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When He sees that you want Him, you’ll begin to move God in a way you’ve never moved Him before. But your soul has to be full of life and the heart has to be obedient to the covenant that He placed there. When those two things come together and the soul fellowships with the covenant in the heart, then you become mighty and it is God that does it and you know it. Few people really understand what the soul is and what it does. If they knew they would change their lives a lot more. In 2 Chronicles 15, the Children of Israel had gone astray. Whenever they went astray the enemy would come in and try to destroy them, and God let that happen. 2 Chronicles 15:12, And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul. It’s extremely important that you enter into the covenant with your heart and soul, because Christ came to purchase our souls through His death. The death we were supposed to have He put upon Himself so we could be redeemed. But we still have to enter into a death, and that is death to the world. Verse 13, That whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. And they sware unto the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. When they began to seek the Lord they began to worship Him. Verse 15, And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the Lord gave them rest round about. If you have God’s presence in you, someone that does not have the peace of God in them, will become quiet and restful in your presence if they will receive. Smith Wigglesworth was a good example of that. When he walked down the street people would be convicted and fall on their face and begin to repent. That’s because the glory of God was upon him and it fought against the wickedness of satan and this world, so much that it drove away the darkness. That’s what happens as you grow. If you are still walking in great fear, walking in all kinds of worrisome things, there is a greater place of God’s presence you need to walk in. When you are bold, the presence of God’s glory goes out further and pushes the wickedness away even farther so it can’t affect you. It silences satan’s helpers that don’t know any better. That doesn’t mean you can do it in arrogance or in self-centeredness or in self-promoting, because that’s not the way God works. When you are weak, then are you strong, because you depend upon God and His glory to protect you, and He will. But He won’t do it if you’re going to take any part of that glory. He’ll give you glory as long as you represent Him in that glory and stay broken and humble. When they sought and found Him, the Lord gave them rest round about. I have found that in the middle of all the whirlwinds going on in our country and in the world, it becomes overwhelming if you look at it like what can I do to change it. We have to approach it with the heart of Lord, what can I do in this hour that will satisfy You and what You are doing on the earth today? Because if God says it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. That’s the way David was. He said, shall I take the enemy? And God said go get him. What did David do? Go back in the corner and hide? No! He said, let’s go guys. And he went and destroyed him. So the first thing is that we have to enter into His presence with everything we have. The heart is where the covenant is and the soul is where the life is. When life and flesh came together then the soul became a living soul. Life is actually in the soul. 2 Chronicles 34:27, Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the Lord. Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again. Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God. And all his days they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers. One of the reasons God chose Abraham to carry His torch upon the earth was because that was the attitude of Abraham. Abraham wanted God and he knew how to worship and adore Him in such a way that it greatly pleased God. Often times we don’t realize how much worshipping Him stirs God to do something. Parents want the best for their child, so they do things to help their child become the best they can be. When the child comes and wants to do something that is in alignment with what they hoped for them to be it brings great joy to the parent’s heart and they want to bless them even more. That’s what God does for us. When He sees that you want Him, you’ll begin to move God in a way you’ve never moved Him before. But your soul has to be full of life and the heart has to be obedient to the covenant that He placed there. When those two things come together and the soul fellowships with the covenant in the heart, then you become mighty and it is God that does it and you know it. In that place God will pour out upon you blessings and things that you never imagined before. The wealth will come to you because you are His child. Because Josiah’s heart was tender when He heard God’s word, he immediately began to change, and he caused the people to change as well. The way our constitution was set up gave this nation a great advantage. We were blessed of all nations. We are a blessed people but those that follow satan do not believe we are blessed. They believe we are a nation that steals the wealth of other countries, but that’s not the case. God’s people will inherit the earth and the wicked will not, but they don’t see it that way. I’m not worried for me because no matter what happens in the earth God will still bless us. Those that do not have the Spirit of life will have to go through great hardship, so much hardship they will hate their soul. There are many people that hate their soul. That’s why there are a lot of people that take their own lives. At times the devil will try to pull you into that place and you have already felt that. You feel like you’re not winning but just fighting and fighting and fighting. But we are winning. It’s just hard to see it when you’re in the middle of the battle. If there was any person whose soul was weary it was Job. Job 10:1, My soul is weary of my life. Physical life is in his soul but his soul is weary of the life that is there. I love to see when people are weary of life in their soul because it’s at that point they will make a decision. Do I want to change and live in the blessings of the Lord, or do I want to live in poverty all my life? …I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. The far left is seeking something but they can’t find any satisfaction. They can eat and eat and eat and still be empty and want more. Job says he’s going to leave his complaint upon himself. There is no one else that can change me except God. I experienced that. I was old enough that I was set in my ways and God had to just break me down and put me to ashes to get me to change for Him. It was the same way for Job. Verse 2, I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me. He’s saying, God, don’t condemn me. Just tell me where you’re not satisfied with me and I will change. How many have ever come to that place? Lord just show me… Well, God could show you and you could change but you wouldn’t break down that generational pull and it would come back. But when you can come to the place you are so sick of the earthly life of your soul, then that whole thing will begin to crush the bondage of the generations. God brings affliction to the areas that offend Him so we can change. 2 Kings 2:1, And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. The soul has life in it. The Lord has life, He lives, and as Elijah’s soul lives… They are in communication together. They both have life. Our soul can fellowship with God’s soul. Elijah had something that Elisha didn’t have yet, and he wanted that fellowship soul to soul with God. Elijah had the ability to hear, but Elisha didn’t want to just hear, he wanted to see too. He wanted a double portion. He wasn’t going to let Elijah go until he received the life in his soul that God gave Elijah. In that day, to fellowship with God’s soul was extremely rare. It is today too, but it shouldn’t be. Verse 3, And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. When Elisha ripped his own clothes in two pieces he was breaking the old covenant. When Christ died on the cross, the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was ripped in two so man could enter into it. Because Elisha saw Elijah going into heaven he knew he was going to receive a new covenant. Verse 13, He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; and he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. He knew because he saw Elijah go, that he got his wish. Then he went and took the mantle of Elijah and smote the waters and said, now, where is that God, because I have a double portion of it, and the waters parted. He tested it right away before he could lose his faith. Verse 15, And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, ye shall not send. And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. What was that all about? They didn’t receive the double portion. They didn’t see him go to heaven. Only Elisha received it. They could have but they didn’t. They weren’t following Elijah. They knew that Elijah was going away but they didn’t ask for the double portion like Elisha did. If you don’t ask, you don’t receive. What was the difference between Elisha and the other prophets? Elisha was bold. Elisha didn’t know if Elijah would smack him around a while for what he asked. Elijah could have said, you little rascal, here I have been fighting and everything else and you want twice what I have? No, he said, if you see me go, then you will see everything. God is going to open the heavens to you and you will be able to see. Some of you need to become bold before the Lord. It says to come boldly before the throne of grace. The throne of grace is that God’s grace will work with you to get rid of the things that offend Him so He can fill you with His presence and life. But the prophets were afraid of Elijah. He had a reputation of calling fire down from heaven. Sweet Elijah. If I’m a man of God, let fire fall down from heaven. Elisha got what he wanted because he was bold and he knew that God lives and that Elijah had the Father’s life in his soul. If the soul is in a right place you will get a proper fellowship with God. Elisha knew that if he could get the full life of the Father in him, he would get a double portion. I have to tell you, there were a few things I asked God for that I got knocked down flat because I wasn’t in a right place to receive them. But I got back up again and said, Okay Lord, what does it take to get what I’m asking for? Proverbs 18:7, A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. If a word from the Lord comes to you and says, I’m going to do this for you, but your mouth says, I can’t do that, you are destroying the word that was placed in you. Those of you who cannot grow it is because you are destroying the words that are placed in your heart. You are disagreeing with the word. You have to start agreeing with the word God gives you, and then that word can grow and prosper. But as long as it’s being hammered at, even in your own being, with doubt or unbelief or bitterness you will never get anywhere. You cannot speak against the word and expect it to prosper you. You must receive the word, stay quiet, and let the word grow in you even if you don’t understand it. When God came to Mary, it says she pondered those things in her heart. She wondered about this, and she wondered about that, but it doesn’t say that she spoke. She just pondered those things in her heart. God said this is the way it’s going to be… In my early days I did a lot of just meditating on all the things God had promised me. How can this be? How can that be? I had no idea how it could be, but it was always on the tip of my mind. I was always pondering. Is this part of the promise? Is that part of the promise? But I wouldn’t go forward or backwards; I would ponder it and watch to see what was growing within me to know what was happening. If your soul is in harmony with the soul of the Lord, who can be against you? Psalm 63:1, O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. The flesh is weary of the life that you are living if the life of God is not in it. You become weary in it. That’s why people drink and do all the things they do. They try to encourage the flesh to have fun but there is no fun when it’s not in connection with God. Verse 2, To see thy power and thy glory, so I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Instead of our lips saying I can’t do it, they begin to praise God for what He said, that it may spring forth and have life. Verse 4, Thus will I bless thee while I life: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. When there is the life of the Father in the soul, the soul follows hard after God. The soul will follow after the world if that’s what you’ve taught it, but if the soul has been introduced to God, and received His life, the soul seeks the living God. It helps you to have a soul that is connected to the living God and the living God will then draw your soul to Him and that’s what saves you. Jesus said, I will draw all men to Me. He draws your soul to be saved if you allow Him. Psalm 106:15, And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul. He gave them what they wanted but when He gave them what they wanted, their soul became weak. Instead of strong and bold and seeking God with all their heart, they got what they wanted but they became weak. Psalm 107:1, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. When their soul fainted in them, they wanted to go back to Egypt. Verse 6, Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Lord, I just want You. It’s the soul that seeks God. He fills the hungry soul with goodness. Verse 10, Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High. They couldn’t prosper and they couldn’t find God so God could fill them with His goodness. The goodness is the life that He brings. If you talk with someone that is full of life you enter into a place where time doesn’t mean much but if you enter into a place where the souls of men are in control, fifteen minutes can seem like a day. Psalm 145, I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness in unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. We want to align our soul back to the soul of the Lord. The way we do that is begin to pray and worship and open our hearts. Our soul will then long to be with the Living God, because we are speaking of the knowledge of God. It will cause our souls to desire to fellowship with God’s soul. As you pray and if you don’t speak words against it but you truly mean it, God will connect your soul into a higher realm than it’s gone before. Our delight is for our soul to be in fellowship with the living God. Father, we just lift our hearts to You this day. We stand before the throne of grace, asking for mercy and Your grace, that our souls would long to be in Your presence. That we could fellowship soul to soul, that we would be like Elijah and Elisha, that the Lord lives and there is the life of our living God in our soul for eternity. You came to save our soul, so we rejoice this day Lord that our salvation is complete in You. We want to worship You in spirit and in truth, that our soul might be fully connected to You, even as Elisha said, I’m not going to leave you until I get what I want. So Lord, pour out this day Your blessing. In the midst of this wicked world that tries to pull us in all directions our worship is unto You. Thank You Lord, for Your goodness. Thank You that You are our God. In Your name we pray, Amen. 
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AuthorLarry Troyer |
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