THE SECRET PLACE
“He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)

PART 1

TIMES OF REFRESHING

Quiet time with you Lord is the most joyful
You know my thoughts, as I listen for your voice
I want to know you, to see you and touch you
As I draw near, I am humbled and in awe of you

I believe that spending quiet fellowship with God is the ultimate fulfillment we can experience in this realm. Loving Him with all of our heart is the meaning and purpose of living and anything less than these visions of the divine is a failure and great disappointment. Our Father has given each of us the opportunity to live and He carefully planned for us a life of duty and honor. Our duty is to obey His voice and our honor is to love Him and serve Him with all of our heart. The question remains; who will live in the secret place of His presence? There are prophetic signs all around us and God’s Word is being fulfilled every day that is bringing clarity to the remnant of God’s people. In addition to the coming tribulation, there is coming a time of trials and persecution to those who proclaim to be the disciples of Jesus Christ. I would love to write about the future being laden with riches and world peace but I cannot with a conscience sugar coat a pile of mud and call it a chocolate cake. The hardships that I am referring to are the cruel opposition from the world toward those who will stand boldly for God’s truth. However, all is not lost! Just because the world hates Jesus and those who represent Him, does not mean that we will not experience victory. We remember the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace and we rejoice in the promise that no matter how difficult or severe our trial, Jesus will be with us. If we can learn to “abide” in the secret place , we will not be afraid because we are holding hands with the God of heaven and earth. In this light, you and God are a majority and will never fail! Fear is a result of doubt and not being confident of our “standing” with God. If we KNOW that we are “IN CHRIST”, we can walk in faith and confidence no matter what or who is against us. Staying under the shadow of His wings proves how much we trust Him and reveals our passion for our intimate communion with His heart. “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings shall you trust: His truth shall be your shield and buckler.” (Psalm 91:4)

Have you ever wondered about how the gifts, miracles and supernatural manifestations should be a normal way of life, but unfortunately, the super-natural power is only manifested at best on rare occasions. The churches have traditionally been thought of as the place of demonstration, but I believe God is trying to teach His people that His power is not reserved just for the corporate sanctuary. Many of the churches have forsaken the call to holiness and this has opened the door to the sin and worldly compromise, which in turn has prompted the Holy Spirit to exit through the back doors. Without the supernatural power of God demonstrating His miracles – there are no miracles! God will not push His way into man’s religious programs and man certainly has no power on his own to do a miracle. God’s people have been called to be “vessels” of honor and purity so that He can be poured out “through” them! It is easy to talk about God’s power, but who will live the holy and dedicated life in order to manifest His power? Selah.

The Lord knows His children and is calling His people to “walk” with Him as a lifestyle – and not just a club membership. Divine appointments are spiritual events that are pre-arranged by God to accomplish His will. It is true that sermons given to the corporate body can be edifying to those who hear it, but there are 166 more hours left in the week that Jesus desires to minister. I personally believe God has provided heavenly warehouses of spiritual armor and gifts and is waiting for his people to start using it, but there again it is much easier to talk about the battle than to actually enlist. There are many excuses that people use to not develop spiritually but in the end we will find disbelief and laziness. Most do not want to learn because they realize that knowledge results in responsibility. It is strange that people would go to all the trouble to attend an assembly on Sunday, to partake of the services, fellowship, activities and even give an offering but never allow the Word of God to influence them during the rest of the week. People who do not study daily are obviously not hungry for God’s revelation so if they are not seeking the daily truth and daily personal relationship with God then why are they visiting Him once a week? Because most people are convinced they can pat God on the head and keep Him satisfied with whatever they choose to offer Him. It is a deception to believe that everything will work out and be alright in the end. Reverential fear is the respect for His perfection to remember and reward without partiality or favoritism. The person who loses the discernment of God’s ability to be a perfect disciplinarian has chosen to enjoy the pleasures and false security of foolishness. “My flesh trembles for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.” (Psalm 119:120)

If Christians prayed, fasted and studied during the week there would be many contributors to the traditional church meetings instead of a lecture and an audience. The problem is that most religiously minded people want to keep God in a house and under the control of service days and times. Walking in the Spirit “constantly” would point to man’s responsibility to live holy and in turn mean that God could be manifested anywhere at any time. It is much easier to “visit” God than invite Him to live with us! Selah. This is why religion is much more popular than being a disciple. Most people do not want to hear sermons that announce how Christianity was never designed to be a spectator sport and there are no benchwarmers – only player/coaches. They would much rather hear about how God wants to bless them with wealth and an easy life filled with pleasure. This humanistic spirit of religion has slowly influenced the masses and has gained many military victories with dousing the flames of Holy Ghost power with the waters of carnality. When the flesh is allowed to rule, it naturally begins to teach heresy that is designed to fulfill the flesh while denying the spirit. Our flesh hates anything to do with being crucified! It does not want to hear about it or talk about it or even entertain the thoughts of it. No doubt it is much easier and convenient to be spoon fed Bible stories like a little baby (sincere milk of the word) than to grow up and actually live a life of faith by seeking out your own salvation with fear and trembling. This is another example where organized religion can take the place of personal spiritual growth if there is not a willing heart that desires to become serious with living for God. We do not know someone intimately by listening to second hand history lessons and the conclusions of someone else’s level of theological understanding. You see, we cannot actually “know” an ancestor just through people telling us how they were and what they did. We can know about them but not really KNOW them. Knowing God is the same way, it is a real, living, PERSONAL journey filled with first hand experiences and the desire to privately hear God one on one. It is about extending our faith in prayer so that we can learn directly from the Holy Spirit and realize he is waiting to slowly reveal what is hidden to us individually. The secret place reveals who He is to us and who we are in Him!

It is true we are an important piece of the universal body of Christ but at the same time a complete unique creation that contains the fullness of the power of the universe. God “in us” gives us everything we need for the unlimited potential to be like Jesus, a spiritual powerhouse with no limits. We are equipped with a transformed mind, a temple that houses the presence of God, along with being a channel for boundless miracles and supernatural wonders. We have been given a small portion of freewill for the purpose of drawing near to God and resisting Satan. (Most events are predestined and even the enemy is used to accomplish God’s divine order of Holy blueprints. This personal worldview is the result of years of difficult searching). But the point is that we have been created with such spiritual versatility yet most do not even comprehend their mission. I know that fellowship is good and the fellow soldiers concept is a healthy, Holy truth but let us remember that God has used the eagle as an example of how a mature and confident representative should live. Like the eagle, a true follower of Christ lives and flies in the higher realm far above those who cannot see the forest for the trees. When everyone leaves the Lord and abandons us, we will stand strong and courageous because we know God personally. When you have seen and touched something or someone, no one can tell you that it was not a real experience. With wisdom, strength and excellent vision we will listen, obey and follow His voice and be filled with joy.