Book of John

I believe this Pentecost will be one that we will look back and see a demarcation begin to take place in the church. I sense that He is not only desiring to fill us to overcoming, but He also desires to rest upon those who have set themselves apart and laid everything else down to follow Him. I believe as we yield even more into what He desires, a tent of His Presence, as it were, will rest upon those who have consecrated themselves…upon those who have said “Yes Lord!” This covering will be as the Spirit of Holiness.

A dove was sent out at the time of Noah and did not find a place to rest. When the Son of Man came up out of those baptism waters at the river Jordan, scripture says the dove (symbolic of Holy Spirit) rested upon Him and did not leave Him. “Then, as John baptized Jesus he spoke these words: “I see the Spirit of God appear like a dove descending from the heavenly realm and landing upon him—and it rested upon him from that moment forward! And even though I’ve yet to experience him, when I was commissioned to baptize with water God spoke these words to me, ‘One day you will see the Spirit descend and remain upon a man. He will be the One I have sent to baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ And now I have seen with discernment. I can tell you for sure that this man is the Son of God.” John 1:32-34. I read somewhere that if we want the dove to stay, we must have the nature of the dove.

I find it interesting that Jesus’ baptism was at the place of the crossing of the Jordan River. Historians say this was likely the same area where the children of Israel crossed into the Promised Land. The River Jordan parted as the priests stepped into the waters and the Israelites then crossed over on dry land. Israel crossed over into the promised era. It was the place of them leaving the leadership of Moses to the leadership of Joshua. The River Jordan also was the place where Elijah struck the waters with his mantle and the river parted so he and Elisha could cross on dry ground. We know that transition took place when Elijah went up in a chariot of fire and Elisha picked up his mantle. This place of crossing over was chosen by God for Jesus to step into the baptism waters. This time the waters didn’t part but the heavens did! “The moment Jesus rose up out of the water, John saw the heavenly realm split open, and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and rested upon him.” Mark 1:10.The Jordan River is a place of transition. Transition took place from John to Jesus. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30. Jesus’ mission was to transition from the Old Testament into a new era of the New Covenant.

So it is now, Holy Spirit is hovering over and preparing His Bride to be ones that He will rest upon. These will be days of His power enabling us to breakthrough and breakout from where we have been into this season of change. We are going to go from glory to greater glory. We will look back at where we have been and think “We thought we were walking in such revelation, but compared to where we are now, that was such a small measure!” He is pouring out His Spirit upon His sons and His daughters. The world will finally see the mature sons of God rising upon the earth.

Finally the prayer Jesus prayed in John 17 will begin to be fulfilled. “And I ask not only for these disciples, but also for all those who will one day believe in me through their message. I pray for them all to be joined together as one even as you and I, Father, are joined together as one. I pray for them to become one with us so that the world will recognize that you sent me. For the very glory you have given to me I have given them so that they will be joined together as one and experience the same unity that we enjoy. You live fully in me and now I live fully in them so that they will experience perfect unity, and the world will be convinced that you have sent me, for they will see that you love each one of them with the same passionate love that you have for me. “Father, I ask that you allow everyone that you have given to me to be with me where I am! Then they will see my full glory— the very splendor you have placed upon me because you have loved me even before the beginning of time.” John 17:20-24.

There is coming such a union between the Jesus and the Bride of Christ that we have not yet seen. Come Lord Jesus!

Lately, I have been spending time in the book of John. I want to know about this man who was not only granted the privilege to walk with Jesus, but also given insight to see the times in which we are living as he was instructed to write the Book of Revelation. He gives us so much truth and a different view of Jesus’ life while upon the earth, as John describes himself as the one whom Jesus loves. It was not that Jesus loved John more than the other disciples, but it was that John saw himself as one that Jesus loves. Here again, I am stressing the importance of seeing as I spoke of yesterday.

When we know we are loved, we begin to open up our hearts. It is only when we know that we are loved that we feel that we can be ourselves. It is when we know we are truly loved we begin to let down the walls that we so often put around ourselves so that we will not be hurt again. It is in the place of knowing love that we find our true identity. As we begin to understand Jesus’ love for us, we will stop defining ourselves by our failures and shortcomings.

Just imagine a child who has been abandoned and taken from foster home to foster home…never really knowing he is loved or where he belongs. But once that one, that one who sees his worth, says I want to make you mine and adopts the child into his family, the child begins to hope again. This child is not loved for anything he can do for the family. He is loved just because he is. It is in this place of unconditional love that he begins to let go of his terrors of the past, his sense of abandonment, his fear for what lies ahead. He is secure in this newly found pure love for him. And so it is with us. There is no purer love thanthe Father has for us. “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:5

It is in knowing the love of Jesus that we are open to receive mysteries of the Kingdom. Our hearts become unlocked to see more of His beauty and glory. It is in the place of knowing His love that we can, by faith, begin to step out into our destiny, knowing that He is at the end of our race cheering us on and saying, “Come on, you can do it!”

“For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11.

Today, He is inviting you into a place deeper into His heart whether you have walked with Him for years or if you have never taken that step towards Him. His love is wooing you into the reality of knowing who you really are, who you were truly created to be and to partake of His unconditional love. He is waiting for you to lay aside all condemnation and come running to Him…with your hang-ups and all. You are loved. See yourself as the one Jesus loves.

“We love him, because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19