Spring 1998
A Call to Turn Aside
Wade E Taylor

The Lord is standing at the closed door, which is at the end of the messages to the seven Churches.

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear
My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him, and he with Me" Rev 3:20.

He is knocking upon the door of our heart, seeking to bring us into a personal awareness of His presence, that we might become actively involved with Him in the closing out of the Church age, and in the birthing of the Millennial Kingdom age.

This door is closed, as the Laodecian Church is the seventh and last Church. There is nothing further concerning the Church on the earth realm. There is only one way to go - up.

"After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in
heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were
of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither,
and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter" Rev 4:1.

This open door leads into a Kingdom relationship with our Lord.

"And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold,
a Throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the
Throne" Rev 4:2.

This offer is being made to - "if any man." These are overcomers - those who respond, and are rising above their present circumstances.

"Then said Jesus to His disciples, If any man will come
after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,
and follow Me" Matt 16:24.

"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me
in My Throne, even as I also overcame, and am set
down with My Father in His Throne" Rev 3:20-21.

We are living toward the end of the Laodecian Church age. At this present time, the Lord is seeking to bring us into an awareness of His manifest presence. That is, we are being called to rise above the earthly realm with all its demands, into the higher realm of the Spirit, where we are motivated and moved upon by the Holy Spirit.
It is here that we enter a cooperative relationship with our Lord in the outworking of His purposes, in which He takes the initiative and leads.

"Come, My beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us
lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards;
let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape
appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give
thee My loves" Song of Solomon 7:11.

God is a person. We are created in His likeness. We can choose; God also chooses. We have feelings; God has feelings. He desires to be wanted, and He can be grieved. Thus, the Lord is knocking upon the door which leads from the natural to the spiritual; from our purposes to His. He is seeking those who will personally respond and turn aside into His presence.

The Lord expects a response from us, which will lead us into the path that He has chosen for us. This opportunity is reserved for overcomers, as it takes an effort on our part to become quiet, in order to become sensitive, responsive, and obedient to His guidance.

"If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the
good of the land" Isaiah 1:19.

In this world, a business succeeds when certain principles are followed. Much energy is expended in the outworking of these principles, as there is a highly competitive business environment and only those who work at it succeed. They must overcome all obstacles.

This is also true in the spiritual realm. Just as there is a preparation for success in the physical realm, so also there is preparation for a proper response to the spiritual realm.

During 1943, I was drafted into the army. I looked with envy upon those who were on the outside, as they were free to do as they desired. I had within me a deep inner longing to have my own business, and dreamed of having an office on Main Street. The day came when this happened. I came into the ownership of a general insurance agency, with an office on Main Street. Not only this, but I also became the owner of a television cable system in another city, with a store on Main Street.

Considering the intensity of desire I had experienced while in the army, I should have found a lasting satisfaction and fulfillment. But as time went on, I discovered that there was a deeper longing within, that these businesses could not satisfy, although both were successful.

Something was missing. The day came when Jesus came into my life and I discovered the true satisfaction and fulfillment that I had so intensely desired.
I had applied myself in the natural dimension of things, and there was a temporal reward. When I began to do the same on the spiritual side, I discovered there was a difference. There are not only human obstacles which must be overcome, but there are satanic powers who actively resist spiritual progress. If we are to succeed, these must be overcome and defeated.

Also, it is more difficult to become motivated in the Spiritual dimension, because the reward does not come as quickly as it does in the natural realm. The Scripture also tells us that every mature son whom the Father receives, is both chastened and scourged. There is no instant spirituality.

"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth" Heb. 12:6.

To be chastened is to be corrected for wrong. But scourging is quiet different, as it is applied when we have done every thing right. Chastening deals with things. Scourging deals with the source of our self life - the Adamic nature. This must be dealt a death blow, so that Jesus might become the head, in full control. Our tendency toward pride and self exaltation must be dealt with, or we will fail. Thus, at the door of entrance to the Kingdom, is this word,

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the
Kingdom of Heaven" Matt 5:3.

To be "poor in spirit" is to be dead to our self life. This self-seeking desire does not give up or die easily. Thus the scourging is necessary. The reward for our submission will bring us to the understanding that there is something worth going after in the realm of the Spirit, which will lead us to the Kingdom. Thus, Paul said,

"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but
this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are
behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are
before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus" Phil 3:13-14.

Only then will we be able to submit to whatever scourging the Father deems necessary.

In the natural realm, I can read books on how to succeed. There are natural principles that work, and if used, will lead us to success. I can also do this in the name of religion, and be successful from a human religious perspective. But this will not bring me into the realm of the Spirit, for which I was created, and into which the Lord longs to bring me.

When Nicodemus asked Jesus if he could enter the Kingdom by re-entering the womb, Jesus responded, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" John 3:6. Earthly means cannot produce spiritual progress. In the Song of Solomon, when the Bride first began to seek the Bridegroom, she said,

"My mother's children were angry with me; they made me the
keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not
kept" Song of Solomon 1:6b.

She had been diligent about earthly things, but had neglected the spiritual. As a result, she could only say, "my Beloved is mine." That is, I only seek the Lord when I want something." Later, after she had been dealt with by the Lord, she was able to say, "I am my Beloved's, and His desire is toward me."

Now the Lord could say to her,

"Let us go up to the vineyard together to see if the vine
flourish and the tender grapes appear."

This is quite different than attainment on the natural realm. It is the result of the development of communion and fellowship with the Lord, which leads to divine approbation, or favor. Here the Lord takes the initiative and expresses His desire for us to be with Him. This is a marvel beyond comprehension.

The Apostle Paul had much natural ability. With zeal, he persecuted the Church. Then the Lord came into his life through a visitation of His glory, and Paul was reduced to blindness and was humbled before the Lord. In this condition, he realized there was something far better to be gained.

Only now could he say,

"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words
of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power" I Cor 2:4.

This "demonstration of the Spirit" means that there is an anointing by which the power of God so moves upon us, that we become conversant with the higher dimension of the operation of the Holy Spirit, which brings us into a direct cooperative relationship with the Lord.

"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden,
which God ordained before the world unto our glory" I Cor 2:7.

This tells us that our attainment comes, not as the result of human study and effort, but as a result of prophetic revelation and understanding. This is more than prophesying, which is something we do under the unction of the Holy Spirit. It is the result of our becoming prophetic, which is a state of being.

Many choose the accreditation of man, rather than seeking the realm of the Holy Spirit, where we receive by prophetic revelation and impartation. This entering the realm of the Spirit means that there is a spiritual training and conditioning which must take place in an atmosphere of His presence.

By the grace of God, Pinecrest understands and adheres to these spiritual principles. Thus, by choice, Pinecrest is not accredited by man's standards. Rather, Pinecrest seeks the higher spiritual accreditation which will produce the spiritual leaders that the Church so needs in our day.

Pinecrest Bible Training Center is a school set apart, which seeks to provide a spiritual atmosphere, that each student who comes will receive of this prophetic anointing. As they enter into the manifest presence of the Lord and experience the visitation of the Holy Spirit, they will be prepared for His end-time purposes.