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“73 Angel Armies”
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#73: Planting Heaven
“Angel Armies”
To start this chapter I am going to launch off from the prayer of the previous. With the purpose to ‘cash in’ against all that Satan has ever stolen; all that has ever come against us and our families, and convert it all to direct Provisions from Heaven. Physical Provision, financial Provision, and spiritual Provision. The Lord desires to raise us as a people who sow in Heaven, becoming then a people who truly liberally reap from Heaven even a hundred fold (Gen. 26:12, Matt. 13:23)!
Scripture:
But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing (things) and being right — the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:33-35 AMP)
Imagine for yourself the outpouring from Heaven flowing liberally down as like a waterfall. So as you set it in yourself to earnestly seek first the Kingdom of God, first and before all things, and to truly seek His Ways and to know His Character, you simply become one who steps under an open Heaven. Most believers only go to Jesus in prayer for needs, worries, and fears; and then go back to their lives. But Jesus earnestly expresses to you here to daily look past these things and in prayer (even fasting) to seek His Person, even the Kingdom of Heaven, manifest real and alive and He will look after all your earthly considerations. Not only so but dress you in a Glory that far surpasses that of Solomon.
Theme Scripture:
God’s Angel then charged Joshua, “Orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: ‘If you live the way I tell you and remain obedient in my service, then you’ll make the decisions around here and oversee my affairs. And all my attendants standing here will be at your service. (Zechariah 3:6-7 MSG)
I would like to paint a clear message for you here today, that the Lord desires for you to come to personally know His Ways that you may be ‘given place’, ‘given right’, and even ‘given charge’ to release to action the Angel Armies of God (the hosts of Heaven). This for your family, your congregation, your town, and your nation. To restore that which was lost, to heal the sick, to set free the bound, and to have that which was stolen returned and ‘cashed in’ even seven fold (Prov. 6:31). What is another word for this … but to become a people Anointed by the King.
Become a people that step under Jesus’s Authority, and walk close in Him as one of whom He confides in as a friend (John 2:24). Truly then you will come to know His Ways and His Character and therefore able to walk all the more in them, and then here given charge to speak with Authority from high above in the spiritual realms; with Angels assigned to you from God charged to respond to the words of your mouth, “saying to my servant, ‘do this,’ and he does it” (Luke 7:1-10). Speaking as one deeply rooted in the Holy Spirit of God, of whom bubbles up words from the very Will and Purpose of the Heart of the Father, to where Life and Spirit ride on your words uttered.
It is to such who take the time to meet with the Lord, that He confides in. Those who take the time to go into the secret place and have private time with the Person of Jesus, where He shares things that He can’t speak openly (John 16:12, 2:24). Sharing of things close to His own Heart, Thoughts, and Ways. As one hungers, even more hunger is given to reach in deep into the Manna of Heaven (Deut. 8:3). Such is the way of the Spirit of God. Closer bonds, deeper ties, sweeter embrace, and greater ease reclining in the Presence of Jesus. Being ‘where He is now and seeing His Glory’ (John 17:24).
In reference to the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13).
Our King and Saviour has ordained us to produce Lasting Fruit, and through the Spirit of God He gives us increased ability to do so. God constantly speaks, and His Word continually falls upon the ground of our life all day long. Some believers are hard hearted and don’t care at all, so the birds just take them. Some get excited for a second but quickly incline themselves to the to the scoffer’s voice and the ridicule of others, and the Plantings of Life are left to wither. Some truly love the Lord, but their loves are split (Jam. 1:6-7), in their faith doubt and unbelief is also left to flourish. These cares and doubts choke the Plantings of the Lord and they remain unfruitful regardless of their confession.
Then there are those who dearly love the Word of God and the things of the Spirit, and even seek them in great earnest. And though he may be of insignificance before the eyes of others, even weak and of low character, he still earnestly pursues the Lord for he hopes and longs for the Word made flesh and alive in him. Though he is the least of the least and comes from broken backgrounds, he deeply receives the Seed to heart. His ground may be the worst of grounds, with big immovable rocks and poor soil, and even though this be the case his heart yearns for the Father … the Gardener of his soul (John 15:1).
God has sent the Word and it will return to Him, it will achieve the purpose of which it was sent (Is. 55:11). Therefore, with this knowledge that God is so intent upon you, you have it within yourself capacity to mirror His Love and be equally intent upon Him. This ‘magnifying the Lord’ the Lord reopens the broken gates and repairs the aqueducts of Life between you and Heaven; these of which were broken down since the Fall (Matt. 13:35, Eph. 3:7-9). Through prayer and fasting a hunger is gained and a deep desire to drink deeply of the Goodness of God (Is. 66:11). Through praise and worship the Spirit of Love comes over you, and in seeking God come alive in you, manifest and most real, personal and most active; then so too He comes and He positions you under the outpouring of the Spirit of God.
Law and works does not achieve this, doctrine and sacrifice are by no means your master, and man isn’t your saviour it is only Jesus that has the power to lift you up out of the Miry clay and set your feet truly on most solid ground (Ps. 40:2). So as you personally fix your eyes upon He who died for you, what’s more, He who was raised triumphant … He will surely finish the work He started in you as you give Him place. And as you yield to Him, as you truly seek His Face, He personally Tutors and Instructs your soul, confiding Himself all the more in you. To the willing Christ Jesus our King desires to raise you to command armies of Angels, but the believer unnecessarily allows himself to think so small, still yielding to the scoffer and the cares and desires of this life.
If I was to say that it’s much more productive to sit on the floor and wait upon the Lord than be intently at work, would you believe me? Even though you might be a leader of a hundred churches, if I was to say that it is much more productive to take a month off and simply love on the Lord, spending time with Him in praise and worship, seeking His Face and waiting upon the Lord, would you think me a fool? If you took six hours off and sat under a tree to just simply love on God and wait upon Him, even though your schedule was so full and the demands of life so intense, would that be an irresponsible waste of time? Would you start getting antsy and unsettled if you sat in a closed room for three days with your heart just fully set upon the Lord, would you be thinking “I should be doing something?” I tell you that the Power of God is found in the Secret Place. I tell you as you honour God then His Honour comes upon you.
You and I have an ordained calling of God to walk in the Authority and Glory of the King. That is a place far above the powers, authorities, and even the realities of this world. You are not of this earth any more than Jesus Himself (John 17:16), but are ambassadors of the King of kings (2 Cor. 5:20), set far above the heavens and even this earth. Ambassadors, representatives, and Children of the Most High – the God-of-the-Angel-Armies. No longer subject to physically presented realities, regardless of how real they come, for they are but an illusion; for when you speak, reality is shifted. For you are seated in the Creator’s lap speaking just as He, bringing great and lasting change. Creation itself is but a scroll that will be rolled up (Rev. 6:14, 21:1), but you are born of Eternal origin; Heaven far more real than the illusion of reality presented before us.
What does the word blessing mean? Is it not the Lord sitting around a table with numerous Angels scheming and planning how to bring lasting good to you, your family, your ministry, and your tasks at hand? So then what does the word ‘Anointing’ mean? Is it not then where the words that you speak truly carry weight; where the Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of Heaven go out in response to you?
Scripture:
O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. (Psalm 34:3 NKJV)
If God’s children can truly seek the Lord, I mean really seek to draw close in Him, then the Lord Almighty, God of Heaven and earth will draw Himself close to you. The Lord and His Kingdom; the Holy Spirit, the Angels, and Saints of Old; even those who ‘stand in the Presence of God’. As you open yourself up to the Lord, He opens Himself up to you … otherwise you simply remain one deaf and blind (Matt. 15:14). But as you fast in earnest, out of deep earnest hunger for the Lord your God, He fixes yet another grand Meal for you, and in sitting together with Him you ‘share one to another’ (Rev. 3:20). Here your eyes are made open and your strength renewed and reinvigorated (Isaiah 40:31). For in these closed sessions with the Lord your God, you are raised up and personally tutored, trained, and equipped by Him.
One who approaches the Lord as a little Child can change Legislation in Heaven. That of which was decreed against you, or decreed against a people or a nation fully reversed. Truly as a person comes to know who they are in God, the earth itself leaps for joy, for all creation eagerly waits for the Children of God to be revealed (Rom. 8:22). Since the Fall there has been so few who stand in the Courts of God to say “no more!”, and though Jesus has returned the dominion of Creation back to man, and Satan no longer having legal dominance (Luke 10:18), and yet he still has influence for no-one, but a few, recognises their place to say ‘no!’
I tell you the truth, tears fall from God’s eyes for He so loves the world and sent His Son to die for it, but not many truly come to Him but are so distracted and drawn off by the many cares, bowing under the influence of the god of this Age instead of their God. This is then why King David would say to his own soul, “O magnify the Lord”, for here one draws the Lord dearly close to vision, even through all the trees of distraction, and holds the Father so close to heart; and then, from here, speaks declaring Life and Spirit. In this Place as you rise up and decree change … change is decreed. And yet the believer still thinks so small, even submitting to the cares and desires, more so than to the Lord.
Scripture:
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while He is near … (and) you will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55 NIV)
I have heard of some of whom the very trees have bowed and clapped as they went past. In Heaven even the grass speaks, so what was it that God originally created that was lost at the Fall? If you still wish to think like a ‘worm’ of the dirt then you shall eat and live like a worm, but God desires to fashion you into an instrument with sharp ‘teeth’ (Is. 41:13-16). One who truly having influence that affect Creation, both above and below the earth. The Keys have been ordained yours (Matt. 16:19) but who picks them up, who even knows how to use them? Satan works to keep the Children of God subdued under his lie, remaining far short of the Glory of God; but the Lord desires to lift you up in Glory upon Glory (2 Cor. 3:18). So where you choose to set the vision of your soul is to where your roots are established, to whom you are instructed, and to where your spirit abides.
Scripture:
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV)
In making firm steps to contemplate the Lord’s Glory, now you are in a Place where you are raised up from Glory to Glory.
Recognise this: there is the Third Heaven of which is God’s Home, then the second heaven of which is Satan’s (in counterfeit replication of the Third), and then there is the first heaven of which is earth itself. Most Christians only operate in the first heaven, calling up in intercession to God from earth. But God desires and has purposed Himself, for anyone who might believe, to come up and operate from the Third Heaven for you and your world. So if you are dragged down by cares and the lures of this life then when you pray, you are praying from earth without Authority. But as you truly lay down your cares in Him and seek the Person of God as a true culture of soul, then when you pray you are praying from within His Presence in the Third Heaven … for that is where your spirit is. For your spirit is no longer contained by your cares anymore for they are fully in Him.
We are seated in Heavenly Places, but what we also want is to ‘overcome’ and be seated on the King’s Throne of Authority, of Power, and Grace (Rev. 3:21). Such then is the word ‘faith’, for before your faith was on the earth, but now it is in Heaven in Him. So when you pray, you are like lightning reaching down towards the earth, and your words spoken in prayer connect releasing the Power of God. Truly you are united one in the Father, for where your treasure is so too your heart is also.
I tell you the Ways of the Kingdom of Heaven: ‘magnify’ the Lord; elevate Him high in your own sight and here you give Him increased rights to work in your life. If you truly can seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, you give God license to take care of all your cares (Matt. 6:33). Through all the trees of the forests of this life; if you can truly honour the Tree of Life then here you shall partake liberally thereof. If you can ascend the vision of your soul unto the High Place, that is set high above the high places, ‘setting your affections in Throne room thoughts’, then here you shall truly function from and here you shall truly abide (Col. 3:2-3). I so encourage you, that if you can truly turn about-face from your daily issues, concerns, and responsibilities and simply submit to the Lord; loving on the Him, praising Him, and seeking His Face with all your heart; then in Him you shall be led forth and raised up. It is the King of whom you seek that Anoints and gives Authority, so as you submit your life to Him and approach Him just as a little child, then in Him you shall be firmly established. Even to become the tip of an arrow, that draws with it the entire Kingdom of Heaven with you into your world. Planting Heaven on earth (Is. 51:16) with the Fire of God!
Imagine for a moment that you were set the task of cutting down a grove of trees. It is way of the flesh to go out in zeal just to get the job done, but the way of the Spirit is to turn about-face in praise, and enter the Rest of the Lord, and here being given the vitality of Elijah. If in all things and through all things you can truly set your affections in the Lord, and in honour praise Him and seek His Face, for to such will stand forever in His Counsel, and even be given right to sit in His Council (Jer. 23:20-22), and all these who stand here in His Presence will be at your service.
Now when you turn to face your life, or in this case ‘the grove of trees’, then you find that you are not alone, for the ministering Angels who are sent to serve you (Heb. 1:14) get to work on the task at hand. We are not ordained to strive in the flesh but Rest in the Lord, ie; rest from labour (Heb. 4:1-6). Taking the matters out of your own hands and placing them in the Hands of God (Zech. 4:6). So do not ‘fret’, do not ‘worry’ or be ‘anxious’ about anything (Ps. 37), for you have an Army of Angels assigned at your service, even the Spirit of God riding a digger that clears the grove of trees in a moment of time. It is the Father’s way that we live not according to the strength and understanding of the flesh (Prov. 3:5-6), but according to the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:5). If we really wish to be productive it is in the Spirit – and not law, works, or pride of sacrifice.
For just in the days of Moses, the Lord says to you, ‘you only need to be still’.
Scripture:
What role then, do the angels have? The angels are spirit-messengers sent by God to serve those who are ‘heirs of Salvation’. (Hebrews 1:14 TPT/NKJV)
The Enemy works to draw you downwards under an earthly vision and confinement, but the Lord desires to lift you up into Heavenly Places of Authority and Might. Even to operate high above from within the Third Heaven. This is why Jesus encourages you so much to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, ie; His Ways and His Nature, for He will raise you in a Glory that far surpasses even the glory of King Solomon. That is, dress you in fine Heavenly apparel; adorning and robing you in kingly Glory of the Heavenly realms.
So as you seek not the honour of man, nor wealth and riches, God provides you a hundred fold both in this life and in the life to come (Matt. 19:29). And as you ‘sell all you have’ (Matt. 19:21) and seek only the Honour of God (John 5:41-42), then God will Honour you before both Heaven and earth. He will set a Decree over you ‘Anointed from Above’; setting a Seal upon you as ‘untouchable’. And. And though you may drink deadly poison, or pickup deadly snakes, they will have no effect on you (Mark 16:18). Truly ‘death where is your sting’ (1 Cor. 15:55)! You are a child of the Lord God Almighty, a Royal-priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), therefore put aside the visions of the dust and put on the vision given you from the Word and the Spirit of God. Adopt the principles of Heaven and release your life in Him, in order that you may truly find it (Matt. 16:35). Letting go of your life so that you may be one able to liberally draw from the Provisions of Heaven, coming under the open Economy of God and are no longer restrained by earthly limitations or constraints.
Scripture:
You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. (Psalms 16:11 NKJV)
So right in the face of the Enemy, even the schemes and plans of Satan, whistle a tune and turn your heart upon the Delight of the Lord. For Satan is in trouble again, and his blind deception so complete, for yet again God thwarts his plans and even replaces them with manifold-blessings. Not only so, but your testimony affecting the lives of countless thousands. God honouring His own Name so that the many, even the multitudes, place their faith in the Son and the Spirit of Life. Such is the way of the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 2:4).
In these that are the ‘last days’ you will have visions and dreams, and prophetic insight of things to come (Joel 2:28). God will guide you as a Lamp to your feet and even a Light to your path (Ps. 119:105). So as you personally learn to turn about-face (Mark 3:14-15) from the callings, responsibilities, cares, and desires of this life and simply take time to love on the Lord and wait upon Him (Is. 40:31), His Presence will come over you with Bliss flowing like rivers (Is. 48:18). Such is the Joy of the Lord (Ps. 16:11); and here your axe being sharpened in His Presence. But here also God will give you creative ideas, visions and dreams that will make the way clear and easy for you; the Anointing that rests upon your life will set to action the Kingdom of Heaven. With the very earth decreed to abundantly bear its fruit, bearing great increase to you, your family, and all in your care (Ps. 67:5-6).
Scripture:
Let the people praise you, O God; let all the people praise you. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. (Psalm 67:5-6 NKJV)
To walk in the Will of God, even according to the Spirit of the Lord, is laced with such inherent Joy and Peace, even Eternal Bliss brimming like a river. The Song of the Lord set in your heart and upon your mouth (Ps. 40:3). For such is of the Spirit of God, even Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit bearing in abundance in you. Now you know that you truly are walking according to the Will, the Heart, and the Spirit of the Lord. This same Joy brings energy and vitality far beyond the youths, and confidence in the Lord that bears Him strong before the eyes of both the believer and unbeliever alike. Even the Fear of God coming upon the region of which you live (Acts 5:13) because of the endless testimonies spoken of the Goodness of God.
God dresses the flowers in such splendour and beauty, but here they are one day and gone the next (Matt. 6:30). But to you He desires to raise you in a splendour that far surpasses beauty and endures for Eternity. This same Eternal Glory carrying Authority that reaches the four corners of this earth. A biblical Word for this is, ‘clothed in the Anointing and Authority of God’, and ‘seated in Heavenly Places’ high above the god of this Age and the world of which we walk.
This is part reason why the Secret Place is of such powerful and mysterious value to you; the going aside just as Jesus did. For it is to where and to what the Lord leads you in Himself, that is so precious. Though Jesus, Himself, had the responsibility of the whole world upon His shoulders, He carried not its weight. Jesus continually felt it more valuable and more important to sit aside in the Presence of the Father and be Transfigured in Him. This lifestyle was of such value to Jesus, so if you could truly make it of value to you also then you will walk in the same ordained clothing of Power. Practice to turn about-face and love on God seeking His Face throughout your day, regardless of circumstances; and in this honouring of the Lord you also honour the Angels assigned and the given Holy Spirit. Now when you turn to face your day, even the tasks at hand (the grove of trees), God is released to go out before you for you have honoured and given Him full right.
Realise and come to understand that in the last days, these of which we are in now, ‘you will understand it perfectly’ (Jer. 23:18-22). And why, but because through the Blood shed for you on the Cross, you have undeniable and perfect access to the Father, to stand in His Counsel; such is the power of turning aside. So as you honour the Lord with your time, your full and undivided attention, and even with your whole heart … then you avail yourself to be Honoured by God with His undivided attention and with His whole Heart towards you. You are lifted up in the Delight of Him to sit under His Counsel, even to become one who stands in the Council amongst all these standing here. To participate in the affairs of Heaven, to oversee His affairs, and to speak and decree everlasting change.
Politicians are not the King, nor is sickness or death, and nor are the schemes of the Enemy. Arise and arise, stand up in the Presence of God, think of yourselves no longer as mere creatures of the dust, for that has been the Devil’s vision and purpose since the Beginning. But choose to enter the Purpose of the Father and come mount up on Wings (Is. 40:31), even the Winds of the Holy Ghost (John 3:8), ‘flying along like clouds, like doves to the nest’ (Is 60:8). Rise up, rise up and enter the Joy of the Lord, the Eternal Bliss, and behold the Glory of the Lord; the Place of Honour set aside for all who love the Lord.
My friend David Hogan speaks of an account where six hundred armed men were sent to kill him at one of his church services. To his surprise, that is why nobody was there! But he yells out to these murderers instead, “you’ll not have my neck!”, and he continued, “the Lord Jesus rebuke you!” And within just minutes, such confusion came over these men who were armed with machetes, ropes, clubs, and guns that they instead just left fighting and arguing amongst themselves.
I think of TB Joshua as he preached a simple message of Love to a crowd of over a 100,000. He did it in such ease, such relaxed comfort, for the same Anointing of the Lord rests upon him. His power and strength is not his own but is given in the Secret Place. Now when he walked out to the crowd to pray for the sick and cast out demons, the Angel Armies went forth, and the Spirit of the Lord moved throughout the auditorium, and thousands upon thousands were healed and set free before the eyes of all.
If you go out in the Name of Jesus, without retaining a culture of going aside and spending time in Him in the secret place, then you go out as like a blunt axe. And in human fleshly zeal, and even in great ambition, you can swing that thing tirelessly. Your eyes may be on that of the opinion of others and in pride of sacrifice and works – labour and soldier on. But the way of the Kingdom is not the strength of man but the Power of the Spirit – the sharp axe making for light work.
Closing Scripture:
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. Then Moses told himself, “I’ll go over and see this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” (Exodus 3:2-4)
I personally never knew that I could initiate meetings in the Lord; encounters and visitations. But as you come to personally turn aside to meet with Him, God Himself, who sees you ‘turning aside’, calls you by name and draws you unto Himself. This more as a culture of heart, irrespective of how you feel. For if you can simply, by act of will (Ps. 146:2), praise the Name of Jesus; if you can truly come delight yourself in the Lord (Ps. 37:4) then He will fulfil the dreams of your heart.
There are many of whose cups are already full, and though they love the Lord there is no hunger for the ‘More’ that is in Him. But as you personally come to choose to hunger for the Lord, He will expand your tent and give you ability to behold Him all the more. God has not called you to only have thimbles of the Anointing, nor of outpouring of the Holy Spirit … but to walk in the unlimited abundant Rivers (John 7:38). In Spirit you are not contained by an earthly comprehension, but as a Child of the Living God you can carry the Rivers of God … even in torrents and floods of the Spirit of the Lord outpouring from your life (Is. 59:19). Truly you are a Gateway to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Scripture:
Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. (John 7:38 NIV)
There are many baptisms in the Lord that you can set before the vision of your eyes. Not only the baptism in water or the Spirit, for these baptisms are simply a birth and a beginning. It is, however, through a retained heart of praise, the simply turning of your love unto the Lord of Glory, that you are honouring Him and the Kingdom of Heaven. And as you wait in the ‘Upper Room’ your heart is lifted up in Him again and again, ‘rapt in His Power’. To such is the kindling of your own hands in preparation, then there is the kindling of hot coals from the Presence of God, but then there is the desired and sought after Fire of God!
Sometimes, in certain circumstances, it is necessary to get on a serious war footing. How is it then that one can win against the works of the Enemy? Now you know how. Bless you …
Pray this prayer with me. ‘Lord, thank you for these precious words and understanding. Lord I am so refreshed and encouraged to turn aside all the more, and just sit in honour and in wait for the Lord my King. Thank you Lord that it is your Hearts Desire to meet with me, and this regardless of me. Lord even to be led by hand to step under the opened Heaven. Please continue to bring alignment to my soul. I repent that I do get caught up with cares of this life, and the responsibilities of it, but I am even more encouraged to come aside in you … even in defiance of the works of the Enemy. Bless you Lord. Amen.’