(Singing:)  "O Lord God of Israel . . . "

Let's just stand and give the Lord praise.  In your own way, just lift your hands or clap your hands or speak a word of praise to the Lord - however you want to praise Him, however you want to personally give Him glory for all the things that He means to you.

We bless You, Lord.  We worship You.  We glorify You.  Hallelujah.  You are worthy to be praised.  Blessed be Your holy Name.  Hallelujah, hallelujah . . .

Glory to God.  We magnify You.  We glorify You.  We worship You.  We give You the highest praise and that is to serve You with all of our hearts.  

We want to walk before you as servants in obedience, to reflect Your glory and Your character in the earth.  

We want our lives and our testimonies to be pure before You, oh God.  We want to walk in Your righteousness.  

We want to reflect You, oh God.  Hallelujah.  (Tongues)  Holy is the Lord.  Holy is the Lord God.  Holy is the Lord God.  Hallelujah.  Amen.  Amen.

You may be seated for just a moment.  We welcome the wonderful Presence of the Lord in this meeting.

We thank You for being here, all of you who are gathered with us in Jerusalem.  

And we also want to say a wonderful greeting to all of those who are joining us with audio.  I guess that's the one thing that's different about the stream from Jerusalem - it's only audio.  But we've been hearing good reports of how people have been blessed.

Okay, Benjamin and Joshua.  We've had a lot of singing already, but they asked to sing.  Benjamin wanted to sing.  

And I feel a little bit guilty, or pricked, if I don't let them because I'm glad that they have a desire.  

You coming, too?  But they can't see you over there.  I think you'll have to come over here.  I don't know if . . .  That microphone may not reach.  Let's see.

Let Olivia stand out in the front.  Stand right out there in the front so everybody can see you.  She's not sure about that part of it.  Let Benjamin hold the mike between you two, okay?

(Singing:)  "Before the first round started said I'd fight until I win . . .  Lord, my mind's made up to make it through."

Amen.  Amen.  It takes a made-up mind, you know, to serve the Lord.  You have to make up your mind that you're going to serve Him.  And then no matter what the enemy throws at you, you've got to go on anyway.  You believe that?  Amen.

I know you've been up and down, but that's what a Full Gospel meeting is about - standing up, sitting down, standing up, sitting down.  

Would you stand up one more time while we read the Word of God?  

We like to show reverence to this wonderful Word that God has left us with in this hour - a witness of His grace and mercy.  

I want to read this morning from the Book of the Revelation.  Would that be all right?  I like the Book of Revelation.  

And I think that we'll read from chapter 4.

Chapter 4 of the Book of the Revelation, verse 1 said,

1.  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

2.  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

3.  And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

4.  And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

5.  And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

6.  And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

7.  And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

8.  And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

9.  And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

10.  The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11.  Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things . . .

Somebody say, "All things."  

11.  . . . for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Father, how we thank You this morning that once again You have given us the privilege to gather together, a small group of believers, in this very important and eternal City of Jerusalem.  

We thank You for the wonderful Anointing and the Presence of God that has been in the midst while we were worshipping You and lifting You up with our hearts and with our voices.  

We pray right now that You would come and break open the Word of God to us that we might receive something from it that would give us sustenance and strength.  

For, Lord, we acknowledge this day before You that we are weak and sometimes weary.  We are a needy people.  But we stand this day in confidence knowing that we serve a God who is more than enough.  

You are all-sufficient, and You hold in Your great reservoir everything that we have need of - whether it's physical or spiritual, whether it's emotional, even financial provision.  

You are the God of all sufficiency.  And we bless Your Name, and we thank You, oh God.  

And we say with confidence and knowledge that this that we have committed unto You - our soul, our spirit, our body, all that we are - we know that you are able to keep it against that day and that there is no danger of You losing us because we are now a part of that which You have designed for this End-time.  Use us for Your glory as Your servants.  

We bind every hand of the enemy.  We take authority over every hindering spirit of hell, and we ask for these things to be accomplished.  Bashem Adonai Yeshua HaMashiach, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray.  Amen.

And the church said, "Amen."  You may be seated.  

We are reading this morning this chapter 4 of the Book of the Revelation.  

And it's not the first time, I know, that you have read it, looked at it.  It's not the first time that I have read it or used it as a text, even right here in this little basement.  

Many times we've spoken from this chapter.  But I want to share with you just a few little thoughts that are on my heart concerning this scene that is unfolding.

You know, I never recognized before how important the Throne is.  The word "throne" occurs in the Book of the Revelation more times than in all the other books of the New Testament.  

This word "throne" keeps appearing over and over and over again.  

In fact, there are twelve different scenes that take place in the Book of the Revelation before the Throne - twelve different events that are mentioned in the Book of the Revelation where the setting of those events is right before the Throne, the location is right before the Throne.

It comes from a Greek word "thronos," and it's used forty-six times alone in the Book of the Revelation.

Somebody said, "Why is that important?"  

Well, there are some . . .  I want to say . . .  I don't want to say rules.  But I want to say there are some hints that we use sometimes when we're studying the Bible.
  
One of those laws, as it's often called in hermeneutics and homiletics . . . one of those laws is the Law of First Mention.  

And what that means is when you're studying a Book of the Bible, or you're studying a theme or a subject that goes through the Bible, it's often very important to go and find the place where a certain thing was mentioned the first time.  

And when you find where something is mentioned the first time, then you can follow that thread throughout the entirety of the Scripture.  And it's very important.

And then there's another law, and that's the Law of Frequent Mention.  

And that means at any time in a chapter or in a Book of the Bible or in a section of Books when you're studying, if a word keeps appearing over and over and over again . . . the Jewish sages believe of the Tanach, and especially of the Torah, that if a word keeps appearing over and over again, that there's a special emphasis being placed on that word or that theme, and that's why it keeps being repeated over and over again.  

It's very unusual for a word like "throne" to appear forty-six times in only one little Book of the Bible - "throne" - forty-six times in the Book of the Revelation.  

And to show you how unusual that is, it only appears fifteen other times in the entire New Testament.  

In the entire New Testament, the word "throne" is only mentioned fifteen other times.  So it appears that God is somehow placing an emphasis on the Throne in the Book of the Revelation.

Now the reason why I feel like it's important to mention that is . . .  I don't know exactly what your thoughts are, but I can tell you that the average "Christian" . . .  

And I'm saying that with quotation marks because that's a very broad . . .  We're finding out that it's a very broad word - "Christian."  

It means a lot of things to a lot of people.  In fact, there are some people who believe that they're Christians because they're born into a non-Muslim or non-Jewish home and so automatically that means they're Christian.

Well, we don't understand the word "Christian" in the same manner as that.  In fact, most of you have heard me say already that I don't often use the word "Christian."  

It's not a word that I use often, although I know the meaning is pure.  It means to be Christ-like.  

But I recognize that this word means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.  So I try to explain my faith a little bit differently than just using that broad word - a "Christian."

I'm finding out, as we look at this . . .  We talk to the average Christian in America, they say, "I . . ."  

"Do you like reading the Bible?"

And they say, "Well, yes.  I really like the Bible.  I enjoy the Bible."

And then you say to them, "Well, what about the Book of the Revelation?"

Do you know what the average Christian says in America?  

"Oh, I'm afraid of the Book of the Revelation.  It scares me.  I don't read the Book of Revelation."

And then you say to them, "Well, are there any other Books that you're afraid of?"

"Well, yes, the Book of Daniel because it's also very similar to the Book of Revelation.  And I'm afraid to read those because they're so scary."

And do you know what?  I ask them, "Well, what's so scary about it?"

And they say, "Well, did you know it talks about war?  It talks about stinging pestilence.  It talks about hailstones over a hundred pounds.  It talks about all kinds of destruction on the earth.  And that makes me afraid."

And you know what I tell people?  

You have nothing to be afraid of as long as you know that you are in Messiah and Messiah is in you.  You don't have anything to be afraid of.  

And furthermore, when we carefully study the Book of the Revelation, we find out there's more mentioned in the Book of the Revelation about the glories that exist before the Throne of God than about the judgment that will be poured out on the earth.

When we compare the verses of Scripture that talk about the glory and the worship and the heavenly atmosphere that takes place before the Throne and we weigh them, or compare them, with the verses of Scripture that talk about the judgment on the earth, the glory much outweighs this negative, or judgment, that people are so afraid of.

Why is that important?  It's important because the enemy has a way of keeping people away from the things that will do them the most good.  

The enemy puts up what we often call scarecrows because he knows that if he puts up these scarecrows out in the field, people will see those scarecrows and they'll become afraid and they'll run in the other direction.

But if anybody could ever get this message across to the crows - there's nothing to be afraid of . . .  

Do you know what a scarecrow is?  It's just a shirt.

It's just a shirt and perhaps somebody's old hat that's been put on a stick out in the field.  

It's not alive.  It has no ability to harm the crows at all.  

If somebody could ever get a message to the crows that they should ignore the scarecrow because all the good eating is just on the other side of where these scarecrows are strategically posted in the field . . .  

The devil has a way of putting up these kind of scarecrows and keeping the people of God from really finding out what their destiny is and what their inheritance is in the Book of the Revelation.

I believe in judgment.  I believe that this world is headed for judgment and destruction.  

But I believe there is a pavilion.  I believe there's a hiding place in the Messiah - a place of protection and a place of comfort where the enemy cannot touch our lives.  

Did you know the enemy does not have the power to touch your life unless something breaches the way or opens up the door for him to be able to touch you?  

When the blood of Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has been applied to our life, it seals us in to a redemptive plan.  

And the only way that the enemy is able to come in and touch you and harm you and torment you is if one of two things happens.  

The first thing that can happen is God may, for the reason of your perfection . . . He may withdraw just a little bit His hand and allow the enemy to touch you as Job did.

Somebody said, "Well, that would be a very unfair thing."

No.  I believe the only reason why God would ever draw His hand back a little bit and let the enemy touch us is because He has confidence in us.  

Did you recognize in the Book of Job that God had confidence in Job?  

And He knew that no matter what the enemy did, Job was going to stand firm and he was going to come out of his trial with a testimony - "I know that my Redeemer liveth."  

How many of you want to have that testimony - no matter what happens, no matter what you face, no matter what the enemy throws against you?

I believe if God allows the enemy to buffet you, if God allows the enemy to touch you in any way, it's because He knows something about you that you don't know about yourself.  

He sees something in you . . .  And how does He see it?  He placed it there.  He has placed within us the anointing and the spirit of the overcomer.  

And He knows that no matter what we face, somehow we're going to come out of this life, this pesthouse of the flesh, with a testimony - "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day."

I believe the enemy has caused people to be afraid of the Book of the Revelation because it unfolds our heritage.  

There's a great argument in America about who the Book of the Revelation is for.  Who is it for?  Who is it about?  

Well, we see a lot of different people represented in the Book of the Revelation.  

We see the Jewish nation represented in the Book of the Revelation.  We see a redeemed group of overcomers represented there.  

We see a religious power, this spirit of the anti-Christ, which will not only come politically.

This is what's going to fool a lot of people.  They're looking for a political anti-Christ system, and they're going to miss the fact that the Bible also prophesies that it will come how?  Religiously - not just politically - religiously.

Some people look and they find those Scriptures on mystery Babylon, and they fail to recognize . . .  You've got people who say America is mystery Babylon.

And you've got people who say that the Prince of Wales is going to be the anti-Christ.  I hear it all the time that . . .

You know, this little . . .  I tell you . . .  I don't mean any harm.  If you believe that, you must have greater revelation than I do, so I don't mean to offend you.  

But for me when I see him, he's a wimp.  I'm just being honest.  I don't . . .  

I just see a . . . like . . .  You know the woman they used to put on the ship?  They called it a masthead.  

It's just a woman's head, and maybe her bosom, that's out on the front of a ship.  And she has nothing to do with the ship.  She's just a symbol of something.

And when I look at the Prince of Wales, I see he's just a symbol of something.  

And I think a lot of people are looking in the wrong direction, and perhaps they're thinking that one day . . .  

I think there are people now who believe that President Bush is the anti-Christ.  

I remember as a boy when people were teaching us that Ronald Reagan was the anti-Christ.  They were preaching it in the churches that Ronald Reagan was the anti-Christ.  

And you know how they knew it?  They knew it because each of his three names had six letters in it - Ronald Wilson Reagan - six, six, six.  And preachers were preaching everywhere, "He is the anti-Christ."

And then I remember when everybody was just sure that Gorbachev was the anti-Christ because he had this big scar on his head.  And everybody was so sure . . .  

Not everybody, but many people were so sure that God had marked him so that everybody would be able to recognize who he was.

We've got all kinds of very, very strange and crazy ideas that have come . . . that have evolved over the years because people have tried to make this revelation a whole lot more complicated than it is.

What we need to understand it is a revelation.  We need the Holy Spirit of God to come and take this Word and make it live in our hearts and let it become a revelation to us.

And we may not all agree on each little tiny detail or each little tiny facet of what God is trying to say.  But I want to walk softly before Him.  Anybody feel that way?  

I want to walk softly before Him so that I have an ear to hear and I have eyes to see what the Spirit of God reveals.  

And do you know how revelation comes?  It comes progressively.  It comes over a period of time that God just unfolds Himself.

I heard a great man of God say one time . . .

Brother Branham was talking about the goodness of God and the power of God and all that God is and all that He will be - everything that's in God.  

And he said, "You know, it will take all of eternity for God to completely unfold and reveal all that He is."  

And I thought, "My, that's a strange statement."

But even when we get into eternity, God will still be unfolding Himself and revealing Himself to us.  

And somebody said, "What does that mean?"

It means we serve a great, big wonderful God who has everything in his great big capable hands.  And our problem is we need to learn to trust Him more.

Can anybody squeeze out an amen?  We need to learn to trust Him more.  

And so I believe, as we just go a little bit farther . . . I believe there is a reason why such emphasis has been placed in the Book of Revelation on the Throne and Throne Room.  

How many of you know just in simple interpretation what a throne represents?  

It represents authority.  It represents a kingdom.  It represents government.  It represents a lot of things.  

But this is a general theme that we can pick up.  We talk about a throne room.  We talk about a room where the throne of the king is sitting.  

We have a description twelve times in the Book of the Revelation.  We have a description of what this Throne Room is like.  

And I like to think of the Throne Room as a control tower.  I like to think of it as a control room, this Throne Room because this is where God's government is established and announced.  

This is where God's administration is revealed.
And this is where God's will is made known to man - in the Throne Room.

So it's not a mystery that God would come to John on the isle of Patmos and He would say, "Come up a little bit higher."  

"In order to be able to see what I've got to show you, you're going to have to move up a little bit higher than your present circumstances.  You're not going to be able to get it all right here on this desolate island of Patmos."  

Physically, John probably didn't go anywhere.  But he allowed his spirit to be caught up into the Presence of the Lord.  

There are a lot of people who are afraid of those kinds of experiences.  But I want you to know that I believe God wants His people to enter into His Presence.  

I believe He wants us to be caught up in our spirit to that place where the Word of God is revealed to us.

I've been sitting in a place where the Word of God was going forth and physically, in . . .  I don't want to . . .  

Maybe we shouldn't say physically, but you just begin to get this sensation.  I have had it happen before - this sensation of moving up.  

You look and you're sitting right where you are, but something within your spirit man is just moving up a little higher into the Presence of the Lord.  

I believe God wants us to experience those kinds of things.  

I believe the enemy desires that we would not have those kinds of encounters with God.  And I believe there's a reason for that.

I wanted to share with you a Word that I think is very important for the hour that we're living in.

And it is something that's revealed before the Throne of God and that is "the full knowledge of God."

How many of you would like to experience this full knowledge of God in your life?  I believe He wants you to.

I want to read a Scripture (and I printed them so it would be easier for us) in Ephesians, chapter 1.  

I want to read verses 21, 22 and 23 because they speak about the authority that has been placed in the Messiah.  

And we know where He is.  It's already been revealed that He is sitting at the right hand of Power and Authority on the Throne.  

Ephesians 1, verse 21, describing the power of Messiah . . .

21.  Far above . . .

Listen where He is.

21.  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

Where is the Messiah?  He is far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named - not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.  

Look at verse 22.

22.  And hath put all things under his feet . . .

I recently read about someone who had an experience with the Lord where they felt like they had been caught up before the Throne.  

I'm always interested in these kinds of things because I've had some experiences like this in my own Christian life.  And this was almost elementary, but it sure was a blessing to me.

Someone described it like this.  And how many of you know that sometimes God reveals these things in picture form, in symbol form?  

The Book of the Revelation is a book of symbols.  And sometimes it may not literally be exactly as the symbol portrays.  

In other words, you sometimes hear people who are giving an experience that they've had in the Spirit, and we recognize that they're talking about colors and different things.

And these may be symbols and representations of something.  

But I recently heard a man say he was caught up in praise and worship before the Throne.  

He saw the Throne.  He saw that there was Someone sitting on the Throne.  And he said this Person that was sitting on the Throne had a footstool.  

We know the Bible says that the earth is the footstool of the Lord.  

But there was a footstool there, and it appeared as though the Lord was propping His feet . . . crossing His ankles and was propping His feet on that stool.

And perhaps that's not so important.  But he said written on that stool were the words "all things."

And I said, "You know, whether he saw that or not is irrelevant.  It's the Bible.  It's the Scripture."  

The Bible said in verse 22,

22.  And hath put all things under his feet . . .

And this was just a symbol of the fact that everything is beneath the feet of our Lord, the Messiah.  And listen.

22.  . . . and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

23.  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

And then two other verses just for the reference of study - Colossians 2:9-10.

9.  For in him . . .

Who is this "him"?  Our Messiah - Yeshua, the Messiah.

9.  For in him dwelleth all . . .

You need to say "all."

9.  . . . the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

When God dwells in a body . . . it was in the body of the Messiah.  All of the Godhead was dwelling bodily in the Lord Jesus, Yeshua.

10.  And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

Twelve times, I said a moment ago, the scene that we read about in the Book of Revelation is before the Throne.  

But the emphasis is not the chair.  A throne is no more than a chair.  And if no one is sitting on the throne, it's just an empty chair.  

I don't believe that John was somehow emphasizing just an empty chair, but I believe he was emphasizing that on Throne was the Lamb - the Lamb which had been slain before the foundation of the world.  

The emphasis is not on the Throne and it's not on the footstool as a piece of furniture.  

But the emphasis must be on the Lord Jesus Christ.  That's where we need to be looking in this hour.  

And I think you know that and you can quickly, easily, readily, say, "Amen."

Now, I want to show you something about this knowledge.  

There is a knowledge that ushers forth from this Throne of God.  

There is a knowledge that ushers forth from the Throne of God, and in order to receive this knowledge we have to somehow be before the Throne.

I was thinking a minute ago as we were singing, "Lord, show me Thy face.  Show me Thy face."  And I was trying to imagine what people are meaning when they sing that.  

Can anybody tell me . . .  Would you . . .  This is just an informal . . .  There's just . . .  

We have a nice group, but it's informal here in the basement.  

And so could somebody tell me what you get is the meaning?   Just real briefly, what's the meaning of that song, "Show me Thy face"?  

What do you think of?  What are you looking for?  Anybody want to say it just quickly?

Are we really looking for a picture when we say, "Show me Thy face"?  

Is it really a picture that we're looking for?  Do we really want to see His nose?  Is it His nose that we're interested in?  

Is it real important that we would see His eyes?  Is that what you're asking the Lord for?

"Lord, just let me really see Your eyes, Your nose."

His mouth?  Is there some special significance about His lips or His teeth that would make us sing, "Lord, show me Thy face"?  

I really don't think so.  And I say that respectfully because if you've got a different idea then I'm happy for you.  It's all right with me.  

I believe what we mean when we sing that and when the Scriptures talk about seeing the face of the Lord is there's something that's revealed from His face that's more than His nose and His eyes and His good looks or His chin or His cheeks.  

It is a request to see the power of God.  It's a request for full knowledge - full knowledge.  

I want to see all that God is.  And I want to know all that God would have me to know.  And so we put symbols to this request and we say, "Lord, show me Your face."  

We read about it in this unusual book in the Bible, the Song of Solomon.  

We read about the Lord, or the lover, appearing behind the lattice.  

How many of you can get that little picture in your mind?  

Lattice is usually these little strips of wood that are criss-crossed.  And so it's only tiny little holes that you're able to really look in - not clearly.  You can't really clearly see anything.  

And so someone could be standing behind the lattice and you might only get a partial glimpse of who that is.

But the Bible talks about, in the Song of Solomon, the Lord coming into plain view.  We see our Bridegroom.  Do you understand?  

We see our Bridegroom stepping out from behind the lattice.  And there's no longer anything between He and I.  

And I'm now able to see Him in full view - His face, His robe, His feet, His hands.  

This is symbolism.  It's imagery.  It's saying, "I want to know Him in every way that I possibly can.  I want to see His face.  I want to know Him intimately.  I want to have a relationship with Him."

Listen, Christianity is like scratching the surface in a lot of peoples' lives.  It's just a place to go on Sunday morning.  It's just something that satisfies a little bit of the guilt and the condemnation.  

But that's not the kind of walk that I'm looking for in this hour.  I'm looking for a relationship.

You can be a Christian and stand and only view the Lord through the lattice.

But I believe He has an idea and a plan for this hour that He wants to reveal Himself to His Bride, to His Remnant.  

I'm not going to stand and argue with you about a Gentile Bride, and a Jewish Bride, and a Bride that's made up from the nations.  

I'm going to tell you that the Bible talks about an hour where we're going to stand together as one new man in Him.  That's my understanding.  

But I do believe that God is concerned about this sick entity that we call a church.  

I don't ever get amens very often when I say something like that.  

But I made a statement like that, Brother Olaf, on the television a few weeks ago.  And I want you to know the phone calls have been coming in.  

I thought, "Well, they're coming to lambaste.  Boy, they're really going to get on me."

But you know, people have been calling in, and what they've been saying is, "There's something about that program, that preaching.  It's not what he's saying."  

I like this, I think.  I think.  Maybe I don't like this.  Maybe this isn't a compliment.  They said . . .

Many people have said . . . even a call from Saudi Arabia came this week.  

And they said, "It's not what he's saying.  It's what he's not saying that we're so interested in."

Now who's ever heard of anything like that?  Not what's being said, but what's not being said.  

And they kept saying, "We know that there's more, and he's just not telling it more.  And we want to get some tapes, and we want to hear the rest of the story because we feel like maybe this is just the beginning."  

And that's how God reveals Himself to us.  He makes us hungry.  God wants you to know him.  Amen.  He wants you to be intimately acquainted with Him.  

Religion separates us from closeness with God.

Religion is a substitute for intimacy with the Messiah.  Amen.  

Church life has become a substitute for relationship.  And it only satisfies for a season.  

But we're now coming to an hour where the people of God are not going to be satisfied any more with formalism and with religion and with a few traditions.  

They want to know God.  They want to see the Bridegroom who is stepping out from behind the lattice.

And this revelation of the full knowledge of God comes from the Throne.

And this is one of the reasons why God had to keep pulling John up to the Throne.  

At least twelve times, he's snatched up, up to the Throne, because God wanted him to be able to see the power, the authority, the revelation, the knowledge, the glory that ushers forth from this heavenly scene where the Messiah is manifested at the Throne of God.

Let's read Ephesians 1 for a few minutes.  And I better hurry.

17.  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

I want that.  I want that.  And there's something in me when I read that that tells me it's available and I can have it if I'll meet the conditions.  And if I'll position myself to receive what God has, then I can have this.

You know, the church has . . .  The Pentecostal world is so excited about the gifts, and they have been for over a hundred years now.  

I believe in the gifts.  I thank God for the gifts of the Spirit.  I believe they're very, very important in the life of the local body.  

But I believe that a lot of people have gotten sidetracked a little bit and they have become enamored, or they have become infatuated, with the gifts.  

And they have failed to receive the fullness of the Giver.  

The gift is not what you want to fall in love with.  It's the One who gives you the gift.  

You don't want to show all of your attention to the gift.  You want to show your attention to the One that made the sacrifice to give you the gift.

You see, our Lord Jesus Christ did not operate as the apostle Paul said the church would operate in the Book of First Corinthians where he lists the gifts and he says, "Some will have the gift of the word of wisdom, and some the word of knowledge, and some healing and miracles."  

And a lot people place these gifts in the life of Messiah, and they say He was operating in the gifts of the Spirit.  

But I want to tell you something.  He was operating in a whole lot more than that.  

In Him was the Spirit of Knowledge.  

He wasn't just carrying the gift of the word of knowledge.  In Him was the very Spirit of Knowledge.  

He was walking in this manifested form of God, the Godhead, bodily.  And the Spirit of Knowledge and the Spirit of Wisdom was being manifested in Him.

I believe that God is calling His people closer to Him and that we're going to begin to focus not on the gifts, but on the Giver.  

And if we become intimately . . . in intimate relationship with the Giver, then we, too, can have a transformation in our spirit.  

And our spirit can be transformed from the spirit that we carry, this human spirit, to this Spirit of Knowledge and this Spirit of Wisdom that operated in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I'll summarize it by saying all that was in God He poured into this Messiah, His Son.  

And all that was in this Messiah, the Son, He poured into His body at Shavuot on the day of Pentecost when God took this very same resurrection Spirit that raised His body, the Lord Jesus, from the dead and He placed that very same resurrection Power in the believer.  

With that comes the potential to operate in full knowledge and full revelation and full wisdom.  

I'd better read.  Verse 18 . . .  Let me read 17 again.

17.  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom . . .

Anybody want it?  

17.  . . . and revelation . . .

Anybody need more revelation?  Or have you become revelated enough?

17.  . . . in the knowledge of him:

May God give you . . .  May the Father of glory give unto you the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of Him.

18.  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened . . .

This is an inner work.  It's not talking about the eyes that we can see on our head, but the eyes of our understanding being enlightened.

18.  . . . that ye may know what is the hope of his calling . . .

18.  . . . that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

19.  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

20.  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead . . .

This is what we just said.  And you looked at me funny.  But here it is, right here in the Word.

20.  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

Again, this is a Word telling us that He was there in authority.  

Look at 21 that we read just a moment ago.

21.  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named . . .

This is where He is.  This is where He has been placed.  

Now, this verse 17 . . .

17.  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

This word "knowledge" . . .  Everybody say "knowledge."  

How many of you know that when we are looking carefully at the Scripture, especially in Greek, that sometimes in English the word can be the same but when we examine it in the Greek, we find out that it has been translated from a different word meaning and also the same in Hebrew.  

This word "knowledge" is not the same knowledge that we read about so many times in the Bible that is translated from the Greek "science."  

This word "knowledge" is used many times in the Bible, and it simply translates "science."  

And it is "gnosis" in the Greek.  And this is where we get this term "gnosticism."  

It comes from this word "gnosis" in the Greek -  knowledge.  And this is a partial knowledge.  

It is a general sense of science - knowing something in general.  You've read it in the newspaper.  You have gained knowledge about a particular subject.  But do you really know?

How many of you know that you don't gain complete knowledge or complete understanding of a situation by reading it in the newspaper?  You only get a portion of knowledge.  

In fact, you only get someone's opinion, a lot of times, of their take on what they have seen and their reporting to you what they have seen.

But in this reference in verse 17, it's not the word "gnosis" in the Greek.  It's the word "epignosis."

And this word "epignosis" means "full knowledge, complete and full discernment, nothing missing, a complete knowledge."  

And this is the knowledge that God wants to reveal to us - the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of Him.  

And we find in the Book of the Revelation that the ability to receive full knowledge takes place before the Throne of God.  

In other words, if the enemy can keep us away from heavenly places, he can keep us from experiencing the full knowledge, the full discernment, of God.

And I believe that's what he's up to.  I believe that's what He wants to do.

This "epignosis" is a knowledge of someone that is only obtained after spending time with them, having fellowship with them and letting them open up their heart to you.  

Then you can say, you can use this term, "epignosis" - full knowledge or . . .  

I think we translate it sometimes "relationship."  It's like the difference between an acquaintance and a bosom buddy.  

I know a lot of people.  I am acquainted with a lot of people.  I've been in almost sixty nations.  So I'm acquainted with a lot of people, but I don't know them.  

I've been corresponding with people through e-mail and letters for years and never met them.  

There are people that I've corresponded with fifteen years and I wouldn't know them if they walked in the building.  I wouldn't know that that's the person.

I was one time preaching in Indiana, and there were a lot of people there.  And at the end of the service, I had prayed for lots of people.  

And God had done some wonderful things and had taken the pastor by surprise because he wasn't expecting God . . .  

In fact, he invited me because he felt like it would be good for me.  

And he felt like that he knew his people very well and that they would not respond to the supernatural that I was preaching.  He told me this later.  

And he said, "I just wanted you to see . . .  Really, I wanted you to realize that everybody is not into that.  And I wanted to bring you here and let you minister and then show you that this people would not respond to those kinds of things like offering prayer and prophecy and visions, and so forth."

Well, he sure was fooled because that same dead crowd that he had preached to for thirty years, that night they came alive.  

And he was sitting over in the corner rubbing his forehead.  He did not know what to think.  And people . . .  

The power of God had come and people were laying in the floor, and they'd been weeping and praying.  And God had been doing things.

And later he said, "I just didn't know who those people were."  

He said, "I knew their faces, but that couldn't be the same people that I've known all these years."

Well anyway, there was a man who came up to me at the end of the service.  I had never heard his voice.  I had never spoken to him on the phone.  I had just had letters from him over years.  And we'd been sending him tapes.  

But the minute he embraced me, I knew what his name was just by the Spirit.  It was just an inspiration.  I knew what his name was.  

And I said, "Oh, you're brother John Kuhn."  

And immediately he just smiled.  He said, "How did you know that?"

I said, "I just knew it.  Somehow the Spirit of the Lord just let me know it."

And sure enough, we had been acquainted for years.  But now, over the years, he's come, and I've spoken to him on the phone.  

And Marybeth is a secretary in the church.  And she can tell you if he's got a need, he's going to call for prayer, and we're going to talk to him.  

And I've had some fellowship with him.  I know him now.  I was acquainted with him, but now I know him.  

There's a difference between being acquainted with the Lord Jesus and knowing Him.  And the difference is only revealed in heavenly places.
  
We have to come into heavenly places before we can move into that experience of fully knowing Him.  There needs to be a transformation take place.

I want to look at another verse of Scripture here for just a moment if you'll let me.  And I know this is very simple for some of you, but I believe there's a reason for it.  

Colossians, chapter 1, and verse 9 and 10.  

I need, oh, just a few more minutes.

9.  For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

Again, this is not the knowledge that means "science" or a general information about.  

This is that word "epignosis" that means "full discernment and full revelation."  

And this is the prayer that the apostle was praying.

"My desire and my prayer is that you may be filled with the full knowledge, the full revelation of His will."

You know, I believe everybody in this place wants to know God's will in their lives.  

Then you're going to have to spend some time before the Throne.  You're not going to get it just listening to somebody else's experiences.  Amen.

You're going to have to spend some time for yourself in heavenly places before the Throne of God.

9.  For this cause . . .

This was the prayer that he prayed.

9.  . . . that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

10.  That ye might walk worthy of the Lord . . .

The only way that we can walk worthily before Him is to come into that place of the full knowledge and revelation of Him.

10.  . . . unto all pleasing . . .

We want to please Him in everything.

10.  . . . being fruitful in every good work . . .

Oh, God, we want to be fruitful.  We want to be . . .

It's not wrong to want to be successful as long as you want to be successful for Him.  You want to bring fruit for the Master.

10.  . . . in every good work . . .

And here it is again.  

10.  . . . and increasing . . .

And that word in the Greek is just simply "growing."

10.  . . . in the knowledge of God;

Growing in the knowledge of God . . .  

Doesn't that seem to indicate that it's a progressive thing that we grow in the knowledge of Him, that revelation is progressive, that it doesn't all come at the same time?  I think it does.  I think it does.

I believe that the course of our whole life . . .  

I'm going to just read some notes that I feel like the Lord inspired.  

The course of our whole life - our decisions, what we do with problems, how we plan our lives, our actions and our reactions - need to be under the authority that comes from the Throne.

There is a consciousness . . .  I think this sounds strange for some people.  

There's a consciousness that we need to walk in -  what we're conscious of, what we're aware of.

A consciousness means an awareness.  I believe God is calling His people to walk in the awareness of who we are and the awareness of Whose authority we're under.

Do you believe it's still important, after you've served the Lord for twenty-five years, to reexamine from time to time whether or not you're walking in full submission to His will?  

I believe it's important to do it.  Maybe we should do it even daily now.  Maybe even daily, we should come.

Let me read these notes again.  

The course of our whole life - our decisions, what we do with our problems, how we plan our lives, our actions . . .  (And what does "actions" mean?  It means our behavior) . . . our actions and our reactions . . .

Can I tell you where the devil is tripping up a lot of good people?  

It's not in their actions.  It's not in their actions.  It's in their reactions.  This is how the enemy really battles the people of God.  

When I say that I mean this.  I mean . . .  

Listen, the Bible said when you think you stand, take heed lest you fall.  So please understand where I'm coming from.  But I say this humbly.  

It is not likely . . .  Okay?  That's all I'm saying.  

It's not likely that I'm going to go out this afternoon and commit murder.  It's not likely.  

It's not likely that I'm going to go out this afternoon and commit adultery.  

It's not likely that I'm going to go out this afternoon and get drunk.  I never have, and it's not likely that all of a sudden I'm going to do it because I know what I know.  You see, I know too much.  

And that's a good thing sometime and a bad thing.  But I know better.  That doesn't mean that I couldn't be crippled.  

Again, when you think you stand, take heed lest you fall.  I could be knocked down.  Anything could happen.  But it's not likely that that's going to happen.  

And you know what?  Satan knows that.

So he doesn't come to me and say, "You know what you really need to do?  You really need to get drunk."  

He's never told me that because he knows it's not likely that I'll listen.  

He's never told me what you really need to do is go and be unfaithful to your wife because he knows I'm not going to listen to that.

So the enemy really doesn't have as much authority in the lives of a believer in their actions because we let the Holy Spirit, hopefully, help us with our actions and we know there's things that we can't do as believers, and shouldn't do, and frankly, don't want to do, and have no desire to do.

But do you know where the devil does get us?  

In our reactions - in the way we respond to what goes on around us.  Amen, brother.  

Oh, yes.  It's time to preach now.  Everyone's listening.

The way we respond to things - our reaction, how we control our temper, how we control our anger, how we control our jealousies, how we control our resentment - this is how the enemy battles the people of God - not so much in our actions, but in our reaction.  

And we want to walk every day with this consciousness that there is an authority that issues forth from the Throne.  

And that authority is not in the piece of furniture.

That authority comes from the Lamb that's sitting on the Throne - the Messiah, God incarnate - we know.

That's where the authority comes.  It's God's government.  It's God's authority.  It's God's knowledge.  It's God's wisdom.  

And if we walk with a special awareness of that wisdom, it will help us to be in better control when it comes time to react.  

God, give me the right reaction.  Oh, I'm preaching to me.  I can tell.  I'm the only one.  Praise the Lord.

It's so wonderful to be with the saints in Jerusalem.

I'm the only one.  God, help me to be able to react.

And you know what?  Sometimes I just like to mess with the devil.  I just like to fool him.  

Somebody said, "What in the world do you mean?"

Well, the devil knows you and I pretty well.  And he knows what our reaction is going to be.  

And sometimes I like to just react differently to let him know he is not in charge of my life.  

That shouldn't be my only motivation.  My motivation should be because I want to submit myself to the authority that comes forth from the Throne.  

Our everything - our actions and reactions, and our plans, and how we handle our problems - all of this needs to come under this revelation of full knowledge.

I'm going to have to lay a lot of things aside here,
but let me read Colossians 3.  

I had a feeling I wouldn't make it as far as I would like to.  

Colossians 3:1,

1.  If ye then be risen with Christ . . .

Somebody said, "I'm a little bit uncomfortable with all this talk about the Throne - the Throne, the Throne, the Throne, the Throne.  The authority is coming from the Throne.  The knowledge is coming from the Throne.  The wisdom is coming from the Throne."

How could you possibly be uncomfortable with that?  Hear what the Scripture said.

1.  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above . . .

The knowledge that comes from where we are is not knowledge that we want to be filled with.  Amen?  This knowledge of worldly things, this carnality that's manifested in the plane that we're walking in and the realm we're living in, this is not what we want to be looking for.  

He said, "If you're risen with Christ," meaning if you've received the transformation by the resurrection power that you're a new creature now, seek those things which are above.  

And he doesn't just stop there.  He specifically tells us, "Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God."

Paul is telling the church there is something that you need to get.  And you're only going to get it at the Throne.  

You're not going to get it at the church.  You're not going to get it at the synagogue.  You're not going to get it in the easy chair reading the newspaper or watching CNN.  

You're going to only get it when you seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

Where is that?  The Throne.  The Throne Room.  

And then he goes on to say not only should we seek the things that come from the Throne - the revelation that comes, the authority that comes, the full knowledge and government and administration that comes - but he says something even stronger than that.

He says that we should set our affection on things above and not on the things of this earth.  Now, that's strong.

Do you know what that word "set affection" means?

It means to exercise the mind intensively in a certain direction - to exercise the mind intensively in a certain direction.  

We should consciously . . .  Anybody with me?  

We should consciously exercise our mind, our thoughts, in the direction of where all power, and all authority, and all wisdom, and all knowledge, and all government, and all administration flows from.

And all knowledge - it flows from above.  It's not operating in this parallel.  It's coming down from a higher place.  

And we can give . . .  Oh, there's so many little simple examples.  

We can talk about Peter.  And my attitude toward Peter is exactly what I heard a brother in our church say on tape, preaching while I was away - Brother Steve Currie, I think it was - talking about Peter.  

Is that who it was, Sister Nancy?  Talked about Peter getting out of the boat a little bit.

It was one of them.  And he said, "Well, at least he got out of the boat."  

That's how I feel about Peter.  

Daniel - I think it was Daniel maybe.  

He said, "Well, at least he got out of the boat."  

And that's how I feel.  

Where were the other disciples?  Peter's the only one who even asked for the experience.  

When I heard Daniel say that . . .  I think I was listening yesterday morning and was getting dressed and listening to the tape.  

And I heard Daniel say, "Well, at least Peter got out of the boat.  Where were all the rest?"

Then my mind began to kind of be inspired.  And I began to say, "Hey, he was the only one who asked for this experience."  

The Bible said, "You have not because you ask not."

It's easy for us to sit in this basement and criticize Peter because he got distracted.  

But he would have never gotten distracted if he would have just stayed in the boat.  

But he would have never been able to experience the glory of the supernatural if he hadn't of been willing to get out of the boat, to get out of the comfort zone, to allow God to stretch him a little bit.  

Yes, he got distracted.  And he sunk.  But thank God, he didn't sink alone.  He sunk in the presence of the One who was able to sustain him and save him.

Brother, if you're going to go down for the last time, do it in the presence of Jesus.  If you're going to fail and sink and go under, make sure before you do it Jesus is there because He's able to just pick you right up.

And then I began to think, "I wonder how many experiences in the Lord . . ."  

We've lived our whole Christian life and we have not had as many personal experiences and revelations . . .  And the reason why they're so important . . .

I want to tell you quickly why these experiences are so important, why it's important to have these personal revelations.  

It's because once that knowledge comes from your head down into your heart and it becomes a revelation to you, it's something that you can stand on.  

It's something that when the devil comes to you and says, "You're not saved.  You're not this.  You're not that.  You're not the other," you can say, "You're too late to tell me.  I've already met the Presence of God.  I've already met the Pillar of Fire.  I've already had a taste of that Manna that was behind the veil.  And you're too late to come and tell me any of that kind of nonsense."  

We at least need an experience where God reveals assurance to us and we can sing the old hymn "Blessed Assurance."  

I tell you, people aren't walking in assurance.  The church is to blame.  I say that respectfully.  The church is to blame.  

We have caused people to think, as I mentioned a few services ago, that you can get saved and be unsaved, and be saved and be unsaved, and be saved and lose your salvation.  

And we have emphasized that for so many years.  And the church has preached more messages on backsliding than they have on being sure that you're saved in the first place.  

We wouldn't have had near the problems with backsliding if instead of emphasizing backsliding, we would have emphasized sliding in.  You can't slide back unless you slide in.  

And what we needed to be preaching was let's go deep.  Let's come to the Lord.  

And let's not just repeat the sinner's prayer and all of a sudden think we've joined the church and shook the preacher's hand.

But let's get in the altar, and let's be born again, and let's have a transformation, and let's let our lives be changed and then know, that we know, that we know that we're saved.

And if we would have emphasized that and preached that you can be sure . . .  

How many of you know who the Amish are?  

Do you know who the Amish people are in America and other places that came from Europe, persecuted as the Anabaptists, murdered by the Catholic church?  Oops.  So they had to find a good place to live and they sought out . . .  

And to this day . . .  In some ways . . .  They're like the Orthodox Jews in some ways because they live in the past.  

We see the Orthodox Jews in the City dressing in the costume period of their rabbis - those who were special to them, their leaders.  

And so they dress in a period costume that dates back to the early 1900's, late 1800's.  

And we see people . . .  And I have no problem with that whatsoever.  

In fact, I'm fascinated and intrigued by it.  It doesn't offend me.  I like it even.  I like it.  I don't think it would work for me just yet, but I like it.

The Amish are similar to that.  They dress in the clothes that they dressed in when they came out of places like Saxony and Germany, and all these different places years ago.  

They don't believe in any electricity.  They don't believe in any modern conveniences.  They still drive horse and buggies.  

We have many groups of them in America, but the two largest colonies are in Holmes County, Ohio, and in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  

And I've been to Lancaster County.  I just enjoy being among them and kind of watching and seeing.  It's very interesting what they do.

They live a separated life.  

I mean, they don't even have an electric oven.  They don't have electric light bulbs.  They dress in clothes all the way to the ground.  

A woman never leaves the house without her prayer covering on her head.  Her hair is never cut.  She never wears makeup or jewelry.  

She doesn't even use buttons.  It's against their faith to use buttons.  That's wasteful to use buttons, they believe.  

So they sew their clothes and close them up with straight pins.  And then to cover the straight pins they wear an apron.  

And the reason why they do that is they say if you use straight pins, you don't ever have to move the button holes when you get fat or skinny.  

You just unfold the material, repress it and pin it back.  And then they wear an apron to cover up the pins.  

I mean that's real dedication.  I don't think it's necessary, but it's real dedication.  

But do you know what else they teach?  They teach that no one can be sure that they're saved.  

And when I found that out it hurt me.  It grieved me.

I said, "Here are thousands of people who have been raising their children for hundreds of years to live this life, and they don't even use buttons . . .  (not that that's a great sacrifice, but I guess I think it would be) . . . and not a telephone - not even a telephone, not an automobile - and yet they live every day not knowing whether or not they're saved. "

And they don't believe there's any way to know it until it's too late.  When it's too late, it's too late.  

What are you going to do about it if you get to the end of the life and you stand before the Judge and He says, "You're lost."  

Then there's nothing to do about it then.  That's terrible.  Do you understand that that's terrible to require so much of people and then not even teach them about knowing, having the assurance of salvation?  

Did you know that's what Rabbinical Judaism is preaching - the same thing, the same thing.

Rabbinical Judaism preaches and teaches today almost the same thing - that the only . . .  

You get a little bit of assurance if you keep all the Commandments and all the traditions of men.

If you keep all of it, if you walk in all of it, then there's a little bit of assurance.  Hopefully, if you keep doing it . . .  Don't stop.  Don't slack up.  Don't miss a time.

And when we read the New Testament, we understand this is not how God wants us to walk.

We know God has a special dealing with the Jewish people.  We understand that.  We're expecting it.

But this is not how God wants Christians to walk.  And that's how some people walk as Christians.  They have no assurance that they're saved.  

Well, I want to tell you something.  That's no longer going to make it in this hour.  

You'd better know that you know that you know that you know that you're born again.

You'd better know that you know that you know that you're walking . . .  

I want to tell you something else.  You need to be baptized in the Name of Yeshua, the Lord Jesus Christ.  

You absolutely need that understanding, and you need to be obedient in that.  

It's obedience, and it's important.  

I believe with all of my heart that it's a revelation that God has given to a people.  

"If you want to come into closeness with Me, if you want to come into Covenant agreement with Me, wear My Name.  Take on My Name.  Be willing to do that."

And I believe there's a lot of people that will not do it.  And the reason why they won't do it is because of religion.  

There's something that's coming forth from the Throne in this hour and it has nothing to do with religion.  It's the full knowledge of God.  

And I want to get there so that I can receive it.  

This is the knowledge that God is talking about, and He says (in closing) . . .

Marybeth, come.  I should have already stopped, I think.

He said, "There's nothing wrong with desiring it."

He teaches us here that we should desire to live in the Light of the Throne.  He teaches us here that we should exercise our mind intensively in the direction of the Throne, setting our affections . . .

And here's something the Spirit of the Lord sowed into my spirit as I was reading these verses of Scripture.

At the Throne there is an awesome unveiling of the meaning of everything and that's what we're really looking for.  

We want to know the meaning of everything.  We want to know why we're here.  We want to know what our calling is.  

We want to know what our reaction should be to this knowledge that's been revealed to us of what our calling really is.  

We want to know a lot of things.  We'd like to have a better understanding, a better grasp.  

All of those things are available to us if we're willing to hear the cry of the Spirit, "Come up higher."

You've got to do like . . . the opposite of what Peter did.

Yes, he became distracted.  And he began to look at circumstances of life.  He got his eyes off of the Throne.  

That's really what the Lord Jesus was.  He was representing heaven in the earth, wasn't He?  He was a representation of the Throne.  

I know you know that's what the Ark of the Covenant was, don't you?  It was a representation of the Throne.  It was God's Throne represented in the earth.  

And that's why God was teaching the children of Israel, "Be careful how you handle it.  Be careful how you respect it.  Be careful how you look at it and touch it and move it and everything that has to do . . ."  

God was showing that there's an authority that ushers forth from His Throne.

Here the Ark of the Covenant was a representation of that.  

Here the body of the Lord Jesus was a representation of that.

When Peter got his eyes off the Lord Jesus, off the Throne, off the things above and he started noticing the howling of the wind and the dashing of the waves, he began to sink.  

But thanks be to God, he was in the presence of the One who could help him.  Hallelujah.

I think, in closing, I need to give you one other Scripture - Hebrews 8.  

And this is it.  I hate to say I promise, but I think I do.  

Hebrews, chapter 8 . . .  

This is a big subject.  I'm going to try to cover it in a little bit different way when I get home because I know that the Lord is saying something.  

I want to try to get what He's saying.  Hebrews 8, verse 1 and 2, quickly . . .

1.  Now of the things which we have spoken . . .

And that was a mouthful.  If you know anything about the Book of the Hebrews, you . . .  

Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 - the apostle has already wrote a lot of good stuff.  

Did I mention . . .  I don't remember what I mentioned publicly about my dream, the dream that I had last week.  

I know I talked about Martin Luther.  Did I talk about the apostle Paul at all?  I don't remember if I did.  I think I might have mentioned briefly.  But I can . . .  

In this dream, it was so vivid.  I've never dreamed about this caliber of people before.  

I think I've probably had more dreams about somebody like King Kong.  No, I've never dreamed like that, but I mean I've had probably more foolish dreams than serious dreams.

But I was amazed at the caliber of people that I was meeting in this dream.  And one was the apostle Paul.  

And it still becomes very vivid to me - the way he approached this subject of misunderstanding.  And he had the saddest look in his face as he talked about it.  And then it was gone, it passed.

But he said, "And I know you'll understand."  

I think I did share this, didn't I, in one of the services?  

He said, "I know that you will understand," because I . . . as all of us have.  

We've all experienced misunderstandings in the body of Christ, haven't we?  

But there was such a look on his face.  The knowledge was kind of overwhelming him about how misunderstood his writings have been.  

And you know, it's true.  What the apostle Paul has wrote has probably been some of the most misunderstood because the church said he was trying to do away with the Jewish faith.  

And it's very serious - this issue of women and so many other things that have been misunderstood.  And yet there's such truth.

Listen, Paul . . . he had a grasp.  Paul had been to the Throne.  You understand?  I know he had.  He had been to the Throne because of what ushered forth.

God, raise up ministries in this hour that'll spend more time at the Throne, where Your authority and will is revealed because that's what the people need.

Listen at what he said here.

1.  Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum . . .

This is the sum.  What does that mean?  What's the sum?  One plus one equals two.  What's the sum?  Two.  The answer - the whole answer.  The principle thing in Greek - the main point.  

This is what the apostle Paul is saying, "Now of the things which we have spoken, this is the principle point.  This is the main thing.  This is the answer to it all."  

Listen at what he says is the answer to everything.  I believe him.  I believe him this morning, or this afternoon, I should say.  I believe this is the answer.  I believe this is the main thing.

Listen, can I tell you what the main thing is?  

The main thing to remember, the main thing, is that the main thing is the main thing.  

Somebody said, "Well, that's about the most foolish thing I've ever heard."  

Here is the test when you come to the sum of anything and that is remembering to keep the main thing the main thing.  

We, as a people, have a tendency to major on minor things (amen) and to emphasize things of little significance while we miss things of greater importance.  I've been the guiltiest of us all.  

Here is what he said the sum of everything is.

1.  . . . We have such an high priest . . .

Hallelujah.  I love it.  That's the sum of it all.  That's the answer to every problem.  You've got a problem?  I know the solution.  Here it is.  

1.  . . . We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

Forgive me for saying I did not see the revelation of a trinity in verse one.  I didn't see that.  Forgive me.

Maybe I just don't see what other scholars see.  I didn't see a trinity.  I saw One on the Throne like John did in Revelation 4.

1.  Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set . . .

That word "set" does not mean "sitting."  It doesn't mean sitting.  We have a high priest sitting on the Throne.  

That word "set" means "strategically positioned."

There's a difference when you set something down, and when it is set in place.  It's the difference between a loose diamond and a diamond that's been placed in a setting.

1.  . . . We have such an high priest, who is set . . . (positioned strategically) . . . on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

Listen at what the description is.

2.  A minister of the sanctuary . . .

This word "sanctuary" is speaking about not just the Temple, but it's speaking about the inner . . . the Holy of Holies.  

We know that by looking at the Greek.  He is a Minister of the Holy of Holies.  

Could we say that He is a Minister of that which lies behind the veil?  I believe we could say that, couldn't we?  He is the Revealer of the secrets that are behind the veil.  

How many of you remember that manna was placed in the Ark of the Covenant and the Ark of the Covenant was placed behind the veil?  

Brother Branham had an unusual thought about that manna.  And he said in the same way that that manna was preserved and kept, he said every man of God, every real, true man of God, needs to have a taste of the original manna that fell on the day of Pentecost.  

And he said if he doesn't have a taste of that . . . I guess we could say that original blessing, that original experience . . . he has no right to stand behind the desk and teach the people God's Word.  And that's very, very true.

A minister of the Holy of Holies . . .  

2.  . . . and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

I love that.  I absolutely love that verse of Scripture.

Paul is teaching that the main point is the Messiah on the Throne as our High Priest.  

That's the main thing.  God, give us the ability to keep the main thing the main thing.  It's You, our Intercessor, our High Priest.

You got a problem?  You've got a High Priest.  Do you need healing?  We've got a High Priest.  Do you need an answer to life's problems?  We have a High Priest.  I love what Paul said.  That's the sum of it all.

And then he said He's not only a Minister of the Sanctuary, which is the Holy of Holies, behind the veil, but he's a Minister of the true Tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man.  

How many of you know where that Tabernacle is?  How many of you understand that the earthly Tabernacle was a symbol, a pattern that came from the heavenly Tabernacle.  We read about it.  

Moses, by the revelation, caught up into the Presence of God, saw the things before the Throne and was given revelation and understanding.  

And not only did God give him revelation and understanding on how to construct the Tabernacle, but he raised up men who were skilled and who knew how to take the vision and make it a reality - craftsmen who knew how to mold and make and shape.  Hallelujah.  God's got everything under control.

But who is this . . . what is or who is this true Tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man?

It's evident he is not referring to the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.  He's referring to another Tabernacle.

What could it be?  Who could it be?  Who is God talking to?  He's talking to us.  We are the true Tabernacle that the Messiah has pitched.  

That word "pitched" comes from the same root word that we get that word "set" from.  

We are the Tabernacle that has been strategically positioned by the High Priest.  

We are His dwelling place.  We are living to be an expression of Him.  

He is not dwelling in a physical building.  He is dwelling in a mystical body, the Bride of the Lord Jesus.  

I tell you, His Word is rich this morning.

Let's stand.  Hallelujah.

Before the Throne, Lord.  We want to have access.  And we know the way has been made.

Can I just say this one thing since you're stretching?  I need to say it again.  

Did you know that the earthly Tabernacle was fashioned after the scene before the Throne?  We know that.  

And we can show it by looking at what John saw later.  He described the same kind of scene before the Throne.  

It was taken to a different scale in the Tabernacle of Moses.  

This great sea, for instance, of glass that John saw before the Throne, in the earthly Tabernacle, or the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, it was a laver.  

It was a laver that was used - a reflective laver, in fact.  If you read carefully you'll find out it was mirrored and reflected - the image of the one who reached over to wash himself in the laver.

And all of these things came from what Moses saw when he was caught up into the heavenly realms and saw the Throne of God.

So the earthly Tabernacle was a model of what Moses saw, and John confirmed, before the Throne.

That's a very important thing.  And even Jewish sages recognize that - that's not Christian interpretation.

And they say that the actual Throne that John saw, and that Moses saw, was the prototype, so to speak, of the Ark of the Covenant.  

And the lid of the Ark of the Covenant . . . which was called the what?  The Mercy Seat.  

It became the Throne of God in the earth, a replica of the Throne of God in the earth - two Cherubims placed in position guarding this Throne.

And what was placed on the Throne?  

Not the seat of someone - nobody climbed up and sat down on the Mercy Seat.  

But what was placed there?  The blood.  

The blood was placed there, this earthly representation of this heavenly Throne - again, another type of how revelation has always ushered forth from heavenly places.

No wonder the apostle said, "We are seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."  

No wonder he tells us that we should set our affection on things above and not on the things in the earth.

I believe the Lord still has some things that He wants to speak to us from the Throne.  

Let he that hath an ear to hear, let him hear.  And let us desire to know all that God would have us to know.

Lord, we ask You for full knowledge - not just knowledge, not just science, not just information.  But we ask that You would bring us to full knowledge and revelation of who You are.

The reason why I believe it's so important is because Your people need to know Your will.  We need, Lord, to know Your will.

We get tired of bumping into walls.  We get tired of choosing the wrong path like a little rat in a maze - making our own mind up, choosing our own way, and then finding at the end of that path a dead end.  And we spend a lot of our life backtracking, paying the price for our own choices.

Lord, we need to be led.  We desire to be led.  We desire that You would set us, strategically position us, in a place where we can hear the echoes of that full knowledge that ushers forth from the Open Book and from the Throne.

We want to be led by You - guided, directed by You.  We want every moment to count.  Every day that we have left, we need it to count.

We can't afford to waste a week.  We can hardly afford to waste a day.  We can hardly afford to waste an afternoon.  There may be somewhere we need to be, some word we need to say, someone we need to meet.

Lead us, guide us and direct us.  Hallelujah.

Let's lift up a hand of surrender just a moment to the Lord.

Lord, we surrender to Your will.  Let Your full knowledge be revealed in us that we can do Your will, that we can go forth in Your will, that we can speak according to Your will, that we can minister Your will and impart Your will to others.

Hallelujah.

We recognize that from the Throne there is a River that issues forth.  John saw it.  He called it a River of Life.  We want that water.  We desire to drink the waters that flow forth from Your Throne.

You spoke to us some time ago and said that the River was flowing from the Throne, it was pure, and that it was going forth to push away all that had become muddy and cloudy and murky.

We want a clear picture of where we need to be at this moment.  And we want to walk with a consciousness and an awareness that we are under the authority of the One who sits on the Throne.

We acknowledge You as our High Priest.  And we thank You that You ever live to make intercession for us.

We thank You that You once and for all ultimately paid the price.  But Your work was not over when You paid the price because now You ever live to make intercession for us.  Thank You, Lord.

Our salvation is finished, the price was paid, but You ever live to make intercession for us.

Give us visions of the Throne.  Let us see Your face.  Let us see Your mighty hand revealed.

Lord, we pray for Israel.  We pray for Your people.  We pray, oh God, that You will protect her and keep her in this hour and that You will give her men after Your own heart.

We know that somewhere around the corner there must be a raising up of men who will walk after Your heart, who will desire what You desire, who will speak what You speak, who will choose the destiny that You have chosen for this people.

A great price has been paid for an illusion of peace.  But we call for Your peace, for You are Sar Shalom.  We call You, oh God, that You would come and establish Your peace for this people.

Lord, we surrender and submit to Your perfect will this day.  In the wonderful Name of Yeshua, we pray.  Amen.

I like His Presence that's here just now.  I like this Presence.

(Singing:)  "Where He leads me I will follow . . ."