PREPARING FOR HIS PRESENCE - TO FULFILL OUR GREAT DESTINY

----------------------------

By Bob Jones And Paul Keith Davis

Since this last Day of Atonement, the Lord has released a number of visions and revelations emphasizing the season of the Spirit in which we are living. These revelations have underscored portions of Scripture necessary in our preparation to fulfill our great destiny foretold in Scripture. With the Lord’s help, this article and others to follow, will stress the biblical mandates and preparatory instructions highlighting the attributes essential to enter and abide in His manifest Presence.

There are clearly prescribed directives necessary for us to come before His divine Presence. Those who have been granted this privilege have uniformly returned with one overwhelming truth... you do not come into His Manifest Presence presumptuously nor carelessly. His power and majesty are grand beyond the description of words.

He is our loving Father, true enough...He is also a Consuming Fire and overwhelmingly Holy and Awesome. We can only bear His Presence when we have come before Him according to His prescribed manner...adorned in the garments provided for us through His redemption. Many in the Body of Christ have been experiencing this sanctifying work. This process is typically illustrated through the Levitical priesthood and the meticulous procedure followed by the High Priest before entering the Most Holy Place.

------------------------------------

OUR INVITATION - DEVELOPMENT FOR AN EVEN HIGHER PLACE

------------------------------------

There is presently an invitation to meet with the Lord in the Holy Place for intimate relationship. Here introduction is made and development inaugurated for an even higher place. It is in this sacred domain, preparation is secured to fortify one to enter the most Holy of all places, the Holy of Holies and Union with God. Although the veil separating the two was rent on the day of the Lord’s crucifixion, great reverence and awe surround this place in God. One dare not enter the Most Holy Place until full understanding of the instruments in the Holy Place are residing deep within the believer. The priesthood established by Moses fully understood this reality.

For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lamp stand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. And behind the second veil, there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which {was} a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron's rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant. (Heb 9:2-4)

One of the predominant colors woven into the linen used in the Holy Place is blue. Blue is typically symbolic of revelation. It is in the Holy place that we are able to sit at His feet and partake of Him through the revelation of His nature and character through the “Light� of His Spirit. The invitation is to come by revelation into the Holy Place to become acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ.

--------------------------------------------

A PEOPLE TO EXPRESS HIS DIVINE ATTRIBUTES

--------------------------------------------

The Lord’s desire is that we become free so that in our freedom we can partake of the intimate relationship that He longs to have with His people. That has always been the heart of the Father...to have a people for His own possession with whom He can have relationship and through whom He can express His divine attributes.

In the Holy Place, one of the first instruments we are able to observe is the lamp stand. This is representative of the light being shed abroad in our hearts to bring us the revelation of the Lord. He is lighting our candle to illuminate our dark places.

For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. (Ps 18:28) Without His light, we are blinded by the spirit of this world to our true condition and the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ and our inheritance in Him. Foremost in our birthright is the opportunity, through his great grace, to be free from our own carnality and the sins which so easily beset us and separate us from Him.

The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God...For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Cor 4:4&6)

------------------------------------------------------

AS WE ALLOW THE PROCESS. . .WE'LL RECEIVE IMPARTATION

------------------------------------------------------

The lamp stand is the only source of Light in the Holy Place and is fueled by pure olive oil speaking of His anointing for this purpose. (Zec. 4:1-7) Our invitation in this hour is to enter the Holy Place and allow the light of His Spirit to shine upon our seeds of corruption so they can be uprooted as we cry out to Him for deliverance. As we allow this process, we will likewise receive the impartation of the attributes essential to enter AND MAINTAIN His divine Presence without grieving His Holy Spirit.

Once our conscience is clear and we are walking in the Light, we likewise become the light of the world as Jesus described in Matthew 5:14-16. We can shine for the Lord in the midst of this dark and corrupt generation, drawing others to Him, not because of any virtue of our own but because of His manifestation in us. (Philippians 2:15). That is the gospel of Jesus Christ...Christ in us the hope of Glory.

When the candlestick was lighted it produced illumination in the Holy Place. When our candle has been lighted it will produce an illumination and glory that will emanate from us as described in the life of Peter. The scriptures portray Peter so clothed in the Glory of God that the mere casting of the glory-shadow over the people produced healing and allowed them to touch the resources of heaven for their great need. The sevenfold Spirit of God resting in us will provide the same great illumination that will make us the exceptional light shining in a dark place.

---------------------------

THE BREAD OF HIS PRESENCE

---------------------------

Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that continually proceeds from the mouth of God. The Lord has delegated “manna� for each generation displaying perpetual depths of His greatness and Truth. He is the very fountain of ALL wisdom and the source of ALL knowledge. He expects His people who possess His Spirit to embrace every word that He utters and the continual unfolding of Biblical Truth. In the Holy Place the table of Shew-bread (Bread of His Presence) was a symbol of thanksgiving for His Divine provision. After serving its purpose in the Holy Place it was then consumed by the priests. We must consume every revelation of the Lord to be molded into His image and bear His attributes.

Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, dedicating it to Him, to burn fragrant incense before Him, and to set out the showbread continually, and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on Sabbaths and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of the LORD our God, this {being required} forever in Israel. And the house which I am about to build {will be} great; for greater is our God than all the gods. But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn {incense} before Him? (2 Chr 2:4-6) The Lord Jesus was the Word incarnate in flesh. To partake of Him is to share in the revelation of God.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. (John 6:35)

----------------------------------------------------------

HE IMPARTS TO THOSE WHO COME TO HIM UNBRIDLED AND HUNGRY

----------------------------------------------------------

The message for this hour is to be careful to receive the full revelation of Jesus Christ as revealed to us by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. The Light from the Lamp stand provides the illumination of the Shew-bread and the full revelation of God. Paul once announced that he did not shun to declare the whole counsel of God in his preaching of the gospel. We need the “whole counsel� to be presented to the Lord Jesus and to enter the Most Holy place and union with our God. To deny any portion of the sacred scriptures is to embrace unbelief, the sin that kept the children of Israel from entering the promise land after there deliverance from Egypt.

In Him is the Bread of Life which He freely imparts to those who come to him unbridled and hungry for His Presence. However, we cannot come to Him cloaked in worldly conformity but clothed in His righteousness bearing His image and likeness. We are sanctified in Truth and His Word is Truth. (John 17:17)

---------------------------------

ABIDING IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD

---------------------------------

One of the scriptures greatly emphasized for this season conveys the seven eyes of God which range to and fro throughout the earth. These “eyes� are symbolic of the Lord’s omniscience and represented by the menorah. For us to accomplish the destiny of the church, we must be joined with Him partaking of this divine insight so we can focus our efforts in the direction the Lord desires. The seven Spirits of God standing before the throne of God bringing the full manifestation of the sevenfold Spirit of God resting in God’s people producing the life of Christ as portrayed in the ministry of Christ while He lived on the earth in human form. Among the seven Spirit’s of God, there is an emphasis on— the fear of the Lord.

The fear of the Lord is a corridor through which so many divine attributes are released through the church and essential to entering and maintaining His Empowering Presence. It is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge and living understanding concerning the Lord’s ways in heaven and on the earth. It is essential in the operation of the manifest Presence of God through our lives in accordance with the nature and character displayed throughout the life of Christ.

We must come to understand the great significance of the fear of the Lord and our utter inability to produce it in the “soulish� realm of man. It is strictly an impartation from the divine nature worn as a mantle and resting upon those who have sought Him with their whole heart and have overcome the spirit of this world. Our fervent prayer should be for the “fear of the Lord� to rest in us in full measure.

---------------------

LIVING IN MEEKNESS - NOT WEAKNESS

---------------------

The fear of the Lord manifested in the spirit of a person will always produce meekness. Meekness is primarily being teachable and willing to change when confronted with issues contrary to the character of God. Meekness is by no means a sign of weakness. It is simply the willingness to be molded into the image of Christ. It is characterized in gentleness of spirit and mildness of disposition.

Blessed are the meek (gentle, mild), for they shall inherit the earth. (Matt 5:5) If we are to be yoked with the Lord in nature and purpose, then we will come before the Father in the same manner as the Lord...in gentleness (meekness) and humility. When we are able to approach the throne of God according to this posture, we will then begin to experience His manifest Presence.

Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. (Matt 11:29)

-----------------------------------------

OVERCOME THE TENDENCY TO "DO SOMETHING"

-----------------------------------------

When this takes place we must overcome the great tendency to “do something� and merely remain still and reverential in His presence. This will produce a heart of admiration and worship beyond anything we could ever imagine. There is a time to be busy about the Lord’s work and a time to be still with our faces pressed to His feet in worship and adoration.

The illumination of the Holy Spirit in us will provide the discernment between the two. Those who have experienced His manifest presence can readily testify that the power of such a Presence will produce an awe and worship beyond the comprehension of man. The truly faithful will be afraid to move, much less stand in this awesome Presence and attempt to speak or do ministry.

-----------------------------------------------

OVERCOME SOULISH TENDENCIES TO ENTER HIS GLORY

-----------------------------------------------

The “fear of the Lord� will awaken us to the time to be “hushed� and sit in silent admiration. The scriptures admonish us to grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby we are sealed until the day of our redemption. Carelessness and presumption clearly grieve the Holy Spirit. We must overcome these soulish tendencies if we are to enter into His glory and advance to even higher realms of glory.

But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Cor 3:18)

The scriptures entreat us to go from glory to glory. A review of past outpourings of the Spirit will affirm that historically we have been unable to maintain the glory wondrously released to the Church thus preventing us from moving into even higher realms of glory.

------------------------------------

PROCEED TO GREATER REALMS OF GLORY . . .

------------------------------------

We must understand the divine principles that will allow us to sustain the glory released to us so we can then proceed further to greater realms of glory that he desires to display in us. The Lord is aspiring to come to us to examine our innermost being and begin to make changes in us and fashion us to be compatible with His Holy Spirit.

In this process, if we will passionately call upon Him, He will release the strength to us in our weaknesses to help us change the areas we are unable to change on our own. This will allow us to return to the innocence of “babes� thus pleasing in the sight of the Father.

Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 18:3-4)

A child is totally dependent upon his parents to provide care and protection. It is at this place of reliance we will begin to grow up and develop in His likeness.

By Bob Jones and Paul Keith Davis