“Lovin’ His Presence...”

My heavenly Father uses simple but very powerful metaphors and
illustrations to teach me things. I think He does this because I seem to have a “thick
skull”...and I have to listen to concepts at least two or three times in
order to adequately comprehend. Mama used to call me “cabeza de palo” during
the early years of my growth. That’s not a compliment, guys. It means
“wooden head.”
I can’t imagine why she would say such a thing, because in my humble
opinion I have a highly advanced brain, lightening fast understanding, and a
vice-like grip on reality. All Hispanics do (Linda’s gonna crack up laughing
when she reads this...but what does she know, anyhow). C’mon folks, lighten
up. Don’t get “starchy” on me (I heard that at church). I’m just kidding.
It is said that the worst kind of deception is self-deception.
The latest thing that Father is teaching me has to do with electricity:
how it works and how it flows in both the natural and the supernatural
realms. The parallels are enormous and I will try to deal with it in just a few
minutes. I also want to repeat myself on the subject of “inner peace,”
because it is so crucial.
But first, I have to share a marvelous experience I had with Father just
the other day. As always, when I begin to write about the “Close Encounters
of the Best Kind,” something from Heaven falls all over me: a tingling,
all-encompassing warm sensation that is right now wrapping itself around me and
slowly closing in. I suppose it’s an “anointing” of God, but I don’t like
to use “religious” words or expressions because they have been so often
abused.
I just know that this experience was given to me so that I can pass it
on to you. I’m learning to be a conduit; a pathway through which Father can
flow to those on this Earth who will listen. He wants so much to immerse us
in the awesome supernatural so that we can get on the wavelength of the
kingdom of God and get results!. He will work this way through everybody,
because He is no respecter of persons.
Before I go on, I am asking right now that the Holy Spirit jump right
off this page and onto you who read this. You have to experience this kind of
miracle to fully understand it, and He can help. It’s difficult to
adequately comprehend the touch of God if we don’t understand His body language and
His ways. Words do not suffice, but I will do my best to describe it.
As I sat down to pray the other day, I sensed that something special was
waiting for me. I was right. His LOVE hit me like a ton of cotton candy and
I was immediately in my Father’s sweet presence (in the Spirit). This was
on a much higher level that I was accustomed to, and the communication
seemed to be more horizontal than vertical.
Unlike the norm, I didn’t have anything much to say this time because I
was overwhelmed. I just wanted to see, listen and absorb. I was paralyzed
in place but I kept asking for more. I couldn’t help myself.
Then suddenly, there it was again: the “golden cloud of God’s manifest
presence” that I have seen before on occasion. With my eyes closed, I could
plainly see it on the screen of my mind. The cloud is an incredibly rich
color of gold and it was billowing (swelling in and out) in front of my eyes.
And for a brief period of time, I was actually in the cloud, and the glee
inside of me almost blew me away (literally!). It was a glee-mail from God.
I was trying to understand all of this, but all I could hear myself
saying was “thank you...thank you...thank you, Lord.” I became oblivious to
everything around me as I reached out for more of this treasure.
‘Ya know, It wasn’t that long ago that I would laugh in disbelief when
I heard accounts of “glory clouds” that appeared at old Pentecostal “camp
meetings” and “revivals” in the past (I try to be real careful about this
kind of stuff). But whether that really happened or not, I don’t know. One
thing is for sure: I’ve quit laughing...
To continue...I remained motionless as His LOVE tightened it’s grip on me
and everything else around me became of miniscule importance. I remember
saying to myself, “This has got to be what Heaven is like.” I believe I was
right.
I have been petitioning God for years to be transported to Heaven for a
short visit, like Jesse Duplantis, Renny McLean and others...just to check
it out. And in a way, now that had finally come to pass. I didn’t see anybody
or anything, but I know I had experienced the atmosphere of Heaven. Small
wonder that those who have actually been there never want to come back.
A couple of hours after I finished praying, I got up and attempted to
get back down to business as usual. It wasn’t easy because I sensed that
something extraordinary had just happened. I knew inside that much of the “I”
had been extracted from my “Identity,” and for a brief period I had merged
with something infinitely larger than myself. I loved it!
I believe something of this nature is what happened to Enoch, but on a
much higher and more intense scale. The Bible says that Enoch walked closely
with God...and then one day, he was no more...and God took him, implying that
Enoch had disappeared from the face of the Earth. That’s probably correct,
but I believe it goes a lot further than that. Enoch got so close to God
that he lost “his self identity” in the Creator and he simply couldn’t find
his way back. (Genesis 5:24)
It is not possible to explain fully all that transpired during that time
that I was in
prayer. I could try to tell you so much more...but I don’t know how. How do
you describe having brushed against the garment of Divinity? Maybe we
should ask the woman with the issue of blood... (Matthew 9:20)


Our Inner Peace is Key
To Receiving God’s
Manifold Grace
We have got to begin to understand how the kingdom of God operates in
order to fully benefit from what God has already granted to us. In line with
the Word and the finished work at the Cross, God’s many promises and
blessings began to flow through us the minute we asked for them. But “God cannot get
to us what cannot flow through us.”
The Bible is teeming with declaration, explanation, and instruction
concerning inner peace and how crucial it is for us to walk in it and live by
it. Because we live in this fallen world, we have a natural tendency to lean
toward strife and anxiety.
• One of the last things Jesus said to us before his ascension to Heaven
was John 14:27:
“Peace I leave with you,
my peace I give unto
you: not as the world
giveth, give I unto you.”
The Savior knew how critical it is that we understand the role of internal
peace in our success.
• Jesus immediately followed up with:
“Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let
it be afraid.”
God’s grace (undeserved favor) for healing, prosperity, wisdom and
understanding, intercession, spiritual warfare, raising the dead, etc. cannot
flow through inner turmoil, anxiety, unforgiveness, fear, and confusion. A
troubled heart is a huge obstruction to the transition of God’s blessings from
the spiritual realm within us to the natural physical realm outside of us.
The heart is the “innermost part of man” (in the soulish realm) that appears
to be the transfer point...the “outlet” from the inside of us to the
outside world. This is accomplished through the words we speak from our heart.
Proverbs 4:23 says that we should guard what’s in our heart, for out of it
flow the issues of life. Proverbs 23:7 states that as a man thinks in his
heart, so is he.
The clear message here is that our heart should be “without spot or
wrinkle” so that the power of God can flow through it without being “blocked”
or compromised.
• Can we ourselves keep our heart clean? Not according to Philippians 6:4:
“Be anxious for nothing,
but through prayer and
supplication. let your
requests be known to
God. And the peace of
God, which passes all
understanding, shall
guard your heart and
your mind through
Christ Jesus.”
It’s very plain: the peace of God will guard our hearts. How do we
achieve this peace? We don’t. Jesus took care of that at the Cross:
“...the chastisement of
our peace was
upon Him...”
Peace is a gift that’s already been paid for. Like our salvation, let’s
just receive that marvelous inner peace and then hook up with the power of
the Holy Spirit to clean up all the nasty stuff inside us that needs to go.
• 15 of the books in the New Testament begin with the phrase “Let grace
and peace be multiplied to you...” If that doesn’t emphasize the utter
importance of grace and peace in our daily walk, nothing does.
I heard someone say that “Peace keeps what grace gives.” That’s
powerful! Jesus was always in total control of Himself and all His circumstances
because He always bathed himself with His Father’s peace. Very often He was
uptight with the Pharisees, the money changers, hypocrites who opposed His
ministry, those who abused children, and even His apostles. But it was a
righteous anger and the Savior never lost control.
There’s nothing wrong with vehement righteous anger. Properly channeled,
this power gives us boldness and strength to get things done! I remember
so well that powerful radio station KSBJ-FM was established in Houston as the
net result of the body of Christ’s anger over the possibility of losing
contemporary Christian music in our city. Linda and I and multiple thousands of
brothers and sisters stood up in protest to the Marriott Corporation, First
Media Corporation, and the Federal Communications Commission. Thousands of
petitions flooded Washington, D.C. and the sale of our only contemporary
Christian music radio station was stopped in its tracks. But that’s a long
story for another time (I’m going to finally publish the book which I wrote
years ago on “The Miracle of KSBJ”) .
Most of today’s Church in America doesn’t get angry about anything
anymore. “Political Correctness” has crippled Christ’s Church and the Evil One
has shifted this country onto a very dangerous path. Again, that is a
subject for another time.

I promise to deal with “Electricity in the body of Christ” next issue.