RESURRECTION LIFE
RESURRECTION LIFE
Resurrection Sunday, April 20, 2025
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
I have had Candice Smithyman’s book, “Heavenly Portals” on my coffee table since the conference we had with her and Andrea McDougal last year. It was on my “to do list” to read. I was praying about what the LORD would have me preach today and without any intentions, picked up the book and started reading.
Concurrently, I have been preaching from my Spirit (around the house and in my car) a message on living in God’s prosperity. Binding up the demons which steal prosperity from God’s people and helping God’s people to live in the realm of Heaven on earth. I, myself, have written enough sermons on “Resurrection Glory” and the “Ascended Life” to fill two books.
My testimony is I live and have my being in the heavenlies. I live in the rest of God, His peace, His righteousness, His provision, no fear, no unresolved issues, no unforgiveness, no pain. I live in “No more Night, no more pain, never crying again because I am living in the light of the Risen Lamb.” This congregation has heard that declaration many times, not as a spiritual boast, but a reality that is a fact. Candace Smithyman is living in that realm and I hope you will be blessed with her description of the journey from the Cross to the Glory.
“Heavenly Portals” is a clear spiritual guide into the eternal realm of prosperity that Jesus opened for us at His resurrection.
“When Jesus resurrected, he defeated sin, death, and the grave. He enabled us to be saved and live as overcomers of evil and death. The power of the resurrection means the enemy has been defeated, and we are called to live a grace-filled life. This resurrected life is amazing! However, there is more to the story. We are not just overcomers and victorious over evil, we are called to be kingdom citizens, walking in power to tread on snakes and scorpions, because we are seated with Christ in heavenly places.
This position enables us to be change agents on earth. We are called to live, move, and breathe from a new position that reflects the truth that Jesus ascended to heaven and is still there now. We have a powerful position. Our understanding of this position will enable us to live as though the eternal realm of heaven impacts our past, present and future.” (Pages 22-23).
In 2024, we saw the remnant church arise and begin to decree and declare God’s word, will and purpose over our nation, churches, schools, and civil government. We are watching as God moves in great power. But there is so much more, and we can’t slack up now.
“The word prosperity means wholeness in the bible. It means nothing missing and nothing broken in our souls, a Shalom peace. We are called as Kingdom citizens to live out the seat of ascension and the realm of prosperity in the earth. Jesus has given us an inheritance through His death, resurrection, and ascension that opened the power of Heaven’s portal for everyday living.” (pg. 65).
3 Jo. 1:2: Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
“Mary don’t cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father, but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.” (Jn. 20:17)
Jesus told Mary, “Don’t hold on to me,” because she had to know the rest of the story. She could not hold onto the resurrected Jesus. She had to know the Jesus who ascended so she could enter His rest… The best was yet to come, and it involved the Spirit of the LORD being released on earth. He knew that after this happened she could go to the next level of knowing Him, the place of rest that the author of Hebrews wrote about.
Heb. 4: 8-11: For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
“We are ascended with Jesus in the Spirit. Although we live on earth, we are in an eternal heavenly realm, where prosperity exists daily. We must train our minds to believe we are there in order to saturate our environments with these eternal truths… Understanding enables us to walk by faith through gateways of power… The Holy Spirit is our guide today to both resurrection life and ascension life, and the Word is our cornerstone for ascending the mountain of the LORD.
Our mind is the only thing preventing us from winning our battle with the enemy. Once our mind is prosperous and we are in a place of faith moment by moment, we have mastered the prosperity realm. Jesus mastered the prosperity realm, and therefore the power He had on earth was great. When I refer to a prosperous mind, I am writing about a mind that is focused on the eternal and has overcome lack and poverty. A prosperous mind thinks on things above at all times. Jesus had a prosperous mind, and we acquire this by faith and knowing the Word of God.” (Pg. 26).
Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also, and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (Jn. 14:12).
“As we learn about the ascension life and living in the eternal realm of heaven, we must include our relationship with the Father. Jesus made a way for this relationship with Father God to grow and develop so we would have the power to rule in the Kingdom. This relationship develops the bond that causes us to walk as citizens of heaven and exercise the kingdom’s power with authority. Portals, or gateways in the Spirit realm open pathways to revelation, impacting how we live for the Kingdom.” (Pg. 41).
“We must ask the LORD to help us live daily in this realm. We must practices this eternal realm because the earthly realm and the bondage are more connected to our souls than the freedoms of the eternal heavenly realm… If we can maintain ascension in the middle of any crisis, we will maintain the attitude God wants us to have while going through the temporary trials and circumstances of earth. That is what is meant by entering a portal of prosperity and peace. It is a place where we know His goodness resides, and we operate in that faith daily. We must know that He is bringing us to a place of greater good during the trial… The goodness of God is a staple in the eternal realm of prosperity. The prosperity realm builds off of knowing that God is good all the time. Therefore, the writer of the Book of James could say, “count it all joy.”
The Greek word for “count” is “hegeomai,” which means to” lead, command with official authority, deem, consider, be chief, govern, judge, rule over, and think.” This is a governmental word for the power and authority we have as kingdom citizens to defy what the natural earthly real is saying and grab hold of what the supernatural eternal realm of prosperity is sayings. We have the authority to think and count something as joyful, no matter what it looks like.
We have kingdom authority through Christ to stand in the realm of a prosperous soul and have joy amid temptations and trials. This kind of authority will open the portal of prosperity so we can enter that realm, and the devil will flee. “to count it all joy,” to laugh amid your trial, is a strategy of war.” (Pg. 47)
Since the resurrection has occurred, we have a new relationship with Father God. Jesus finished His task to go to the Cross and reconcile us to the Father… Jesus had to die, go to Hades, and get the keys of death, and resurrect so that we might have a relationship with the Father.
For us to have life in Christ and a relationship with the Father, there was a cost, Jesus paid with His life. The dominion of sin, death, and the grave was broken, and we were made whole through what Jesus did. So now we, as unbroken people, can have a new life, the foundation of which is our relationship with God. That is powerful. We were pulled from death to eternal life through the heavenly portal activated by faith in Jesus Christ. We now receive all the benefits of this new foundation including God’s power inside us, in that Jesus told the disciples He would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, when He ascended and would go to the Father on our behalf.
The resurrection defeated death and its power, but the ascension is the gateway for eternal life-giving power to come to us.
Jesus says, I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--- “The Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
“Our position has changed because the dominion of death is broken, but the good news does not stop there. We are now moved to the dominion of life and the prosperity realm. We are now back in the Garden of Eden on earth. We now live in the eternal realm of prosperity, which means we are grounded in God’s love and goodness. Being seated with Christ in heavenly places means that we live beyond the initial step of recognizing that sin, death, and the grave have been defeated.
Many Christians don’t live as if they are saved. They engage in sin daily. Even though death has been overcome, they’re living as if they were still in their graveclothes. Living in our graveclothes means we are friends with fear. Fear is the outcome of death. Fear is the byproduct of being separated from God. When we are with Him, fear flees. Why? “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear, because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. (1 Jo. 4:18).
Fear is a normal part of humanity. It is one of the byproducts of sin and separation… There are spirits of fear that detect when we are afraid, and they come to join us in our fear… Jesus’ sacrifice already broke that fear. You must enter the eternal heavenly realm now to live fearlessly. This is where you decide what is more important. Is peace more important, or is living your life in a place of fear, anxiety, and worry more important? The realm of fear and worry is part of life. But because of Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, we don’t have to stay in that realm---that place of fear and worry.
When I (Candace Smithyman) write about living the ascension life, I am writing about “living in the rise.” Living in the rise means living above your circumstances and trials. It is living a life where sin, death, the grave, and fear are overcome daily. This means you must learn to live above and you must fight to stay there. God gave that life to you. You must continually train your mind to remain where he has properly position you in the ascended heavenly realm of no fear… This will open you to the prosperity realm where all of God’s gifts to His children are available.
We will continue with Resurrection Life and the Ascended Life at this evening service. To be continued…
Let us now receive communion.
“Communion says we are not divided, but we are one. We are one body, one flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ. His shed blood and His broken body on the Cross unite us as one…We have been healed, saved, redeemed, and made whole by the Blood of Jesus. We are forgiven. We are not cut off. We are not dried up but are living breathing, created in the image of the Lord, and connected to the Father.”
… Lord Jesus, I thank you for your power of healing in drinking from the cup of your Blood. As we partake of the bread and the grape juice, we are also set free from worry, fear, doubt, unbelief, and all demon spirits which would sabotage our glorious seat with you in portals of Heaven.
1 Co. 11: 23-26: I have received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat, this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till he comes. Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries Church
Scripture from N.K.J.V. – I entered into the labors of Candice Smithyman, Heavenly Portals, published by Charisma House, an imprint of Charisma Media, 600 Rinehart Road, Lake Mary, Florida 32746. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of Rev. Smithyman
From: Candice Smithyman <info@candicesmithyman.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 19, 2025 5:41 PM. Pastor Carolyn. I am so honored that you would consider using anything in my Heavenly Portals book. Please yes , use anything you like to God be the glory.