Preface
The chapters of this book are made up from a series of messages written and published earlier in booklet form, which we considered so vital to present truth, that we decided to put them in permanent book form.
The theme of these messages is moving on to deeper depths and higher heights in God. We must continually reach for greater truths if we want to go on in Him. We must be willing to be pioneers of faith, daring to tread in realms of the Spirit that are unknown to the natural man. There is no limit in God, so we must break down the limitations that have been imposed upon us by the mind of man, and dare to believe for the fulness of the Spirit in our day.
To know Jesus Christ in a greater way, and to bear His image and have His Life working in us, and to know our place in His Body. this is the burden of this book. I realize there are many doctrines being promoted in these last days, both good, bad, and indifferent. I do not quarrel with those who spend their time publishing certain doctrines, but the reason I do not indulge in this is that they are not relevant to our purpose and desire, and that is. to know Christ!
The message of Sonship, being conformed to His image, is not just another doctrine of this temporal passing order. It is eternal truth that shall not pass away with the ages. To know Him in depth, and to manifest Him in His fulness in our lives, is the goal for which we are aiming. the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!
The poem: "Climb the Highest Hill." was given by the Spirit back in 1957 when I had climbed to the top of a tower on the highest peak of Mt. Magazine, the highest mountain in the Midwest, located at Paris, Arkansas. As my vision was greatly enlarged in the natural by ascending to high places, so the Lord showed me the same principle working in the spiritual realm. Herein is the theme and burden of this book.
The revelations brought forth in this book are not the ultimate of God. No such claim is made. But as we eat of His Word, and digest the Truth, then He will draw back the Veil and reveal more of the glory and beauty of the Christ. If you are of His fold, you will hear and recognize His voice, and you will know that you are being introduced to deeper truths.
And now, may God bless you as you open this book, with your Bible near at hand, to carefully and prayerfully consider these things that our dear Lord has given me to share with His Body. May the Spirit of Revelation and wisdom in the knowledge of Him be yours at this time!
In Him;
Bro. Bill Britton
Reach for the Stars
There have always been men who walked in a realm beyond the limitations of their time and generation. While most men feel that they have to settle for the status quo, and seem satisfied with whatever is made available to their generation, there are some who are spiritual pioneers, who "reach for the stars."
Enoch was such a man. The Bible says: "Enoch walked with God; and he was not; for God took him." (Genesis 5:24) Now this may not seem like such a great thing to some of you, but let me remind you... Enoch did not live in a day when men were walking with God. It had been almost a thousand years since Adam had walked with God in the garden. After the fall, men had only the promise of death. The earth was filled with violence, and the ungodliness of men was a stench that reached to heaven. There were no churches in every village and hamlet. There was no saviour yet who had died for the sins of men. Saints of God were almost unheard of.
Yet in the midst of this, Enoch believed that he could reach beyond the limitations of his generation, and walk with God. Hebrews 11:5 says that Enoch pleased God. It also says that he was a man of faith, and by faith he was translated that he should not see death. This was something unheard of. Adam had been dead for more than fifty years. Tho men lived many years, yet no one had hope of escaping death. But by faith Enoch believed that he could. And he did.
The First Prophet
Enoch was the first one we read of who had a "thus saith the Lord." We read in Jude 14 that "Enoch prophesied, saying Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all." Now Enoch was only the seventh from Adam, and he lived in a day when we can hardly find a half dozen saints, let alone ten thousand. Yet he looked far beyond his own day, and saw into the great Day of the Lord when the saints of God would execute a great victory over evil in the earth.
I realize that today we are living in a time of evil, a time of death. War, famine, and pestilence will take the lives of millions. The outlook is very dark. But don't hold me down to this death realm, for like Enoch, I believe there is a greater place in God than men are seeing in this generation. Like Enoch I am laying hold of the Life of God, and "reaching for the stars." Glory to God!
Noah Found Grace
Noah had never heard Enoch prophesy. He had never heard Adam tell of the wonders of the Garden of Eden. He was born at a time when the wickedness of men was so great that it was causing God to repent that He had ever made man. There seemed no hope for mankind. The word of the Lord had been spoken: "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth. Judgment seemed inevitable. Noah had no one to encourage him in the ways of righteousness, nor a five-fold ministry to help perfect him. He lived in a day of wickedness and judgment.
But Noah would not settle for the lot of other men. Genesis 6:8 says: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." "But Noah.!" There have always been those who stand out from others by their refusal to conform to the ways of the world. And this man was an outstanding example. Ezekiel 14:14 lists him as one of the three who could deliver their souls by their righteousness. Hebrews 11:7 says that Noah was a man of faith, and that he believed the warning of God concerning things not seen as yet, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. And it was not only himself he was interested in saving, but the Bible says that he prepared an ark "to the saving of his house," as well as the inhabitants of the beast realm.
Let Me Go On in God
I know this is a day of wickedness and judgment. I realize that the word of the Lord has gone forth against this generation of religious and moral decay. But I have had a warning from God; "Build an ark!" There is deliverance from judgment. Not only for myself, but others also who have never heard from God. For when the Ark is ready, they will come in. I realize that even the preachers are preaching that righteousness and perfection cannot be reached in this life. But I have heard from God that I can find grace in the eyes of the Lord. Let me alone. Let me reach for the stars. I refuse to be held down to this realm of sin and judgment. I am pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. If you cannot receive such a word, walk where you must. But let the pioneers of faith press on in God. They cannot stop until, like Noah, they step out into a new earth, full of the righteousness of God.
"Give Me a Double Portion"
Elisha was a young man, the son of a judge. He was a strong, husky young man, and a hard worker. He had a good future, and no doubt would have been able to have a nice farm and a fine family. But one day while he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he with the twelfth, the prophet of God came by where he was working and cast his mantle over the boy. His life was immediately changed. He had heard the call of God for a higher calling. He left his oxen and began reaching for the stars.
Elijah was the greatest prophet of that day, but he was very unpopular with the government. In the natural it was not an easy choice for Elisha to make. But God had chosen wisely. He had picked a man to succeed Elijah. This was a large calling, and required a man of daring faith. Elisha was that man.
His ministry did not start in a blaze of glory. He began by being a servant to the man of God. He washed the dishes, the clothes, the prophet's feet. He carried the wood and built the fire and did all the other necessary but menial jobs while Elijah spent his time seeking the face of God. This is where many men fail their calling. When the ministry turns out to be less than spectacular, they decide to go back to their "oxen." But Elisha kept plugging ahead on his way to the stars. If it took faithfulness, he would pay the price. Whatever it took, he had a spiritual stubbornness that made him determined to go all the way. He had heard from God. Nothing else mattered.
Ask a Hard Thing
Elisha received no encouragement in following Elijah. Everywhere he went the sons of the prophets tried to discourage him. His answer was: "Hold your peace." Even Elijah tested him three times, but his answer was: "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." He had no elders in the church to give him a word of encouragement or to pray him over the obstacles. He could not run home to mother and dad for a few days to rest up and relieve the tension. All he had was his determination to see this thing through and receive that which he felt belonged to him by virtue of his call in God.
Finally they are across Jordan. He has just seen a tremendous miracle by the hand of the prophet. It is time to get his inheritance. The question comes: "Ask what I shall do for thee." Can't you just hear this young man's humble answer as he stands before that great man of God? Here was Elijah who had stood before King Ahab and judged the nation of Israel for her sin. Here is the one who had spoken the word that withheld the rain for three and a half years, and then had stood alone against 400 prophets of Baal and defeated them with a mighty demonstration of the power of God. Ask, says the prophet. The young Elisha looks at him. What do you think he asked for? "Let me be just half the prophet that you have been, and I'll be satisfied"? No, no. His faith reached for the stars as he cried out "I want TWICE what you've got"! Glory to God, what a request! You know the story. He received so much of the life of God that he caused iron to float, poison pots to be nutritious, the dead to be raised to life again, and the ditches to be filled with water. He healed the leper, fed a multitude on a few loaves of bread and a handful of corn, and caused the widow's pot of oil to flow until all her debts were paid. At his word barren women brought forth sons, and he captured an entire army single-handed. And when he finally goes to be with the Lord, his body still has so much of the life of God in it, that a dead corpse that is accidentally thrown in the grave on top of him comes to life and goes running off.
Don't Fence Me In!
Praise God, with examples like that in the Word, I am encouraged to ask largely of the Lord. We are dealing with One who is able to do for us exceeding abundantly above what we can ask or think! Do you think you can bankrupt heaven? Well think again. Think with the mind of the Spirit, and come up with a heart full of living faith. Rise above your circumstances. Don't be bound to the limitations of your generation. You don't have to stand and stagnate in the status quo. You can reach into that which God hath prepared for them that love Him.
God has had men who have quenched the violence of fire, stopped the mouths of lions, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, and subdued kingdoms. He is not going to stop with that. He is looking for pioneers of faith who dare to reach for the stars. He wants a people who will break forth upon this world with such a manifestation of His glory, that all creation will be set free form the curse of death that is upon it. Be that man! Be that woman! Let faith and courage flood your soul! Look beyond the earthly limitations. Reach for the stars!
"Climb The Highest Hill"
Abram climbed the highest hill to talk to God one day;
To find the will of God for him; to hear what God would say.
The plains of Jordan, the hills, the valleys, all lay beneath his view;
And then God spoke, "You see this, Abram? I'm giving this to you!"
"Because you heard the voice of God, and hearkened to His call;
You left your home, possessions dear, your family, your all.
Now look, my son, what I shall give to him who's true to me:
Look north, and south, and east and west. as far as thou canst see."
"The day is clear, the mountain high; thine eye is sharp and keen;
The fertile fields, the wooded hills, the rivers fresh and clean.
All is thine that thou dost see, with faith this day to claim;
The vision God hath given thee, shall stand. in His great Name!"
Like Abraham of long ago, who heard the voice of God,
I, too, have felt His mighty Hand, and on His Mountain trod.
His promises I have believed, my vision searched afar;
O'er hill and valley, and ocean deep, to the bright and distant star.
I've seen the green and fertile fields, the Harvest waiting long;
I cried, "O God, make me a reaper with hand both firm and strong!"
I heard the question ringing back in answer to my prayer:
"What can'st thou see? Thy vision clear determines how thou shalt fare"
"Can'st thou see the power of God to heal the sick and lame?
The blind, the deaf, the demon-bound made whole in Jesus' Name?"
I cried, "O God, I'll trust thy Word I'll never doubt nor fear it;
And claim for MY inheritance the fulness of thy Spirit!"
I say to you this day, my friend, as Abraham of old;
Believe God's Word, His promise true, more precious than fine gold.
For nothing comes to him whose faith is empty, weak, and blind;
For fear and doubt and unbelief will only serve to bind.
Oh, set thy people free this day, we beg of thee, our Lord!
Our inheritance to see and claim, according to thy Word.
The fruitful trees, the waving grain, the fish in every river.
Bill Britton
"Reach for the Stars" 