All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8 NKJV).
Before the foundation of the world, Jesus did not physically die; rather, he offered himself in identification with humanity, should we fall into a state of perceived separation from God. His self-offering was not about death itself but about fully embracing our condition so that we could ultimately live. The phrase “the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world” speaks to this identification. However, since God never desired sacrifices or offerings, he did not orchestrate Jesus’ death in a punitive sense. Instead, Jesus willingly gave himself so that we would always be restored.
Jesus came as a man to redefine our understanding of God. To accomplish this, he had to fully identify with us in the flesh, living as we do. By experiencing our humanity, he took on our death, not as a punishment from God but as an act of love. Humanity, not God, put Jesus to death. Yet, through his death, he overcame its power, bringing about the resurrection that includes us all. His coming was essential—not to appease divine wrath but to restore our lost identity and reunite us with the Father. While he did not die before the foundation of the world, he committed himself to our redemption from the very beginning, ensuring that no matter what, we would always be restored to relationship with God. Ephesians 1:4 (Mirror Bible) affirms this, stating that God’s plan has always been to restore us to face-to-face innocence.
So some are excluded?
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (Romans 8:9).
The passage in Romans 8:9 must be understood in context. It speaks of the mind and spirit and our choice to identify with either life in Christ or the law of sin and death. If our mindset remains focused on sin and death, we live as if we do not belong to Christ. When Jesus said, “Depart from me, I never knew you,” it was not about literal ignorance but covenantal relationship. If people continued living under the old covenant, refusing the relationship Jesus offered in the new, they remained unknown to him in that sense. The passage does not imply that some are excluded from Christ, but rather that those who think and live according to the old ways act as if they are outside of him. In reality, the Spirit is in all, breathed into humanity just as he was into the disciples, making all people part of the new creation. The issue is not whether we belong to him, but whether we recognise and live in that truth.
The issue is not whether we belong to him, but whether we recognise and live in that truth.
As Proverbs states, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” If our thinking remains rooted in the law of sin and death, we experience separation—not because Christ is absent, but because our mindset does not align with the truth of who we are in him. We are not cut off from God; rather, we live as if we are. The passage emphasises the importance of shifting our perspective, rejecting the old covenant mindset, and embracing the truth of life in the Spirit. When we do, we experience the reality that Christ is in us, and we are fully his.
Lost?
Being lost does not mean being disowned. The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son illustrate this truth. The lost sheep still belonged to the shepherd; the lost coin was still owned by the woman, though it was temporarily out of reach; and the prodigal son remained a son, even though he had distanced himself from his father. The problem was never one of ownership but of connection. Likewise, all people belong to Christ, but those who do not recognise their identity in him live as if they are lost. The solution is simply to awaken to the truth and return to that place of belonging.
The key is to remain in a place of rest—resting in the knowledge that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. We have been set free from the law of sin and death, and we are called to live in the fullness of that freedom. Rather than striving or struggling, we are invited to abide in this truth, resting in the life Christ has already secured for us.
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The difficulty with what the Western world exported to Africa and beyond is that it was a mixture. We brought an evangelical gospel that wasn’t truly biblical, along with legalism, Victorian morality, and cultural traditions—things like formal Sunday attire and denominational structures. This mixture meant that alongside introducing people to Jesus, we also imposed religious systems and doctrines that were never part of the gospel.
Having spoken in Africa, I’ve personally apologised for this, recognising how British culture became entangled with the message of Christ, creating a rigid, legalistic system of religion. So I understand why people are challenging it—because I am too. I’ve been deconstructing my own beliefs, reassessing what I was taught, and recognising how much of it was shaped by religious programming rather than the truth.
But I’m not afraid of people questioning, because Jesus is the truth. He is the light, and he reveals himself. He has made himself known to people in places untouched by Western Christianity, even where his name was never spoken. Many missionary stories recount tribes saying, “We know him. He has visited us.” This proves that encountering Jesus is not confined to any one culture’s presentation of the gospel.
Religious baggage
So if people throw off religious baggage, I don’t fear they will lose their way. Truth and light always reveal who God truly is. And it doesn’t matter whether Jesus is seen as Black, White, Middle Eastern, or any other representation. Paul himself said he became all things to all people, and Jesus does the same—meeting people in ways they can relate to. Dr. O, for example, speaks of encountering Jesus as a Black man, which makes perfect sense in his context. Christ identified with all of humanity, taking on every identity to redeem us all.
Ultimately, these are external matters. Our true identity isn’t in race, culture, or background—it’s in being sons of God. When we fully know who we are, those externals no longer define us. It’s not wrong to celebrate them, but they don’t determine our worth. Who we are is the person God created, shaped and formed in his vast thoughts. That identity frees us from comparison, superiority or inferiority—we simply are who God made us to be.
Truth that transcends
God is restoring lost identity. Religion—and any system that tries to shape identity—inevitably distorts it into its own image. We must be shaped in God’s image, not by man-made constructs. Many seek their destiny, wanting to understand God’s plan for their lives. But your destiny scroll is simple: it’s you. Knowing who you are allows you to live out your purpose in any situation. There’s not just one predetermined path—many paths align with God’s heart, as long as they flow from true identity.
People want a detailed list of what they should be doing, because they are afraid of getting it wrong. They think God will be angry or disappointed with them, but he never is. He loves us and wants us to know and walk in the truth, living in daily relationship with him. That’s where our purpose unfolds—simply being who we are as sons, in union with the Father.
So I’m not concerned about cultural shifts or temporary changes. God is shaking man-made systems—religious, political, and otherwise—so that people stop placing their trust in them. The only unshakable thing is his kingdom, his rule, which is a rule of love. Seeing from a spiritual reality—God’s perspective—means embracing truth that transcends human constructs. And that truth will always challenge the perspectives we previously held.
Summary of the remainder of the video
True identity
We often define ourselves by circumstances or achievements, but our true identity is found in him. Transformation isn’t about striving—it’s about being. As we embrace intimacy with the Father, he reshapes us into who we were always meant to be. His thoughts lift us above earthly limitations, aligning us with his truth.
Romans 12 warns against being pressed into the world’s mould—letting external opinions and circumstances shape us. Instead, we are called to transformation (metamorphosis), like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. We are not meant to stay bound in the cocoon; we are meant to fly. We are called to live from our true identity, fully aligned in spirit, soul and body.
Transformation isn’t about striving but embracing the Father’s revelation of who we are. God gently reshapes our thinking, freeing us from past mindsets and religious distortions.
I don’t want to be shaped by a religious mould any more than I want to be shaped by a worldly mould – I want to be shaped by what God says and by what his intention was for me.
As his presence dwells in us, we manifest his love on earth. We were made to bring heaven to Earth, not shaped by the world or religion but by God’s original design. I don’t want to be shaped by a religious mould any more than I want to be shaped by a worldly mould – I want to be shaped by what God says and by what his intention was for me. When we live in intimacy with him, we reflect his heart and purpose in all we do.
No separation
Our identity is key—when we embrace it, we align with God’s original design, living in wholeness, free from sickness and limitation. Instead of striving to believe, we rest in heavenly truth, allowing it to transform our reality. True transformation comes from intimacy with God, from aligning with the Father’s heart, feeling what he feels, and acting from that place. Jesus fully embraced emotion—he laughed, cried, and was moved with compassion. We are called to do the same, not suppressing our feelings or allowing them to control us, but being guided by them as they flow in harmony with God’s love.
Oneness with God means there is no separation between his thoughts and ours. We don’t act independently but in complete union, embodying his love and reflecting his nature. As we embrace this reality, we become true ambassadors of his love, prioritising others above ourselves and living in the fullness of our divine identity.
Unconditional love
Loving unconditionally in this way is difficult for us because we are conditioned by our experience of relationships that come with expectations. God loves us unconditionally, allowing us to make choices, even wrong ones, without control or condemnation. He always seeks to bring good from our failures, never standing over us saying, “I told you so.” In human relationships, our love is tested when mistakes are made. Do we choose grace and understanding, or pride and the need to be right? True love prioritises relationship over being proven correct. The more we experience God’s love, the more we can reflect it—just as Jesus intended.
God seeks relationship
Sin is lost identity, not wrong behaviour. Religion emphasises behaviour, insisting that change is necessary to be accepted by God. As a result, many who don’t conform are excluded from our churches, not because they are unacceptable to God, but because they don’t fit denominational or cultural expectations. God requires nothing—he simply invites us to come as we are, and transformation follows in relationship with him.
Religion focuses on actions, but the deeper issue is separation from God. Adam and Eve chose independence, losing their sense of who they were. Ever since, humanity has struggled with shame and the illusion of separation, though God has never turned away.
God seeks relationship, not behaviour modification
God’s love invites us to return, not by fixing ourselves, but by embracing the identity he has already restored. Religion seeks to control through fear; but God seeks relationship, not behaviour modification. Living in our true identity frees us from sin-consciousness, and transforms how we live.
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Jesus prepared his disciples for what was coming and the challenges they would face in the generation leading up to the final end of the Old Covenant. He warned them and prepared them for their sonship in the New Covenant, saying, “Beware the leaven of Herod and the Pharisees”—the political and religious spirit, or the mediatorial control and conformity that would try to influence them.
‘The slippery slope away from orthodoxy’
The Father began to speak to me about these things, challenging me. He said, “Do not worry. Do not be afraid. Trust that because we are in you, if you ask for something good—experiential truth or revelation—we will not allow deception or delusion.”
Now, why did the Father say that? Because the truth was, I was afraid to trust. He was trying to help me see that it was okay, that I wasn’t going down some wild path. I remember someone saying to me, “You’re on a slippery slope away from orthodoxy.” And I remember thinking at that moment, Yep, and I’m going to ski down that slope as fast as I can, because I did not want to be stuck in evangelical orthodoxy, which was not what the early church believed at all.
SERIES INFORMATION: This video is an excerpt from Mike's current teaching series, Restoring First Love. Get the full length videos every month, only at eg.freedomarc.org/first-love
Going ‘beyond beyond’
Then the Father went on. He said, “Those who have been deceived were leaning to their own understanding and never learned to hear our voice or know our heart. What we could not reveal to those first disciples has been continually released over the centuries to those mystics who took the time to listen for our voice.”
You can all go ‘beyond beyond‘, to find and fulfil your destiny without fear. Don’t be held back by fear. Perfect love casts out fear. Let God, as perfect love, cast all fear out of you so you can walk into the future with excitement, with joy, and with peace—and not be afraid.
Walking with the Father will take you beyond your comfort zones to explore the dimensions of your position within the very fabric of creation. There is no limit. You are going to go beyond. There is no need to fear deception when you know the Father’s love.
Sonship and heavenly authority
Again, the Father said to me, “Son, a new day is dawning, where so many more of my children will truly know me as a loving Father. I am revealing myself to those who are willing to look and seek first of all. But I am relentless in my pursuit, and I will never stop.”
And I love that about God—his relentless pursuit of us in love. He will never stop. His love will never fail.
The Father went on, “There is nowhere I will not go. My love is unrelenting and unstoppable. There is nothing anyone can do to stop me from loving them. They put me on the cross, but I chose to forgive them and used their own rejection and punishment to facilitate their reconciliation. I created all things for relationship. I have always had relationship with all things, but the time is coming for all things to know me. I gave myself as an offering for all who have become lost and independent—from before the foundation and fall of all created things.
“I cannot and will not be changed by anything or anyone. I am that I am—Spirit, Love, and Light. My precepts, statutes and principles are the immovable foundation that cannot be shaken or moved. I am the same yesterday, today and forever. I am love’s purest expression, and my deepest desire is that all my children—past, present, and future—will choose to accept my love and know me, so they can truly know themselves.”
That is what God is saying today. That is what he wants us to embrace.
Standing in the realms of heaven
We need that personal, intimate relationship with him to experience all that his name unveils and to be transformed so we can know our true sonship identity. Our governmental position and authority will reveal where we are seated in heavenly places—if we just keep following.
Zechariah 3:7 says: “If you walk in my ways and perform my service, then you will both govern my house and be in charge of my courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here.”
And they were standing in the realms of heaven, in the assemblies of God.
This describes our function as sons of God in heavenly places. But we need to know God as Father by personal experience if we are to mature as sons—to learn to rule his house, take charge of his courts, and stand in the assemblies and councils of God. That is our destiny as sons of God. But we must be prepared for this level of transformation so that we can embrace who we really are.
When we truly know we are accepted and loved, fear dissolves. We become free—to know and to be known. In this freedom, there is a fellowship and a sharing so honest, open and real that those involved dwell in one another. He dwells in us, and we dwell in him. There is union—without loss of individual identity—where hearts are shared, and we become one spirit when we are joined with him.
Summary of the remaining message of the video:
A New Season of Grace
Heaven’s cycles—judgment, justice, grace, mercy, rest—are shifting. Angelic orders assist in this transformation. As seasons change, our authority increases. The sons of God must arise, clearing the atmosphere to manifest heaven on earth. God is calling his sons to embrace their destiny.
I was led to re-energise the supernatural ‘blue light call’ from 2013 for sonship and heavenly authority, to which many have have already responded, engaging with their divine purpose.
Declarations of Sonship
Inspired by God’s decree, I spoke declarations that still vibrate with power.
Receive them, let them resonate, and rise to your calling.
Our Identity in God’s Name
Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe.” Within the four faces of God, we are in the name of God, carrying His power of attorney; to be identified with the order of Melchizedek, identified with that name to govern, legislate and administrate in His name.
This is our call—to arise, embrace our destiny and step into the fullness of our true identity and origin as sons. I believe God is reaffirming this call today. Will you respond?
Activation – Atmosphere of Love
Close your eyes.
Be still.
Breathe in the Father’s love. Let it surround and fill you.
Step out, sink into his love, and meet him face to face.
Follow where he leads, without fear.
Stand in his name, in the four faces of God—
Man/Priest, Lion/King, Ox/Oracle, Eagle/Legislator.
See through his eyes.
Embrace your true sonship and authority.
Remain in this place of love and intimacy for as long as you want.
Many people don’t know how to generate the energy needed to live day to day. They feel tired, weary and drained, lacking both creative energy and the vitality required for their daily lives. This happens because they don’t know how to focus the abundant life that exists at the core of their innermost being. They don’t know how to generate, activate and channel that energy effectively.
We have energy gates within our body that can facilitate this process, but most people are unaware of how to open and activate them. This isn’t something commonly taught—especially within Christian circles. In fact, many evangelicals would be horrified at the mere mention of “energy gates,” dismissing it as New Age or something strange they want nothing to do with.
Yet, in reality, they are missing out on a crucial part of how we were designed to function. Learning to generate and direct energy isn’t some mystical or foreign concept—it’s about understanding how to channel living water, or what some might call light energy, into our daily lives. There are many analogies for it, but we are talking about spiritual life—abundant spiritual life—flowing from within us.
Energy gates
Most people don’t even realise that they have gateways within their spirit, soul and body that are designed to allow this life force to flow freely. Instead of experiencing the full flood of abundant life, they live on a trickle—because they’ve never been taught how to open these gateways. In fact, many Christians have been taught the exact opposite, which is why so many struggle to understand the flow of life and energy within them.
They’ve never been taught that they are a tri-part being—spirit, soul and body—and that all three must function in union. They don’t know how to activate and open these inner doors so that they can live in a continuous state of being in communion with life itself.
Jesus is in us, the Spirit is in us, and the Father dwells within us. But are we truly embracing that? Or are we searching for an external source—for someone else to give us what we feel we lack?
A critique of traditional teachings
Many people seek healing by looking for an external impartation—someone to lay hands on them and transfer an anointed charge of energy that will heal them. But what happens afterwards? Many people who receive healing end up sick again or even dying later because they don’t know how to sustain the healing they received. They never learned how to generate and maintain that healing within themselves. They relied on someone else to provide it, so they never developed the ability to keep it. The majority of people who minister healing don’t teach others how to maintain health and well-being—they simply move on after laying hands and praying.
There are genuine people who operate in these gifts, and they see real miracles and healings. But how many of those healed return a year later to testify that they are still well? If the root causes of their sickness remain unaddressed, the healing is often temporary. Unless they deal with the underlying factors—whether physical, emotional or spiritual—the illness can return.
Unlocking abundant life energy
What we really need is to teach people how to live in abundant life, how to embrace well-being as a way of life, rather than just seeking instant healing. Abundance isn’t just about financial wealth—it’s about emotional, spiritual and physical wealth. It’s about living in a state of fullness.
Jesus promised us abundant life, but the enemy seeks to rob, kill and destroy. If he can keep people from knowing the truth, if he can convince them to believe lies, then they will never live in the abundance that is already theirs. They have been robbed without even realising it.
It all comes down to our relationship with God as the source of life. What source are we drinking from? Are we drawing from the eternal fountain of life within us, or are we relying on external sources? Are we looking to church, ministries, or Christian teachings instead of directly connecting with Jesus?
Jesus said, “If you drink the water I give you, rivers of living water will flow from within you.” He was speaking about the Spirit—the very life of God within us. That is the source we need to draw from. It’s not about following techniques for healing or looking for external solutions—it’s about living in the overflow of life itself.
And that is only possible through relationship. It’s not a formula. It’s not a ritual. It’s a relationship—a deep, ongoing connection—with the source of life.
If we do anything that contradicts loving our bodies, we need to apologise for that. Our body is an equal partner within the union of spirit, soul and body, so we must work together in harmony. I personally operate within the cells of my body to ensure health and well-being. But if I do something that contradicts that—if I am careless—then I take responsibility for it.
For me, this often happens with accidents in the garden or workshop. But one particular experience stands out.
In the tunnels
While on holiday in Vietnam, we visited the Cu Chi tunnels—an underground network built by the Viet Cong near Saigon, where thousands of people once lived. They were incredibly small, only about two foot six high, making it difficult for me to move around. The tunnel was dark, 100 metres long, with exit points every 20 metres. I was about 50 metres in when the tunnel made a slight turn that I couldn’t see.
In the darkness, I slipped, headbutting the floor. I took the skin off my chin, nose, top lip, forehead, and eye. My eye socket was bruised, leaving me with a big black eye, and there was blood everywhere. At first, I wasn’t sure what had happened—I just felt wetness running down my face and thought, “Oh no, I’ve cut my head open.”
Eventually, I got out of the tunnel and had to deal with the fear and trauma immediately. I didn’t want it to take root, so I consciously started smiling, refusing to let negativity set in. When Debbie saw me, she reacted with concern, asking what I had done. But rather than panic, I focused on staying calm. I found some water, washed off all the blood, and assessed the damage. I looked like a mess, but I was determined not to let fear, worry or anxiety take hold.
I knew it was my fault—yes, it was an accident and I had slipped, and because my elbows and knees were too close to the tunnel walls, I had no way to stop my fall—it was just a two-foot-six bang into the ground! But what mattered was how I dealt with it. I immediately worked with my body, ensuring there would be no infection. I washed the wounds with water from a bamboo spout—who knows what was in it—but I consciously chose the reality that there would be no infection and that my body would heal quickly.
I dealt with the trauma. I released the trauma immediately. I worked in cooperation with my body, and within less than a week the whole injury had gone and I had no physical marks. I had thought “I’m going to come home with a great big scar on my face” but actually I did not. I had to capture my thoughts, because I was thinking “how long is this going to take to heal?” but then I chose “No, I’m going to work with the cells of my body to repair themselves quickly.” And that’s exactly what happened.
People in the tour group were amazed. ” Well, you healed quickly!” And I did, within less than a week. But I did not want (a) anything to hinder my enjoyment of the holiday or (b) any infection. Some of the Canadian ladies kept offering me antiseptic and antibiotic creams, saying, “Here, you should use this.” But I politely declined. I wanted to let the wounds breathe because exposure to air often speeds up healing. I was intentional about working with my body rather than just assuming healing would happen on its own.
Miracles are a lesser way
Many people believe in healing but don’t necessarily know how to cooperate with it. Some rely on gifts of healing, wanting someone else to lay hands on them and make everything better. While gifts of healing do exist, they are not a guarantee. Some people believe that Jesus died so they could be healed, but they don’t necessarily understand how to work with that truth. They expect healing to happen in a moment—instant and effortless.
Miracles do happen, and I’m not saying they don’t, but miracles are actually a lesser way of living. God’s desire is for us to live in health, not just to keep receiving miraculous healings, or relying on others to heal us, but to learn how to walk in health as children of God – because that is our inheritance.
Denial isn’t the answer
Sometimes, we don’t fully understand why healing doesn’t manifest for someone. We don’t know what’s happening inside them—emotionally, spiritually or physically. I’ve visited and prayed for people who were terminally ill and who insisted, “I’m not going to die. I completely believe I will be healed.” But sometimes, something didn’t feel right. There were moments when I sensed I couldn’t fully agree with them because, deep down, it felt like they were not being real – that they were in denial rather than in genuine faith. Christian Scientists, for example, tend to deny the existence of illness and sickness altogether, but denial isn’t the answer. We have to learn to engage with our bodies, to cooperate with them, and to work through the process of healing.
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Many people view healing as something to receive from God rather than a state of living in health (and ultimately, immortality). I believe this is where a mindset shift is needed.
A lot of people believe that God heals. Some believe that the Kingdom of God is ‘now and not yet,’ so they can give themselves an excuse—“Well, it’s not yet, so it might not happen.” Others believe healing is included in the atonement—that Jesus died for our sickness just as He did for our sin and death, because they are all interconnected. The wages of sin is death, and sickness is what leads to death, so these things are linked to our lost identity.
Identity and inheritance
Sin is a loss of identity, so if the wages of lost identity is death, then knowing who we truly are brings life. But we have to know who we are. Many people have a general Christian sense of what the Bible says, but do they truly know their identity? Do they know that health, wholeness, and even immortality are part of their inheritance? As children of God, our inheritance includes the fullness of abundant life—health, wholeness, and all the blessings God desires for us.
Many people struggle to love their bodies. Some have bought into the belief that since their body will die one day, it’s inevitable that it will deteriorate. If everyone dies, then surely the body must break down at some point. This is a deeply ingrained way of thinking. But I believe this perspective needs to change.
The body as an equal
Recognising our identity also means recognising that our body is just as important as our spirit and soul. It’s not a lesser part of us—it’s not something temporary that will simply wear out before we receive a new one. Spirit, soul and body are meant to function in union, without contradiction or competition. When we understand this, we can begin to see that within the core of our innermost being, we have the capacity to generate health. The River of Life flows within us, supplying the energy needed to renew and replenish the cells of our physical bodies.
Unfortunately, much of evangelical teaching has treated the body as secondary—something to be discarded one day, so the focus is on the soul and spirit. But we need to honour our body just as much as our spirit and soul. This means loving our body, cooperating with it, treating it with respect, honour and blessing.
A healthy lifestyle
You cannot abuse your body and expect it to remain whole. If we truly love and value our body as much as our spirit and soul, we will care for it accordingly. This includes how we eat, how we rest, and how we maintain our overall health. Some assume, “Well, God will take care of it,” but we are also responsible for working together with Him—spirit, soul, and body together. There are practical things we can do to support our health, such as ensuring we get proper nutrition, taking necessary vitamins, and maintaining a balanced diet. It’s not about extreme diets or fads, but about balance—avoiding excessive sugar and salt, understanding what it means to nourish ourselves properly.
It’s also about maintaining a healthy lifestyle—getting enough sleep, exercising, and having a mindset of love and care towards our body. When we truly value our body, we will look after it. We cannot expect to live in health if we consistently abuse our body.
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‘Not having an agenda’ when you do have one is quite difficult, because you do have an agenda: you want to find healing.
The shift happens when you align with the Father’s intention. Instead of thinking, “I want to be healed,” you rest in the reality of “I am healed.” Symptoms may persist, but they will follow your position of rest.
Jesus said, “Pray, believing you’ve received, and you will receive.” When you truly know the Father’s intention and accept healing as your inheritance, your body will align with your belief. But this can’t come from striving—it starts with accepting what God has already declared true.
Most people believe it when they’ve received it, rather than before they’ve received it; and it works when you believe it before you have actually manifested it, because that is what brings the manifestation. And people get disappointed because the symptoms are still there. They may say “I’m healed,” but actually they’re in denial.
“Well, I’m healed,”
“Do you still have the symptoms?”
“Yes”
“Okay, so are you healed or are you not healed?”
“Well…”
And you get all this muddled mixture of thoughts and feelings around it. And I know when I speak to someone and they’re not in denial: they can honestly say “There are still symptoms in my body but my body is aligning with how I think.”
You can consciously choose to call that into being. Therefore the frequency of your words will begin to vibrate your body into alignment with it, when you’re at rest in it. So a lot of people say, “Renew your mind” and they confess scripture; they are just speaking, they are not actually renewing their mind. You can’t renew your own mind, your mind gets renewed when you agree with God’s mind.
Striving to believe often hinders the manifestation. So it’s getting that fine balance… it is the truth that you are healed, but it might not be the fact within your present situation. When the truth is more true to you than the symptoms that you might still have, that is the point where things begin to change.
My testimony of healing from Ménière’s disease
Years ago, I had Ménière’s disease, which caused vertigo and other symptoms. This was the 1early 1990s, and I went on a quest for healing, because I didn’t know what I believed about it. I’d been prayed for many times and received healing, so I knew God could heal. I knew people could lay hands on me – and I’d been healed. But none of that worked in this situation. God was trying to get me to look at “What do you really believe about healing?”
So I did what I knew to do, then: I went back and found every Bible verse on healing, and looked at them, and discovered some things that were different from what I’d believed. Because at that point I was believing that healing was in God’s Kingdom, but that we were still in the ‘now, and the not yet’ of God’s Kingdom; so sometimes God would heal and sometimes not. Well, that’s not really helpful, you know, because what if I am is the one where it doesn’t happen, and I’m stuck?
So I realised that no, God IS my healer, it’s one of His names. Jesus actually took my sickness and disease when He died so I don’t have to have it. That sickness died when I died with Him.
So why am I not just perfectly whole? Well, because even though I might actually choose to believe that, my physical body has to come into agreement; therefore some change needs to take place within my physical being to align with where I am in that place of rest, knowing the truth. The truth you know will set you free, and you have to know by experience.
Now, that doesn’t mean you have to experience the healing to know the healing; you have to experience what God says and where you are in the experience with God. So you are resting in that reality; it is the truth. There is no double-mindedness; there is no doubt or unbelief; it is the truth, and no one could convince you otherwise – even the symptoms that you might still have – and therefore you are at rest in it. “I’m not striving for it; I know it’s the truth that will bring about the reality.”
But it often takes some time to get to that point because we have to overcome the battle of the thoughts and the symptoms to get to that point where we “know that we know.” And eventually, after about three years of learning all about healing, learning about God, learning about what Jesus did on the cross, learning how that all applied, I got to the point where I was at rest.
I never said “Well, I am healed.” It is more that I was thinking, “That is the truth, so I’m going to focus on what is true rather than what might be the present fact.” So the present reality didn’t affect what I saw as being my true reality, which was to be whole, to be healed. And eventually, after resting in that place for quite a while, I was content in it. I was still taking medication, because it is dangerous to drive if you’re going to get vertigo attacks and things like that. It wasn’t pleasant medication, but I was taking it.
And one day I had the breakthrough, in that something changed physically in my ears. I had deafness and tinnitus in one ear – severely – and I could hardly hear anything other than muffled sound. The tinnitus was quite pronounced. And I was listening to some music – I was in a conference actually, in a worship conference, and all of a sudden it was as if “Who turned the PA up?” You see, it was as if the volume just went up and I thought “Wow!!!” And then I realised, “I don’t think anyone else is noticing this, it must be me!” And then I felt God say, “Now you can throw the medication away.” And I did. I never took another tablet and never had another vertigo attack or anything else, and my hearing was fine.
PLEASE NOTE: We strongly advise you to consult a suitably qualified health professional before discontinuing any medication that has been prescribed for you.
But it took a number of years to get to that point and then it took months living at that point until the reality was there. And, you know, for me it was a dramatic thing – it was like BANG! OH! It’s done! But it’s not always that way. Sometimes it’s just that the process gets to the point where you just realise “Oh, can’t hear anything wrong in my ear anymore,” or “my hearing’s improved.” Sometimes it just creeps up on you and sometimes it’s progressive in that it gets better and continues to get better until it’s completely healed.
You know, Jesus sent the lepers to the Temple to show themselves to the priests, and it happened along the way. As they were walking, they still bore the signs of leprosy. Perhaps it faded gradually with each step, or maybe they were simply walking when, all at once, they realised it was gone. But eventually they showed themselves to the priests… (we know one of them definitely did, because he came back and said thank you. We’re not really sure about the others – they may have been healed and just not bothered to come back and thank Jesus, or they may have not, because on the way they may have had doubt and unbelief and not followed through the process – who knows?) But we know definitely that the one person did: he was able to show himself to the priest and the priest pronounced him healed, or whole.
So it takes time, and no one can really determine exactly what the process is for every individual, but it does work.
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At that time, the Bible was still the living Word of God for me—not Jesus. I saw the Bible as the Word that washed me, not Jesus. I relied on the Bible to separate my soul and spirit, rather than allowing Jesus to do it. I used the Bible as a mirror to see myself, rather than looking to Jesus or the Father.
Jesus, mediator of a New Covenant
During this process, I was presenting myself in the heavenly tabernacle as a living sahttps://freedomarc.blog/2014/01/21/present-a-living-sacrifice-3-practice/crifice, prepared by me, acting as my own high priest. Now, that might sound bizarre, but when I first received this revelation and began engaging in the heavenly tabernacle, this is what I thought I was doing.
I approached the laver—a basin used for washing—which I understood to have a bronze, mirror-like surface. I used it as a mirror to wash myself through the Bible, performing the role of my own high priest. I consumed the showbread as biblical food, again as my own high priest. I sought wisdom from the light of the menorah, the Bible, instead of Jesus. I engaged the altar, refining myself through the Bible, all the while acting as my own high priest.
In truth, all of this was a self-reliant, religious duty—a “do-it-yourself” form of faith. The reality, as I later came to understand, is that I am not my own high priest—Jesus is. Hebrews 6:20 makes it clear: “Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant, not me. I made no covenant with God—Jesus did.
Deeply ingrained religious mindsets
My deconstruction was revealing God’s grace and the finished work of Jesus, and that was challenging my old covenant thinking. My “do-it-yourself” religious mindset had trapped me and severely limited my ability to truly know God and my original, authentic self.
Now, that might sound really odd to you, and you may never have approached things in this way. I would certainly encourage you not to. However, it shows how deeply ingrained these mindsets can be, distorting our view of God and His work. Only when those limitations and restrictions were removed could I begin to discover my true origin, identity and destiny as a son of God. It was then I began to see how powerful the finished work of Jesus truly is.
Jesus accomplished everything on our behalf so we don’t need to rely on our own efforts. He died for me, and as me, so I died. He was resurrected for me, so I was resurrected. He ascended for me and I ascended. Jesus established the New Covenant for me and included me in it. He is my high priest, he is my mediator—I don’t have to do it myself. Jesus did everything necessary to restore the whole cosmos, reconciling everyone, corporately. We are not required to achieve this individually in our own strength. He has accomplished it on behalf of all mankind; he took away the sin of the entire cosmos.
Renewing the mind
We may need to transition into a renewed mindset because most of us have likely been programmed by some form of works-based mentality. Even if it wasn’t specifically religious works, cultural influences can drive us to succeed and build our identity around what we achieve. Transitioning from an old to a new mindset requires a deep deconstruction—a process of renewing the mind. it is a process, that is the key.
It’s a process that God orchestrates and that he leads us through. It is relational, and through this relationship, our thinking about God—and everything else—begins to change. Old restrictive doctrines and theological mindsets need to be replaced by a relational lifestyle of face-to-face innocence with God. This is the amazing truth of the relationship He has invited us into.
No need to fear deception
Through this, we can learn to trust our Father to father us without fear of deception. Personally, I struggled with a deep fear of “getting it wrong.” This fear was instilled in me through the belief that everything had to be done strictly “by the Bible,” as the Bible was my sole source of security against error and deception.
The reality, however, is that every Christian sect or cult uses the Bible in some way, so relying on it alone for safety didn’t truly protect me from deception. I believed the Bible was God’s Word: all of it was infallible, inspired, and entirely inerrant, and I thought that following it would keep me safe. But whose version was I following? Whose interpretation of the Bible was I basing my life on?
These questions were hard to face because I had been conditioned to think otherwise. In truth, that belief system itself was the deception that was keeping me religiously bound in fear, unable to move beyond the Bible. I was afraid that if I went beyond its pages, I’d fall into some weird error or be led astray. This is a fear shared by many people I have spoken to: their families and friends often worry that they are going off into some error or cult-like movement, because they are no longer going to church or no longer reading their Bible in the same way they once did.
But the fear of deception is itself a powerful form of deception that keeps us locked up. We don’t need to live in fear of deception, because we have the Holy Spirit of Truth within us, guiding us. Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, is also in us and with us, discipling us. Our loving Father is within us, fathering us into our true identity as sons and daughters. And if we measure everything against agape love, we won’t stray far. Love is the ultimate standard, and if we root everything in love, we can trust the process.
This video blog is an excerpt from Mike's current teaching series, Restoring First Love. Get the full length videos every month, only at eg.freedomarc.org/first-love
Rest in Love (guided meditation)
Close your eyes, Slow down your thinking, Rest—rest in love. As you are breathing in, And breathing out, The very breath of God.
And as you rest in love, Let the unconditional love of God Rest on you.
Open your heart, Open your mind, Ask the Father to reveal: “Are there any Old Covenant mindsets, Any Old Covenant belief systems, Still operating? Is there any mixture of covenants In your heart?
Open up your heart to listen That the Father could show you.
And if there is anything That’s a mixture of covenants In your experience Just hand it over to him.
Take off those old covenant mindsets And clothes, if you like, And hand them over to the Father.
And let Him clothe you In robes of righteousness, Let Him clothe you In new covenant grace, In mercy, In unconditional love.
Where you get the terminology often comes from how angels are described in Hebrew. They’re usually called angels, or they might be called seraphim or cherubim, but some of the others aren’t named—they’re just described as angels as a general term— but in reality, they are different orders of angels that people don’t commonly connect with. For instance, there are references to ophanim, chayoth, and others.
The Merkabah
There is an external perspective related to the Throne of God and the Merkabah (divine chariot); however, there’s also an internal aspect which operates within us. The Merkabah represents the core of our being and embodies God’s identity within us. It brings about the focus of spirit, soul and body in union with Father, Son, and Spirit at the core of who we are. And actually, it’s probably more important to grasp that than it is to understand the canopy of angels around the throne of God, the four living creatures and all of those fascinating things, mentioned in Revelation and elsewhere. There is a canopy of angels, and they do have functions, rising up from the throne of God all the way to some of the more unusual ones—the chayoth, which are living creatures that aren’t necessarily humanoid but are living nonetheless. It gets pretty weird. And some of it, does it really matter what all that is about?
God will give us insight when we need it, when we encounter it. Do we need to understand it all? When I first started hearing about the canopy of angels, the ten thousand times ten thousand angels, the myriad of angels, I thought, “What are they all about?” It seemed overwhelming—like, whoa, this is a little more than I can take in. And actually, that’s what God is like in his majesty, the throne of God, and all of that—it’s supposed to be awesome. It’s supposed to be somewhat of a mystery. It’s meant to inspire awe at the amazing things around the throne of God. But it’s also meant to help us engage with the angelic realm ourselves, in our own sonship. When I get to the throne of God, I just want to fall on my face. I want to honour him, to be in awe of him, to totally yield and surrender.
Order of Melchizedek
There are so many different levels of revelation towards each one. Take the four living creatures, for example. They’re connected with what Ezekiel describes as a four-headed being with the cherubic nature of man—reflecting the four living creatures, which, in turn, reflect the order of Melchizedek.
Now, do I literally have the head of an ox, an eagle, and a man? No, I don’t. I have the face of a man. But do I have a cherubic nature, which is how God designed us to function in the order of Melchizedek as a priest, king, oracle and legislator? Yes. There are aspects of who I am that are eagle-like, figuratively speaking. I don’t soar around in the sky, but I carry legislative, governmental authority in terms of my identity. I am an oracle, so I have characteristics of the ox, reflected in being a voice of God—speaking his oracles from his heart. There’s the king, the government, and the priest. So, my nature as a royal priest and an oracle and a legislator is connected to the four living creatures, the cherubic nature, and the cherubim themselves, which carry those characteristics.
I don’t totally need to understand all the symbolism, because some of it is quite weird. I embrace it as part of my identity within the order of Melchizedek. I’ve engaged with the four faces of God, stood in each face, and stood within the name of God. That represents my authority and power of attorney—to use my identity as a son to speak his heart, his intentions, and his purposes, creating reality around my life.
I sort of understand how it relates to those aspects. But do we really need to fully understand how it all relates to the throne of God and the glory and majesty of God? No, because that’s supposed to be an awe-inspiring mystery.
In relation to our sonship
What’s important is how we engage with the angelic realm and the canopy of angels in relation to our sonship. I’ve engaged with the different angelic canopies to see if there was something I need to know to help me in my sonship. That’s how I relate to the angelic canopy—not in terms of their function for God, but their function for me.
If I’m seated on a throne, as we all are in heavenly places, then that canopy comes around me when I’m in that position of identity. They’re designed to help me in my sonship identity, in ruling and reigning from that position. So I engaged with the different angelic beings, to see if there was anything I need to know to help me in my sonship. I have also engaged with the court of angels, participating and sharing there. That drew angels to support, encourage and help, because ‘they are ministering spirits for those who are inheritors of salvation’.
Do I understand all the terminology and functions associated with God’s throne and glory? No, but I do have some insight into how they relate to us, our throne, our position of authority, and our identity. Our glory is our identity, and creation itself will one day be liberated into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. This refers to us, living fully in our identity as sons and daughters of God. There are aspects of these heavenly realities that help us grow into that identity.
Names and functions
Do angelic beings have multiple functions and titles? Perhaps. Some people may relate to them in different ways or use varying names depending on their functions. This is likely where some confusion arises. For instance, who are the twelve ambassadors of the ages? What order of angels are they from, or are they from separate orders? Who are the court of judges or the 24 elders? There are so many questions one could ask that it might seem overwhelming, as though a great deal of knowledge is required. However, I don’t believe such knowledge is essential for day-to-day life. There’s certainly more to discover, but people often describe these realities differently based on their own experiences and where they are in their journey. Just because someone describes it differently doesn’t mean their perspective is definitive or universal—it simply reflects their personal engagement.
For example, have I engaged with cherubim? Yes. Seraphim? Yes. Ophanim, Elohim, and Ben Elohim? To some degree, yes. Each of these has different names in different positions, or functions, and their roles vary. Take the twelve chancellors, for instance—some refer to them as high chancellors, as there are many other chancellors, and we can also function as chancellors ourselves. Wisdom once gave me a seal and staff representing a chancellor’s authority, and I’ve engaged the Chancellors’ Court. I’ve functioned at the bench there to facilitate scrolls and mandates being released and accepted, and other heavenly matters. That said, I’m not someone who pays much attention to details, so I couldn’t describe exactly what the others looked like. My focus was more on their functions and what I could learn to do in cooperation with them. For all I know, each chancellor could be from a different order of angels, and my interactions with them might differ in another type of experience.
Not for intellectual curiosity
It’s not set in stone, a fixed or rigid concept—it’s a dynamic, fluid reality in the heavenly realms. Their roles might vary depending on the situation. For example, the angel who sits behind my throne—though I suspect it might be one of the Ben Elohim—I don’t know for certain, and I haven’t been especially curious to find out. The point is not to engage with these realities for intellectual curiosity or the sake of knowledge but to discern how they relate to our journey, so we can cooperate with them as they help us grow into greater maturity. That’s how I approach these things. They’re about my growth and ascension into deeper levels of maturity, not about creating rigid definitions that apply to everyone universally.
My engagement with cherubim or seraphim has been deeply personal. I’ve encountered seraphim when I was on the altar. I’ve also engaged the seven spirits of God. Are they separate beings? From my perspective, they are. They seem entirely distinct from any other heavenly beings I’ve encountered. To me, they are seven created beings that reflect the fullness of God’s Spirit. Some people might argue they are simply aspects of one Spirit, and while they may reflect aspects of the Spirit, when I engaged them, they were individual personalities—beings embodying specific aspects like wisdom, knowledge, understanding… all seven.
The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord, for example, engaged with my scroll and led me to the Judgment Seat. Each spirit revealed an aspect of my growth in sonship, guiding me in my journey. For me, these encounters aren’t about intellectual pursuits or acquiring knowledge but about learning to cooperate with these heavenly beings in my journey toward maturity.
I agree—it can be confusing to try to understand all the different names, titles and roles of these beings, especially if we attempt to fit them into a fixed, rigid framework—I don’t believe they’re meant to be understood in that way.
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That’s what happened with me. My eschatology got deconstructed, and then the same verses led me to a view where hell doesn’t exist in the form I thought it did. In fact, hell doesn’t exist at all, because it’s not even in the Bible. But it does talk about Gehenna, it does talk about Hades, it does talk about Sheol—the grave. So, it talks about those things, but it also talks about them in a restorative way, not in a punishment way.
I know it’s hard because I’ve been through it. But I’ve been through it, and I’ve continued the process of realising that a lot of what I was taught was referring to the period of transition—out of the old and into the new—until the end finally came. And that is the end. No prophecy came after that. It was all fulfilled.
Jesus actually said that. He said, “Unless this comes to an end,” and, “Unless every ‘i’ is dotted and every ‘t’ is crossed,” and all that, you know—then the end won’t come. Well, the end did come. So that is the end: all things were fulfilled. It says in Luke that all things were fulfilled; every prophetic statement was fulfilled. All the promises of God were fulfilled in Jesus. It says in Corinthians, all the covenants were therefore fulfilled, because covenants are promises. So, they all got fulfilled. And I think that draws a line under it.
So, let’s listen to God and Jesus and the Spirit every day, because they’re speaking to us—not through a book, but in an inner, small voice as they dwell in us. There are a lot of people who aren’t listening to that voice, and a lot of people, obviously, who don’t even know that voice exists in them yet. But God is not going to stop until they do, in revealing the truth of their inclusion in Christ, their reconciliation in Christ, and their forgiveness through what Jesus did on the cross—which is an amazing, good-news testimony that the world needs to hear. But, “They’re all going to be cast into hell if they don’t accept Jesus”—that’s not a good-news testimony. No, that’s bad news. Let’s give good news!
And I think the world will begin to find God—who is a God of love and who loves them too much to let them be lost eternally for punishment. He loves them too much for that. He loves them, and according to Ephesians 1:4 he’s already made sure—predestined them to become restored to face-to-face intimacy. It’s predestined, even before the foundation of the world, that everyone would eventually be restored. People can resist that restoration. But people cannot resist God’s love forever.
I don’t believe God’s love will ever fail. It will never stop until everyone is fully restored back into relationship with him. Because he loves us.
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Sons of Issachar 