This scripture has always perplexed me when Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father (John 14:8-14). Jesus responded by saying: "Have I been so long time with you, and yet you have not known me Philip?" What was Jesus saying to Philip? He was saying that you've been with me all this time, seen miracles, the sick healed, ate with me, lived with me, seen demons cast out, and witnessed my character…and you still don't realize that I and my Father are one?
In ministry, some people still have not mastered this realization. They think because God uses "you" mightily for others that they know "you" through your gift; but what they (like Philip) fail to realize is that your everyday life and ministry is the manifestation of the Father to them. The gift is God is not yours. In other for them to experience the same manifestation of the Father, they must press into God for themselves.
The anointing breaks bondage and destroys yokes. It is a magnet that not only demonstrates the power and manifestation of God, but it draws people to us. People come for many different reasons but the main reason is: they want God. However, they fail to get from God because they only make contact with the gift of the one God is using.
We can get as close to God as we choose to be. The reason for seeking the presence of God is to know God for ourselves. It is to get the heart and understanding of God. That's the point of being in His presence. Some say, "Lord, I want to see your glory." Well said, but you can't see the glory of God without being in the presence of God. What should sought is more than just "feeling" His presence, but rather what is needed is an understanding of His ways and His heart. Without God revealing to us who He is, we know nothing- we must get God's heart to effectively live and minister. Philip was in the presence of God (in Christ) but failed to ask the right question and seek the right things.
Get God's heart on it saints! On what, you may ask? Get his heart on everything…every situation…every circumstance…every fork in the road…and every decision you need to make. We need to know and understand the heart of God in this season to effectively promote the Kingdom of God on earth. Don't be like Philip and miss the whole point because you took for granted what Christ is to you. It's like he was saying that he knew that he had Jesus, but who He really wanted to know was God. We are one in them (John 17). Jesus is the heart of the Father, the express image of God on earth, and we are His representatives on the earth…we are one!
Don't depend on gifts, talents, and anointing to get you where you're trying to go; get God on it by seeking his face and staying in his presence. He will give you a clear understanding of his heart on any matter. Gifts are not enough to keep us in position, authority, or dominion. They work as the Spirit wills, however our character is part of the foundation from which gifts and anointing's are built. This is why many crumble and are crumbling because of not properly discerning the Lord's body (I Corinthians 11). Get God's heart saints, there will be His will, and His favor, God bless.