Spiritual Realities

In Matthew 28, there is this powerful story of Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph walking onto a scene where an angel rolled away a rock from the entrance of the tomb of Jesus and sat on it. The angel told the ladies that Jesus was risen and to go tell the disciples. They were filled with ecstatic joy as they turned and went to tell them. And then they encountered Jesus. He told them to tell the disciples to meet them in Galilee where they would see Him.

While some of the disciples doubted, and Jesus later rebuked them for this, all eleven of them went to Galilee to see him as directed.  It was there that they encountered Jesus for themselves and they were commissioned.  Imagine if their doubt kept them from coming to Galilee how the story may have been different.

 

This is a beautiful story of the intersection between the seen and the unseen realm.  The angel was not only visible but rolled back the stone for the ladies, which would have been impossible for them to do, so they could see Jesus was no longer there. These women were full of faith and filled with great joy as they went to tell the disciples and ran into Jesus.   There was such a beautiful convergence of the two worlds as what they were seeing spiritually was manifesting in the natural world.

 

In Jeremiah 1:11, the Lord asks Jeremiah what he sees.  He says he sees an almond branch. And the Lord responds in 1:12, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.”   

 

Jeremiah was seeing in the Spirit. But there is also this point of where what he saw represented in the Spirit happened in the natural.  This is the same for Jeremiah seeing a pot boiling over facing away from the north.  As a tea pot would boil over, it would bring scorching and pain. Jeremiah first sees this spiritually and then it manifested. 

 

Jesus, when He came to earth, came as a seed of faith impregnated into a virgin girl.  There was this incredible angel announcing what would happen and then we see that she becomes pregnant in the spiritual realm and then He grows until she gives birth, bringing Him through to the natural realm.  

 

If we will see it, there seems to be this interplay between natural and spiritual realms.   What happens in the spiritual realm manifests into the natural realm in a supernatural way. 

 

One author, Maldonado, writes that, “The spiritual reality you experience in the invisible realm must manifest itself in the physical realm and impact the natural realm.” [1]  He notes that revelation and manifestation are interdependent.  And that what sets apart the believers who manifest the power of God from those who don’t is revelation. [2]

 

In other words, he is saying that manifestation does not happen outside of revelation. Those with a passive faith that does not engage with the unseen realm, cannot pull from it.  We need to engage with that realm and not be blind of it if we want to operate in the supernatural.  Maldonado writes, “Revelation of the Word is the place where the Holy Spirit manifest supernatural demonstrations of power.” [3] 

 

Thus, before Jesus came, we see the need for John to go ahead of Jesus and make the way for Him.  He saw this spiritually and then prepared people to step out in faith in the natural which opened them up to the spiritual realm.  Why would anyone get dunked in water? They have to believe and receive that there is something more happening.

 

Jesus lived constantly out of the spiritual world.  This allowed Him to pull this into the natural realm. He so much lived out of this realm that at times He would just disappear into it and then re-appear.  We know this is possible from Enoch and Elijah who both crossed over into the unseen realm.  With Elisha, he wanted a double portion of the manifestation of power and Elijah tells him it is only going to come if he sees him taken up (has revelation of the realm he was crossing into). 

 

Revelation is what first opens the doorway into manifestation.  If there is first no revelation of the spiritual, we stay stuck in the natural as our only option.  At the same time, sometimes prophetic acts in the natural, cause the supernatural to flow.  Elisha hit the water like Elijah to cause it to open.  Another example of a prophetic act is the king shooting the arrows and stopping after three of them.  Elisha told him he should have struck the ground at least six times to totally defeat Aram.

 

Prophets constantly also operate out of this spiritual realm.  Their job is to identify by revelation the spiritual that God is wanting to manifest in the natural.  Interesting that they are often not the ones that pull it into the natural, but call others to do this.

A prophet will give a “Word from the Lord” and then it is the job of the king, commander, or other leader to believe the Word and follow up on it.  This is why it says to believe the prophets and prosper or be established.  

 

We see this with wars and the victories proclaimed first from the spiritual realm.  The commander believes them and then they manifest.   Had the commander went out to battle without “knowing the Word of the Lord,” they most likely would have failed as they fought the battle in the natural realm rather than the spiritual realm.   

 

Deborah and Borak also are a perfect example of this kind of relationship.  Deborah saw the victory and called Borak to step out in faith.  But he would not step out in trust without Deborah.  She came along and was given the victory with him as she not only saw it but entered into it in the natural realm. 

 

Maldonado notes that this kind of revelation can also accelerate the growth of the people of God. [4] I see now how receiving a word from the unseen realm can cause it to manifest as it is believed by the one who receives it.  It is not speaking by faith and proclaiming one’s own will that causes it to manifest, but a seeing spiritually and calling it forth. A prophetic words comes with impartation of the Holy Spirit for the manifestation of power.

 

We need to learn more how to operate out of this realm.  Declarations for the sake of declarations are not the same as manifestations of proclamations of revelation.  The spiritual realm has authority over the natural realm.  Therefore, our authority will come from this realm. But we cannot bend or manipulate the unseen realm, only cause it to manifest by our inviting it forward.

 

Maldonado goes on to note that, “The level of a leader’s revelation will determine the spiritual activity for their church.”[5]  While the leader does not need to be the one who sees into the unseen realm and receives the revelation, they must have access to the revelation and believe it to bring it forth to the natural.   They must invite it.

 

If Borak refused to believe Deborah and walked away from the battle, it would not have happened or manifested.   Having someone with the revelation is needed to bring it forth.  But also, the level of which a leader can enter into the revelation of the spiritual is key and based upon faith.

 

So, 1) no revelation = no manifestation, and 2) revelation with no faith or action = no manifestation.  It is only when there is revelation and faith acted upon the revelation that manifestation comes.   

 

So coming back to the initial verse, what about the great commission? The commission is to make disciples that are walking in authority.  This is also more than just doing something in the natural.  We are not just to go out.  But first comes the revelation that “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given” to Jesus.(Matthew 28:18).  Then, based upon the belief in this, we step forward by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit, out of obedience to see it manifest by His power.

 

As Maldonado notes, “The words we speak are loaded with power because the knowledge of God has led us to an experience with the Spirit.  This, it is not what we know or how we say something that makes the difference, but rather the Spirit by which we know the truth and by which we speak it.  We should not speak out of our own personal opinions, but from the knowledge the Spirit has allowed us to experience.” [6]

 

This last weekend during the worship, I had this picture of an ocean shore.  The waves were coming in and pushing on shore these pearls at our feet.  I asked about them and felt the Lord speak that they were pearls of wisdom. This is an example of revelation.

 

When I saw this, the Lord was not just speaking to me that it was a good idea to take notes and “pick up” the pearls of wisdom.  He was actually giving me revelation in the unseen realm so I could have faith for the manifestation in the seen realm.

 

The Lord was revealing to me in the unseen realm that the power of the Spirit was pushing up on shore these pearls of wisdom for people who valued or treasured them (including myself) to pick up.   Then as my pastor preached, this was the manifestation. 

 

All that to say, I never put this together before.  I have always thought of the revelation encounter during worship as a reward for praying.  I have thought of my work being done in intercession before I show up for service in praying.  

 

When I go a few times a year to a leadership conference at Bethel where they have a powerful revival going on, I notice that my revelation increases.  The last time I was there for their leadership summit, the revelation of the unseen realm was so strong, I had a hard time discerning between the natural and unseen realm.  I found myself physically responding to the Kingdom realm.  Now I understand better that because the manifestation was so heightened during revival, so was the revelation of the unseen realm. 

 

Sometimes I have thought, why not just praying, why fasting?  But the fasting is preparing my heart to have the revelation and to carry it to the manifestation.  While I often have revelation during worship at my church of the unseen realm, it is not just for me and some sort of consolation or reward.  Rather, it is so that I can join my faith to it for the manifestation in the service.   

 

2 Corinthians 4:17-18, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

 

Fasting for me can sometimes feel rote.  It can feel dry.  This can also happen with reading my Bible.   Ever just read your Bible along because you know you are supposed to?   You want to check it off the list as the way you started the day?  I do this frequently lately.  Then it feels dry.  It feels like just a bunch of practices.

 

Here is the deal with it:  Did you know the Pharisees and Scribes were considered the “set apart ones.”   They spent tons of time in their Word (fasting and giving too), but then Jesus came on the scene and they crucified Him. They were probably hangry all the time.   But it wasn’t for not reading their Torah (Bible).  They did way more than I do.  They were dry because of their lack of relationship that led to revelation in the Word. 

 

As good as it is, reading our Bible as a practice cannot be our goal.  It can actually lead to a hard heart if done without the Spirit.   It is the connection with God, and our relationship with the Spirit that leads to revelation.  This author writes that our challenge is to connect with His presence for it to manifest rather than rote practices. 

 

Do our rote practices day after day make room for the Spirit?  I would like to think so, but sometimes they don’t.  Sometimes they just leave us dry and hangry like the Pharisees.  In these times, perhaps a better approach is to actively seek His presence and give up the practices for a time.  We need training to seek His presence over putting rote practices in place.  We need to put our highest value on His presence and seek this first.   As we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness to be manifest in our lives, we will grow deeper.

 

There is a worship leader at my church that God once spoke to me that the Spirit came and rested upon Him and just never left.  He brings with him an open heaven when he worships.  This worship leader puts his energy into staying in a place where the presence rests upon Him. As the Holy Spirit is grieved by our sin, this is not an easy feat to always be open, present and consenting to His ways.  But then when he worships, the presence is there and manifesting out. 

 

I would love to be in that place where God’s presence is overpowering in my life and never leaves. Recently, as my life was feeling more rote and disconnected and my closest friend was passing away, I needed and was praying for rest.  Out of the blue, I was provided a 30 day Sabbatical and so I am asking the Lord how I can grow deeper from it.  

 

Rather than adding a practice or asking me to be doing more during this time, He gave me a picture.  The picture was of a three-legged chair that I sat in and sunk into.  It is this invitation for a place of intimacy in sitting in this three-legged chair that is sustained by trust.    

 

Here is what I got from this:  the three legs are the past, present, and future.   From the past, gratitude for all that He has done will draw me into His presence. Also, letting go of anything remaining with past woundings.  From the present, letting go of feeling I need to do out of responsibility and expectation for being a loving and healing presence led by the Spirit would draw me further into that place of intimate presence.  And for the future, having hopeful anticipation as I am listening, inviting and being led into all He has for me.  

 

I feel like God is inviting me into this place of practicing His presence in a deeper way by being more present to His Spirit.  I long to be sustained in this place and live out of this place all the time.  There is no place I would rather be than in His presence.    

 

Lord, let us find our rest in Your love.  And let Your loving presence rest upon us.  You are what we desire and need.   Have your way in our lives.    

 

 

 1-6. Maldonado, Guillermo. Divine Encounter with the Holy Spirit. KingJesus.org. Whitaker House, Miami, Florida. 2017.