The Reigning Ones Part Seven

By

Nita LaFond Johnson

New Orleans 2009 Revival Services

Following is the final in the "Reigning Ones" series. The distribution of this was delayed and I thank you for your understanding. I pray that the Lord will speak to you through these words and touch your heart in a special way.

The Lord has put something exciting on my heart for you today. I love to talk about what He is doing in the world and where He is going so that we can understand and follow His will. For those of you who have not been on this particular path of teaching we are touching on the reining ones spoken of in Isaiah 11.

Many years ago I spent time every day praying over Isaiah 11:2-5. I would just open my Bible and read; 

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him–the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord– And shall make Him of quick understanding, and His delight shall be in the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord. And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, neither decide by the hearing of His ears; But with righteousness and justice shall He judge the poor and decide with fairness for the meek, the poor, and the downtrodden of the earth; and He shall smite the earth and the oppressor with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His waist and faithfulness the girdle of His loins.

I would open my Bible, and I would pray this Scripture and further say to the Lord, “I know that this is about Messiah, I know that this is about the coming Christ, but Lord, I would like to receive this. It feels like it is the Kingdom yoke. I want with all my heart to have this, I want it so bad I feel like I can hardly live if You do not give it to me.” 

That is how I voiced my fervent and passionate desire. It felt like all my breath was consumed in whether or not He would give this to me, so every day for two years I would pray in that way and I would tell Him, “If I am praying amiss, please forgive me but if I am not, please give it to me.” 

Well, after praying that way for two years, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me one day while I was praying and He said, “Nita, come and stand beside Me.” As I arose and stood beside Him, a double yoke bar appeared on His shoulders and extended until it also rested upon my shoulders and we became double yoked. When that occurred, everything that was inside of me; all of the passions of my lower nature went down, down, down and out my feet like water seeping out of the bottom of a bottle. When I was completely emptied of self, everything that was going on inside of my Lord Jesus Christ, flowed through this yoked bar and began to fill me. As He filled me I found a total absence of pride, I was so amazed. You cannot know how much pride is within the human heart until the Lord takes it and you find yourself completely void of pride. Then, you realize how highly you actually thought of yourself. Even if you have an ‘I do not like me’ complex, underneath that ‘I do not like me’ complex is a huge mountain of pride and you do not know that until it is removed and you are totally absent of pride. What an experience! Not only was there a complete absence of pride but I was completely filled with His humility and His meekness.

Some say that when you have been wrought in meekness that you will consider others better than yourself. However, when you have really been wrought in Divine meekness, you are not aware of ‘self’ at all. You are totally unaware of your own existence. The only thing you are aware of is the Lord Jesus Christ. So there I stood beside Him totally emptied of all human passions, hatred, jealousy, and sense of longing, it was completely lacking in human nature. When I became filled with Him, all there was – was Christ. I no longer felt my heart yearning for my King, who was reigning on high because I was now filled with Him. I no longer yearned to worship the One who was reigning on the throne because the one who was reigning on the throne was now within me. That sense of disconnectedness no longer existed. I was disconnected from the world and filled with Christ. It was an incredible experience; I was filled with the Spirit of the Lord, filled with wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord. 

There is nothing in your earthly walk, even as a very mature Christian that can be compared to being one with Christ and being cut off from the spirit of the world. It is in this realm that the world can no longer touch you. As a Christian you do not realize how much of a relationship you have with the world because it has been such a part of your whole existence; you are attached to it as if you have an umbilical cord attached to the spirit of the world. So, even as a Christian, you are not aware how much the world draws you in, how much it owns you, and how much you are functioning out of a matrix  that is not of Christ. Once you experience that complete attachment to Christ, it will change your life forever. When that transition occurs, everything changes so dramatically that it is almost a shock to you. It is the most wonderful experience being cocooned in Christ – but not simply cocooned in Him – but filled with Him. Your mind is filled with His mind, your heart and soul are filled with Him, and you have no passions outside of His passions. When He owns your mind, you do not have any thoughts aside from His. You think what He wants you to think, He thinks and you do.

For example, you may think, “I want a manila folder to put some papers in,” so you simply walk over and get it, but when the Lord has possessed your mind you do not care about manila folders unless He says you need a manila folder and now His mind is directing you to the manila folder. It is no longer business as usual. You are not conducting your life out of the realm of the soul any longer but rather out of the realm of the spirit, indeed the Spirit of Christ. When His mind is in you, you know certain things that you could not possibly know in the natural realm, because He is imparting them to you as you go along with He Who knows all things; I am not saying that in that state you know all things rather you now know things as He wants you to know them.

He spoke to me and He said, “Nita, what you are now experiencing is what you have been praying for over the last two years, this is what it means to be filled with the seven Spirits of God, to be fully possessed and owned by them.”

Talk about a heart filled with the faith! I stood there knowing that I had to be very careful with everything I said. I understood that the reason Jesus said to His disciples in the parable that if you had faith you can say to this mountain, “Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea,” and it will be done for you. His focus was on faith, He said, “If you have enough faith,” this could happen but notice He never said to any mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea.” The reason He did not, is because had he spoken to the mountain, the mountain would have moved. That is the kind of faith He lived in continuously. He was extremely careful about anything He said because He walked not in human faith unto God, but in Divine, God-faith flowing through Him. 

Could you imagine God the Father telling the world, “Be,” and it not happening? If He says “Be,” then it is, because that is the kind of perfect faith that characterizes the Father and that is the same faith that Jesus lived in while here on this earth; Divine faith! I stood there filled with His perfect faith. I knew anything I felt and prayed would come to past as I said it, so I was very careful. I knew to be careful of anything I prayed because it would be honored by the Father. It is an amazing reality to live above the temporal dominion and live within the heavens even while you walk on the face of the earth with the Son of God filling your soul. Some people say, “I am born again therefore Jesus does fill my soul.” Well, no, He does not. I can promise you if He ever does completely fill your soul, you will know that previously He didn’t. His Spirit fills your spirit and awakens it once again to God but your soul is still under the dominion of your sinful nature and Jesus will not live where sin lives, so it is very important to have that area of your being cleaned up and emptied out so that Jesus can dwell there and in His dwelling, you are then lifted up to rule and reign with Christ.

We talked about what the Spirit of wisdom really is and how it directs the life of one who is filled with the Spirit of wisdom and how it leads you into the bosom of God. Human wisdom will always lead you into the world and the ways of the world. Divine wisdom will always lead you into the bosom of God and deeper and deeper into Kingdom realities. The Spirit of understanding gives you the capacity to understand Divine wisdom, without the understanding God gives, should He even give you wisdom, you would not understand it. It would be like someone who only knew English trying to understand Hebrew. I love to hear people speak Hebrew but what value is it to me if I do not understand the language? So, as a believer, the Spirit of understanding given to you by God enables you to understand the wisdom when it comes. The Spirit of counsel gives you counsel in difficult times on intricate issues and realities. David sought the Spirit of counsel frequently through the priest when he would call for the priest to hear from the Lord through the Urim and Thummim. What he was actually seeking, was the Spirit of counsel through which God would speak. If David would think we need to go deliver the city, if God is saying not to do it, then He does not go; it is the Spirit of counsel speaking to David. Again, all of these work in conjunction with the Spirit of wisdom. Now we are speaking on the Spirit of might. 

2 Samuel 23: 8-23

These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth, a Tahchemonite, chief of the Three [heroes], known also as Adino the Eznite; he wielded his spear and went against 800 men, who were slain at one time. Next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines assembled there for battle, and the men of Israel had departed. 10[Eleazar] arose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword. The Lord wrought a great deliverance and victory that day; the men returned after him only to take the spoil. Next to [Eleazar] was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines were gathered at Lehi on a piece of ground full of lentils; and the [Israelites] fled from the Philistines. But he stood in the midst of the ground and defended it and slew the Philistines; and the Lord wrought a great victory. And three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time to David in the cave of Adullam, and a troop of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. And David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. And David said longingly, Oh, that someone would give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem by the gate! And the three mighty men broke through the army of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem by the gate and brought it to David. But he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord. And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, to drink this. Is it not [the same as] the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives? So he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men. Now Abishai the brother of Joab son of Zeruiah was chief of the Three. He wielded his spear against 300 men and slew them, and won a name beside the Three. Was he not most renowned of the Three? So he was their captain; however, he did not attain to the Three. And Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many notable acts, slew two lion like men of Moab. He went down also and slew a lion in a pit on a snowy day. And he slew an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew the man with his own spear. These things Benaiah son of Jehoiada did, and won a name beside the three mighty men. He was more renowned than the Thirty, but he attained not to the [first] Three. David set him over his guard or council.

The Spirit of might is equal to what we read here because it gives its bearer superior might. Samson functioned in the operation of the Spirit of might; these mighty men of David did as well, enabling them to do tremendous feats in war on behalf of Israel. It is amazing that even today when Israel is in war you will hear snippets of miracles that occur where people are able to do mighty feats under the name of the God of Israel to win battles for Israel. These people in Israel are not born again but God uses them to His glory, giving them the Divine capacity to do what no man can do in His own strength, you see that here. As I said you also see it in Samson’s life where he was frequently given a Divine capacity to do what no man could; exercising seemingly human might beyond human reasoning and human capacity.

With the mighty men of David, it helps us understand the mighty men that are soon to come forth, are part of the reigning ones. These mighty men of valor are soon going to come forth walking in superior spiritual might to pull down strongholds in order to change times and seasons in the name of the Lord. They will do a great work and in fact, they have already begun to come on the scene. The Church just does not yet recognize them but they are being brought on the scene still hidden behind the veil, not unlike David who even went to live in the Philistine camp for a short period. He was routing ailing hosts and doing a great work on behalf of Israel with Israel not even knowing what he was doing. Even though David was living in their home, they did not realize that he was raiding camps and winning land for Israel while he was in their property and it is the same thing for the mighty men of valor who God is going to release. They are in their infancy and yet they are routing alien hosts, bringing down mighty strongholds, doing a work that only they can do and only because they walk with the King in the way they do. They function in this Spirit of might. 

Now, that is not all the Spirit of might does, it does not only give you superhuman capacity when you need it or spiritual capacity for reigning when you need it. But Moses was another man who functioned in the Spirit of might, so you see great miracles being brought over Egypt by Moses who is operating in one of the seven Spirits of God: the Spirit of might. 

This is a tremendous blessing for the Church as it is beginning to be released today. Strongholds are starting to come down that are long-standing, strongholds, most thought that this side of the millennium they would never be disturbed in the ruling capacity of cities, states and nations. They never dreamed the day would come that they would have to give up the strongholds they worked very hard to secure and have held for centuries. But, because of the Spirit of might that rests upon these reigning ones, those who are moving in the things of God that few in the Church know or understand, great things are being done in secret and hidden places that will bring forth tremendous blessings for the Church in the days ahead.

You can get hundreds or thousands of believers together fasting and praying and there are some strongholds that can be broken in doing that, but there are some strongholds God will not let the Church touch because these evil dominions have too much authority, they are too powerful. But in cases where God is getting ready to change times and seasons in the world, He will bring forth men and women who have paid the great price to be separated from the things of the world so that they can be anointed with great authority and power. 

Elijah was another such man. What he walked in was the Spirit of might and you saw both aspects of it when he went flying through the air to beat Ahab. This was the operation of the Spirit of might, but at the same time Elijah brought down longstanding strongholds; he functioned in both aspects and we also saw him working miracles, some by the gift or Spirit of miracles and others by the Spirit of might. 

We look at men like Moses, Elijah, Samson, the mighty men of David and know that they are all put in their place to affect a certain end for the kingdom of God and to bless the people of God. God is bringing forth this ministry today for those who have paid the price for it; but this is part of the seven Spirits of God. Even when Jesus was standing right in front of me, as wonderful as it was to stand in this incredible presence feeling so safe and secure from all the fears and doubts that contaminate the spirit of the world, you know that you are locked up in Him.

Standing there wrapped in that presence, knowing that you are living in two worlds at the same time and you come to understand that God is wanting to do something tremendous not only for you but for the Church and the world. Then He turns to you and asks if you would like to live here. That would seem unfathomable to most people, but when the Son of God is standing before you and you know that if you will just say yes, things are going to begin to change in your life. It is so other worldly, but it does not turn you into a freak in the natural realm; remember Jesus walked there as well, He did not seem like a freak to people, but He was the type of man everyone would want to be. Moses walked there as well, as did Elijah; many awesome men of God lived in this place so it does not make you look or act like a freak yet it was other worldly, divine, and heavenly. You are moving and living in two spheres at the same time.

He asks, “Nita would you like to live here?” Well, this is the most incredible thing a human being could ever hear; to be wrapped and filled in God. It seems so unbelievable and yet I was living it and I said to Him, “Lord, you are saying a person can live in this place with you?” He looked at me and smiled, “if this is what You are saying I will pay any price to have it, whatever You would require of me I will give. Whatever You demand I will do if I can have this place with You.” He said “Alright then, you should have it.” Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? But before He left me He said, “Nita, anyone who will, can have this place in Me.” That sounds pretty encompassing. It does not sound like there are a huge amount of limits there, “Anyone who will,” can have this place in Jesus Christ and lived possessed by the seven Spirits of God and walk in union with Christ.

You might get to a place and wonder why you do not have it after you have told Him you would like to or pleaded and begged, even in lieu of those things it does not mean you deserve it. “Whoever will, may have this place in Me.” In other words, your will is running in conjunction with leaving the ways of the world and living in the ways of Christ. A separation must occur from the things of the world unto God, you must leave the desires, the lusts and the passions of the world and live in the passions of Christ. If the Lord says you must have this kind of character, you must have that kind of character because anything less cannot walk in union with Christ. There must be a transformation and your will must be involved. One thing about walking with the Lord, you can say, “I want, I want, I want,” and then when He says, “Change,” and you do not change, then He knows your will is not yet set to have the things of the Lord. He wants you to be willing to make the necessary changes, He wants you to be willing to allow Him to make you what you need to be to walk in union with Christ, He will give you whatever you need to walk in that place. 

Having said that, there are those that He would call the reigning ones who have set aside all things in the world to have all things in God. If He told them, I want you to live like a pauper in this life; they live like a pauper in this life because they have given all things in the world to have all things in God. If He says I want you to live an extremely simple life, then they live in extremely simple life; there are no questions, battles, and no deviations from what He is requiring of them. They do it because they want all things in God. To have all things in God you must yield up all things in the world, it is that simple. It may not be easy, but it is so simple.

You will be called to walk through to get to the all things in God, this is another place where people fall behind and actually quit the ascension. They do not want the trials, or the difficulties; they do not want to go through tribulation. They end up falling into a martyr’s complex and begin to see things so unlike reality until they cannot handle the pressure they have to walk through to get here. But there are those who have chosen to walk in humility and meekness, they have held fast to grace to let go of self, the world, and the demands of the flesh. They have learned the secret of abiding in the life of the Spirit that they might overcome the ways of the flesh, the world, and the soul. They are teachable.

People say they want to walk close to me because they want to learn how to walk with God, but they are not teachable; you try to tell them what they need to do to walk with God and they will not do it. They may even stand there and say, “I will do it.” But the first opportunity they have to do what they need to do they just do not do it and then the lesson ends. To learn you must be teachable, you have to be teachable because you need to be breakable and if you cannot be that, then you cannot ascend. It is an impossible feat, something God has to do through you and He cannot do it if you are not one with a contrite spirit.

There are those who would like to have this place in God, but if you do not let God change your heart, He will never touch it; you have got to be willing to change. Sometimes the things He has in the beginning are so simple but we can be so stubborn we refuse to be changed or let someone tell us we need to change in an area, let alone the Spirit of God Himself tell us we need to change in an area that we need to change. There are those who want this but will never give up their heart or ways to have it.  May there be more than one among you who really will pay the price to die that Christ might live? He is more than awesome, wonderful, worthy of whatever He would ask of you. Do not harden your heart. Even as this message goes into the hearts of some, they are hardening their hearts in the midst and I am saying do not do that; let God break you and yield up the excuses. Let go of your pride, anything that would prohibit you from experiencing the greatest relationship you could have on this side of heaven. There is nothing I would not walk through or sacrifice, I have been tested in every area a person could be tested in and I am telling you there is nothing on this earth worth holding onto to keep you from this life. It is too beautiful and wonderful; let God break you and your will. 

You may be afraid you cannot do it or He will not; yield it up, let go of the fears. Plead with Him to break this stubborn will, until it cannot withstand you anymore. It is not easy but it is worth the price; the work of the Spirit is sublimely simple but it is not easy. Ask Him right now to deal with your heart, tell Him you cannot take knowing that there is such a life to be lived and cannot have it. Let your pride go, it does not matter what you look like, where you have to walk, what you have to go through, you are going to go through tough times in the future as it is, why not have the glory of heaven as a reward? Plead with Him, be aggressive; if you have a child and someone is ripping him out of your hand and taking the child out the door and you might never see that child again, how passive are you going to be? We are talking about the very life of heaven, how aggressive will you be with God?

In Him,

Nita LaFond Johnson