Hidden Mantles in High Places
Ground Floor Opportunities for Mountain Top Position
Mantles are hidden in high places. I saw them waiting for the Jacob generation willing to pursue God into His secret place. Their zeal will lead them to anointings and giftings, presently unknown, unappreciated and unused. The cost is found in the journey up God’s mountain. The journey itself filters the dispassionate and unbelieving, testing the resolve and passion of those in hot pursuit of God. There is an open invitation, but not all who begin this journey will make the ascent to the summit
Hidden Mantles
During a night of worship and prayer, I experienced tremendous clarity around available mantles and those qualified to wear them. The experience unfolded as the room filled with a heavenly atmosphere thick with revelation. Suddenly I realized we were on a large and high mountain peak. Strewn across the landscape were mantles, representing gifts, callings and anointing. They seemed randomly scattered – not a few! I instinctively knew there were more here than there were people to fill them.
The abundance of mantles was displayed openly, seemingly for the taking. Yet there was still a sense they would be costly. Not because God was reluctant to give them, but because of the demand they placed on their hosts. They were on the one hand desirable but not easily carried. Like the ‘one ring’ in the Lord of the Rings, the price of carrying them is a rare faith and selfless humility.
The mountain itself acted as a filter, ensuring unworthy candidates did not apprehend them. That is, God had devised an unusual screening process which was the journey up the demanding heights. Ascension up God’s mountain eradicated ambition, pride and unbelief.
A question plagued me as I considered the vast array of priceless treasures. I began to wonder how these mantles had been acquired and why there were not thousands mounting the cliffs in pursuit of them. For while they were clearly admired and coveted they were also rare and elusive. The answer came back to the journey and one additional critical factor. It was how these unique gifts also required unique places for proper function.
It comes down to purpose and design. In the same way, wings are made for flight, anointings are made for high spiritual altitudes. Some are higher than others. Just as the eagle has a unique capacity to soar to extreme heights, the greatest anointings are uniquely crafted for realms largely out of reach for most. Extreme gifts are designed for extreme altitudes. The eyes of the Lord are always looking for those willing to develop a capacity for ascension.
High Places
Ascension, as a theme, has always been closely associated with devotion. God is always urging us higher. This is why mountains and high places feature prominently and we are invited to ‘go up’ to meet the Lord. It is more than a prophetic picture or analogy. It is part of a call to ascend.
Those who discover this realize worship is far more than singing songs. Worship is an exercise in ascension! We draw ever nearer to God through increasingly dense layers of heavenly dew. Discovering the wonders of proximity and the unspeakable richness of the landscape surrounding high places is itself a reward and a test.
When we pursue Him like this, a skill is developing as our nature is being precisely crafted without our knowledge. Predictably, we each ascend at the speed of desire. Some need nurturing while others leap with the graceful strength of deer.
“The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.”
Habakkuk 3:16
Just as the brisk pace of seasoned athletes exceeds the plodding efforts of young children, progress is determined by our capacity and training. Which is a chief reason not all worship services are alike.
The result is that profound moments will occur more quickly and frequently when seasoned spiritual leaders give themselves to seek God. It is about a deliberate and purposeful ascension. Where the desire for God is high and unbelief is low, something special can unfold. Collective momentum creates updrafts taking us to unusual heights. This is the destiny of the people of God.
Generation of Jacob
A destiny we know will be realized by a peculiar people as prophesied in the Psalms. The promise of the generation of Jacob, defined by pursuit, gives us great assurance. These will ascend like no other.
“This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face.’
Psalm 24:6
The promise points to a cross-section of people that will pursue God with all the vigour necessary to find Him. In so doing they will intentionally enter dimensions of the presence of God never fully explored before them. As they do God will equip them in such a fashion to erase the notion that His manifest Presence is random.
The Spirit of God will grant them an understanding of the keys to the Kingdom like no other generation before them and will unlock the anointings and gifts of the Spirit on a quantum level.
In this era God’s people become what they were always meant to be, unlocking the full treasure of God’s abundance. The Jacob Generation will walk in a full understanding of the Father’s heart and refuse the intimidation which questions their right to walk in inheritance.
To this end, we are being drawn into new realms of glory and will soar like eagles. God's deepest hope is that we will enter a rarefied atmosphere reserved for us. It is the ’ Father's good pleasure to give us the Kingdom’ (Luke 12:32).
Ascension is a critical training ground. But there is still more!
Beyond Ascent
The generation of Jacob will not only ascend, they will have the discipline and necessary tenacity to remain in high places. While much can be said about this dimension of living, the basic premise is that the natural man cannot easily thrive in high places.
In the natural world, the highest spiritual heights are caustic to our flesh. The austere surroundings of the mountain demand rare faith and repel those hampered by an earthly orientation. Forces beyond our comprehension push us downward toward more adaptable environments. As such significant acclimatization is required to even briefly touch the highest places. We tend to return to what is more congenial and comfortable.
This may be the reason so many mantles were abandoned and unused.
Nevertheless, as the proverb says, ‘what goes up must come down’. Without the propulsion of faith, we tend to descend to a more habitable plateau. Without the benefit of unusual faith, we are naturally drawn toward earthly things. So while many are called, few are chosen. This is to say, the desire to possess and occupy high places is common, though the resolve to perform what these heights demand is rare.
The inference is clear. Gifts of the spirit are made to operate in and through those who remain seated in heavenly places… in higher places. As is written, God's mercy has ‘raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,’ — Ephesians 2:4-6
Our destiny is to sit in heavenly places. Attempts to wield the authority of His Kingdom from lower altitudes will always be met with limitations.
Heavenly Places
Consequently, many mantles await their prospective hosts. As I saw them, they were high on the mountain – effectively in heavenly places. A significance that also reflects the global nature of what is presently available. Many are about to step into this dimension. Yet, the invitation itself is no guarantee. What remains deeply ingrained in my heart to this moment is the paradox of availability versus accessibility. This just might be what the Apostle Paul hinted at when speaking of the supply of God in Ephesians.
‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,’
Ephesians 1:3
Where? In heavenly places! Provision has been made but anchored to a spiritual location. That location is available but not conveniently accessed.
We could compare this to the space station above our atmosphere. It hangs in an orbit inaccessible to the earth’s population but effectively available. At this very moment, hovering above us it sits quite vacant. It is a picture of God’s mountain treasury, which is both elusive and unpopulated.
We need the spirit of revelation to see the things God has provided. Which is exactly what Paul prayed in Ephesians. He has blessed us with ‘every spiritual blessing’, but they are only available in ‘heavenly places’.
Discovering Secret Places
A day of opportunity is near when many will discover the secret places in the mountain of God — hidden places. Priceless treasures are stored, veiled from the eyes of the foolish but waiting to be found by those who seek them with all their hearts. It is time to venture!
We are coming nearer and nearer to the days for the Sons of God to be manifest. The moment described when God will have volunteers, who will pay the price to walk in faith. They will apprehend the Father’s heart and He will gladly clothe them with lost, abandoned and rare mantles. To Him who has ears to hear, let Him hear.
