For less than a week now, I have been hearing “same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me…”
Today, on elijahlist, there is a post on it. Man, it is good to see that I am really hearing God.
Jesus and His Bride Have the Same Spirit
Recently, I went into a vision and saw a beautiful woman full of golden light…and I also knew this light was her “fragrance”. This fragrance was permeating out of her and into the atmosphere. It was a shield and covering, as well as an anointing from Heaven extending out. Then the Lord said, “This is My presence extending out of her and My presence is a fragrance.”
The vision then shifted and I saw Jesus inside of His tomb. I realized I was taken back to the very Kairos moment in time when Jesus was laying in His tomb—and I was seeing Him as He arose from the dead. This same fragrance, full of golden light, was surrounding Him as He arose. Then the Lord said to me, “This is the same Spirit who raised Jesus Christ from the dead.”
The beautiful woman in my vision is His Bride, and this fragrant light is His Spirit from Romans 8:11, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”
This same Spirit who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will be pouring out of His Bride…it will extend out of us to shift atmospheres, cultures and nations. Many people who have “prayed” for a great increase in anointing will see that answered this year. Many bold and faith-filled prayers from the heart of God will be answered this year.Have you been asking the Lord for an increased anointing to heal the sick and yes, raise the dead? Keep asking in boldness as God is calling you to step out in faith and risk this year as you never have before.
He is anointing His Bride for “such a time as this” to reach the lost, the hurting, the broken and even the dead (both spiritually and physically). The question is: Will we really step out in those God-inspired words from Romans 8:11?
This verse could be studied out in-depth as there is so much revelation in it. He is awakening us to new life, anointing and equipping us for the “greater works” available as the same Spirit who raised Jesus Christ from the dead inside of us pours out—it is His fragrance, His presence, at work.
The Challenge: Greater Works
Recently, the Lord has been challenging me to “step up my faith” for the greater works. Before the new year, He asked me this question, “Will you have the faith to believe Thailand will be free from the sex-trade industry?” (For those who don’t know, Thailand is my home country and where I was born.)
That question stopped me in my tracks…and caused me to ponder the significance of His question. Before flippantly wanting to say, “Yes, of course!” I felt to meditate on His question during the day. I thought of the magnitude of the strongholds in Thailand against His question to me. Thailand’s population is 95% Buddhist with false gods worshipped everywhere, and Christianity is less than 1%. The sex-trade is a billion-dollar industry supported by many that won’t simply shut down by itself without a huge interception at top levels to take it down. Hundreds of thousands of women, men and children (millions if you include human labor trafficking) are suffering horrific damage to spirit, soul and body…how do you start in repairing all the damage done for decades and with ancient strongholds holding the region for over two thousand years?
As I pondered all of this throughout the day, I had my answer to His question, “Will you have the faith to believe Thailand will be free from the sex-trade industry?”
That night I answered Him and said, “I want to.” I felt peace in that answer and that it was the right one.
The very next morning, a pastor at our church, without even knowing any of my encounter with the Lord, gave me a prophetic word and said, “Julie, God is increasing your authority to change nations as you pray and as you go…they will shift” (paraphrased). And this also is a word for His Bride and a challenge to us, as I saw this same beautiful woman, this Bride, walking over Thailand.
With these recent experiences from the Lord, I know He is calling us to think much bigger and bolder this year “above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20). With these visions of Jesus and His Bride, He is calling us to the “greater works” and He is telling us to “write the vision down” and challenging those who see it: “And the LORD answered me: ‘Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it'” (Hab. 2:2).
Our “yes” to Him activates our faith. It’s time for those dreams, visions and passions to “come alive” inside of us as He breathes new life into us with “the same Spirit who raised Jesus Christ from the dead.”
I hope this encourages, inspires and challenges you to boldly go after what God is envisioning you to do this year and the years ahead with HIM and His Spirit! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
Julie A. Smith, Managing Editor
Elijah List Publications
Email: info@elijahlist.net
Website: www.elijahlist.com