We were in corporate worship singing about the greatness of God. The song spoke of coming before the throne and celebrating His holiness. But even as I sensed the fervor and desire within the congregation to honor the Lord in this way, something was missing. As if there was some kind of barrier between the people and the throne, the hunger and desire to meet God was hindered by some invisible wall.
It was then that I was reminded of all the exposures happening within the Body of Christ and the great need for cleansing and purification. The immorality and compromise have come into the light as sin in the camp has been revealed. And though not all have fallen short in this area, our collective cries as the people of God have been affected by the leaven. Corporately, there hasn’t been a lack of hunger, but a lack of holiness that has hindered our mandate. Our collective witness has been impacted by these stains and blemishes, and the Lord longs for us to overcome these failures and walk in the power of His holiness.
As I reflected on this invitation from the Lord, I then saw in my spirit a vision of the host of heaven before His throne. They were all facing our direction and pulling on heavy duty ropes that were attached to all of us down below. As if playing a massive tug of war, they were all pulling together to bring the people of God up to the throne. The pull was so strong, they were all leaning back from the weight. They were determined to bring us up to the throne of grace where Holiness was found. Knowing the dark forces working to keep us earthbound, they were just as determined to bring us up and free us from the enemy’s grip.
You shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.
It was at this moment, I realized we were singing about heaven coming to earth. The song was reiterating our familiar declaration that God’s presence would come to us on the earth “as it is in heaven.” This has been our battle cry for years as we have sought to see God’s presence manifest fully on the earth. But now, I recognized this moment in time and this season of sanctification.
Instead of calling for heaven to come to the earth, I saw that heaven was actually calling for us! To free us from the snares of the flesh and find cleansing at the throne. Knowing the pull of enemy forces on our lives to defile and profane all that is holy, heaven’s host is pulling for us. They are pulling on our hearts, calling for us to come up to God’s throne where true Holiness can be found once again.
Our desire for God’s presence pleases Him and He longs to reveal Himself more fully. But the Lord knows the war that is being waged against the saints. Even as we contend for a greater measure of His glory to be manifest on the earth, we must come up and come out. We must untangle ourselves from the voices and vices that keep us bound and trapped in our sin.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1)
God is looking for those who will yield to the pull of heaven and come up higher. It is only then that we will find the necessary Power and Presence to win this tug of war over our souls. Our highest worship will be when we offer ourselves as living sacrifices in pursuit of Holiness Himself. This alone can turn the battle and empower the saints to come out victorious.
Wanda has been in ministry for over 35 years as a worship leader, teacher, author, deliverance counselor, and speaker.
8 Responses
Love this – Could just feel the Holy Presence as I read the Blog.
What a wonderful message your latest post is, especially timely for the season of Lent, the current season in the Christian liturgical calendar.
Amen!!!
HI sister Wanda.This is the true condition of most of the church.
Years ago I read a vision of Rance Ramsey put out by the Elijah List.
( It may still be available.) If not, I will send it to you as an attachment. Let me know.
Shalom.
Br. David
June 13, 2000
In April I , ( Rance Ramsey,) submitted a word to the Elijah List entitled “Spying on the
Enemies War Room.” http://www.elijahlist.com/spying042700.htm
Dear Sister, your post reminded me of these verses from Acts 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. It seems correct that Jesus must stay in heaven until all things are restored on earth. The question becomes who will do the restoring. It must be the church, holy, and sanctified. Yet, it is just not happening as I see it. Therefor, what must we do?
Amen Wanda! I believe we are progressing through a new phase and different season of The Lord’s work. The cleansing we are seeing is part of the preparation for us to be able to enter into and experience what He is doing and will do. I have thought before that if we are seeing such horrible exposures amongst Church “leadership” what must be going on in the general population of the Church? In our small group we are doing a study on holiness. We are using a book by Derek Prince entitled, “Set Apart for God; The Beautiful Secret of Holiness”. This is a great teaching and has had a profound effect on me regarding my understanding about holiness. Holiness is a teaching in the Church that has been neglected. I believe the teaching about holiness is going to be revived because holiness needs to be revealed in us personally and corporately if we are to see the full impact of the work The Lord is presently doing.
This resonates with my heart so very much. Thank you for sharing this, Wanda.
Chuck Pierce Urgent Word for Prayer & Standing in Faith 4/2/’25 (Briefly but Impt.!!)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=TJqyq6mW_9E&si=xma8IwFFeLCjCP3G