Releasing the power of heaven!
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no more sea. 2And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a great voice out of Heaven, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them; and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. 4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." 5And He that sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said unto me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." Rev. 21:1-5
Recently, I taught a lesson on heaven from Revelation chapter 21. While studying the teacher's book in preparation for the class, I noticed the focus of the lesson was on the beautiful city and the long awaited relief from the pains and sufferings of this life. Also, in many cases, the songs and hymns about heaven focus on either the reunion with loved ones or on the victory we are going to have. As, I read the whole 21st chapter, I began to have a much different focus. Look with me at some familiar song lines to give you an example of what I am talking about. A hereafter focus would be, "When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!" A focus that helps us to overcome while we wait on our departure would be, "Heaven came down and glory filled my soul!"
Have you noticed how often Jesus talked about bringing heaven down when we pray? One very familiar reference is in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in HEAVEN!" Yet another reference is, "What ever you bind on earth, will be bound in HEAVEN!" Apparently, Jesus is showing us that God wants the power of that Glorious city, where our citizenship is (Phil. 3:20), to be in operation here on earth!
When you read our scripture passage for today, you can't help but hear Daddy God telling us how much He wants to permanently tabernacle with us and how much He he wants us to be free from sorrow and pain! Why would we ever think that God would want us to struggle in this life, and then run around victoriously on the streets of gold for eternity? Don't get me wrong, the devil is a force to be reckoned with in this present life, but Jesus did something about him already; He defeated him and gave us the victory over the devil in His Name!
Over the next few articles, we will discover some key safe-guards that God put in place as He unveils that glorious city. These principals keep heaven running smoothly and will greatly improve our lives as well while here on this earth.
Today let's look at the principal of binding and loosing! Before we ever see heaven come down to earth, Satan was cast into the bottomless pit and bound 1000 years. He was loosed once again after the millennial reign of Christ for his final stand, and then put away forever in the Lake of Fire. But notice that before there was peace on earth, Satan was bound, and Jesus was placed on the throne! If you and I are ever going to have any peace in our lives, we must do the same, bind the devil and place Jesus on the throne of our lives.
Jesus explained this very principal shown at the unveiling of the millennial kingdom and heaven to us during His earthly ministry:
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. Matt. 12:28, 29
You maybe wondering why the kingdom of God is not coming to you, but the question is have you first bound the strongman? You must cast the devil out, and then the kingdom will come to you. You must first bind the strongman before you can spoil his goods! Luke 12:32 say, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. God takes pleasure in you enjoying your kingdom benefits now, so bind up the devil that's wreaking havoc in your life and loose the peace of Jesus today!
Completing the Cycle
I heard a catchy phrase in a song today about prayer, “When God’s people pray …. we take the pains of earth to the doors of heaven.” As with many songs today, they sound good on the surface, but they do not line up with God’s Word. That kind of talk is sure to get a tear or a hearty “amen” in most any church services, but will it get your prayer answered?
I don’t want to present myself as one that never “tells God all about my problems,” but I have to be honest, most times at best the crying usually just makes me feel better, and does nothing to the problem. Now you know, if I made a song like, “Don’t tell God about your problem, but tell him about the solution” it probably wouldn’t make the top 10!Notice the cycle in the flow of God’s Word that goes out of His mouth and flows like the rain or snow from heaven; neither the Word nor the rain returns to heaven until it accomplishes something!
For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: It shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55: 10, 11
I want you to pay close to, “Return unto Me void.” There is no shortage on God’s Word neither is it out of reach, for He said, “The Word is nigh thee!” The question is what are you returning to God? The pains of earth? A list of problems? Complaints? The scripture didn’t say that taking God news of the pains of earth would accomplish anything, but it did say that returning God’s Word would accomplish exactly what GOD SENT it to do! That doesn’t mean, however, that it will always accomplish what you want it to do, but it will accomplish what God pleases and the purpose for which God sent it! The good new is that God sent His word to heal and deliver them of their destruction, (Psalms 107:20) and Jesus Christ (The Word) is the same yesterday, today, and forever! (Heb. 13:8) God is no respecter of persons; what He did it for one, he will do it for all that meet the conditions of His Word!
If you want to complete the cycle and get results when you pray, tell God what His Word says! Isaiah 43:26 says, “Put me in remembrance.” Don’t let the Word just wash right past you and go into the ditch, but let it soak into you heart and cause faith to bud and grow. After faith arises in your heart, then out of the abundance of the heart your mouth shall return God’s Word back to Him in prayer, accomplishing what He purposed and sent it to do!