I appreciate your patience with my holding pattern. Love to you all. The harem continues.

We were singing spontaneously for quite a while, concerning God’s holiness and His throne room. My friend Christi was singing powerfully and with a lot of gusto about His holiness, when in the Spirit I saw in the center of the room, between the stage and the seats, God on His throne. He was robed in the richest, heaviest robe you could imagine. It was pure, pure white and encrusted with pearls and embroidered with gold. He had a huge crown on his head, gold, inlaid so incredibly minutely with pearls that it looked like it was made of pearl. He was the embodiment of joy in Himself. I could tell that He didn’t need anything to make Him happy; He was Happiness. So self-contained; He showed Himself to be undoubtedly and absolutely the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and there was no mistaking that there is no other God but Him. His holiness and majesty were really tangible.

All of a sudden, He stood up and pointed at Christi, and said with the happiest abandon and encouragement: “Listen to her! She’s telling you about me! What she’s singing is true! That’s right Christi! You’re doing a great job! Keep going!” What’s more, He turned all the way around to her and put both arms out toward her and started applauding her. The congregation was staring at Him in disbelief, as if they never believed God had an ounce of joy in Himself at all. And then Emily Schiavi, who was leading worship, began to sing, and the Lord did the same to her! I was so ecstatic to see these women being applauded and recognized by the Lord; I felt privileged to know them. What was amazing was Christi’s response (what I saw in the Spirit, not in the natural): instead of getting on her high horse from that recognition, she became so humble. She still kept singing with the same fervor, but her heart was so full of humility that she got down off the stage and went to the Lord’s side. He put His arm around her and held her like a proud Father. Her body got completely hidden in his heavy sleeve, but she just gazed at the Lord’s face. At that point, the crown on His head began to grow taller until it shot through the roof. I even saw myself go and sit at His feet, wanting to just lean against Him and be with Him.

After this intense vision that I could almost feel palpably, Rich Monaco, who was the prayer leader, got up on the mic and said simply and calmly, “The presence of the Lord is in this place.” At which point I saw, in the Spirit, the Lord look at Rich, point to Him, and in the most beaming, joyful, playful way, say: “That’s a good one, Rich.” And that’s when I started laughing. And couldn’t stop for quite a while. I became so aware of the playfulness of the Father that I just laughed with joy. Rich said something else about the river flowing from God’s throne, and I saw the Lord pick up His robe and start dancing in the river.

I wondered later about this vision and whether it was biblical. I thought, “Sure, I’d like it to be true that God recognizes our efforts to praise Him. But if all our deeds are like filthy rags and all…well, let me check what the Bible says about this.” I thought I remembered, vaguely, something about “receiving our commendation”, so I looked that up and found this:

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. –1 Corinthians 4:5

I was astounded. Here was Paul saying that God would bring everything to light when He comes. The one that knows the end from the beginning intends to commend His people. Not condemn them, but commend them. This understanding made me so confident before God that it made me want to follow Him all the more. I have to clarify that there was an underlying understanding in the vision that God was absolutely holy and took sin and rebellion extremely seriously. He does not willy-nilly give a free pass to believers to do as they please. But what I understood was that a true understanding of God’s character and the willingness to speak the truth about Him inspires and motivates our desire to follow and obey Him.

Psalm 62:11-12 echoes this:

One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.

This has to resonate deep within us: that God’s Kingship does not change, nor does His joy, nor does His steadfast love. He is fully confident in Himself and His qualifications and purposes. And His heart is for His people, to encourage them, and to show them that He truly is the source of all joy, happiness and satisfaction.

NOTE: I had a couple of other visions that night which I would like to share soon. Stay tuned.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men…

These words were crafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 at the dawn of a new experiment: a society of people who had “rights”. They were not rights that the State granted; they were rights given by God that no man could take away. This was a different paradigm than most people had at that time–that maybe the “trickle down” effect would endow them with a crust from the table of those that possessed the ability to help them in their plights.

I was worshiping one Sunday thinking about a sentiment we hear all the time in the Church these days. It goes something like this: “We poor, unworthy worms; we have no rights; we have no right to ask anything from You, Lord. So, if you feel like maybe someday looking my way, but only if it would serve some bigger eternal purpose, just maybe you might grant X prayer.” I began to come to God in that posture, but all of a sudden I thought of the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee at the Temple.

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14, ESV

I was stunned. I have thought of that parable so often as one meant to humble me from thinking too much of myself. And that’s what the Scripture says it’s about. But there’s a subtext there. What the Word says is that when the tax collector humbled himself, he went away justified. Now where do we usually see that word, “justified”? Here’s one example:

…yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. Galatians 2:16

There is no one else who justifies a man but Christ. When the tax collector went away justified, he was justified in the eyes of God, just as we are justified once for all when we place our faith in Christ. “Justified” means made completely right in the eyes of God. There is nothing we can add or take away. It has nothing to do with what we’ve brought to the table except our “yes”. We don’t need to keep coming back to God in a grovelling way, because we’ve “gone down to our house justified.” What’s the next step after that? Can you guess?

We are adopted into His family, as sons and daughters. And who is He?

The King. The King of Kings. The Sovereign King of the Universe. And we are His children. What does that make us?

Royalty. Does being Royalty come with “rights?” Um, yes. The answer is yes.

What Christ did in purchasing us, what the Father did in adopting us, what the Holy Spirit did in indwelling us, was to bestow on us the rights of the Kingdom. You see, prior to belonging to Christ, you’d better believe we had no rights! None. We were destined for Hell, for real. But now that we are in Christ’s Kingdom, which “he has been pleased to give” us (Luke 12:32), hear me: WE HAVE EVERY RIGHT IN CHRIST.

That’s why Paul is so adamant that we not give ourselves back to being slaves (Galatians 5:1). Paul is emphatic that we understand that we are children of the King. Even more so, Jesus is emphatic about it in the way that he tells us to pray. He gives us a radical (meaning at the root, not “out there and crazy”) paradigm for approaching God: pray and don’t give up. Ask, seek and knock. And, as the writer of Hebrews says: “boldly approach the Throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16).

I want to encourage you that it is not more holy to grovel before God in a posture of unworthiness. Jesus has already taken care of that. I’m not talking about taking ridiculous postures of “commanding” or demanding anything of God. I’m just talking about the open door that the King gives His own children. Friends, He has gone so far as to shed His own blood to purchase that right for us. Let’s not act like it doesn’t exist. Let’s come before the Lord like His kids–like princes and princesses; like those that rule and reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12).

That being said, consider how Christ, though He was the King, humbled Himself and made Himself nothing (Phil 2:5-7). But that’s for next time. Hopefully you have enough to chew on for a few days.

A very awkward drawing of this vision.

I had a vision at the house of prayer on Monday, May 10. It went a little something like this.

I was looking over the room, and people were worshiping rather quietly, heavily, when in through the back windows came a thick mist or cloud, that hovered close to the ceiling. To the people who were in a place in their hearts to receive what the Lord was saying to them, these funnels came down from the cloud, like little tornadoes. There were lightning and thunder all through the cloud above. The tornadoes did several things.

First, they came on the peoples’ heads and it was very much like the tongues of fire from Acts 2. Secondly, the mist from them covered each person and became a garment: their shirts were red, and over the shirts were white suits, kind of like business suits. Third, the tornadoes lifted each person off the ground just a little bit, and as the cloud moved forward, each person moved with it, kind of like trolley cars connected to an overhead cable.

The vision had significance in several areas. First, the cloud obviously signifies the presence of God, the glory of God, but also the move of God. It could have been easily missed by some in the room. But those who were open to what God was doing and had a “yes” in their spirits were like magnets for receiving it. There was no action on the part of the people except to receive. These were people who had been sensing God’s calling on their lives in both large and small ways–career changes, physically moving, deeper lives in the Word and prayer, etc.

The tornadoes imbued the people with significant power–first in their minds, then in their hearts, then in their bodies. The red shirt signifies the blood of Jesus, and in fact the person of Jesus. Revelation says that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Jesus’ person was the absolute most important element of the lives of these people. The suit was white, for a holy and undivided life, and was not a robe, but a business suit. This is because God is calling people to get down to business. He is preparing to move in Revival, and we need to be ready for what that entails: power in the Holy Spirit; boldness in preaching, healing, discipling those that are newly saved. The way to be prepared is to keep absolutely close to Jesus, by intimacy with Him through prayer.

Some of these people felt disqualified to receive this calling. Some of the reasons were illness in mind or body, weariness, being burnt out or jaded, burdens of guilt over past sins that had been forgiven (*not* including present rebellion; very important to note–that must be repented of!), etc. It is essential to understand that the garment was, on the outside, one of commissioning and calling, but that it worked inwardly as the people were moving with the cloud to effect healing in their lives as they moved out: 1) in love and trust toward the Lord, and 2) in obedience to what they knew they were being called to. The important thing is to obey, resting in Christ’s identity and our identity in Christ, and to let the cloud of God’s presence and movement simply carry you and not strive.

I know for a fact that God is moving many, many people around like pieces on a chess board. I believe this is because He is getting ready to do something quite significant worldwide. If you have felt God calling you to something, I encourage you to press into Him in prayer, and seek the counsel of those you trust implicitly in spiritual discernment. Know that you may be misunderstood, but your ultimate responsibility is to obey God. Keep in mind that God arranges the affairs of His people. If you think of the kingdom of God as a puzzle, we are each a puzzle piece that has a particular shape. If we try to fit into someone else’s spot, not only are we not going to fit, but we rob that person of their place–and we leave a big hole where we are supposed to be. It disrupts the integrity of the puzzle when we give in to the fear of man or our own feelings of disqualification. But obeying out of dryness is not what God wants either. The primary motivation of our hearts is to be lovers of God. Pursue that and the rest will become clear.

2 Responses to “Vision of the Cloud, May 10, 2010”
Troy Says: 
May 18th, 2010 at 10:19 pm e Vesper,
Wow, what a word! Thank you so much for sharing. It is both encouraging and confirming what God is speaking to Noelle and I. I am believing for great things for His beloved here in New Jersey & all over the world!!!! Pour out Father! We want what your givin’
Scott B. Says: 
May 19th, 2010 at 9:31 am e Very encouraging, thanks for sharing it with us, looking forward to the next one. The “rain” is coming!

Jesus came over to me, smiling and laughing, holding a chest of treasure. He handed it to me, but it was so heavy that I immediately went to the floor with it. I opened it up, and it was full of pearls–millions of pearls. I looked up at Jesus, and he was laughing. He and I scooped out huge handfuls of pearls and rained them down over each other’s heads, cracking up–I mean, busting a gut laughing. As the pearls fell, they turned into other jewels of every color.

Later on in the evening, after the worship set, the prayer leader was asking God to pour out His Spirit in a greater way. Immediately I was in that banquet hall again. A servant (which could have been Jesus, actually, and probably was) came over to me with an enormous, heavy, jewel-encrusted robe–a Henry VIII-level great robe. The servant began to drape it over my shoulders and I thought, “That’s way too big for me! That’s going to crush me.” But instead, as he draped it over me, it conformed to me perfectly–as if it were sewn right on me. The weight felt perfect; the temperature just right; the feeling lavish. I immediately understood the robe to represent not just the Holy Spirit, but the calling He gives to each believer. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)

We have several missionary friends. We know they toil, they go through trials–but they are in the mission field because something about it “fits”. Personally, I love to talk to people about the Lord, especially artists. I could make it my life to preach the gospel to artists. For others, that holds no interest, and they would feel like a fish out of water. But my calling “fits” me. I encourage you to ask the Lord to speak to you about 1) Your identity in Him as a son or daughter–it is essential, of utmost importance, that we really believe the truth, revealed in the Word, of God’s character, and of our identity in Him as redeemed children. I tell my children all the time–If God is really a King, and we are His children, that means that we are royalty. We really, truly belong to him–we have all the rights (and responsibilities) of royal children. 2) Ask God to show you, in a deeper way than ever before, your calling in Him. He has gifted each and every believer. No one gets into the kingdom without a welcome gift. “When He ascended, he led a host of captives [happy ones! captivated ones!] in His train–and He gave gifts to men.” (Eph. 4:8) Don’t freak out about it. Just ask Him to show you the way He made you–and not somebody else. He will show you the way to walk.

I hope this blesses you. Comments are welcome.

amy pursley Says: 
May 19th, 2010 at 11:45 pm e i absolutely feel this is exactly what i needed to read right now. thank you for sharing.

This is one of the most profound truths that has been revealed to me over the past two years. I mean, think of it. God commands us to love Him. We know that. But in my years of walking as a Christian, my concept of loving God was something I did badly all the time, and so to be safe, I’d better not ever say “I love you” to God. I could say “Thank You”, “I worship You”, “You are good”, etc. But to actually say “I love You” seemed like the highest hypocrisy.This changed in a huge way when I went to IHOP in 2008. I learned that God counted my love as real, even though it was, of course, weak. The Shulammite woman in Song of Songs puts forth this truth metaphorically when she says: “I am dark, but lovely.” It’s not talking about skin color, but about her exposure to hardship and the fact that the King loves her even though she’s rough around the edges. Since meeting Jesus, I had always had this longing to be very close to him, to love him, but felt so conflicted about it. Learning that he saw me, and my love, as “lovely” was life-changing. It’s the way a bridegroom feels about his bride. By the time the wedding comes, we hopefully know a great deal about our new spouse’s flaws. But that doesn’t stop us from beaming as we near each other at the altar. And we know, in a good scenario, that with our spouses that we can say “I love you” at the end of the hardest day, and it is received as true even if it is flawed.
Still, though, there was a disconnect in my love for God. I could say I loved Him. I could profess it freely now. But what it felt like was throwing a pebble in the ocean; my little offering might get to Him someday, but I didn’t stand much of a chance of it actually touching His heart. I was still nervous before Him until very recently. I am currently undergoing a pretty significant trial and was having trouble making heads or tails of it. But then I heard a fantastic teaching called “Walk In the Spirit” by Mike Bickle. (You can now get all of his teachings, notes, etc. free on http://www.mikebickle.org.) The most profound thing I took away from it was a pretty basic one–that the Holy Spirit lives on the inside of my being. (I know, I know, that is a completely foundational truth that even kids know. But sometimes it takes a while to really sink in.) And it occurred to me, that if He is really that close, then my offering of love really doesn’t have to go that far. It’s deposited in the Person of God as soon (or sooner than) it leaves my heart, mind and spirit. It’s instant. I love, He receives it. Just like that.
The other truth that is releasing my heart to love God is: the Incarnation. God. Became. A. Man. A person–with feelings, thoughts, dreams. Just because He didn’t have a sinful nature doesn’t mean that He was incapable of emotion. “He was tempted in every way, just as we are.” God showed His vulnerability. He didn’t just become vulnerable. The Incarnation showed how much Jesus was willing to risk, not just to show us how much He loved us, but to gain a kingdom of lovers. God has a heart that wants to be loved. He, the One Who truly has everything and needs nothing, wants our love.
That must mean that He like, likes us or something. I’m not just saying that as a “feel good” measure. No, I am speaking biblically, 100%. Jesus said in John that the Father loves us like the Father loves Jesus. That sounds pretty complete to me. I think the Father delights in Jesus, a little bit. When David says in Psalm 16 that “at [God's] right hand are pleasures forevermore”, it gives me the sneaking suspicion that they’re kinda happy over there at the throne. Jesus wants us “with Him where He is”. That means right in the center of His happiness, His pleasure, His closeness with the Father. Now that the Father sees us through the lens of Christ’s righteousness, we are really, truly, His delight. And what better feeling for a Father than to have His kids running around, happy instead of disgruntled, telling Him they love Him? And what better feeling for a Bridegroom than to have His bride say, freely and without self-consciousness, that she really loves Him?
I truly have come to believe that everything God wants from us is something that He has initiated Himself. When He tells us that we shall love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, it’s because He loves us with all of His heart, soul, mind and strength. “We love because He first loved us.” That means that He puts forth the quality of that love by His own example. He is “the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God; slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.” And that’s a pretty safe person to entrust with our love

For those of you who aren’t familiar with her, I encourage you to subscribe to the podcast or listen on the radio to “Speaking of Faith” with host Krista Tippet. The following quote was part of a very intriguing episode on prayer. I was incredibly humbled by this one. It’s by one of the “Desert Fathers”.

“If a man wants God to hear his prayer quickly, then before he prays for anything else, even his own soul, when he stands and stretches out his hands towards God, he must pray with all his heart for his enemies. Through this action, God will hear everything that he asks.” Abba Zeno

Thank you, Abba Zeno. Touché. I’ll be holding onto this meditation for a while.