Qualities We Need to Develop If We Want God's Power

Only people who have died to self will be able to operate in a great anointing. It is very

important for anyone who aspires to be part of the Lord's work to understand what will be required of them.

Some of the most important qualities such a life must have are:

● Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. 

● Always give God your best. 

●  Develop a hunger for the Word of God. Pay attention continually to the teaching of the word of God. 

● When you make a mistake, be quick to repent. 

● Allow Jesus to be your defense. 

● Leave the past behind, and press toward the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 

● Yield your will fully to the will of God. 

● Once you have put your hand to the plough to work for God, do not look back. 

● Offer your body unto God as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Him. 

● Do not conform to the pattern of the world. 

● Do not limit the Holy Spirit. Give full credit, honour, and glory to Him. 

● Stay aware of the presence of Jesus. Live your life in Him.

● Let love be your motivation in all you do. 

● Develop a desire to help others. 

● Do not be a respecter of persons, but make everyone aware that he is important to God. Rejoice over the success of others, and go out of your way to help them. 

● Remember that your actions and behaviour speak louder than your words. Your life may be the only "Bible" many people ever see. 

● Guard very carefully that which God has given you. 

● If you are a preacher, always preach the Word, not your experience.

Copied, with modifications, from Kathryn Khulman, A Spiritual Biography, by Roberts Liardon

IN THE NEW YEAR, 2024

May the Lord fill you with the knowledge of His will, in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

May you walk in a manner worthy of the Lord 

May you please Him in every respect.

May you bear fruit in all good works 

And may you increase in the understanding and knowledge of God.

I pray that the Lord will guide you continually,

giving you water when you are dry, and restoring your strength.

May you be like a well-watered garden, and like a spring whose water never ceases to flow.

The Lord will be your shepherd.

He will provide for you.

He will be your keeper.

He will deliver from all troubles.

He will keep you in all your going and coming.

May the Lord bless you

and protect you.

May the Lord smile on you

and be gracious to you.

May the Lord show you his favor, and give you his peace.’

In Jesus' name. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

TO HAVE A BETTER YEAR

Sometimes, I wish Christians knew how much God hates grumbling. He can’t stand it. He runs whole societies mental because of it. He kills people for it. Few things invoke His anger and His oath for judgment as much as grumbling.

Now, please note that most grumblers feel justified to do it. There is almost no one who murmurs about things that do not think they are being objective. They claim to be stating things just the way they are.

Let us take an important example from the Bible, from occurrences that were recorded for us to learn.

Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction…1 Cor 10:10-11 NAS

The people of Israel were in the wilderness, and the times seemed tough. The first grumble after Passover was when they got to the edge of the Red Sea. The sea was an obstruction in front, while the army of Egypt was closing up from behind. Their lives and freedom were in jeopardy. To the human mind, that is a valid reason to grumble. And they did. Note however that this was after the Lord had delivered them from Egypt with the 10 plaques.

They said to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’”

Another time they grumbled was when they were thirsty. There was no water around, and their wives and children, with their herds, were thirsty. It made sense to complain. But again, note that this was after the Lord had delivered them through the Red Sea by making it split in two. Such a miracle that the earth had never seen before, but they had already forgotten.

But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, "Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"

Each time they murmured, they had a cogent reason. Yet, in all of this, they displeased the Lord. Yes, things may have been bad, but how come they easily forgot the things He had done. How could they have quickly forgotten all those deliverances. Why do we so easily forget the many blessings in our lives? There is the miracle of being alive and being conscious enough to even want things. All God is saying is that we should recall these things to mind and be full of thanksgiving.

The people of Israel made a habit of grumbling until the Lord had it up to the brim, and with one more grumbling, they provoked an irrevocable curse against themselves. 

Therefore I was angry with this generation,

And said, ‘they always go astray in their heart,

And they did not know my ways’;

as I swore in my wrath,

‘They shall not enter my rest.’ Heb 3:10-11

Many of us are close to bringing a curse against ourselves. In fact, many are already walking in those curses, but they are not yet irrevocable. There is still space for change through repentance, so that days of refreshing might come from the presence of God.

Many Christians have made a habit of grumbling about so many things. It is a terrible habit. Please note that those people of Israel did not aim their complains against God but against Moses. The Bible told us again and again that they grumbled Moses, but the Lord said they were actually grumbling against Him. In the same manner, we today do not grumble against God; we only direct our murmurings against the government, the politicians and the so-called leaders, but God says it is the same thing like those who murmured against Moses; ‘you are grumbling against Me.’

Grumblers always walk under a curse. The heavens over them do not open fully. They make wrong judgments in their lives, while they think they are walking in wisdom. They cannot be led by the Spirit of God. No matter the voice they claim to hear, it is not the true voice of God leading them aright. They are in a hard place spiritually.

Yet they feel justified in all that they say, and so they continue. 

It is the government

It is our leaders.

It is my father.

If only the president had done this or done that.

The word of the Spirit of God to the people of God as this year 2023 comes to an end, is that there must be an end to complaining and the pointing of the finger. 

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;

You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'

If you remove the yoke from your midst,

The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness…

"And the Lord will continually guide you,

And satisfy your desire in scorched places,

And give strength to your bones;

And you will be like a watered garden. Isa 58:9, 11

If you do not want 2024 to be a worse year for you, then you must make the change that is necessary. The change is to stop the life of grumbling and finger-pointing, and to start a new life of thanksgiving. It is not about attending a cross-over service, but about crossing over from a bad habit into a new one.

Thanksgiving must become a habit. You must become an expert in seeing the good in every situation and giving the Lord thanks for it. You must become one who gives thanks even when the good is not apparent. You give thanks by faith because you know that God is good and in everything He is working out good for you.

I have noticed that those who promote the secessionist movements in Nigeria have only the weapon of dissatisfaction to use to stoke their flames. Those are the flames of discontent. But the Spirit of God says the main problem with these people, in whatever part of the nation, is that they have rejected the wisdom of God and have decided they know more than God about planning the destiny of a people. You will notice that they reject the word of God and the person of the Lord Jesus. It is amazing that many Christians still follow them. Yes, they displease the Lord by so doing.

Now, the Spirit indicates that His people are to take time out and bless God for this country, and be grateful for all that He has done for them in it. The people of God must be deliberate in counting the blessings He has given then so far in this land in all these decades. If they do not do that, their lives will only go from bad to worse. No struggle will ever change that.

Behold, all you who kindle a fire,

Who encircle yourselves with firebrands,

Walk in the light of your fire

And among the brands you have set ablaze.

This you will have from My hand:

You will lie down in torment. Isa 50:11

A beautiful economy is not a product of human planning but a gift of God, and the Lord is saying that harder times lie ahead for grumblers in 2024. No matter where you go, your situation will not change unless your heart changes from one of grumbling to one of gratitude.

Selah!

- Pastor Bankie

PS.

Please listen to the 5-part series titled,  *A Deeper Walk with God (Neither murmur ye)*. Download free from pastor.ng. 

Use the hyperlink below.

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA

Our Father, I pray for everyone who loves this country that you have given us to live in and to possess, especially those who make sacrifices for her with hope, and who speak good over her.

I pray that You will bless them, bless their children, their homes, and all that is theirs.

I pray that Your favour will surround them. That the earth will yield its increase for them.

Just as Isaac sowed in the land, and in the same year reaped a hundredfold, let their seeds bear much fruit. Let their stores be overflowing with goods.

Grant Father, that their investments will flourish, that it will produce and hundredfold, and be again multiplied till it is counted in hundreds of millions and billions.

Let the heavens bring forth rain in due season for their fields. Let the policies of the government favour them.

Let, O Lord, those who hate them be disappointed. Let those who laugh at them end up with mouths open in amazement at their prosperity.

Father, let theirs sons flourish in their youth

like well-nurtured plants, and their daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace.

Let evil men not find them. Protect them from accidents, kidnappers, and robbers. Keep them safe at home and on the highways. Heal their diseases so they will live in peace to celebrate your goodness.

Most importantly, Lord, fill them with the knowledge of Your will, in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Make them walk in a manner worthy of You, to please You in all respects, to bear fruit in every good work, and to increase in the knowledge of You.

I ask all these in Jesus' name.

The plan of God

Let us look at the life of the man Joseph for a bit.

Joseph is a man who the scriptures seem to imply that he was in the center of the plan of God at every phase of his life. No error is recorded in the scriptures about him.

But note that he never made any decision about his direction in life by himself. Let's look at a few pivotal moments to highlight this.

He left his father's house because he was kidnapped and sold as a slave by his jealous siblings. It was even his father who had sent him to the remote area where his brothers grabbed him. Yet, in all,  Ps 105:17 tells us that it was God who sent him to Egypt. Interesting route to get there, isn't it?

His landing in the house of Portiphar was also not his decision. He was bought at the slave market. Other men made that transactional decision, but it was part of God sending him to Egypt.

It was not his decision to leave the house of Portiphar for prison. He was taken there against his will, a result of Mrs. Portiphar's false witness against him. 

Note how each "terrible" step was taking him towards his destiny.

In prison, he met the man who the Lord would use to change his life. This man was the one who was to later mention him as a problem solver in the ears of Pharaoh.

Leaving the prison was also not his decision. It was an instruction from Pharaoh.

The king sent and released him,

The ruler of peoples, and set him free.

He made him lord of his house

And ruler over all his possessions,

Psa 105:20, 21

So, we see a man who was carried by external forces at every step in the plan of God.

The first lesson I want us to note in this story is how rough the path of the plan of God can be. Joseph had it rough quite some. 

They bruised his feet with fetters

and placed his neck in an iron collar.

Until the time came to fulfill his dreams,

the Lord tested Joseph’s character.

Psa 105:18, 19

So, having it rough is not necessarily a sign you are out of the plan of God. God's path can be rough. Difficult times are part of life. Paul had it rough as a messenger of Christ. In fact, he told Timothy to endure hardship, that endurance is necessary as a true soldier of Christ. The path of God's plan is not the easy and comfortable road. God often leads us through the wilderness. You can't judge if you are in the plan of God by how easy your life is. Many who are in disobedience are having life very smooth. So neither comfort nor hardship can tell if you are in the plan of God. 

The plan of God may indeed have very rough phases. Just make sure you did not get into the rough patch through disobedience, like Jonah did. Jonah got into rough waters because of a critical decision of disobedience.

The Lord gave this message to Jonah... “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh... But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction...

Jon 1:1 — 3

That brings me to the next point to learn from Joseph.

We have seen that decisions at turning points were made for him, as he was being guided in the plan of God. But does that mean he had no responsibility or involvement in it all?

No; it doesn't imply that. His part to play was shown in his faith and faithfulness. 

Note that at many of those junctions, he had a moral decision to make. You will see that his problems began because he could not stand the bad things his brothers were doing, and he reported to their father. 

Next, we see how he didn't not focus on his grief and situation but served faithfully in the house of Portiphar even though a slave.

Again, we see how he refused to get into sexual immorality with his boss' wife despite her intense pressure. He stood his ground because of his fear of God.

How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her.

Gen 39:9, 10

We also see His faith in God manifested in how readily he forgave his brothers who had unsuccessfully plotted his death, and who sent him into much suffering. He saw the hand of God in everything.

But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.

Gen 50:19, 20

In summary, rough and hard times may be a part of God's plan. But don't incite them through disobedience to the rules of heaven. 

Your duty, if you wish to be in the plan of God at all times, is to maintain your faith in God and manifest this in constant faithfulness. Remember, your character is being tested. Avoid sin; that is a killer of destiny. 

(The Pastor Bankie Channel)

THE RIVER OF LIFE AND TRUTH..... 

IS SWALLOWING UP ALL THE CARNAL RIVERS OF THE EARTHY REALMS..... 

AND THE THIRD ANGEL SOUNDED....  AND THERE FELL "A GREAT STAR" FROM HEAVEN....  AND THE NAME OF THE STAR IS CALLED "WORMWOOD".... 

“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters: and the name of the star is called "WORMWOOD": and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter” (Rev. 8:10-11).

As the VOICE OF GOD'S TRUMPETS are sounding we see divine activity that originate out of the...." heavens of the spirit realm".... and enter powerfully into the symbolic earth and the sea realms of our natural lives.   It is the..... realm of the spirit..... where God dwells and from whence He moves to redeem and transform us in the "soul and body realm"!  

In the passage above a “GREAT STAR” falls from THE LOFTY REALMS of heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and falls upon the third part of the....." rivers and fountains".... of waters!  Not the literal springs and rivers that flow through earth’s mountains, plains, and valleys, of course, but the rivers of man’s human life.... the spiritual rivers of thoughts and words that flow through the spirit and soul of men......   and man’s fallible word rather than God’s divine life and heaven’s living word!  

Just as the Spirit of God and the living Word of God make up the wonderful “RIVER OF LIFE WITHIN” in the closing chapters of the Revelation, and flow out from THE THRONE OF GOD WITHIN, so the “spirit of the world” and the “word of man” comprise the carnal “rivers” and “waters” of the.... earth-realm..... which flow out of the carnal minds and hearts of mere natural minded men.

The “GREAT STAR,” burning as it were a lamp, is a "FIERY BURNING WORD".... of authority and power!  It is "THE LIVING WORD"..... Christ Himself..... who is the bright and morning "STAR" who is the quickening life giving Word of God, and descends.... coming down out of the heavens of our spirit to fall upon the our .....soulical rivers.... and upon the human well-springs of mere carnal imaginations, carnal knowledge, and worldly wisdom that flow within our earthly, natural, human life and identity.   

“Rivers” IS A SPIRITUAL THOUGHT in this passage of scripture and suggest the flow of these carnal ideas and beliefs as they are taught, propagated, and assimilated into the minds, hearts, and behavior of mankind.  These constitute the word and spirit that flow out of a carnal realm.... out of the SOULISH REALM of the unsaved soul......  Christ..... THE SPIRIT OF REVELATION AND TRUTH AND MIND OF CHRIST....  falls upon these with His blazing fiery word of divine Spirit and heavenly Truth and turns carnality.... the rivers of the natural mind to WORMWOOD and bitterness!   

By that bitterness.... SPIRITUAL DEATH..... is brought to that realm! The entrance of the TRUTH consumes man's carnal rivers of thoughts thus freeing the captives as the Lord appears..  Not only a third part of the rivers, but also the “fountains of waters,” that is, the..... water sources..... are rendered undrinkable.  The “fountains of waters” represent the sources of the ideas, concepts, philosophies, teachings, precepts, creeds, doctrines, traditions, ideologies,  observances, customs, laws..... all the wisdom of mere men and their intellectual, moral, political, and religious influences of this world which are the sources from which men draw the carnal wisdom of their life, their natural joy and refreshment, their ways of thinking, their image of themselves, their carnal consciousness and their understanding of the world, their vocations, life-styles, their hopes, dreams, and ambitions, and their relationships.    If ever a FIERY BURNING PURGING AND CLEANSING was needed, it is right here in the rivers of men natural thoughts and words!

The “GREAT STAR” is a spiritual symbol and speak of the LORD JESUS HIMSELF as he appears in the power of the Spirit of Revelation and Truth!  “And the name of THE STAR is called WORMWOOD: and…the waters became wormwood (bitter).”  This reveals as THE TRUTH APPEARS.... truth makes every lying word.... BITTER to our lives.... thus we are freed to never desire to drink from the cup of these carnal rivers again.   It is Christ Himself who causes the streams of our natural life, human understanding, worldly wisdom, and man’s religion to be "MADE BITTER WITHIN US"... THUS UNDESIREABLE!  “And many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.”  THIS DEATH IS A SPIRITUAL DEATH..... When we die to something.... it loses it influence over us.... thus we lose our love for it.....  Oh, yes!   The very thing that we once loved and was once joy and life to us now becomes OUR DEATH TO SELF!  These things become .... BITTER .... to us as our love for the Lord and his truth advances WITHIN...... That is the divine wisdom and effective processing of the Lord in the lives of HIS CALLED.... CHOSEN.... THE ELECT OF THIS AGE!

The river of God is spiritual, the rivers of earth are carnal and soulical.  The river of God is the..... spirit of the word.....THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH MAKES THE WORD ALIVE IN US.....  the rivers of earth are the letter of the word in which kills what the Spirit of Truth is saying within.   The river of God is essence, the rivers of earth are form.  The river of God is living reality, the rivers of earth are lifeless shadows and deceptive illusions.  The river of God is truth and life, the rivers of earth are cold, dead facts in which there is no life!   There are many things that are true, but they are not the truth.  They are cold, dead facts, but they are not quickening life and power!  And now may I exhort you to flee from those things which are true but not Truth, as surely and swiftly as you would flee your home if you discovered it to be a den of rattlesnakes! 

We have a whole crop of doom-casters in the land today who spend their time and energy in nothing else but informing the Lord’s people of all the negative situations which are going to overtake our nation and the world!  Many of the Lord’s precious people are being fed a steady diet of messages, articles, books, and tapes about world conditions, politics, the situation in the Middle East, oil crisis, economic collapse, one world government, conspiracies of the Illuminati, Council on Foreign Relations, World Trade Organization, World Bank, European Common Market Beast Government, the Antichrist, the mark of the beast, cashless society, strikes, riots, war, terrorism, the great tribulation, supposed “safe areas,” food storage, living off the land, planetary conjunctions, pestilence, tsunamis, erratic weather conditions, wickedness, catastrophes, the end of the world, and a whole catalog of other fearful and frightening events which they imagine fulfill the prophecies of the book of Revelation, some of which will undoubtedly happen, just as they have happened historically through the ages, but many of which I tell you now are nothing more than wild and sensational speculations conceived in the darkness of the carnal minds of men who masquerade as end-time teachers and prophets of God, bewitching the saints.  The natural mind, my beloved, is certainly one of the well-springs and sources of the earthly “fountains of waters” from whence flow the “rivers” of carnal ideas, concepts, teachings, and imaginations of which the “inhabitants of the earth” drink and find a certain level of excitement, refreshment, and fulfillment.  

 Let every child of God who has had birthed within his bosom the beautiful hope of sonship turn the searchlight of sincerity and truth upon his pure heart and ask this one important question: Do any of the above mentioned things minister LIFE?  Does the knowing and study of them cause you to be more filled with the Spirit?  Do they enable you to put on the mind of Christ?  Do they work deliverance and overcoming power in your life?  Do they transform you into the image of the firstborn Son of God?  Do they flood your life with peace and joyful expectation in Christ?  Do they imbue you with spiritual wisdom and understanding, with righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost?  Do they inspire you with ever-increasing faith by which you shall conquer every enemy and lay hold upon life and immortality?  Are they TRUTH, quickening, life-giving Truth, or are they, one and all, merely things that are true, or, perhaps, may be true, or may not even be true at all!  I have no hesitation whatever in telling you that all these streams of teaching are naught but carnal rivers flowing through the earth-realm!

THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES

“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES; for in them is filled up the wrath of God” (Rev. 15:1).

The word “plagues” is a most interesting word!  It is translated from the Greek word plege meaning “a wound caused by a stripe or blow.”  Plege..... is translated in the King James Bible as “wound” or “wounded” four times; it is rendered “stripes” five times; and is rendered “plagues” only in the book of Revelation "twelve times"

Thus, the “seven last plagues” may be characterized as the “seven last stripes” or the “seven last scourging's” or the “seven last chastening's” in which is filled up THE HOLY PASSION OF GOD to correct His children....unto repentance and victory in Jesus.   “Last” plagues in which the passion of God is “filled up” or “complete” signifies that these are the last or final dealings of God with a people that is designed by the loving Father to deliver his captive child.    Not the last in the sense that God will never deal with them again about anything, but last in that these dealings of the Lord will have completed His work in a people purposed to.... make right what is wrong .....  and transform them into all that He wants them to be.  That is the mystery!

Elwin Roach once wrote, “There is something else that "IS LAST".  There are seven of them.....  plagues.  They are the last seven plagues mentioned in the book of Revelation.  What a promising word!  They are full of the wrath (thumos of God meaning the passion) of God.  If we will notice, these plagues are poured out on men, UPON MEN'S FLESH.  Everything which is carnal will be subjected to the plagues!  It appears that seven plagues, seven days, seven colors of the light spectrum make up the "LAST DAY", and it swallows up every dark thing in its path.  It is like a tidal wave of fire sweeping over the earth.  There is nothing but stubble left in its wake…”

We must understand the concept of God's plagues are directed toward.... lies.... error... the lust of the flesh... the works of the flesh...the carnal mind of mere men working WITHIN THE INNER MAN .... spirit and soul.   If we see by the Spirit we will know that the only thing that flows from the love of God...."IS TRUTH"....Thus it is THE TRUTH.... which becomes a "devastating destruction" to every lie in which entangles in carnality and mark missing.... These all are God's works....  even the pouring out of his ...plagues.... are designed to set the captives free from the natural mind of mere carnal men.  Thus moving men from being dominated by the flesh and brought into the power of the MIND OF THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD.... from carnality.... to spirituality....  From a man that sees externally.... literally.... naturally.... to a man that sees internally.... spiritually.... When God desires to kill the flesh.... he SENDS TRUTH.... therefore THE TRUTH.... like a plague destroys all lies and deception....  

When these seven “last plagues” have gone, there will not be any more flesh, carnality, or selfhood dominating in any of the Lord’s people.  This will ultimately be true for all men everywhere, as we see at the conclusion of the Revelation, but here it refers to the people of God who are still immature children and who are enslaved  in the carnal religious systems of man.  There is the same truth as it pertains to the individual — that is, each one of us in our journey into God.  The unproductive human identity — the flesh with its sinful disposition, the soul with its religious inclination, the carnal mind with its humanistic reasoning, planning, and scheming — all must suffer the seven plagues!  Make no mistake about it — God will touch everything in the lives of His people!  That is the final outcome of redemption, for He has redeemed us unto Himself and for His pleasure and purpose!  Consider the following order of symbols used in the pouring out of the vials.  They are poured out upon:

1.      The Earth.  (soulical religious realm)

 2.      The Sea.  (body, sensual realm, fleshly passions, wicked works, ungodliness)

3.      The Rivers and Fountains of Water.  (sources of ideas, concepts, culture, teachings, philosophies, doctrines, traditions, customs, carnal knowledge, worldly wisdom, the sources from which carnal men draw their life, their natural joy and refreshment, all that gives vitality to the programs of men.  “Rivers” suggest the flow of these ideas as they are taught, propagated, and promoted by human institutions and instrumentalities of all kinds)

4.      The Sun.  (the external light of the old heavens and earth — laws, rules, commandments, authorities, hierarchies, dominions of the old world of man — religion, science, business, finance, etc.)

5.      The Seat of the Beast.  (human heart, deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, out of which all evil emanates — also the corrupt seat of spiritual wickedness)

6.      The Great River Euphrates.  (the power that keeps God’s people enslaved in religious Babylon.  The Euphrates River stands symbolically for the separation between the kingdom of religious Babylon and our promised land of inheritance in Christ.

7.      The Air.  (the atmosphere created by man’s programs, promotions, and works — realms of understanding, feeling, sentiment, emotion, especially religious)

When the last seven plagues have finished their work there will be no more missing the mark, no more childish immaturity, no more deception, no more fleshly manipulation and control, no more mistakes, no more spiritual bondage, no more falling short, no more  sins of omission, and no more resistance to the will of God.  There will be no more cause for correction, chastisement, purging, or purification, no more need for gaining more understanding, wisdom, or maturity of stature.  Oh, my Father!  As long as there remains something of this human nature, Your passion (wrath) is so kindled against it that You do not let it have any rest!  For Zion’s sake You will not hold Your peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake You will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth!  You will have no rest, till You establish, and till You make Jerusalem a praise in the earth!  (Isa. 62:1,7).  Great is the mystery!

J Preston Eby... Tim Wray....

THE REVELATION OF THE SEA OF GLASS MINGLED WITH FIRE

“And I saw as it were a "sea of glass mingled with fire": and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on THE SEA OF GLASS having the harps of God” (Rev. 15:2).

The next scene that opens to the view of this prophet is one of victory.  Those who have witnessed the brilliant spectacle of a tropical sunset at sea have caught a faint idea of the glory the prophet here attempts to describe.  As the great sun sinks like a ball of blazing fire, the ocean itself seems to break forth into flames of glory; the mirror-like surface, touched with crimson, transforms the whole scene into a mingling of flood and flame.  So was the scene that opened in dimensions of spirit to the seer of Patmos!

Early in his visions, when John beheld the unveiling of Christ — Christ the Head and Christ the body — he also saw “a throne set in heaven” with God’s Christ upon the throne.  It is then that we read, “And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal…” (Rev. 4:6).  Ezekiel, in the first chapter of his book, speaks of seeing the color of the “terrible crystal” or in contemporary English the “awesome, shining, dazzling crystal.”  Crystal is pure glass.  When you hold it up to the light and look at it you see the colors of the rainbow and the reflections of beauty out of the purity of the crystal.  This is the purity of the walk of one who has been cleansed by the refining fire of God!  How can one describe such purity, such holiness, in words?  Ah, the wisdom of God is revealed from heaven in the vision shown to John — a sea of glass mingled with fire!  It is a sea, John beholds them, not as many, but as one; as a sea of glass mingled with fire, as thousands upon thousands of grains of sand that have been melted and molded together into a substance of transparency.  These are they that have come through the furnace of afflictions, tried as by fire, and they are filled with the divine Love of God and with the Holy Ghost and Fire.   How better could one express the spiritual reality of a cleansed, sanctified, transformed life!

We bear in mind the qualifying words, “as it were…”  “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire.”  If we have considered the matter as we ought, surely we realize that those believers who expect to go to heaven one day and literally stand upon a celestial sea of glass mingled with fire are certain to be disappointed.  What John saw was not an actual sea of glass, but as it were, that is, a vision, a symbol standing for reality.   The surface of glass cannot ripple or swell or wave as water in a sea here on earth.  Water bespeaks the emotions of the multitudes.  Here, then, we are shown a vast multitude standing in the glory of God knowing no anxiety, no fear, no envy, no hatred, no distress, no lust or demanding desires.  As surely as the raging sea represents multitudes of restless, clamoring, surging, sinning humanity, so does the exquisite sea of glass before the throne of God represent an assembled throng of quickened and transformed saints IN WHOSE HEARTS THE PEACE OF GOD RULES.  This great sea of redeemed men is calm and serene, tranquil and quiet, transformed “even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”  Furthermore, the sea-dwelling beast has been dealt with!  The inner nature of man has been transformed, satan is bound, the sea is now calm.  In contrast with the hurricane and the tumult of winds and waves, we now perceive the effectual dominion of God — the peace and rest of the divine nature, undisturbed by earth’s changes and storms.  The sea of glass illustrates the ineffable calm of the divine nature — a mighty deep within of holy, divine love and purpose, of understanding and confidence, of righteousness, peace, and joy, upon which no wind blows, no tempest strives, no violent currents disturb its unfathomable depths.

Just how did this crystal sea become what it is?  John envisions this sea of glass twice.  In both of these descriptions, they are symbolical views of both a people and a state of being.  They have been as individual grains of sand — for glass is melted sand. Glass and sand exposed to heat — sand and fire! John beheld this sea of glass mingled with fire — having come through the furnace of testings, trials, and afflictions.  As the Lord says, “Behold, I have refined thee…I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isa. 48:10).  These have been perfected through their fiery trials!  “Tried with fire…and now they have been…found unto praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Pet. 1:7).  In the image and likeness of Christ, they are bonded together in a divine union of life.  John sees the whole redeemed company, not as millions of individual grains of sand, but as one body, even as a crystal sea of glass!

Glass is sand that has been heated in the fire and is melted and flows together until each grain of sand loses its individual identity as sand.  These myriads of grains of sand are melted together into one piece of glass.  This makes them smooth, level, calm, serene.  This shimmering sea that John beholds is composed of a vast throng of the Lord’s people who have passed through the fires of tribulation, trials, testings, and provings, and have overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, by the power of His indwelling life.  They can never again be affected, moved, tossed, disturbed, agitated, distracted, disquieted, bothered, or tempted by anything in those realms, for they have fully and forever overcome!  They are standing in their eternal victory over the fleshly, beastly nature of the carnal, human identity, and the spirit of this world, as well as the false religious image of the man-made church systems.

When the hour comes for a son of God to be tried as by fire, first your faith must be tried, your ability to trust God all the time and in every thing.  “…who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold testings: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried by fire, might be found unto  praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (I Pet. 1:5-7).  Your faith must be tried, and it must possess three qualities, praise, honor, and glory.  God won’t put honor on any unless they have become a praise unto Him, and God won’t put glory on any thing He cannot honor.  I wish you would get the tremendous importance of these words!  Your faith must be tried; then when you come forth unto the praise of His glory He will put some honor on you, and people will say, “Look how God can trust that man or woman.”  He puts honor on that faith, He will glorify it.  When?  Now, and at the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ within you!  This is the first step in the path of sonship to God!

Second, you are to be tried.  “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing had happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (I Pet. 4:12-13).  This is not the fiery trial of your faith now; this second trial is upon your character, your virtue, your life, your state of being.  Your very nature must be tried, of what kind of fiber you are, what kind of spiritual quality, whether you are a piece of second-growth hickory or just a piece of pine.  What is the matter with pine?  It works nice, the lathes can be run nearly three times as long turning out pine, as when working on hickory, but God cannot make sons out of pine people!  I have heard people say, “I became a son of God ten years ago.”  No, you did not!  It takes a long time to grow good hickory.  You have to grow in grace.  The temple of God continually groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord.  The body of Christ must be edified, built up until we all come unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.  You have to grow up into Him in all things!  You are a child of God, yes, but that doesn’t make a son out of you; that will start you out in the family of God, but you have to grow, and grow, and keep on growing to become a mature, manifest son of the Father!  

Third, your work must be tried.  “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.  If any man’s work abide which he hath built…he shall receive a reward.  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (I Cor. 3:11-15).  When your faith has been tried you think you are all through, but some more trials come on and you haven’t spiritual illumination to know the difference, and think your faith is being tried again.  Once you understand God’s ways you can see whether He is trying your faith, or your character, or your works, and this sacred knowledge will help you to stand!  Mere inspiration and revelation will not take you through these things.  You need your soul, your mind, illuminated. 

Paul tells us in the passage above that various kinds of works may be built up upon the foundation of Christ.  It is of great importance that we understand this potential and its outcome!  There are works of great spiritual content and value which are characterized as gold, silver, and precious stones.  These are enduring works, raised up by the nature and power of the Holy Spirit.  Then there are works with little spiritual content and of questionable value which are characterized as hay, wood, and stubble.  These are perishable works, raised up by the zeal of man, carnal, fleshly works which are pawned off as something spiritual and valuable for they are built up upon the foundation of Christ, that is, they are done in His name and professedly for His glory. 

            Nowhere are these combustible works, made to be burned in the day when men’s works are tried by fire, more evident than in the religious world of the carnal church systems of man.  The so-called “gospel” in this hour is fashioned to appeal to the carnal mind, offering men blessings, prosperity, instant solutions to problems, a miracle a day, ease and comfort, and all the good things of life, rapture out of tribulation, and in that glory-world above golden streets, harps, and wings to flit about a celestial Disney World with nothing to do and all eternity to do it in.  There are no enduring qualities in these works, for the benefits are all natural, physical, earthly, tangible, for creature comfort — not spiritual or heavenly!  I do not err when I say that if all the prayers and faith that are exercised daily for earthly things, blessings  of money, cars, homes, clothes, physical healing, comforts, and luxuries that pamper the flesh were stripped away from most believer’s prayers, their prayer lives would hardly exist at all!

All carnal, man-made church systems, programs, rituals, ceremonies, promotions, outreaches, and efforts are but hay, wood, and stubble before the consuming fire of God.  Through the years we have received a steady stream of letters in the mail telling of this great program and that great endeavor for God, with their pleas for financial help.  With glib tongues and plausible programs by which the world is going to be won for Christ, well-meaning people are urged to give to further grandiose programs hatched by kingdom-building (their own kingdom) preachers who live in wanton luxury upon earth, which programs are not the plan of God at all, but merely the product of an imaginative, scheming, and avaricious mind.  Through long centuries billions of dollars have been squeezed from God’s precious people, often fleeced from the poor and the widows, to build huge temples, cathedrals, church buildings, and institutions of various kinds; to promote innumerable programs and schemes to do this and that for God which, not only did God not ordain, but were in all truth a stench in His nostrils and an abomination before His face.

Whether it be carnal and deceptive operations such as those described above, or merely our own good works to be seen of men, our self-efforts to appear righteous and holy, or our human zeal to do something for God and be pleasing to Him, when all these good religious fleshly works are brought into the blazing presence of God who is a consuming fire they will one and all go up  in smoke!  “For the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.”  What a bonfire that will be!  Oh, yes, my brother, my sister, every man’s work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it will be revealed by fire.  Even  all our good “kingdom” and “sonship” works, ministries, outreaches, books, preaching, conferences, and all the rest, shall be tried by fire!  EVERY MAN’S work shall be tried by fire!  That is the final test.  If the work abides the fire and comes out unscathed on the other side, that man shall receive a reward.  Those who truly stand the test in all things shall receive the prize — the HIGH CALLING OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS!  These stand upon the sea of glass mingled with fire, having the harps of God, and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb!   These are they who shall reign with Christ.  Those whose works are all burned shall suffer great loss with embarrassment, shame, dishonor, reproach, humiliation and mortification.  Yet God in His rich mercy says, “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” This one will have nothing, no reward, no honor, no place, no position of responsibility in God’s great kingdom — how art the mighty fallen!  He will escape with only his eternal life!            

A sea of glass like unto crystal!  The figure is a striking one, and now in chapter fifteen of the book of Revelation he tells us that this glassy sea which spread before the throne of God was shot with flame, and upon it stood a host of those who had come victorious out of the conflicts of earth, and these have harps and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb — the song of deliverance, the song of the overcomer!  Here we see a picture of a people who are neither going through the sea, nor being tossed by it, because they have passed to the other shore, triumphantly victorious.  The message is clear — the crystal sea speaks of the nature in which they stand, and their walk has become stable and transparent! 

The sea of glass mingled with fire represents the purification that is necessary for every son of God who enters the throne zone.  It is not possible to partake of the realm of God’s sovereign, unlimited, omnipotent power and authority until we have passed through the crystal sea mingled with fire and been purged from all carnality and self-hood by the quickening radiance of Christ’s own pure and divine life.  By the regenerating power of the living water which Christ is we lose the scent of the world, the flesh, and the devil.  Every son of God is today passing through the sea of divine purification, into the state of transparency, which gives us access to the throne-room of God!

It is here that all the fickle emotions of the soul and the relentless passions of the body have been put under our feet until they toss us no more.  There is a great calm!  There is substance — a solid foundation — under our life and our walk, for we cannot fail to observe that God Himself possesses the same attributes as the glassy sea which surrounds His throne.  The sea before the throne is the very nature of God established within a people until they stand and walk in the power of it.  The sea is the emblem of mystery in many of the apocalyptic writings.  But here we are told that the mystery which surrounds the nature of God is no longer mystery to those who are able to see Him as He is.  The sea of glass is crystal clear with the light of truth!  The glassy sea is thus a beautiful figure for the perfect revelation of the grace, righteousness, and glory of God.

Those who stand upon the sea of glass have escaped from the imprisonment of self into the mind of Christ.  They have lost themselves so completely in the life of God that there is no longer any distinction between “I” and “Christ.”  They have reached the good beyond the good; the right within the right; the truth of which the truth we have known is but the shadow.  They have been lifted out of the tossing sea of human passion and carnal understanding into the eternal calm of Christ-consciousness.  These love without fear of losing, and worship without ceasing that which is the living God reflected in our own being — our very reality and state of being, being the homage we render unto Him who is the source and substance of all.

All who attain to the heights in God are moved to climb the steep and winding path that leads from the valley of the shadow of death to the everlasting heights of divine life and nature.  As we scale the heights of mount Zion we become what we seek!  We shall never enter upon the realization of any reality which is external to ourselves.  Knowing is being, and apart from being there is no knowing of the things of God!  Only those who can stand upon the glassy sea, are those who walk in the spirit and come off victorious in the conflict with the beast of the flesh and the carnal mind.  That means waging war with the foul and degrading desires of the flesh and the deceptive illusions of the old Adamic mind — even the “good” religious mind!  When the sea waves toss your little ship to and fro in the storms of life, lift up your eyes to the throne in the midst of which is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  Understand that that throne is here now — the power and dominion of the Christ within ourselves is strong and mighty enough to cause us to enter into our full heritage in God!  To follow Jesus to the heights of victory; to be privileged to gaze upon that infinite crystal sea, the manifested life, light, love, righteousness, and power of Christ in our very own spirits, is the vision John saw and has shared with us.  The reality is far greater than the symbol!

The following words from the pen of brother Carl Schwing resonate profoundly within my spirit today:  “A glorious visitation of the Holy Spirit draws near.  He is going to annihilate us.  This will be the true ‘Slain by the Spirit’ experience.  He is the consuming fire of God!  He will consume all that is left of ‘self.’  His holy flames will consume all the marks and traces of our religiousness and self-righteousness.  All of our fears and worries, doubts and failures, and all of our pious opinions and judgments of others will become dust upon the holy ground of the Lord.  This, the Spirit must do…for our Beloved would then take us unto Himself.  He is the most holy temple of God.  He will clothe us with the incorruptible garments of immortality.  He will give us to have life in ourself.  He will make us the lights of the world, lights that will dispel the darkness of the age.  All that sit in their pews of darkness will see our great light and shall know and serve the Lord of all.  And, they shall partake of the liberty of the sons of God.  He will appoint us to be the ‘freedom givers’ to all mankind, to all creation.  He will have us break asunder the gates of hell and set the captives free!  He will have us shout the everlasting gospel from Zion’s holy hill.  And all that are in the graves of earth and of the sea will hear the word of the Lord and come forth, unto judgment.  The Father’s judgment is with love and wrath, thus, His mercy will prevail and all, in their time and order, shall find reconciliation through the precious blood of Jesus Christ.  The world has never known or experienced such love, mercy, grace, and power!  In the place where hell once dwelt, a garden will appear.  Eden will flourish again!  Flowers that are everlasting, with blossoms of mercy and scents of compassion, shall bloom profusely.  The sounds of sorrow and moans of despair shall be no more.  For, in the joy of redemption, the former inhabitants have gone to kiss the feet of God.  Hallelujah!”

I’m sure it would be thrilling to stand upon a literal, physical sea of glass and play a harp while waving a palm branch.  But that would change nothing within us!  How much more glorious to stand in that eternal calm where all warfare, strife, struggle, fear, temptation, and failure have forever ceased — far, far above our own soulish efforts, yet deep within our spirits even now!  When shall we behold that glorious expanse of righteousness, peace, and joy?  When?  Only when we ourselves become the perfectly manifest life, light, and love of God, eternally at one with Him, and with all that is His image and likeness.  This alone is real; all else is but seeming.  There is nothing beyond the crystal sea but the throne of God!

J Preston Eby.... Tim Wray.