Quite often, the impressions that the Lord gives me do not begin to come together until I am with others who want to be in His presence. This is what I sensed the Lord was saying while we were worshipping at our house church:

The Lord wants us to know and recognize the path or things that He is leading us into. It’s not following a movement, or conventional christian wisdom, or what everyone else is doing. It is hearing the still small voice, the call, the nudge … the almost indefineable leading where we sense His favor and presence; when we know that this is what He’s called us to do. As we agree and go with Him into that place, we enter into a field of favor, a place where our spirit literally expands to encompass the authority and grace the Father gives us in that place. It is the manifestation of “Where You lead, I will follow”.

As we enter that field, we find favor and grace to operate there and bring the Kingdom of Heaven into that situation. There is no performance, there is no striving, there is only a sense of being at rest. He has called us and is with us … we can move in faith. As our rest increases, we find that we can expand into the heavenly places and boldly go into the courts of heaven. As we look to Him, He calls us to stand at His side and see things from His vantage point. We hear Him say, “Speak with My authority into this situation. You are sons (male and female), and this is your inheritance.”

If we are heading towards Him, it means that we have turned from other directions – repented – and our field of vision contains only Him. As we behold Him, there is suddenly freedom. There is no condemnation, there is no law, there is only Him leading and us following. Other directions, though they may seem good, are less than He has for us and can bring us into bondage to the spirit of religion. We’ll find that our rest has been replaced with an ever-increasing need to perform and prove we are doing God’s will. Instead of flowing with the passion of His heart, we’ll find ourselves on dry land, building fences to keep out the enemy.

How can we know which is the right voice to follow? It is the voice that is full of love, joy and confidence. It is the voice of the one who said, “it is finished.” He has sat down and there is no striving. There is no fear, no despair, no wringing of hands. There is hope for the broken and love for the outcast. Bruised reeds are tenderly restored. Joy unspeakable fills our souls. Our hearts expand to take in everyone around us and suddenly, the words of life flow like a rushing river which sweeps away the fragile constructs of religion and fear. Darkness retreats in fear from the ones who have discovered that life is found in walking as Jesus did – only doing what he saw the Father doing.