Several years ago, during worship at All Things Restored, we were singing about His beauty, when I saw a portal opening up to us and knew by the Spirit that it was the Beauty Realm of God. In this realm, all eyes are upon Him, and all hearts are captured by Him. Letting go of sins, weights and bondages is easy in this place, because here, nothing matters but Him. Even the laying down of our lives is effortless, because He is everything, and we are so enraptured with His beauty and holiness. I was reminded that we overcome “by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony, not loving our lives unto death.” In the midst of the light and misty glory that was pouring through this open door, I saw silhouetted figures emerging, and I knew by the Spirit that they were those who were literally laying down their lives in martyrdom for Christ. I saw that they were able to do this effortlessly and even joyfully because of the utter ecstasy of His presence in this realm.
Holy Spirit then led us from the beauty to the fire of His holiness, which consumes the wood, hay and stubble and refines us. We must step into the fire, for it burns away all that is not Him and purifies all that is.
Afterwards, I found out that the prayer team had received the same revelation during pre-service prayer. And when the Beauty Realm opened up, Connie Woods had literally seen 4 martyrs and had gone in the Spirit to where they were. Holy Spirit showed her that He was linking us with them in the Spirit, allowing them to be strengthened by our worship and allowing us to partake of their sacrifice. It was a very intense -and different- experience for her, and she had asked the Lord to confirm that it was of Him. Her confirmation unfolded during worship!
It was the face of the Ox that manifested in our midst. The Ox is the beast of burden and the sacrificial animal…. and the fire came to consume the sacrifice. Because Holy Spirit had allowed us to partake of the martyr’s sacrifice and, in a sense, have it credited to our spiritual account, we now have a sacrifice that, along with the blood of the Lamb, trumps any evil sacrifice.
In II Kings 3, we see a Biblical story illustrating the fact that, in past seasons, the occult has understood the spiritual law of sacrifice and power better than the sons of God. It is one area where, in the words of Yeshua, “the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light” (Luke 16:8). Mesha, King of Moab had been paying tribute to King Ahab of Israel, but when Ahab died, Mesha rebelled against Ahab’s son, Jehoram. So Jehoram allied with Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, and went to war with Moab. They called for Elisha, who had just received a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, and in II Kings 3: 18, Elisha said that God would deliver the Moabites into their hands and that they would win the war. That was exactly what was happening, and Israel and Judah were prevailing until… the King of Moab withdrew to his royal city, took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place and sacrificed him to his demonic god, upon the wall, in plain sight of all.
Desperate to survive, Moab’s king offered his own son,
his oldest son who was next in line for the throne,
as a burnt offering to Moab’s god Chemosh on the wall.
Then a fierce wrath swept against Israel,
so they fled from Moab’s king and went back to their own country.
-II Kings 3:27, VOICE
Israel and Judah abandoned the conquest God had promised they would win, and returned home defeated. Why? They received a true word from a true prophet, but there was a higher trade made in the demonic realm and they were defeated.
Now, do we earn that which is freely given to us in Christ? NO! But in this hour, the sons of God are waking up, rising up and growing up. We are learning to steward greater spiritual authority by trading. As spiritual children, our foundation is firmly established upon grace, the goodness and nature of our Father and upon absolute dependence upon Him. As “young men,” we are learning to rule and reign, to steward and to trade.
The blood of animals and humans is a high trade in the realm of the spirit, for “the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). This is why the occult uses it to gain power. This is why the battle for abortion is so fierce. Many people in high positions of power gained and are maintaining those positions through blood sacrifice. BUT… Love has the highest frequency, so a life laid down freely in love far outweighs any sacrifice motivated by self, greed or lust for power. And, of course, the blood of the sinless and spotless Lamb of God trumps every other sacrifice.
So today, I invite you into the Beauty Realm of God, the place that David obviously knew quite well: “One thing have I desired of the Lord and that will I seek: to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple…” (Psalm 27:4). What a contrast to Martha who was encumbered by many things! The Beauty Realm is where we get untangled from lesser things, and abiding there is what keeps our “one thing” the main thing.
From that place of worship, ecstasy and beauty, renew your commitment to be a living sacrifice. Partake of communion, really stopping to meditate on the power of the blood of the Lamb. In the courts of heaven and on the Trading Floor, use the leverage of the Highest Sacrifice to trump every lesser sacrifice… in your life, in your region, in your nation and in the nations of the earth. Truly, this is an hour where there is a changing of the guard. Positions of power usurped by corrupt trading are being handed to God’s sons who have been prepared to steward according to His heart. So, stop some time today to re-member the Highest Sacrifice and to be thankful. It is a glorious time to be alive!
And on that note, I wanted to share the link to a song about the power of worship and of a life laid down in love: Release the Cries. As you see from the lyrics below, it’s a song with a timely message. Enjoy!
RELEASE THE CRIES, DAY AND NIGHT (REPEAT)
THE CRIES OF THE BLOOD OF THE MARTYRS
MINGLED WITH THE PRAYERS OF ALL THE AGES
FROM EVERY TRIBE AND TONGUE AND NATION
WORSHIP FROM EVERY GENERATION
SONGS OF EARTH AND SONGS OF HEAVEN
ANSWERING THE GROANING OF CREATION
DAY AND NIGHT, IT’S ARISING
RELEASED BY AN END-TIME GENERATION
WE ARE GROANING AND TRAVAILING FOR YOUR COMING
OUR SONG IS THE CRY OF THOSE WHO CANNOT SPEAK
OUR PRAYERS SWIRL AROUND THE THRONE, AN OFFERING
OUR DANCE TRAMPLES INJUSTICE WITH OUR FEET
WE WILL WATCH AND PRAY TILYOUR GLORY CAN BE SEEN
WE ARE WATCHING AND WAITING FOR YOUR JUSTICE
YOUR VENGEANCE ON THE ENEMY IS YOUR GLORY RELEASED
LIKE THE WATERS FILL THE SEA, WORSHIP
LET THE CRIES OF ALL THE AGES BE RELEASED IN A SYMPHONY
LIKE THE WORLD HAS NEVER SEEN, WORSHIP
WE’LL DISPLAY YOUR AWESOME BEAUTY FOR THE EYES OF ALL TO SEE
AND ALL WILL FALL DOWN AT YOUR FEET AND WORSHIP,
WORSHIP , WORSHIP, WORSHIP, WORSHIP, WORSHIP, WORSHIP YOU
WE ARE CRAVING AND WE ARE YEARNING FOR YOUR ABIDING
WE ARE LONGING AND WE ARE BEGGING FOR YOUR EMBRACE
WE WANT TO BE YOUR HABITATION
SO DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO
TO MAKE US YOUR DWELLING PLACE