1. God’s Kingdom Tribal Lifestyle
Part 3 – Spirit to spirit
Chapter 8 - Entering Heavenly Spiritual Reality
By Ron McGatlin
Before us is one of the most significant times of spiritual change of all known history. We have entered the season of the fulfillment of the purposes of God in Christ Jesus. All that has been done on earth since the birth of Christ Jesus has been preparation for and moving toward that which is now coming into view. Supernatural heavenly spiritual reality has come to earth from heaven in maturing humble sons of God. Grace empowerment of God is dwelling on earth in Christ abiding in His people.
We are now engaged in a time of rapid preparation to bring forth the glorious plan of God on earth from heaven – the kingdom of God is come, and the will of God is being done. There are yet multitudes to be brought in and prepared for the rule of God on earth as it is in heaven. Never before have so many humble holy people been so disconnected from their natural lives and walking in the supernatural spiritual reality of God in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Yet many more are now being called to step through the veil into the glory of the supernatural realm of heavenly life.
Leaving Our Past Life
For many believers, natural life has become a drudge and loss of life’s purpose and passion. They are overloaded with responsibilities of natural needs and requirements of structured social order. There is little or no passion for the purposes that once motivated them with hope for things to come. Hope has been delayed and has faded from them. The things they thought would bring life and freedom have brought boredom and bondage.
Coming near to the presence of God in and among others is not pleasant for them. They see others alive with what they do not have. Or they see others only acting out Christian roles pretending to be what they really are not.
They continue in their unfulfilled desperate longing for the divine purpose and intimacy with God that seems always just beyond their reach.
Reaching back to the old self-effort of self-denying to try to become dead to self enough to really experience the presence of God, leads only to increased failure and more discouragement. They may even begin to believe that the people around them are the problem. “If only my husband, my wife or my church family or friends or whoever, would do what I need and be different, I would feel good about things again.” Fantasy thoughts of abandoning their present life and responsibilities enter their minds.
The Call of God
Believe it or not, sometimes the above desperate feelings are related to God’s call and His working in our lives. God is probably just as disgusted with our prideful, self-focused, pleasure-seeking lifestyles as we are. However, in His ultimate wisdom and love, He knows that our materialistic, pleasure-seeking, pseudo-Christian lives are simply substitutes for the spiritual reality of life that we may have never experienced.
Many of us have been trained by the world to take care of ourselves and strive to gain fulfillment in our natural lives by setting goals based on what we deem will bring us what we want. The challenge of striving to reach our goals does give our prideful, competitive souls increased purpose and motivation for a season.
One of the most discouraging scenarios occurs when we reach our goal and find it empty. At this point, our false purpose and motivation that stimulated our lives evaporates leaving us with only the responsibility of tending and maintaining our empty dream. The obvious natural resolution is to regain our purpose and motivation by coming up with new greater goals. For believers this may involve a change of direction toward what we deem as more worthy religious goals. “Surely, my striving to become a significant minister in the church and doing self-sacrificing things to reach the lost will provide the missing deep inner satisfaction of my life.”
At some point a shocking and depressing crash results from again discovering the self-established goal and self-motivated dream of being a super minister for God is just as empty as our other goals were. We are again left with the heavy burden and responsibility of feeding and maintaining the works produced by our dreams. The work takes on a life of its own and begins to rule us and everyone that is with us according to its needs and desires. Our unmet natural and spiritual needs have caused us to create monsters that seek to consume us. Spiritually, most of the world including many believers, have become as dry bones with no life left in them.
CAN THESE DRY BONES LIVE?
God is breathing fresh life of His Spirit into His kingdom army. The spiritual fire of God is once again restoring the desperate and entrapped believers to true life in the Spirit. Fresh breath of the Spirit of God is blowing into the lives of those who once walked in His Spirit and are crying out to Him in the darkness of night for the glory of God to fill their lives greater than ever before. Many others who have never before known the fullness of the Spirit are quickly being filled abundantly with the life of the Spirit. The power of God is coming upon and within His people. God is removing stony hearts and filling lives with the exciting fire of His Spirit.
The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry.
And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know."
Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
'Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
"I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."' "
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone.
Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."' "
So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. ~ Ezekiel 37:1- 10
Answering the Call to Glory
This is a work of God not the works of any man. Our self-effort to cleanse ourselves or to cleanse others is fruitless. It is the glory of God that brings life from death and gives light to consume our darkness.
We cannot prophesy the unjust into becoming just or the unholy into being holy. We cannot prophesy living people into being righteous or holy.
"He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still." ~ Rev 22:11
However, as God directs, we are to prophesy the dead into living. We can prophesy glorious life into dead dry bones of useless lives.
Prophesy the breath-of-God supernatural life of glory coming into your own dry-bones life.
As long as there is anything remaining of our self will and strength to try to clean up our lives and make ourselves righteous and holy, we are not yet “dry bones” enough to enter the heavenly spiritual reality of the glory of God.
Prophesy the breath of Spirit life to the purposeless and passionless dry-bones drudge of natural life. The glory of God will dissolve our self-will and clean us up. The fire of abundant life of Christ Jesus in His kingdom glory is upon those from whom and in whom the words of Spirit flow.
Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
'Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
We are the mighty army of God raised from dead dry bones into the glory of the kingdom of God on earth. Our lives are filled with purpose, and the passion of God flows through our lives. Passion for the glorious kingdom of God is manifesting in our lives now and for eternity. We are entering heavenly spiritual reality. Life will never be the same again.
Topic: OpenHeaven.com Digest November 10, 2011
