Can Jesus walk into the room tonight?
But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We saw the Master.” But he said, “Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won’t believe it.” Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he focused his attention on Thomas. “Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.” (John 20:25-27)
I’ve learned a little heavenly secret over the years- the law of FOCUS
The secret is this: a truth that you focus on and value starts to appear in your life. What has weight in your heart begins to move around you. What you desire and begin to engage with is what begins to function through you. In other words you are able to pull on certain realities when you desire them by faith and then they begin to happen in your world. Faith pulls the seen into the unseen.
Jesus put it like this: And whatever you ask for in prayer, having faith and [really] believing, you will receive (Mat 21:22). Or to put it another way: Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart (Ps 37:4)
I believe there is a God given desire in this generation to blur the boundaries from heaven to earth like no other has before
I keep asking – How much of heaven can we have? How much of heaven can we see? Can we meet with Jesus and angels everyday in a real present sense?
Prophet Bob Jones has said an amazing statement – that his ceiling – his top level of experience and revelation is supposed to be this new generations floor. In other words his height is our new starting point. Now that is an amazing statement if you think about it. Bob experiences the supernatural a few times a day. He has been to heaven many times, seen Jesus face to face, predicted with accuracy the future, walked with numerous varieties of angels. This demands a response!
So I can’t help myself. I refuse to live in less than we are permitted to have. Bill Johnson (Bethel USA) said something that shook me up the other day. He said that when we get to heaven one of the great surprises will be how much was available on the earth that we did not tap into. Kind of scary really! Provokes me. Recently the Lord spoke to me and said that I’m only walking in 40% of where I should be at this stage in my life. I’ve got some catching up to do!
It’s time! It’s time to hear God, see heaven, walk with angels, manifest a greater authority and power than ever before. It’s time to see the restoration of all things. It’s time for acceleration and change and breakthrough. It’s time to see Jesus.
I’d like to end today’s thoughts with a great story – something that really happened. It’s from Francis of Assisi, one of my favourite mystics. It’s a time when Jesus came in Person to meet with them. Maybe this will happen to you soon? I believe for some it will.
History CRIES OUT for us to BELIEVE for such things
“Once in the beginning of his ministry, St. Francis and his companions were gathered together to speak of Christ. He, in fervour of Spirit, commanded one of them that, in the name of God, he should open his mouth and speak of God, that which the Holy Spirit inspired in him. Now, while the friar was fulfilling the commandment and was discoursing marvellously of God, St. Francis imposed silence upon him and bade another friar speak in like manner. He yielding obedience and discoursing subtly of God, St. Francis, in like manner, imposed silence upon him and commanded a third to speak of God. In his turn, he began to speak so profoundly of the secret things of God that with certainty St. Francis knew that he, like the other two spoke through inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This also was shown by example and be a clear sign because, while they were thus speaking, Christ the blessed appeared in the midst of them in the likeness and form of a youth, exceedingly beautiful, and blessing them, filled them all with so much grace and sweetness, that they were all taken out of themselves and lay like dead men, wholly insensible to the things of this world.”
Immobilised by Love! This is the Mystic Realm – Really experiencing God.
On the Quest, Justin Abraham
Guest Voice: Bill Johnson
If you’ve been reading our blog you’ll know we’re on an inspired theme right now – face time with Jesus! Blurring the boundaries and crossing the lines. In today’s blog I’d like to share an extract from Bill Johnson’s book “Face to Face with God” by Bill Johnson of Bethel Church USA. This is truly inspiring-
Setting up an Ambush by Bill Johnson
“HUNGER FOR GOD IS ONE OF THE GREATEST SIGNS OF LIFE A PERSON CAN HAVE.
It reveals an inner awareness of the existence of a greater destiny and personal fulfilment. Some people have a theological concept about God’s presence with them, but they are struck with no true interaction or experience. We must press past intellectual awareness to hunger for heartfelt encounters that change and transform.
The desire itself is a testimony that there is more, and the fact that we possess this desire to seek God should encourage us to pursue these encounters. It is nearly impossible to hunger for something that does not exist. I crave sweets only because sweet things exist. In the same way, my heart cries out for God because I was created to find complete fulfilment in Him alone. And the more I come to know Him, the more I become sure that He will be faithful to satisfy the desire He put in me.
One of Jesus’s most important promises was given to His disciples prior to His death “He who loves Me… I will love him and manifest Myself to him (John 14:21 NKJV). He promised that they would see Him again. This is clearly not merely a promise that they would see Him in heaven, because that was a given. It was also not a promise for these disciples only, but rather for all who love Him. (Otherwise we might think that this promise only refereed to the appearance Jesus made to His disciples before He ascended).
This promise was for every generation of believers, and it can mean nothing less than that He would make Himself conspicuous to us and that we would surely see Him again and again. We are not only to receive the Holy Spirit in power; we are also to see Jesus over and over again. That has to be the best of both worlds. God has given us these promises explicitly that we might seek Him with abandon, confident that He will be found by those who love Him and seek Him will all their hearts.”
(From Face to Face with God, 2007, Charisma House, page 113-114 Bill Johnson)
There may be tension seeing this new day established, but there is a company of new mystics and cloud walkers who will see His face on an ongoing basis and engage in the strategic council of heaven, to shape a generation, rebuild cities and nations. For a time they may be hidden but in due course their influence will work its way through the landscape to redefine it and reshape it with the contour of above. Landscapers, architects and blueprints are being released. A new spiritual era is rising. With all our hearts we want to position ourselves for that manifestation. The future belongs to the courageous.
Blessings, Justin Abraham
Close encounters of the Jesus kind
How real can heaven get? Can it get so real that you live in the seen and unseen? It gets blurred into one. I believe so…
Joel and Peter spoke of a day of ‘divinely appointed appearances’ and an outpouring of engaging with God -
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, God declares, that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels] and your young men shall see visions (divinely granted appearances), and your old men shall dream [divinely suggested] dreams.”
That’s for today. Religion keeps putting the good stuff in the future. God puts it in the present. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. People who are fighting this truth are like those who trying to stop the wind from blowing. It’s impossible! I’ve heard well known ‘new’ ministries urging people that experiences of heaven are flaky and that people who have such things have moved away from the simplicity of the Gospel. This is the exact opposite of the truth! The Gospel’s purpose is to bring you into a continual new reality. Experiential one-ness with the One!
Jesus said to Nicodemus (a so called expert in all things Biblical) -
“Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.” John 3:3
The outcome of being born again is that we can SEE and EXPERIENCE the Kingdom of Heaven! Yeah God! We get in on the action! One of the most shocking elements of this NEW creation reality is we get to see on an ongoing basis. We get to see God!
“And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent” John 17:3
This is eternal life. Family! Family with Jesus, Papa and the Comforter. Face-time! History is marked with those who have seen God over and over again. It’s not meant to be a one-off event or something that happens just when you die. The Mystic Quest is to experience God on earth as it is in heaven and to go up into heaven & engage with that real place. “Come up here!” still resounds. A generation like John who blur boundaries.
I believe we are now seeing a great outpouring of the Spirit on the earth. It may seem hidden but in hiddenness God is drawing near to lowly, the longing ones, the seekers to show them His Person. In these days His presence is going to be personal. We are in the day of increasing ‘divinely appointed appearances’!
I’d like to end today’s blog with a story. I love stories. This one is about a man called Frank Bartleman who along with another fella called William Seymour saw one of the biggest most powerful moves of God in any generation. Encounters birth movements and revivals and nationwide change. In 1906 in Azusa Street through a small group of people God rocked the world!
“One evening, July 3, I felt strongly impressed to go to the little Peniel Hall. There I found Brother Boehmer ahead of me. He had also been led of God to the hall. We prayed for a spirit of revival for Pasadena until the burden became well nigh unbearable. I cried out like a woman in the birth-pangs. The Spirit was interceding through us. Finally the burden left us. After a short time of quiet waiting a great calm settled down upon us. Then suddenly, without premonition, the Lord Jesus himself revealed himself to us. He seemed to stand directly between us, so close we did not dare to move. I could not even look. In fact I seemed all spirit. His presence became more real, if possible, than if I could have seen and touched Him naturally. I forgot I had eyes or ears. My Spirit recognised him. A heaven of divine love filled and thrilled my soul. Burning fire went through me. In fact my whole being seemed to flow down before Him, like wax before the fire. I lost all consciousness of time and space, being conscious only of His wonderful presence. I worshipped at His feet. It seemed a veritable “mount of transfiguration”. I was lost in the pure Spirit.
For some time He remained with us. Then slowly He withdrew His presence. We would have been there yet had He not withdrawn. I could not doubt His reality after that experience… We were almost afraid to speak when we came back to our surroundings. The Lord had said nothing to us, but only ravished our spirits by His presence… The sun was up the next morning before we left the hall. But the night had seemed but half an hour. The presence of God eliminated all sense of time. … For days the marvellous presence seemed to walk by my side. The Lord Jesus was so real. I could scarcely take up with human conversation again.
Daring to believe for more than we can ask or dare to think! Justin Abraham
Blog: Seeing Jesus face to face
Several years ago a friend said to me “I believe Jesus could appear to us now!” “What?” I replied “Right now?”
Honestly, I was more than a little perplexed by this statement! How could Jesus come to us right now? Surely He’s in heaven retained until the day of His great return? If He came now that would have to be the second coming! My friend’s comments were outside of my mental grid at that moment in time, drawing outside of my tidy lines. It made me wonder- can we really talk with Jesus face to face? Can Jesus really come on the earth to visit us?
I look back at this moment now and laugh. I’ve changed a lot thank you God! We knew so little back then. It’s incredible how limited we can be in our understanding of the Spirit realm. Back then I hadn’t really engaged with the unseen realm, the real world all around us just beyond our human sight. I was still thinking in natural physical seen dimensions. In the limited natural world you’re body can only be in one place at a time. It’s just pure logic rammed into our Western minds from a young age. So you think if Jesus has a human body as the God-Man, he must be stuck in heaven right now waiting to return!
But the ways of the Spirit realm are another thing altogether to the natural world. They don’t work on the basis of the same rule system. It is an expansive and unlimited reality as I was about to discover in the following years. It is a different world that overlaps our world but works in a very different way to the earth realm. It is super-natural – it is above and beyond the natural.
The truth is that Jesus does come and visit people on earth all of the time even though he is in heaven. He is able to be in more than one place at a time and make himself visible. Thousands of people see him every year. Entire churches in the Muslim world are full of people who became Christians through encountering the person of Jesus directly. I remember hearing Todd Bentley say that he’d just been in a church in Asia that had 7,000 people and almost everyone was there as a result of direct personal encounters with Jesus. He visibly stepped into their lives and turned their world upside down. Amazing! If it’s happening there in Asia my question is ‘Why not here!’ We are a family and Jesus is our Elder Brother. Healthy families see each other! They interact!
Church history is full of post-ascension visits from Jesus, starting with the Apostle Paul along the Damascus Road. He was blinded by the Light naturally so he could then see spiritually. He saw Jesus and everything changed. He became a different man, a different name, a new voice, a prophetic oracle to his generation and every generation since. Encountering the person of Jesus lifts you off the ground and gives you a new perspective. It’s impossible to see Him and not be changed. Seeing him commissions you into destiny.
In future blogs I’m going to share with you some gems… stories I’ve been collecting for years on face to face encounters with Jesus which I hope to use in a book. Some of them will blow you’re mind – from Branham seeing a levitating Jesus in a field at night, to St. Martin sharing his only cloak with a poor homeless man who turned out to be Jesus in disguise.
Jesus is with you now. He’s all around us. He’s everywhere. He said He’ll never leave you (Mat 28:20). You just have to open you’re eyes!
Happy days, Justin Abraham
Book: Face to Face Appearances
For the last year I’ve been sharing in Spirit School on encountering Jesus and blurring the boundaries. I’ve talked about getting a welcome mat and slippers for Jesus. Making space for him in you’re heart. Expecting him to come. Someone took my advice and got the slippers and mat in Hong Kong (they heard the Podcast) and Jesus actually came to visit them. She told me it was life changing encounter.
This stuff is so real. It’s the real world- the unseen is where we live from to the seen. It is where Paul said we are to fix our, desire, affections and sights (Col 3:1-2) on things above. To live in that reality.
I believe God is in our generation blurring the boundary. Things like feathers, manna, gold dust, jewels and visible clouds are all hints are a greater truth – we can see and encounter God and heaven now. We’ve had a man come to the door walking past the window five times and then vanish. One time a guest in our house actually opened the door for this fella but he was gone! There’s somebody knocking at the door-
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Rev 3:20
Who’s coming for dinner! Could Jesus & angels eat with you just like Abraham (Gen 18:7)?
This is eternal life- to know through intimate experience for yourself God the Father and Jesus Christ who he sent (John 17:3). We get to be friends with God and enjoy him forever. A family. Jesus our brother. God our Papa. Access to him without shame. Friends.
The bible promises that Jesus would come and manifest (reveal, come out from hiding, appear) himself to us (John 14:21). Bill Johnson (Bethel USA) says this is nothing less than a promise that we would see Jesus over and over again. Every scripture is an invitation to an experience, an encounter. It’s a living breathing word.
I’ve often said to God I don’t want to wait until heaven until I see you. I want to be you’re friend now not a stranger. It strikes me often when I hear people preach and teach about God week in and week out in church, that they don’t really know him. They have not stood in his council (Jer 23:18 and Jer 23:22). They’ve not seen or heard him experientially. They are just saying what they think he thinks. But they don’t really know him directly. I think in this generation that is changing.
In light of this great subject (yummy) I’d like to mention a book to you today that I’ve just started digging into – it’s called “Face-to-Face Appeareances from Jesus” by David E Taylor. I was told about it a few weeks ago so picked it up of Amazon.
It’s a book about David Taylor’s life of meeting Jesus face to face from the age of 17. It reminds me in style of ‘Good Morning Holy Spirit’ by Benn Hinn – I guess you could call it a kind of ‘Good Morning Holy Jesus!’ It’s a simple book and it comes with a promise from Jesus that everyone that reads it will begin to have a greater degree of encountering him personally. That’s a good promise!
It’s worth checking out if you’re on the same journey as me that you- “may become progressively more intimately acquainted with and may know more definitely and accurately and thoroughly that mystic secret of God, which is Christ the Anointed One” Col 2:2 AMP.
Justin Abraham
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