OpenHeaven.com Digest March 16, 2017

By Bobby Conner

Now it’s time for the good news. God desires to direct His people in a clear pathway. This marvelous promise is given to us in Nehemiah 9:12: “Moreover, by a pillar of cloud You led them by day, and by a pillar of fire by night to light the way they should go” (AMP).

There is more good news! If our lives are thoroughly yielded to Christ the King—in a sanctified spirit, soul, and body—we can expect ever-increasing light (see Isa. 60:2).

The way to access this Divine Light and then maintain His great peace is to prayerfully study the Holy Bible. Consider this promise in Psalm 119:165: “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them” (KJV).

In these days of deep deception, we must have true discernment to distinguish good from evil and evil from good. This discernment is given to us freely and generously by God’s Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Psalm 119:104-105 says, “Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

This truth is amplified again in Psalm 119:130: “The entrance and unfolding of Your words give light; their unfolding gives understanding (discernment and comprehension) to the simple” (AMP).

Open your heart to let God’s light permeate the darkest regions of your mind, will, and emotions—to sanctify them and wash them by His Word and Spirit, bringing your entire spirit, soul, and body into alignment with Christ Himself (see Eph. 1:17-18). His will is to be your will. His emotions should be your emotions. His thoughts should be your thoughts. Only as our souls are sanctified—through repentance—and thus come into agreement with the Word of God will we discover the direction we seek.

God is preparing overcomers—confident, bold, brave, and mature children of God who fully manifest His love and will on the earth. Let your thirsty soul drink deep from these powerful prophetic promises that are revealed in Psalm 18:28-36:

For You will light my lamp;
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.
As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?

It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places. 

He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
You enlarged my path under me,
So my feet did not slip.

Stand Strong on a Firm Foundation in a Shaky World

Give close attention to the last phrase of Psalm 18:36: “You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip.”This promise is to those who are walking in God’s light, those who are covered by God’s powerful shield of protection. God promises to give us a firm foundation in shaky times, and He also promises make our feet like those of a mountain deer, able to not only stand on this firm foundation, but scale the highest heights of the Spirit—above the chaos of this world. Christ warns us that if we build our lives on shifting sands, instead of the solid rock of God’s Word, we can expect devastation (see Matt.7:24-29).

The Spirit of God has set before us guidelines for releasing Divine Wisdom to us in order to help us navigate safely during these dark, dangerous days. What is the pathway to true Divine Wisdom? It’s not a process or a pattern or a methodology—but a Person, Christ Jesus (see John 8:12). The light and wisdom we seek are not to be found in human programs or our own psyche and good intentions, but rather in the person of Christ Jesus. Consider Psalm 36:9: “For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light” (AMP).

Meditate on Psalm 18:28-31:

For You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine; the Lord my God illumines my darkness. For by You I can run through a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect! The word of the Lord is tested and tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him. For who is God except the Lord? Or who is the Rock save our God (AMP). 

The first step out of darkness and despair is simply asking for God’s grace and guidance. Sincerely seek His direction and His will above your own. We must desire to walk in God’s light (see 1 John 1:5). Asking is key; we have not because we ask not. If we ask, we shall receive. As we seek, we shall find; it is as sure as the sun rising in the morning (see Luke 11:9). God is faithful to His Word. He is generous beyond what anyone can imagine, and our generous, loving, and kindhearted Father longs to release superb wisdom to each of His children.

You are not the exception! Believe what the Scripture says in James 1:5:

If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him (AMP).

The Spirit of God said to me, “I have good news for you to share with God’s people!” I was so encouraged by His words. God then declared: “I am preparing to answer Paul’s prayer recorded in Colossians!”

Study this outstanding prayer in Colossians 1:6-12:

Which has come to you. Indeed, in the whole world [that Gospel] is bearing fruit and still is growing [by its own inherent power], even as it has done among yourselves ever since the day you first heard and came to know and understand the grace of God in truth. [You came to know the grace or undeserved favor of God in reality, deeply and clearly and thoroughly, becoming accurately and intimately acquainted with it.]

You so learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ in our stead and as our representative and [yours. Also he has informed us of your love in the [Holy] Spirit. 

For this reason we also, from the day we heard of it, have not ceased to pray and make [special] request for you, [asking] that you may be filled with the full (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things— That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, [acquaintance, and recognition]. 

[We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy, 

Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the [portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people) in the Light (AMP).

Join Paul in his prayer, asking to be invigorated and strengthened with all power so that you may bear fruit in every good work and steadily grow and increase in fuller, deeper, and clearer insights into the ways and works of God!

It is imperative that we all take a strong stand. We must make up our minds to not continue to stumble about in the confusion that seems to gridlock this culture. Rather, we must walk with God-given goals and aims and His divine purpose. We’re not to be vague, thoughtless, and distracted during these end-time days. We can and must discover great guidance and guidelines for living day by day, possessing the wisdom that God is offering to us.

Paul, in Ephesians 5:15-17, offers the church a most severe warning:

Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise  (sensible, intelligent people), Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil. Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is (AMP).

God’s promises of continual guidance and provision are sure. In Nehemiah 9:20, He says, “You also gave Your good spirit to instruct them, and withheld not Your manna from them, and gave water for their thirst” (AMP). God will direct you as you yield and follow. Don’t attempt to lean on your own human understanding. This is simply not good enough. Determine in your heart to cast off every weight and pull down every high thing, every thought and imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (see 2 Cor. 10:5), and choose to fully follow the ways of God.

In Psalm 32:8, the Lord again makes this promise of guidance: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go: I will guide you with My eye.” The Holy Spirit, the revealer of genuine truth, the upright guide, will give clear direction as we seek Him and wait upon His guidance. Consider John 16:13:

But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future] (AMP).

The last phrase is extremely significant for today: “… and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].” The entire world seems to be seeking this revelation, asking, What does the future hold? As followers of Christ the King, we have the answers! However, we must hear the warning from Jesus in Luke 21:34:

But take heed to yourselves and be on your guard, lest your hearts be overburdened and depressed (weighed down) with the giddiness and headache and nausea of self-indulgence, drunkenness, and worldly worries and cares pertaining to [the business of] this life, and [lest] that day come upon you suddenly like a trap or a noose…

We must position ourselves in the place of purity and humility so that the Lord may entrust us with this impartation of Divine Wisdom—the wisdom from above. Ask God to release a greater wisdom, as we are instructed to do in James 1:5. Ask the Holy Spirit of God to awaken your heart and life to respond to these critical times. It is truly the time to awaken to the reality of the Kingdom. It is time to heed this warning of Romans 13:11-14. The night is far gone and the day is almost here!

Besides this you know what [a critical] hour this is, how it is high time now for you to wake up out of your sleep (rouse to reality).

For salvation (final deliverance) is nearer to us now than when we first believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Christ, the Messiah). The night is far gone and the day is almost here. Let us then drop (fling away) the works and deeds of darkness and put on the [full] armor of light. Let us live and conduct ourselves honorably and becomingly as in the [open light of day, not in reveling (carousing) and drunkenness, not in immorality and debauchery (sensuality and licentiousness), not in quarreling and jealousy.

But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and make no provision for [indulging] the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature] to [gratify its] desires (lusts) (AMP).

We must clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and make absolutely no provision for the flesh! Let us sanctify our hearts this day before the Lord and look up, for our redemption draws nigh!

Amen!

Bobby Conner
http://www.bobbyconner.org/