Seated with Christ in Heavenly Places

By Mat Reames

Heaven is a real place and often in our reading of the Bible, we do not get a strong understanding of what it is like. It is common for members of the body of Christ to only see Heaven as a sort of post mortem prize that we get to see when we die. However, I am of the strong conviction that this is not the case. Heaven is a real place that is really accessible right now.

The Apostle Paul said in his letter to the church in Ephesians that we are currently seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6. This is not a post mortem. This is a right now. My current place is to be seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So with this in mind I want to share with you a little bit about Heaven.

When we think of Heaven, our minds usually go right to the big throne with the lightning and thunder. However there is much more to heaven than just this one local. While it is a beautiful place, there is much more to see and understand in heaven.

Before I dig too deep into the aspects of heaven, I want to share with you one of my favorite passages of scripture. It was written by David. It’s Psalm 23, specifically the first three verses.

Psalm 23:1-3 ESV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
 for his name's sake…

Now at this point, you are probably wondering what this passage has to do with the topic at hand. This is actually a simple and beautiful answer. The place described in this passage is a real place in the heavenly realms. You see, as we noted a minute ago, most people know the Throne. Further, most know that there is a river that flows from the throne. Well, as the river flows down and it offshoots into its different rivers and streams, one flows out of the throne room area until it reaches a cliff. The river then falls off the side of the cliff and pools down at the bottom before continuing on its journey.

This place where the water pools is the place described in psalm 23. The Throne of God sits atop the Hill of the Lord, but further down the side of this hill is a beautiful green pasture with a still pond that is pooled from the river that flows from the throne.

This pasture is a small area, maybe only a quarter to half an acre with this beautiful pool of water at its heart. Along the edges of the pasture is a tree line. These trees close in and as the water flows further down, the river is obscured and covered by these trees, and the limbs of these trees give shadow to the river. The leaves of these trees fall off and flow down the river. These leaves, according to the bible are for the healing of the nations.

So, now you have a simple description of this place, but I want to take a moment and share a series of encounters I have had in this place. I am sharing them, because I believe that by sharing my own testimony, I am building the faith for you to see a breakthrough and have similar experiences of your own.

This is a series of events that happened over the course of a few years. The place of Psalm 23 is a place that the Lord often meets with me. However, it wasn’t always so. I remember in 2009 I was in a small church in Pittsburg, KS. It belonged to my good friends George and Susan Powers. I was there because my church from Lawrence was partnering with The Powers to host a small conference to equip the body of believers in south east Kansas. This was the first time I met these awesome people, and the beginning of a strong relationship that I still treasure to this day.

The night before the conference began; our team was meeting in the sanctuary to pray over the building, the people who would be coming, and the conference as a whole. I remember clearly that the Lord came powerfully that night. My Pastor, Chris LeBrun had a life changing encounter with the Lord that He still speaks of often.

My experience was equally as transformative, although not a happy one. I was laid out on the floor when suddenly I saw a double glass door appear in front of me. I remember it was a dark cherry wood. The glass had beautiful etchings that reminded me of a paisley pattern, and the handles were silver, and shaped like you would see on French doors.

Through the glass I saw a beautiful pasture, and a pond with a stream. At the time I did not know what this was, but I knew that it was an encounter I wanted to have and a place I wanted to be. So, I stood up and walked toward the door. I don’t know If my body actually moved or If it was entirely in the spirit. However, when I got to the door and grabbed the handles it was locked and wouldn’t budge.

I was confused, and to be honest a bit annoyed. Why would the Lord show me these doors, and allow me to see to their other side and yet not allow me to enter. I continued in my foolishness to pull on them struggling and hoping that they would eventually open. Suddenly I heard the voice of the Lord.

“These doors are locked to you. There are some doors that do not open by force, but rather by the heart.

Suddenly I remembered Psalm 24, wherein David spoke of climbing the hill of the Lord which is a metaphor for ascending into the heavens. David wrote down that the only one who will ascend the hill of the Lord is the one that has clean hands and a pure heart. So at first I was hurt and heart broken. I really wanted to be able to go through to the other side, but instead I was stuck here on the earth. I wasn’t able to ascend, but at the same time. I knew that if I would commit myself to holiness and purity that my heart would be molded into the image of Christ and God would eventually open that door to me.

That day came a few years later at Christ Triumphant Church in Kansas City. It was in the middle of one of Kevin Basconi’s conferences. They were having an impartation service for people to be activated into the seer anointing.

Kevin said to me, There is a door in front of you, and I want to you ask God to see it. I knew instantly what door it was and when I saw it, I immediately reached for the handles. This time it opened, and in my spirit I walked right into the green pastures of Psalm 23.

It was amazing as I just basked in the peacefulness of this place. I had never felt anything like it. I wasn’t the only one who had experienced this, because as I looked across the green pasture I saw a woman on her knees staring into the waters. It was fascinating to me because this was someone else who was at the conference and she was experiencing the same thing I was.

After the service when I had come back to this realm I found that woman and shared with her about my vision. She told me that she had the same vision and that I had actually seen her and had a shared vision.

A few months later I was in prayer and I asked the lord meet me. Once again I found myself in the place of Psalm 23. This time, I was sitting up and looking at the tree line on the other side of the pasture. Suddenly a figure emerged from the forest and it was the Lion of Judah. He only stepped out enough that the light illuminated his body. Then suddenly as He looked at me, his eyes of fire caused me to stop dead in my tracks. Suddenly he let out the most ferocious roar I had ever heard. Suddenly I fell backward and hit the grass, then just like that I was back on the earth.

This was a series of visions that continued a few weeks later when I was in prayer once again. I was taken up in a vision of Psalm 23 once again. This time however I was lying on the ground. Just feeling the grass on my skin, as I looked across the pasture I saw the lion of Judah once more emerging from the tree line. This time however He reached up and took some leaves from the trees and smooshed them in his hand. He continued to walk toward me and I was completely mesmerized. Even in the retelling of it, I can still see him. When he got to me he stretched out his hand and those leaves had been formed into a pewter ring that looked like the leaf crowns that the roman leaders used to wear.

He placed it on my finger and suddenly I felt as if electricity were rushing through my body. I knew this was an impartation. Then the Lion once more roared again. And the electricity seemed to switch to fire. And I just burned for a while, but somewhere in the middle I came back to earth, but I was still burning.

Now here is the kicker, when I came out of it, I was immediately reminded of the ring that I received and I began to search the scriptures for understanding. This is a major key to the Seer anointing and our encounters with the Lord. We need to search the scriptures to give us. I knew in the spirit that The ring was an impartation of some kind, but it wasn’t until I dug through the scriptures that I knew what.

Both Revelation 22:22 and Ezekiel 47:12 speak of the river of God and the trees on its bank. Specifically it speaks of the leaves from the trees being for the healing of the nations and I knew in that moment that God was confirming my call to the nations and also that He was imparting the gift of healing and miracles to me.

Since that day I have seen an increase of healings and miracles in my life and my ministry. That is the power of encounter. It’s not just a good vision or a cool experience. It is a time where God equips us to do the things he has called us to.

This article was written by Mat Reames, for

King of Glory Ministries International

PO Box 903, Moravian Falls, NC 28654.

kingofgloryministries.org -336-818-1210.

This article is taken from Kevin’s upcoming book

Visitations of Angels and Other Supernatural Experiences Volume #2

This article is an aspect of the new iMAEC.

The International Ministry Apostolic Equipping Center

Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth

from the very heart of Moravian Falls, North Carolina.

And

The Moravian Falls School of Higher Learning

Look for our new digital campus coming in July 2016!

Kevin Basconi's newest book is now available and on sale;

"Angelic Visitations and Other Supernatural Experiences Volume #1".

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