It was Henry Van Dyke who said, “Self is the only prison that can bind the soul.” Every Christian who is really serious about living the Christ-like life craves freedom from this bondage. My friend Shawn Cho has some rich insight into cleansing the places in our inner man by meeting with Jesus at these inner gates. I invited Shawn to share them with you.
Shawn here,
I remember a time when we as a body started learning about healing our whole man, exploring truths that our eyes, ears, and mouth are all gates. These were the foundations of learning to steward what we watched, heard, and said.
Later, we discovered that our imaginations are sanctified. We started to learn how to trust the Father again, that we have already been given the mind of Christ. Many overcomers learned that He is truly keeping us in all our ways. (Ps. 91:11) and allowed our souls to be governed again by the Spirit and the Truth. (The divine nature or revealed nature of Christ and the Word made flesh.)
Hebrews 12:11
No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.
As a result of these truths, Matthew 25:23 became organically manifested next in our lives… “He who has been faithful in little, much more will be given him.”
These are all foundations preparing us for expansion to that which still “has yet to come.”
I like the way the MSG translation puts it:
“I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, He will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. John 16:12
Nothing missing, nothing broken.
Let’s step into some of those truths together by exploring yet another gate the Holy Spirit has been talking to me about recently, which is the gate of principles, beliefs, and interpretations.
What does that mean you say? Well, think of principles, beliefs, and interpretations as guards that filter all our thoughts. If we don’t agree with what we just experienced due to any one of these three things, we toss it all out, aborting any “things to come” from being formed.
Not long ago, the Spirit shared with me that a misaligned soul will stop us short of walking in the full revelation that comes, because of its desire to be fulfilled; whether it’s the lust for power or fear of defeat. Both are unbalanced measures.
Jesus Himself said we nullify the [authority of the] word of God [acting as if it did not apply] because of our traditions which we have handed down [through the elders]. And you do many such things like these…. Mark 7:13
Have you ever wondered why you can only see what Jesus is doing, sporadically? Could it be possible you have principles, beliefs, or interpretations positioned at your gates that He did not author?
I have peered into the spirit myself and seen a great deal of many teachings, teachers and because of pride, individuals themselves, positioned at their gates, but no Jesus.
How would I know if I have positioned the wrong thoughts, beliefs, or interpretations at my gates?
- Disagreements within one’s soul, leaving no room for a humble and teachable spirit.
Gal. 5:17 for the sinful nature has its desire which is opposed to the Spirit, and the {desire of the} Spirit opposes the sinful nature; for these {two, the sinful nature and the Spirit} are in direct opposition to each other {continually in conflict} so that you {as believers} do not {always} do whatever {good things} you want to do.
- A desire to be right over the desire to keep the unity of the spirit and the bonds of peace with all the brethren.
- Most of all, the ability to visualize or perceive Jesus in the room with you, and having a revelation of how He would handle the situation as it unfolds. John 5:30
Prayer Activation to position Jesus rightfully at our gate again.
Father,
We come to You In Jesus’ name and with deep gratitude, we confess You are a Jealous God who is extravagantly in Love with us. Ex. 34:14
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, we have positioned at our gates, principles, beliefs, and interpretations that are man-made. We permit You to put the axe to the root of all things created in the image of a God, which we created, but You did not author.
We accept the Grace of God, to wait on the manifestation of Your presence according to 1 Cor. 4:5 Do not judge anything before its time. Wait for the Lord to come and He will bring into light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the hidden motivations of men’s hearts. Each one’s praise will be of God; Ps. 91:15 In your time of need you will find and feel my presence; Isaiah 65:24 I will answer them before they even call to Me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers.”
I ask Jesus, that You rightfully position Yourself at these gates once again as we wait upon You, allowing these scriptures to govern our soul, will, and desire, to remain in a place of Stillness and Rest (Ps. 46:10) until I am assured of the manifestation of experiential knowledge of You, authored by You and unmanipulated by man.
I thank you Father that you will help us to steward well this next journey of our life as a Son into the Fulness of Manifestation of THE SON within me.
In Jesus’ name, we pray,
Amen!
