Where you are right now, put your hand on your heart! Your heart is probably the most important organ in your body. It is also the most important in your spirit realm, because the scripture says “out of you, out of your heart will flow rivers of living water”. Today rivers of living water are flowing, so my prayer today is for every heart, Lord, that we will be in alignment with You, that we will hear Your voice clearly and we walk in the realm of obedience. That we would go in because He has made a way for each and every one of us in Jesus’ name. Declare over yourself that you have a heart for the Lord.
Last weekend, I was asked to preach at the home church of Fresh Oil & Fire here in Bulgaria. On the Saturday evening I texted my message to the pastor (Apostle Stilian Mihailov)what I thought would be my message only to have the Lord arrest me in my sleep at 3:12 AM to change the message completely. This has happened to me time and time again where I believe that the Lord changes my thought pattern to correspond to HIS interest, not mine. That has happened to me only a handful of times throughout my ministry but you then know that it is the Lord and when HE changes things, it becomes unshakeable. So I really do believe that the message that I am bringing to you today will bring life, transformation, and a move into the supernatural like never before.
There are a number of scriptures I want to go through and I want to talk about promises to the elect of God. I don't know about you, but you probably have elections once in a while where you live; so what does it mean to be elected? It means to be chosen. So I am here to tell you if you are a Christian, a believer; that you have been chosen and it is not dependent on you(in a way it is) but it is really dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ. The message that He gives me for you today will bring all to the greater realms of love.
In the English version of the Bible, there are 7147 promises from the Lord, so I am not going to take you through each and everyone but I want to highlight a few to you. Those that have touched my heart and, I believe rivers of living water will flow from us. Now, I want to say this before I start when I am in worship wherever it may be, it takes us into the Throne room of God. There is nothing like the presence of the Lord in worship to activate us into the spiritual atmosphere. Around each of us, our families, our congregation, this nation is the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the same Holy Spirit in Canada as elsewhere.
I just know by the Spirit that the Lord will have His way. One of the aspects of having His way in our lives is to surrender in love. I'm not gonna go through every promise but I do know that God loves you and it is a great promise in scripture. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is not changing. But let's look at the scripture that talks about “as we draw near to him he draws near to us”. I like my personal walk with the Lord and it is out of the growth in my personal walk that I can minister the love of the Lord. And if I am not getting closer to Him every day then I am missing the mark of that day. It is not about our lives but it is about Him in our lives.
In our western civilization, there is a philosophy that says I need to have everything that I have to be rich, I need to have at least three cars, I need a big house. The Lord says those things are not the focus of the Word of God. The focus of the Word of God is life and more abundantly in every realm in our lives. But first comes the Spirit and because the scripture says in Matthew 6:33- “Seek ye first His kingdom and all these things will be added unto you.” First, in my life and your life, the Kingdom of God and your relationship with Jesus Christ must be of utmost priority. It is through these considerations that I want to talk about these promises.
Let's open to John 10:10, we will start here and will start with the biggest promise of them all. We serve a big God, think about this for a moment. He created the universe, created the Earth, created you. I just really believe He knows what He is doing more so than we do. He came to give us an abundance of life. What does that look like to God? It always comes back to the realm of love and the abundance of life which flows out of the Throne room of Heaven and it flows to you, and to me. We just need to receive it, it is not dependent on your circumstances, your relationships. It is depending on the promise of God. Let’s go to the scripture. “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” Who is the “I”?It is Jesus Christ- I come, Jesus Christ, so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. So what does life more abundantly mean? It may not mean what you think it means. If we understand God's plans and purposes that He has called you to be on this Earth for such a time as this, if you believe this, you are not an accident. He has called you to bring you into an abundance of the Spirit.
The enemy came to destroy the Spirit of God, to sniff out the Spirit of the Lord, actually to kill God and that's what he is trying to do. But Jesus came and this is my understanding, came to give us more spiritual life and when He gives us more spiritual life we will have the other life. But it is what we put first that counts. What are you putting first in your life? Are you putting the kingdom of God first? Are you seeking him first? Are you putting Him in the throne of your heart? Because when you do those things God will use every situation, every circumstance to propel the Kingdom of God forward in your life. You know I am a backslider if I miss one day without the presence of God. Now I understand I am not going to miss one day without the presence of God, that is a priority in my life. Somehow despite the opposition to our collective lives by the forces of darkness and to your life the Lord will prevail.
Circumstances are there to propel us into the realm of the Spirit, closer still, getting closer to Him every day. I wasn't happy at 3:12am in the natural when the Lord woke me up, but there is something about His tender love towards me. His ways are higher than my ways, His thoughts are higher than my thoughts. So one of the things that He has given us is of course bringing us to His fullness which is a promise of heaven, a promise of God for our hearts and our lives. If you backslide there is ground that you have to retake and what the scripture says- having done all I will stand. So what am I standing in? I am standing in the promises of God. I am standing in heaven on Earth. You are standing today and you are walking today because of the goodness of God that He keeps you together despite the opposition. Some of you may have not even thought that you would be here today because the enemy has tried to rob, kill and destroy you. It is not Christ, it is the enemy. Close your eyes for a second. I just want to thank the Lord for His presence in every heart and every life. Lord, that Your presence that propels us closer to the cross, it is Your presence that transforms and changes us from the inside out. Lord, that without you we can do nothing, but what's impossible for man it’s possible for God. Transformation, change, being molded into the perfect image of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe enough to see it happening in your lives, in my life. I am here on divine assignment, this is a divine appointment for me, every day is a divine appointment. If you see life that way, watch and see the transformation that will take place. You know, I don't have a salary and I am not looking for one, because the Lord knows my heart and He is more than able to fulfill the promises that He has given to me.
So let's go to John 6:37 “All whom my Father gives”- isn't that interesting that the Father gives. So He knew everyone that He was going to give to the Son and throughout history God has been giving people to the Lord Jesus Christ. So is that a new revelation; it may be new to you but actually, you can picture yourself as a gift that the Father gave the Son. So you are a gift and Jesus sees you all as gifts. Every one of us, everyone that has a relationship with Him is a gift from the Father to the Son. You are a gift! We should treat each other as those gifts with dignity, with honor, with respect because you are a gift and the others are gifts, too. You probably never saw yourself that way. You probably have some issues in your life, probably get angry from time to time and you probably are frustrated from time to time. Sometimes even the hatred words may come into the equation, but that's not God and He still sees you even with those things going on. Does He want to take them out of your life? Absolutely, but it's a gift to the elect, it's a promise to the elect that Jesus Christ the Lord of eternity receives you as a gift. Yes, there is a part you play in this, but I believe, if He chose you, He will sustain you. I don't believe salvation is a one-time thing. I believe salvation is a daily thing, every day that we come boldly to the Throne room of grace. The first thing I do in the morning is jump out of bed, maybe not exactly jump, but one of my first priorities is thanking the Lord that he gives me life, the promises of heaven in my heart in my life to extend out from me.
Now promises of God- as I said there are 7147 promises of God. The promises of God- many are unconditional and that means without any condition. You have them simply because you are a believer. But there is a lot of conditional promise and there is an “if”, “and” or a “but” there. And those are conditional promises on you, on what you do. I am not really talking about those today, I am talking about the promises that come because you are a believer. I can guarantee you this first and most important: the love of heaven is available to you. It is a love not full of emotion but is agape means, godly love. I believe the greatest sin of men is to walk in that realm of emotion over that realm of the Spirit. The original sin I believe was birthed in the emotional realm. It was born in a realm that was different from the spiritual atmosphere that was so rich in the garden of Eden..
In a moment of time, Adam and Eve walked away (on purpose) from the atmosphere of Heaven. Everything in the scripture, every decision up to that point was rooted in and founded on what God said and that very first sin was the very first time that humanity walked away from the Lord. How many times has that happened over the course of humanity? I am here to declare today if you draw closer to Him, He will draw closer to you. It is not dependent on the pain in my body, it is not dependent on the words people say to me, it is dependent on the Spirit of the Lord that is overwhelming and flowing like rivers out of our hearts. There is not one person that has a relationship with Him that he will abandon in time of need. There is not one person he will lay aside in time of need. Seek him first, the Kingdom of God.
I am what they call a revivalist, which really means that, if we are not getting closer to God, we are getting further away. There is no neutral. It is one way or the other way. And neutral is good if you are driving a vehicle, and reverse is good if you are driving a vehicle. But God has only forward gears. We go forward. I am not going to tread water. As Paul says that he was in a race, a man who wrote a third of the scripture in the New Testament and he was in a race. You are in a race and I am in a race. It is a race to the high call of the Lord Jesus in my life. Without his presence, I can't do anything. I am a popcorn guy. Do we all have natural things to deal with? Yes, we have them, we are human. At least I think I am a human. How about you? There is human nature in you, but the Spirit of the Lord is also in you.
John 6:37- All whom My Father gives (entrusts) to Me will come to Me; and the one who comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out [I will never, no never, reject one of them who comes to Me].
What's the key to fellowship with Christ? Coming to him with all your inadequacies, weakness, coming to him. By the way, He knew about all those things before you, He knows where you are, He knows your life better than you. He knows what you need and we don't, unless we are led by the power of God and the Holy Spirit working in our hearts. Why am I here? Why am I in this place? Why am I in Bulgaria? Why am I in this church? Because I believe I heard the voice of The Lord to be here and to propel others into the kingdom and help here. The Lord is the one that empowers you and sustains us through all this. “...And the one who comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out...” So with all your issues and problems, all the anxiety and pressure come to Him and He by no means will ever, ever cast you away. Never cast you away.
To me, I wouldn't have chosen me but on the other hand, you may have not chosen you but he did it anyway. The promises to the elect of heaven, they are available to you today. Here is a promise. He will not cast you out when you come to Him. He accepts you exactly where you are at, but the Holy Spirit will convict you of sin, and when He does you get ready to lay that aside and embrace your heavenly brother the Lord Jesus Christ. He will not cast you away. I don't care what you look like, it is no matter to God what happens in your life. Let him transform you and change you from the inside out. Out of you will flow rivers of living water.
Look, your mind will never comprehend God, never, the Creator of the universe. He knows every equation, how to build planets, solar systems, galaxies, and the universe. He knows what He needs to get you on your face before Him. He knows what you need to get into a mode of surrender. He knows what He's doing. Amen! ”I will most certainly not cast you out. [I will never, no never, reject one of them who comes to Me].” You know I've heard stories of people condemning other people to hell, but I would rather come to them with love that He has released to me. I would rather talk about the love of Heaven than the judgment of Heaven. God so loved the word. That is you, me, everything out there. Then when you have surrendered your life, watch and see what the Holy Spirit will do. Watch and see the Spirit of God at work in your life. I am not the same person I was when I got saved. I am not going to be the same person tomorrow.
There is an article I wrote and put on my website that the Lord says to me every day “Go lower Peter.” Your victory is in going lower, your victory is lower still and it comes out of a realm of surrender. There is a western gospel that says there is no suffering in the walk with the Lord. I may suggest that suffering was very much an instrument in the life of Paul and to a manner or a degree we will experience the sufferings of Christ. You may not go to a cross but suffering is very real, it's real in the outside world, it's real in the church. But it is like changing when you get saved from a propane car to a gas car. It is when you walk in the Spirit that you can supercharge the vehicle that you are in through the gas of Heaven.
I am after an acceleration of the gas (like a car)by the Spirit of the Lord into the realm, where He desires for me to be. I hope and pray that in this place today I am releasing a hunger to get into that realm. When you go after him he will bring you and say- Peter, come with me and I am bringing you into the realm of glory, where grace is unending, where love is unending, where mеrсy is unending and the powers of Heaven are unending and are rooted in those things. That's called love, mercy, compassion, self-control, fear of the Lord, and many, many more elements of Heaven. You will know that God's ways are different from ours, that he is making a way where no way is possible and in the name of Jesus I declare it in this ministry, what looks impossible becomes very possible in this realm that you are walking in.
He is a rewarder- another promise. He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. So what does that mean? If you are fulfilling Matthew 6:33 then (this is a conditional one) He will move in and through your life because He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.
Mark 10:29-31- “Jesus said, Truly I tell you, there is no one who has given up and left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for My sake and for the Gospel’s. Who will not receive a hundred times as much now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. But many [who are now] first will be last [then], and many [who are now] last will be first [then].”
There is nothing that can prevent you from walking in the realms that the Lord has for you. The only barrier is not demonic, the only barrier is you and your relationship with the Lord. Out of you will flow rivers of living water. I am after such a quick flowing stream with rapids. Even though there are rapids when I am in His river and He is taking me through these twists and turns. The Lord navigates us around them and He does it. If you are trying to figure out your life right now, just put it at the foot of the cross, just surrender it. Say “I surrender, I give up. It is no longer I that liveth, but Christ that liveth in me.”
“...And in the age to come, eternal life...” you are headed to eternity, I am headed to eternity but there are things I must do here. I believe that every believer has a destiny and it is not where you are at now. It will be full of power, dominion, and authority. Genesis 1:26 says “all authority I give to you” and that was the Father. I see ourselves as invaders in a world that needs what we have. It is not a natural invasion, it is a supernatural invasion led by the forces of Heaven. Is God able? If you are looking through your natural eyes it may look like- boy that can't happen. But when you look through your spiritual eyes all things are possible in Him. Do you believe it? Here is another thing. I believe that you can't change yourself and I know many of us make attempts to do that but when the power of God hits change is inevitable. Change will come by the Spirit of the Lord. He will not cast you out. That's the promise of Heaven.
We can hear many sermons, we can hear many messages, you can read many articles, but I am after those messages and sermons that touch the heart of Heaven and proclaim the provision of Heaven. He is faithful to fulfill the promises that He has for you. He is faithful to complete the work that He desires to do. He and He alone is the author and the finisher of our faith. He alone, not you, in your life, your heart. We can come boldly into the presence of the Lord. Today is a day of transformation that the word goes in our very DNA and transforms us. Where I was angry before because that gentleman on the road cut me off coming to church this morning. Lord I surrender, I put it down, I pick up my cross and I follow you daily. There is not a word that I have used today that is out of alignment with Heaven, not one word. Every word is in perfect communion with Him. He woke me up and it's time for the church to awake and take its rightful place whether you live in Bulgaria, whether you live in Canada. It is time for the church to arise and be that vessel of transformation and change.
Lord, let it start with my life that I will be a demonstration of Heaven. I declare thy kingdom come, thy will be done in my life, in your life today. Where transformation needs to come in I am sensing the Holy Spirit now. How can I tell? My words get garbled and I know that He is taking control. It is no longer I that I liveth and I believe it but Christ that lives in me. There is not one element to what I've said today that does not line up with scripture.
The last promise that I can have is the mind of Christ- promise to the elect. That I can have the mind of Christ, the Bible says so. I am after that mind. Let me ask you this question- what percentage of time do you spend out of the presence of heaven in your life? If it's 1% you are spending in the presence of the Lord then maybe you get 1% of what the Lord wants to release in and through your life. I am talking about your destiny. How about 2%?100%? No one has hit 100% other than the Lord Jesus Christ but we are called to be sons and daughters of The Highest in this place today. It really doesn't matter what level you are at because you can go from 1 to 99 pretty fast by the Spirit of the Lord. I have an association with a ministry. It is called Heidi Baker ministries. What level of surrender she is at I have no idea. But this will ruffle people with religious spirits. In service for two and a half hours, she stood on her head. That wouldn't be something God gave me. Her church within a year went from 8 churches to 8000 churches- in Africa, India, and other places around the world. I have a friend and he has a church of 40000 people that they can only get to church together only in a football field that seats 45000 people. Once a year around Christmas they will have this stadium service and I have been there with 40000 people. Many of them storm the altar because they are hungry for more of Him. How much more of Him do you want? He will give you the proportion- one, two, fifty, ninety-nine, a hundred. What percentage? Today I am going to declare over your lives over each person. It doesn't matter on which level you are at. One is on track just as much as two is on track but we can all go higher still in this place. I need to go higher. How? Simple- I have to lay down more, more of my life for the Gospel, for the Kingdom of God. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you.
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