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| The day we rescued Donovan And Polly Anna ( Polly, the smaller cat, has six toes on each paw) Donovan was saved four times from the gas chamber at the Los Angeles pound by some caring employees who worked there because they somehow knew he was special...which he indeed has turned out to be. |
2 Kings 6:15-17King James Version (KJV)
15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
This story begins in the eight verse, which tells that the king of Syria was warring against Israel.
In those days the Syrians and the Israelites were at war with each other and the Syrians would come down and make raids upon the Israelites.
But a strange thing was happening: every time they came down to strike at an army, the army was gone.
When they came to raid a city, everyone had moved out. When they came to steal cattle, the cattle were all gone.
so the king of Syria called his servants together and said, "Every plan we make is revealed. Who is the informant?"
One of his servants said, "Master, there is no spy; there is no traitor among us. However, there is a man in Israel by the name of Elisha, a prophet in Dothan. He tells the king of Israel everything you are thinking."
The king answered, "All right, let's go after him."
He gathered all the armies of Syria together and they went down and surrounded Dothan, where Elisha the prophet and his servant were staying.
early in the morning, the young man came out and looked over the wall of the city. He was horrified to see all the armies, ready to take the city.
He cried, "Alas, my master, what shall we do?"
Then Elisha told the young man something that is important for us to know: "They that are with us are more than they that are with them." All he could see was the enemy.
That is the way it is with many people today. All they can see is the enemy and the circumstances and the problems.
We should not fear the spirit realm, or talk about demons fighting us.
Although we face those problems, we must realize also that the angels of the Lord encamp round about them that fear Him ( Psalm 34:7 ).
The angels of the Lord move in authority as ministering spirits to those who are heirs of salvation.
The devil has only the remnants and the vestiges of a bygone power, but the authority is gone from it. Do not be afraid of the devil.
If he were standing in the power that he once had before the fall, then you could fear, but not now. greater is He that is in the world ( I John 4:4 ).
Do not worry about your children, for greater is the hovering presence of the angels of God over your little children than the presence of the enemy.
Their angels do always behold the face of the Heavenly Father ( Matthew 18:10.
Elisha prayed, " Open the young man's eyes so that he can really see." Then the Lord opened his eyes and he could see all the armies of God surrounding them.
Elisha was safe because the armies that were with him and his servant were greater than those of the enemy.
The story has a beautiful ending. Elisha went down there and smote all the men with blindness.
Then he told them, "You men are going in the wrong direction, to the wrong place; follow me," and they groped their way down the road, following Elisha.
He led them away from Dothan and down to Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel.
When their eyes were opened, they were surprised to see the armies of Israel completely surrounding them, fully armed.
The king of Israel said, "Shall I smite them with a sword? Shall I kill them now?"
Elisha said, "No, do not kill them. So they prepared a big meal and everyone ate. Then they sent the Syrians on their way.
The Word says that the bands of Syria came no more against Israel. The king of Israel killed his enemies with kindness.
It was a miracle of God and Elisha went on his way rejoicing.
This is more than a beautiful story. It is an account of something that we can probably expect to see repeated in this generation.
Long ago, before prophets were called "prophets," they were called "seers." Samuel was a seer.
When Saul wanted to find out where his donkeys were, he went to Samuel, for he could tune in to them and find out where they were.
Samuel also told Saul, "You stand still and I will give you the word from the Lord," and he told him that he was going to be made king.
Those seers could see the events that were going to come to pass.
It is interesting to compare two different translations of Proverbs 29:18.
The King James version reads: Where there is no vision, the people perish. The Revised Standard Version says: Where there is no prophecy people cast off restraint.
Both translations are correct, because the Hebrew word for vision is the word for prophecy. There were men who actually saw their prophecies.
This is what God is bringing to pass again.
I prophesy almost entirely by vision. I see things as I prophesy.
When Elisha said, "Open the young man's eyes so that he can see," he was talking about a quality that God brought to the eyes of these seers and prophets so they could see in the spirit. But how rare that was.
Joel prophesied that this is what will come to pass in the end time:
Joel 2:28-29King James Version (KJV) 28 And
it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon
all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men
shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
This great prophecy of Joel concerning the end time is referring to a number of things; among them are prophetic utterance and the dreaming of dreams, which means the subconscious mind in tune with the Holy Spirit so that direct revelation can come to the very depth of your understanding.
The spirit vision will be opened up.
This is exactly what is taking place in this day. God is bringing signs, revelations, and the restoration of ministry.
We distinguish seven or eight different classes of signs and revelation. Although some of them seem to overlap a little, yet each is a distinct type and kind of sign.
1. Symptom signs.
The symptom signs often come to those who have the gift of healing or some such ministry.
As they stand before a sick person, they feel the same symptom within them.
One of the best ways to be a diagnostician is to have symptom signs. You can stand before a person and feel what he feels.
When you pass by someone who has a headache or some other physical ailment, you feel the same symptoms.
You may not always be able to identify what is causing the symptom, but you can feel it just the same.
2. Assault signs.
These you feel when Satan is battling you or when real warfare of demonic power is coming against you.
I have all of these signs and I have them in profusion. Sometimes it is quite uncomfortable to live with spiritual battles.
One time at a conference the assault was vicious and fierce.
I was hit first by what we call scientific spirits, then by religious spirits, and they took turns coming against me all day.
I walked into the service and the Lord began to anoint and we ministered until quite late.
It was a beautiful service and the people were met in a way that changed the whole complexion of that church.
Satan had anticipated this and therefore we were under the assault all day long.
3. Impartation signs.
These signs come as an indication of an anointing of the Holy Spirit to minister to people, to impart something to them.
For instance, a burning sensation in the hands often comes because the Lord has anointed you to lay hands upon the sick and to pray for them. ( Oral Roberts tells of having had this sign when he called out healings) .
You may just be standing by and believing, and you will still get that sign in the palm of your hand because it is a sign of healing power present to heal.
4. Ministering signs.
I receive signs when I am going to impart to someone, but there are also ministering signs which might not be related to impartation at all.
For instance, there are signs you can receive by the Spirit of God when you are being inspired to worship and you are ministering to the Lord.
There are signs that I sometimes get when I am preaching the Word. I do not pay much attention to them because I am concentrating too much upon the Word.
But if I give it a thought, the signs give that sweet comfort and confirmation of the ministry that is flowing out.
5. Devil signs.
Their origin is not from God, but from the devil.
There can actually be times when you walk into the presence of a demon and feel his presence. You will sense it.
It does not have too much significance, nor should you fear it, but you should know it is there.
The sign does not mean that you are particularly anointed to minister, but it does mean that you are aware of the demonic presence.
When you walk into the presence of a devil-possessed person, you may experience very uneasy feelings, emotions, or harassments.
I think most people are familiar with devil signs.
6. Angel signs.
This is a newer sign to me and I am thankful for it.
If God would restore to us completely the prophet's vision, we would not need signs so much.
I think the signs are an intermediary provision of God until the fullness of vision comes.
I am anticipating the restoration of the individual child of God to the state God wants him to have.
I am anticipating the day when you will actually hear spirits with your physical ears and see spirits with your eyes.
You will experience them with all your senses. I say this because it has happened to me in the past.
I do not always literally see a devil or a spirit as it moves about, but I can discern it. My spirit is so aware that it registers even what my eyes fail to see.
I always rejoice in angel signs and the presence of angels.
7. Divine-presence signs.
This to me is wonderful- to stand and sense the presence of the Lord. Sometimes the natural sight is opened up and one can see the Shekinah glory cloud hovering over the congregation.
The cloud comes as a representation of the presence of God over that place. There have been services in which I could see rain falling; the Lord was coming unto His people as rain- the latter rain upon the earth ( Hosea 6:3 ).
Like little pricks of electricity, the spiritual rain was falling upon the uplifted faces of the people, and they were entranced.
I have seen the presence of the Lord manifested in different ways. These are the presence-of-God or divine-presence signs, and they are very rich and very wonderful.
8. Restoration signs.
These signs are difficult to describe, but we could compare them to growing pains in a child.
We are becoming aware of a growing member, a growing muscle; we are beginning to develop.
Sometimes boys grow so fast in their teens that they grow out of their clothes in a matter of weeks.
When they rub their muscles, they actually feel pain. As a boy, I experienced these growing pains.
Let me describe the signs of restoration. Sometimes my eyes literally begin and I know spiritual sight is coming.
There are times when I am so aware of the presence of the spirit world that I can feel it throughout my body as though the wind were blowing.
Sometimes the brothers notice me sniffing; my nostrils become so sensitive that I am able to sense the presence of devil attack coming against us.
One can almost smell it, just like a dog can smell out the quarry on a hunt.
We are becoming very sensitive and alert to devil power.
In this restoration, it will not be long before the people of God will be so sensitive and have their faculties so completely restored that they will be fully familiar with any foreign or alien spirit coming against them and be able to cope with it.
Praise God for that!
The days of victory are coming, and that is why Satan is fighting this move of the Spirit so bitterly. He anticipates what the people of God in the remnant are coming into.
There shall be deliverance in the remnant whom the Lord call shall call.
No matter how strong the devil power, there will be deliverance in this remnant that God is raising up in this end time.
9. Under judgment attack signs.
I get a stinging, crawling flesh, sensation on my back when I am under attack of some sort. When I press in and seek to minister to others with all my heart these attack signs seem to come. When I back off from ministry they will subside.
Anyone in ministry who goes to the front lines of battle in Christ will get attack signs. These signs are very uncomfortable and last for the duration of the attack; allowing you to know that you are indeed under an attack.
Now here is the interesting thing; you can come under attack through the demonically inspire judgment of you coming through a brother or sister in Christ.
Attack signs wear you down and distract you; that is why the minister of God needs to take a break and get away by themselves with the Lord to seek to be refreshed in the Lord.
Let us lay a Scriptural foundation to show why the signs work as they do, what their basis is, and why they are really important to us.
Two passages of Scripture deal with the symptom signs, the ministry signs, and restoration signs.
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
This great prophecy of Joel concerning the end time is referring to a number of things; among them are prophetic utterance and the dreaming of dreams, which means the subconscious mind in tune with the Holy Spirit so that direct revelation can come to the very depth of your understanding.
The spirit vision will be opened up.
This is exactly what is taking place in this day. God is bringing signs, revelations, and the restoration of ministry.
We distinguish seven or eight different classes of signs and revelation. Although some of them seem to overlap a little, yet each is a distinct type and kind of sign.
1. Symptom signs.
The symptom signs often come to those who have the gift of healing or some such ministry.
As they stand before a sick person, they feel the same symptom within them.
One of the best ways to be a diagnostician is to have symptom signs. You can stand before a person and feel what he feels.
When you pass by someone who has a headache or some other physical ailment, you feel the same symptoms.
You may not always be able to identify what is causing the symptom, but you can feel it just the same.
2. Assault signs.
These you feel when Satan is battling you or when real warfare of demonic power is coming against you.
I have all of these signs and I have them in profusion. Sometimes it is quite uncomfortable to live with spiritual battles.
One time at a conference the assault was vicious and fierce.
I was hit first by what we call scientific spirits, then by religious spirits, and they took turns coming against me all day.
I walked into the service and the Lord began to anoint and we ministered until quite late.
It was a beautiful service and the people were met in a way that changed the whole complexion of that church.
Satan had anticipated this and therefore we were under the assault all day long.
3. Impartation signs.
These signs come as an indication of an anointing of the Holy Spirit to minister to people, to impart something to them.
For instance, a burning sensation in the hands often comes because the Lord has anointed you to lay hands upon the sick and to pray for them. ( Oral Roberts tells of having had this sign when he called out healings) .
You may just be standing by and believing, and you will still get that sign in the palm of your hand because it is a sign of healing power present to heal.
4. Ministering signs.
I receive signs when I am going to impart to someone, but there are also ministering signs which might not be related to impartation at all.
For instance, there are signs you can receive by the Spirit of God when you are being inspired to worship and you are ministering to the Lord.
There are signs that I sometimes get when I am preaching the Word. I do not pay much attention to them because I am concentrating too much upon the Word.
But if I give it a thought, the signs give that sweet comfort and confirmation of the ministry that is flowing out.
5. Devil signs.
Their origin is not from God, but from the devil.
There can actually be times when you walk into the presence of a demon and feel his presence. You will sense it.
It does not have too much significance, nor should you fear it, but you should know it is there.
The sign does not mean that you are particularly anointed to minister, but it does mean that you are aware of the demonic presence.
When you walk into the presence of a devil-possessed person, you may experience very uneasy feelings, emotions, or harassments.
I think most people are familiar with devil signs.
6. Angel signs.
This is a newer sign to me and I am thankful for it.
If God would restore to us completely the prophet's vision, we would not need signs so much.
I think the signs are an intermediary provision of God until the fullness of vision comes.
I am anticipating the restoration of the individual child of God to the state God wants him to have.
I am anticipating the day when you will actually hear spirits with your physical ears and see spirits with your eyes.
You will experience them with all your senses. I say this because it has happened to me in the past.
I do not always literally see a devil or a spirit as it moves about, but I can discern it. My spirit is so aware that it registers even what my eyes fail to see.
I always rejoice in angel signs and the presence of angels.
7. Divine-presence signs.
This to me is wonderful- to stand and sense the presence of the Lord. Sometimes the natural sight is opened up and one can see the Shekinah glory cloud hovering over the congregation.
The cloud comes as a representation of the presence of God over that place. There have been services in which I could see rain falling; the Lord was coming unto His people as rain- the latter rain upon the earth ( Hosea 6:3 ).
Like little pricks of electricity, the spiritual rain was falling upon the uplifted faces of the people, and they were entranced.
I have seen the presence of the Lord manifested in different ways. These are the presence-of-God or divine-presence signs, and they are very rich and very wonderful.
8. Restoration signs.
These signs are difficult to describe, but we could compare them to growing pains in a child.
We are becoming aware of a growing member, a growing muscle; we are beginning to develop.
Sometimes boys grow so fast in their teens that they grow out of their clothes in a matter of weeks.
When they rub their muscles, they actually feel pain. As a boy, I experienced these growing pains.
Let me describe the signs of restoration. Sometimes my eyes literally begin and I know spiritual sight is coming.
There are times when I am so aware of the presence of the spirit world that I can feel it throughout my body as though the wind were blowing.
Sometimes the brothers notice me sniffing; my nostrils become so sensitive that I am able to sense the presence of devil attack coming against us.
One can almost smell it, just like a dog can smell out the quarry on a hunt.
We are becoming very sensitive and alert to devil power.
In this restoration, it will not be long before the people of God will be so sensitive and have their faculties so completely restored that they will be fully familiar with any foreign or alien spirit coming against them and be able to cope with it.
Praise God for that!
The days of victory are coming, and that is why Satan is fighting this move of the Spirit so bitterly. He anticipates what the people of God in the remnant are coming into.
There shall be deliverance in the remnant whom the Lord call shall call.
No matter how strong the devil power, there will be deliverance in this remnant that God is raising up in this end time.
9. Under judgment attack signs.
I get a stinging, crawling flesh, sensation on my back when I am under attack of some sort. When I press in and seek to minister to others with all my heart these attack signs seem to come. When I back off from ministry they will subside.
Anyone in ministry who goes to the front lines of battle in Christ will get attack signs. These signs are very uncomfortable and last for the duration of the attack; allowing you to know that you are indeed under an attack.
Now here is the interesting thing; you can come under attack through the demonically inspire judgment of you coming through a brother or sister in Christ.
Attack signs wear you down and distract you; that is why the minister of God needs to take a break and get away by themselves with the Lord to seek to be refreshed in the Lord.
Let us lay a Scriptural foundation to show why the signs work as they do, what their basis is, and why they are really important to us.
Two passages of Scripture deal with the symptom signs, the ministry signs, and restoration signs.
Hebrews 4:15-16King James Version (KJV)
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
1 Corinthians 12:26-28King James Version (KJV)
26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
First of all, we see Christ, the great Head, as a high priest who is so sympathetic and so one with us that anything we are feeling or experiencing, He is experiencing too.
He is touched with the feeling of our infirmity. In the human body the head is linked in a nervous system to the rest of the body.
If you smash your thumb, you react: the eyebrows go up, the mouth opens, and sometimes naughty things come out of it.
The head is expressing the pain that the thumb felt when the wrong nail was hit.
When we see the way the human nervous system reacts, we understand that when one of us in the Body of Christ is hit, the great Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, also feels it.
He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
I Corinthians 12:26 brings out another principle that applies to the physical body: if the thumb is hit, the rest of the body feels it too.
Not only does my head get excited, but I jump up and down. Have you ever been hurt so badly that you feel it all through your body?
The same is true of the Body of Christ: When one member suffers, they all suffer with it.
And when one member is honored, they all rejoice with it.
A good illustration of that is the woman who goes downtown and buys a brand new hat. It may be rather saucy and a little silly, but it is just right for her.
Her head feels so good with that new hat on that she feels glad all over. Every part of her is happy.
Even her feet do not hurt her as much when she is wearing a new hat.
When one member is honored, they all rejoice with it. The distinctive thing about the Body is that the members are so much a part of one another.
This is what God is bringing and intensifying in the Church today.
We are becoming so one with the Lord that our worship is pure communion.
The will of God is being conveyed to us by the moving of the Holy Spirit of god, completely in touch with Him.
He is so linked with us, that not only does He feel your need, but your brother and sister feel it too.
Whatever you have need of, whether it is help in the time of trouble, or because some assault is coming against you, they are aware of it.
Often when I walk by a brother I say, "Boy, you've been under assault, haven't you?" I am in tune with him, I am one with him.
These symptom signs, ministry signs, and impartation signs come to us because we are sensitive to one another.
Most Christians do not know anything about this business of signs.
They have never read about it in the Bible or heard of anything like this. I do not know exactly what it is, but I think it is a step that God is bringing between dispensation.
He is bringing forth this remnant, preparing then for the Kingdom that is to come; and while they grow in God and come into the increase where their faculties are sharpened.
He is making them sensitive through the signs the Holy Spirit is bringing.
Many of the signs will be unnecessary when we come to the place where the foundation is perfectly restored and we can see and know with perfect discernment and perfect revelation.
In the meantime, it is wonderful that God does not let us stand alone, but He makes us part of one another in the actual experiencing of what our brother is going through, and he experiences what we are going through.
What a wonderful victory we see in this!
If this is the case, then we ought to be able to understand the passage in Colossians where Paul makes a very definite statement that he was completing in the sufferings of his body what was still lacking in the sufferings of Christ for His body's sake, for the Church.
It is true that Jesus Christ died for the Church and His suffering was a perfect sacrifice. as far as sin is concerned, that is true.
But as far as suffering for the Body, that is something else else again.
let me explain it this way: We are in the days of travail when something is being born. When a brother or sister is coming into the walk with God, there is going to be travail.
You mothers rejoice in the birth of your children, but there was pain and travail involved with it. This did not mean that the judgment of God was upon you; it is just the way things are in this present order.
We suffer for one another as the Body of Jesus Christ comes into what Christ has for it. We suffer with one another. We bear with one another.
In Colossians 1:23b-29 Paul spoke about laboring to present every man perfect in Jesus Christ, and I know that is why he went through his sufferings.
Let us read the passage very carefully.
Whereof I Paul am made a minister; who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake, which is the church:
whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given me for you, to fulfill (complete) the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from all ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory: whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightly.
How effective he was. And yet, he was ready to complete the sufferings of Christ for His Body.
He was doing this in his own body. I can understand that.
No ministry will ever really be mature until it is willing to suffer for the people of God to bring them into the maturity and perfection that God has for them.
Paul must have known the assault signs, the symptom signs, the devil signs, the ministry signs, the impartation signs, and everything involved in this, because he was suffering for the Body.
If something came against one of them, he was battled with it too.
We learn to battle for one another.
The strong learn to bear the infirmities of the weak. They learn to carry the load.
They sense when a weak one is being assaulted and they get in the way and intercept it. They know how to stop the battle. This is really important.
Let us discuss briefly the quickening of the mortal bodies.
But if the Spirit of Him that raised Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you ( that is, the Spirit of the Father who raised up His Son Jesus Christ from the dead ) , he that raised up His Son Jesus Christ from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Romans 8:11
What does it mean that God is going to give life to your bodies by His Holy Spirit? He is going to quicken them. Does this mean that we are dead?
No, we are very much alive.
Is this talking about the resurrection? No, it is talking about the walk in the Spirit now, not the resurrection of your body.
He is explaining the fact that your body is dead to much of the divine realm and the spirit realm, and this is true.
The Spirit of God comes to give life to your body, to quicken it and make it alive to a world to which it is dead.
After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, there was a curse hanging over them: "In the day that ye eat thereof, ye shall surely die."
Adam lived over nine hundred years after that. They did not die that day as far as their physical existence was concerned, but their bodies dies as far as the divine awareness of their faculties was concerned.
In Genesis 4 and 8, we read that men began to build altars and to call upon the name of the Lord.
Prayer became a necessity because people could no longer see God, or hear Him and talk to Him as Adam had walked and talked with God in the cool of the day.
That day was past.
Man's eyes could not see the Lord. His ears could not hear Him. His nose could not sense His presence.
His body was dead to God.
The Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead is beginning a resurrection work within your body.
Suddenly you find your hands burning. What does this mean?
What do the signs mean to us?
We are becoming alive to God again. The restoration continues to all the five senses.
( If there are six or seven senses, all of them are going to be aware of God. )
This is the restoration. The Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead is quickening our mortal bodies, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know we shall be like Him because we will see Him as He is ( I John 3:2 ) .
In Romans 8:18, Paul wrote, " I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
The head is expressing the pain that the thumb felt when the wrong nail was hit.
When we see the way the human nervous system reacts, we understand that when one of us in the Body of Christ is hit, the great Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, also feels it.
He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
I Corinthians 12:26 brings out another principle that applies to the physical body: if the thumb is hit, the rest of the body feels it too.
Not only does my head get excited, but I jump up and down. Have you ever been hurt so badly that you feel it all through your body?
The same is true of the Body of Christ: When one member suffers, they all suffer with it.
And when one member is honored, they all rejoice with it.
A good illustration of that is the woman who goes downtown and buys a brand new hat. It may be rather saucy and a little silly, but it is just right for her.
Her head feels so good with that new hat on that she feels glad all over. Every part of her is happy.
Even her feet do not hurt her as much when she is wearing a new hat.
When one member is honored, they all rejoice with it. The distinctive thing about the Body is that the members are so much a part of one another.
This is what God is bringing and intensifying in the Church today.
We are becoming so one with the Lord that our worship is pure communion.
The will of God is being conveyed to us by the moving of the Holy Spirit of god, completely in touch with Him.
He is so linked with us, that not only does He feel your need, but your brother and sister feel it too.
Whatever you have need of, whether it is help in the time of trouble, or because some assault is coming against you, they are aware of it.
Often when I walk by a brother I say, "Boy, you've been under assault, haven't you?" I am in tune with him, I am one with him.
These symptom signs, ministry signs, and impartation signs come to us because we are sensitive to one another.
Most Christians do not know anything about this business of signs.
They have never read about it in the Bible or heard of anything like this. I do not know exactly what it is, but I think it is a step that God is bringing between dispensation.
He is bringing forth this remnant, preparing then for the Kingdom that is to come; and while they grow in God and come into the increase where their faculties are sharpened.
He is making them sensitive through the signs the Holy Spirit is bringing.
Many of the signs will be unnecessary when we come to the place where the foundation is perfectly restored and we can see and know with perfect discernment and perfect revelation.
In the meantime, it is wonderful that God does not let us stand alone, but He makes us part of one another in the actual experiencing of what our brother is going through, and he experiences what we are going through.
What a wonderful victory we see in this!
If this is the case, then we ought to be able to understand the passage in Colossians where Paul makes a very definite statement that he was completing in the sufferings of his body what was still lacking in the sufferings of Christ for His body's sake, for the Church.
It is true that Jesus Christ died for the Church and His suffering was a perfect sacrifice. as far as sin is concerned, that is true.
But as far as suffering for the Body, that is something else else again.
let me explain it this way: We are in the days of travail when something is being born. When a brother or sister is coming into the walk with God, there is going to be travail.
You mothers rejoice in the birth of your children, but there was pain and travail involved with it. This did not mean that the judgment of God was upon you; it is just the way things are in this present order.
We suffer for one another as the Body of Jesus Christ comes into what Christ has for it. We suffer with one another. We bear with one another.
In Colossians 1:23b-29 Paul spoke about laboring to present every man perfect in Jesus Christ, and I know that is why he went through his sufferings.
Let us read the passage very carefully.
Whereof I Paul am made a minister; who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake, which is the church:
whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given me for you, to fulfill (complete) the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from all ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory: whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightly.
How effective he was. And yet, he was ready to complete the sufferings of Christ for His Body.
He was doing this in his own body. I can understand that.
No ministry will ever really be mature until it is willing to suffer for the people of God to bring them into the maturity and perfection that God has for them.
Paul must have known the assault signs, the symptom signs, the devil signs, the ministry signs, the impartation signs, and everything involved in this, because he was suffering for the Body.
If something came against one of them, he was battled with it too.
We learn to battle for one another.
The strong learn to bear the infirmities of the weak. They learn to carry the load.
They sense when a weak one is being assaulted and they get in the way and intercept it. They know how to stop the battle. This is really important.
Let us discuss briefly the quickening of the mortal bodies.
But if the Spirit of Him that raised Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you ( that is, the Spirit of the Father who raised up His Son Jesus Christ from the dead ) , he that raised up His Son Jesus Christ from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Romans 8:11
What does it mean that God is going to give life to your bodies by His Holy Spirit? He is going to quicken them. Does this mean that we are dead?
No, we are very much alive.
Is this talking about the resurrection? No, it is talking about the walk in the Spirit now, not the resurrection of your body.
He is explaining the fact that your body is dead to much of the divine realm and the spirit realm, and this is true.
The Spirit of God comes to give life to your body, to quicken it and make it alive to a world to which it is dead.
After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, there was a curse hanging over them: "In the day that ye eat thereof, ye shall surely die."
Adam lived over nine hundred years after that. They did not die that day as far as their physical existence was concerned, but their bodies dies as far as the divine awareness of their faculties was concerned.
In Genesis 4 and 8, we read that men began to build altars and to call upon the name of the Lord.
Prayer became a necessity because people could no longer see God, or hear Him and talk to Him as Adam had walked and talked with God in the cool of the day.
That day was past.
Man's eyes could not see the Lord. His ears could not hear Him. His nose could not sense His presence.
His body was dead to God.
The Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead is beginning a resurrection work within your body.
Suddenly you find your hands burning. What does this mean?
What do the signs mean to us?
We are becoming alive to God again. The restoration continues to all the five senses.
( If there are six or seven senses, all of them are going to be aware of God. )
This is the restoration. The Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead is quickening our mortal bodies, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know we shall be like Him because we will see Him as He is ( I John 3:2 ) .
In Romans 8:18, Paul wrote, " I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
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