Author: Parousia Ministries

Wade E Taylor

A “word” that is being quickened at this present time is, “Rise Up,” or, “Come Higher.”  Wherever we are in our spiritual life experience, the Lord is challenging us to come higher.

“After these things I saw a door standing open in heaven. The first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.”  Revelation 4:1 International Standard Version

There are several terms that relate to a deeper walk in the Lord.  One of these words is “overcomer.”  An “overcomer” is one who “rises above” a situation, or a difficult circumstance, by dealing with it.

Our being an overcomer is not the result of something that we do; rather, it is what we have become through the experience of what we do.  It is the unconditional commitment of our life to the Lord – the “heart attitude,” or motive of our spirit and soul.

Wade E Taylor

“Deep calls to deep. At the noise of Your waterspouts, all Your waves and Your billows are gone over me.”  Psalm 42:7

“Deep calls.”  Our Lord is a seeking God who desires a satisfaction that can be found only in us – our worship and our times of fellowship with Him.  We were created for this purpose, which became marred by the transgression of Adam.

“At the noise of Your waterspouts.”  Our initial response may seem to us as being “noise,” but as we continue to worship and spend time in fellowship with the Lord, it will become as a “song.”

“The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.”  Exodus 15:2

Wade E Taylor

 “Draw me, we will run after You: the king has brought me into His chambers….”  Song of Solomon 1:4

This prayer has only two words, “Draw me.”  Yet this is the most powerful prayer that we could ever pray – “Lord, if you will draw me (body, soul, and spirit), in the totality of my being (will, intellect, and emotions), I will run after you.”

The Lord creates spiritual hunger.  Ministry can only feed the hunger that the Lord imparts within us.  Therefore, when we come to the Lord, we must first acknowledge our need:

“Lord, I desire You to work within me, to draw me to Yourself, to cause me to become that which You would have me to be.  Lord, wherever it may lead or whatever it may cost, draw me, and in every aspect of my being, I will run after you.”

Wade E Taylor

We must come to the place where we recognize the importance of the manifested presence of the Lord, and that it is His desire and intent that we stand before Him in His revealed glory.

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”  II Corinthians 3:18

This especially applies to all those who desire to be available to the Lord for His present day purposes.  This “open face” speaks of an open heaven in which the Son will begin to shine forth as never before.

“When He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”  II Thessalonians 1:10

Wade E Taylor

“For we are His workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared that we should walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10 Darby translation

The Lord seeks those who are sensitive and responsive to His presence, that they might be prepared and available to Him for whatever purpose that He might have.  Therefore, He “works” within us to accomplish His higher purposes through us.  These “good works” are the circumstances that He uses to accomplish this.

These “good works” may not appear as being “good,” but rather, may be seemingly terrible things that are being used to produce a good result.  Therefore, our part is to recognize the Lords presence and cooperate with Him in whatever He may desire to do.

We may faithfully attend Church and feel spiritually satisfied; but the Lord desires something beyond this.  Whenever He stirs us to bring about changes within us, we should respond by “focusing” our attention toward His presence, and that which He seeks to accomplish.

Wade E Taylor

“And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”  Genesis 3:8

It was not “while they were walking” that Adam and Eve heard the voice of the Lord.  Rather, they heard “the voice walking.”  This profound statement reveals two things:

First, the fact that they “heard” the voice tells us that the Lord desires to communicate with us.

“Who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  Matthew 13:9

Secondly, the fact that He is “walking” tells us that there is a progression in what the Lord desires to say, beyond all that He said yesterday, and is saying today.

“I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  However when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He will not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear that will He speak: and He will show you things to come.”  John 16:12-13

Tomorrow, the Lord will speak beyond that which He has already spoken.

Wade E Taylor

“And the disciples came, and said to Him, Why speak You to them in parables? He answered and said to them, Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.”  Matthew 13:10-11

As we grow spiritually, we become aware that we are beginning to see and understand things that others neither see nor understand.  As a result, we may become critical of those who do not see as we see, and we may even become proud when we discover that we have spiritual understanding that others do not have.  If we are making genuine spiritual progress, we will experience in some measure or form, these reactions.

Although this is not good, it should encourage us, as it is an indication that we are making spiritual progress and entering into a higher realm of spiritual life and understanding.  However, if we are to continue to develop spiritually, our pride and critical spirit must be dealt with and overcome.  If not, we will go no further in our spiritual development, and worse, we may begin to lose ground, spiritually.

“If any man will (choose to) come after Me (continue to grow spiritually), let him deny himself and take up his (own) cross, and follow Me.”  Matthew 16:24 (comments added)

Wade E Taylor

“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuge, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him….”  Philippians 3:7-9

Paul has not only given all temporal things to the Lord, but also, he has experienced the actual loss of them.  This is followed by the expression of his intense desire that now, eternal things will replace these temporal things that have been removed.

“…But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth to those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:13 -14

Wade E Taylor

If we are feeling “spiritually empty,” it may be the Lord’s intention for us to feel this way.  The Lord often removes the old to make room for the new, as we are about to enter into a new season.  Thus:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Matthew 5:3

Rather than being discouraged or complaining about our present struggles, we should hold this sense of being “dissatisfied” (spiritually empty) before the Lord in anticipation of a new and deeper spiritual experience, which is beyond our present level of spirituality.

“For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.”  Song of Solomon 2:11-12

Wade E Taylor

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who  comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to  comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort  wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”  II Corinthians 1:3-4

There are many Christians who have been unintentionally hurt by a minister, or by another Christian.  These hurting Christians drawback from fellowship, refusing to again expose their need, and consequently they become spiritually crippled.

If they had the understanding that there was a higher “purpose” in the Lord allowing them to be  hurt, then the negative consequences could be avoided, and their fellowship among Christians restored and enhanced.

“But He knows the way that I take: when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”  Job 23:10

Wade E Taylor

“The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying to Him, Get thee out, and depart hence; for Herod will kill You. And He said to them, You go, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day, I shall be perfected.”  Luke 13:31-32

Peter gave us the principle that a Scriptural “day” can be considered as being a “thousand year” period of time.

“But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”  II Peter 3:8

Thus, at this present time, we are approaching the end of “today and tomorrow” – the fullness of the Church Age.

The Lord created all that was created in six days, and rested on the seventh day.  Four of these time periods relate to the Old Testament, and the other two time periods to the New Testament.  Presently, we are at the end of the sixth day, or the sixth time period.  The seventh day, as a thousand-year day, is the Millennial Day.  This relates to prophetic time, not calendar time.