“Someone has tricked us into trying to earn a place in the family into which we were birthed.”

I came across this statement online and it stunned me. Summarize all of our myriad of struggles in one sentence, and there you go.

We are wasting precious time trying to earn position we’ve already been birthed into.

The difference between two groups of Christians I know is that one group believes all the sanctification and salvation is already done while the other believes it’s an ongoing process until we live with Jesus forever.

The irony is that both are correct. We are positioned with all blessing and favor of a son or daughter of the Most High God. We have been given every privilege and freedom of a family heir.

But the ongoing freedom we still need to seek is in the realm of our thoughts, beliefs, and assumptions, and understandings. We have everything, but we don’t access it because we don’t fully believe that they’re truly ours. This is why, post-salvation, we are commanded to “be transformed by the renewing of your minds” and instructed that “we demolish (our own internal) arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

I’ve seen enough movies and read enough stories to know that if the son of the King never grasps the authority, power, and influence which are rightfully his, he will never experience the life that is already rightfully his. He can abdicate his role if all he does is accept the reality that his dad is King. He can enjoy being the son of someone really important and powerful and live in his shadow or he can step into his role and share in the creative responsibilities he was born into.

My Prayer

Let this sink into our hearts, Father, and retroactively set us free from years of insecurities and comparisons and self-doubts. Set Your Bride free from the thoughts and beliefs which entangle us when the provision and position are already ours.

Amen.

But a believer who is being transformed by the renewing of his or her mind will begin to earnestly desire unity within the body of Christ.

There’s something mystical about believers being “one in heart and mind”, as the writer of Acts says. Where people stand in agreement, whether over a truth or a lie, that thing is established.

What about that saying, “Perception is reality”?

Popular perception isn’t Truth. But God empowered men to call things into existence through the power of agreement. The unity of the Church is powerful because agreement makes things happen in the heavenlies.

That’s why Paul writes so adamantly to his disciple Timothy about avoiding and resolving quarrels. A disjointed Church wields significantly less power and influence in the earth.

That’s why I appreciate Bethel Church’s focus on cultivating a culture of honor. Honor is the path through which we enable unity.

Words matter. Choosing the right word for the right moment is important. As humans made in the image of God, we have ascribed meaning to words, and therefore the words we speak carry a message because of their assigned values.

Has God spoken to you about something that you now believe? That is called faith.

Are you holding out for something God hasn’t directly promised to you, but you think you will receive based on what you’ve learned about God’s nature? That is called hope. Hope is based on assumption. Faith is based on certainty. Both are necessary.

We won’t likely have a direct word from the Lord on every single issue in life. We have to hope that God will do X when we do Y because we have seen His character displayed through time.

But faith comes by hearing. For example, Abraham had faith that when God spoke to him and told him to leave his home and travel to an unknown country which would be his family’s new inheritance, he believed God at His word and obeyed.

That is faith.

Then he answered,”One person at a time.”

My History

It reminds me of my early Christian confusion. When I met Jesus in 1996, our church was caught up in the throes of contending for the next great move of God. I don’t know whether it was learned from the church theology or simply misinterpreted on my part, but I found myself fully convinced that nothing very significant was going to happen spiritually unless revival was poured out liberally upon us. I looked at prayer and worship as a process of filling the bowls of intercession until they tip over and pour out revival upon the people.

Seeing Things Differently

The problem with that thinking is that it paralyzed me from pursuing having any sort of affect on the world around me today. If I need revival first, then I am powerless today to do anything significant. I cannot participate in the world’s daily routine because I am too busy praying for something significant to happen.

15 years later, I see the world and the Kingdom much differently. I’ve suspended judgment upon the importance of revival in favor of being present in the moment. Perhaps it’s an extreme pendulum reaction swing which will eventually lead me to the wiser middle.

But for now, I feel much more useful in the Kingdom because I now see that every moment is an opportunity to be tuned into what the Father is saying and doing. There are moments to speak into a person’s life, moments to listen, moments to intercede, moments to give thanks. Each day is pregnant with possibilities. I’m not helpless, awaiting some massive move of God. Do I want to live and breathe in a tangible expression of God’s presence? Absolutely. Am I going to give up today, tomorrow, and the the foreseeable future for it? Not unless God specifically calls me to.

There are a lot of ways a Christian can be “so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.” But not in the ways I was told. Being obsessed with the Kingdom is healthy and good. Being filled with the Word at all times is right and good. For now, I’m waiting and watching, looking for that next kairos moment when I sense an opportunity to be Jesus expressed to someone else. Yes Lord!

Watch the video below:

Everything (in heaven) is built upon absolute, rock solid faith. This world, on the other hand, is filled, riddled with unbelief. Unbelief even as a virtue. It’s called critical thinking. And you and I will always reflect the nature of the world we’re most aware of. We will carry the fragrance of the world we’re most aware of. Why do you think Peter’s shadow healed people? There’s no substance to a shadow. Your shadow will always release whatever overshadows you.

- Bill Johnson

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

The rest of the post is on my other blog.

NOTE: Almost all of these people have lived in DFW at some point in time, so their regional exposure and church affiliations no doubt affected who they chose.

1. Rick Joyner

Rick Joyner’s ministry is headquartered in South Carolina. I think he scored the highest for two reasons:

Half of the people I polled have at some point attended Wellspring Church, pastored by Jack Deere. Jack and Rick Joyner have a long-standing friendship and Rick has traveled several times to speak at Wellspring.

Rick Joyner has written several popular books including:

• The Final Quest
• The Call
• The Torch and the Sword
• There Were Two Trees in the Garden

The vast majority of Rick Joyner’s ongoing influence comes through his Word of the Week (a blog without the functionality of a blog), regular prophetic conferences, and video blog Prophetic Perspective on Current Events.

2. John Paul Jackson

John Paul Jackson lived for many years in DFW and recently returned after a decade or so in New Hampshire. Jackson’s Streams Ministries has taught The Art of Hearing God and Interpreting Dreams to thousands of believers around the world. In addition to many audio teaching series available, he’s written several books, including:

• Unmasking the Jezebel Spirit
• Needless Casualties of War
• Breaking Free of Rejection

You haven’t really gotten the John Paul Jackson experience, however, until you’ve listened to the Fireside Chats audio files. Available for purchase on the Streams website. John Paul also writes frequently in his blog, CoffeeTalk, where you’ll find lengthy and engaging discussions of important topics.

You may also want to catch up on episodes of It’s Supernatural where Sid Roth has interviewed John Paul, as well as several visits on Daystar and TBN where John Paul has shared about visions, dreams, and the prophetic.

3. Chuck Pierce

Chuck is local to DFW. He’s pastored a church in Denton (North of DFW) for years. He’s also the head of Glory of Zion Ministries. In 2010, C. Peter Wagner passed Global Harvest Ministries over to Pierce, who then restructured the ministry under the name Global Spheres Inc. Chuck is connected with several national church leaders including Cindy Jacobs, Dutch Sheets, Barbara Wentroble, Paul Keith Davis, Sergio Scataglini, nd C. Peter Wagner.  Chuck Pierce has also written many books, including:

• Time to Defeat the Devil
• Protecting Your Home from Spiritual Darkness
• The Worship Warrior.

Chuck also shares frequently on ElijahList.com, a website dedicated to sharing public prophecies with the Body of Christ.

My Personal Influences

Rick Joyner and John Paul Jackson both played crucial roles early on in my development. I read The Final Quest by Joyner about the same time I read Jack Deere‘s very easy to grasp book Surprised by the Voice of God. Quality books and audio teachings are important when direct discipleship opportunities are not available.

A year or two after reading a couple of Joyner’s books, I signed up for a course at Shady Grove Church called The Art of Hearing God, by John Paul Jackson. It was during that class that I learned to stress character over gifting. A life lesson worth learning over and over.

There were more immediate influences in my life as well. Bill Leckie led the School of Discipleship I attended the first year I was a believer, and I saw him deliver and received some prophetic words from him during that time. I also benefited from firsthand observation of Robert Morris (who taught me to stop and ask Holy Spirit what He was saying specifically to me through a teaching), Anita Carson (Yes, Amen!), Steve LeBlanc, and Anthony White during that time.

Who Has Influenced You Most?

There were many others who received single votes. Feel free to share the names of other leaders who’ve influenced you in the prophetic.