Entering Heavenly Zones

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Just as a top sportsperson controls their mental, emotional and personal faculties to stay ‘in the zone’, so too Christians can take responsibility for the heavenly zones God has made available to us. This post discusses how we enter those heavenly zones and go through the open doors God has created for us.

I mentioned in the last post on this topic that God has given us a number of doorways into heavenly realities. We are: seated in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 2:6); under his wings (Psalm 91:4); accessible to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16); accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6); and able to run into the name of the Lord (Proverbs 18:10). There are more than that, and the most wonderful door we have is into God’s throne room.

King David taught that it is personally possible to choose to enter through the heavenly door into the ‘zone’ of God’s presence. He openly explained how it is done.

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” Psalm 100:4

We can choose to enter into God’s presence by thanksgiving and praise. We don’t have to stay in a place of fear or loneliness, when we can enter His gates and come into His courts.

David was so aware of our ability to take control of our inner state and thus to change the ‘zone’ we are in that he repeated a statement which shows how he did it.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? and why are you disquieted in me? hope in God: for I will yet praise him for the help of his countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember you from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.” Psalm 42:5,6

Allow me to paraphrase what David is saying here. He recognises that his soul is downcast. He is feeling low. He is not ‘in the zone’ to be a man of faith or to be a champion. He is struggling internally. But rather than let his natural feelings call the shots, he chooses to change zone. He chooses to move into a heavenly zone where he can overcome these depressive feelings. He reminds himself; in fact he demands of himself, that he trust in God. He also chooses to praise God, confident that God is the real help he needs. He then explains to God that he is feeling low and says, “That’s why I am reminding myself of who You are”.

David understood that our natural state does not have to rule the day. When we remember who God is we can encourage ourselves in faith and step into God’s presence, finding His grace in our situation.

The Apostle Paul had a similar idea when he gave instructions to Timothy, telling him to “stir up the gift” that was in him (2Timothy 1:6). Paul practiced the choice of his zone when he was thrown into the dungeon in Philippi. There, denied liberty and justice, Paul and Silas sang songs of praise. They were able to enter into God’s presence, despite their natural circumstances. What resulted was a divine visitation of a miracle earthquake that set them all free, without endangering any of them. Salvations resulted.

The point of the lesson is this. You can choose the ‘zone’ in which you are living right now. You can allow circumstances to make you downcast or keep you distracted. Alternatively you can take responsibility for which door you enter into. You can press in to God’s presence, access heavenly blessings, “be there” in divine glories, and overcome natural circumstances. You can build yourself up, stir up your gifts, encourage yourself in the Lord, keep yourself in the love of God, remember who God is, call on His name, access the throne of grace and much more.

Are you ‘in the zone’? If not, then why not? You can do something about it. You can choose where you will spend the rest of this day. You can choose to move in to your spiritual inheritance, or to remain in a prison while the door is wide open.

Let’s be a people who are ‘in the zone’ of God’s presence, enjoying His best for His glory, all the time. Amen.

Heavenly Zones

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How would you like to be able to choose to be in God’s presence? How would you like to be able to step into heaven, even while you are buried in some heavy-duty workload, mess or upheaval? You can be “in the zone” of your own choosing, and that ‘zone’ can be the very throne-room of God.

We’ve discussed in previous posts on being “in the zone” how that we each have multiple zones to choose from. We have the ability, either by our own internal resolve, or by the use of external support measures, to switch from one zone to a better one.

It is as if we each live in a room with multiple doorways leading out of it. Most of the time we leave those doors closed and stay in the room that we find ourselves in. Our moods and the influences which sweep into our lives dictate what ‘zone’ we are in. Most of us are poor at the skill of changing our zone or pushing our way through different doorways out of where we are currently at.

Most of us have doors, even open doors in our life, which we never go through. Like having a ticket to the movies but never going. Like having an invitation to drop in to visit someone, but never making the effort. Like having family members we never take the time to talk and share with, because we are too preoccupied with our emotions, our challenges, our goals, or whatever. And isn’t that how it is for many people? Life slips past them, with gazillions of unexplored opportunities.

And that situation is just as real in terms of our spiritual experiences. There are ‘heavenly zones’ which we can enter into, some of them as doors which are wide open, yet which we never go through.

Salvation is one of those doors open to people. But many choose to press on in another zone, than in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. So they do just about anything but enter that life-transforming zone of becoming a new creature through faith.

For those who are Christians a bunch of new doors are open, which they may never ever access. They may be ignorant of the possibilities or fearful of going somewhere new. Whatever the reason, they can be locked away from God’s best for them.

Pentecostal Healing Evangelist Harry Greenwood, an English preacher gifted in playing the tambourine (a skill he reluctantly demonstrated from time to time), wrote a series of short booklets which he gave away, entitled, “Letters to the Imprisoned Saints”. Significant about these books was the cover artwork, a man in a prison cell looking wistfully through the window bars, while there, in the background, it was clear to see that the prison door was wide open. If only the man had turned around he would have discovered he was already free. So that was the purpose of the booklets, to lead people into the freedom already purchased for them. [I heard Harry Greenwood preach and play the tambourine in Sydney in about 1972, and I worked on a book stall about that time where Harry’s books were available. I have a couple of the booklets in a box somewhere.]

So, what are the ‘heavenly zones’ which Christians can enter into? Well, here are a few to take note of. We are “seated in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 2:6). Somehow we are actually connected to the heavens through Christ, even though we are living our natural life on earth. We also have access to the “throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16). We are able to come boldly before God and ask for grace when we need it. We have a wonderful place of complete acceptance “in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). We can run in to the “name of the Lord” as our strong tower and place of shelter (Proverbs 18:10). We are able to be safe under God’s wings (Psalm 91:4).

On this last point, I recall the testimony I heard in the early 1970’s of a young woman walking home from a church meeting late one night. She heard footsteps behind her and quickened her pace. The footsteps also quickened and she ended up running in fear. She ran into a subway, hoping to find people on the train platform who could help her, but it was empty. She ran along the platform until there was nowhere to go. At that point, remembering what she had been taught about God’s protection she turned to face those chasing her and announced, “I’m covered in feathers!” Her assailants turned and ran away.

She had gone through a door, as it were, and accessed the protection that was hers, only because of the dire circumstances she was in. Otherwise she might never have discovered the powerful reality of a ‘heavenly zone’ available to her.

I’m going to leave this post here and yet I have more to say. Next time I want to show you how godly men in the Bible activated the process of switching heavenly zones. It’s something we can all do and it’s part of the life more abundant that is yours to enjoy as a Christian.

Choose Your Own Zone

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Being “in the zone” is a powerful tool for optimising our performance and life experience. But did you know you can choose your own zone?

It makes sense, really. If we have any ability at all to get into the zone – to keep focus, maintain confidence, access our best skills, push past our distractions and discouragements – and I have shown that people can do those things, we effectively choose our zone.

Consider the tennis player who is about to be beaten. They face the next point with leaden feet, heavy heart and weary limbs, already facing the emotion of their ultimate defeat. Imagine that just at that moment they think of something encouraging. They see their opponent looking unsteady on their feet, or the opponent serves two double faults. Or possibly they remember another occasion where they were in this situation and came up to win. Whatever happens, imagine that they start to access the thoughts and feelings of confidence. What happens to their play, their attitude, their emotions and mental focus? They have effectively chosen to be in a different internal zone than they were in previously.

That’s what I mean by “choose your own zone”. Any one of us at just about any time can change our zone. You don’t have to be in the mental frame of mind you are currently in. You don’t have to be in the performance mode you are currently in.

Employees struggling through their last hour at work, unmotivated, discouraged and focused on what is waiting for them after work, can change their zone and become highly effective, motivated and excited staff. It’s a matter of which zone they choose to be in.

We each have multiple zones we can choose to access at any time. For example, if I were to share with you a bunch of tragic stories I could move you toward a sorrowful mood and possibly get you to become totally absorbed by the emotions that evokes. Alternatively I could tell you jokes and get you laughing, lifting you into a different zone altogether. I could talk with you about how valuable your contribution is, building up your self-esteem and giving you warm fuzzy feelings. I could confront you with a difficult challenge which I assure you and convince you that you are specially capable of championing. I could also make you feel guilty about your inefficiency or other failings. Or I could stir up one or other of your personal skills – be it creativity, organisation, industry, analysis, communication, relating, or whatever.

All of those various zones are accessible from where you are right now. So you have multiple doorways leading out of your present state. And you have a large degree of control over which of those doorways you will go through.

Even if you don’t personally have the ability to push through some of those doors you may well know how to get through them. I recall female friends at high school who told me about the different songs they would play to move their mood. I have taught study skills, including how to set up an environment that is ideally conducive to diligent and focused study. I have listened to sermons which I knew would build my faith, including listening to sermons I have preached myself! A sleazy chap once boasted of how he took his girlfriend to a particular movie which got her in the mood for his immoral advances. So, we can all access external tools which help us change our internal gear, open an internal doorway and access different zones to the ones we are habitually drawn to.

And, believe it or not, that’s what people in the Bible actually did. So this whole rave about the ‘zone’ isn’t a motivational, success oriented study. It’s about helping you access some amazing spiritual realities which you probably miss much of the time. And, trust me, we’re getting there, one step at a time. So keep a watch for my next chance to rave about this important theme.

Enter the Zone on Your Own

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Being “in the zone” is where the top performers in sport, entertainment, business and so on get their professional advantage over the rest of us. In the zone is also where we each perform at our best and can make the most of our opportunities, talents and opportunities.

We have all seen top professionals be on top of their game, and we’ve all seen top professionals have an off day. When everything is flowing, with focus, concentration, timing, energy, enthusiasm and so on, we say they are “in the zone”. When they are distracted, emotionally challenged, uncoordinated and just out of it, we know they are having a bad day.

One of the tricks in getting top performance out of people is to get them into the zone. This is where sports psychology, motivational speakers, and other performance enhancing techniques (apart from steroids and other chemical contributions) can be worth millions of dollars to people in highly competitive environments.

How does a person enter the zone on their own? Is it possible to get yourself into the zone and ensure top performance? The answer is obviously “yes”, since so many top performers seem to be able to do it. So, what’s involved?

One issue is self-confidence. Cassius Clay the boxer (alias Mohammed Ali) arrogantly asserted “I am the Greatest!” His self-induced confidence was part of his persona, contributing to him being three-time World Heavyweight Champion. Clay would jive-talk his opponents in the ring, just as his hero, Jack Johnson had done in a previous era.

Top tennis players, golfers, performers and sales-people exude confidence, as a shield around who they are and as a weapon against their challenges.

Another popularised idea is that of focus. The saying, “Wherever you are, Be There”, demands that we push past distractions and things that keep us from being “in the zone”.

We have all seen top performers ‘psych themselves up’ (as we like to call it) by berating themselves, accessing the emotional energy of anger, and so on.

Many years ago, as a junior sales-rep, I was taken on the road by a rep who shared with me his secret. He subscribed to a particular sales guru who promoted the idea of the ‘magic neck-tie’. Now I don’t think that’s what they called it, but that’s effectively what it was all about. The rep would sit in this car, tie-less, for about 30 minutes, going over his objectives for the presentation, checking his paperwork, props, etc. He would do a mental rehearsal of the whole process and see himself coming out with the order in this hand. Once he had arrived at that euphoric point of confidence he would then put on his neck-tie and head in for the appointment. The whole trick was to get him into the zone. When I asked him how it was working for him he made some lame excuse about still working on it. What that means is it wasn’t making him much more successful than before.

Probably the most impressive example of saw of a person getting “into the zone” came from a sports psychologist who I once interviewed. He was on the support team for a woman who was running the Sydney to Melbourne Ultra-Marathon, over 864km. That’s a huge, multi-day race and it’s incredibly gruelling.

The gal kept being pepped up every time she felt like giving up, which was often. She had no hope of winning so her only ambition became to finish the thing. However, about an hour or so from the finish line she stopped completely. Her support team had used all their best tricks to keep her going, but she was totally exhausted, emotionally spent and completely done-in. She was weeping, cursing herself for ever thinking she could do it, angry with everyone and wracked with pain.

That’s when the sports psychologist came up with the line, “I guess he’ll just have to be disappointed.” She asked him what he meant. He told her, dismissively, that he had already flown her dad down and he was already standing at the finish line watching others make the distance. At that the woman turned her face toward Melbourne and pressed on, without a break until she collapsed in her father’s arms.

The point in these accounts is to show, as sports psychologists know, that we all have more in us than we ever access. Being in the zone is where we are in touch with that other something, avoiding the competing thoughts and pressures which undermine our best.

But being in the zone is also the way to access more than just our own talents and abilities. It is possible to also be in the zone, so to speak, when we are accessing divine experiences in our lives. That’s what I hope to get to next time we discuss this topic.

Entering the Zone

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If “He’s in the Zone”, where is he? What in the world does it mean to be “in the zone”? And, more importantly, how do we get there?

Don’t laugh. This is really serious business and it’s worth fortunes to those who get on top of it. But for me, it’s also something that opens up heaven and divine treasures to those who know how to deal with it.

What I’m going to do here is open up the topic, since it is one that deserves a fair bit of reflection, and then build on that in future posts. Eventually, if I can keep up to it, I intend to show you have that being “in the zone” is something that David took seriously, the Apostle Paul recommended and Christians are wise to activate.

But first, let’s sort out what we’re talking about.

“In the Zone” is a term that speaks of a person’s personal focus. When a sportsman is on top of their game, focused and bringing all their energies to play on the challenge of that moment we could say they are “in the zone”. When a creative person, such as musician, is in their groove (which is another way of saying the same thing) we could say that they have entered into the zone where they flow the most naturally with their talents and abilities.

Maybe another way to look at it is from the flip-side. Have you ever been somewhere and you just weren’t connecting. Your body, your mind, your emotions or whatever just couldn’t get into the moment. It is as if you were somewhere else. That’s being out of the zone. And we see that with performers, players and business people and so on all the time. They have an off day and a below par performance.

Being “in the zone” is usually when you are at your best. It is when you have stepped into the place where your highest effectiveness is released.

So if you can enter the zone whenever you want to you will be a top performer. Mind you, sometimes it is not you that does the entering, but others who pull you through.

Not with me? When a sports team begins to beat the opposition it is interesting to note that most of the players lift their game. The team’s success pulls all the players into the zone. Or consider a comedian with a really dead audience, compared to the same performer with a really good audience. The performance is often directly affected by how others respond. So those ‘others’ have the power to pull the best out of someone – they have the ability to get that person “into the zone”.

Got it? So being in the zone is pretty important to us when optimal performance is required. And being in the zone is something we have some control over, which I’ll discuss in a later post.