Today, I want to encourage us while we are at the end of a narrow place. Last Sunday, we read part of a prophecy by Chuck Pierce where we were encouraged that God was watering us in the daytime so that we would not be burned by the heat. We must remain buoyant, so that our faith would take us through.

This week, in my quiet time, I was so encouraged by a devotional by Bob Yandian. Please allow this to bring perspective and encouragement to you as it did to me:

“Romans 5:3: ‘We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation works patience.’ The Greek word for ‘works’ in this verse means, ‘something on the inside working itself to the outside.’ When we trust God, tribulation causes patience, which is already inside us, to be worked to the outside. Tribulation works out patience. This is why we can glory, or rejoice, in tribulations. We know that more than receiving an answer to a problem, we are developing our Godly character. Long before patience is brought forth in us, the pressure of circumstance brings much more to the surface. A friend of mine told me a story about a summer job he had between years in college. We worked on the offshore oil rigs in Louisiana. Being a newcomer and a temporary employee, he had the jobs not too many others would take. One of them was testing oil pipe before it was put in use. The oil company did not fully trust the manufacturer, and would test each peice of pipe before putting it below the water in the Gulf to handle great amounts of oil flow. To test whether the pipe would handle the oil pressure, my friend would pump in water under great pressure to see if any hidden flaws or cracks were overlooked in production.

“Often, when the pressure would reach a few hundred pounds per square inch, a small stream of water would shoot from a section. One day, when a stream of water shot from a small crack in a pipe, the Lord spoke to my friend and said, ‘The pressure did not create the crack, it revealed it.’

We often blame Satan for our anger, bitterness or temper flare ups. The pressure did not create the character flaw, it revealed what was already in us. We need to fix the crack, repent, receive forgiveness, and the patience that is already in us will be able to come out.”

Man, I needed that.

Love you guys,

—Pastor Chris.

Today we want to continue with the topic of “Glory.” Certain points of understanding about glory have imprinted themselves upon us as time has passed. Because it is likely that you desire God’s visitation of His glory filled empowerment upon your heart, home or business, look with me at some of the concepts of a practical glory instead of a mysterious glory.

First, God does desire to manifest His glory among His people. “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.” Isaiah 60:1-2

Some traditions thought that God was jealous about His glory, as though protectively (if not grandiosely) unwilling to allow anyone else to share it it. It was only when I really started meditating the scriptures that I found that He really does want us to walk in His glory. The word says, “I have given My glory to dwell in this place.”

Throughout most of my experience growing up, I would hear the oft-quoted words, “My glory will I not give to another.” And we believed that conveyed that He did not want to give his glory away or anyone else be seen with it.

My study, however, opened my understanding of God’s great-heartedness regarding His glory. Indeed, Isaiah’s prophecy did and does emphasize God’s refusal to share His glory with another. But the text clearly defines exactly who “another” is: “I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images.” Isaiah 42:8

It was revelation to me, God’s edict against sharing any of His glory is clear—bit is is confined to His enemies. He wills that nothing of His excellency, majesty of glory be compromised or companioned in by other gods—demon dieties who boast themselves against Him. In distinct contrast, listen to Jesus’ disclosure of the Father’s heart. Concerning the Church, His own redeemed ones who honor God’s Messiah and who have received His witness, the Savior prays that, “…the glory which You (Father) gave Me I have given them (all who receive Jesus), that they may be one just as We are one…” John 17:22

Christ Himself, who embodies the fullness of God’s glory, has clearly expressed His will and desire that God’s glory be transmitted to and enjoyed by His Church, “which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” Ephesians 1:23

So, now I have come to expect His glory—to believe God is as happy for your house to know it as He is mine.

Second, I learned that God’s glory is associated with worship, and that those who fill the house with praise pave the way for glory. The scriptures plainly show, for example, that God’s visible glory was manifested when His priorities and patterns of worship were honored by His people. We can see this at the time the Tabernacle of Moses was completed.

“And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:33-35

The same thing happened in Solomon’s time. At the dedication of his Temple, when the priest had led in a lavish display of worship according to the scriptures, the record shows that:

“…it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: ‘for He is good, for His mercy endures forever,’ that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.” 2Chronicles 5:13-14

Full hearted, biblically ordered, Holy Spirit ignited worship introduces the glorious order of the Eternal One. “I will glorify the house of My glory,” the Lord declares, adding, “I will make the place of My feet glorious.” Isaiah 60:7,13

In short, we should expect His glory to be seen on us in our everyday life and circumstances in a practical way. We will have a grace or presence on us to be calm in the middle of the storm.

We will have wisdom in times where everyone else does not know what to do. We are His dwelling place and greater is He that is in us than he that is is the world. As the world gets darker and darker we as God’s children will get brighter and brighter. Where people worship God humbly, forthrightly and obediently, according to His Word, He will respond with a distinct show of His presence. Worship filled praise invites the rule of His glorious Kingdom and He enters with loving blessings and liberating power. Honoring God’s Word in our lives, exalting God’s Son with our lips and giving the Holy Spirit a place to work by the love we show God and man allows distinct and marvelous blessing to pour forth.

None of this is limited to any one group or select breed or certain denomination, or even of those of a particular doctrinal belief. His glory is for us, his children, and it is to make a practical difference in our everyday lives.
Let His glory fill your house,

—Pastor Chris.

When God speaks, we must realize that we have an enemy who immediately tries to steal from us what is rightfully ours. Satan will always attempt to thwart what God is doing. Such was the case for the Israelites. When they were coming out of their captivity in Babylon, they received a visitation from the Lord (see Jer. 29:10). The Israelites knew God’s will for them was to return and to rebuild the destroyed Temple of the Lord. They had clearly heard from God.

God was not just being selfish in wanting His own house rebuilt. Rebuilding had a direct effect on restoring to the Israelites what had been lost in their captivity in Babylon. It was important. But as they began working toward the restoration God had for them, the enemy resisted their efforts. Instead of fighting for what they knew they were to do, the children of Israel gave in. As the people allowed the enemy to take a foothold, three things began to happen.

1.) They fell into discouragement. They began to ask why God was calling them to build the Temple in the first place.

2.) Then they fell into disillusionment. Things were not going well, so they began to wonder if God had really told them to build at all.

3.) Finally, they fell into disinterest. As the situation progressed, they decided they would build their own houses and leave His in disrepair. They stopped caring.

This progression of events is often a pattern for what can happen in our own lives if we do not guard what the Lord has told us and seriously pursue His will. It takes an act of our own will to choose God’s plan for possessing our inheritance. In the case of the children of Israel, God used a great shaking to break discouragement, disillusionment and disinterest from them. This shaking was prophesied in Haggai 2:21. God remembered His covenant with the Israelites and continued to pursue their restoration, even when they did not. He did not shake them because of His anger, but because He wanted the glory of the latter Temple to be greater than the former. He wanted them to experience the greater glory (see Hag. 2:9).

Many times we are captured by the world around us, which attempts to hold us from the destiny God has for us. But God has a perfect time of visitation to break us out of captivity. He wants me to stuff it! You know what, im not a calzone last time i checked! As we respond to God, He will visit us and release us from our captivity.

Yet God will continue to pursue our restoration, even when we have come to the point of disinterest. The reason? He has a covenant with us. We will take a closer look at the subject of covenant to help us understand where it fits in with all that we have studied to this point. We will also look at the process and disciplines needed to continue moving us from glory to glory.

Here is a prophetic word given by Chuck Pierce:

“Arise, shine and radiate! I am filling the boundaries of My inheritance with glory. I am revealing places where My inheritance is not filled with glory—places where My glory is absent and curses are in operation. You will hear a new call. I can assign and enlarge your sphere of operation, but you must co-operate with My Glory. Procrastination—not making the most of My time—is a great competitor of My purpose. Postponement and misplaced waiting are competing with your wearing the prosperity I have for you now. New passion is coming alive in you. Arise and awaken to My passion and strength. My glory is part of My wealth strategy in the earth today. Feel the weight of this glory on you and watch others be drawn to you.

“My people need to know who they are, how they are positioned and the inheritance they have been grafted into and given. I have a people who will triumph. If you will order your prayers, I will order your steps. You will walk in victory in the season ahead! The world around you does not understand My Glory, but they will recognize your authority when you wear glory as a garment. There is a movement in the atmosphere! I am sending help into your atmospheric realm! But you must move with Me. There are places I need to access and faith responses I need from you. So listen carefully! The road map of heaven is being placed in the earth. I will reveal My stops for visitation. Follow Me, and you will meet your atmospheric intervention. Angels will assist you on the way. My Presence will go before you and be your rearguard.

“There is a greater glory than you have known that is waiting for you—a glory that will break the power of disinterest and discouragement that has held you captive. This will release a power for you to finish the assignments that have not been completed. This will cause you to begin stronger than you finish! My glory is great!”

Read and meditate on Isaiah 52, Isaiah 60, Haggai 2, Zechariah 3 and John 1-2. Memorize Philippians 3:10 (amplified version).
See you at the top,

—Pastor Chris.

“Who is this coming out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the merchant’s fragrant powders?” Song of Soloman 3:6

God has a time for us to rise up out of the wilderness. But like the wilderness season, the season of transition is another place many of us would love to avoid. In fact, because of this season, many people never move into all that God has for them. Yet it is transition that moves us from the wilderness into our restoration. But transition is usually the most difficult of all seasons. Because transition means crossing over to a new place or passing from one condition to another, we often have to travel through a “narrow place” as we venture through the process.

The narrow place is where the path we are used to walking suddenly becomes more confined and precarious—much like crossing over a deep ravine on a swinging bridge. During these confining times, we commonly find ourselves under the Lord’s scrutiny. But God always has a purpose. He tests us in the difficult places so He can trust us with new stewardship.

In Luke 18, we find the story of the rich, young ruler who asked the Lord what he should do in inherit eternal life. The young ruler was a religious young man who was genuinely seeking the right path. Yet when Jesus told him to take the narrow path of selling all he had in order to follow Him, the young man could not do it and left Jesus without receiving eternal life. Jesus then declared that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for those who have riches to enter into the kingdom of God.

The “eye of the needle” that Jesus was referring to was a particularly narrow opening in the wall near one of the naming gates of Jerusalem. A camel could only get through the opening by being stripped of all it carried, dropping to its knees and remaning on its knees to literally crawl through the opening. The young man refused to be stripped of all he had in order to go through the narrow place that led to eternal life. Yet if we are to get through the narrow place successfully, we must often unload what we are carrying, including weights of the past and old mindsets.

During the narrow place of transition, the Lord often redefines and adjusts whatever rules are necessary for us to get to our new place. A good example of this is when Moses died and the mantle or authority was passed on to Joshua. Up to that point in the journey, the Israelites had learned to follow a pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire by night.

But now, the Lord commanded them to follow the Ark of the Covenant, a small box. What a shift! Their vision literally had to change form seeing the large moving pillars to focusing on a small box carried far ahead of them on the shoulders of priests. They had to become more focused in their place of transition. Often, in our own place of transition, we too must become much more focused on the Lord in order to make it through to the place of restoration that god has for us.

Transition is, therefore, a time when we must carefully hear what the Lord is saying to us. God has a strategy for you to make it through. He may be shifting you from following a large pillar that fills the horizon to focusing on a small, distant ark. The only way to clearly know His strategy for your particular situation is to spend time with Him.

—Pastor Chris.

I ran across a video about a girl who has had adverse circumstances all of her life and as managed to turn every adverse trial into an opportunity. She has no legs, so she has made a fortune creating fashion legs. Wow what an inspiration. She loves to dance, and in her article she quoted this poem:

Every Child
Has Known God
Not the God of names,
Not the God of don’ts
Not the God who ever does anything weird
But the God who only knows four words
And keeps repeating them, saying
“Come Dance With Me” —by Hafiz

God desires our praise. It may appear a bit odd that the Creator of the universe would want anything from His creation, sort of like the potter asking the pot to say thanks and enjoying it. For a moment let me emphasize His desire for our praise. He exhorts us to praise Him six times in Psalm 67, and tells us when to praise Him in Psalm 34. We are told to enter His presence with praise in Psalm 100. In Psalms 107 alone, He furnishes fifteen reasons to praise Him. Psalms 150 tells us where, why, and how to praise Him. Psalm 150:6 says, “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.” And throughout scripture the Lord commands us to sing praises to Him some fifty times.

“Indeed,” says Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, “not only all living things but all created things, including the sun and moon, are called upon ‘to praise’ God (Ps 148:2-5, 13; 150:1).”

So important is praise to our Lord that He said in Luke 19:40, “If these (praising Jesus as He entered Jerusalem) should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” So, if we who belong to the Lord don’t praise Him, the rocks will. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a rock to take my place.

The Lord encourages our praise so often that it is appropriate to say that He hungers for our adulation. And why shouldn’t we praise Him? He is the creator and possessor of heaven and earth. All that we see belongs to Him, including ourselves. In Exodus 34:6-7, God proclaims His attributes, establishing His worthiness of every moment of praise we offer Him:

“The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sin.”

When we praise Him, says Psalm 50:23, we glorify Him; we put Him in the place of honor that only He can rightfully occupy. And Scriptures instruct us in several ways to exalt Him. Psalm 149 and 150 command us to praise Him with the dance: “Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.” Ps. 150:4

Some of us have wrong things written on our heart when it comes to dance. Traditional theologies regard dancing as sin, and often times rightly so when it is laden with sensuality. We bring that association into heart, and even when we read the command in the word to praise him with the dance our mind still thinks and associates dancing with sin.

Many Christians believe dancing in church can send them to hell, or at the very least, would feel condemned for dancing. A spiritual hot potato, like speaking in tongues or female preachers, dancing in church has polarized the body of Christ. But there exist a different kind of dance than that of the world, a dance unto the Lord, seen and encouraged throughout the Old and New Testaments.

We must replace that old belief system about dancing and learn what the word says and the Father wants as we explore the dance so that we can respond to our creator when He asks us to: “Come Dance with Me.”

—Pastor Chris.

Once you come to believe something, that becomes your normal; once your normal is defined, your sense of identity is connected to that normal—and your heart will not let change occur unless you know how to go through the process to influence your heart.

No matter how painful something is in your life and no matter how much you wish that it would change, your heart will not let it change.

Why do we resist change so much if we want it so badly? Before we tackle that question let’s look as the amazing power of belief in the heart.

Neuroscientists tell us that our emotional center is actually the subconscious, or the limbic section of our brain. We have come to use the warmer term ‘heart’ to designate this inner storehouse of our beliefs and the seat of our emotions. This term follows the scriptural teaching that our spiritual heart is the center of our being, the wellspring of who we are (cf Proverbs 4:23). The embedded beliefs in your heart control everything about you—what you eat, how you rest, how you take care of yourself, what you say and think, what your job is, and how much money you make.

Dr. William Backus says that “you feel the way you think; you think the way you believe.” Beliefs are the primary source of your attitudes, reactions, feelings, and behavior. Isn’t that just about everything you are? In short, these beliefs determine the entire scope of your life. Bestselling author and psychologist Dr. Gary J. Oliver says the following about your beliefs:

“Most people aren’t aware of and have not identified the core beliefs that have an unbelievably powerful impact on virtually every area of their life. In addition to being powerful and complex, your core beliefs, including your level of emotional intelligence, influence virtually every aspect of your life, including the social, mental, physical, and spiritual dimensions. They impact your loves, hates, worries, fears, values, priorities, goals, what you enjoy, who you can trust, the friends that you choose, what you will achieve, what you live for, and what you would be willing to die for. In fact, there is virtually nothing in your life that does not have your core beliefs, including your emotional makeup, as its mainspring.”

You have no beliefs in your heart that you did not put there, either of your own volition or by inheritance from your family or by absorbing them from your culture. So if you don’t like an area of your life, it’s up to you to find better beliefs to improve that area. Your life will change just as fast as your beliefs change.

Dr. Gary Smalley addresses the topic of what really causes your emotions in this way: “If we want to be strictly accurate, we can never say, ‘You make me sad,’ or ‘You make me afraid with your terrible driving,’ or ‘What you said really upset me,’ not one of these statements—as well as other like them—is ever true. What happens to you or even what someone does to you never makes you happy or sad. There is a step between the event and the emotion that is the true cause of how you feel. To explain this phenomenon, let’s turn to Dr. Albert Ellis, the founder of cognitive therapy. Dr. Ellis developed the famous ABC model to explain how our experiences, beliefs, and actions interact. His model of a three-event sequence that happens every time you feel an emotion such as fear, worry, sadness, or discouragement follows:

“A = the event that happens to you—good or bad.

“B = what you think about the event that happens to you.

“C = the feelings that result from what you think of the event.

“Here’s how the interaction between belief and action works. When the event happens to you, your brain perceives the experience through one or more of your five senses. In a matter of milliseconds, so fast that you are not aware of the procedure, your brain processes the experience using information stored in the limbic area or your brain or your subconscious mind, which, as previously stated, I like to call your heart, a term we all understand. Your heart interprets the experience by the information it has stored within it. That interpretation produces your feeling about the experience, and your feelings produce your resulting action.”

This process happens instantaneously, faster than the blink of an eye. Because it happens so fast, we are not even aware of a process going on. To our conscious minds it seems that we simply had something happen to us and we responded naturally.

This process must be explored but we are out of space this week.

—Pastor Chris.

The revelation of the heart and the brain that we have been enjoying, or maybe just enduring, is beginning to be spoken by many. When I was in Indiana my son made me aware of a new book by Dr. Gary Smalley. The title: “Change Your Heart Change Your Life.”

According to Dr. Smalley, no one has to live by the subtle lies or believe the distortions of truth that the world holds out to us. In this book Dr. Smalley helps us to understand how those powerful beliefs—already stored in our hearts—are controlling our lives in every way. He also shows how to change those old damaging beliefs, which are actually draining love from our hearts. “Change Your Heart, Change Your Life” offers insight on how changing what we believe can transform our eating habits and addictions, as well as our vocations, children, and marriages.

There are steps, strategies, and beliefs we can bring to our lives to either totally transform them or improve them—and it all starts with hiding God’s Word in our hearts.

No matter your age, experience, or previous patterns, this book guides you through the whys and hows of orchestrating your beliefs to forever change your life and your relationships. Learn the four most important beliefs to store inside your heart and how to deeply embed them. Discover how to manage your own heart, and reap the wonderful consequences of a much closer walk with God.

In the first chapter, there is a great story that Dr. Smalley relates about his grandson: “To show you how putting the right beliefs in your heart can change you, let me tell you a story about my oldest grandson, Michael. The incident occurred when he was ten years old. I had just discovered the principle of beliefs, but at the time I did not know just how broadly they would apply.

“Michael walked into my house as discouraged as I’ve ever seen him. I greeted him and listened as he poured out his heart about how miserable he was. ‘Grampa,’ he said, ‘Mom is driving me crazy. I can’t live like this. Can you do something about it? Can you talk to her?’

“The more I listened, the more I realized that his problem with his mom—Kari, my daughter—was nothing more than her insisting that he be responsible about her rules concerning household chores and homework. But what he wanted was my help in changing her so she wouldn’t bug him anymore and cause his unhappiness. I’m very close to Kari, and she is one of my best friends in life and a wonderful mother. I chose not to take his side or hers. I did not talk with Michael about the need to be responsible and to give one’s parents respect and obedience. Instead I decided to see if my new found discovery of beliefs would work for a ten year old. So I asked him this question: ‘Is your mom making you unhappy or is she revealing some belief in your heart, which is the thing that is actually making you unhappy?’”

Gary goes on to tell how he challenged his grandson to put three scriptures in his heart and the result was remarkable.

“My experiment worked. Michael simply changed a couple of beliefs in his heart, and that change affected not only his behavior but also his attitude and relationship toward his mother. Things did not suddenly go perfectly for him, but with the change in his inner belief, his parents and I saw the dramatic changes in his life. His discouragements and frustrations were lowered significantly. And over the past three years, he has increased the changes in his heart, and his mom wrote me a letter outlining those changes.”

Well, changing your heart will change your life. It’s not a destination it is a journey. Many people will not take the journey and that’s ok. The journey of learning to control your thought, changing your heart and walking free from the past is hard, but the benefits are fantastic. The benefit, in a word, is: “Freedom.”

Enjoy the journey,
Pastor Chris

Where you are presently is a vital part of where you are going. “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. The voice said, Cry. (Proclaim.) And he said, what shall I proclaim? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people are grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Isaiah 40:3-8

The wilderness is the place where the way of the Lord is prepared, the place where every mountain is made low and every valley exalted. In scripture, mountains represent the strength of man. The Bible says, “That no flesh should glory in His presence.” 1 Cor 1:29 Man cannot bring forth the promises of God. No matter how good his intentions, without God’s involvement, man can do nothing of eternal value—even in Jesus’ name. Jesus said, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do.” John 5:19 What a statement! Jesus said He could do nothing of Himself.

Jesus loved Lazarus and his two sisters, Martha and Mary, who lived in Bethany. Lazarus became very ill. John 11:3-6 says, “Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.” Jesus Loved Lazarus and considered him a friend. However, we see that Jesus did nothing for two days. Why didn’t He go immediately to Bethany? The reason: God did not lead Him to go immediately. Jesus waited until the Spirit of God moved; then He moved. The Lord showed me that if that had been one of my friends whom I loved, I would have driven immediately to his house and laid hands on him, without even thinking of looking to the Spirit of god for His direction. We have had the mentality in the Church that, “Wherever I go, God will go—and do what I tell Him to do.” This is backward thinking. God decides where to go; if we follow, He will tell us what to do. We have thought that even without the Spirit’s leading, if we laid hands on the sick, God was
obligated to heal everyone of them at that moment. If this is true, then we should go to all the hospitals and empty them. In many references in the Bible it says, “He healed them all.” But this was not a universal occurrence. For instance, why didn’t Jesus heal all the sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people at the pool of Bethesda when He healed the man with the infirmity for thirty eight years? See John 5 Why did He only heal one man at that time?

There was a man, lame from his mother’s womb, who was laid daily at the gate of the temple. Surely Jesus passed him each time He entered the temple. Why didn’t Jesus heal him? Because His Father hadn’t instructed Him to do so. Later, on the way to the temple, Peter and John (by the leading of the Spirit) healed this man, causing revival to break out. See Acts 3

When Jesus ministered, there was no set formula; some He spit on, some He laid hands on, other He simply spoke to. He made mud balls for another and put them in his eye sockets; still other He sent to the priests, and the list goes on. Why such variety? Because He only did what He saw His Father do! God knew the perfect timing and manner in which each individual could receive healing.

This is what God wants for us…to bring us to the place where we will do only what we see Him do, not what we think or want to be done. Jesus said in John 20:21, “…as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” As Jesus did nothing except what He was seeing the Father do, even so we must do only what we see the Lord do. We must behave as Jesus, led only by the Holy Spirit, walking as only He can lead us. This requires our flesh to be under subjection to the Spirit of God. The training ground for this Spirit-led life in the wilderness. As earlier noted, the wilderness is where the way of the Lord is prepared.

God is not looking for an outward form of holiness; He wants an inward change of heart.

“A voice of one calling: in the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.” Isaiah 40:3

The wilderness is the location of God’s highway. It is in the wilderness that the way is prepared. It is the way or road to the high or exalted life—the way God lives and thinks.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than your ways, are my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

Few have walked this road. Yet now, God is preparing many to journey upon it. We find this described in Isaiah 35:8: “…for waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert… A highway shall be there (the desert) and a road, and it shall be called the highway of holiness.”

It is in the wilderness that the highway of the Lord is prepared. The way is called holiness. One of the definitions of holiness is “the state of being pure.” Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 The way or method to the high life is holiness or a pure heart.

Jesus is not returning for an unholy or impure Church. He is coming for a Church without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. Many of us have tried to attain holiness by obeying rules and regulations, and have failed miserably. Like the Jews who tried to receive salvation by keeping the law and could not: even so, we are unable to walk in holiness by keeping rules and regulations. Many have restricted themselves with legalistic rulings regarding tangible things, (no makeup, strict dress code, no television). All these outward limits are established in an attempt to obtain inward purity. But God is not looking for an outward form of holiness; He wants an inward change of your heart, for a pure heart will produce pure conduct. Jesus said, in Matthew 23:26, “…first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish (the heart), that the outside of them say be clean also.”

If your heart is pure, you will not desire to dress in a way that is seductive. A woman can have a dress on down to her ankles and still have a seductive attitude, while another woman can wear a pair of pants and have a pure heart.

A man can boast that he has never been divorced, yet lust in his heart for other women. Is this holiness? If your heart is pure, a television in your home will not cause you to watch or desire any unedifying programs. Some try to say that if Christians have a television in their home, they are worldly. A piece of furniture or electronics in your home does not determine whether or not you are worldly; it is what is in your heart that makes that determination. You can have no TV in your home and lust after it in your heart. If your heart is pure, you will desire only what God desires.

The wilderness is one of the crucibles God uses to purify your motives and intentions. God is in the process of preparing our hearts prior to His return for His Church. As we continue in this series we will deal with how the Lord will purify His Church before He comes back. The book of Malachi was the last prophet before the New Testament times. He was commissioned to prophesy of the preparation and event of the first coming of the Lord to His temple.

Four hundred years later the fulfillment of the first coming began with John the Baptist crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”

We are living in the time of the second coming of the Lord to His temple. We will see the parallels of the preparation of His people for the first and the second coming of the Lord. Both begin with the purification of His people in the wilderness.