Technically in Heaven, the Secret Place is a room or mansion (depending on which version of the Bible you are reading) that is in God’s house. It is a protected place that is designed specifically for you. My experiences may be different from yours, as different as I am from you, however, reading about my visits may help you understand the concept of the Secret Place. To get on the road, there is something you must know. It all begins with communion.
1st Signpost - Communion
After I had said the Aaronic blessing for 21
days, at lunch with a friend, I asked the Holy Spirit, “The vision You sent me
had four words for the ‘Roadmap.’ If this information is part of that book I am
now writing, which word is first?”
The Holy Spirit now brought those memories vividly back to my thoughts. A word came instantly to mind, and inside my head I could see it lying across a mountaintop.
The word “communion” came with such force of
presence that it was undeniable, just as He promised it would. When I had first
seen the words, I wondered what taking bread and wine had to do with the
Roadmap to Heaven. Now as I began to write this book, the Holy Spirit continued
to outline that this communion was not the bread and wine type of communion and
explained what this word had to do with visiting the Secret Place.
The Mac computer and its dictionary
application I use for writing defines communion as, “the sharing or exchanging
of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental
or spiritual level.” The first step to enter the Secret Place of the Most High
is to be in communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We celebrate
receiving Jesus as Lord by taking “communion” which declares that He gave His
body and blood so that we could have a right relationship with our Father once more.
God should be more than someone you go to
asking for this or that. Jesus is more than a name that saves us from Hell. It
is hard to share details of our life with someone we don’t know. Communion
begins with getting familiar with and used to sharing your most intimate
thoughts and feelings with God through the Holy Spirit.
I have been talking with God for many years.
Not every single day, but more often than not. I like to spend time chatting
with Him even if it is just while I’m driving or taking a shower. When stuff
happens, I have someone with me who will listen, someone that I can talk to
frankly and openly. To me, each member of the Trinity is a very real
individual.
God, through the Holy Spirit who resides
inside us, loves it when we share the details of our lives with Him. God is big
enough that He enjoys hearing from each and every one of us as often as we want
to speak to Him. This is how we get to know Him.
If your relationship with God, Jesus, and the
Holy Spirit is like a distant relative from whom you are waiting to receive an
inheritance some day when you die, this will not do. It isn’t what God wants
from you. Some may feel that God is too big, Jesus too important to want to
deal with us on a personal level. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Throughout the Bible you see Him depicted as a
God who wants a relationship with people. He is the one pursuing that
relationship. It is much like a young man desperately in love with the girl of
his dreams who will do anything he can to spend time with that lovely girl. God
is in pursuit of us, hoping He can spend time with us.
Communion is an active, living relationship.
It can be developed like a whirlwind romance where you fall instantly and want
to share every moment with Him. Jesus might be a friend who we chat with as we
ease into this new world, step by step. For some it is an old flame that may
not burn as hot as it once did, more like an old Friend, but still someone we
cannot do without.
Whichever situation you find yourself in, draw close in your heart and mind to God and He will draw close to you.
Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. (James 4:8)
…let
us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts
sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who
promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:22-23 ESV)
There isn’t one right formula for communion.
Our relationship with God will be as different as one person’s marriage is to
another’s. This is why there are so many different types of churches. What one
person likes or needs from a church is different from what someone else needs.
This being said, there are a few ideas that
may help you find the way that is right for you:
- Read “Why Doesn’t God Speak to Me?” to help you get a basic understanding about God and how He speaks to us.
- In this book you will also find information about how to understand the Bible.
- Read the Bible. If you ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom, He will reveal the Trinity through the words of that ancient text.
- You will see that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit each have distinct personalities.
- If you start with Matthew, you can read for 10-20 minutes a day.
- The key is to think about what you’ve read.
- Talk to Them. This can be done mentally or out loud.
- Tell Them about your day.
- Ask the Lord questions about what you’ve read and look for Him to answer.
- Cry on His shoulder and you will find comfort.
It is important not only to talk, but to
listen. God is always the same. He will never contradict what is in His Word:
the Bible. After you spend time pouring out your day to Father, Son or Holy
Spirit, spend time listening.
Do any thoughts come into your mind? Write
them down and look up the information in the Bible to see if it agrees with who
God is. Communion is a two way street. It is about talking and listening.
Flexibility is also necessary. God may speak to you in a way you are not expecting. You must be willing to accept communion in whatever way Jesus desires it. My first experience in the Secret Place was nothing like what I had planned.
Meeting
the Holy Spirit and Jesus
As I took my seat, the first song our church
played focused on the Holy Spirit with an upbeat tempo. As I raised my hands to
worship the Lord, I closed my eyes. With no effort on my part, I saw myself, as
if standing behind and to the left of my physical body. My body shrank in a
blink of an eye and I became the size of an eight-year-old as an indistinct,
child-sized figure came forward and took both my hands in His. We began hopping
around in a circle the way children do when they dance and play.
Grinning like a kid, I sent a silent thought
of ‘thank you’ to the Holy Spirit. I had been asking Him to make Himself more
real to me so I could see Him as the third person of the Trinity instead of an
“it.” This incredible introduction seemed like a wonderful answer to that
request and I was grateful for the awesome day at church.
The next song, one of my favorites, was a
waltz-like tune that says, “You’re my one desire, you’re my
one thirst, more than anything, I seek You first…” As I raised my hands
and closed my eyes I saw myself dancing with the Lord whose features were
indistinct, but I knew instantly who it was, nonetheless. My right hand dropped
slightly while my left came down in front of my stomach, mimicking the position
in the vision. It seemed natural for my feet to follow the path the Lord led me
on as we waltzed together.
Towards the end of the song a thought that
wasn’t mine entered my mind, “This is our song.”
Mulling over those words, I finally replied,
“Lord, this song is about how much I need You. Why is it our song?”
His said, “Before you knew me, this is how
much I wanted you.” Emotions came along with the words. I felt a longing
that resembles a first teenage crush; every time you enter a room you scan the
crowd, hoping to get a glimpse of them. Upon spotting them, you hold your
breath. Perhaps they’ll look your way and you’ll connect with a smile.
The realness of these intense feelings was too
much, and I was completely undone. I collapsed, putting my head on the chair in
front of me. My shoulders shook as I sobbed, overcome
by the strength of the unexpected emotions. Although I had heard many people
talk of how much God loves us and desires us to be with Him, it was an entirely
different thing to feel it. As the
pastor told us to greet our neighbors, my friend looked questioningly at me, “I
was dancing with the Lord,” I managed to croak out the word around the tears.
“When I saw you,” she replied, “I said to
myself, she looks like she’s dancing!” On the way out of the service I
described the words exchanged and the emotion that accompanied them. It would
be three days before I could speak of this encounter to another person, even to
Mom. (If you’ve read “Angels Believe in You,” you know she was my usual go-to
person for spiritual matters.)
I had a list of people waiting to hear about
my long-awaited trip to Heaven. This was a small, first step. However, it was
much different than I expected. It was so filled with emotion that for days I
couldn’t think about it without being overcome with that “love” feeling from
God. It caused me to break down into tears. When I finally did call Mom, I
still couldn’t get through the story without a few tears streaming down my
cheeks.
I tried to recreate the experience. Lying in
bed with worship music on, I pictured the Lord, but I was unable to mimic the
imagery and nothing really happened. This confirmed that it is the Holy Spirit
who empowers us to encounter the Lord in this way. It isn’t just imagination.
On the following Wednesday, I attended another
church that was having a “healing” night. Our family had been out of town since
I had danced with the Lord and I was looking forward to worshiping
again. The first song was one I wasn’t too familiar with: the lyrics were about
worship, but the beat was more like a hip-hop dance. I sighed and tried to
dismiss my irritation with the presentation and struggled to follow along.
As my eyes closed, I saw the Lord dancing.
Instead of a dignified waltz, it was an exuberant, uninhibited display that
would fit right in with many ancient tribes. It was a mixture of the
old-fashioned “Twist” and the “Mashed Potato.” Dressed in a long robe the King
of the Universe was twisting His way downward then slowly rising while swinging
one fist above His head then the other.
I could not control my laughter. My hand flew to cover my mouth and I looked back to the words on the screen. Every time I would close my eyes in so much as a long blink, I would see the Lord right before me rocking out with the same wild abandon – the shock of seeing Him in this way caused me to laugh every time. By the end to the song, I got His message: Lighten up; have fun with it!
Begin to
Flow with God
I meditated on these visions of the Lord,
asking God what He wanted me to know about them. The Holy Spirit told me that
this wasn’t the first time I danced during worship. In the past, it was more of
a strong leading telling me which foot to move and when.
In comparing the two experiences, it was much
easier to follow the Lord when I could see us dancing. Instead of just going
with the flow, according to the urging of the Holy Spirit, I knew what to do
and when to do it. This is why the Holy Spirit will be bringing people to Jesus
for training in face-to-face experiences instead of the usual leading and
guiding with the Holy Spirit. It is crunch time and we need to have a more
direct lead.
From what I’ve experienced, these face-to-face
encounters during worship often happen in the following way:
- First: He appears, many times with indistinct
features.
- Second: The Lord makes contact with us. We are
created “like” God. He likes physical contact, just like we do. This interaction
may come in the form of a hug, handshake, or a pat on the back, and might
include dancing or other types of physical interaction.
- Third: He will always say something loving and
uplifting like “I’m proud of you,” “I love you,” or “You are doing so well.” Whether
it is one of these or something else, it will be what means the most to that
person.
- Fourth: The Lord will want to take you
somewhere for more training.
The garden is the Secret Place where the
Trinity interacts with us in living parables to help us know them better. We
learn what it means to be the sons and daughters of the Most High. Think of it
like your own personal Garden of Eden. The Lord will heal hurts, both physical
and emotional, that are interfering with our walk as well as help us to develop
the fruits of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, forebearance, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
It all begins with communion. We must learn to respond to the gentle nudges from the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it is easier to sense them during worship, but we should be looking for them throughout the day. Acknowledge the Lord, the Holy Spirit and Father, whenever you receive information that makes your way forward easier, or even when you “miss it” and know you should have listened to His voice.
The Secret to Communion
As I spoke to the Lord about this message, He reminded me of how communion with Him began for me. There is a secret to communing with God:
You MUST see Jesus as a person.
Our God did something truly amazing. He became one of us and lived with us. This is what the prophet Isaiah saw:
He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness...Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy]. (Isaiah 53:3-4)
Jesus knows what it is like to be tempted. He knows what it is like to be misunderstood and limited by the human body. At one point in time, He had a mom who had to change His diapers! He intimately understands your struggles. Once you are aware of this, it is now time to take the next step:
You MUST be willing to be with Jesus at all times.
Taking Jesus as “Lord” is an exchange: we
receive His perfect life so that we are eligible for Heaven but we give Him our
life in return. The goal is to develop a relationship with God and learn to
“abide” in the Secret Place at all times.
This means we need to be willing to be with Jesus at all times. That is what “communion” means. It is a sharing of our lives with another. It is quite a lot to wrap our head around, especially when we realize that He sees our heart.
But the LORD said to Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7 AKJV)
Our very thoughts are revealed to God. He sees all that we hide from others… And HE LOVES US. As long as we are willing to keep trying, He is willing to walk beside us. Once we wrap our mind around the fact that the Lord is right beside us every moment of the day, our behavior should begin to change. We must remember, there is no “time off” to:
- read a romance novel
- look at things online which we know we shouldn’t
- take a “time out” as we “road rage” at someone on the highway
When
you let go of earthly pleasures that are connected to sin, Jesus will move into
that place. He will be there to share every joy and every pain you experience.
If we may slip up, we should be willing to apologize for not walking with
others in the love of God. As long as we are improving, we are moving in the
right direction and our communion with Jesus will deepen.
More Articles on the Courts of Heaven can be found in the:
Courts of Heaventab in the menu at the top.
FREE Books
Believers' Boot Camp series
 |
 |
 |
| Roadmap to Heaven |
 |
| Destroying Curses in the Courts of Heaven |
Many people think of boot camp as a place you train for combat. Any veteran will tell you that basic training is about three things:
- Knowing what weapons are available
- Learning how to use those weapons
- Receiving orders and following them
Volume 1: Why Doesn't God Speak to Me?
Eager hearts cry out, hoping for a single word to confirm that He hears us. Yet, many times the only sound is silence. Over the years I have heard several reasons why God speaks to some and not to others. One night, as I tossed and turned, I brought each of these reasons before the Lord, stating why each of them did not line up with who I thought He was.
Words rose from my soul, pleading for Him to reveal why He has remained silent when a single word from Him would mean so much to so many. For the next few hours, God used things I learned about years ago and things I had just discovered to show why He talks to some and why He doesn’t, and in demonstrative ways.
In His grace, He also showed me how people could hear more from Him. Basic instructions on how to hear more from God and how to be led by Him are included in this book. Thank you for taking time to consider the answers I received and share with you now.
Keys to Authority for Every Believer
There is untapped power that is easy for every Christian to access in the form of authority. The keys to this authority will unlock weapons we can use to free ourselves from the attacks of the enemy. We must be intimately aware of the bounds and limitations of our weapon if they are to be used effectively.
Find out about your authority:- Why you need it.
- Where it comes from.
- What you can do with it.
- How to get more.
There is untapped power that is easy for every Christian to access in the form of authority. The keys to this authority will unlock weapons we can use to free ourselves from the attacks of the enemy. We must be intimately aware of the bounds and limitations of our weapon if they are to be used effectively. - Why you need it.
- Where it comes from.
- What you can do with it.
- How to get more.
No comments:
Post a Comment