This is Not a Rehearsal. This is the Third level.

Wings and Wheels is an annual event, which like the Goodwood events focus on fast cars, but have the added dimension of display after display of tightly choreographed and highly skilled plane manouevres. One of the main attractions just has to be the Red Arrows.

This post is dedicated to them , but is going to use them as an image alongside Gideon's three hundred from Judges 7, David's Mighty men from 1 Chronicles 11 :10 - 47 and ofcourse the 12 apostles followed closely by the apostle Paul.

The pictures are taken from a stunning double A4 spread in the Dunsfold brochure.

Fasten Your Seatbelts

In Psalm 110 1-3

1 The LORD says to my Lord:

"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet."
2 The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion;
you will rule in the midst of your enemies.

3 Your troops will be willing
on your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy majesty,
from the womb of the dawn
you will receive the dew of your youth.

In Psalm 24 verse 3 - 7
Who may ascend the hill of the LORD ?
Who may stand in his holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false. [a]

5 He will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God his Savior.

6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, O God of Jacob. [b]
Selah

7 Lift up your heads, O you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

In 2 Timothy 2:19-21
19Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."
20In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble us noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

In Matthew 24:38 - 44
38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

In Joel 2 : 6- 9
6 At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;
every face turns pale.

7 They charge like warriors;
they scale walls like soldiers.
They all march in line,
not swerving from their course.

8 They do not jostle each other;
each marches straight ahead.
They plunge through defenses
without breaking ranks.

9 They rush upon the city;
they run along the wall.
They climb into the houses;
like thieves they enter through the windows.

Track off Unreleased Double CD Early Harvest:
"JOEL 2" The Plain: ©A. Christopher Welch/Michael Thom, Poem by A Christopher Welch
1990/Music:© A. Christopher Welch based on a chord sequence by John Stevens 1978.
In the shadow of the distant rocks
Across the barren plain
I saw an army approaching swiftly, a people without name
Terrifying was the sight of them, marching without a sound,
Striding forward purposefully, making for the towns.
They're rushing in like mighty men, yet never break their ranks,
As unannounced as thieves they come, none can cut them back
The sun and moon grow very dark, the Word of the Lord is strong
At last the breakthrough trumpet blasts, awaited O so long.
It is the second anointing, raising dead men's souls
Crashing through all the people's fears, whose faith was filled with holes,
Comforting the afflicted, aligning with the just,
To bring judgement on all rulers, ruled by their own lusts.
The Almighty power of the Living Word upon a multi-bannered army
Of valiant men expert in war, wreaking God's vengeance calmly,
Knowing the Word of faith to be enough to shatter the Devil's lies
Whose proud boast counters heaven and Christ's Church who he defies.
They appear from nowhere this secret army formed in a hidden place,
Hewn out of humble quarries now joined in smooth embrace
The Son of Man like lightning stands in east and west displayed
For wherever the dead body is there the eagles fly.
Eagle's Flight:© A. Christopher Welch/Michael Thom 'Telstar' type Keyboard Solo: John Daniels All additional Keyboard: Michael Thom Administered by No Name Ltd. 1991

For more on "As Terrible As An army with Banners " click here

First Love
Those who love Him by Mother Basilea Schlink

AC Welch continues:
I touched on the subject of Jesus being our first love here in the Tree of Good post
God gave us 10 commandments.
But the first one is the key to everything. Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength; which is the fuller description to "You shall have no other gods before me" in Exodus 20:3 .

Various translations of Psalm 25:14
NIV The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.
New Living Trans The LORD is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant.
GODS WORD 1995 The LORD advises those who fear him. He reveals to them the intent of his promise.
NASV The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.

This is not a Rehearsal this is going on Now
There are two types of situations that God's glory rests upon. In the Spirit they are the same. They are a place of first love.
There are those like Mary Magdalan who literally crash into the grace of God having lived a life of deep sin and rebellion. Those who are forgiven much love much. I wrote to evangelist Steve Cattell on Facebook "We never hear anything more about "Mary Magdalen the sinner" in the gospels.

Don't ever forget that she became the NO.1 special agent who was used to undercover what happened to Jesus.

She was so changed God used her to effectively open the Door to the new Kingdom era!

She found Jesus alive! Even the apostles had a hard time believing her. This is the trouble with Kingdom stuff...its too fantastic for us. We are way behind, trying to catch up with God.

The other type of situation are those who seek God early in life. This is literally the fulfilment of "they seek Him early". God honours teens and young adults who honour Him. Every hormone in your body is pulling on you to do otherwise. God honours this purity. He shows and reveals Himself to such, and rests upon them in a particularly unique way to reveal Himself to others.

The order of Melchizedek, this order that Jesus operates from has this rather weird aspect to it.The wisdom of man honours those who are old and experienced. The order of Melchizedek honours those at any age who have this first love for Jesus. By means of the empowering of the Holy Spirit, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, children of five and six, younger teens and older teens like Evan Roberts in the Welsh Revival, can receive direct from this "Eternal Now" order of God and literally impart heaven's atmosphere into a gathering of saints, or friends and family.

The Order of Melchizedek, this Kingdom of the Eternal Now is always on. It is never switched off. It is always waiting for us to get caught up in it. This is revival atmosphere. This is what Norman Grubb calls experiencing continuous revival. We don't wait for a first level, second level, third level to manifest fully in our life. God's Kingdom is "wheels within wheels" (Ezekiel). From day one of knowing Jesus we can experience Ephesians chapter 1 and 2, being seated with Christ in the heavenly places. Since the Cross, Jesus has legitimized this experience ready for every man, woman and child on the Earth.

Those young people who experience this order full on, don't want sex, drugs,highs of other types. God's Presence is like no other form of intoxification....it stands alone in leaving you intact.Or rather , afterwards you are MORE intact than you were before.But you are not particularly religious....because you manifest internal reality...not a fake outer cloak of religion.

How do I know these things? It is my life story since the age of 13. And although I rebelled as a Christian, God keeps you from the worst ravages of prolonged rebellion, teaching you His ways and the clever protection techniques that are in His Word, in His Presence, and now, above all in His Grace. All while the real process for which He called us is going on....the reproduction of Himself inside us, as us, expressed by our own unique personalities. From the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth Ps110. This is a clever phrase because it means both things I have been writing about. Those who seek Him early in life. But those who receive the grace of God later on in life receive back from God "the dew of a new youth", from the womb of the dawn of the NEW ETERNAL DAY.....the Eternal Now.

Selection

This third level people who appear from nowhere, marching in step,facing forward, with one intent, "seeing only one thing" with a single eye...

have already been through a selection process. An unconscious selection process. We see from the scriptures above....nobody knows it is going on. In Judges 7, Gideon selects from 32,000 people first those who do not have fear, then secondly and secretly, those who drink in a certain way, expressing the "single eye", the first love. In David's case, the mighty men revealed themselves in unfavorable circumstances while gathered around their "possible" new King. The promises rested upon David's life, but it sure didn't look possible most of the time they were going from cave to cave with him in the wilderness. They were totally unaware that a selection process was already underway. Jesus was already surrounded by many disciples, but only 12 were chosen to be his 3rd level special ops. on the day of Acts 2.

When we live from "first love" , we unconsciously are being selected for these special ops, like Mary Magdalen's Kingdom opening special op.,(special operation) alongside Mary mother of Jesus, who had already fixed herself by her verbal confession "Be it unto me according to your Word".

Matthew 24 is a passage beloved of final days studies, but the truth is that passage is always and continuously being fulfilled through history. Certain people fill the criteria. They are removed, or singled out for remaining while the others are removed....to singlehandedly push anti-slavery laws through Parliament....to bring revival....to effect changes on a world level ....like Harriet Beecher Stowe in America through her book Uncle Tom's Cabin.

We choose in the end, it says in 2 Timothy 2, whether we are going to be that noble vessel, useful to the Master, ready for His particular special OPs. We draw near to Him....but then we learn all the secrets of His covenant.

That none of it is of ourselves

That it's always by His grace

That more specifically it is Him in us and through us.

How do we learn all this? By seeking Him. By waiting on Him as in Psalm 123 verse 2

As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till he shows us his mercy.

We become a qavah people, where qavah means to wait upon with expectation, but also to bind together with, to join ourselves intimately with. This is learning Christ as me in the same way Jesus learned the Father as Him. He did nothing unless He saw the Father doing it. How do you come to the "seeing"....through the qavah process. The Lord (2 Tim 2) needs to be allowed to KNOW, to entwine with those who are His....and then they will have power to turn away from wickedness.

When I was a teen hearing the message of first love through Mother Basilea Schlink, and another young American who stormed into a Christian school in India...believing for the whole school to be converted....and got it....

what I heard was "works". I heard loving Jesus as a verb, as a "work", as though i had to do certain things for Him to love me.

First love for Jesus is not that. It is a Divine response from inside of me, to a Divine First Move that was demonstrated above all in some open arms pegged out on a Cross. But guess what? The Holy Spirit has been given to shed this same love abroad in our hearts, in order to give us, to birth in us, the Divine tools with which to respond to our Lover.

We believe on His Word. We act on His Word. He births His Word in us. If I had to stop sinning to show Him how much I love Him, I would not need His salvation. We stop sinning as we learn the Truth about who we really are, who God is, who other people are, and as we begin experiencing the reality of His Presence. The other would be the same as all the other religions on earth. Christianity is different. It is joining ourselves to Another's Life. The life of Jesus.

Believing on the power of His life is what connects us instantly to the Melchizedek order, and more longterm is the anchor sunk in the heavenly sea floor, which enables us to reel our boat in...such that it's a DEAD CERT that we will reach maturity....

the Third Level

The father stage

as God literally shapes us and the rest of our life around the same Spirit realities that we may have learned as teenagers....

that we have died with Christ

that our lives are hidden with Christ in God

that as Ephesians says, we are seated at the right hand of Christ in God.

It's important to continually lay this grace foundation, because sometimes, just sometimes.....I had to wonder with Basilea, and with Ed Miller....that their gospel sounded a tad elitest.

Before talking about the Red Arrows I have to stress this....our selection for special ops is based entirely on us focussing on what Jesus has already done....or else it would be works. Any response we make to the obedience He demands of us, as we become more and more connected to Him, is a response of faith and trust in our Saviour. But our response to Him proves our believing ON HIM, and not just in Him. When Jesus asks a cripple to stand up....the grace and faith is there for a Divine miracle...but the ACTION of the cripple, though tentative it may be, proves a belief ON the Saviour, not an intellectual acquiescence only.

So, I've said that from the moment we believe God has connected us to His Son in the heavenlies, the Holy of Holies. We don't wait for years until we're holy enough. We're dead. We're not going to get any more holy. We are no more. Now our lives are hidden with Christ in God. Nevertheless in a bigger arc, God is maturing us as inheritors of His nature and active participants of His plans here on earth. And we do actually pass through stages of growth every bit as real as in our natural lives. Then in an even bigger arc, there is a worldwide maturation of the sons of God, as we've moved from evangelicalism, to an introduction into God's power realms, on now to Him reproducing everything that was in His Son as He walked the earth into a fantastic worldwide Body of interlinked saints exploring what it means to walk Him as me. Facebook and blogs are playing a role in this.

No show

So now I want to talk about this thirdlevel people, similar to the Red Arrows above.

There's no showiness. A matter of factness. A grim resolve.Get the job done. No frills.A concern with the bottom line. Unity of purpose. Total team-mindedness. No one stands out from the rest. Except perhaps....

Kirsty Moore

Think of another generation when this would have been possible? The CRACK RAF squadron par excellence with a female member, who is there not because of political correctness....but because of merit. She's darned good at flying in formation. Any other reason would be dangerous.

In the 3rd level, gender is pretty irrelevant. You either know Christ as you...

Or you don't.

It's too late to fake it.

And anyway the selection process has already taken place.....without you knowing. You just got on with the job....and prepared your life....as in the above scriptures

one will be taken, the other left....

so shall it be in the days of the "Coming" of the Son of Man.

The parable of the 10 Virgins in Matthew 25. Only five hunted down that extra supply of oil.

This is the first generation where women stand alongside men equally sharing the father principles of Christ as Our Life. I am not talking about women priests in Anglican churches, or even women bishops. I am talking Spirit realities which are recognised as being already active in people's lives by all sorts of other men and women of faith whatever tag they may hold, worldwide.

Third levellers don't show up at all in any other context than THE AIR!

The most thirdlevel stuff in our local church is the Key of David Meetings and Key of David conferences. This same dynamic was beginning to show up in the Florida Outpouring two years ago. It is a revival dynamic. Norman Grubb calls 3rd level living : Living in continuous revival. Many Christians refer to it as Eagle living referring to the qavah/waiting on God scripture....those that wait upon the Lord shall renew/increase their strength, they shall MOUNT UP as eagles. More on this subject here

Unless you knew what the "reds" (Red Arrows) were about to do....absolutely no clue could be gained from observing them in civvies walking around Tesco, or Sainsbury's. Some may be extremely skilled at talking...bet yer Kirsty knows how to natter....

others with the fantastic spatial skills required for flying may be extremely taciturn. You just wouldn't have a clue at how incredible these people are from seeing them walk around. Why? Everyone walks around. But it's not their milieu.

Sometimes the ONLY place I register locally is in the Key of David meetings. I'm becoming less and less of a meeting man.....but if there must be meetings, let them be 3rd level ones.

The point of this 3rd level revolution is precisely this. It's NOT about meetings. It's about WALKING. As He is in the world, so ARE WE.

Nobody looking at Norman Grubb would guess what was really going on. But in the hidden spiritual places, "THE AIR", Norman had set his confession, that there was coming a time when the Body of Christ would know that there was more to life than a "separation" existence - us and God....that God both was and wanted to be a good deal more immanent than that....and that's what Norman had set his face to until his dying day....with, I must say....nothing more than a few green shoots worldwide to show for his pains....but as a 3rd leveller...he died in faith , trusting God to complete the intercession granted to him.

Nobody knew what Basilea Schlink was accomplishing in her ministry. Nobody could guess what was happening through Ed Miller as he wrestled over Argentina. Nobody could see the significance of Lydia Prince obeying the call to an Appointment in Jerusalem. Originally no one had a clue as to the significance of a Albanian nun called Mother Teresa who had spent 40 years getting fixed in Christ, suddenly called to the slums of Calcutta. Less still, could anyone get any purchase on the phases in Rees Howells life as he was then called to take on the Dictators IN THE AIR. Read Norman Grubb's biography of Rees Howells from here

Annie Schissler writes here

"The moment of the explosion would be precipitated and lit by the elect ones who were above the storm.
Each one of them individually, had to open as if it were a door inside them and they also had to enter an even higher place of communication with Christ, which at the same time, would open their inner doors to the manifestation in great power of this force of light."

This is about thirdlevel special ops. About the mature in Christ.

Just as it would be impossible to even conceive of the Red Arrows before Orville and Wilbur Wright's First Air flight in 1903, so it is hard for charismatics to be able to conceive that there is a third level. Third levellers don't necessarily show up that well on charismatic radar screens. The third level is not about the latest song. It is not particularly about getting someone healed or praying for them to get a job. What it is about is unseen. IT IS about flicking a switch on the inside of you that accepts the kind of Christ of whom it says " It is written of Me in the book....I came TO DO THY WILL."

Even if in Watchman Nee's case it meant returning to die in a Chinese Communist jail by his own volition in 1966, when literally any Christian platform anywhere in the world would have gladly given him endless seminar time.

It's about what Christ is doing in and through you....and you alone. Yet irony of ironies...the thirdlevel isn't about you at all....it's about how you dovetail and interlock with all the others that are living and moving in the Spirit of God. You can't manufacture this. The Holy Spirit either does this....OR HE DOESN'T. There is no way we can orchestrate how we or anyone else move corporately as the people of God....unlike the Reds...there is no choreography. The only thing we can prepare is our believing, our connecting with the Living Spirit of God.

If you thought the charismatic movement was awesome....

you've never seen a mature Body springing up all over the earth.

As it says in Psalm 1: 5 Sinners shall just not be able to stand in the congregation of the upright

They'll just be blown right away ....by what's happening.