Though we have journeyed to a great extent in the spirit, the distance that is yet to be covered is still a great one. The Lord's intention is to cut the journey short in righteousness and we can be assured that when we arrive at the destination, we would know for sure. There are various landmarks on the journey that keep us from derailing and serve as resource gathering points for the next lap.
Although the Israelites had the destination in view, many of them still failed to enter into the promise land even after passing through various points/landmarks in the long and weary wilderness. The holy place appears to be more lengthy than the most holy place. Yet, the requirements to enter the most holy place are more elaborate. For some time, we have been alternating between both tidings (good tidings and glad tidings), without totally being absorbed by the realm of glad tidings. Progressing finally into the realm of glad tidings can not be accomplished by human strength; it is mercy that guides us through. The message is not just another move or a message that can be accredited to a particular ministry. It is the message that finalizes the journey to God, which is why mercy is required for entrance.
We must realize that the church was not designed to keep men busy without actually pushing them forward on the journey. The church, like our Lord Jesus, must be about the Father’s business (Luke 2:49). It took years of being about His Father’s business for Jesus to thereafter establish His church for the same purpose. We have been called to inherit a blessing, without which our journey would have been futile. Therefore, the blessing of God’s day is what gives significance to our journey as believers.
The ‘now’ faith (the faith of justification) is what initiates the program of saving the soul (Heb. 11:1ff). This living faith is not just the faith to depend on God to provide our natural things. It was designed to provide the righteousness that is of Christ. This faith is the faith that moves us into the realm of the unseen (Heb. 11:1). To successfully live by this faith, we must walk by its demands. Man was originally designed upright, and walking is a major expectation from His Lord (Col 1:10). We learn and get accustomed to the righteousness of faith by walking. Until a child has learnt to walk, the movements of older persons appear to be unfamiliar to him. Similarly, we must anticipate when we would be accustomed to a life of walking in the spirit. After walking over time, we eventually gain mastery of righteousness as it is revealed.
The revealed righteousness is what justifies, and not just the practice of doing what is written as those under the law did. Because of this, the substance of faith must first be received for the expression of the ‘now’ faith to be manifest in our lives. Certain men could not wait for the better things that were to be revealed; so they went about to establish their own righteousness (Heb. 11:39-40; Rom. 10:3).
Jesus was the first man to author this faith. The first people He handed the faith over to were raised as clouds of witnesses (Heb. 12:1). The instruction to “run with patience the race that is set before us” signifies that the distance that is to be covered is not a short one. This large distance in the spirit has been compressed into a short work, and must therefore be covered/run with urgency (Rom. 9:8). The program in the book of revelation is equally a large one that must be covered in a short while (Rev. 1:1). The program also has certain demands that must be met for it to be fulfilled; only those who meet these demands are regarded as overcomers.
Doctrines are more condensed forms of revelations and must be regarded delicately. This is why spirits contend more with doctrine because it is very foundational. The Lord knew this, and was able to use His righteousness to judge the churches of the book of revelation, in preparation for His coming. His fiery eyes are decked with wisdom to see beyond what man can see. From Jordan, it was clear that Jesus’s approval was first based on His person, before His actions (Matt. 3:17). The first eye that was cultured in Him by the time He arrived at Jordan was a working of the Spirit of the Lord (Isa. 11:2). This Son was a stature that possessed a quick understanding that was informed by righteousness. This clearly shows that His progress was always measured by His judgement; how well He sees.
The palaces of Jesus’s exaltations are chambers of righteousness and judgements (Isa. 32:1). All the workings within Him were put together to frame a judgement that determined His actions per time. He was both upwardly erect in righteousness and balanced vertically by justice/judgement (Isa. 28:17).
There is an expected standard for the first level of work that faith measures out. What the first tiding produces culminates in a sight. This is why we must be cautious of what thoughts we take (Matt 6:31). Thoughts are responsible for what realms we navigate through in the spirit. This is why men are led captive or made free by tampering with their eyesight. What formed evil in the heart of man was a journey through realms of wicked thoughts. Similarly, what informs the faith into our hearts is the journey of thoughts that come as a result of consistent hearing of the faith.
Strength to do the will of God does not come by written ordinances alone; it comes by the faith process. It is this faith process that tampers with the core of the heart, changing what churns out of it. The hearing of faith makes grace available to fulfill the demands of God. It is after the faith process has been completed that we can proceed to the next level of sight. This higher level of sight is accompanied by a higher frequency of walk called running. For such short work, more skill is required to do things thoroughly. This is why we must have first gathered the things of faith immeasurably for us to do well. Because it takes time to acquire skill, we must be patient enough to finish the course of faith and disengage totally from our life, learning from our mistakes. We must be thoroughly exercised in the faith.
The age of faith is needed to run the race set before us. Running the race without the age of faith would result in breaking principles and running the race lawlessly. It is not about running but much more about the Lord's coming to us. The way to wait on the Lord is to race. As we continue the race, our Lord draws nigh. Jesus was also faced with a similar short race while on earth (Heb. 12:1). As a man of sorrows, he was well acquainted with a crucified life even before he arrived at the final cross (Isa. 53:3). The previous dealings were to prepare and mature him for the final lap. He needed to have a culture that solely depended on God and His judgements. This was in preparation for the short race at calvary, which was going to close the previous age of darkness. What He endured at the cross was not just the dealing He passed through, but the things that went through Him. It was a test of how much weight and stress He could bear by the cross. He learnt obedience in preparation to bear this final weight. Likewise, every other faith is tested to be true only when under pressure.
This kind of pressure was unlike anything He had passed through before even though he had heard of it and was prepared for the same. The price to pay for entrance into the glad tidings is a weighty one that can only be paid by those who are acquainted with pressure, dishonour and disdain. For us to awake into the next level of light, we must have been already acquainted with dying daily (1 Cor. 15:31).
The new day of God is not a repetition of the cycle of dealings that is in the year of the Lord. On the day of God, we would awaken into a new definition of righteousness. The faith of the Son may still allow certain tendencies and lack that only the day of God can take away. We must keep believing until we leap into that day, like Jesus did.
The dealings of faith are to severe us from every human attachment. In the resurrection, there would be no room for natural affections such as one related to marriage (Matt. 22:30). Jesus, while in the flesh, declared Himself as the “resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). By fellowship, He was familiar with the standard given for those who would enter into resurrection. In resurrection, men would be completely devoted to God and would live a life completely free from the mundane. Jesus did not learn about this from a book; He grew into it by fellowshipping with a life that is beyond the death program. Even before the death of the cross, He already made contact with the joy that is required to go through that dealing. At the same time, He also knew the sorrow that may come from missing out on what lies ahead (Heb. 5:7).
The reason for our building is to have the strength required to break into the higher world that is free from death. We need the burning lamp of righteousness to locate the path that breaks through into salvation (Isa 62:1). A time is coming when men would go beyond the darkness of their age to pursue after the burning light of righteousness. There is a manner of righteousness that resides in the day of God that can only be obtained when we arrive there (2Pet. 3:13). Our desire for this righteousness must become a “love” for righteousness (Heb. 1:9). At the verge of the breaking of the day is a mix of the end of seeing darkly and the shining of a new light. The Lord would first appear as righteousness and we must respond to His revealed righteousness with love.
It takes the fervency of a “roe or a young hart” to leap into the daybreak (Sos. 2:16-17). This is because the Lord’s appearance is swift and gives no room for slackness. Thoughts in that realm are so high that it demands us praying in the Holy Ghost to keep up (Jude 1:20). Praying in the Holy Ghost is a most holy exercise for those who must see the appearance of the day and is different from praying in tongues. If we must catch His appearance, we must hasten and give no room for distractions and heart variations (2Pet3:12; SOS 3:8-9). We must be able to discern the Lord amongst ten thousand (SOS 5:8-10).