Spring 1995
Releasing His Presence
Wade E Taylor

"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able
to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places" Eph 6:11-12.

Years ago, portrayed in the Little Abner comic, was a sad fellow that always had a dark cloud over his head, which continually rained upon him.

This can be applied to the world in which we live. It will always be spiritually dark over us, unless we rise above this darkness and take our rightful position with Jesus in His resurrection and ascension.

"Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him
from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand
in the heavenly places, far above all principality,
and power, and might, and dominion, and every name
that is named, not only in this world, but also in
that which is to come ... and hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus" Eph 1:20-21, 2:6.

Above the clouds, the sun is shining. Above all principalities and powers, the SON is shining brightly in His ascended glory. To live and move in the abiding presence of the Lord is our right, but it must be desired, cultivated, and valued. Thus, our experiencing the warmth of His abiding presence is not a coincidence; we must rise above all that would hinder and darken us.

This concept is at the very heart of Pinecrest. We desire and earnestly seek His abiding presence. It is common for those who come to Pinecrest to say, "I felt the presence of the Lord when I came on the grounds." This is because the powers of darkness have been pushed back that the "Son" might shine upon Pinecrest.

This also should be the desire of each one of us, that the warmth of the "SON" might shine upon our lives, our homes, and upon our Church.

Principalities are fallen angels who are alluded to in Rev 12:4. Demons are totally corrupt disembodied spirits. The Word does not tell us their origin. There is a specific word in Scripture concerning principalities and demons.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places" Eph 6:12.

"And He ordained twelve, that they should be with
Him, and that He might send them forth to preach,
and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to
cast out devils" Mark 3:12-13.

Notice that the approach is different; Demons - "cast them out;" Principalities - "wrestle against them." Spirits cannot be physically wrestled with, thus, it will take intervention through spiritual warfare to deal with them. The result of spiritual warfare is a cleansing of the heavens that will produce an "open heaven" through which His presence and glory might shine. A key to this warfare is our worship.

It is probable that there were three arch angels; Gabriel, Michael, and a third one who fell from his place. This is Satan.

In his original creation, he was as a mighty organ that resounded in worship towards the Lord upon His Throne. But pride entered his being and he fell from this place and became the prince of this world who corrupted mankind. See Ezekiel 28:12-17.

God, in His infinite wisdom is redeeming a people in whom He has placed the ability and desire to worship. In the full expression of this worship, Satan is displaced and his former place is taken by those who worship.

Years ago, after a convention meeting in Toronto, Canada, two ministers were driving west on Route 401. It was a cloudy dark night and through the windshield was seen a prophetic vision of principalities in disarray, weakened due to the effect of the worship of that meeting.

Thus our worship has a primary effect. God inhabits the praise of His people. The heavens are opened, a line of communication is established and the Lord is enabled to clearly speak and move.

Our worship is tremendously important and should not be rushed. It accomplishes far more than merely preparing the way for the Word to be ministered. Scripture shows us a picture of the result of binding the enemy.

"He who smote the people in wrath with a continual
stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is
persecuted, and none hindereth. The whole earth
is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into
singing. Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and
the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid
down, no feller is come up against us" Isa 14:6-8.

Apart from this affect of our worship, we can struggle and make some progress, but when the enemy is hindered, there is a beautiful release of the Holy Spirit, the power of the Gospel flows, and lives are greatly changed for His purpose and glory.