No short cuts

No short cuts Well I am back home now after ministering for three weeks in Canada and the USA. Many thanks for your prayers and support. I ministered Red Deer Canada, Baton RougeLouisiana, and In Lancaster California. The presence of the Lord in all the meetings was exceptional and many places in the USA and Canada are being primed for true revival.The short cut syndrome When I travel I listen to people and their questions,  in this process I often come across many misconceptions and often confusion as to  the teaching they have heard either from myself or others. No matter how clearly I try to present truth there will always be some who hear differently from what is being taught. Often ones perception of truth can be colored and misconstrued by the ones pre-conceived views and biases which we all have developed over the years. Many want short cuts to take them to the next level; unfortunately it does not work that way. To walk with the Lord in a greater way requires a persistent pursuit of the Lord. Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.  Jer 29:14a  And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: Luke 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Imagination and reality It is clear that Jesus considered imagination as reality in the spirit realm; Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. However we need to clearly understand that these laws which were set in place by God; can be used for good or evil. We know that what you focus on you connect with (or connect with the spirit behind what you focus on) 1 Corinthians 3:18 tells us to focus, visualize the Lord and in doing so we connect with Him and change begins to take place within us. 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. To set your heart upon the Lord involves the focus of our heart ( Mind, emotions, and our will) 2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. These laws are neutral The new age movement use these same laws with great affect, these laws are neither good or evil, it is how they are used that determines the merit or valid use of them. The independent use of the laws of God places one in the category of “New Age” The use of Gods laws and ways to advance our own agendas and purposes puts one back into a humanistic approach to life, and it was humanism that took mankind down into sin and depravation. Prayer can even be used for good or evil, prayer that seeks to control another person crosses the boundaries laid out for righteous praying, and moves into witchcraft., even God will not violate the sovereign will of man. The desire to be our own God and run our own lives by using the universal laws of God is basic New Age doctrine. Jesus laid a very clear foundation when He says in John. John 5:19 I do only those things I see the Father doing. It is quite valid to use your imagination to connect with the Lord, we are told to set our affection on things above. Colossians 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. However in order to walk with the Lord at a level where you experience being with the Lord in heaven or having experiences where the Lord Jesus appears to you requires much more than just focus, it requires a break through. Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.  14a And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: The prophet Jeremiah clearly encourages us to seek the Lord with all our heart in order to find him, thus laying a foundation which we can work from in reaching into the higher places in our walk with the Lord. God requires that we pursue Him in order to find Him. One of the reasons for this is to test our genuineness in our pursuit of Him. There is also a refining work that begins during our pursuit of Him. Seeking, Knocking, Fasting is all necessary if we are to find the Lord in a new and higher level of relationship. Getting the break- through There is a principle and law that states once you have done something you can do it again. For instance once you have learned to prophesy you can do it again. Getting the break-through first, is required for you to walk in it. In order to break through you have to seek the Lord with all your heart and this takes time, many of the breakthroughs that I have had took over twelve months of seeking the Lord. You cannot imagine yourself into these new levels; however once you do break through you can go there anytime you want. Because the door has been opened to you, you can with the focus of your heart live in that realm. In my walk with the Lord it has always been first getting the breakthrough by earnestly seeking the Lord for the break-through, and then walking in that break-through by using the focus of my heart, i.e. imagination emotion and will. In closing We must never seek to enter the realm of the spirit without an awareness of the conscious presence of the Lord. We are not seeking an experience we are seeking the Lord. Jesus is the door to the realm in which He lives we can only enter in through Him and with a conscious awareness of His presence. John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. Blessings Neville Johnson  August 26th 2008