Living In Heavenly Places : Pastor Tony Samuels

Blessed and worthy of praise be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ…  - Ephesians 1:3 (AMP)

One of the greatest challenges for the Christian is how to stay in the realm of God while living here on planet earth. The Lord does not want us to be influenced by the world; He wants us to influence the world around us. Look at what Jesus said about the power of our influence in Matthew 5:13-16 (TPT): Your lives are like salt among the people. But if you, like salt, become bland, how can your ‘saltiness’ be restored? Flavorless salt is good for nothing and will be thrown out and trampled on by others. Your lives light up the world. For how can you hide a city that stands on a hilltop? And who would light a lamp and then hide it in an obscure place? Instead, it’s placed where everyone in the house can benefit from its light. So don’t hide your light! Let it shine brightly before others, so that your commendable works will shine as light upon them, and then they will give their praise to your Father in heaven. So how do I keep my light bright in a world that is running from the light? And how do I maintain my flavor, my identity, in a world that is attacking identity? The answer is simple: don’t change who you are. As the world gets darker, our light gets brighter; as identity is being attacked, our identity is becoming clearer.

People are really looking for the real, the authentic; and if you can maintain who you are in Christ, it is going to make a statement. Look at what Jesus said in Matthew 5:9-12 (TPT): How joyful you are when you make peace! For then you will be recognized as a true child of God. How enriched you are when persecuted for doing what is right! For then you experience the realm of heaven’s kingdom. How blessed you are when people insult and persecute you and speak all kinds of cruel lies about you because of your love for me! So leap for joy—since your heavenly reward is great. For you are being rejected the same way the prophets were before you. I stay in the realm of heaven by not changing who I am. Of course, there is a possibility we will be attacked, but Jesus tells us what our reaction should be: to leap for joy!!!! The attack is confirmation you are on the right track. Just keep on loving; keep on making peace; and the essence of the life of Christ will flow through your life. Don’t underestimate the power of living for God, because God is using us as dispensers! 2 Corinthians 2:14 (TPT) says, God always makes his grace visible in Christ, who includes us as partners of his endless triumph. Through our yielded lives he spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere we go.

I have realized it is not about what happens to me in life; it’s all about my reaction. Am I reacting from earthly circumstances or from my heavenly position? Your reaction determines what happens next. Some people never see God move in their life because they always react from the wrong place. Don’t let the enemy pull you out of your heavenly place. Staying in your heavenly position always brings the blessing.

1 Peter 4:12-13 (TPT) says, Beloved friends, if life gets extremely difficult, with many tests, don’t be bewildered as though something strange were overwhelming you. Instead, continue to rejoice, for you, in a measure, have shared in the sufferings of the Anointed One so that you can share in the revelation of his glory and celebrate with even greater gladness! It’s our reaction to life’s circumstances that keeps us in heavenly places. So rejoice, rejoice… again I say, rejoice! Heaven is a place of constant, uninterrupted rejoicing! Don’t let this world interrupt your party; let your life become an invitation for the world to come to Christ!

Be Blessed!