Greetings,
I had a great week last week in the Netherlands with House Of Praise Ede. I had some great meetings with the leaders and I was also able to get a lot of work done during the day. I finished editing another training course with Portuguese translation. This past weekend I have been with C4 Church in Clay Cross, England. We have had a great time of teaching, relational connection, and the wonderful presence of God. The sun was shining in the U.K. and so was the Son of God shining in people’s hearts!
The presence of God in our lives empowers us to do supernatural things. The presence of God will empower us to overcome difficult things. The objective of our lives is not merely to overcome wicked things. It is to be a place where God lives in the earth, but when we are that place we overcome all wicked things. The secret to overcoming wicked things is not found in our ability to be smart. It is found in our ability to be strong in the presence of God. When God rests in our lives everything in and around us comes under His peace.
When Christ centered people come through difficult things, and they don’t smell like smoke, it proves that God was in their lives. They have discovered the place in the East, a place of new beginnings and new days. God lives in our lives in the East. It is a place that promises hope. It promises life. We experience a sunrise each and every day and it promises a new day. I live in the Northwest of the U.S. where there are often grey skies during the winter months, but even on those days the sun is shining above the clouds. The sky becomes filled with light even on a gray day, because beyond what we can see the sun is on. In each and every day there is always hope. There can always be an expectation of a new day. The place where God lives is a place of true light and it is a place of promise. It is a place of expectation. It is the only place where we can say, He is able to do things exceedingly above and beyond anything we could possibly ask or think.
Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
If you are too smart you won’t be able to see it, but if you are connected you will be able to say it. He is able do things above and beyond what you can even ask or think. Intimacy with God who is the true Light of Life will give you hope, but natural awareness and the knowledge of good and evil will blind you to the truth. True enlightenment is not knowing something in your mind, it is intimacy with God in your heart.
When you find the place where God rests, you find the foundation for your purpose. In the world people seek purpose so that one day they might rest. The family of God finds purpose from the place where God rests. Sons and daughters of God know that God rests in their lives. That rest is not because God is tired, it is because He is hopeful. He is full of expectation. He is at peace. He is not worried. He gives life, He gives breath, and He gives all things in environments that welcome Him. That is who He is, not just what He does. It is what happens when He walks into the room. In the kingdom of God, we don’t live for purpose so that one day we might rest. We live from rest, so that we can grow in human purpose. We can live in and for the purpose of our heavenly Father.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Good works do not get us into Christ, but Christ in us empowers us to discover the works that have been prepared for us. I have changed my thinking on some things. I used to believe that King Jesus destroys the kings of the world. I used to think that Jesus the Lord destroys the lords of the world. In recent years I have discovered that He doesn’t destroy them, He converts them and transforms them. I have discovered that God doesn’t need anything, but to be Himself He has to give life, breath, and all good things. He has a need. His need is to give life, to give breath, and to give all things. He doesn’t get His identity out of that. He is secure in His identity. He is life. He is love. He is good. He is many attributes that describe who He is. It depends upon the angle we look from as well as the moment and the circumstance. To be Himself, He needs an environment where He can give.
Be the place that can receive the life of God today. Be hungry for His presence. His presence will give you your true identity. Be willing to become an expression of Him in your world. He gives breath. He is the word, but you are the voice. He is the paint, but you are the painting. He is expressive, but you are the poem. He is the notes, but you are the song. Be teachable in all things, because He is willing to partner with you in all things. He can even take what an enemy intends for evil and turn it for good. When God rests in your life you can expect good things. You can expect life!
Blessings,
Ted J. Hanson
