The City of God

A pilgrim crossed a great and desolate wasteland
seeking refuge in a city whose builder and maker is God.
His God had called him to seek such
putting in his heart a hunger for that
which was the "Perfection of Beauty"
and the "Joy of the whole earth".

As he sojourned across the great waste
he cried and prayed continually,
"O Lord I must decrease and you must increase.
I forsake all those things of the world
and those lusts of the flesh and of the mind
that I used to take pleasure in
when I once lived in them.”

“Keep me as the apple of your eye, O my God,
for I know that with you is life and truth
and at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
Only let me be pleasing to you
and grant me entrance to your everlasting kingdom."

And this went on and on, such crying out to the Lord;
even great searching of heart and humbling himself before God.
For he travelled far and many temptations sought to waylay this pilgrim
from the goal of his journey that was before him.

But there came a time when, in much weariness, the pilgrim stopped
and sought to refresh himself and gather strength to continue on.
When off in the distance he spied a glimmering dome of translucent light.
Yes, it shimmered off in the distance
such that he thought it might be a dream or a mirage.
It came at a time when he wasn't expecting it
and in a way that he looked not for.

So he rose and headed towards this apparition
that had so mysteriously appeared before his face.
And as he approached that wondrous sight there appeared a man
dressed in white linen which cried out to him

'Hail Pilgrim, what is it you seek?"

To this salutation our pilgrim
and seeker of the celestial city answered,

"Sir, I have seen this pure and translucent shimmering from a way off
and I thought that it might be that city that I have heard tell
is clear as crystal and hard to be seen or found.
The Lord of the city had bid me
come and charged me that if I were willing and obedient
I might be granted entrance to this great and noble place."

The man in linen responded,

" Indeed this is that place you seek.
It is that very place whereof the Lord spoke,
‘I go to prepare a place for you.’
Behold this is the door and I am the gate keeper."

He held out his hand as to direct our pilgrim's gaze
and there appeared before him an entrance
and he was enabled to gaze in and see many of those
who had entered the gate already.

"Allow me O gate keeper one query now, for I am somewhat confused.
I see many who have entered in and are on the other side of the door
But there is none that is above the age and stature of a little child.
Are there no adults here?"

"You have seen well, said the gatekeeper.
Have you not heard the requirements of the Lord
that ‘except you become as little children’
you shall in no wise enter in to the things
God has prepared for his own."

"Ahh! now I see and I understand well," said the pilgrim.

“Indeed you do," said the man before the door,
"for you have been humbling your heart all this way
cross the great and howling wilderness
as you have travelled far and sought this city of refuge.”


“And now, you too, as you enter
will find yourself decreasing even more
that it might be fulfilled
even according to the word of the Lord.”


“One last question”, said the pilgrim,” If I may?”

“Say on.” answered the heavenly porter.

“I see that there are few who enter and abide there.
Why is it that in such a city of quiet habitation and secure
and wherein dwells no unrighteousness
and where no wicked nor unclean can enter are there not people very many?
You'd think that the line would be long to get in to such a place.”

To which the man in linen answered him,

“Truly, many are called but few are chosen.
Many even feel so desperate as you to venture the great wilderness
seeking refuge but alas they pass by the city,
not seeing it where it stands.

For it is clear as crystal. Like transparent glass, you see.
And only you could see because you have humbled your heart
and sought to obey in all things.

And there are many that perish in the wilderness
and are not able to enter in because of their unbelief.

And there are those that think the city is some future reality
to enter in to in some other dispensation so that they do not even
believe to enter into something so glorious in this lifetime.

But to you it is given to know the mystery of the city of God
and precious eyesalve is provided to the those
who believe and doubt not and who persevere
through great weakness and inherent sin-
ever humbling themselves and acknowledging their transgression.

Yes even now this bride in the earth prepares herself for that great day."

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21.2

Ignoring God (revised version)

I was in a worship meeting a few years ago
when in an atmosphere of praise
and the moving of the Holy Spirit
a very powerful word of prophecy came forth.
The Lord spoke through his yielded servant saying,
“If I came as you are asking me to come
then you would have to quit ignoring me.”


The Lord, after this brief reproof,
went on to affirm his promise-
He was still coming as he had said,
but a little correction was first in order.

As a child of promise, the Holy Spirit had shown me
some things to come and I was hungry to see fulfillment.

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come ,
he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself;
but whatsoever he shall hear , that shall he speak :
and he will shew you things to come . John 16.13


But examining my heart I had to admit
that in some areas I was ignoring
the voice and the call of God.
In one area, I realized, I considered it a small thing-
a minor fleshly indulgence.
No big deal.
And maybe that was so at one time.

Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself
for those things that he allows. Romans 14.22


However, once God puts his finger on an area
and calls for change, ignoring him
then, is no longer a ‘small thing’,
but rather becomes big, fat, ugly, disobedience and rebellion.
It took a while for this to sink in.

Take for us the little foxes that spoil the vine.
Song of Songs


The other way I acknowledged I was ignoring God
was when the Spirit would seek
to direct me in a way
that I did not understand the why? or the wherefore?
I would excuse myself for drawing back.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding…
Proverbs 3.5


I was at a stage in my spiritual walk where the Spirit
would be seeking to take control
many times throughout a day
in a way that as a young Christian
I would only experience maybe once a year
as a check in my spirit.

In such a way the Spirit would seek to turn me
from a path I might take or a decision I might make
or a meditation that might begin to roll in heart and mind.
Now I was getting these impositions of the spirit
many times throughout a day
and most often
I didn’t understand what God was after.

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying ,
This is the way, walk ye in it , when ye turn to the right hand,
and when ye turn to the left .
Isaiah 30.21



Through seeking him I began to understand
these promptings of the Spirit as calls to enter in.

Behold , I stand at the door, and knock :
if any man hear my voice, and open the door,
I will come in to him, and will sup with him,
and he with me.
Revelation 3.20


I was learning Jesus doesn’t just knock
to get us saved at the first,
he knocks throughout out the day to bring me in to God’s presence.

And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king
instead of David my father: and I am but a little child:
I know not how to go out or come in.
1 Kings 3.7


The Spirit of God was prompting to get me
to cease from my own activities and understanding.
He was leading me to enter in in a way
that I had never before even imagined.

But as it is written , Eye hath not seen ,
nor ear heard , neither have entered into
the heart of man, things which God hath prepared
for them that love him.
1Corinthians 2.9
F
ailure to maintain any kind of consistent prayer life
over the years was shown to be a weakness
that God's power could work and be perfected in.
And the admonition from the Lord
to watch unto prayer took on a new meaning
as I'm learning to keep myself
watching and waiting for those special times
of entering in that the Spirit initiates.
Yes, It was quite simply a call to deeper life
in the Spirit and in prayer
and a more consistent appearing before God
which God was working in me.

No man can come to me, except the Father
which hath sent me draw him...
John 6.44


Then the Lord began to deal with me even deeper
about my thought life.

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord,
that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk ,
in the vanity of their mind...
Ephesians 4.17

He began to lead me to pray in the spirit
and to use my prayer language more
which I realized I was so loathe to do up til now
because of the pain of moving into a realm
where the understanding is unfruitful.
It was way out of my proverbial 'comfort zone'.

But if I was to obey God and move out of
that vain kind of living and thinking that is mine
when I don’t enter in by way of praying in the Spirit,
I would need to ignore my flesh
and move out of the comfortability of my previous way
of thinking and living.

Launch out into the deep…. Luke 5.4


And so I see that God was doing this for me who,
in the final analysis , really did not know
how to come out or go in.

The Spirit showed up in my weakness here
and I slowly learned to respond.
I had to learn that when you get those checks
you do not question-
you turn and begin to listen, or wait , or be still…
you know… the kind of things our flesh is reluctant to yield to.
Especially when it is not clear to our understanding
what God is seeking to do.

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard ,
nor perceived by the ear , neither hath the eye seen ,
O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
Isaiah 64.4


Developing intuitive ability is crucial here.
There are many things in our Christian walk I find
that are beyond our understanding.
That is why he gives us that peace that passeth understanding.
And so in His grace and mercy
I corrected the ‘little things’
that turned out to be not so little
and wished I had done it a lot sooner.

O how much grace we
frustrate that could be ours.

They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
Jonah 2.8I


It was said of Abraham that right at the start
of that life of faith that was pleasing to the Father
and through which he would become the father of all who believe,
that he went out... not knowing where he was going.
More and more I find this most significant
in relation to the ways of God and of faith
involving our not leaning to our own mind or understanding.

And I find there is a kind of spiritual
and allegorical beheading
that must take place.

I believe the Apostle John refers to just this
in what I believe is a parable.

…and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded
for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God…
Re3velation 20.4


Even if we don’t see the metaphor here,
surely we can see that we are no longer
the head of our lives.
We have been given a new head.
Christ is the head of the body.

Let this mind be in you… Philippians 2.5


Every one who learns to let go of the natural life
and learns to walk in the Spirit
learns to look into a realm imperceptible to the natural mind.

While we look not at the things which are seen ,
but at the things which are not seen :
for the things which are seen are temporal;
but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4.18

Unless we are born again we cannot see such things
but God has revealed them to us
and continues to, until we become established
according to the revelation of the mystery. Romans 16.25

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto him:
neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned .
1 Corinthians 2.14


Our old way of thinking has to go.
Off with the head!