Derech, The Way - David Mitts

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)

The anointing of God is the power of God to manifest the will of God.  This is what Scripture calls the “Christ”.  Yeshua is the Christ, the anointed one.  He operates with the mind of God and thus reveals the will of God.  God’s thoughts and will are the same.  He is One.

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! (Deut 6:4)

The declaration of the Sh’ma is the revelation of oneness but also the recognition that oneness and Lordship come through the way we listen.

Listen to "Derech, The Way"

If we return to our parable of the sower and the seed, we see that the heart conditions that produce various outcomes are ALL linked to listening.

"Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. (Mar 4:3). Why does Yeshua begin with a command: “listen”?  There is a connection between how we listen and what we believe.  Trust is the atmosphere of listening with an open spirit to receive the Words of Life.

And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that 'SEEING THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND HEARING THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND; LEST THEY SHOULD TURN, AND THEIR SINS BE FORGIVEN THEM.' “(Mar 4:11-12).  Parables, stories are a way to engage the imagination to communicate what is being resisted because of a lack of trust. Listening is an act of surrender.

The key to walking out our destiny is in how we listen, see and understand what we hear and see.  This is the realm of training and exercise.  We develop those aspects of our spiritual life that we exercise.   Look with me at 1 Timothy 4:7-8

But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. (1Ti 4:7-8).

The promise of the “life that now is and is to come” is a way of speaking of our destiny.  The key is exercises that develop “godliness”.

What is godliness?  Godliness is at its most fundamental reality living a life that is sourced out of God, His way of thinking, and ultimately His way of Being.

What is His way of being?  Well Yeshua said, I am the way.  In Hebrew, the word for way is Derech. When we speak of a way, we speak of several things.

1. The path we take, i.e. the road we are on to a destination
1. Now the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. (Gen 16:7)
2. The literal footsteps of someone we are following
1. The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. (Ex 13:21)
3. The quality of life of someone else, their “way”
1. "Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people." (Ex 33:13)

This last meaning conveys the life of the anointing.  When Yeshua said I am the way, He meant that He would show the “way” to the Father.  In this context, “the way” becomes a living expression of the mind and heart of the Lord.  This is known in scripture by various metaphors.

1. Abiding:
1. "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they  are burned. "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. (Joh 15:4-10)
2. Abiding is a picture of the Way of the Lord.  Staying in a house is different than abiding.  Abiding means including your heart with the heart of the home.  It is a covenant picture.
2. One-ness
1. "I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. "While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. "But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. "I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. "As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. "For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. (Joh 17:11-21)
1. One-ness, or echad is the place of intimate knowing of the “ways” of another.  You absorb the character, thoughts and inclinations to where you “are” as they are.

This is the place where the Torah is written on the heart.  The Word has become flesh in this place. This is first love.

Yeshua is the way.  He is the One who when we give our hearts fully teaches us His ways.

There is an interesting scripture I want to look at in the book of Proverbs, chapter 30, verses 18-19:

Three things are beyond me; four I can't understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship at sea, and the way of a man with a young woman. (Pro 30:18-19).

The eagle in the sky is fulfilling its purpose. The snake on a rock is similar as is the ship.  So the way of a man with a young woman becomes part of the oneness of purpose. As this is true and we are the Bride, the Young woman, in the metaphor, then our oneness with our groom becomes the fulfillment of mystery.  

This is how we become one with Him. Let’s then begin to look at what His Way is.

After Yeshua came out of the waters of mikvah or baptism in the Jordan, the scripture tells us He was led into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil.  Temptation reveals the Way of a person.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. After He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, He was hungry. Then the tempter approached Him and said, "If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." But He answered, "It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word, that comes from the mouth of God." Then the Devil took Him to the holy city, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: He will give His angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." Jesus told him, "It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God." Again, the Devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And he said to Him, "I will give You all these things if You will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus told him, "Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him." Then the Devil left Him, and immediately angels came and began to serve Him. (Mat 4:1-11)

Now, it should be clear to anyone who has been born again, that this “temptation” of Yeshua was not just for Him, but for us to learn His way.  He was tempted for sure but we also know that He and the Father are one and always were one and always will be one.  No, I believe this temptation which is recorded in the Gospels is there to show us His Way.

First, we see Him tempted around provision.  The Devil never questions His ability.  Rather he assumes the ability and then tempts the use of the ability.  Clearly Yeshua can turn the stones to bread.  This is a parallel to your or my talents and gifts.  Clearly, we can use them to get what we want.  The Devil, as the spokesperson of the world’s system whispers to us in our wilderness, go ahead child of God, get all you can, be your best, succeed!  Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t be your best and succeed but the temptation that will affect us becoming one is doing what we do out of our own inner voice versus the voice of the Lord.

Notice Yeshua was hungry.  The inner voice of hunger or lack is a strong voice.  It speaks with the authority of need.  It drives a panic into our being and we feel like we have to make choices.  In our culture, we are results driven.  We want to possess the fruit on the tree.  We want to prove our worth by the fruit.  We even evaluate fruit by the trappings of success, even though the scripture tells us the fruits are patience, kindness, peace, love, gentleness and joy.  We want to command the stones to become bread.  Yet Yeshua speaks to that temptation and says true bread, true provision comes from the Voice.  If He is the Way, the Derech, then it is by the Voice and His leading.

Second the Devil tempts us with the spectacular. Yeshua throwing Himself off the pinnacle of the Temple and having Angels rescue Him would have been spectacular.  It would have been supernatural entertainment at its best.  The anointing of God would have been used to put the glitz and glamour on Him.  It would have tested or exposed God in Him.   Why is this a problem? Because even though Yeshua did perform many miracles, they were never about promoting Him.  This is one of Satan’s traps in the true anointing, to use the anointing to impress.  Yeshua did have the authority that the angels would have protected Him, but He knew that His mission wasn’t to be spectacular but to show love.

The temptation of all our spectacular technology is to be enamored with our capabilities.  We trade the anointing of God for the glitz of sound systems and lighting, large audiences with huge video screens. We also put ourselves on pinnacles and fall expecting God to bail us out.  This temptation is a huge one.  You see the scripture Satan quoted was true.

For He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways. (Psa 91:11)

Because it is true it is a principle of the spirit realm.  There are angels and they will protect.  Yet when we put ourselves into the spectacular need, we have placed ourselves in the position of testing God.  If we are going to walk in His Way, we need to operate with meekness.  He will protect us and direct us to amazing things but it will be of His origin, not our desires.

Thirdly, the Devil wants Yeshua, and us to step into ruling the world.  Satan is the ruler of a world system.  He will give us success and authority in the world’s system if we will but worship that system.  We don’t have to bow down and worship him.  What we must do is first rely on his system and then glorify that system.  There is nothing more valuable to Satan than a minister or a Believer who succeeds the world’s ways and then put’s God’s name on that success.  

What are Satan’s ways? John 10:10. A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. (Joh 10:10)

You see it doesn’t just matter what happens in our lives but also the WAY it happens.

Activation:

Read Psalm 37:5

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act, (Psa 37:5)

Think of these 3 areas of the Way of Yeshua:

1. Provision
2. Spectacular-need for attention
3. Ruling, Authority

Now, press in and ask the Lord to show you any lies you believe in these 3 areas.  Where have you listened and believed the whispers of Satan?  Now ask Him to speak the truth.

The Anointing and The Glory - Righteousness - David Mitts

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV)

You could say the purpose of the cross was for us who receive Messiah, to become the righteousness of God, in Him.  We have been pressing in for revelation of what it feels like to operate in the anointing of God.  I know we have been trained not to walk by feelings but by faith in the Word of God.  The Word however contains feelings galore!

Listen to "The Anointing and the Glory - Righteousness"

For example, David said:

Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, "Let the Lord be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant." (Psalms 35:27 NKJV)

Favoring the righteous cause of the Lord, like Destiny House, brings a shout of joy and a gladness of heart. There is a shout in heaven and a corresponding shout on earth.  It also brings a true prosperity that is from the Lord.  When the Lord prospers you, it releases joy and gladness because you can trust in the goodness of His reward.  He brings a reward with no sorrow added.

Notice that the scripture doesn’t say: “Let them “be without feelings and walk by faith”.  No, the feelings are included, joy and gladness.  So, the sterile doctrine of faith over feelings is another testimony to the infection of the Bible with Greek disembodied thought.

Plato taught that the soul was trapped in a body.  The body was an untrustworthy aspect of life in contrast with the purity of the mind.  This is called dualism and its impact on the Gospel through the years is to create a lifeless form of worship of ideas and theologies.  This is understandable when the objective is control.  Emotions and feelings then become the uncertain variables and passion is to be avoided at all costs.

In the middle of this morass, is the idea of righteousness.  If feelings are bad, then righteousness cannot be felt but just “imputed”.  Imputed is the word most connected with righteousness.  It is the idea that you are righteous because Jesus made you righteous, like being pregnant.  But, as anyone who has been pregnant can tell you, pregnancy is an experience filled with strong emotions and feelings.

Righteousness then also can have tremendous feelings and one of them is passion.  When we operate in righteousness, in the Holy Spirit we experience the passion of the union of our heart with our “rightness of being”!  The objective of the cross was restoration!

In order to have restoration you have to have an original design.  If I buy an antique car with the goal of restoring it, then I need to know what it originally was like.  What color, what were the engine parts it was intended to have, what kind of seats etc. Restoration is not just fixing something or someone but making them new as if they had never been affected by the world.

Let’s back up a few verses from our verse for today’s teaching and activation up to 2 Corinthians 5:16-21:

Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:16-21 NKJV).

This is an instruction on righteousness. It begins with encouraging us to know or regard anyone according to the flesh.  What is regarding anyone according to the flesh?

It means reacting to the corruption that is in the world through lust. Peter said:

as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:3-4 NKJV).

The root of all corruption is lust.  We all see through the eyes of lust when we see the flesh.  I don’t just mean sexual lust.  I mean the lust of life that is a result of living in fear.   At its root, lust is not just a desire for something; it is an obsession that arises out of not trusting in God’s ways or His plans for the fulfillment of our desire in a way that is for our highest good and fulfills our destiny.

Going back to the car analogy, if the car is a 1964 mustang and I am restoring it, I am restoring it to the manufacturer’s specification.  I am NOT saying well this could have been better so I’ll juice up this or that. No! I am trusting the manufacturer’s design.

So it is with God.  There is a corruption in the world that comes from a hunger for a perfection that is made up out of our ideas and concepts of what is better for us than what God has planned for us.   This is what is corrupting our righteousness.  It is based on the fear that we are missing out.  So we make trades or exchanges in our lives that are corrupt. We need desperately to have a clear vision, not just a generic one of our unique design in God that He is restoring.  This is called His Will for us uniquely. This is righteousness. Look with me at Ephesians 5:15-20:

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:15-20)

This is a key to unlocking righteousness. You see God gives us the freedom to think.  This thinking or if you like, believing, in our heart shapes who we are.  Yet our thinking is corrupted in a world based on images that seek to captivate us.  We are a very special unique vessel of righteousness, an instrument of righteousness.

and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (Romans 6:13 NASB)

To enter into agreement with God’s original intent for our unique instrument, we need to know that intent!  How??? Well Paul gives us one way to be filled with the Spirit and to speak to one another in spirit-activated songs.  There is a song for our lives.  We listen to music and we listen for feeling and agreement.  We want to hear our story in the song.  We want our feelings to be spoken in the song.  Paul tells us to make a melody to the Lord in our hearts.  He tells us to be thankful in that melody.

You see the root of lust is unthankfulness.  I always want to change things so they can be “better”.  I can’t enter the kingdom in that state.  I can only enter in, when I am filled with the Spirit and overflowing in song with thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is the heart gate.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6 NASB)

Lust says compare.  What am I missing?  How are they better?  What do I need to have to win?  

God says be filled with Me.  Be thankful for Me and the treasures I have put in your life.  Be so in attunement with the plans that I have for you that you sing them out of your heart.  This is the family, I have chosen for you.  This is the work I have chosen for you. Rejoice and be thankful, for in thankfulness my kingdom is released.  Thanksgiving is a sign of faith, trust.  He who is faithful with a little will be given much.

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. (Luke 16:10 NKJV)

Activation: Sing a song of thanksgiving. Ariel Little Mermaid.

The Substance of the Anointing-Righteousness - David Mitts

Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. (Romans 6:13 NIV).

The anointing is the power that we are clothed with from on high to manifest the will of God in the earth.  It has a purpose, the thoughts and intents of the heart of God, which is called the mind of Christ, or the mind of Messiah.  Christ or Messiah means literally anointing.  So, to be in Christ, is to be operating in the anointing.

"I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit,"  Romans 9:1.

Listen to "Substance of the Anointing"

In the anointing, the Holy Spirit is speaking to our spirit and we can, if we choose to, tell the truth that we hear from Him, which then testifies with the Holy Spirit in agreement and produces the power of that truth. Our conscience bears witness that we operate in the truth, in the anointing.

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. (1 John 3:21-22 NKJV)

The anointing, or power of God to do the things of God, has objectives.  It has come to restore things to their original intent and purpose. I believe that each person has a unique destiny.

""You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him."  Acts 10:38

The oppression of the devil takes the form of poverty, sickness, broken hearts, thwarted generational destiny, addictions, bondages, and various other attitudes of toxicity of mind, heart and body.  The devil is a destroyer and a thief who seeks to devour the children of a loving God. Human Trafficking, sex slavery is a work of the devil.

"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."  1 Peter 5:8

The devouring of the adversary begins in the mind, because unlike any other created being man is what he or she thinks.  If the enemy can direct your thoughts, he can derail your life.

"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. "Eat and drink!" he says to you, But his heart is not with you."  Proverbs 23:7

The devouring of the enemy comes by building imaginations in the heart that are in opposition to the love of God.

"[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One),"  2 Corinthians 10:5

Proud and lofty sounds like a person who is proud of themselves. While that is true, it is more insidious than that.  Proud and lofty is really anyone who operates in fear and anxiety.  Fear and anxiety are rooted in self-sufficiency as is proud and lofty.  Another way of thinking about this is that we have an alternative power source instead of the anointing.

While our enemy is a defeated foe, he is re-empowered when he seduces us to trust in another power source. He does this with fear.  We are the anointed of God and we need to train ourselves in accessing the anointing.  The access occurs through aligning the thoughts and imaginations of our heart with the truth of His Word.

God is spirit. Another way of saying that is God is Being.  He told Moshe, Moses: “I AM Who I AM”.

"And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' ""  Exodus 3:14.

Being is the “isness” or identity of who someone is.  Abba Father is Himself fully.  He changes NOT.

""For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob."  Malachi 3:6

He and His thoughts are ONE. This is the essence of the prayer declaration called the SH’MA. Deut 6:4:

""Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!"  Deuteronomy 6:4

Yeshua, Jesus was in complete agreement with the Father.

"Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner."  John 5:19

He acting in oneness with the Father is why the anointing was operational fully in His life.

Since man’s “isness” or “being” arises out of the thinking in His heart, then when we align our thinking with His, having the mind of Christ, the mind of the anointing, then that same oneness will be our “being” and we will operate fully in that same anointing.  This was Yeshua’s final prayer for us.

""I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:"  John 17:20-22

This oneness of “isness” or “being” is why we worship.  Worship aligns our being with His Being.

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.""  John 4:23-24

Worshipping in Spirit and in Truth is the act of aligning ourselves with His thoughts in our mind and heart.  This is the place of joy and peace and righteousness in the Holy Spirit.

"for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."  Romans 14:17

Today, I want to look at the quality of righteousness.  There is probably no more contested ground than righteousness. The enemy knows that if we gain the viewpoint of righteousness, all is lost for the kingdom of darkness.

So exactly what is righteousness?

If you look up a definition, you will see that most people define righteousness based on behavior.  Righteousness based on behavior means doing what is the right or just thing in a situation.  It is being moral, ethical, and honest.

While that is certainly the common form of righteousness it is NOT the righteousness in the anointing.  The righteousness in the anointing is transformative!

Righteousness that is external is definitive.  We define people and actions by their behavior.  Righteous people in this sense do righteous things.

The righteous through the anointing do right things but more importantly, they become righteous.  

This is the righteousness of faith. It isn’t that the righteousness of faith produces the right behaviors but that it transforms the heart into an identity of righteousness.  You aren’t a sinner who overcomes their sin nature; rather you are transformed into a new creation who “is” righteous.

"and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;"  Philippians 3:9

No longer is the righteousness of our own behavior but of the mind of Christ, the oneness of God through opening the ears and eyes of our heart to align with Him!

This is not just a positional reality but a new and living way, an inner Torah, a new covenant reality.

What this means is that instead of being wrong on the inside trying to be right on the outside and so being defensive and insecure, trying to cover up with our own fig leaf, we become right on the inside and can let that righteousness shine through.

Next week we will go deeper into righteousness. Today I want to go ahead and begin an activation to release into it:

Activation: Identify a problem area of your life where you feel you have failed or missed the mark in some manner.  By attunement through prayer and meditation, become as clear as possible within yourself as to what you believe to be the best way to proceed.  Is it consistent with the Word of God?  If so, apply that solution patiently and persistently with the consciousness that the try is counted as righteousness.  Regardless of the immediate outcome, are you more aware of yourself as a soul exercising your will?  When you meditate, do you feel closer to the Holy Spirit within?  This is oneness and the place where the anointing of God flows through your life.

The Anointing Series: Peace Part 2 - David Mitts

Last week we looked Peace in the anointing.  The anointing is the power of God, or of the Kingdom of God that is released when we are in faith, or agreement with His Word.  The anointing has specific intent which is detailed in Isaiah 61.

In Romans 14:17-18, Paul tells us of the qualities of the anointing, what is the currency or power manifestation of the Spirit of God.

Righteousness

Peace

Joy

for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. (Romans 14:17-18 NASB)

Listen to "Peace Part 2"

2 weeks ago, we entered into joy through the secret place.  We saw that by gazing into face of Yeshua, the same power that was activated in the cross, joy was activated in us.  Joy becomes then the condition of the anointing in our lives.

Last week we looked at Peace or Shalom and we saw that when the disciples were commissioned, anointed, by Yeshua, they were instructed to look for worthy men in the towns and cities they were sent to.  Worthiness is determined by covenant hospitality.  The worthy ones were determined that by their strength, “chayil” in Hebrew and their strength included covenant protection for the visitors.  This became a test for the “worthy”.  If they received the disciples, peace would remain on their homes. This is what is known as peace through strength.  The strong of character are a haven for the weaker ones, in this case the disciples.  The twist is that the disciples brought with them in their weakness the true strength of God which brings peace.  This is a kingdom exchange.

First Yeshua deliberately weakens the disciples: Look with me again at Mathew 10:9-15

"Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support. "And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. "As you enter the house, give it your greeting. "If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. "Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. "Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city  (Matthew 10:9-15 NASB)

The weakening of the disciples puts them in the place of being the lesser.  The home owner then is the greater and his favor can either flow or not flow depending on the condition of his heart.  If the favor flows, then covenant is established and peace comes to that house.

The covenant protection of a home separated that home by identity.  You enter and become mishpachah, family or clan, tribe. This means you are identified with them and blood becomes thicker than water.  This is the place of shalom relative to that family.

Shalom and Shalem, which means to settle a debt, becomes the kingdom peace experience.  The alternative system is slaves and masters.  There is no peace when there is debt.

Today I want to go deeper and look at the peace that passes understanding in the anointing. Turn with me to Philippians  4:4-9:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.(Philippians 4:4-9 NASB).

This is the peace of God that is connected to intimacy with God.  The first level of peace is the one most easily obtained.  We receive salvation. We come to God as the lesser, the one with nothing to offer.  This is like coming to stay at someone’s home but with covenant understanding.  We have peace and the home has peace.  

There is a deeper peace however that is available because of the new covenant, the brit hadasha.  We aren’t just let back into the Garden. We are let back into the place of walking with God in the cool of the day. It’s not just about eating of the Tree of Eternal Life but also of love.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB)

When the bible tells us that He writes His commandments on our heart, this isn’t just a positional reality.  Church teaching loves positional realities. By that I mean, our salvation is about position.  We are saved like a state of being.  Rather it is about a relational reality.  I am not just saved, like being married but I am in love.  Many people want the outer court reality, I am married and the happily ever after is supposed to be a given.  BUT the truth is there is an inner court reality, a holy of holies reality a face to face, panim al panim.

So it is with peace or shalom as the tangible Presence of the Anointing.  There is the outer peace or shalom of covenant dwelling and then there is the inner peace of intimacy.

This is heart and mind guardian peace.  When I am known and I know Him in whom I trust then my soul is at true peace.  In AP, we learned that there are lies that are embedded in pain and dis-ease of the soul.  These lies are ungodly beliefs that rule as truth in our soul.  They are a form of truth but NOT the truth that transforms.  They are the voice of the adversary, lies that seem true in the context they originally occurred but are NOT the truth of His knowing of us and our knowing of Him.

Look with me at the end of the love chapter of 1Cor 13:9-13

For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.(1 Corinthians 13:9-13 NASB).

This is a description of the inner covenant life, walking hand in hand, face to face.  Our knowing is partial.  It is rooted in childish realities of trauma, pain and covering up.  It is the knowing of ourselves and God through filters.  Through the intimacy of the inner covenant, the new covenant we begin to unveil true knowing of Him and true knowing of ourselves.

Take for example what Lisa and Donna are doing today with these adult survivors of sex slavery.  It is difficult for free people to understand slavery and its effects on the heart and mind and thus the body.  To become a slave, you first have to be “broken in”.  Man or woman is free in spirit and soul by design.  God made us in His image and likeness and He is free.

2 Corininthians 3:17 tells us of this reality:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.(2 Corinthians 3:17 NASB)

When does the spirit of the Lord leave a person?  When they lose the hope for liberty.  How does this happen?  Through fear.  Fear is a powerful weapon of the adversary.

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. (Hebrews 2:14-15 NASB)

Fear, and specifically the fear of death, is the leverage power tool of the enemy.  Once we have been broken of our hope in God, then we become servants of fear which is called slavery.  

The Good News or the Gospel is that Yeshua became a slave to sin and death that we could be set free from slavery to fear and restored to our inheritance and destiny.  This is the vision of Destiny House and if you want more freedom in your life, support what we are doing here.

The key to healing slavery if trust.  We call that faith in religious circles but many of us have traded true trust for a pumped up counterfeit.  What I am talking about is the baby step of hope coming back into the heart of the hopeless.  Once hope has returned now trust can grow.  Once trust has begun to grow then true love can be experienced.  In that place then, the peace that passes understanding begins to bloom.

You see we can have positional peace with God by receiving Yeshua into our heart.  But true peace comes when we surrender our fears to Him and then hope can enter along with trust and love.  In that place we lay down our guard.  The fear that has broken our lives is then healed and replaced by love and we become alive again as children of the free and wild untamed one.

Our true nature is to be free and that is where the true peace that passes understanding lives in us as we are true to the uniqueness of our created nature in Him.  It does begin with receiving Him but it is perfected in true love.

Activation:  Isaiah 30:15:

For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: "In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." But you would not, (Isaiah 30:15 NKJV)

Last week we activated the first part returning and rest by practicing forgiveness.  This week we are going into the place of power: quietness and then strength.  Now we know that at our true nature we are wild, free. Now wild and free is different for different people.  A wild turtle is different than a wild tiger.  I think a lot of the nature spirit worship came from trying to identify ourselves with the spirit of the wild animals.  But we are of a different order.  We are of the thinking in our heart order.  SO we are going to put on some alpha wave sounds.  Our brain is designed to do different things at different sound frequencies.  Our ears are not just a way to gather data.  They are also a gateway to our faith, to our trust.  Faith or trust comes by hearing.  So we are going to practice some hearing, some trust building exercises with the Holy Spirit.

I am going to play the sound of rushing waters.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is over many waters. (Psalms 29:3 NKJV)

The we are going to ask Him to show us a picture of ourselves restored to freedom.  What do I look like free of fear, free of slavery?

Play Free.