Two keys to the secret place

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 Psalms 91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

This is one of the earliest verses the Lord ever told me to claim as my own. 

I was on the sandy shore of the Persian Gulf. I and two fellow soldiers stood on the beach and prayed- concerned for our lives (we were there for the Gulf War). I remember now how I prayed as we all walked away from each other- each seeking a solitary place to talk to God. 

I remember the Lord breaking in on my prayers and telling me to open my Bible. And there, in the quickly fading daylight (or was it by flashlight? I don't truly remember now), he illuminated a promise to me that I would make it through the Gulf War. 

I'm a little bit slow witted sometimes. It would be years and years later before I would finally begin to sense the deeper invitation that was hidden in plain view within those precious words, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high..."

I was freshly biblically born again, but the Holy God of the universe was inviting me to LIVE (dwell) in a secret place (a special close relationship) with him (the MOST HIGH). 

Through the years he would have me preach sermons with themes like, "Come up hither" and "living where I AM." But, I was too dense to see that he was still inviting me personally to that same "secret place." It's been over 32 years since that precious dusty beach, but God is finally clearing away some of the layers from my eyes. 

My questioning has become "Lord, how do I dwell (live in) that secret place with you?"

The first answers are obvious. 

Prayer and Bible study. Without prayer and study, we will never learn of God nor grow any deeper in God. So we must absolutely take the time- not find the time- but MAKE the time to pray and read his word. It HAS to be of the highest priority in our lives.

But, beyond that he's beginning to show me some things. 

There are at least 2 (probably more) keys that can open up the secret place in God within our lives. 

1) Staying focused on God

Isaiah 26:3

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." 

This ties in with Jesus being our priority. It's a promise. No matter what we are facing. No matter what we are going through. If we will keep our minds (our thoughts) focused on God, then he will keep us in perfect peace! This is exactly what Psalms 91 is saying. If we will stay focused on him, then we have the comfort (the peace) to know that we are under HIS shadow- he's watching over us. We know- no matter what- he's in charge. 

The three Hebrew men (Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednigo) in Daniel didn't have a direct word from God for their situation. But, they lived in prayer and in his presence every day. They knew that no matter what happened, they were not going to bow to the idol. They told the king that whether God chose to save them or not, they were not worshipping the idol. 

God showed up and shook the kingdom! They could stand on this because they dwelt in the secret place with God.

2) resting in the promises of God

Luke 8:22-25

King James Version

22 Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.

23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.

24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.

25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.

Jesus is 100% God, but also 100% man. 

But, in his earthly ministry, he walked in a way in order to show us how we are intended to walk in his spirit. 

This snippet is one example of how he did that. 

He told them to get in the boat. They were going to the other side of the lake. 

As they "got busy," he went into the deeper recesses of the boat and went to sleep. 

Two mistakes I've made when I've gotten a word from God.

1) File the word away and concentrate on what God has done in the past. They had just left some awesome ministry. Spirit's were high. Excitement was in the air. "Wow! Remember this...and that...?"

It's easy to focus on yesterdays blessings and not notice today's storms until they're in our face. 

2) Focus on the new word. Try to understand it, disect it, analyze it. What exactly does he really mean by what he said for the future?

It's easy to be excited about the future and not see today's storms bearing down on us. 

Jesus knew what had happened before. Jesus knew where they were going. Did he jabber about either? Did he stand around in awe of the past? Did he wonder about the possible glories of the future?

No. He rested in the promises. He slept in the presence of the spirit of God so that when the future arrived, he was ready to do whatever the spirit told him to do. When the storm arrived, he was much more bothered by their lack of faith than by the storm.

Peter was in jail. He was being gaurded by 16 Roman soldiers. He was under a death sentence. The only reason he wasn't dead already was because it was a Jewish holiday and illegal to execute anyone on that day. Was he worried? Was he bawling and squalling? Was he frantically seeking a way out?

No. 

He remembered how Jesus had said he was going to die, compared the circumstances to that, and said, "It's not my time yet." Rather than chewing his nails off, he followed the example of his master, and went to sleep. The angel that was sent to free him had to wake him up to get him out. 

He was able to do this because he was resting in the promises and presence of God. He had learned the lesson of the lake in Luke 8. 

Jesus rebuked their lack of faith. Why? Because Jesus had told them they were going to the other side before they entered the boat. But their faith was on the storm, the circumstances, rather than on his promise. It became a teaching moment for them. 

So when Peter found himself in prison under a death sentence, he remembered Jesus promise to him and just rested in that promise. 

If we will a) stay focused on Jesus throughout our day and b) rest in his promises and presence, then we will be able to dwell in (live in) that precious secret place and know that no matter what- we are abiding under HIS shadow of protection- in his perfect peace. 

What this world needs is a fresh dose of the fear of the Lord.

 Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

We live in a crazy world. The news seems to be full of chaos. The whole world seems consumed with voices screaming about "their rights." 

Just because they have been wronged (or perceive that they have been wronged), they feel that they have the right to riot, rape, destroy property, disrespect and threaten law enforcement, and even murder people. People who, most of the time, had nothing to do with the wrongs these people are protesting about. But, I guess it's okay to do wrong to other people simply because you have been wronged. 

The educated and enlightened among us pipe in and say these people should not be prosecuted. After all, they've been wronged. They have a right to protest in the Constitution. Never mind that while the Constitution allows free speech and "peaceful" protests, it does not allow for violent protests. 

The liberal elite among us basically tell us that abortion is moral, LGBTQ is normal, people are not born men or women but have the right to change their gender, all workers should be paid the same regardless of their workload or effort, it is not our responsibility to work and care for our families- rather it's the Government's job to take care of all of us, and on and on it goes.

We have a whole political movement that basically says that every religion is okay- except Christians and Jews. Everything should be allowed, except the voices of those that point out God and his ways. 

Basically, the world has flipped its collective lids. Right is wrong, wrong is right, and whatever is gray, have a happy day! 

The reason all this goes on now is that we, as a society, have thrust God out of our lives and ceased to fear him. 

Now brother, you say, God doesn't want us to fear him. After all, he's all about love. 

Really, let's look at what Jesus said about this:

Luke 12:4-5

King James Version

4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

So, Jesus says we should fear God. 

Now, brother, you say, that doesn't mean fear. That really means respect. 

The word for fear in verse 5 in the Greek means, "to put to flight by terrifying (to scare away)

1. to put to flight, to flee

2. to fear, be afraid

   1. to be struck with fear, to be seized with alarm

      1. of those startled by strange sights or occurrences

      2. of those struck with amazement

   2. to fear, be afraid of one

   3. to fear (i.e. hesitate) to do something (for fear of harm)

3. to reverence, venerate, to treat with deference or reverential obedience                                                                                                                                                                          Does this sound like simply respecting God? It basically means we are to cower in fear before his awesome might and power.  We are to understand that HE makes the rules and HE is the judge of all of us. It is HE that will send us to heaven or hell for eternity. And that fear should cause us to willingly defer our will to his and be willing to obey HIS will for our lives as found in his word.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Our country was founded on the Bible. Our Constitution was based upon the Bible. Our laws were based upon the word of God. But, we have turned from this and we are reaping what we've sewn.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                If our nation is to stand, it is because we, as a people, repent and turn back to God. This will only happen when we realize that we are not the arbiters of our own fate, We are not the ultimate authority for our own lives. There is someone that we will all have to answer to one day- he is our creator and savior (if we allow him to save us). If not, then he is our creator and judge.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             He will decide our fates based upon our obedience, or our disobedience.                                                                                                                                                                       If we will kneel in complete repentance and submission to him, then we will be able to stand in the face of the evil that is overcoming our land and push it back.                                                                                                                                                                        If we do not repent, then our country will cease to be and worse: we ourselves will go to hell.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. True wisdom doesn't come from college degrees and education. True wisdom comes from the Lord God almighty and his word.                                                                                                                                                 Truly, the only hope that we, as individuals and we, as a country, have is Jesus. But, for this to happen, we all need to repent and obey him and his word- before it's too late. And for that to happen, we need a fresh dose of the fear of the Lord!                                                                                                                                                                                      Lord, please do whatever you need to do to wake us all up, restore our fear of you, and help us to repent. Before it's too late.

4.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XemQwDQ7mY&ab_channel=JohnnyPowell

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The heat on the rock

9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you.

10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth. (Zechariah 4:9-10)

Many times in life, following God can become frustrating. 

Now don't stop reading. I'm not putting the Lord down in any way. I'm talking about from our human perspective. 

You see, we are excited. We receive an unction from the Lord about something and start to obey whatever he has told us to do. In our minds, we picture having a huge impact on people for the kingdom of God. We believe millions will experience closer walks with God, or new walks with God, as a result of our obedience to the Lord's direction. And, who knows? This may eventually happen.

Zerubbabel had received a word from the Lord and a grant from the king to rebuild the house of the Lord. And for a while, everything seemed to go well. They finished the foundation of the house of God pretty quickly. Everyone was excited. 

But, then came the trouble. The enemy found out about what was going on and began mocking and trying to stop the building. When that didn't work, they petitioned the new King to try and stop the work of God. When that didn't work, they began trying to physically attack them.

Ever feel like everything that can go wrong, is going wrong when you're trying to live for God- especially when you're trying to do a work of some kind for God? You look up at heaven and say, "But, Lord, I'm doing what you said. Why is this happening? 

Zerubbabel and the others grew weary. At one point in Nehemiah (Nehemiah 4:10), it says that the people grew tired of the work because of the attacks of the enemy and the lack of building supplies. They had developed a case of "this is hopeless, why are we trying?" So, God sent a prophet to encourage them. 

He told them that the same man that began the work would finish the work. The enemy's attacks would come to nothing. No matter what the enemy would try, God's work would be finished. It's a promise from God written in stone. 

And here's where I wanted to get to today. That stone. 

Do you want to know why things are happening when all you're trying to do is obey God? Do you want to know why God allows it to happen? Doesn't he know how frustrating it is to you? Doesn't he care how upset these attacks make you? I'm tired and I have nearly nothing to work with, Lord!

He sees and he knows.

But, he sees what you cannot see. 

The word plummet comes from two Hebrew words. The first means "Stone." 

Don't lose heart! Because the same rock (stone) you began working with is the same rock (Jesus) that you will work with through the whole process of doing what God's called you to do! In fact, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:!" (Philippians 1:6)

Take heart, if Jesus has given you a mission, he will help you to complete it! 

Now, the second Hebrew word that comes from "plummet" means, "alloy found in ore, mixed with silver which is separated from it by means of fire." You see, a little heat applied to the rock begins to separate the treasure and metal from the rock. 

Scripture says it this way:

 12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

13 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. (1 Peter 4:12-13)

Stay in the fight! The end of the process will be glorious to God and you'll be a part of it.

The reason that the Lord allows us to suffer is that the heat of trouble begins to work in our lives. 

It separates the impurities out of us. Fire is a much greater purifier than water. You can clean with water, but to really get into the nooks and crannies of say, an old iron chair, you gotta put some fire to it. It'll get all the grease, paint, and rust off the iron and allow it to be remolded into a usable and strong iron chair again. God allows fire in our lives to reshape, strengthen, and remold us so we're usable for him again.

The fire brings forth the metal in us that will give us the strength to not only finish the current work he has us doing but to stand firm in the face of the enemy's attacks. And it will work as the basis for beginning other (and more difficult) works that God will ask of us later. 

Furthermore, the heat of tribulation forces us to cling to God even more. This has the effect of bringing out God's treasure in our lives- his fruit. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

These fruits are not our natural human state of being. God knows that unless we learn to trust him and let him live through us, we will never have the fruit he requires in our lives. So, he gives us tasks that he knows we cannot do. 

The enemy sees a weak spot (because we cannot do it) and attacks us. This "turns up the heat" on us. We cling to God even more. This produces God's fruit in our lives that we would never have had before. And God just sits back and smiles at his handiwork in our lives. It's a beautiful treasure to him. 

He sees his love in our lives where we were once selfish and self-absorbed. He sees joy in our hearts. He sees peace in our minds. What once was rough has become gentle. Where we were impatient with people and circumstances, now we're longsuffering. We were once evil in our thoughts and actions, now we become good- looking for and trying to develop goodness in ourselves and others. Once we trusted in no one but ourselves, but now we have faith in him and his people- and in ourselves. We used to be proud and high headed, now we have become meek. Once we gave in to every whim of the flesh, but now we have become temperate (self-controlled). 

This makes it much easier for people to accept a word from God when we need to give it. They look at our lives and see the fruit of the spirit within. They will take what you have to say much more easily because they will know you've been with Jesus. How? Because they see him in you. 

But, without the fire, it would never happen. 

So, follow and obey the Lord in all things. Do what he tells you to do. And don't be surprised, but be thankful, when the heat turns up in your life. It's just God growing a little fruit within you, purifying you, and making you stronger. 

Lord, heat up our rocks and form us into who you want us to be. 

I'm not a trinitarian

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: (Deuteronomy 6:4)

My pastor said something in his sermon last night that blew me away. 

He said, "I am not a trinitarian!" 

How refreshing in these modern times where most "Christians" worship either a "God-headquarters", or a 3 headed monstrosity. 

Yet, scripture itself proudly and boldly proclaims that there is only ONE God. 

That is not a unity, as many like to say. No, sir. It is emphatically only one in essence. ONE divine being. 

The confusion seems to center around the incarnation. How can God be one God, yet Jesus be God? 

Let's have a look, shall we? 

The first thing that we must understand is that God is omnipresent. In other words, he's everywhere all at the same time. David put it this way: 

7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. (Psalms 139:7-12)

In other words, there is no place we can go where God is not there! I realize that this is more than our minds can usually comprehend, but it's still true. 

So, why does scripture say that Jesus is at the right hand of the father?

It's a spiritual word picture that expresses the fact that Jesus has all power and authority. 

Take when the children of Israel crossed the red sea, for example.

Exodus 14: 21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,

25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

26 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.

27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

29 But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.

31 And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.

Great story! An awesome move of God almighty! Now look at the song of praise in the next chapter 15:

6 Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

Go back and read the story again. Please show me where a huge arm came down out of the heavens and smashed the Egyptians. I'll wait.

It's not there because it's a spiritual word picture of what physically happened. Why the right hand? Because most humans are right-handed and that is their strongest arm because it gets the most use. So, when scripture refers to God's right hand, it is not referring to a literal arm or a literal place. It is referring to God's strength and power!

How about this one?

8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.

Read the story of the red sea again. Please show me where a literal nose comes down out of the clouds and sneezes, causing the waters to divide in a heap. Again, I'll wait.

It's not there because it's a spiritual word picture of what physically happened. God causes the wind to blow so hard that the waters divide and the ground below dries up allowing the Israelites to cross. 

10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

Did enormous lips descend from the sky and cause the waters to return to where they had been and cover the Egyptians? No! It's another word picture used to help our finite minds to understand something our infinite God did. 

The term "right hand of God" is used 8 times in the New Testament. "Right hand of power" is used twice. 

These 10 verses seem to be the central cause of misunderstanding "the Godhead." BTW, the term Godhead simply means "divinity." It means he is GOD. It is not, as many say, a God headquarters. 

A simple question to ask. 

If God is omnipresent and there is no place where he is not, then how does anyone stand or sit beside him in any way, shape, or form? I'll wait.

To sit beside a being that is everywhere requires another place to be created outside of God for this being to sit. But, there's no place anyone can go where they can be beside God. 

The term right hand, when it is used in reference to God, always refers to God's strength and power. It's never a literal place. So, when scripture says that Jesus is on or at God's right hand, it is simply saying that Jesus is God and is all-powerful! 

Jesus said this himself. 

Matthew 28:18

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Now, let that sink in. If Jesus has ALL power, then, if there's a trinity, the other 2 "God's" are powerless because Jesus has all power. 

If Jesus is a part of a "trinity", then they have shared power and none of them have all power. Therefore, this verse would not be true. Furthermore, if Jesus is part of a trinity, then he would have no need to be given anything. He'd already have it. 

But, wait, brother Mike. Are you now saying Jesus is not God at all? 

Not at all. 

Here's the crux of the matter. God became flesh. 

1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

It does not say "God the Son," or even "the Son of God" was manifested in the flesh. It clearly says GOD HIMSELF was manifested in the flesh. What's the difference? 

First of all, the term God, the Son is never ever found in scripture. Not even once. It's a made-up term by people trying to defend a false "triune" god. 

Secondly, the terms "son of God" and "son of man" are synonymous terms that refer to the flesh, or the MAN Christ Jesus. 

The angel told Mary about her baby that: "therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)

Satan and his demons called Jesus, "son of God" on multiple occasions (Matthew 4:3; Matthew 4:6; Matthew 8:28-29; Mark 3:11; Luke 4:3; Luke 4:9; Luke 4:41; Luke 8:28). 

And yes, John the Baptist and others called him the "son of God" (Matthew 14:33; Matthew 27:54; Mark 1:1; Mark 15:39; Luke 1:35; John 1:34; John 1:49; John 11:27; John 20:31).

And Jesus himself said he was "the son of God" (Matthew 27:43; Luke 22:70; John 3:18; John 5:25; John 9:35-37; John 10:36; John 11:4).

Therefore, I truly admit that Jesus is the son of God. 

But, notice this often overlooked scripture: 

6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2:6-8)

Satan (the prince of the powers of the air-Ephesians 2:2) and his demons (Ephesians 3:10; Ephesians 6:12) DID NOT KNOW who Jesus really was! Their human counterparts on earth DID NOT KNOW who Jesus was! 

Indeed, if they had known who Jesus truly was, they would've fallen on their faces before the very LORD OF GLORY, the Father and creator of all! So, God hid himself in human flesh in order to pay for our sins and restore relationship with man. 

Yes, Jesus is the son of God, but he is also GOD ALMIGHTY in human flesh! (John 1:1.14; John 1:18; John 5:18; John 8:56-59; John 10:30; John 14; John 15:23-24, Isaiah 9:6 and many more).

Jesus has all power (Matthew 28:19), therefore if there's a trinity, the other 2 are powerless!

Jesus has all wisdom (Romans 16:27; 1 Timothy 1:17; Jude 1:25), therefore if there's a trinity, the other 2 have no wisdom! 

God is our only savior (Isaiah 43:3-11), and Jesus is our savior (Philippians 3:20), therefore Jesus is God!

I could go on and on. 

The flesh of Jesus is the son of God. The spirit inside of him and everywhere else is God almighty. Jesus is God alone!

Yes, God sent his Son to die for our sins, that's how God shed "HIS OWN BLOOD (Acts 20:28). But, get the bigger picture here.

This was not a father looking down and seeing all the sin and turning to his son to go and die for that sin. 

This was The Father BECOMING a son and shedding HIS OWN BLOOD in order to pay for our sins. 

How much more loving a God could we have? 

I am not a trinitarian and never will I be. Jesus is GOD all by himself. Any other teaching cheapens the message of calvary and places divisions in our God that do not exist.