“I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father,” 1 John 2:13.

Our stature in Christ is only measured by our relationship with Him and the intimacy that we have known with Him over time.

In order to know someone a person has to spend time with them. Over time we begin to know the person, because we have talked with them and spent time getting to know them.

When we have laughed and cried with a person we begin to see their heart and soul. Then there is a transparency that develops and all of the walls are taken down that oftentimes prevents us from seeing their true selves.

Many of us hide behind certain masks that we have manufactured over time.

Young men want to boast of their strength, and when one gets older their strength wanes and one develops wisdom, at least that is the aim.

Those who are younger in The LORD know of the importance of maintaining that strength and courage in overcoming the evil one. And yet over time a person sees that it is The LORD Himself that has kept us and given us the resolve to overcome the evil one.

For as a father would know how to give good gifts to his children out of the great love that he has for them, in the same way as we grow in our relationship with The LORD Himself, that fatherly relationship extends itself to us spiritually because through our intimacy with Him, we can then extend that unto others.

We can help them through the battles that they are facing because we have gone through them. And this not to say that those battles have ended, but there is a resiliency that develops over time and one becomes accustomed to the battles knowing of their purposes for us.

The prophet Joel mentions in Joel 2:28 this:

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions….”

There is a vibrancy that the young have in this life. Their vision has not yet lost its vividness and clarity.

And yet many of the young in the prophetic seem to boast of their visions in excitement because they are new to the things of the Spirit. They have yet to know of its allegorical theme and substance.

But that is not to say that the old men would not also see visions. Bear in mind that the apostle John is not referring to old men in the natural sense, but yet again of those who have known The LORD over a longer period of time.

Each of us has our own way of communicating with The Almighty. Some see visions of glory, while others dream dreams.

Some prophesy and others teach. But in either instance each of us develops a relationship with The LORD through the things we have learned in the Spirit.

These times enable us to trust Him because of our experiences that we have gone through. Then we develop a deep knowledge knowing that He will be with us until the end.

 

Selah,
~ Stephen Hanson

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Stephen Hanson of In His Truth Ministries came to the LORD is a special way in 1975 and has prophesied regularly since. In these end-time birthing pangs we are reminded that judgment must first begin with the household of God. Will we be prepared and ready?

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