The Lord ministered to me recently saying, “faith is not a conniption fit”. That’s a really good word in that it describes the current correction God is making in the church as He mercifully leads believers off the battlefield of the flesh and onto the battlefield of faith.

So many are trying to work faith from the position of not having what they think God wants them to have. This could be simple things like peace, love, joy – or financial things like a car, a home, a job – or personal things like being a stronger person, being that person that steps in to get the job done, or being a better version of yourself.

Can you easily relate to the idea of God raising up an army, believing God can change the world, and feel something rise up inside of you just leaping at the chance to be a part of that calling? But when hearing about what it means to enter into covenant with God, it doesn’t register because it doesn’t fit into the ideals formed in you while on the battlefield of the flesh.

That feeling that is rising up inside of you isn’t faith, it’s the God-Code joined to the flesh. Your soul has a natural hunger and appetite for all things God designed for it. God made your soul after His own image and likeness.

Salvation is not about tapping into the hunger of the God-Code to release the desires of the flesh and claiming that to be so in the name of Jesus. Rather, salvation is about Jesus Christ and the restoration of the soul to His image and likeness.

When not in covenant with God a person may incorporate scripture into their thinking to complete the hunger of the God-Code. It’s like putting on a scripture cap. Your thinking may change, but the soul does not change. Putting on a scripture thinking cap does not change the aspiration, principle, and imagination of the carnal man and does not change the battlefield. The scriptures are not the battlefield. The covenant of Jesus Christ is the battlefield. That’s where God is – that’s where the Holy Spirit is – and that’s where you should be too.

Anyone can walk up to the scriptures to employ them in any way they want. That means, to relate the scripture to a need, or state of mind, or change you believe needs to take place, or to confirm the way in which God is envisioned. The devil did this when tempting Jesus. He quoted scripture to make his point. But Jesus responded that He would obey His Father in heaven – the Spirit, not the text.

When coming at the scriptures, thinking they are God’s box of promises, you’re going to naturally think that faith is some tactic God wants you to employ to activate Him into releasing those promises to you. God is changing that perspective because you’re not seeing all the things that are missing from your faith. These are the things that Jesus purchased with His blood.

The purpose of covenant faith is to bring you into the true experience of Jesus Christ. So, God is taking time to break down false faith models to show you that His hand was not in building those illusions. The truth hurts, but this separation for cleansing is necessary.

What you really want is the care, love, and mercy of God. You really want the peace of God – to be a part of His plan and you desire His will and purpose fulfilled in you and through you.

While many are satisfied eating the corrupt fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, many know that something vital is missing from their faith and God is reaching out to you.

I want to share a dream given to Apostle Shanell to point out the work of the Spirit when you are in covenant with God. In this dream the Lord wonderfully describes your experience with Him where you’re not stretching after the power of God or bursting out in a tirade against the devil, but rather living in the power of God according to the fulness of Christ.

You’ll notice in the dream that the fullness and richness of the grace of God isn’t needing any of the defiled tokens of the devil. Spiritual warfare is real and necessary, but you can’t fight the devil on the battlefield of the flesh. That’s a losing battle.

Many Christians today are caught up in this abusive tactic of the devil, secretly wondering if their faith might be off target. “What am I doing wrong? I feel defeated and weary. That doesn’t seem right.”

You’re right. Something is wrong. God’s answer is to transition spiritual warfare off the battlefield of the flesh and onto the true battlefield of faith. Spiritual warfare is in your priesthood and your priesthood is in the covenant of Jesus Christ. So come on, let’s get onto the right battlefield of faith.

We’ll get to Apostle Shanell’s dream in a minute and you’ll also notice in the dream how the angels of God attend upon the servants of God daily. The lifestyle of the righteous requires only those tools God sanctified with the blood of Jesus to receive of Him. Where the aspiration is silent, the power of God is present.

Let’s first read this dream from Apostle Shanell. We’ll then follow up to see how the Lord is ministering to the Body of Christ to give hope and to also correct misconceptions about what your faith is supposed to be doing.

 

In my dream, I bought a mansion and the current owner was dead. It was worth millions and I had the money. Upon entering the mansion I was greeted with an wide stairway. It had burgundy carpet and gold threading. The banister was dark wood and it was elegant. At the top of the stairs was a landing and the stairway split into two. One going left and one going right. The railing went all the way around the house.

I was then in a large room in the mansion. It was the size of a clothing department store. There were racks and racks of high fashion expensive clothes. I remember seeing the Chanel brand. There were also massive paintings on the wall. And for some reason even though the clothes were in the mansion, they had discounted price tags on them.

The mansion had a wait staff and while walking around I saw things that needed updating. I found a lever and pulled it. It closed some doors and water came rushing in. It reminded me of a toilet because there was a gush and a current that swept me away. I felt like I was on a water slide, tossing and turning under the water. When I reached the end, everyone rushed over to me, very thankful to see me. I was told the there was a couple that did it and they did not survive the current.

I then walked the staircase all the way up and I found a wall entirely painted as the grand canyon at sunset. It was so realistic it took my breath away. There were 2 chairs sitting out. They were made out of wood and in the shape of lawn chairs.

I then entered another room and it had 2 pools the size of lakes. This room was as if I was outside and it had its own sun. Each room had its own sun. I dived into the first pool because it was in the front and I remember feeling the cool, crisp water against my skin, much like the water from the flush. I swam all the way to the bottom and there was the rocks or pebbles that you would put inside a fish tank.

The second pool was behind the front one and it had a beach with a cliff. Somehow although being in the same room and shared a sun, it had its own environment. I was then on a yacht sunbathing.

The last room I entered was a secret room. It was behind the wall that’s on the stairway landing. The room was a garden and the sun was rising and I remember the dew on the grass and a round white chapel in the middle of the room with colorful flowers all around it. I realized I was wearing a white dress and I was getting married and I looked down and noticed I had white socks on with my dress shoes, much like how a child does and I took my socks off. I was so impacted by God’s grace in this dream and felt the effects of it for hours as this dream stayed with me.

So, now let’s break the dream open for our edification, exhortation, and comfort. There’s a lot of eddying symbolism in this divine dream. It’s always important to draw a dream into God’s current work in the church, especially when the dream is given through one of the 5 offices of God’s government. The Lord is speaking to His people.

The first thing I noticed in this dream was how the Lord is speaking of the expanse of the soul. God designed the soul of man as big as the universe. We see that in the symbolism – pools the size of lakes and oceans– paintings that depict the Grand Canyon – rooms the size of department stores – each room having its own sun.

When you read in the scriptures about “abounding” and “increasing” in the Lord, God is speaking of His work to expand the soul with the substance of His grace and truth.

2 Corinthians 8:7,
“Therefore, as ye abound in everything, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.”

In that God gave us Jesus Christ as the token of His love for us, He works from a place of covenant. That might seem strange to you if you are working from a place of desire. You might have thought that all you had to do was pray to God for your soul to be remodeled after the likeness of Christ and trust Him to do the rest. You might have thought that all you had to do was have a strong desire for all God has for you and trust that God would do the rest.

In truth, you need knowledge for faith. The knowledge of the new covenant – the spiritual tools of the new covenant – and the priesthood of the new covenant. The covenant is God’s storehouse. When God talks about His mercy and care for you, He’s drawing from this one storehouse. So, you need the truth of the new covenant to draw from the same storehouse.

God speaks to the Body of Christ through this divine dream, teaching about His design of your soul by comparing it to a house that has many rooms. He symbolizes the size of your soul by referring it to a mansion – a very big, expansive house. The purpose of our faith in Jesus Christ is to work with the Holy Spirit as He fill each room of your soul with the fruit of Christ. Many of Jesus’ parables teach this same thing (Luke 19:15, Matthew 25:14-30, Mark 6:36-42).

Jesus also spoke of His Father’s “house” or “heart” (the bosom of the Father) as a mansion saying,“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)

Your soul was created after the likeness of God’s own soul. Salvation is about God restoring your soul. A daily transformation takes place when you are in covenant with God. This is the purpose of your priesthood. As you daily labor with the spiritual tools of Christ, you’re increasing in the grace of God and your soul reflects this work. Christ is present in each room (as depicted in the dream by the sun) to give His light and life to the house of your soul.

2 Corinthians 3:17,
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

Current owner dead: This speaks of the transition into covenant from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God and the daily death of the old man. In Christ we die daily. As we use the tools of our separation, serving God at the altar of Christ, the Holy Spirit is busy circumcising the heart in each growth cycle, removing the perspective of the flesh. At the same time the Holy Spirit is creating in the soul the virtues of Christ by which the soul expands with the many treasures of Christ.

Galatians 2:20,
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

We see in the dream the ongoing work of the Spirit in the observation that updates were needing to be made. Hence, the “Flush”, which speaks of the daily purging and cleansing of the soul as we work with the Holy Spirit.

I really love that symbolism in the dream and the thankfulness coming out victorious at the end of that cycle of purging where it was commented that some don’t survive the experience. This points to the test of faith and how some choose the aspiration over grace and their principle over truth.

The flushing scene describes the process of enrichment and beautification by the Spirit – the process of regeneration – the divine power is necessary for the divine change. Surviving the “flush” or purging of each growth cycle, more rewards and tokens of the Spirit are given.

If we fast forward to the end of the dream, we see the bride is being prepared for Christ, putting away childish things (taking off the girly socks).

The scriptures that come to mind: Psalm 23:3, “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

Isaiah 61:10,
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”

Wait staff: The angels of God (wait staff) minister to the righteous daily when in covenant with God. But if you’re busy doing spiritual warfare on the wrong battlefield, using the tactics of the devil (spiritual conniption fits), you might imagine what angels are doing on your behalf as you command them, but it doesn’t work that way. These are the childish ways believers are called to leave behind.

Angels are God’s messengers to deliver your daily dose of grace by which you live and serve God acceptably according to Jesus Christ. Faith doesn’t need to act unseemly (1 Corinthians 13:5) to receive grace from God and to work with Christ’s spiritual tools.

Hebrews 1:14,
“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”

Clothing: We’re not talking about dress codes or fashion, but God uses the symbolism of clothes considered by some to be the finest to represent being covered by the righteousness of Christ. We have made available to us the cloth of the Maser for our covering. This is His truth. He has made Himself as a covering for us as we take on His likeness through each of the 12 essential elements of the gospel.

You can be sure that when the devil points out a vulnerability or nakedness or weakness of the flesh, he will always ignite the passions for a covering and call passion, faith. He does it every time. So, that’s a choice you’re making. The quick fix of passion or the patience of faith?

To learn the difference between these two kingdoms (passion versus faith) God gives us covenant knowledge and tools to teach us to discern between the two. The quick fix is promoted by the current Christian culture. Having corrupted the Word of God, they follow the Jesus of their passion not the Jesus that died on the cross for them.

Few things have worked more havoc in the church than turning faith over to your passions. I like to call this destructive practice “the devil’s smash and grab tactics”.

When entering into covenant with God you receive a re-education to Christ and that means learning what happens when the soul experiences vulnerability. You’re see it differently and you’re handling it differently.

When feeling vulnerable or weak in any given growth cycle, the righteous know how to use the tools of Christ to work with the Spirit unto fruitful discernment to overcome themselves, Satan, and the world, thus pleasing God and reaping the rich rewards. In this scenario faith is reflective of Christ and expresses Him perfectly.

On the other hand, the believer who is not in covenant with God is vulnerable to Satan’s smash and grab tactics. Here’s what’s happening: You’re having to fight for your equity and rest. The devil’s closet is filled with every kind of warrior type outfit you can imagine. You can easily find your hero there. Do you want to be like an old testament prophet? Do you pictures herself as an Amazon woman warrior, sword in hand? Or maybe like Ruth or perhaps like a prowling lioness, wanting your faith to be fierce?

Whatever costume the devil chooses for you, remember that you’re simply dressing up the moral code or God-Code of the soul. It certainly does feel good to have that message preached to you, but it really is not what God wants for you.

When you learn to build faith from the foundation of truth, God is outfitting you with each of the elements of the gospel. You’re putting on truth – you’re putting on Christ.

Everything the devil is suggesting to you about your weakness is leading you to fight him for it on the battlefield of the flesh… naming and claiming, trying to shout down your blessings… pretending to be a lioness. That’s not the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12)

Earlier we said that when on the battlefield of the flesh you’re dressing yourself up in the costumes of characters you can relate to (the Amazon woman, the lioness, etc.) to fight for your equity and rest.

“What’s equity”? I hear some of you asking. So, let’s talk about equity. Have you ever watched one of those TV shows where they’re fixing up old houses and there’s a problem with the foundation? You’ll see perspective buyers caught off guard. They’ll walk into a room and suddenly find themselves tipping and losing their footing because the flooring is uneven. It’s often remarked that it’s hard to walk, you feel like you’re losing your footing, and it makes you feel kind of sea sick.

The couple that’s doing the renovations and giving the tour of the house, they’re familiar with the feeling and connect the feeling to the problem – the foundation is broken and needs fixing.

Lack of equity in your walk with God is always a problem with the foundation of truth not being properly laid and old foundation (wrong knowledge and wrong faith models) needing to be torn up and set right. That work to rebuild the foundation is the first thing that takes place when you enter into covenant with God. This instruction in the doctrine of Christ comes through Jesus’ living apostles whom He re-introduced into the church.

All these believers leaving organized religion, stepping out into the wilderness in search of the power and presence of God, but not entering into covenant. That’s the condition God is addressing for correction and healing.

In your daily growth cycles, the devil seeks to challenge where God has places your equity (truth & Spirit) and capitalizes on how you’re feeling out of sorts, overwhelmed, things are not meeting your expectations and it’s hard for you to get your footing.

The temptation is to seek equity in the flesh. When not in covenant with God a believer is susceptible to panic and flights of fancy, fighting against the inequities of the world, trying to resolve these feelings of inequity using the devil’s smash and grab tactics:

You want to save the world for Jesus, you want to build political and business networks, and build synergy around the common wealth of mankind and then promise the life of God in this spiritual gimmickry.

These pernicious habits can be traced all the way back to the fallen Watchers and their manipulation of man’s affections. They purposely taught the human race resolve tactics they knew would fail. They placed spiritual emphasis on them, knowing it would feel right to the God-Code of the soul. They knew then, as they know now, that they could promote these unsanctified tokens through unsanctified ministers to lead you into perdition.

Prophetic warfare… anointing doors & painting scriptures on the walls of your home…   dragging out wearisome costumes to dress up like heroes.  Come on! It’s time to put away childish things!

The rest the soul desires is not gained or entered into through spiritual gimmickry. God designed the soul to enter into rest when interacting with the knowledge and tools of Christ. This is why your spiritual priesthood is so important.

The Secret Garden:  One of my favorite rooms in Apostle Shanell’s dream is the secret garden. When in covenant with God, all the tools of Christ are yours to use. God speaks to you in the recesses of your heart of Christ and your fellowship with Him speaks of this exchange of charity.

Another dream comes to mind that I want to quickly share. In this dream I was given a necklace that was positioned over my heart. It was shaped as a triangle and studded all around with blue sapphire diamonds. This token speaks of Christ in His government, truth, and Spirit; the gifts, calling, graces of God; prayer, preaching, prophecy.

Jesus is the door to the bosom of the Father. He first makes His home within our hearts and He is the key to open the Father’s heart.

The necklace was made of metal painted red which depicts the change in the heart that takes place when the tools of Christ are implemented. Studded all around with precious stones symbolizes the restrictions of the covenant are for our benefit. God has provided Himself as a hedge for the righteous.

When not in covenant with God, the language the soul speaks doesn’t change. Desire continues to be expressed from that place where the moral code and God-Code are both speaking to the heart and you believe this was the voice of God.

For many, coming into this sobering realization to the need to grow up into Christ and put away girly things is a welcome wake up call. You too can experience the life of Christ minus the conniption fits and dress up games.