Passion, Passion, Passion!

     Do you have passion, thirst, hunger for God, or, passion for the things of God?  Both are good, but not the same.  Some have only passion for the things of God.  And, that is good unless, like the prodigal you waste your inheritance while away from the Father's presence.  And, anywhere He is not, is a bit of a pig-pen wasting place, in my  opinion.  You can have both, but one must never surpass the other.  If it does, you may soon have neither.  I know a lot of people, well meaning people, who are passionate about certain things God supplies; harvest of souls, church growth, health, prosperity, ministry, etc..   Those are all good and can come from God.  They are good, that is, unless the desire for things, even good things, surpasses desire and passion for God. 

      It is unfortunate that so many in the modern church want the things of God, but not God.  They want God to do something for them, but they are not hungry for Him.  Some, sadly, equate God doing something as being the same as God.   In a way, that is true but in a way it falls short of the whole truth. I have been places where He seemingly does stuff  but still, there was no touch of intimacy there. Oh, I do love it when God does stuff, gives stuff, supplies stuff.  It tells me He is alive and well and is a good God.  But, as good as that is, I love it when God touches me for no reason other than to touch me.  Did you know God loves to touch His own?  Sometimes He passes by and reveals such an impression of intrinsic goodness it takes away your breath.  Sometimes it drains the natural strength from your knees and the floor becomes an altar. Sometimes it infuses strength and the room becomes a race track and you want to explode with fire.  Sometimes the altar becomes a well of wine and you want to just linger and drink 'til drunk. There is nothing like just soaking in His presence just because you love soaking in His presence.

      I know a lot of believers are passionate about having God do this or that. And, they are so right but still so wrong.  Their worship, as good as it is, is based on stuff God has given them, or based on the performance of God on their behalf.  And, they should be thankful, but oh what a difference when our worship reflects our love of His touch, His person, His pesence, His goodness.  I feel just a tiny bit sad for pastors and their flock whose worship revolves only around the receipt of blessings.  I guess I even feel sad, on behalf of God, who is so good and so giving, yet receives so little in return.

    The modern church is deeply confused about ministry.  We mostly focus on ministry to people. We are deeply concerned that man gets saved, healed, prospered, led, etc., etc.  We should be and all that is good but I wonder if God is up there saying, "Look at me. Minister to me".  When Israel came out of Egypt, God told Moses to tell the people He had brought them out to minister unto Himself.  We too were saved to worship Him, but do we?  God is seeking those who will worship, minister, unto Him.  Has He found such a one in me?  In you?  I hope so.

      Can I tell you a secret to passion for God?  Passion for the Holy Ghost (God on earth in Spirit form) equals passion for the Lord Jesus.  Passion for the Lord Jesus equals passion for the Father.  In our ministry, we preach as loud as we can, passion for the Holy Ghost.  When people catch it, they start worshipping Jesus in the power of His resurrection and then they start enjoying the whispers of the Father in their deep parts.  Skip passion for the Holy Ghost and you will remain as you are, focused on stuff.   And, if stuff satisfies you, so be it, but it does not satisfy me. I want God. All I can get, anyway I can get it.

Truth or Reality?

        Like a Pharisee, I thought I had the river, I thought I had the joy of the Lord.  I believed in it. I could preach about the river and the joy as good as anybody.  And, then, I was confronted with the reality of it.  I was offended and I was confronted.  I was forced to make a choice to stay with the promise  realm or enter the reality realm.   Oh, it was tough.  You see, I had to admit I didn't have something, even though I thought I did.  That is a tough bondage to break, especially among believers that have been around a while.  Any leader, who has studied the Word, like me, may also struggle when confronted with the reality of what He believes.  He may even have to admit, as I did, that  he doesn't have something he might have been saying he did have. Religious pride rises up like a grizzly bear when that happens.

       This struggle is really the bondage of religion, the creeping crud that continuously seeks to capture us.  Religion is a strange, subtle thing that holds us in bondage to true facts. It will have us ever learning but never coming to the experiential knowledge of the truth.  To know but never experience the truth was the bondage of the Pharisees and today, much of modern Christianity. Yet, the work of the Holy Ghost is to turn those truths into reality. That is what it means for the Spirit to give life to the word.   Jesus said,  "You shall know the truth (reality) and the truth (reality) shall make you free".  Not set free. Made free. To be "set" free from something is very different from being "made" free.  To be set free insinuates there is something that is not of you, that is holding you in bondage.  To be made free insinuates you have been made free within your own self. You have been changed.  It is the reality of something that sets you free from the promise of something.

     There are many pastors and leaders, I am sure, that are going through what I have gone through. They know there is a river, they may even think they have it, but they may not.  They won't yield, they won't seek. and they won't receive - until they admit they don't have it. This kind of bondage leads us to think we have it because we beleive it.  And then, when confronted with it, in reality, we resist it.   I did, at first.  In fact, I was offended.  It was the only way God could get past my religion.  

   This process goes on and on in the Christian life, and it is not just the river and the joy. The realities of God often confront us in the Spirit filled church. For example, almost every believer, every leader will declare they love the presence of God.  Then, the presence manifests in reality and people will scatter like quails out of the bush.  It scared them.  It offended them.  It confronted them.  And, it pointed out to them where they really were in relation to the reality of God.  Many a Pentecostal will pray for another Azuza street revival and if anything close to it happens, he is scared witless. And offended.  Many a Pentecostal preacher will preach about Acts two, how the Holy Ghost filled those disciples until drunken on new wine.  Let a few folks get drunk on new wine in his church and he may well call it the devil. And, half his church will run away.  When the Holy Ghost does this, in any matter, the wise thing to do is bow ourselves before Him and say "I want it God.  I don't have it. I want it. I crave it".  Instead, we often run away. Or, we find a reason not to recieve. 

   Christianty lived only with words and promises, no matter how true, is safer, more convenient, cheaper, and more people friendly.  And deadly.

    

 

Broken, Yielded, Free

     God wants a broken vessel.  Not broken as by sin or tragedy but broken as in yielded.  A heart whereby God can easily impart, where the things of God can easily flow in and flow out.  I am always a little amazed to be around people who have all the facts right but never experience what they know.  Usually, they do not live a yielded life.  They do not know the secret of yielding. They do not know that it is in the yielding that we become effective servants.  The Bible says that to whom we yield ourselves,  we become servants (Ro. 6).   Such a person may be seen taking a stance that says "make me".  Or, "if God wants me to have ____, He will make me".  (You can insert almost anything in the blank).  "Make me speak in tongues...make me laugh and rejoice...make me praise".     Pentecostals years ago were, under the guise of wanting to avoid the "flesh", totally missed the mark with this unyielded idea, "I will if the Spirit moves me".  Nothing has done more damage.  We are to yield to what God has already moved and commanded. We are to "do" the word, not just "hear" it.

     Many of those I know will, perhaps, never move into the experiential river of God  simply because they won't yield. (Maybe they can't yield).  They are as the Pharisees were.  They had all the facts right, standing on true promises,  but when the reality of the promises appeared, they turned away. They could not yield.  In the same way, many today, on paper, in doctrine, believe in the Holy Ghost. They say they believe in His demonstrations.  Then, He shows up and they either run away, resist or reject the reality of the very thing they say they believe.   This is what Jesus was dealing with when He said to the the Pharisees, "you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free".  The word truth is "verity", reality. It doesn't "set" you free as is so often quoted.  It "makes" you free.  It makes you free from living in the promise of something, no matter how true, without the reality of the something.

     Many an unyielded believer will say "I believe in the joy of the Lord.  Yessiree!"   Most likely, that believer will claim to have the joy.  And then.....the real Jesus joy manifests. Sometimes it is like watching a flock of frightened birds scatter before you.   They believed in joy until it showed up.  When the Holy Ghost manifests anything, maybe just His presence, it is confrontational.  People love to say "I love the presence of God".  And then, just as the Bible promises, His presence manifests with its promise of fulness of joy (Ps. 16:11), and people will run away.   They loved His presence until the reality of it manifested.  God in the house can be powerful, breathtaking, confrontational.  It can sap the strength from your knees and the logic from your mind.

    Jesus told the Pharisees they were in bondage. They denied it, forgetting their history of bondage and the bondage of the Romans they were under at that moment.  Not only that, but they had even more bondage. Their worst bondage was to facts and truths held sacred.  When the reality of their promise, Jesus the Messiah,  showed up, they rejected HIm.  Today, people claim a love of God loudly, until reality comes And then....confronted with reality, they have to decide if they really do love Him or was their love just a matter of words. 

    The gospel was never meant to be preached with mere words.  It was meant to be preached with the demonstrations of the Holy Ghost and the power of God, confronting every man with his bondage.   Today, like the Pharisees, people are educated, armed with true facts and in bondage to those facts. Blinded by truths that are not experientially real. Religion fills us with knowledge but forbids the experience.  We are ever learning in religion, but never coming to know the power of God.   Oh my friend, the Holy Ghost wants to give life to the promises.  The letter kills but the Spirit gives life to it.  He wants to set you free from mere head knowledge and give the experience of that same knowledge.  Oh, how wonderful when He gives life to the Word.   And this, my friend, is going to go on until the day of departure and then the reality of it all dawns upon us.

Rain! Rain! Rain! Don't Go Away, Stay Another Day

     When the Spirit fell on those waiting disciples, Peter said this was that which the prophet Joel had spoken about.  Joel called it "rain" (Jo.2:23).  Those disciples were delirious, having received from heaven, the proof that the mission of Jesus was successful and that He was now Lord of Lords.  They looked drunk, praising God, and speaking in unknown tongues.  And, Peter did not deny they were drunk.  He said they were filled with the Holy Ghost.  He called it rain.  Joel called it rain.  The beauty of rain is that rain is  precisely the same in every nation, every generation.  Rain looks exactly now like it did two thousands years ago.  God knew, when He chose that term, that it could not be redefined easily.

   You can jump in it, just observe it, or even reject it but you can't change it.  Rain is rain!  People say "Oh yeah...I have the rain inside".  No, that is not what rain looks like. Rain hits the flesh. The Spirit was poured out over all flesh, not in all flesh. Oh, rain can get inside and do a work but rain touches the outside as well. Some will say "Oh I have the Holy Ghost, but I don't speak in tongues".  Wait! Wait!  That is not what rain looks like.  Some will say "If God wants me to have the rain, He will just dump it on me".  That is like standing at the kitchen window saying "if God wants me to get in that rain, He will just let it rain in my house".  Isn't gonna happen!

   Though men, in spite of the obvious, still deny and try to redefine the rain, the rain is pouring.  And, oh, it is goooooood!  As a boy, I loved playing in the rain.  It was big fun.  Now, I have found God's rain and find I still like playing in the rain.  Now, if you will, when you see people so full of the Spirit they appear drunk, you can say "that's rain".  When you see people praising God in tongues, you can say "that's rain". When you see believers dancing as if no one was watching, singing as if no one was listening, and worshipping as if nothing else mattered, you can say "mmmmh...must be raining".

Chicken Squawking

    What a wonderful thing this River of God.  It makes glad. That is what it does (Ps. 46).   It confirms exactly what Scripture says in both Old and New Testament, that in the presence of God there is fulness of joy.  It empowers what we are so often commanded to do, even when persecuted, " REJOICE! "    Why people turn away from it is beyond me, but some of the reasons I have heard are mighty cheap.   One pastor told me several times he wouldn't ever get in the river because he heard people squawk like a chicken.  Each time he told me this, and I have heard it from others, I had to fight to keep my eyes from rolling into the back of my head. How cheap could you be?  Someone sounding like a chicken is going to tell you what is or isn't God?  Wow!  With that mentality, it doesn't take much to get turned aside.  You can be assured, when God offers something, the devil is close by to offer a reason why not to receive it.  If all it takes is a person sounding like a chicken, you are pretty easily knocked out of a blessing.

   We so easily criticize others who react to the manifested presence of God in a way we might not react. Some even make fun of others who manifest peculiarly. Better watch it.  I know, we are all worried about the "flesh".  But, you know flesh is not when you are responding to God and yielding to His touch, even if what comes out of your mouth is so much laughter your belly hurts or you  make a strange sound. Being in the flesh is when you are not responding, when you are stifling yourself.  And, worse, being in the flesh is when you sit in judgment of those who are yielding to God.  It strikes me funny, listening to some preachers who worried over funny noises coming from someone overcome by the Holy Ghost. They preach, blow snot, spit, make gasping noises trying to catch their breath, yell, scream, run up and down, threaten, cajole, sweat a river and make quite a sight.  And, they worry over chicken noises. Wow!  Pots calling kettles black never accomplishes much.

    By the way, what do you find in God's presence?  I find joy. I find what the Word of God says I will find.  I find pleasure. (Ps. 16:11). That is the unavoidable promise.   So, what do doubters do?  Easy!  Just redefine joy as some sort of satisfied feeling.  Try that kind of joy out on the day of persecution and see if it empowers you to leap and rejoice.  You know, you don't have to do this, but if you did, I would bark like a dog, squawk like a chicken, gobble like a turkey, howl like a wolf and grunt like a pig to be in this river of God. Thank God I do not have to do that, but if I did, it would be a bargain price I would easily pay. What you do have to do, to receive anything from the HOly Ghost, is thirst. Considering all you get, that is also an enormous bargain.

EASTER Celebration?

   Yeeah! Rah!  Rah! Rah!  Easter is coming. You know, the celebration of the Queen of Heaven, Eastre. Going after her cost Soloman his kingdom (1 Kgs. 11:5-6).    And, he wasn't alone, many others have gone after Eastre, also known as Ishtar, Astarte and Astaroth.   As "Astaroth" she was the female goddess of Philista, Zidon and Phenecia. She was also known as the "moon goddess", the wife of Baal and as the Syrian venus.    Legend?  Oh, You don't know?  You've been celebrating her all this time and didn't know?  Briefly, she fell out of heaven into the ocean in a brightly colored egg, fish rolled her to shore, where doves hatched her.  Waaalah!  And, ever since then, Bro. & Sis. Duffas and all their little Duffases have celebrated her appearance with brightly colored eggs appearing mysteriously in yards, under bushes, etc..    Yippe! Wee! Rah! (I won't mention some of the other ways she was celebrated...not good...not good).

   What are you going to do easter sunday?   For me,  I think I'll just celebrate Jesus.  His legend?   No eggs. No doves. No fish.  He didn't come in an egg.  He came in a womb. Made flesh.  Dwelt among us. Sinless.  Shed  blood on a cross to redeem. Buried.  Rose again. Ascended to heaven. Crowned Lord of Lords. Poured out Holy Ghost to confirm it all.  hmmmmm?  After some long and deeeeeep thought and silent prayer,  I think I'll just go and celebrate Jesus in the power of His resurrection (otherwise known as the Holy Ghost).  Oh, I know I will miss the easter egg hunt.  But, I just reckon I 'll forgo a stale boiled egg or two for a touch of the Holy Ghost.  You see, God promised that if the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in me, he will quicken, touch, my physical body.  So, you can hunt the eggs but I going to hunt a touch of the Holy Ghost, the one who raised Christ from the dead.  

   Oh, by the way, the word "easter" is in the King James Bible just one time (Acts 12:4).  Yessiree!  It is!  Of course, it is a mistaken translation of the word "pascha" which is quite accurately translated in all other passages as "passover".  Skip the Duffas celebration and join in with Doright family. There is little Dudley, Delight, Joy,  Gladius, Abe, Sarah, David and of course Isaac (known as Laughing boy).  All the cousins will be celebrating too, including Peter, James, Paul, and of course John and the others.  You won't be able to see them all, but they will be celebrating with us.  Celebrate Jesus. Get a touch of resurrection power. Better than an egg, believe me.

Little Laughing Isaacs

   Did you know we are to be as Isaac in this world?  Remember that kid old Sarah had?  She named him "Isaac" which is a word that means "laughter".  Quite a name, huh?  Little boy Laughter.  She said she did this so that all who hear her story would "laugh" with her.  Isn't it remarkable that this seems to be the opposite of most peoples reaction to the story of Isaac through whom Jesus came, through whom the salvation of us all came to be.
 
   Isaac, little laughing boy, was the first to institute sowing and reaping.  He was also known for re-opening the wells of his father, Abraham.  Big on giving, big on drinking, and always laughing.  That is Isaac.  It is my opinion that anytime, after the birth of Isaac, that read about "joy", you are seeing a reference to little laughing boy, Isaac.  Jesus was anointed with the oil of gladness above all his fellow men. That is an Isaac reference.  He said ask anything that our joy might be full, that all He taught us, He taught us so that our joy would be full.  That is a demand to be as Isaac.    Isaiah says "it is with joy we draw waters from the wells of salvation".  Wells of Yeshua!   How do you draw?  With an Isaac anointing.  
 
    At one time, God told Israel that since they did not serve Him with gladness, they would serve their enemy. He is serious about joy.   This is why we are too rejoice evermore and always, as instructed in the New Testament.  Why?  We are to be laughing kids of God.  We have heard Sarah's story so we are going to laugh with her.    People say "Oh, I am too burdened"  "I am interceeding for the world..it is so bad..no time for laughing".  "Let's get serious".  Oh, we need to be serious all right.  Serious about joy!   It is with joy we draw waters from the well of Jehovah!  It is with rejoicing and singing we return to the Lord, time after time.  We come with joy and we obtain more joy (Is. 51:11).

   Lighten up, saint of God.  Lighten up.  One of the words for "rejoice" in the Old Testament literally means to "brighten up".  Lighten up - brighten up!  Take on an Isaac anointing. Stop weeping and start laughing and rejoicing.  My friend, laughter is a far greater expression of faith than is weeping.  However, tears of joy will work. Have you ever laughed until you cried?   Have you heard the story of Sarah and her baby, given to her at a very old age?  Laugh. Laugh.  Laugh.

Lord, fill this building!

    You know, twice in the book of Acts, the Holy Ghost filled the building and one time, even shook the building.  They were, in that service, in the words of Elvis, "all shook up".   Can you imagine?  When the Holy Ghost filled the house back there in Acts, you couldn't move over to the frozen chosen section to get away from the noisy, radical, Spirit-filled crowd.  You couldn't whisper in pastor's ear that he needs to turn down the sound system and caution the young people about "getting in the flesh".  In such a service (Acts 4) , even before the Holy Ghost filled the people, He filled the building.  Wow!  Would that ever make church exciting!  I suspect being saturated would become easier if the building was already filled when we got there. I have a sneaking feeling that if you can't get the building filled with the Holy Ghost, the people in it are going to have a hard time being filled. 

    Ever wondered how much effort is put into getting your church building "filled" with the Holy Ghost?  The modern church has no such dream at all of having a Spirit-filled building, OR, Spirit-filled people for that matter.  They put forth little energy for either.   They are far more interested in getting it filled with people than with the Holy Ghost.  Oh, they spend lots of time and energy getting people in that building.  Their thirst for people is far greater than their thirst for the Holy Ghost.  Jesus died to give us the Holy Ghost, and it is a shame so few give a hoot about the Spirit.  We are just busy, busy little beavers doing our own thing.  Too busy to be bothered by the inconvenience of having God show up and disrupt our project.  It is good to want more people to come, but if the Holy Ghost doesn't show up, what do you  really have?  I have another sneaky feeling: getting the building filled is one of those little "foolish" things God has chosen to throw smart people off track. It may be one of those little secrets to success, hidden in plain sight.

    Wouldn't it be great to come to a church building, void of politics, ladder climbing, manipulation stuff and just drink and absorb what God has filled it with?  Sometimes we tell one another, "we bring God with us", and that is true, or could be true.  It is just not all the truth.   God can move on His own quite well. And, He can fill anything He wants to, with or without our help.  I found out a long time ago that God can fill a rickety, stinky, old building nobody wants as long as long as there is someone who wants to have church there.  For me, I would rather be in a rat-hole of a building He is willing to fill than a great cathedral He won't go near.  I love anything filled with the Holy Ghost, including a building.  And, you know something else?  I would rather have ten people and a house full of the Holy Ghost than a thousand people and no Holy Ghost to be seen, felt or heard. 

    Oh, I love being in a Spirit filled building!    I have been in churches where God does  not attend.  He is not a member there. And, it is a cold building.  But then, I have stepped into places where the glory of God drops on you like a cloak.  Love it, love it, love it.  Of course, that much God presence might offend religious folks.  It seems to.  And, it does confront one's senses.  But, I love it.  But, then, admittedly, I am addicted to the Holy Ghost.

The worst sinner ever on earth

 You know there is one who holds the record as the worst sinner ever.  Never one worse before him nor after him. There couldn't be.   He was so bad, every descendent was condemned with equal condemnation with him.  Every seed, every off spring, ever descendent, condemned.  Who was it?  Of course, ADAM.  Adam was a perfect man who committed the sin of a perfect man.   After his sin in the garden, Adam could have never sinned another sin and he would still be lost.  He could have sinned a million times more and would not have been anymore lost.  By this one man, the Bible declares, all were made sinners.  You see, it is not our petty sins, the sins of the imperfect men we have become, but the sin of a perfect man that condemns us. This is why the murderer and the occasional liar stand equally condemned by Adam's sin. 

    How could this be?  The gravity of sin, in the mind of God, is measured by the absence of reason for committing that sin.  Adam was perfect, had all knowledge, all authority, free access to God, dominion over everything with absolutely no reason to sin.  He could have simply rebuked the serpent, and he didn't.  He could have removed the evil tree, but he didn't.  In my opinion, he could have even admitted and repented of his sin and God would have been merciful and forgiving, but he didn't.  He hid.  Smart, right?  Hiding from God.  It worked, sort of, for God came looking "Adam where are you?".  But, I think God knew where he was, he wanted Adam to step out on his own and deal with the matter, but Adam hid.  Just like so many today.  And, even when we do step out, we cover ourselves with fig leaves, the emblem of religion, and play church.

   There was no way for redemption until God could bring another perfect man into the world to pay the price of that first perfect man.   And, He did!  He became that man.  He became what He created!  How incredible is that?  He called Himself Emmanuel, God in the Flesh.  He called Himself Jesus.  A million of us could have died on a cross and it would not have been enough to pay the price of Adam's sin.  Millions of dollars worth of lamb's blood spilt in temporary atonement was not enough either.  One estimate of the cost of the lambs shed in atoning sacrifice under the law, was approximately sixty billion dollars.  To pay the price for one perfect man's sin, it took the blood of another perfect man. Only a perfect man could redeem a perfect man. And, Jesus was that perfect man and He was without sin.  He paid the price.

   People worry over whether God can forgive them of what they think is their awful sin.  Don't they know that by the shedding of the precious blood of the perfect man, Jesus, for the sin of that other perfect man,  God is now propitiated.?  That is a word that means something done whereby anger is turned to mercy.  In our pride, we think God is going to curse us for our sin, that we are too bad for His mercy.  That assumes we are perfect men sinning the sin only a perfect man could sin, and thus expecting the same reaction from God.  We could not be more wrong.  God knows quite well we are fleshly and weak.  We are not perfect men.  To think such thoughts is abased pride.  God is not randomly punishing us with earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis either.  All punishment for sin has been laid on Jesus.  Accept Jesus, price paid!  Ransom paid! It is a done deal. Refuse Jesus, and you will suffer hell's fire.  All these matters are decided in Christ and Christ alone. Court has been held, sentence has been passed, penalty paid. In Christ!

   People love to say "Jesus died for my sins"  That is not true, the way most understand it.  It is true in effect, but Jesus died to propitiate, to pay the penalty price for the sin of a perfect man.  He was the Father's ram.  He died for the Father and we are blessed as a result.  He was not a substitute.  Substitution is actually an Old Testament idea, where as a substitution for the blood of Jesus, a lamb was slain. By it, sin was atoned or covered over and God's judgment and wrath temporarily postponed.  Atonement is not a New Testament word (it is in the KJV one time by mistake).  Jesus did not come to atone or cover our sins. He is as John said "the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the word".   You see, from the beginning, it was not sin that was the real problem anyway. It was God's wrath, God demand for justice. God's penalty for original sin. from a perfect man.  There was no one to pay the price.  And, then came Jesus!

   The Bible says "while we were still sinners God commended His love to us"  and that is so real and wonderful.  That "biggie" sin, the sin of a perfect man, has been dealt with by precious blood.   To forgive us now, from God's view, is a snap.  Wrath is gone.  Trespasses not even imputed. Handwriting of all that was against us blotted out.  A price has been paid sufficient for the whole world. And, the word from the cross is "be ye reconciled".  Come on back, God calls to us.  Oh, yeah, even with the smell of the pigpen of religion and the world, come on back.  "lets make merry".

 

Third Heaven?

    Have you ever had a third heaven experience?  Most people haven't, but the Apostle Paul did.  He wasn't sure if he was in or out of the body but he did experience it. The experience was so awesome, he could not describe it and felt it almost illegal to do so.  I don't think he left his body or did some sort of astro-travel.    I personally think he went into an exalted realm of God such as few, or any, have gone.  I think Paul had a worship experience beyond the ability of his flesh and mind to comprehend. Have you ever had a third heaven experience?  I have not, but oh, I would like to.  Yet, I have been in some high places in God that left me without speech, without adequate words to relate it to anyone, even to myself or even legs to stand upon.  Should I try to tell it, words fail.

   When you have been in a high place in the realms of God, it is instant addiction.  You want to go again and you can't.  You order your life to try to make it possible, but that is all you can do.  Some places, some experiences in the realms of God are open, by invitation only. You cannot just walk in here, you have to be ushered in by the Holy Ghost.  Perhaps this verse references such an experience,  "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered",  Ro. 8:26.  One translation says, concerning the groanings, as unutterable gushings of the heart.    That is the experience of one called of God, in the process of loving God with all his being, and his spirit is so overwhelmed  it begins to groan.  Ever had that deep groaning within?  The only thing close to it, for me, in the natural, is when  my beloved Beverly and I have been apart for an extended time and then we get together.  No words adequate, we just groan and hold one another close.

     Perhaps such an experience is that "taste" of the world to come that Hebrews mentions.  Who can explain that?    "Oh taste and see that the Lord He is good", said the Psalmist.  I can't tell you what the taste is like, except that it is "good".   For me, the experiences of this nature have started with joy beyond expression.  Joy, of course, happens to be a sure mark of His presence (Ps. 16:11).   Joy, in the natural, or the spiritual, is a definite intimacy enhancer.  I would marry my wife again, just to hear her laugh if for no  other reason.  Of course,  I know some believers have never had  a high place experience with God and may not want one.  They are content with simple salvation security, you know, like an insurance policy you have that says just in case there is an afterlife, you are covered.  They will, of course, think I am crazy should they read this.  But, if you are one who has tasted, you want more.  How do you get to such a place?  I know of no actual formulas to take you there, but the wisdom of the Scripture is that we are to be ever filled and stimulated with the Holy Ghost until praise oozes from our very being (Eph. 5:19).  No "little dab will do you" theology.  Drink and keep drinking.   And, learn to rejoice.  Joy attracts God for joy is His atmosphere (Ps. 16:11).

   One other thing about high place experiences with God.   It might, as it did with Paul, bring you a thorn in the flesh attack from the devil.  Such a demon came after Paul with a design to keep him from ever being exalted to such a place again.  Some foolish readers think  this attack was from God and was about being Paul being exalted in pride.  Nah, don't think so.  If you have that level of pride, you won't have that level of heavenly experience.  It won't happen.  If Paul had such a level of  pride, I  seriously doubt God would have used him to write so much of the Bible.  No, it was not about pride, it was about worship.  It was about being in the presence of God at a breath-taking level.  To worship God is the ultimate goal of God for us, and you can rest assured, at any level, there will be thorn in the flesh activity to keep worship at a minimum, ritualistic level.  Again, I make no claims to have ascended to Paul's third heaven level, but I have gone high enough to have the devil come at me with ferocity such as I had never seen before. Still, though I suffered as never before, I wouldn't trade those times with God for all the world could offer. The memory of His presence soothes the hurts and leaves me wanting only to touch Him again.  And, as with Paul, God's grace has been more than enough, sufficient, ever since.

   I am reminded of a Don Potter song. "Show me your face Lord, show me your face. And, gird up my legs that I may stand in the holy place. Show me your face Lord, show me your face.  I can make it to the end, if I can just see your face".  Somehow, that expresses, for me, the feeling of having been some place with God and wishing you could be there again.  Oh, I will.  I will be there again.  It is just a matter of time.

Fish Bait

   You know, when you fish, you use bait to lure and catch that fish.  If you catch a fish, and want to keep it alive, you have to keep feeding it the bait you caught it with, in order to keep it alive.  Whatever it takes to catch a fish, it takes that to keep it alive.  If you caught it with worms, keep worms on hand.  If you caught it with stink-bait, keep stink bait on hand if you plan on putting that fish in an aquarium and keeping it alive.

     Jesus said we are to be fishers of men. We have been so inventive with the bait we use for men Door prizes, lollipops, rock music, get rich promises, schemes and dreams and, of course, threats of hell-fire and brimstone.  Now days, the big bait is comfort.  We ball up promises of comfort and build mega-churches around the comfort of man. In my youth, most fish were caught by preaching that scared the hell out of us.  Every revival meeting was basically like a fish farmer standing at his pond, throwing out fish food, and all the fish collecting in a frenzy to feed.  That was a revival meeting back then. 

     I was fortunate in that such bait was not what caught me.  Sixty years ago, two lady preachers  stood behind a piano singing "I've had a vision of Jesus.  I've caught a glimpse of my Lord", and, I was hooked.  I took the bait.  I was caught.  I became a prisoner of love.  I was captured by a desire to see and to know my Lord.  A favorite song of mine these days goes "Show me your face Lord, show me your face.  Gird up my loins that I might stand in the holy place.  Show me your face Lord, show me your face. I can make it to the end, if I can just see your face".  The first time I heard the song I was in the outpouring at Lakeland with ten thousand other believers and when that song began. Immediately, I was lost in God. I was alone in a crowd.  I was captured again.  I was fed again what it was that caught me to begin with and oh, do I love it.  

    I have played that song for other people later and they looked puzzled.  "I don't get it" they said. I was sad as I realized they were not caught with that bait. They were caught on the bait of being lost, miserable, bound, and lost.  Others heard it and were also puzzled.  It contained no promise of wealth, or of victory over the devil.   Oh, don't misunderstand.  I Thank God, they were caught by whatever they were caught with,  but I pray for appetite changes.  Oh, taste and see that the Lord, He is good".