Tag: destiny

Vision Destiny 2016

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Seven messages by Mike Parsons delivered at Freedom Church in January and February 2016. A review of 2015 and what to expect in 2016.

Digital download (mp3 and PDF) with links to streaming YouTube videos.

Click here to stream or download – absolutely free!

More recent free Vision Destiny series are also available from our website.

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Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to contact us about making a one-time gift.
Thank you!
*Note Sadly, because of abuse by scammers we can no longer offer a ‘click to donate’ option. However, if you contact us, we will get back to you with a simple means of giving. 

Are you part of the Joshua Generation?

We developed this just for you:

eg free trial eg homepage 2019

Engaging God on the Heavenly Pathways of Relationship and Responsibility
Equipping a Joshua Generation of supernatural sons of God to live according to the order of Melchizedek

To find out more and get started today*, click here…

‘Engaging God’ is an interactive modular programme developed by Mike Parsons.

Through using it you will learn how to access God through Jesus who is the Way, Truth and Life, in the realms of heaven and within your own spirit and heart; and how to take up your responsibility as a mature son [daughter] in God’s kingdom.

Many people have had involuntary or ecstatic encounters or experiences where they have engaged God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and the realms of heaven in visions. Whether you have had such experiences yourself or not, through this programme you will learn to develop the ability to engage and re-engage those encounters at will, and to mature in outworking the revelation you receive from God on a daily basis.

Choose monthly, quarterly or annual options for your automatic recurring subscription payments via credit or debit card, and try Engaging God free for 2 weeks – no payment will be made until after 14 days, during which you can easily cancel if you wish.

*Technology permitting: automated process on completion of online registration form and payment plan setup. Terms and conditions apply.

202. Answer Creation’s Call

Mike Parsons
and Jeremy Westcott –

For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God… For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now (Rom 8:19, 22).

The whole universe is groaning, waiting and calling us forth as his children, every one of us, God’s sons of light. Whether you know it or not, you are called to be a true son of the light, a fully matured son of God, in order to change and transform the whole universe in which we live. We are to bring everything back into the order God always intended from eternity past. That is how we are to answer creation’s call.

While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become sons of light (John 12:36).

You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness (1Thess 5:5).

Then the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear (Matt 13:43).

God wants us to hear what He is saying. There is a sound coming from heaven in these days, which is calling forth the children of God to be revealed on earth. It is calling us to be like Jesus, to say the things that Jesus would say and to do the things that Jesus did.

So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe (Phil. 2:15).

God wants us to be shining like stars in the midst of all the darkness that there is in the world, so that we bring light and transform that darkness. The world is only dark because we are not bringing enough light. God wants to manifest His light through us. It is our destiny to restore light to the whole universe as revealed sons of God.

God wants to reveal us. He wants to show us off and to demonstrate who we are, because it will demonstrate who He is.

WWJD?

Everything Jesus did on the earth, He did as a man. He gave up His majesty and came to live among us. He was anointed by the power of the Holy Spirit to do everything that He did. Jesus did not do it as God. So we have no excuse.

If He had done it as God, we could legitimately say, ‘we cannot do that, because we are not God’. He did it as a man to show us what is possible for sons of God, operating in the power and authority of God’s kingdom. We are joint heirs with Christ. He conferred on us all the authority and power He had, and sent us out with it into the world. When we look and see what Jesus did, it should be our goal and our aim to do the same things (and greater).

What would Jesus do? It has become a catch phrase, but it is a good question. We can ask ourselves that question in our life, in our situation, in our workplace and in our home. But we do not have to stop at just reading about what Jesus did two thousand years ago and trying to work out what to do for ourselves:

Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something he sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does, these things the Son does in like manner” (John 5:19).

Eyes on the Father

Jesus had his eyes on the Father. He lived in the realms of heaven and earth at the same time, all the time. He could see something happening on the earth, look into heaven and see what the Father was doing in that situation, and cooperate with it. That ability came out of the level of intimacy of relationship He had with His Father. The Father was in Him and He was in the Father. He lived that way as a man, and so can we; some of us are just beginning to grasp the reality of these things. But it will take a thorough reordering of our priorities, plenty of practice in developing our spiritual senses, and a radical transformation in us.

We are supposed to rule over and change some of the things we see happening. We are not to be under the circumstances but over them, because we come with a higher level of authority. We are called to bring heaven to earth, in us, through us and around us.

The gift of righteousness

…those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ (Rom 5:7b).

We must realise we have been made righteous. We receive righteousness, right standing before God, not because of what we have done, how good we are, how smart we are or any of those things. It is a gift, and because of that gift we can reign in life.

To reign is to have authority over and to rule. It is to administer the existing laws and to enact new ones where they are needed. But to handle that kind of power and authority we will need to be wholly submitted to God and know that He has made us righteous.

For I say to you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:20).

That is a challenging statement and much misunderstood. On the surface the scribes and Pharisees looked really good. They tried to keep the external provisions of the law, but in reality God was not interested in what they looked like on the outside, but rather what was going on inside them and motivating their hearts. Were they doing the will of God or were they doing things for their own selfish gain and purposes?

Intimacy

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles. Then I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness (Matt. 7:21-22).

If He did not know them, that means they were not intimate with Him. That is how they came to be doing things for their own motives, which is what ‘lawlessness’ means. We can do good things for our own motives and completely miss out on God’s best for us. Jesus had no agenda of His own, but only did the Father’s will.

God is not fooled. He is always looking on the inside rather than the outside. He knows our hearts. He knows what is motivating us and why we do what we do. We can fool each other by behaving in a particular way so that we fit in and are accepted. If we are trying to hide from God what is going on inside us, it will hinder us from being intimate with Him. He knows who we are and what we are. He knows who He created us to be. He knows all the work that still needs to be done to make us like Jesus.  Knowing all these things, He loves us anyway.

We do not need to try to pretend or hide. If we are open, honest and vulnerable with God, He is not going to punish us. But because He loves us too much to allow us to stay where we are, He will transform us. We need to own and acknowledge where we are so that He can take us to where He wants us to be. Let us be real with God. Let us be intimate with Him and not hide from Him any longer through fear.

The whole world is looking at us, ambassadors of heaven, and seeing if we produce good fruit. Good fruit comes from the motivation of our spirit, not our soul. Where is our motive rooted, in our spirit or our soul? When we are living in intimacy with Him, when we are joined to the Lord and one spirit with Him (see 1 Cor 6:7), then we can bring heaven to earth as we reign in life.

And be revealed as the sons the whole creation is longing for.

Related Articles by Freedom ARC
Other resources from Freedom ARC

Night Moon In Big Space image courtesy of nuttakit at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Support Freedom ARC

'Donate to Freedom ARC' button

Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to contact us about making a one-time gift.
Thank you!
*Note Sadly, because of abuse by scammers we can no longer offer a ‘click to donate’ option. However, if you contact us, we will get back to you with a simple means of giving. 

Are you part of the Joshua Generation?

We developed this just for you:

eg free trial eg homepage 2019

Engaging God on the Heavenly Pathways of Relationship and Responsibility
Equipping a Joshua Generation of supernatural sons of God to live according to the order of Melchizedek

To find out more and get started today*, click here…

‘Engaging God’ is an interactive modular programme developed by Mike Parsons. Through using it you will learn how to access God through Jesus who is the Way, Truth and Life, in the realms of heaven and within your own spirit and heart; and how to take up your responsibility as a mature son [daughter] in God’s kingdom.

197. Citizens of Another Kingdom

Mike Parsons
with Jeremy Westcott – 

Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:20).

In prison, Paul described himself as ‘an ambassador in chains’ for the gospel (see Eph. 6:19-20). God has called His people to be ambassadors in this world for Him, to proclaim His kingdom and to encourage people to be reconciled to Him in relationship. I say ‘in relationship’ because, through the cross, God in Christ has already done everything necessary to reconcile all people to Him. But if they continue to see themselves as estranged from Him they will not enjoy the kind of relationship He desires to have with them as His sons.

Dictionaries define the word ‘ambassador’ as

  • a diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and accredited as a representative in residence by one government or sovereign to another
  • an authorized messenger or representative
  • an agent, an apostolic delegate, messenger, minister, or emissary.

Our citizenship is in heaven

He has rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son (Colossians 1:13).

We have been taken out of one kingdom and transferred into another. We are now under the authority of God’s kingdom.

For our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20).

Our citizenship is not of the country of our birth or residence. Though that might be true in the natural sense, spiritually we are citizens of heaven. This means we are connected to heaven and our authority comes from heaven.  We are citizens of a heavenly kingdom but living on the earth.

If you were of the world, the world would love its own, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you (John 15:19).

Jesus has chosen us as His representatives out of the world, so we are not tied to the restrictions of this realm. The kingdom of heaven is a spiritual realm, a higher authority than the natural realm. It has more and greater dimensions of authority and power than this realm. In fact, this physical realm is held together by the power that comes from that spiritual realm.

This temporal realm had a beginning and will have an end. Once we come into eternity, everything that is wrapped up in this time will be left in this time. Sin will be left in this time. There will be no more remembrance of it in eternity. But we are already of eternity: though we live in this natural realm, we are constantly connected to that realm of heaven.

Ambassadors of heaven

As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. (John 17:18)

Jesus is talking to the Father about his disciples, about us. We have been sent on a mission. We are gateways of heaven on earth, bringing heaven to earth. We come to administer that kingdom in this natural realm. When we lay hands on someone and see a miracle, we are bringing what is in heaven (complete health and healing) to the earth through the power and authority flowing through us as ambassadors of that kingdom.

We take our orders and get our authority from heaven. Our protection and our provision come from heaven. We live by the laws of heaven, the economy and the political system of heaven.  Certainly we need to honour those in authority over us in the natural realm, right up until it conflicts with the authority of heaven. Then, we defer to that higher authority.

Consider the British Ambassador in a foreign country. The embassy is considered British soil and is protected by British troops. The ambassador and staff take their orders from London, and represent British interests, operating under British rules and culture. They are in constant contact with the home country. They do not operate from personal opinions but on orders from home. That is exactly what God is calling us to do.

The whole church is an embassy, and our individual lives are an embassy: foreign soil to this world, protected by heaven. We have authority, but only as we act on orders from heaven (and not earth). As citizens of heaven, each of us has a sphere of kingdom authority to exercise. In and around our lives we have authority to rule over our circumstances, situations, and the place that God has put us in, representing one kingdom (heaven) in another kingdom (earth).

New services and systems

Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould… (Romans 12:2 Phillips).

We are not to be influenced by earthly culture, society and customs, but rather we are to influence them and transform them. In the UK, our National Health Service is excellent as far as it goes, but as Christians we have (and can administer) a new health service. Our health service comes from heaven.

We enjoy and administer new economic and financial services. We sow into God’s kingdom and He blesses us, honours us, and multiplies it back. We then have more than enough for all our needs, with an abundance for every good deed He calls us to do (see 2 Cor 9:6-12).

We have a new education system. We are not limited to what our minds can understand. We are connected to the source of all knowledge, the omnipotent, omniscient God, who is in heaven and in us. We have all the education we need because it comes from the source of life. We can receive revelation, prophetic information, and have a heads-up on every situation because we are connected to a realm which sees the future as clearly as the present and the past.  The spiritual realm is not limited by time and space like this natural world.

We are to be a new society. That means new attitudes, new ideas, a new culture, new behaviours, new abilities, and new powers.

We have supernatural abilities, even beyond anything imagined by Marvel comic book writers. We can look into the hearts of men and see what is there; we can lay hands on the sick and see them recover; we can work all kinds of other miracles. We have authority over nature. Jesus wants us doing everything He did, and more (see John 14:12). We have the supernatural power of heaven at our disposal. The kingdom (and our ambassadorship) is of a supernatural realm, operating in this natural one.

Sown into this world

Jesus presented another parable to them saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seeds in his field… The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one” (Matt. 13:24, 37-38).

Every believer is a son of the kingdom and has been sown into this world to produce the fruit of the kingdom and to bring God’s rule to earth. We are not just here to influence the world, but to colonise it. When the Pilgrim Fathers went to America they extended the government of Britain to America. The church is a colony of heaven on earth, and so too is each of our lives.

But we do not control, manipulate or force people into accepting the kingdom we represent. This is not medieval Christendom, with its forced conversions (often at sword-point). We bring and demonstrate the good news. As sons of the kingdom, we bring the fruit of that kingdom so that people will want to be engaged with the God that they see through us.

He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches” (Matt. 13:31).

The kingdom started really small, with Jesus. By the time Jesus ascended back into heaven, there were still only about 500 disciples. Yet the kingdom did not stay small, and the church now has a substantial presence in most nations of the world. In the early centuries, the number of Christians to non-Christians was 1 to 350. Today it is 1 to 6. The kingdom is advancing and growing.

He spoke another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened” (Matt. 13:33).

We are to permeate the whole world with the good news of the gospel of Jesus. We bring a message of good news that God is not counting anyone’s trespasses against them and we demonstrate that message by how we live. We are called to influence the world, to restore it to its original condition and ownership.

That is why we have to be good ambassadors.

Related Articles by Freedom ARC

Other resources from Freedom ARC

Support Freedom ARC

'Donate to Freedom ARC' button

Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to contact us about making a one-time gift.
Thank you!
*Note Sadly, because of abuse by scammers we can no longer offer a ‘click to donate’ option. However, if you contact us, we will get back to you with a simple means of giving. 

Are you part of the Joshua Generation?

We developed this just for you!

eg free trial eg homepage 2019

Engaging God on the Heavenly Pathways of Relationship and Responsibility
Equipping a Joshua Generation of supernatural sons of God to live according to the order of Melchizedek

To find out more and get started today*, click here…

*Technology permitting: automated process on completion of online registration form and payment plan setup. Terms and conditions apply.

196. Set Apart in Holiness

Mike Parsons
with Jeremy Westcott – 

God is calling a new generation of forerunners like Joshua and Caleb to rise up, take hold of what belongs to them in God’s kingdom, and bless others by sharing this revelation and leading them in too.

Will you be one of them?

The Joshua generation has an inheritance that is both earthly and heavenly. We need the heavenly in order to be able to manifest the earthly. The other way round, it is a real struggle. Our inheritance is to act as gateways, bringing heaven to earth through our lives. Our status as royal priests enables us: as kings we have authority and as priests we have access to the holy things of God.

Fame

So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land (Joshua 6:27).

Some of us are beginning to be well known in certain Christian circles already, in a way that we were not just a few years ago. But when the Joshua generation start actually doing the signs, wonders and miracles God is calling us to do, once we set up the Cities of Refuge to which people will run for help and protection when everything falls apart, the world (not just the rest of the church) will begin to take notice.

We need to be ready for the media pressure. When people are raised from the dead, when fire falls from heaven, it will be a global phenomenon, because these are the days when ‘many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase’ (Dan12:4). It will be on social media and YouTube within minutes, not hours.

If we are not operating in righteousness and justice, if we are not truly set apart in holiness, then we risk being easy meat for the world’s media. You only have to look at the Lakeland Revival to see what happens once those areas of unrighteousness are revealed. The spotlight of the secular press and social media is unrelenting.

Any skeletons in the closet will be exposed, we can be sure of that. So we must deal with what we know is in our lives, deal with what God reveals to us, make sure there is nothing hidden, nothing for anyone to find out and discover, nothing we are trying to conceal. We all have history, we all have a past, and we have all messed up. But if we hide that from each other and from the world, then we are needlessly exposing ourselves to danger. The enemy can use what is in the dark; that environment suits him very well. We need to make sure everything is brought into the light.

In all that God is doing, in the power of God that is coming, He must have the glory. The heavenly elders cast their crowns before God, and we are to redirect any honour we receive back to Him. Past generations have failed in this because they have taken glory for themselves, promoted themselves, instead of bringing glory to God.

It is all about Him. It is not about us. Let’s be sure there is nothing of ‘us’ standing in the way of God’s glory.

A radical stand against sin

And it is not only because of the world that we need to be uncompromisingly holy. Let the fear (reverence and awe, not terror) of the Lord be our strong motivation:

Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the LORD, the God of Israel, has said, “There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst.” … It shall be that the one who is taken with the things under the ban shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has committed a disgraceful thing in Israel’ (Joshua 7:13,15).

God wants a holy people. If there are things in our midst that He has called us to lay down or deal with, and we are not doing as He says, then we are inviting defeat both individually and corporately.

Please understand, under the New Covenant no-one is going to be burned at the stake for this. If we get it wrong, if we make a mistake, if we sin, then the fire of God’s presence comes to purify and refine us, not to kill or destroy us:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

Out of His kingdom

The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness (Matt 13:41).

I have pointed out before that Jesus says ‘out of His kingdom’ and not ‘out of the world’, and we have seen these angels here at Freedom many times in recent years. He wants us to be pure and holy so that we do not live in bondage to sin, death, oppression, or poverty, but overcome them.

Our relationship with God is the most important thing in our life. Then, when we agree to be forerunners and accept responsibility to do what He calls us to do, we will not be afraid of the cost which goes with that responsibility.

The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).

No compromise. The Joshua generation will be ruthless in pursuing, rooting out and destroying whatever is in opposition to God’s will, and they will teach the following generation to do the same.

There will be no end to the increase of His government and peace,
to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
from then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this (Isa 9:7).

Are we willing to step into our inheritance?
Are we willing to accept and embrace our destiny?

Related articles from Freedom ARC

Other resources from Freedom ARC

Support Freedom ARC

'Donate to Freedom ARC' button

Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to contact us about making a one-time gift.
Thank you!
*Note Sadly, because of abuse by scammers we can no longer offer a ‘click to donate’ option. However, if you contact us, we will get back to you with a simple means of giving. 

Soundtrack:

Tim Hughes – Set Apart (via YouTube)

Are you part of the Joshua Generation?

We developed this just for you!

eg free trial eg homepage 2019

Engaging God on the Heavenly Pathways of Relationship and Responsibility
Equipping a Joshua Generation of supernatural sons of God to live according to the order of Melchizedek

To find out more and get started today*, click here…

*Technology permitting: automated process on completion of online registration form and payment plan setup. Terms and conditions apply

194. For the Heirs of Salvation (Angels – Part 3)

Mike Parsons
with Jeremy Westcott

And of the angels He says, “Who makes His angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire” (Heb 1:7).

Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? (Heb 1:14).

In previous posts we have seen that angels are messengers, guardians and protectors. They are servants, both God’s and ours. They make up the heavenly entourage, worshipping around the throne, and the heavenly host, God’s army which engages in warfare on earth and in the heavens. They act on His behalf.

Here are some more functions of angels:

Watch over and interact with churches

The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches (Rev 1:20)

Our Freedom Church angel, Urandiel, is over 50 feet (15 metres) tall, with the face of an eagle and a lion. We also often interact with four angels called Sound of Many Waters, Winds of Change, Transformation, and Refiners Fire, with the breakthrough angel, and with the healing pool angel.

The affairs of nations

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia (Dan 10:13).

Territorial spirits and ruling spirits – both godly and ungodly angels – operate in the atmosphere of the earth.

The heavenly judicial system

Angels have roles in the courtrooms of heaven and in the war and strategy rooms

Therefore, hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. The LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while another said that (1 Kings 22:19-20).

A stream of fire came forth from before Him; a thousand thousands ministered to Him and ten thousand times ten thousand rose up and stood before Him; the Judge was seated [the court was in session] and the books were opened (Dan 7:10).

Transforming and removing stumbling blocks

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.  He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven” (Isa 6:6-7).

The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness (Matt 13:41).

‘Committing lawlessness’ is doing things your own way, or without authority. So let’s be warned: angels are coming to remove those people, and Jesus does not say ‘out of the world’ but ‘out of his kingdom’.

Transference after death

Different things happened to the two men in this story Jesus told:

Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried (Luke 16:22).

All the angels are going to return with Jesus

But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne (Matt 25:31).

Harvest of souls

The harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels… the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous (Matt 13:39, 49).

You can see there that what Jesus actually says is the very opposite of the ‘rapture’ many Christians have been taught to expect!

Ministry

In New Testament times, angels ministered to Jesus (Matt 4:11, Luke 22:43), rolled the stone away from the tomb (Matt 28:2), rescued disciples from prison (Acts 5:19, 12:7-9), led people to gospel workers (Acts 10:3), and directed God’s people where to go (Acts 8:26) and what to do (Act 12:8). There are very many other mentions of angels throughout the New Testament, and  they are ready to be instrumental in our ministry today.

Form an angelic canopy

And You have made [us] a kingdom (royal race) and priests to our God, and they shall reign [as kings] over the earth! Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels on every side of the throne and of the living creatures and the elders, and they numbered ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands (Rev 5:10-11).

There is an angelic canopy over the throne of God that is involved in our bringing God’s kingdom to the earth:

Angelic Canopy
This ‘Angelic Canopy’ diagram is based on one by Ian Clayton www.sonofthunder.org

There could be around 100 million angels in this canopy, according to Rev 5:11.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? 7 When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4).

The angels shouted for joy when they saw what God had done in creation, and they will recognize us when we engage in our eternal destiny. They administer the kingdom around our lives, releasing provision and protection for us.

When we surrender to Jesus as Lord, and our life can be seen as a house of prayer, we create an atmosphere of God’s presence around us, that same canopy comes down over us.

We welcome angels

Everything angels did for the Patriarchs, the prophets, the kings, for Jesus or the disciples, they can do for us. They can feed us, strengthen us, protect us, release us, direct us, form a canopy over us, ascend and descend upon us.

Angels can manifest in the natural realm, so sometimes we can see or hear them through the natural senses. The voices of angels can be heard internally by the human spirit or enter the human mind as a thought. Angels can be seen and heard in a dream while sleeping, or in a spiritual vision (either closed or open).

Angels are drawn to reflections of God’s glory. The more we look like Him, the more angels are drawn to us. Wherever God is displayed in our lives, and not only in our meetings, angels are drawn by the attitudes and atmosphere around us, and by the colours, fragrances, and sound frequencies we give off. They surround our praise. Colour, movement and flags can open portals for them to manifest. Prophetic acts and declarations enable angelic activity. Angels can sense faith, love, joy, peace, and the other fruit of the Spirit.

We will not bow to religious tradition which seeks to deny the involvement of angels in our lives. Jesus had no problem with them and nor did the early church. Why should we? We welcome them. We will be in faith and pursue relationship with our angels: engage with them, speak to them and listen to what they say. We will find out who they are, what is their name, what is their function and mandate. We will cooperate and work together with them.

We can see angels, talk to angels, and receive direction and ministry from angels. We can have angels minister with us. Angels respond to our words and our prayers. We can cooperate with angelic assignments, and have angels cooperate with our assignments.

We don’t worship angels but they are involved in our worship. We don’t pray to angels but they are involved in our prayer. We don’t immaturely direct angels according to our own will but we can direct angels as mature sons of God.

And there are more than just angels in the spiritual realm. We can also engage with:

The seven spirits of God

Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God (Rev 4:2-5).

See also Isa 11:2; Rev 1:4; Rev 4:5; Rev 5:6

The seven spirits of God are tutors to teach and train us in the revelation of God. They are the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of the fear of the Lord, the spirit of knowledge, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of counsel, the spirit of understanding, and the spirit of strength or might.

They are created beings we can meet, talk to and engage with in the heavenlies. And they can manifest here in this realm, often as colours or tints.

The cloud of witnesses

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us… (Heb 12:1).

We can engage with the cloud of witnesses in the spirit. They surround us. They are forerunners from the Old and New Testament periods, right up to the present day. They want to pass their batons and mantles on to a generation who will see the fulfilment of the promises they received.

They are also known as ‘men in white linen’, and you can find them throughout the Bible, for example in Gen 18:1-3, Ezek 10:2-3,7, Dan 12:4-13, Zech 1:10, Matt 17:3, Matt 27:52, Mark 16:5, Luke 24:4, and Acts 1:9-10.

Meet your angels

God, open our eyes .

Father, I pray that you will open our eyes
so that we can see what is going on in that realm around us
to be able to engage with the angels whom You have assigned to our lives
to cooperate with them, and for them to cooperate with us.

I believe that God wants to introduce those angels to you.

They are standing behind you, on your right and left shoulder, right now. Don’t turn around and look with your natural eyes, but open your spirit to feel their presence, and begin to engage with them. Ask their names, if you don’t know them.

When you activate that relationship, they are able to help you more effectively. And then you can more effectively fulfil your destiny, bring God’s kingdom from heaven to earth, and bring greater glory to God.

From ‘Angels’, a Freedom ARC Pinterest board (click image to visit).

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193. Rendering Service (Angels – Part 2)

Mike Parsons
with Jeremy Westcott

All the miracles Jesus performed, He did as a man, a forerunner of the church that was to come. There was an open heaven over Jesus’ life. He lived in both realms, connecting earth and heaven, and angels were part of that connection. They were actively involved in all that He did, from the announcement of his birth to the empty tomb. This is a whole dimension of the supernatural which Jesus interacted with, and if we are to do ‘greater works than these’ (John 14:12), then surely we will need to interact with it in the same way Jesus did.

On earth as it is in heaven

Jesus died so that we could inherit. That inheritance is both earthly and heavenly, both natural and supernatural, in line with God’s eternal intention: for man to bring the rulership of God to the whole of creation:

Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
(Matt 6:10).

Throughout most of church history the enemy has blinded our eyes and convinced us that we are weak, powerless and of no effect. If we will start believing the truth of who we are, of our identity as sons of God, as joint heirs with Christ who have authority in the heavens and on the earth, then our lives will become a gateway for heaven to manifest on earth just as Jesus’ life was.

We saw in the last post that as a Joshua generation we are called to operate with the angels and the heavenly realms. The ‘promised land’ we are entering is the fullness of our inheritance, physical and spiritual, which God has set aside for us. Joshua met with an angel (the captain of the host of the Lord) who came and gave him revelation from heaven, and with an open heaven over our lives we should expect the same kind of thing to happen for us.

Ministering spirits

If ‘angels are ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation’ (Heb 1:14), then they must be bored silly, because most of us don’t have any connection with them. We are ‘those who will inherit salvation’, but how many of us actively enlist the help of angels on a daily basis?

What service do we want them to render to us? Do we want them to bring blessing, favour, finance, healing – for our benefit, or for others? Do we want them to minister to our families, our children, our friends and work colleagues? They are messengers, worshippers, warriors and more. We need to open up our perspective on this, and broaden it, because there is so much that they are available to do for us. God wants us to expand our understanding – and experience – of the angelic, so that we can do the things Jesus did.

When our baby grandson was seriously ill, we prayed for the angels to surround that room, that the spirit of death would have no place there. There was a sense of the angelic presence when we went in there, because we sent them. And his recovery amazed everyone at the hospital.

Personal attributes of God

Angels are often at work where a personal attribute of God is mentioned such as the arm, hand or eyes of God. God is spirit, and He does not have a physical body like that. When He does show up in person, He comes in a dark cloud for our protection. But the angels are the executors of God’s actions and the means of the revelation of His personal being to man.

The activity of the Holy Spirit is often confused with the activity of angels. A common argument you will hear from people who don’t believe we should engage with angels goes like this: ‘we don’t need angels, because God sends the Holy Spirit’.

The Holy Spirit is God. He was only ‘sent’ once, on the day of Pentecost, to come and fill the church. We come into that experience for ourselves when we get born again and baptised in the Holy Spirit. He is our internal Guide, Comforter, and Counsellor, bringing a sense of love, joy and peace. We know that we are dearly loved children – that is the Holy Spirit at work. And it is He who brings the power and the anointing for our mission. I am not seeking to minimise the importance of the Holy Spirit.

But God uses angels to do His business. So I believe the trembling, heat, electricity, fragrance and so on that we may experience in worship are actually angelic presence. ‘But that’s God!’ you may say. I agree, it is God. It is God using the angels to manifest these things so that we can experience them.

The angel of the Lord

The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush… When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” (Exod 3:2,4).

How much of this was the angel and how much of it was God? I believe all of it was the angel – and all of it was God, using the angel to speak to Moses.

The angel of His presence

In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old (Isa 63:9).

We can feel the presence of God in the presence of the angelic. Angels communicate His presence to us. The angel of His presence can bring love, and mercy – and, according to this scripture, redemption and salvation.

The hand of the Lord

Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said to me, “O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling (Dan 10:10-11).

When we tremble and shake, are we being touched by an angel?

The eyes of the Lord

For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His (2 Chron 16:9).

The fear of the Lord

“For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land… I will send My terror ahead of you, and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you” (Exod 23:23,27).

God sent the angels ahead of His people as they entered the Promised Land. As we seek to enter into our inheritance, we can expect angels to go before us and prepare the way.

Word of the Lord

The word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet.  I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him. Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are”. And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth” (Zech 1:7-10).

It is time for us to see the angels commissioned and released. There is nothing wrong in our asking God to do these things for us, especially when we are spiritual babies. But as we mature, we begin to understand that we have the authority to send the angels out for ourselves.

How many angels are there?

Jesus said He could instantly call on more than twelve legions – or more than 72,000 (Matt 26:53). If we are joint heirs with Him, how many can we call on? But the enemy wants to keep us ineffective, so we have never been taught to think that way.

Hebrews speaks of countless thousands (Heb 12:22). And there are 10,000 x 10,000 = 100 million angels surrounding the throne in heaven (Rev 5:11).

If angels are as numerous as the stars of heaven (see Rev 12:4), then there are around a billion stars in our own Milky Way galaxy, and between 1022 and 1024 stars in the Universe (that is, the number 1 with between 22 and 24 zeroes after it). That is a lot of angels.

Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? (Heb 1:14, my emphasis).

God made the angels, and He made them for us.

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Image attribution: the image at the head of this article is “Paradiso Canto 31” by Gustave Doré – Alighieri, Dante; Cary, Henry Francis (ed) (1892) “Canto XXXI” in The Divine Comedy by Dante, Illustrated, Complete, London, Paris & Melbourne: Cassell & Company Retrieved on 13 July 2009.. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons – http://bit.ly/1ON8PY3

188. Live And Not Die

Mike Parsons
with Jeremy Westcott

Our inheritance is to be heirs of the world, to bring God’s government to creation (Rom 4:13, Gal 3:29). God promised that David’s seed would sit on his throne for ever (Psalm 132:11-12, 2 Samuel 7:16).

The land promised to Abraham was intended as a starting point from which blessing would spread to all the nations. Israel failed in that, but Jesus’ disciples accomplished it by taking the Good News out to the rest of the world, making available to everyone the blessing of God.

As the original Joshua generation began to take that starting point, that land of promise, they reinstituted two important practices (Joshua 5:6-10). The first of these, circumcision, we considered before. The second was the Passover.

Passover

Jesus is the ultimate fulfilment of Passover – John the Baptist identified Him as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” – and when He celebrated it with His disciples, He reinterpreted it in light of what was to happen to Him, investing it with new power and significance.

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor 11:23-25).

Authority and power

…and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 22:29-30).

When we enter into the full revelation of what it means to take communion, we find that it enables us to be seated on thrones in another dimension: it confers upon us the authority to sit at His table in the heavenly realms.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Eph 2:4-7).

This is new, fresh revelation that God is making known in our days.

God releases to us the blessing with which every family on the earth will be blessed (Gen 22:17-18), so that we in turn release it and pour it out upon the earth. We are in a position to do that because not only have we been saved, redeemed, forgiven, but because we have also been brought into that place of authority, seated with Him in the heavenlies. When we break bread we are sharing and participating in that blessing which operates powerfully in and through our lives. We are joint-heirs with Christ.

Continually devoting

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved (Acts 2:42-47).

Their continual devotion to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer had an effect: a sense of awe, miracles, generous sharing, and salvation. They were experiencing blessing for themselves, for one another, and for others.

Live and not die

Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself… For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep (1 Cor 11:27-30).

Because there is power in it, we need to be careful. With a Hebrew worldview, though, we understand that if eating and drinking unworthily can bring weakness, sickness and death, then doing so in the right way can bring strength, health and life.

“I am the bread of life… the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die… not as the fathers ate [manna] and died; he who eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:48-58).

Jesus’ Jewish audience were not allowed to even eat the flesh of an animal with blood in it. So they were horrified when He spoke about living forever by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. But a few sentences later He went on to underline the importance of what He had just said:

“…the words that I have spoken to you” – that is, about eating His flesh and drinking his blood – “are spirit and are life” (John 6:63).

What does it mean to live and not die? It means an end to the principle of death operating within our genetic material, an end to the patterns of sin and iniquity which cause death. Death came about because of sin, but life, health and wholeness come through participating in the body and blood of Jesus.

I want to fulfil the purpose God has for my life, and not die. There are biblical precedents for not dying: both Enoch and Elijah were simply taken by God instead. And there will be a whole generation on the earth when Jesus returns who will not experience death either. That is what I would like for myself, and I am sure the same is true of some of you.

Apply the blood

Applying the body and blood of Christ has the power to remove the blockages to receiving our eternal inheritance.

Israel had to defeat the ‘-ites’ nations, the kings and the giants in their Promised Land, and we too have to deal with them in our bloodlines: the enemy activity, familiar and familial spirits, sinful and iniquitous behaviour and genetic patterns in our lives.

The death of Egypt’s firstborn struck at the heart of that nation’s inheritance. And just as the blood of the original Passover lambs had to be applied to the doorposts (or the angel of death would have visited the sons of Israel as well), so too the blood of Jesus has to be applied to our lives if our inheritance is not to be denied us.

We do not need to only do this once a year, or once a week, as a religious ritual: we can celebrate this communion every day. We can participate in it and in faith apply the body and blood of Jesus to our genetic material, transforming us into Christ’s image as sons; a whole new dimension of transformation, bringing glory to Him. The body and blood of Jesus will renew us so that we can enter into everything God has for us and fulfil His purpose for our lives.

Nothing need prevent us from receiving our full inheritance as sons of God

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185. The Battle For Inheritance

Mike Parsons
with Jeremy Westcott

Israel’s Promised Land speaks to us of our Kingdom inheritance. The journey they travelled was like ours, from slavery to sonship.

Coming out of Egypt’s bondage is a picture of our salvation.
Crossing the Red Sea is a picture of our baptism in water.
The pillar of cloud and fire is a picture of the baptism in the Holy Spirit (most of us have received that baptism in cloud: perhaps not so much in fire – though that is coming, if you have not encountered it already).
The wilderness: testing, preparation, transformation.

Finally, in crossing the Jordan they were embracing their destiny. But they could have done so a generation earlier:

Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us” (Num 13:30-31).

Because of a spirit of slavery, an orphan spirit, a whole generation did not believe and so failed to inherit – except for two: Joshua and Caleb. God calls us to be like those two. The Joshua generation were forerunners who had spied out the land – experienced it for themselves – and who were ready to lead and equip the next generation to possess [to inherit by seizing, dispossessing and becoming heirs of] the land of promise.

We have the capacity to live and operate in dual realms, and our inheritance is both spiritual (supernatural, heavenly) and physical (natural, earthly). Our inheritance is to bring God’s kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven. It is to fulfil Adam’s mandate to rule in the spirit realm and so exercise influence in the natural realm. It is to see God’s glory fill the earth.

Characteristics of the Joshua generation

A generation ago, Bob Jones prophesied a billionfold harvest. I believe those billion are the labourers who will bring in an even greater harvest in the supernatural dimensions of the kingdom. Some time ago we looked at the characteristics of the Joshua Generation, who received their own inheritance and enabled others to do the same. In coming posts I want to revisit and expand upon some of those characteristics, and see how we can learn from them in our day.

1. The Joshua generation will be victorious warriors, dependent on God for supernatural victory

The very first mention of Joshua is as a warrior.

Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill (Exodus 17:8-10).

We understand that mountains and hills represent places of authority. This was where Moses went to stand, with the staff of God in his hand.

The staff of God

When he met God at the burning bush, Moses had a staff which God commanded him to throw down onto the ground. As you will remember, it became a serpent and then, when Moses picked it up by the tail, became a staff again. And God told him,

You shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs (Exodus 4:17).

Moses’ staff represented his natural earthly identity as a shepherd. It represented his own natural abilities (the phrase ‘by hook or by crook’ refers to the use of a shepherd’s staff). It represented his natural source of financial provision. All this he laid down.

When he picked it back up, it had become the staff of God. In taking it up, Moses took up his supernatural identity and abilities in God. And we can do the same.

So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed (Exodus 17:11).

It was God’s supernatural authority that was being lifted up, bringing heaven to earth and causing God’s people to be victorious.

So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” Moses built an altar and named it The LORD is My Banner; and he said, “The LORD has sworn; the LORD will have war against Amalek from generation to generation” (Exodus 17:13-16).

Inheritance robbers

Amalek were descended from Esau. They had lost their inheritance, and were trying to take it back. They represent those who would seek to rob us of our birthright and inheritance. In that sense, God still wants us to war against Amalek today.

This battle for inheritance will be in every generation, in each of our lives. Will we be robbed of our inheritance? Or will we fight and overcome in the power of God to receive it? We need to know (that is, to know by personal encounter and experience) the Name of God, Jehovah-Nissi, the Lord our banner or victory. It is only in Him, in His power, in His authority, that victory comes.

What is robbing you of your inheritance today?

Is it your past – memories of sin, guilt, shame or condemnation?
Are there whispers in your head saying you are unworthy, or not good enough?
Maybe you don’t feel forgiven.
You may retain memories of past failure, disappointments, and disillusionment.
If you are haunted by your past, then God wants to meet with you to deal it today.

Are you holding on to a slavery mentality, feeling that you do not deserve an inheritance, perhaps because you have not earned it?
Do you know your new identity, or are you still acting out of what the world and your past say you are?

An orphan spirit can mean that you don’t feel loved, accepted, affirmed or approved of; that you don’t belong, don’t have a father, home or family.

It may be stubbornness and pride – still thinking you can do it your own way, refusing to admit you can’t do it in your own strength; angry with the world and with God, thinking you are owed something; having a big chip on your shoulder.

Such mindsets and behaviour patterns are strongholds in our thinking which, unless they are overcome, continually deprive and rob us of our inheritance, the freedom in Christ to live as sons of God.

Lay it down

Imagine you have a staff in your hands.
This staff represents your natural identity, your past, your natural abilities.
It represents anything you can think of, associated with your past,
which hinders you from receiving your inheritance.

Lay down that staff.

Lay down your past
Lay down your natural identity
Lay down your own natural abilities
Lay down your natural strength
Lay down your pride
Lay down your natural means of provision
Lay down your slavery mentality
Lay down your orphan spirit.

I want to encourage you to be serious about this. In your spirit, deal with those things which are blocking your inheritance. Lay them down.

As you lay them down,
Let your spirit receive the words God speaks to you.
If you have honestly chosen to lay down your past, symbolised by that staff, then God wants to speak into your spirit right now.

I declare that you are no longer a slave, an orphan or a victim
I declare that you are Mine and I am yours
I am your inheritance
And you are My inheritance.

I bless your spirit with the spirit of sonship and with the mindset of sonship
I bless you with a deep heart identity as My very own child
Securely loved in My family

My Spirit testifies with your spirit that you are My child
Receive your adoption into My family.

Let your spirit receive that spirit of adoption.
You are no longer going to be alone, an orphan, separate, rejected.
You are accepted.
Let your spirit receive that revelation.

Receive your forgiveness.
If you have felt unforgiven, that you cannot deal with the sin of the past,
Right now just receive your forgiveness from the Father.

Receive your cleansing from past sin, guilt and shame
Receive your righteousness
Receive your new name as a son [daughter] of God.

My Spirit testifies to your spirit that you are My children
Receive your acceptance and affirmation
Receive your adoption rights
Receive your birthright
Receive your blessing
Receive my love, joy and peace
Receive my supernatural authority and power of sonship

I call you My children.

You are my children and I call you to be displayed
As mature sons and daughters on the earth.

I call forth your spiritual identity as a son [daughter] of God
I call forth your eternal destiny to bring glory to Me
I call forth your divine purpose to restore creation back to its original purpose.

Take it up

As you picture the staff that you laid down,
Now take up the staff of God’s authority and power
For you to operate in the supernatural realms
Bringing heaven’s authority to earth.

As you take it up, you now have God’s authority as His children to do His works. You have authority to do what Jesus did, and greater. Take up the authority it gives you: to overcome all the blessing blockers and blessing robbers in your life, and to help overcome them in other people’s lives; to manifest heaven on earth.

Begin to exercise your authority as His children.

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Engaging God on the Heavenly Pathways of Relationship and Responsibility
Equipping a Joshua Generation of supernatural sons of God to live according to the order of Melchizedek

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184. An Earthly and a Heavenly Inheritance
	


	
	
	

		
	

		
Mike Parsons

 with Jeremy Westcott –


If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise (Gal 3:29).


Where a will is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it (Heb 9:16).


Usually, we receive an inheritance when someone has died, and left us something in their will. Jesus, the firstborn, has died for us. He received judgment so that we can receive blessing: an eternal inheritance.


The Hebrew word nachalah means inheritance, possession of property, or heritage. It is used 273 times in the Old Testament; on 183 occasions it relates to land as a gift.


The Hebrew word yarash means to seize, dispossess, take possession of, or inherit. It is used 255 times in the Old Testament; on 210 occasions it relates to military action.


Joshua Generation


Our inheritance, then, is given by grace as a gift but is received by taking possession of it. And there can be a significant difference between what God is willing to give us and what we are willing to receive (or take possession of).


His will for us is our eternal destiny and our inheritance. Just as Joshua led God’s people to possess their inheritance, so we are to be a Joshua Generation who lead people in to receive their own inheritance in God.


What do we inherit?


    

  • Eternal life, starting now (not only when we die).
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  • Redemption, being bought back out of slavery into freedom.
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  • Reconciliation with God, who welcomes us back into relationship in His family..
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  • Destiny, purpose and Jesus’ mantle: His authority, which He has left for us to pick up.
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Jesus inherited everything from the Father, and He has passed on to us the right to receive our family inheritance:


All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you (John 16:15).


But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name (John 1:12).


The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (Rom 8:16-17).


We have a share in everything that belongs to God (and that is absolutely everything), if we believe. He is not a stingy Father. He does not want to hold anything back. He wants us to know what is ours.


For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes (answer) in Him (Christ) (2Cor 1:20 AMP).


And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise (Gal 3:29).


It is sons who receive an inheritance; slaves and orphans do not:


Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God (Gal 4:7).


An earthly inheritance, and a heavenly one


This is not only an earthly inheritance, but a heavenly one. We inherit his very nature, His character, His authority:


For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).


Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ… and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus  (Eph 1:3, 2:6).


And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt 28:18-20).


In John, chapters 13-17, Jesus speaks a great deal about our inheritance, and about His relationship with the Father, and the relationship He wants us to have with Him.


The beginning and the end


To understand our inheritance, we need to look at the beginning (the book of Genesis), to see what God’s original intention was for us; we also need to look at the end (the book of Revelation), to see how God’s intention is fulfilled. As we do, we see many parallels between the beginning and the end.


We live in the middle, though, and God wants us to play our part in bringing about that end. This is all about restoration. God is looking to restore to us all that was originally intended in the garden, so that we can find the final consummation of that in the eternal garden of God.


We were made in His image, to rule (Gen 1:26-28).


Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed…  Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers (Gen 2:7-10).


Two realms overlap


You were in Eden, the garden of God; You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire (Ezek 28:13-14).


Eden was on the holy mountain of God, and the two gardens of heaven and earth overlapped and intersected. That is where our physical and our spiritual inheritance comes together. Adam and Eve were excluded because of sin, but Jesus has opened up for us the way to access the tree of life once again. The garden of our hearts overlaps with the garden of God, and we can walk with him in the garden once more.


And at the end it is just as it was in the beginning, God walking with men:


Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea… And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the home of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them (Rev 21:1,3).


Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life… And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever (Rev 22:1-2, 5).


At the end, we get to do what we were commissioned to do in the beginning, to bring the rule of God into creation. And Jesus returns only when everything is restored to original condition:


… that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time (Acts 3:20-21).


Our inheritance is:


    

  • to be the image of God, on earth as it is in heaven
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  • to be blessed (empowered to prosper)
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  • to be fruitful, to multiply and fill the earth
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  • to subdue or overcome to possess and rule
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  • to have a relationship with God in heaven and on earth
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  • to live in heaven and on earth simultaneously, as Adam did, and as Jesus did
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The law of first mention


It is very important to see how inheritance is first introduced in the Bible, because the first mention determines how that word is to be interpreted throughout the scriptures.


“I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth”. Rachel and Leah said to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father’s house?” (Gen 31:13-14).


Let us ask the same question, do we still have any portion or inheritance in our Father’s house? And if we do, what and where is His house? (The name Bethel actually means ‘the house of God’). Where is ‘the land of our birth’ to which we should return?


Our heritage of covenant stretches back to Adam, and Abraham’s covenant is our connection to our inheritance: “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen 12:1-3).


God appeared to Abraham at Bethel (Gen 12:7-8).  And when his grandson Jacob later came to Bethel, it was there that he saw a ladder reaching to heaven and angels of God ascending and descending, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (Gen 28:10-17).


Our relationship with God brings us back to a place where heaven is open, and where we ourselves become a gate of heaven and a house of God.


‘You are My beloved Son’


Jesus was illegitimate in the world’s eyes. In Jewish culture he had no right to inherit. But God had something different in mind:


Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” (Mark 1:10-11).


God desires to legitimise who you are, to recognise you as His child.


We are under an open heaven.

Father God is standing on the threshold of heaven and earth, and speaks words of affirmation, encouragement and legitimacy over you.

Receive these words in your spirit as God speaking directly to you:


I declare you are my beloved son and I am well pleased with you

 I call you My child. I am your Father, you are mine and I am yours

 I legitimise you as my child

 I call forth your spiritual destiny.


I call your spirit to attention

 Listen with your spirit to the words that I, your heavenly Father, have for you.


The Spirit of your Father gives witness to your spirit that you are My son

 I bless your spirit with the spirit of sonship and the mindset of sonship

 I bless you with a deep heart identity as My very own child, securely loved in My family

 I bless you with the settled assurance that I have a future and hope for you

 I have written your days in My book with love, for your best interest and My ultimate glory.


I bless you with the deep knowledge that I know what you need and I have all the resources of the universe to meet that need.


Listen with your spirit to My words for you.


My Spirit testifies to your spirit that you are My child.

 I bless you with the ears to hear the testimony of the Spirit of the Lord,

 the Spirit of knowledge, wisdom and understanding,

 the Spirit of counsel, power and fear of the Lord.


I bless you with being tuned into Me

 with eyes for seeing, ears for hearing

 and a mind for understanding according to the Spirit

 I bless you with being led by the fullness of My Spirit of truth

 to see things as I see them in the heavenly realms.


I bless you with the deep knowledge that you are an heir, with your brother Jesus,

 to all My treasuries

 I bless you with the confidence that you lack for nothing that you need,

 spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically and practically.


I bless you with the sure understanding

 that I want you to have My blessings and My glory to possess your birthright

 I bless you with the desire to press forward to see the glory that I am revealing.


I bless you with a heart that does not rebel or shrink back

 from the opportunities I put before you daily

 I bless you with a hunger for the manifestation of My glory day by day

 in you and through your life.


I declare that you are no longer a slave, an orphan or a victim

 I declare that you are mine and I am yours

 I am your inheritance, and you are My inheritance.


I declare that I am your Father, and you are My son.

 I give you access to your heavenly home

 I give you access to the river and tree of life.


I call you to be a gateway of heaven on the earth.


You are my child

and I call you to be displayed as a mature son on the earth.


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Are you part of the Joshua Generation?


We developed this just for you:




Engaging God on the Heavenly Pathways of Relationship and Responsibility

Equipping a Joshua Generation of supernatural sons of God to live according to the order of Melchizedek


Get started today!*


To find out more about the Engaging God programme, click here…


*Technology permitting: automated process on receipt of payment and completion of online registration form. Terms and conditions apply.



	


	





	

		
		
Engaging God
	


	
	
	

		
Are you part of the Joshua Generation?


We developed this just for you:


eg free trial eg homepage 2019


Engaging God on the Heavenly Pathways of Relationship and Responsibility

Equipping a Joshua Generation of supernatural sons of God to live according to the order of Melchizedek


To find out more and get started today*, click here…


‘Engaging God’ is an interactive modular programme developed by Mike Parsons.


Through using it you will learn how to access God through Jesus who is the Way, Truth and Life, in the realms of heaven and within your own spirit and heart; and how to take up your responsibility as a mature son [daughter] in God’s kingdom.


Many people have had involuntary or ecstatic encounters or experiences where they have engaged God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and the realms of heaven in visions. Whether you have had such experiences yourself or not, through this programme you will learn to develop the ability to engage and re-engage those encounters at will, and to mature in outworking the revelation you receive from God on a daily basis.


Choose monthly, quarterly or annual options for your automatic recurring subscription payments via credit or debit card, and try Engaging God free for 2 weeks – no payment will be made until after 14 days, during which you can easily cancel if you wish.


*Technology permitting: automated process on completion of online registration form and payment plan setup. Terms and conditions apply.