29 September, 2015

Chapter 4 - Storehouses of Heaven




I believe Jesus Christ revealed heaven to me as He did in order to give me balance. He knew that I had been through many visits to hell, and experiencing hell was so horrible that He gave me the blessing of seeing heaven. On one of my visits to heaven, I was shown God’s storehouses. The angel of the Lord said to me, "Come and see the glory of your God." 

The angel was very beautiful and tall. His rainbow-colored wings were shaped like triangles. He told me that God had given him instructions, and he was to show me parts of heaven. We began to go up higher through the atmosphere and went through the entrance to Heaven again. I saw fruit trees loaded with beautiful fruit. I saw families dressed in beautiful robes, walking up and down the hillside, praising God.

The environment was saturated with the most beautiful music you would ever want to hear. Heavenly music is a manifestation of joy. It is an evidence of happiness, a proof of joy. I have heard magnificent choirs and grand ensembles that created and performed beautiful music here on earth. But, saints, nothing down here can compare with the splendor and beauty of the music and singing there. Heaven was a symphony of music. Imagine, if you can, millions of perfectly pitched voices, sweetly singing the melodies of heaven! Not a single one was off-key. Everything was in perfect harmony.

Stringed instruments provided beautiful accompaniment, along with trumpets and other kinds of musical instruments. They all blended with the voices of the redeemed saints who were praising God with rapturous joy. The tones of the instruments, like the singing voices, had been purified and made perfect by the power of Almighty God. Oh, it was glorious to hear the wonderful praises to God. Voices that are without quality of tone or pitch on earth will sing in beautiful harmony in Heaven. We will all be happy over there. Even a ten-thousand-voice choir here would pale in comparison with the grand and eloquent music of God’s celestial city! Wave after wave of unbelievable anthems of praise billowed over the landscape and through the streets of Heaven. It was so all- encompassing that I could hear or think of nothing else for some time.

Finally, the angel said, "Come and see the glory of God." I remember going with him through an area that had the greenest grass imaginable. There were huge clusters of flowers in certain parts of the grass. The flowers were splendid and looked somewhat like roses. Each plant had at least one bloom consisting of beautiful petals. And, saints, the flowers looked like they were singing!

HORSES OF HEAVEN
Traveling on with the angel, we passed a place where there were beautiful, white horses. I remembered reading in Revelation about horses and how Jesus will one day be astride a white horse, leading the armies of heaven, who will also be riding white horses:

Now I saw heaven opened, and be hold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself
He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

(Revelation 19:11-14)

These horses looked as noble as marble chess pieces. They looked as if they were huge statues that had been chiseled out of boulders, but they were real and alive. Their hooves were gigantic. They were pure white and very regal. A woman dressed in a beautiful robe was smiling and talking to the horses, directing them to bow their knees in praise to God. All of them, at the same time, bowed their right knees and praised the Lord! I thought, "Oh, how beautiful!" And I remembered reading in the Bible that every creature in heaven and on earth would honor and praise God:

I have sworn by Myself the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. (Isaiah 45:23)

“For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God." (Romans 14:11)

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

Every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!" (Revelation 5:13)

Peace, joy, and happiness were everywhere. I could hear people praising God. Suddenly, I could no longer see the angel with me, but there stood Jesus. He seemed to me to be very tall in stature, and He wore a robe that was distinctive from the robes of others. His piercing eyes were beautiful. He had what looked like a neatly-trimmed beard and very thick hair. I remember looking at Him and thinking that the tenderness in His eyes is beyond a writer’s description. The loveliness of the Blessed Savior was awe-inspiring and wonderful. Everything within me wanted to praise Him, to worship and bow before Him, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. Glory and power billowed all around Him. 

STOREHOUSES OF HEALING
I noticed that Jesus’ eyes had taken on a troubled look. I asked, "Jesus, what is it?" "Child, look!"
He waved His hand toward a building where I saw a large opening. From the opening, glory and power-billows and billows of power- came streaming out.
I asked Him again, "Jesus, what is this?"
"Child, do you see the healings in these storehouses?"
"Yes, Lord."
"All of these blessings await the people of God." The sufferings in this life are indeed tragic. How much sickness, disease, physical affliction, deformity, and similar ills people suffer here!

You see it everywhere. Just walk up and down the corridors of any hospital or major medical center. Visit the contagious disease wards, the mental health wings, the intensive care facilities, the emergency rooms, and other places that take care of people in terrible pain and unbearable physical and mental anguish. Sickness is a result of the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It is one of sin’s con sequences. Some see sickness as a nuisance, a tragedy of the human condition, or just a part of normal existence. In reality, it is a curse of Satan.

HEALING IN HEAVEN
The need for healing is overwhelming. Sickness is a corruption of God’s will. It is an unnatural element in the economy of God. It does not originate with God; it does not come from heaven. Sin is from an evil source, not a good source. When we get to heaven, all sickness, disease, and suffering will be gone forever. Paul wrote of the ultimate redemption of our bodies:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. (Romans 8:18-19)

The worst physical suffering possible in this life is not worthy of comparison with the exceedingly wonderful glory that will be hereafter. In heaven with perfect bodies, we will rest in Christ with no more pain or physical affliction. Still, He also wants us to be healed now. One of the names of God in the Bible is Jehovah-Rapha, which means "the Lord, our Healer." God made a special covenant of healing with His people. He promised Israel: 

If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.(Exodus 15:26)

Although sickness is part of the curse of sin, Jesus has lifted the curse for believers through His atonement for sin. The wounds and bruises Christ suffered paid the price for sin. He became our Savior. Yet, His suffering did more than just pay for sin: it established and authenticated Jesus as Healer!
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.  (Isaiah 53:5)

[Jesus] Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteous ness; by whose stripes you were healed.(1 Peter 2:24)

HEALING IS FOR TODAY
The healing ministry of Christ did not cease when He was taken up from the disciples into heaven. The Acts of the Apostles is a continuation "of all that Jesus began both to do and teach" (Acts 1:1). Jesus modeled a healing ministry on earth and taught that healing is a part of the kingdom benefits. Before He returned to His Father, Jesus instructed believers to go and heal the sick. He said, 

And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. (Mark 16:17-18)

Jesus also told us:

And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandments.  
(John 14: 13-15)

Christ seemed to have disappeared, and I was walking with the angel among the store houses. I thought, "So many storehouses, Lord." Jesus spoke to my spirit: "Child, when you pray for somebody on the earth, pray for them in My name. Remember that you don’t do the healing-I do. Ask Me to heal an eye or leg, and I will do it. Ask Me to straighten crooked limbs or heal sick bodies, and I will heal them.  "Whatever you want Me to do, ask in My name, and I will do it. I have the answers waiting in these storehouses."

Jesus emphasized that the blessings in these storehouses were for His people and for the sinners on the earth. I remembered that He had said that very soon there will be an avalanche of healings in the world. I thought of the healings that are already occurring on the earth, and I thought, "Lord, how wonderful You are to repair our bodies!"  As we grow older, our bodies begin to wear out or deteriorate. That is a natural effect of sin, and we will never be entirely free from these consequences. But God doesn’t desire that we spend our later years bedridden and ineffective. He wants to keep us active and productive. Jesus died so we could be made whole.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, shed His blood so that we could be saved from hell. If we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, we have hope. The hope for our souls is in Jesus.
Jesus Christ suffered for the healing of our bodies. Our privilege, our blessing, and our hope for wholeness and wellness are in Jesus. He is the hope for our physical well-being. Saints, there are storehouses of unclaimed blessings in heaven. They are ready to be claimed by God’s people who ask in faith-and in the name of Jesus! 

When He was on earth, the Lord once said, "I go [ to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). The place He is preparing is in heaven. It is a beautiful place of many beautiful things. As I give my testimony in this book and as I speak about heaven, the thoughts of that place thrill my soul. Thank God for the beautiful Word that He has given unto us, His children!

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