SERAPHIM

Sandra Bontemps

encounterphotos-6_copy.jpg (20186 bytes)

Photo taken by our friend Corazon Cowart
during worship in Brazil
The red image is a Fire Angel sent by God

This morning in the wee hours I was dreaming about my prayer and ministry partner, Janis and her family. I was then awakened ever so gently and slightly
by the Lord, and began to pray. And Holy Spirit spoke, ‘SERAPHIM!!!!!!!!' I heard angels singing, "Holy. Holy. Holy." And I could envision them going back and forth, ascending and descending to the Throne of God’s Grace.

I was just awake enough to say, "Oh Father! Thank You! Your Seraphim are guarding Janis' family! And I know there are other angels, the Cherubim too! And God said, " Know that My Angels are guarding both of your families. And also remember that I have spoken, SERAPHIM and this is My Word with a deeper meaning for both of you today!

When I got up later in the morning, and walked out into the Great Room the FIRE OF HOLY SPIRIT fell upon me and I could hardly stand. I felt like a child on Christmas Morning! And our Father said, "Expect the unexpected today! Something wonderful today!" I smiled through tears also as I looked out on our deck. Alex had put up a wooden Cross. (He is going to put lights around it so it will be seen in the valley below.:):):)

SERAPHIM as we know are the celestial beings hovering above God's Throne in Isaiah's vision. And one of the highest orders of God's angels.

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD sitting on a throne, high and lifted up and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two, he flew.

And one cried to another and said; 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!' And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said, 'Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips; And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.'

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: 'Behold this has touched your lips: Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.' And I heard the voice of the LORD saying: 'Whom shall I send and who will go for US?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.' (My hands are shaking now and FIRE of Holy Spirit falls! Just the other day in one of my messages I said, "Here am I. Send me!" )

And He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, and their eyes heavy. And shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.' (Has to do with the dream/vision and message I wrote and released on ASPIRE, of 30 teens, 40 young adults and 10 elderly, "Rising Generation! Let It Rain! Let It Rain! "HOLY SPIRIT FIRE RAIN DOWN! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!)

Then I said, "Lord, how long?' And He answered: "Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without a man, the land is utterly desolate, the LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. But yet a tenth will be in it, and will return and be for consuming, as a terebinth tree or as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump." Isaiah 6:1-13

Seraphim - A burning, fiery, gliding, angelic being; also a fire-colored, agile, gliding desert creature, presumably a fiery serpent. The root is the verb seraph, "to set on fire to burn." Accordingly the seraphim may be angels of a fiery color or appearance, or flame like in motion or clearness. Only in Isaiah 6:2, 6 does the word appear as 'seraphim', in all the remaining five occurrences (Numbers 21:6, 8, Deut. 8:15, Isaiah 14:29, 30:6), it is translated 'fiery serpents.'

Seraphim, ANGELS. The ministry of the seraphim is closely related to the throne and the praises of God. They are seen constantly glorifying God - extolling His nature and attributes, and apparently supervising heaven's worship. It is possible the seraphim are the praising angels of Psalm 148:2 though they are not specifically identified as such. Whereas cherubim are positioned beside and around the throne of God (Psalm 99:1, Revelation 4:6), the six winged seraphim are seen as hovering above the throne as they minister in worship. (Hebrews 1:14, Genesis 3:24)

CALL OF GOD - Leader Traits - I read just this morning what Ryan Wyatt, (ABIDING GLORY) wrote: “We have eternal light of the one true God within us and He has empowered us by His Spirit to shine boldly in the midst of great darkness.” WHO WILL ANSWER GOD’S CALL?

One of the tasks of the Holy Spirit is to call godly leaders in the kingdom. In these latter days, God is pouring out His Spirit from Heaven in greater, unprecedented, supernatural ways than ever before as He promised in Joel 2:28.

All men and women are 'called' to God (Romans 8:28, 30) yet only a few respond (Matthew 7:13; 14, John 15:16). Leaders however experience a different kind of call and are called in different ways. Many are called sovereignly. Moses was singled out by God who spoke to him from a burning bush. (Exodus 3:1-4, 17). The child Samuel was called while he was asleep. (I Samuel 3:1-18) Young Isaiah was worshiping in the temple when called by God. (Isaiah 6:1-9) Others are called through men. Samuel went to David and anointed him with oil. (I Samuel 16:1-13) Paul instructed Titus to appoint elders in the churches of Crete (Titus 1:5). There is a difference between being a 'man of God' - as all are called to be, and being 'God's man' - one called to leadership. (Matthew 16:13-20)

Cherubim overshadow the Mercy Seat. (Exodus 25:18-2)

God riding on or enthroned above the cherubim.
(Psalm 18:10, 80:1, 99:1, Isaiah 37:16)

The living creatures of apocalyptic literature may represent either cherubim or seraphim. ( Revelations 4-6). Cherubim guarded the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 3:24)

FATHER GOD THANK YOU FOR THIS POWERFUL WORD TODAY!
WE PRAISE YOU. WE WORSHIP AND ADORE YOU.
YOU ARE HOLY. HOLY. HOLY.
WE SING WITH THE SERAPHIM, HOLY. HOLY. HOLY.
WE BOW BEFORE YOUR HOLY PRESENCE
AND CRY OUT WITH THE ELDERS AND THE ANGELS.
YOU ARE HOLY.

Thank You for calling us LORD. Thank You Father that You first Call us. Then Train and Prepare us. And then Commission us in Isaiah 61 to continue to do the apostalic ministry of Jesus. This was His nature. And we pray to have the nature, love and character of Christ and the fullness of Your Holy Spirit.

We have answered Your call to write messages to share and “preach good tidings, help heal the broken hearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, to comfort those who mourn, and give them ‘beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that HE MAY BE GLORIFIED.”

You have called us to invite women from all walks of life, all over the world, to join us on this JOURNEY INTO YOUR HEART GOD. You have called us to share our testimonies all along the way, and share what You have been teaching us about the five fold ministry - Apostle. Prophet. Pastor/Teacher. Evangelist. Missionary. And O Father, the more You reveal to us of WHO CHRIST IS. WHO YOU ARE, the MORE we know that we can do nothing WITHOUT YOU.

The more we know, the more we know we do not know. But we continue this amazing journey Father, and our hope and prayer is to help others to DISCOVER THE REALITY OF WHO JESUS IS! TO DEVELOP AND SHARE A PERSONAL INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IN THE SECRET PLACE IN YOUR HOLY PRESENCE. And to stay in YOUR HOLY WORD, meditating on it day and night. And to ‘Aspire to be all that You created them to be, their individual DIVINE DESIGN AND DESTINY IN YOU.”

You have called us to help establish, build, restore, edify, encourage and mentor women for ‘such a time as this.’ This is ASPIRE’S MISSION STATEMENT. Thank You that in You we live and move and have our being, so that Your eternal light may shine boldly in the midst of darkness. Thank You for empowering us by Your Spirit to “Arise and shine for our light has come!” Isaiah 61:1

Father we thank You for the fullness of Your Holy Spirit. And we pray to shine, shine, shine so all men will be drawn to YOU, the LIGHT OF THE WORLD. May we continue to be a beacon of Your Light and Love, to women all over the world, as we all find a safe harbor IN YOU.

“After these things I looked,
and behold, a door standing open in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this. Immediately I was in the Spirit and behold,
a throne set in heaven,
and One sat on the throne.
And He who sat there was like a jasper
and sardius stone in appearance;
and there was a rainbow around the throne,
in appearance like an emerald.
Around the throne were twenty-four thrones,
and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting,
clothed in white robes;
and they had crowns of gold on their heads.
And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices.
Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne,
which are the seven Spirits of God.
Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal.
And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne,
were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.
The first living creature was like a lion,
the second living creature like a calf,
the third living creature had a face like a man,
and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.
The four living creatures, each having six wings,
were full of eyes around and within.

And they do not rest day or night, saying:

“Holy! Holy! Holy!
Lord God Almighty!
Who was and is and is to come!”

Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks
to Him who sits on the throne,
who lives forever and ever,
the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne
and worship Him who lives forever and ever,
and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

“You are worthy, O LORD,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.”
Revelation 4

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Promise
of safety as we Abide in Your Presence
in the Secret Place of You, our Most High God.
Psalm 91

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord,
“He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’
Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways,
In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
Because he has set his love upon Me,
therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high,
because he has known My name
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him.
I will be with him in trouble.
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”
Psalm 91: 1-2; 9-12, 14-16