With reference to the subject of breaking with old mind patterns (note: belief systems) and the moment of God's presence, we would like to refer to the biblical passage from Acts 3:1-10, which deals with the lame man sitting and begging at the so-called beautiful gate of the temple. He was paralyzed from birth and was carried daily to this place by people (see Acts 3:2).

 

2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.

 

The paralyzed man was negatively influenced over a long period of time by the concept or conviction of his fellow men surrounding him, in that he resigned himself to his paralyzed state and thereby begged at the beautiful gate of the temple. He connected himself with the wrong idea of other people who kept him thinking there was no other way out of his paralyzed state than only to get a little money by begging in order to survive.

 

But God had an appointed time of healing for the lame on a daily basis, which the paralyzed man couldn't recognize because of his relationships with people who didn't believe in the supernatural work of God and His timings (note: appointments with God, divine visitations).

 

When God has determined a particular time, it is very important that this point of time is correctly discerned and recognized by that person.

 

God had repeatedly created moments for the lame man in the past to encounter him. This becomes clear by the Greek word for “beautiful – hōrạịos”, which means “on time, punctual, beautiful, wonderful, well formed”. It is derived from the Greek root word “hōra”, which among other things means “a certain time” or “a point in time”. (note: part excerpt from the Elberfleder Study Bible to the Greek word “hōrạịos – beautiful” and the word “hōra – moment” with the word key number: 5418* and 5417)

 

Since the paralyzed man was a man who had been paralyzed since his birth, we can imagine that he was carried to the place of God's moment by people from his environment for many years without having experienced a supernatural visitation.

 

Because of his paralyzed condition the lame decided to beg from believers who went into the center of the Heavenly Father because he knew that the movement of the kingdom of God was associated with prosperity (note: blessings, wealth).

 

The center of the Heavenly Father in this context is related to the temple because Jesus, when he lived on earth in His youth, referred to it clearly (see Luke 2:46-49).

 

46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.

48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

 

Therefore, it is no coincidence that the event with the lame at the beautiful gate is connected to the going up of the two apostles Peter and John, who were about to go into the center of the Heavenly Father to intensify fellowship with Him and the saints (see Acts 3:1).

 

1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer – at three (note: ninth hour) in the afternoon.

 

 

Looking at the event in a prophetic context, it is clear that two types of believers are described, the first being people who are captured in a state of immaturity by a false mindset and are unable to enter the center of God with all its rights and privileges. This paralyzed state is caused by a religious spirit that seeks to stop the spiritual development (note: maturity) and movement of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.

 

The second type are believers who move in a higher realm of spiritual authority because they are aware of the responsibility in the sonship of God and thus gain deep knowledge and intimacy with the Heavenly Father.

 

 

=> The religious spirit is a demonic power that wants to stop the process of change in the body of Christ with all its might.

 

 

 

“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Through Jesus Christ, the Pharisees or Scribes were given the choice either to oppose the divine nature of the Son of God or to align themselves with Jesus. It was up to them either to observe the rules of worship at the place where changes in behavior took place in worship, or to begin worshiping in spirit and truth. <= (note: analogously part excerpt from the book “God's Now Time for Your Life,” pages 113-116 by Chuck D. Pierce, ISBN: 0-8307-3834-7)

 

 

The religious spirit causes believers to have a mindset of poverty which prevents them from entering into the direct presence of the Heavenly Father. As a result, those believers seek their help in the riches (note: meant here material and immaterial) of the sons of God, instead of personally entering the sonship of God and receiving it in the presence of God themselves (see Acts 3:2-3).

 

2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.

3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.

 

Such poverty thinking is devouring of God's resources and should be addressed in love and revelatory truth so that the respective believers may enter their individual sonship of Christ in order to be enabled to become a part of God's economy (note: blessings, prosperity, wealth).

 

 

It is the power of the apostolic and prophetic perspective that leads to the dissolution of the paralyzing state and causes believers to move from a cycle of poverty to the moment of God's prosperity in spirit, soul and body (see Acts 3:4-6).

 

4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!”

5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

 

Before the lame could receive his healing to become a literal sign and wonder for the people around him, it was necessary for him to look into the apostolic and prophetic light of God to be filled with His light and touched by the power of God to obey the apostolic instruction (see Acts 3:4.6-7 i.c.w. Luke 11:34a-b).

 

4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” …

6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.

 

34a-b Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. …

 

 

Here the enlightened eyes of the apostles together with the eyes of the lame that were unenlightened established horizontally the victory of the cross of Jesus in the invisible world in order to create a new man.

The reason lies in the fact that the lame man had to look right and left with his eyes in order to look into the four eyes of the apostles. The number of the involved eyes was six, indicating the new life of the lame man that was about to come because God created man on the sixth day (see Genesis 1:27.31).

 

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. …

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the sixth day.

 

The four eyes of the apostles formed the door for the lame man to enter into the higher realm of God, similar to what John saw in the book of Revelation when he saw the door in heaven opened (see Revelation 4:1).

 

1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

 

The number “4” is related to the Hebrew letter “Daleth”, which is connected to an “open tent door” or a “wing of a door” and at the same time is a reference to Jesus Christ, who is the door to enter the presence and provision of God (see John 10:9).

 

9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

 

 

At the times when God wants to bring about a change in the body of Christ on earth, it is unavoidable that spiritual leaders within the body of Christ will be called by God to step out and move to a higher level of fellowship and improvement in order to bring forth more fruitfulness for His people (see Acts 3:1).

 

1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer – at three in the afternoon (note: ninth hour).

 

As a result, spiritual leaders do not fail to face challenges in their lives in order to create the will and moment of God in people's lives, to enable them to enter into apostolic and prophetic worship (note: represented by Peter and John) in the center of God and in authentic fellowship of saints (see Acts 3:8-10).

 

8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.

9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

 

 

Since the previously paralyzed man went under the authority of the apostolic-prophetic alliance (note: Peter and John), he was given access to the realm of greater wisdom because he joined the apostles and followed them into the colonnade of Solomon causing people to be amazed by it (see Acts 3:11 i.c.w. 1 Kings 4:29-30).

 

11 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade.

 

29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.

30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.

 

 

Solomon's Colonnade was the columned hall on the east side of the temple. Its geographical location prophesied to man, the new day of the Lord, through the assistance of the Spirit of Wisdom who is the Holy Spirit (note: In the east the sun rises and announces the day.).

 

This hall was also the place where Jesus as Messiah confronted the religious leaders by speaking about His obeying sheep following His voice but also about the unity with His Heavenly Father (see John 10:23-30).

 

… 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.

24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me,

26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.

27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all3; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

30 I and the Father are one.”

 

 

The enrichment of the believers, who were previously in a paralyzed state for a long time and now begin to live in the freedom and order of the Spirit, has the consequence that it comes to astonishment within the body of Christ, because they are in the right apostolic alignment at this time and have a part in the revelatory presence of God.

 

These are believers who become familiar with the facets of the face of God that are:

 

It is similar to the lambs and goats of Jacob at the time of Laban, which looked at the peeled wooden sticks and thus became a powerful flock. The lambs reflected the structure of the sticks they saw (see Genesis 30:37-43).

 

37 Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches.

38 Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, 39 they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.

40 Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals.

41 Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, 42 but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob.

43 In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

 

From this we come to the conclusion that there is the necessity for the time ahead that it is not enough to have a knowledge of Jesus Christ without a passionate devotion under His guidance. This guidance includes, in addition to submission and subordination to His Word, the willingness to acknowledge higher anointings and to place oneself in the destiny that has been set for one.

We can recognize our destiny only in the readiness to direct the eyes of our heart upwards to the Heavenly Father, in order to be able to be formed like the image of His glory. As we do this, in the process of inner change we must recognize what is to be let go of and actually break this attitude (note: blockades from the past, belief systems holding us back) in order to move in the freedom of the Spirit.
 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel Glimm

The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word “šabbāt” and means “to cease, to rest” or “to repose”. The primary meaning of the word is the renunciation of all work. The Sabbath regulations are an essential characteristic of the Mosaic laws. The Ten Commandments already state that the Sabbath belongs to the Lord.

On six days the Israelites were to work, but on the seventh day they and all slaves, foreigners and animals were called to rest. Despite this clear instruction, many believers among God's people choose not to follow the biblical priniciple of rest “in the garden”. The first time the word “holy” is used in the Word of God is in Genesis 2:3, where it appears as a verb.

 

3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

 

The Enemy's Plan to Bring God's People Out of the Place of Rest

It is important in Jesus Christ to be aware that it is the enemy's plan to pull believers out of their dwelling place in God, which is evident by the fact that during the week we can avoid remaining at rest despite the challenges. One consequence of this is that we react wrongly to situations and thus don't experience God's blessing in its fullness.

The adversary hates it when we as believers understand how to come to rest in God's covenant plan and thereby walk in the blessings of God according to the principle of Romans 11:16 in the following days of the week.

Romans 11:16:
16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

And this is what the enemy attacks with the help of antichrist systems on earth for the simple reason that the Sabbath is the heart of God's covenant plan with His creation.

Nevertheless, it happens that believers in business of everyday life turn against God's established basic principle of rest.

In this context, the enemy uses a lie to make believers think that they are losing a business day, hence reducing their personal economy. This makes it all even more important that we give this relationship with God the first place in our lives, so that our personal economy is also secured in the future by God, which is promised to us (see Matthew 6:33).

Matthew 6:33:
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

In spite of all those modern devices, technologies and innovations of our time, which are supposed to make our daily work easier, it seems as if people have less time available to really enjoy life.

It is above all unbelief, fear and greed that the opponent of God uses to disrupt and infiltrate the God-given order of work and rest. For this reason, God wanted to preserve the blessing of the Sabbath with the help of the Ten Commandments.

 

The Sabbath, Part of God's Value System

Even if people oppose the day of rest appointed by God, which, by the way, is a part of His values for us human beings and was already established by God before the Mosaic law, the Sabbath is not a day that should be abused for a legal ritual and should not be ignored by a worldly thought of work.

The Sabbath is rather a part of the value system of God which it has made available to mankind to enter into the sanctified days of the week through this special day, because they are sanctified through the celebration of the Sabbath.

It was important for God to embed the observance of the Sabbath in the Ten Commandments, which means that working seven days a week, is just as much a violation of God's standards as killing, stealing, or committing adultery ( Exodus 20:8-11).

Exodus 20:8-11:
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.

11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The Sabbath rest includes a time of rest which is regularly repeated when we stop working with the aim of experiencing physical, mental and emotional rest. During this time no pressure and responsibility should be present because it is a time to take the freedom to enjoy the goodness of God.

Rest is a gift of God to His creation. It was God's plan to weave rest into the universe and also to anchor it in its spheres.
 

 

Unfortunately, the Pharisees at the time when Jesus was living on earth as a human being, accepted the blessing of God and perverted it into another lawful burden for mankind, which unfortunately led many Christians unto this day to consider Sabbath to be an ceremony of the Mosaic law, which has not been God's intention in this way (see Mark 2:24).

 

24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

 

Jesus Christ made it clear that the Sabbath should not be considered a day of legal observance, but a day of blessing (see Mark 2:27).

 

27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. …”

 

This is illustrated by the fact that Jesus healed and delivered people on the Sabbath and allowed His disciples to rejoice in the harvest (see Matthew 12:9-12; Luke 13:10-17; Luke 14:1-6; Mark 2:23-26).

 

9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue,

10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?

12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

 

10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,

11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.

12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”

13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?

16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

 

1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.

2 There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body.

3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”

4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child1 or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?”

6 And they had nothing to say.

 

23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.

24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?

26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

 

 

The Sabbath has an important position in God's covenant plan, which can also be described as the heart. This special time frame carries God's encouragement to us to enter this day in faith and experience it as a day of physical and spiritual joy and relaxation. The result is that the needs in our hearts are purified and clarified, so that we experience joy in His presence. The time of the Sabbath helps to come to rest by entering into the awareness of God's presence in our relationship to triumph over our enemies.

 

As already mentioned, the Sabbath is not meant to be a legal set of rules to be followed, but to help us to rest and consciously enjoy fellowship with God and His blessings.

 

It is important that we are know that we are not condemned by people because of the way we celebrate the Sabbath, but that we simply enjoy it in freedom as Jesus Christ celebrated it (see Colossians 2:16 i.c.w. Mark 2:27-28).

 

16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

 

27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

 

 

In conclusion, it is important that the Sabbath should not be a rule because there are times in life when we do not fail to do work on a Sabbath.

 

This is made clear by the statement of Jesus when He spoke of the prevention of that risk of losing a Sabbath by asking the Scribes and Pharisees whether they wouldn't pull out one of their sons or oxen if they fell into a well on Sabbath (see Luke 14:5).

 

5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child1 or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?”

 

Therefore, people getting into trouble on the Sabbath should be helped. This is the reason why Jesus helped people on the Sabbath by healing and delivering them.

 

People are subject to different working time models, which have different effects on weekly time planning according to profession and degree of responsibility (note: night and shift work, self-employment, business travel, driving times, etc.), which God knows best and therefore understands. He knows the complexity of our work and our obligations beyond that.

 

However, if people don't allow themselves a day of rest in God as believers in Christ, the result is that they miss the blessing of God that He has linked to the Sabbath. This can mean losing the joy, creativity, and strength for the challenges ahead.

 

God gave the Sabbath as a gift. He set it as a day of blessing to enjoy it, to enjoy its creation, and to express thanksgiving for His goodness.

 

By grasping this value of God for ourselves as human beings, we will go deeper into our destiny of fellowship with Him and become a blessing to our environment.

(note: This message is based on a teaching from the newsletter of Chuck D. Pierce, GZI from 05.10.2018)

 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel Glimm