Fine Lines

Tags

Anger, Boundaries, Control, passion, relationships

When I was a child my mom would make my younger brother and I sit on our side of the car and keep our hands to ourselves. In the backseat of the car we would draw an invisible line and command each other not to cross it. Inevitably someone would stick their hand over the imaginary line and the other would shout, “Mom, __________ crossed the line!” Lines are very familiar to us as people, there are double yellow lines on roads, so people do not cross them and go into oncoming traffic; there are lines at department stores to keep people in the place they need to be until the cashier is prepared to serve them. Lines are so much a part of life that when we cross them, we usually know, because they are visible, but the invisible lines are the ones that we cross many times unknowingly.

A fine line is a thin demarcation between one thing and another. When someone crosses the line, it can be hard to identify for the one that crossed it, but the one that has been crossed can usually sense it immediately. Some of the fine lines that people cross and don’t realize until after they cross it include, but are not limited to:

1. Passion —————– Anger
2. Boundaries —————- Walls
3. Order ———————-Control
4. Correction —————- Character Assault
5. Intimacy ——————– Idolatry

Passion can crossover into anger; boundaries can feel a lot like walls; order can seem like you are being controlled; correction can cross into character assaults; and intimacy can become idolatry if we are not careful. Many of us can think of other fine lines that if we are not careful we can cross in our relationships with other people. We are living in a world that does not recognize the difference between passion and anger; boundaries and walls; order and control; correction and character assault; or intimacy and idolatry. The lines have become so blurred that we demand people conform to us, rather than us adhering to them.

When a Samaritan village refused to accept Jesus, James and John, two of Jesus’ disciples said, do you want us to call down fire on them, like Elijah did? Jesus said, you do not know what spirit you are of! (Luke 9:51-55) Many people do not know what spirit they are of, so they are crossing lines from passion into anger or correction into character assault, not because they meant to, but because they do not discern the spirit they are of. There are invisible lines being crossed in the spirit by many Christians, because the love of many is growing cold, due to the increase of lawlessness (Matthew 24).

We need to discern ourselves more today than ever, has our passion crossed over into anger? Have the boundaries we set, turned into walls? Have we become controlling of others and yet we call it just keeping order? Have we spoke a word of correction that was actually a character assault? Have we entered into an intimate relationship and now it has become an idol? We must discern what spirit we are of, for in the world in which we live, the spirit of anti-Christ will push you over the line and you will not even recognize it, because there are so many fine lines.

A Sword Less System

When Jesus walked the earth declaring the kingdom of God was here, many missed the message, not because they did not see the signs, wonders and miracles; not because He was not a prolific orator; not because He did not highly value people; but because they wanted Him to come with a sword.

Moses was not allowed into the promised land, not because he was not an effective shepherd; not because he missed spelled a word of the 10 Commandments; not because he didn’t know the way to the promised land; but because he struck the rock, he loved his sword.

David was not allowed the build a house for the Lord, not because of his sin with killing Uriah; not because he took many wives and concubines; not because he slept with Bathsheba; but because he was a man of war and blood was on his hands.

Just as in the days of Jesus, the kingdom of God is here, we are in the middle of a major transition, that is why so much uncertainty among people, so many opposing viewpoints, so much confusion in the media and the church. We are living in the transition from one age to another, from one land to another, from one system to another. Many are confused, many are revealing what is in their hearts, many are not sure why what worked in the past is not working now. It is because we are in transition from one age to another age and there will be more ages and more transitions in the future, this is not the last transition, but this is a major transition.

The greatest challenge people of different generations are facing is the fact that this new system, new era, new move we are stepping into is a sword-less system. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus was with the disciples and he told them to bring their swords with them as they went to the Garden of Gethsemane. While in the garden, Judas and the religious police came to arrest Jesus, so the disciples, who were fiercly loyal and protective of Jesus, grabbed their swords and said, do you want us to use our swords now? But before Jesus could answer, one of the disciples lopped the ear off of a man. Jesus said to his disciples, put your sword away, this is not how my system works. (Luke 22)

Many are going to miss the kingdom of God, because they want to use their sword, but the kingdom of God has always been a sword less kingdom, so until you put your sword away, you will not enter the kingdom. I know the enemy is using a sword, but this is a different war, we are in transition from Moses to Joshua, from David to Solomon, from John the Baptist to Jesus, it’s a new day and there is a new way. If you want to know how to fight in this war, it is with a fierce love for Jesus and His kingdom; a fierce love for people; and words that penetrate atmospheres. We are leaving a sword driven system and entering a voice activated kingdom. (Joshua 1-6) The first battle Joshua and Israel fought in the promised land was won with their voice, not their sword. Welcome to a sword-less system.

Two Words…Two Nations

Tags

American, Awakening, Europe, France, Revival, Truth

As I was in prayer for France this morning the Lord spoke to me and said, “Europe went from awakened to asleep and while they slept the enemy sowed tares among them. Europe is about to experience another great awakening.” Some of the greatest revivalists that many in the world today admire were born in Europe, there are wells of revival that have been stopped up so the people could not drink, but God is about to open them once again. Men like John and Charles Wesley; Duncan Campbell (Hebrides Revival); Smith Wigglesworth; Evan Roberts and John Dowie. As this nation experiences a great awakening, these seeds of revival that are so much apart of the DNA of this continent are going to arise. Europe is on the cusp of a major awakening and the current situations that are coming against them will wake up this nation. Europe will re-dig the wells of their fathers, just as Isaac did in Genesis 26, watch Europe for the beginning of another Great Awakening and for revivalists to come from there and go to the nations yet again.

As I finished praying for France, the Lord led me to pray for America and what I heard the Lord say was, “America has relinquished her authority, it was not stolen from her, she was deceived into giving it away. I have made America a storehouse (distribution center) of truth for the nations and she will become that again.” America has been a storehouse for the nations for many years, but as we have been slowly being deceived, we have relinquished our authority out of our ignorance. Galatians 3:1 says, “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?…”  Paul had spoken the truth to the people of Galatia, but they had become deceived, for they started believing a lie, rather than the truth. America is just like Galatia, we have been bewitched, we have been deceived by the anti-Christ spirit. But God has created this nation to be a storehouse for the nations, so there is going to be a revival of truth in this land. America will know the truth and the truth will set her free (John 8:32). Once we have a revival of truth, we will see a revival of our authority, for truth and authority are inseparable.

Finally, I believe that when Europe has a great awakening and America has a revival of truth, the two nations will become like wonder twin powers that activate the greatest move of God the world has ever seen. America will distribute truth to the nations again and Europe will release revivalists to the world again, we are on the verge of a revival of truth that is going to look a lot like Mt. Carmel (I Kings 18), where the fire fell and the people said, Yahweh is God! Yahweh is God! Two nations…two words

The Power of Proximity

Tags

church, marriage, Nearness, power, Proximity, relationships

Much has been spoke about on the power of momentum, the power of speech, the law of attraction and so many other success principles, but very little is spoken about as it pertains to the power of proximity. In a culture that is more digitally connected than ever before and yet more disconnected relationally than in times past, one has to wonder, what is the problem? My theory is, most people are really busy doing nothing. We spend time, energy and money on things that have no eternal value and we neglect that which has eternal value to us, because technology has made us look connected while being very disconnected. We have sought our significance in something rather than someone, so we spend hours and hours doing nothing of significance, yet wonder why we struggle with significance.

Proximity is defined as nearness in space, time, or relationship. Proximity is the invisible success factor that becomes visible in our lives as we exercise it consistently. The first issue people have as it pertains to proximity is their nearness in time or relationship with an invisible God. We go to church, we pray and sometimes we read our bible, but nothing changes because we have not seen the value the power of proximity brings to our relationship with the Lord. Jesus said in Matthew 15:8, “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me…” This is a great example of a proximity problem in our relationship with God. The truth is, if we drew near to God, He would draw near to us; if we would seek Him with all our hearts, we would find Him; and we would begin to harness the power of proximity which would manifest in our understanding of identity as sons and daughters of God.

Another undervalued relationship for most people is that of their spouse. The divorce rate is out of control, because people in marriage are not valuing the eternal person and covenant they have in their life. We may live in proximity to this person so the nearness in space and some would argue time issue is there, but the nearness in relationship is lacking, so we are not seeing the power of proximity manifested in our marriages. When we value marriage as an eternal covenant, which will yield rewards that have yet to be seen on earth and in generations to come, what is invisible will become visible to the other members of this covenant, mainly the children. The power of proximity will yield generational blessings if we only could recognize the eternal nature of our spouse; the eternal nature of us as a couple, for we have the power to create something the world has never seen before, just look at your children; and the eternal nature of God who uses marriage as an analogy of Christ and the Church.

The power of proximity is limitless, for the kingdom is all about relationships. In the age that just ended in the spirit, rules, righteousness and a variety of other issues were paramount indicators of spirituality, but Jesus when He came to earth and ushered in the first transition from Law to Grace said, repent for the kingdom of heaven is here. That meant, think differently, not modify or eradicate some behavior. Jesus was telling the people to think differently about people, about relationships. Look at the people Jesus touched (lepers); let touch Him (prostitutes); or that He made a part of His band of brothers (betrayer, tax collector and doubters). The power of proximity is about to go from invisible to visible as many have harnessed its power in secret and are about to share their success stories with the world. It’s never too late to recognize the power of proximity.

Young Visions…Old Dreams

Tags

Acts 2, dreams, Immaturity, maturity, Visions

Acts 2:17 “In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.”

Acts 2 is a very popular chapter in the Bible for a variety of reasons, the main one being the fulfillment of this prophesy from Joel being fulfilled in their day and age. Believers all over the world look back to Acts 2 for inspiration about what life could and should be like for us as believers today. Many have echoed the same thoughts on these verses, to the point that many see this verse and tune out, due to hearing it quoted so often, yet without any fresh revelation about. I know for I have done the same thing. But God…

One of my favorite things about God is that everything He speaks is fresh, He does not serve day old bread, rather He invites us in Matthew 6 to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread…” Bread in scripture has been referred to as the word of God, Jesus Himself even said, I am the bread of life in John 6. So, we can receive daily bread, a fresh word from the Lord, if we have ears to hear, a heart that wants to understand, and a willingness to learn something new. This morning as I was listening to Danny Silk preach about dreaming big dreams at Bethel Church in Redding, CA, the Lord served me some fresh bread through this verse.

The Bible says in Acts 2:17 that young men will see visions. Young can refer to immature, undeveloped, still learning, and unbridled. Young men see visions when the spirit is poured out, because “Where there is no revelation (vision), people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction” (Proverbs 29:18). When God pours out His spirit young or immature people see a vision that will restrain them or teach them to say no to ungodliness. One of the marks of immaturity is the inability to control oneself and the so when they get a vision or who they are called to be; who God is; what their destiny looks like, it bridles their passions. Vision is like the banks of a river that take all of the power of that river and directs it, so its power is a blessing to those that experience it.

As one that has a BA in Youth Ministry, I wish I had understood this revelation many years ago, for it would have given me a biblical precedence for why I did what I did in the way I trained the teenagers under my care. Vision keeps youth focused; vision gives them a reason to say no to pleasure, peer pressure and people who could be problematic. The Lord releases vision to the young or immature, for they need a reason to stay the course.

On the other side of the same coin, the Lord pours out His spirit so the old, the mature, the advanced in years can dream dreams. The older we get the less risks we take; the slower we are to change; the more comfortable we get and the less uncomfortable we want to be. The old need to dream dreams so they can stay alive, so they can stay active, so they can stay awake. Dreams propel you, dreams invite you into adventure, dreams call you out of complacency, dreams keep us connected to the vision God gave us when we were young.

This is one of the many reasons why we need an outpouring of the spirit, for we need the young to have visions and the old to dream dreams!

Snipers in the Kingdom

Tags

Battle, Intercession, Intercessors, Kingdom, Sniper, Warfare

Ephesians 6:12 “For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age.”

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

One of the main differences I am noticing between the kingdom of God and religion or even the church age is the simplicity in which God does things. In the church age everything is laborious, time consuming, and honestly can feel very heavy. It is as though in the church age there is a lot of being busy doing nothing. But, in the kingdom on the other hand, which is actually a place, not just a nice phrase to quote, things are highly effective, cost effective and empowering. There is a sense of moving forward, of taking ground, of actually, genuinely advancing with the Lord Himself. Jesus spoke the people in His day and invited them to a kingdom lifestyle which included a yoke (work)but it was easy and a burden but it was light.

An area that is found both in the kingdom and the church age is that of intercession. Intercessors and intercession are an integral part of the kingdom life, but the way in which intercession is viewed in the kingdom is more like a sniper, rather than a laborious, time consuming activity that gets no recognition, but does what many feel like is most of the work. When the Lord spoke to me that intercessors are snipers in the kingdom, I was eager to discover who a sniper is and what they actually do. This is what I learned.

A sniper is a qualified specialist who operates alone, in a pair or with a sniper team for the sake of maintaining close visual contact with the enemy; engaging in targets from concealed positions; and engaging in distances exceeding the detection and capabilities of enemy personnel. This alone made me shout, INTERCESSORS ARE SNIPERS IN THE KINGDOM, for this is what they do and I am so honored to know some of them. But as I kept studying, I learned even more than just solidified what the Lord spoke to me.

A sniper’s job description is to deliver discriminatory, highly accurate rifle fire against enemy targets, they are marksmen (a person who is skilled in shooting at a mark). Snipers are force multipliers (an attribute which makes a given force more effective than that same force would be without it). This factor dramatically increases the effectiveness of a group. When I read this I shouted, snipers in the kingdom, multiply the body of Christ’s effectiveness because of their precision in with which they hit the enemy target with their prayers. Snipers ensure battlefield survival for the rest of the Lord’s army.

Qualities that a sniper must have include being patient, disciplined and are able to work alone. Snipers are sharp shooters. If this was not enough, the final discovery I made about snipers is the economic effectiveness they bring to the team. Snipers use 1.3 rounds of bullets (prayer time) while other military officers (members of the body of Christ) use 50,000 bullets (prayer time). Do you see how the sniper is able to do more with less? Moving from church or religion to kingdom, increases your effectiveness in prayer from being a soldier to a sniper.

Finally, soldiers hit man-sized targets 10% of the time at a 300 meter distance, while a sniper hits the same target 90% of the time at a 600 meter difference. Snipers in the kingdom are intercessors and they are extremely accurate, they know who their enemy is, they are patient enough to wait in hiding until they can get a good shot at him and take him out immediately. They save the kingdom time and money because of their skills and they force multiply the advancing of the kingdom, so the bride is accelerated in her gathering of others to meet their King. Snipers in the kingdom don’t spend long hours in prayer, for they are trained in hearing the voice of God, recognize the enemy and position themselves to take him out with minimal prayers. We will not win this battle without the snipers in the kingdom.

Lessons Learned from the Kansas City Royals

Tags

Baseball, faith, Kansas City, Kansas City Royals, Lessons learned, Major League Baseball

Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen.”

Hebrews 12:1 “So since we stand surrounded by all those who have gone before, an enormous cloud of witnesses, let us drop every extra weight, every sin that clings to us and slackens our pace, and let us run with endurance the long race set before us.”

As a member of the Kansas City, Missouri community, as a lover of my city (which I learned how to do from Bill Johnson at Bethel Church in Redding, CA), as a lover of sports and as a lover of God, I learned a lot from the Kansas City Royals and I believe it will be a blessing to you as well, even if you don’t live in this city. I learned that faith and endurance are the wonder twin powers that unlock world champions.

Many may or may not know, the Kansas City Royals baseball team has not been world champions since 1985, when George Brett a famous baseball player was on the team. For the past 30 years, people have watched the Royals lose year after pain staking year. Someone told me yesterday, they remember when you could show up at Kaufmann Stadium at 7pm and still park in the front lot and make it on time for the first pitch of the first inning. It was not a team people came out to see. Despite the consistent and continual loses, the leadership of this organization kept going back to the drawing board, looking for the right player combination, the right manager, the right people to make this team into champions.

Last year, with one of, if not the youngest group of guys in the Major League came together under the leadership of manager Ned Yost and they began to show signs of a rising.  The mantra last year was We Believe, and the fans got behind the this slogan by showing up for games, buying Royals gear again and filling the stadium ever so slowly with people throughout the season. After making it to the World Series last year and losing, it was a huge let down for our city, but they came back this year with the belief that they could and would Take the Crown!

It took faith on the part of this city and this team to believe they could take the crown this year. Baseball seasons are long, arduous and filled with wins and losses, henceforth the need for both faith and endurance. But some of the lessons that have come out of this team, have spoken of by the media or from others I know are phenomenal.

1. Back to original: the Royals are a hitting team, not a home run team. They call this old school baseball, because all other teams in the league are swinging for the fence and we are swinging to get on base.
2. The best way to take revenge is to win: when a pitcher deliberately tried to hit one of the Royals in the head, the team decided to win was the best revenge.
3. It’s about the team, not just one player: even though they have an MVP for series, the team won this victory and no one showed a need to be a standout.
4. Make it reign, shock the media: Sport Illustrated has the Royals on the front cover of their latest issue and it says, the team we never imagined would win.
5. Ignite and excite a city: 800,000 people came out to the Royals parade at Union Station downtown Kansas City.

As a leader in the church, I love watching what it takes to ignite a city, to build momentum and to gain victory on a worldwide stage. The Kansas City Royals have been hailed as classy, by those near and far and I think the church could learn a lot from this baseball team. They broke a 30 year drought and took the crown, they truly did Make it Reign! They went back to the way baseball used to be played, as a team sport and they are the world champions. Finally, they stayed the course, they ran the race and win or lose, they never lost sight of the prize, these are the lessons I learned from the Kansas City Royals that brought out 800,000 people to celebrate their victory!