You’ll excuse me for the following. I know it is basic, and we have covered this before, but this is foundational to our response to “Come Up Higher!” One cannot live in the Spirit, and one cannot walk in the Spirit until such time as they surrender to Holy Spirit completely and unreservedly. That surrender is generally marked by a release of Holy Spirit using their tongue. They yield total control of their tongue to Holy Spirit and He speaks through them in some language (or languages) they’ve never learned — and in most cases have never heard. Why this becomes a proof of one’s immersion in the Spirit is evidenced in something that James writes to the body of Christ.

Coming up higher is not a metaphor, or a figure of speech! This is a real, living experience. I don’t want to go there today because it would take too long for the time we have left, but in a couple of weeks, we will talk about living in the presence of the Lord. That is something that Della and I have experienced in time past with unbelievable but tangible results. Consider how John experienced the kind of revelation that opened up whole new dimensions to him.

Bill and Gloria Gaither have written a song that the Gaither Vocal Band has released on their latest CD, titled, “Praise God, I’m a Child of the King.” The second line to the song is, “And His royal blood now flows in my veins.” That’s a revelation that seems to escape most of us. The truth of that phrase is that it is the very life blood of the Lord that flows in us, and with that life blood comes the very character, nature and essence of Who He is. With that essence comes a level of inheritance in Heaven that incorporates the authority and power.

Let’s wrap up this discussion on liberals and conservatives today. Next week we will get into a prophetic message that comes out of two experiences I had with the audible voice of the Lord a few weeks ago. It's been awhile since I've had such a volume of responses to a short series of Coffee Breaks, but these articles on being "liberal" have provoked a series of comments that run the gamut. Some people have gotten irritated -- maybe downright angry -- that I would highlight the fact that Jesus -- and all true Christian believers -- are in fact "liberals" and not "conservatives." Others treat this as humorous, and some treat it as "tongue-in-cheek."