Access Doors

The following is too good not to share. I don't know when a teaching has touched me as strongly. Usually I just share the link allowing you to click on through as you have time. Today, however, I'm sharing the entire word. I don't want you to have to wait for the page to come up. Having your Bible, a notebook, and pen nearby might be handy. At one point I took a little side trip in my Bible when looking up the verses shared. I didn't stray from the article long though. The desire to hear it all was that strong. I'm going to get out of here and read this again!

Todd Bentley: "Heaven's Gates – Our Access Doors" by Todd Bentley Jul 14, 2015 From the desk of Steve Shultz: Todd Bentley has a very keen understanding of access to "Heaven's Gates." Really, he gives some of the best understanding I've been on the subject. He shares many areas throughout the word where access to Heaven is actually covered. Here is a great quote by Todd: This is who we are! We give access to the throne room. We give entrance to the things of the Kingdom, and we have this treasure in earthen vessels. We can also hinder or shut the gate that gives access to the things of God like the Pharisees that we mentioned. "For you shut the Kingdom of Heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in" (Matthew 23:13 ESV). You're going to really gain PERSONAL BENEFIT BY KNOWING and UNDERSTANDING how to open yourself up to Heavenly Realms through this article by Todd. Enjoy! And thanks for forwarding this to your friends! They can subscribe just below... Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News http://www.elijahlist.com P.S. – Oh, and a Quick Note to our readers: To have daily, encouraging prophetic emails from The Elijah List sent to your inbox, just CLICK HERE or go to: http://elijahlist.com/subscribe. PLUS: HEY! Please EXPLORE our more than 4,000 Christian Prophetic books, CDs, and gifts at: elijahshopper.com. **** "Heaven's Gates – Our Access Doors" Todd Bentley, Charlotte, NC Real ministry is about having access and giving access to the Kingdom. God referred to the place of heavenly encounter in Jacob's dream (see Genesis 28:17) as the "gate of Heaven." Jacob awoke from his dream and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven" (Genesis 28:17 NASB). The manifest presence of God dwelling in us makes us the house (temple) of God. The place where we encounter His presence becomes a gate (door) to Heaven. This is why Jesus said to the Pharisees, "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the Kingdom of Heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in" (Matthew 23:13 ESV). We can be a gate that gives access to God or we can close the door to Kingdom life. The house of God is the gate of Heaven. The word "gate" speaks of access, an exit, or entrance point. In other words, the gate of Heaven refers to Heaven's entrance in the earth or to Heaven. Jesus also spoke of the phrase "gates of Hell" which speaks of Hell's access or entrance point in the earth or our individual lives. Jesus The Gate Jesus made a clear connection to this concept of gates early in His ministry. In John 1:51 Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see Heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man" (NKJV). This is a definite reference to the dream that Jacob had in Genesis 28. Jesus was saying, "Remember that dream that Jacob had? Well I am the fulfillment of that dream." The angels of God ascend and descend upon Jesus. He is in us, and we are the house of God. The Holy Spirit in us is the gate of Heaven. Jesus came into this earth as the gate (access) to Heaven. We know that Jesus claimed to be the temple of God (see John 2:19-21), and the temple or house of God is the gate of Heaven. The Church is the house of God (see Ephesians 2:19-22); that makes it the gate (access) to Heaven. Some people's only access to life, healing, joy, presence, and an encounter with God is through what they carry inside. (Photo via Pixabay) It is a privilege to be a gatekeeper to the glory of God. A gatekeeper gives entrance, invitation, access, and/or denies or shuts the door to the king. "A single day in Your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked" (Psalm 84:10 NLT). It was the Levites who were some of the porters and kept the doors of the Lord's house (see 1 Chronicles 26:1). It is true today that entrance is given to the courts of the Lord like the worship tribe Levi: We open Heaven's gate through worship, granting access to the presence of the Lord. This also reminds me of the steward (treasurer) to the Lord's house in Isaiah: "Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, 'Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household'" (Isaiah 22:15 NASB). There is a transfer of power, authority, and responsibility in this portion of Scripture from Shebna to Eliakim as ruler over the palace. "Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, when he opens no one will shut, when he shuts no one will open" (Isaiah 22:22 NASB). We see in this passage both the priestly role of worship and the kingly function to rule. As a righteous steward, also called treasurer, there were some major responsibilities. The steward had access to the treasuries of Heaven. He was also the one to administrate, manage, and distribute the Father's resources. One clear mark of a trustworthy steward is that he is continually consulting with the owner (Father) to ensure that His will remains at the center of how His assets are being managed. In addition to this role, the steward had the authority (key) to open and shut doors. He was also responsible to give access to the one that had an invitation to see the king. Remember how Esther barged in before the king? She said, "If I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16 NASB). She pushed her way past the gatekeeper (steward) that gave entrance to the throne room. This is who we are! We give access to the throne room. We give entrance to the things of the Kingdom, and we have this treasure in earthen vessels. We can also hinder or shut the gate that gives access to the things of God like the Pharisees that we mentioned. "For you shut the Kingdom of Heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in" (Matthew 23:13 ESV). This message about being a gatekeeper also reminds me of what Paul said about being stewards; literally we are dispensers of the divine secrets of God: "Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful" (1 Corinthians 4:1-2 KJV). We are required as managers, stewards, and servants of God's secrets to be found faithful. We give access (opening) for people to the hidden treasures, the unsearchable riches of Christ. (Photo by Sandra Druschke via Flickr) People are Gates This message about gates brings a new meaning to how we see this verse in Psalm 24: "Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in" (Psalm 24:7 NIV). We the people, as the temple of God, "open the gates" and doors so the King of glory comes in. Imagine: We (people) open the ancient doors of the heart (Spirit) so the glory of the Kingdom can be released. Then, as Heaven manifests in the natural realm, both the rule and the reign of Jesus Christ will be known in the earth. Because the Heavens are open, we function in a different "arena." In other words, our minds are consumed with Heaven. Living in the full spectrum of Heaven's realities means, like Jesus, we carry the substance of Heaven in our ministry – in virtue, rule, reign, in the dimension of "as it is in Heaven," NOW – through miracles, healings, salvations, deliverance, signs, and wonders. As the gate of Heaven, the Father wants to express Himself to the world through us and manifest His Kingdom. Just as Christ is the fullness of God, the Church is the full expression of Christ as His Body in the earth (see Ephesians 1:19-23). Opening and Closing I've spoken briefly on the phrase from the Lord's prayer (see Matthew 6:10) "as it is in Heaven." This phrase describes what it looks like in Heaven now. Everything that is within the atmosphere of the Kingdom of Heaven needs to take on the image and the nature of what it looks like in Heaven right now – as it is in Heaven – concerning our churches, our cities, and our nations. So, let's examine another significant key that Jesus gave to help us bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth – establishing on earth what it looks like in Heaven now. He said: "Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven" (Matthew 18:18 NIV). This key concerns our authority in binding and loosing. Did you know that we have authority to loose (open and bring in) and to bind (close and shut out)? We can only loose what has already been loosed in Heaven, and we can only bind what has already been bound in Heaven. So, we need to see and discern what the Father is doing because then we'll have a revelation concerning what needs to be bound and loosed in order for the Kingdom of God on earth to synchronize with the Kingdom of God in Heaven. (Photo via Pixabay) In every city and nation that we enter, the Father will give us the keys concerning what needs to be bound and what needs to be loosed. And until we loose what has been loosed in Heaven, we won't have it on earth even though it's already loosed in the eternal destiny of God. And until we bind what has already been bound in Heaven (concerning our church, our city, and our nation because we see that it's already bound in the eternal destiny of God), we won't experience the manifestation of it bound on earth. The gates are open or shut by our yes and amen. When we agree with what Heaven says, we loose the Kingdom by declaration. "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in Heaven" (Matthew 18:19 NASB). It is also true that our disagreement can shut the gate that gives access to Heaven. When we discern the Father's will concerning binding and loosing, we will actually be calling forth those things that "be not as though they were" (Romans 4:17 KJV). Then we'll bring the realm of "as it is in Heaven" into the earth, and we'll see the Kingdom of God in our midst (see Luke 17:21). Jesus The Open Heaven Perhaps one of the best Biblical examples to illustrate this Kingdom invasion is when the Heavens (gates) opened over Jesus while He was baptized by John the Baptist. God's Kingdom invaded the earth in the form of a dove – the Spirit of God – that rested upon Jesus (see Luke 3:21-22). He was empowered (anointed) for ministry. God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power! And immediately, living under that open Heaven, "Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit...was led by the Spirit into the wilderness" for forty days (see Luke 4:1-2) where He overcame every temptation of the devil (see Luke 4:3-13). Next, straight from the wilderness, Jesus went on to Nazareth in the power of the Spirit. An Invitation When we encounter the manifest presence of God, it is an open door of access to the Spirit realm. We now have access to the thoughts and the mind of Christ – we can also access the deep things of God through the Spirit in us. He brings revelation and searches the deep things of God. We can receive revelation today because that heavenly door never closed – it's still standing open in Heaven today (see Revelation 4:1). "The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the inner depths of his heart" (Proverbs 20:27 NKJV). Yes, the spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord. This is how God brings revelation. Revelation happens in your spirit, God is as a lamp, the light is His word. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105 NASB). He brings revelation, illumination, and communicates with you in the realm of your heart. (Photo via Pixabay) There is no access to heavenly things without the presence of God. Those angels are still ascending and descending Jacob's ladder and coming with revelation (see Genesis 28:12). We can never get to the Father's house without going through the heart and Blood of Jesus. It is amazing that we now carry Heaven in us. You are no longer a natural being that has a spirit; you're a spiritual being that has a body! You're a brand new creation in Christ who lives, for a time, on the earth; one who is learning to live in your true nature, in Christ Jesus, which is spirit (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). In Him, Todd Bentley Fresh Fire USA Email: info@freshfireusa.com Website: freshfireusa.com Todd Bentley: Healing evangelist, revivalist, and author, Todd Bentley is the founder of Fresh Fire USA. As a teenager, Todd, an alcoholic and drug addict, had a dramatic, life-changing encounter with the saving, delivering power of God. Today, Todd and his Fresh Fire team travel the world to lead the lost into the miraculous, delivered and set free, and launched into the reality of intimate relationship with Jesus. The passion of Todd's life and ministry to the nations is souls and to see others experience the transferable, tangible anointing of the Holy Spirit. To subscribe to The Elijah List go to: http://elijahlist.com/subscribe Todd Bentley's Itinerary:Note: Events are subject to change at the ministry's discretion. We suggest you always check first with the event contact listed here and/or directly visit their website for latest updates on each event. July 16-19, 2015 (7pm nightly) Greater Glory Gathering 3 Fresh Fire Healing Center 8180 Regent Pkwy., Fort Mill, SC 29715 Contact: info@freshfireusa.com July 24-26, 2015 Supernatural Conference The Father House Training Center VICC (Cross Church) 901 West Expressway 83, San Benito, TX 78586 Contact: 956-453-3007 July 30 - August 2, 2015 Open Heavens Conference Life Church of the Magic Valley 425 East Nez Perce, Jerome, ID 83338 Contact: 208-324-5876 Permission is granted (and you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy form, as well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on your own websites. 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