloney, relates some of these incidents.  This group mentored James Maloney who then ministered widely until he passed into his eternal reward in 2021.  Accounts like these are forerunners and heralders of what’s available for more than just a few. 

The truth be told, as we’re entering the Kingdom age, the mode of operation in the Kingdom is getting upgraded all around us.  New frontiers are opening up.  And if you just think about it; If God is going to change the expression of Christianity in a single generation, then we’d better be prepared to be OK with some radical new upgrades!!!

Listen to this account of my good friend’s daughter who traveled in the Spirit in her dream and then found something very unusual the next day, which validated her travel the night before.  Was she actually there in her spirit only… or in body and in spirit?  You decide!
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Look what I found!

My local trusted friend has a teenage daughter.  (Her name shall remain anonymous, so we’ll call her ‘Susie’.)  Susie’s heart had been deeply stirred while on a missions trip to a foreign country a few years ago and since then her heart has been gripped with becoming a missionary.

Recently, ‘Susie’ had the dream of being in Guatemala on a missions trip.  In the dream, a little girl spent quite a bit of time making a bracelet.  ‘Susie’ did not know the little girl nor know her name.  There wasn’t too much more to the dream.  But it’s what happened afterward that makes this dream and this story so special.  The next day, in a random search, ‘Susie’ was surprised to find the exact same bracelet in her purse… the same design and same materials!  (Actual bracelet in picture) Susie had never seen this bracelet before, except in the dream.

‘Susie’ told no one about this experience, except her parents… and she wants to remain anonymous.  She has traveled in the Spirit, and in her dreams, but has never brought back artifacts before this.  So what do you think?  Was she there in spirit only… or in body and spirit?

O boy!!  The Heavenlies are getting more real all the time! 

— MLH

Born again, again!

Over the last few years our ‘above-the-line’ emphasis steadily yields rich and inspiring breakthroughs. Significant new Scriptural building blocks are steadily being added to our belief system which establishes the framework of our expanding faith. And this has led us to making many exciting discoveries in fresh territories of Heavenly possibility.

Expansion… Truly, our spirit and soul were created with this need… to EXPAND. Think of it; everything – plant, animal and human – wants to expand… to conquer… to propagate… to grow. Sadly, if we don’t grow, then something deep inside begins to be agitated. But after a while, if we don’t grow, that agitation begins to subside and inwardly we ‘dumb down’ until we ‘go to sleep’.

Sadly, I think this is the condition of much of humanity… including many believers. If you think about it, this could be one of the applications of Ezekiel’s ‘valley of dry bones’ (Ezk 37). Remember, God asked him, “Can these dry bones live?” Those bones gave evidence of some semblance of life in the past, but there was no fresh life now. Ezekiel had to call the bones together, the sinews and skin on them and the breath of life into them before they could stand up and live again.

God is recreating that same ‘rebirth’ dynamic for many believers all across the world. He’s inviting our soul-man into a Heavenly positioning. And He’s validating our spirit-man as the rightful leader worthy of taking us into the Heavenly realities (under Holy Spirit’s leadership, of course!). This revelatory process is opening up powerful new growth and expansion possibilities. An awakening is happening which is creating new zest and joy for life. It’s an awakening similar to John’s revelatory experience when he was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day and he heard a voice say through an open door, “Come on up here” (Rev 4:1).

The invitation, “Come on up here,” is now being heralded across the globe to many hearts that may have been partially dormant but were sincerely hungry for more. In the past, as below-the-line earth-dwellers, it felt like we had ‘maxed out’ the frontiers of formalized religion. We didn’t want to admit it, but we wondered why we felt bored… or why religion didn’t satisfy like it used to. It was because God’s grace was shifting, highlighting yet another of His awe inspiring dreams that He has held until the perfect timing for His people. And now… a large door has been opened granting access to regions ‘above-the-line’… in the Heavenlies.

Jesus said in John 10:9, “He shall go in and out and find pasture.” He made it so easy… and so rewarding. The time has come… the Heavenlies are accessible. With the sentiment of the two faith-filled Promise Land spies, we say, “Let’s possess our inheritance.”

Can you hear the bones rattling together? Can you feel the fresh life of the Heavenlies being breathed into your heart and soul? I can! Honestly, these last few years have been some of the freshest and most inspiring of all of my life! It feels like this is what I was born for. Actually, it’s like I’ve been born again, again. You watch, very soon, many will say like I’ve said many times, “I feel like I came to the Kingdom for such a time as this!”

For more, visit our DPM/ALC YouTube channel

— MLH

The Faith OF God to Proclaim, in the 2010s

Recently I saw this 100 year prophecy from Bob Jones for the first time.  You can read it below… or view one of the times Bob Jones spoke it here.  Of particular interest to me was the part about the 2010s (in RED below).  Look at how Bob prophesied exactly what we’re doing right now! 

First: we must get the revelation of having the faith OF God. (See Young’s Literal Translation of Mark 11:22).  We’ve been trying to build our faith IN God.  But now we’re realizing that we can have the faith OF God… as long as we’ve heard FIRST.  We’re beginning to believe that God doesn’t lie.  And if He said it, then we can say it.   We must put in the “earring” first (learn to hear).  Then as we hear, “we don’t pray TO God anymore… we pray WITH Him”. (For more on this read my post Three Eras of Prayer.)

Second: We proclaim what we’ve heard… we call it into being.

What’s SO amazing for me is that I started believing and practicing this 6-10 years ago… and blogging and preaching it for the last few years.  Now we hear it frequently as one of the current messages.  Another great confirmation that we’re ‘on track’!!  Thank you, God!

— MLH
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THE 100 YEAR PROPHESY

BOB JONES: “What is the Lord doing?  Years ago, The Lord gave me a 100-year prophecy.

• The 1950’s would reveal the Power of God; William Branham, A. Allen, Oral Roberts, Jack Cole, etc.
• The 1960’s revealed the Spirit of God.  That is when the baptism of the Holy Spirit began to come into denominations.
• The 1970’s was the Word of God. That is when really inspired-teachers began to rise up and show us a new understanding already of the written word.
• The 1980’s began to reveal the Prophets of God; people that get the inspired word.
• In the 1990’s, we began to get a revelation of the Government of God.
• The 2000’s will be the Glory of God.  So a lot of these gold plates, gold teeth and everything is beginning to—just on the verge of—revealing the glory of God.
• The 2010’s would reveal the Faith of God.  It’s not have faith “in” God, it is, have the faith “of” God. And so I think we are coming up to the key point of where we see the Holy Spirit of God moving so much that we will believe it, and where our faith is in God and when He speaks in us, we will proclaim His word and it will have the Faith of God in it.
• The 2020’s will reveal the Rest of God.  To where the body will come into a place of resting in God, where God will rest in us.  And in this rest, the enemy will not be able to do warfare because we are resting in God and He is resting in us, and He will accomplish the things He means to do in a people that is at rest.  He has always wanted a people that will come into His rest.  There never has been one but rest is on the way.
• The 2030’s will reveal the Family of God.  There will be such a Unity that if you pick on one, you pick on all.  And intercession where If you are picking on one, intercessors immediately all over will come right in.  It’s a family.
• The 2040’s will reveal the coming forth of the Kingdom of God.  Kingdom authority, kingdom sons; sons of the kingdom.
• The 2050’s will reveal the Sons of God.  They will grow into a place where they will have a [unsure] and a likeness of the Son of God.

I saw up to the 2060’s. and the church here was not beat down.  It was walking in the Glory of God.  It had the Power of God on it.  It had the power over death.  It had the power over the weather.  It had the power over everything.  And we are in a time of growing when—I don’t know what season it comes in there but there will come a season in there, I believe those last 30 years—death will have no power over those that are the Sons of God.  There is a generation that will not know death and I believe these youths are getting ready.  And these youths that are being prepared now and those that as yet are not saved, they will not be afraid of death because they will go everywhere in the world and take it.  You won’t be able to stop them.  And we know that in the last days, for some of these, that if you take their lives, they have the power to raise it up again.  I was seeing that kind of resurrection power in the church in the last days.  I don’t know when it will begin but I rather felt that it will begin in this 2030’s.

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THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH

BOB JONES: “So what’s going on? 25 years ago I brought a prophesy.  The prophesy then was that the greatest showing on earth was going to begin.  I would live to see it.  It would be a 3 ring circus.

The front ring would be Praise.  The center ring would be Proclamation.

What Todd has been doing here isn’t prayer.  It is hearing and obeying and proclaiming what God is speaking to him.  This is creative from now on.  It’s going to be called in.  You’ve never seen it before, you’ve never heard it before.  It’s going to be brought in by the Spirit of Prophesy.

“You have heard [these things foretold], now you see this fulfillment.  And will you not bear witness to it?  I show you specified new things from this time forth, even hidden things [kept in reserve] which you have not known.  They are created now [called into being by the prophetic word], and not long ago; and before today you have never heard of them, lest you should say, Behold, I knew them!” – Isa 48:607 AMP

There is nothing to compare it to.  This is a harvester of harvesters…”

“…What He is doing with all of you is He is scrubbing you with pumice.  He is cleaning your conscience of every defilement.  And if you’ve got a clean conscience, your conscience is your spirit.

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a 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.” – Heb 10:23 NKJV

And if your conscience is cleaned, get ready to be joined in communion with the Holy Spirit.  And He will relay what Papa is speaking.  And you don’t pray to God anymore, you pray with Him.  And you proclaim for Him.  And you begin to speak over towns.  You begin to speak over colleges.  This 3 ring circus that has began here: you’ve got a lot more intercession behind here than you have any idea, because a lot of them are home now.  And we’ve been praying for years for this.”

A more complete transcript of this interview with Bob is printed/published here and here.

What if: The worms already ate ’em?

Let’s start with a couple familiar verses.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. – I Thess 4:16

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. – I Cor 15:51-52

These are the primary Scriptures used to communicate an event called, the resurrection from the dead.  Generally, we’ve interpreted these Scriptures to mean that there is going to be an upheaval of tons of dirt as bodies come back to life and suddenly erupt up out of the ground.  We experience some of our strongest religious sentimentalities as we rally around artists’ depictions of this epic event.

But let’s dissect this concept and see if this picture still stands.

Fact: Since Adam, all people except two, have died… and after death all of the bodies decomposed back into their original state – from dust to dust (Gen 3:19; Eccl 3:20; including verses in Job, Psalms and Isaiah).

Fact: Before caskets and vaults became popular in the middle 1800s, most people were buried about 3 feet under the ground.  This allowed nature to re-purpose all the elemental components of the body.  Those elements were assimilated back into the soil or surrounding matter (ocean, air, etc).  The human body, which is mostly water (65%), dissipates into the air or the earth… and the remaining 50 elements (35%) which are minerals and some inert elements, are assimilated into the cyclical life processes of nature.

Question 1:  Where are the remains of the bodies that died 200 years ago? 4000 years ago?  Without a doubt, most or all of the elements of that body are not in their original resting place, due to: worms, birds, trees, flowers, grass, funeral pyres, burned at the stake, eaten by animals, cremation, burial at sea, promession, cryopreservation, etc.  Suffice it to say that most, or all, of that body is not where it was last laid to rest.  And it would also be fair to say that most… or all, of the DNA is gone, too. 

Question 2:  So if the dead in Christ are to resurrect, where will they resurrect from, if there are no body parts or residual DNA, in that location?

Some people hold the view that some part of the person’s DNA is still there in the ground, then God miraculously reconstructs the body from that miniscule DNA.  But if we hold to that view, we’re still saying that most of what happens is an outstanding miracle.  And if it’s a miracle, why do we even need a ‘seed’ portion of DNA for the miracle to happen?

Question 3:  Is the picture of dead people coming out of the ground an accurate concept?  What if we don’t actually resurrect out of the dirt?

So let’s take a look at the “glorified body”.  We don’t know exactly what it means, what it looks like or the physical properties of it.  But it is most certainly not the same substance as our bodies… they’re “glorified”.

… who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. – Phil 3:21

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.  It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. – I Cor 15:42-44

Jesus, and maybe Moses and Elijah on the Mt of Transfiguration, are the only ones we know who have manifested in a glorified body.  And Jesus’ body could do things our bodies can’t.  It could eat… or not.   It was ethereal enough to pass through walls… or solid enough for Thomas to put his hand in Jesus’ scars.  It was able to manifest in a “different form” (Mark 16:12) to the two men on their way to Emmaus.

Question 4:  Does God need a whole body… or even particles of DNA for a resurrection and glorified body?  Maybe resurrection has more to do with God creating a glorified body for our spirit man to live in for eternity, than it does with trying to reconstruct what used to be our temporary ‘tent’ that housed our soul and spirit man for those few years on earth.  He’s creating a facility for our spirit man that has physical properties which surpass, even our wildest creative imagination.

And if it’s too much to think that God doesn’t need at least some physical DNA to create a glorified body, then where do angel appearances come from… they never had a pre-existent physical body on this earth!   And where did the “sons of God” get a substantive body sufficient to co-habit with the “daughters of men” in order to procreate Nephilim on the earth (Gen 6:4)?  Those “sons of God” never had human bodies before their ‘appearance’ upon the earth, but somehow were able to manifest in physical form.

What if coming out of the ground is just a man-thought… a concept that we’ve invented to try to make some verses fit within our ‘known world’?  Doesn’t it sound at least a little like a man-thought?  In fact, it sounds a lot like how we made up our now fast fading rapture theory that involves blue skies and puffy clouds – which BTW was only invented back in the 1800s.  What if God has a completely different idea about resurrection from the dead?  Could we be OK with that?  If He does have a different plan, then it would just be another tribute to God’s miraculous and mysterious ability to do the impossible without having to be fully understood by our brains?

What if the historical timing of this whole concept and the meaning of these metaphors is completely different than our modern pulpit-speak?  Selah!

So what if we just let the happy worms eat their fill of dead men’s carcasses?  And what if the happy fat worms (and happy birds who ate the happy fat worms) don’t have to explode to let out all of the dead men’s DNA when it comes resurrection time?

Conclusion: I say, “God bless the worms!”

— MLH

Proclamation prayer… it’s what Kingdom saints do

By now, you know that this is a big topic for me.  And yes, I know this isn’t a single-sided subject… but for so long it’s been a lopsided subject… and on the wrong side, in my opinion.  So I will spend almost no time in validating the posture of petition or supplication prayers… even though they have a vital and powerful place in the lives of the believer… and even the sinner.  (It’s probably the only prayer posture for the pre-Christian, since they haven’t enjoyed sonship favor with the Father, yet.)  In actual fact, petition prayer has been our almost singular prayer posture for all of human history.  We’ve had such a low estimation and view of ourselves that we haven’t allowed ourselves to explore more kingly forms of prayer.

Now if we’re a “kingdom of priests and kings”… if we’re a “royal priesthood and holy nation”… and if “all authority has been given into our hands”, then shouldn’t we dispense with the begging and petition, especially since His Word tells us what He wants us to do.  Think: If we’re an ambassador or emissary, we have been given an assignment, parameters and authority to make decisions, proclaim edicts, and adjudicate for our king.  If we don’t understand and use our authority, we’ll probably be brought back home to ‘sit under his table’ for a while until we become more clear in our relationship with the king and the role as a ‘sent one’.

I may be ‘pushing’ this point a little harder than I should, but we are SO steeped in a beggar and ‘distance’ (from God) mentality… and we’re SOooo far from ‘owning’ and living in a royal/kingly mentality… that we need a strong push to get our minds readjusted… and thus, our realities transformed.

“Be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds.” – Rms 12:2

So, in looking at the Bible we find that there are many scriptures in the New Testament… even post-cross, that have the petition aspect to prayer, such as:

“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;” – Col 1:9

Asking is still a legitimate form of praying in my ‘world’, especially if I don’t know the mind of God.  If I don’t know the mind of God, then I must ask Him what His will is.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” – Jms 1:5

Jesus proved this in the Garden when He asked the Father.

“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.  Yet not as I will, but as you will.” – Matt 26:39

There are quite a few instances where Jesus prayed ‘asking’ type prayers.  Sometimes it’s obvious He was imploring for the Father’s mind and will.  But then there are times when Jesus prayed, what I call, ‘a people type prayer’.  What a strange revelation to find that Jesus prayed prayers beneath His ability and status.  If we just think about it, His whole life here on earth was beneath His status as the only begotten Son of God.  But rarely do we get to hear His inner talk about how He juggled His ‘God-ness’ against the people’s weak and ‘fallen’ spirituality.  Take a look at this stunning insight.

“Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me.”” – John 11:41-42

Look at the last sentence!  He says that He only prayed the first part for the sake of the people.  He knew he had to pray a somewhat familiar religious sounding prayer or they wouldn’t be able to get ‘on-page’ with Him.  In the people’s minds, addressing God as Father certainly stretched them… but thanking God, was a familiar sounding religious prayer.  So now it was safe and easy for them to ‘buy-in’… and Jesus could get on with ‘a Jesus type prayer’:

“After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”…” – John 11:43

Wow!  Is it possible that Jesus and other NT writers sometimes prayed prayers that were more ‘palatable’ to their audience, even though they were capable of, and it would have been more appropriate, to pray kingly/declarative prayers?  Well, at least on this occasion, Jesus did.  Here is another example where Paul speaks in “human terms” just so that he can convey his insight to the Romans.

“I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations.” – Rms 6:19 ESV

God starts out with what we can relate to and believe… until we can handle His fuller revelations.  Declarative prayers are almost unheard of up to this point in Scripture… but Jesus is employing all methods possible to shift the atmosphere for those around him.

So I am taken with this declarative and imperative form of prayer.  And we find many instances of it in the New Testament.

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” – I Thess 1:1

And then we find that even in some of the middle-of-the-road word choices like, “may God do such-and-such…” the literal translation makes it more imperative than just a simple ‘humble’ petition.  For example:

“Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you… “ – I Thess 3:11-13; 5:23

At first glance, it seems to sounds like a petition type prayer, but Youngs Literal Translation delivers it more imperatively:

“And our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you,” – (Youngs Literal Trans)

A more ‘confident knowing’ comes through in the literal translation.  Paul is prophesying God’s will into his future.  Here are more examples of clear emphatic declaration type utterances (which I believe are the more appropriate prayers for Kingdom saints).

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” – I Thess 5:28
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” – Phil 4:23

We even have an instance of declarative truth/prayer by an angel:

“But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”” – Jude 1:9

As we said, Jesus was shifting the spiritual atmosphere between people’s ears – giving them a ‘new mind’.  So let’s look at some of the imperative/declarative prayers of Jesus

“Be healed!” – Matt 8:3
“Stretch out your hand.” – Matt 12:13
“Peace, be still.” – Mk 4:39
“Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” – Lk 5:34
“Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.” – Lk 7:11-15
“Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” – Lk 8:50
“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” – Lk 10:52
“Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” – Lk 18:42
“Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” – Lk 17:14-19
“Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.” – John 5:7
“Lazarus, come forth” – John 11:43

We don’t hear a wimpy, “If it be Thy will, O Lord” type prayer here.  Jesus was confident and assertive with His prayers.  And He teaches us to do the same thing.

“For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed….” – Mk 11:23

Praying for the sick is certainly scriptural (James 5: 14-15), especially for those in the church, but why don’t the Gospels and Acts give us precedent for petition prayers for healing?  What does this tell us?  I think that Jesus thinks we have more authority than we think we do.  This is made clear when He confers upon the 72, “all authority over the enemy”.

“I give to you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and on all the power of the enemy, and nothing by any means shall hurt you;” – Lk 10:19

Then Jesus commands us to carry an authoritative posture as we “go”:

“And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” – Lk 9:1-2

“As you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons.  Freely you have received, freely give“ – Matt 10:7-8

The assumed subject in each of these commands is “You”… (You) heal, (You) cleanse, (You) raise, (You) cast out….   He freely gave us this authority, now we are to freely administer it.

“(You) Heal the sick who are there and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you'” – Lk 10:9

In these instances we don’t hear Jesus say, “Petition Heaven until Father has a favorable mindset to heal.”  Rather, Jesus sees us as being duly deputized to carry and freely disseminate the Kingdom everywhere we go.

The disciples ‘got it’ and were ecstatic to find that what Jesus said, was really true.  They could hardly believe it!

“The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.”  So He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” – Lk 10:17-18

I believe that the “falling of Satan” was mostly ‘between the ears’ of the 72.  They were “renewed in the spirit of their minds” (Eph 4:23).  They’re unbelief was demolished and their faith was established.  God’s word and His intentions were now rightfully enthroned upon their minds.  Satan’s throne of rulership in their minds had crumbled.  The 72 had dared to believe Jesus and found His words to be true.

Further, most people erroneously believe that Jesus wants us to assume the Luke 18:1-6 widowly posture of desperate imploring.  But Jesus contrasts that faithless posture with verse 8, “Will I find faith when I return?”  He hopes we see ourselves for who we really are.

The disciples got it.  And it didn’t stop with the Gospels… Peter is still practicing this kingly prayer/declaration posture in the Early Church.

“In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” – Acts 3:6
“Tabitha, arise.” – Acts 9:40

Now, let’s take a look at Isa 61 for a moment.  Everyone, including Jesus, believes that this passage refers to His coming to earth and administering each of these powerful proclamations in His life and ministry here on earth.

“Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him.  He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” – Lk 4:16-30

Of course, these powerful proclamations seem fitting for the Son of God.  It’s easy to believe that the Son of God can do these things.  Let’s list some of them:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to:

1.    proclaim good news to the poor
2.   bind up the brokenhearted,
3.   proclaim freedom for the captives
4.   release from darkness for the prisoners,
5.    proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
6.    comfort all who mourn,
7.    provide for those who grieve in Zion—
8.   bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
9.    the oil of joy instead of mourning,
10.  a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” – Isa 61:1-3

Wow, that is power-packed!!  Did you notice that we don’t read of the necessity of preliminary petitioning of Father God to see if this is the right thing to do?  So that’s exactly what Jesus did… release the Kingdom of God everywhere He went.  The spoken Word of God is the permission and empowerment to fulfill each proclamation.  That’s what rhema does… “empowerment accompanies revelation”.  But it doesn’t stop there, Jesus said,

“Greater works than these shall you do” – John 14:12

And John said that we qualify to do the Jesus-stuff,

“…as He is, so also are we in this world.” – I John 4:17

And that’s just the start of substantiating the next level of this stunning reality.  Through Jesus, this powerful authority and influence now applies to us.  Now, all these powerful proclamations are ours to embrace and activate in!!!

As I said earlier, never once is there an instruction to petition the Father to see if HE would do this ‘heavy-lifting’ for us.  No!  He admonishes US to believe that this is the normal daily fare of Kingdom saints.

I believe that discovering the richness of what it means to truly be a son (versus a “wretch like me”) and discovering the magnitude of Father’s awesome intention “toward us who believe” (Eph 1:19), will affect a radical change in our inner reality and self-talk… and will necessitate a dramatic change in our conversation and prayer posture.  We will begin to think, speak, pray and prophesy more like this:

From the finished work of the Cross
From Heaven into earthly situations versus from earth supplicating Heaven
From victory versus for victory

If we are to enter a more Kingdom minded era equipped for the times, I believe these golden revelations will be required in order to empower us to fulfill Kingdom realities (Dan 7:27; Rms 5:17; etc).  Instead of a consciousness of our sin dominating our personal ‘universe’, we will be more conscious of our righteousness (II Cor 5:21; Rms 5:1) and live by it, be set free by it and be empowered by it!

In closing, here’s a follow up on Isa 61.  This is what happens to those who embrace and practice these Isa 61 proclamations:

3 They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations
5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.
8 “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”
10 I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

Man-O-man!!!  That truly sounds like Good News!  So if this is available for me, then I set myself to do violence (Matt 11:12) against unbelief and lesser mindsets until I “apprehend that for which I was apprehended” (Phil 3:12)… and possess the Kingdom of God as fully mine… and give it away.

All in favor say, “Aye”!

— MLH