2015 – A Year Of Great Change (Part 2)
I believe the word we have received for 2015 is that it is to be “A Year of Great Change”.
Are you hungry for a word that will radically transform your life and cause you to live as God designed and created you to live? Remember – all change begins by changing the way we think. If we are to experience the great change promised in 2015 then there must be a great change in the way we think.
According to Romans 12: 2 we are transformed – metamorphosised – by the renewing of our minds, by changing the way that we think.
The introduction to the good news of the kingdom is a call to repent.
repent – metanoeo (met-an-ah-eh-oh); From meta, “after,” and noeo, “to think.”
Repentance is a decision that results in a change of mind, which in turn leads to a change of purpose and action.
Repentance, which is foundational in our receiving the new life that has been provided for us is not just about saying, “I am sorry…” – it is saying, “I have changed!”
Remember the man born blind whose story is recorded in John 9. It seemed that all Jesus’ disciples were interested in was who had sinned and caused the
man’s blindness. As I said last time, that is as far as earthbound religion can see. It comes in low and then feels obliged to push people even lower. I have experienced religious Church operating at this level and deludedly thinking it was actually fired up and really doing things the right way. Jesus’ disciples James and John – the sons of thunder – wanted to call down fiery judgement on sinners. Jesus had to tell them that they were of a different spirit because he had come to save and not condemn. They were of the spirit of the law of sin and death. They hadn’t yet transitioned to the law of the spirit of life that releases us from the law of sin and death.
Jesus came in from above to lift people up, and so he tells his disciples that who has sinned is not an issue because man is here to have the works of God revealed in him. The works that have the “wow” factor. The blind man comes back from the pool Siloam not only with his physical sight
restored but with a brand new prophetic perspective and a “seer” anointing that causes him to speak with heavenly wisdom that confounds those who want to re-ensnare him in religious low-living. How many times have those who were newly born again with a fresh perspective and ability to see been told that they will soon cool off and be like everyone else? Basically, they had to backslide before they were comfortable or fitted into the low-flying church.
I believe that the greatest limitation of and hindrance to change that I have witnessed over the years, and which I have taught about many times, is the tendency of the church to revert back to some kind of law and to issues of outward conformity and performance, because that is how the world operates, and that is how religion operates.
Galatians 6: 4 (Amplified)
4 If you seek to be justified and declared righteous and to be given a right standing with God through the Law, you are brought to nothing and so separated (severed) from Christ. You have fallen away from grace (from God’s gracious favor and unmerited blessing).
We are told not to conform to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
The amazing thing about the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus that sets us free from the law of sin and death is that it is a law without limits. The law of sin and death says that if you sin you will die. It is very rigid and it is very final. However, the law of the spirit of life opens up endless and limitless opportunities to experience and enjoy life in all of its overflowing and indefinable and unquantifiable fullness.
It is important to understand that eternal life is not just a quantity of life, it is a quality of life. Jesus said that he came so that all people everywhere might have and enjoy a superabundant life. Listen to how his coming was prophesied hundreds of years before he arrived.
Isaiah 9: 6 – 7
6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
From what time forward? From the time of his coming. Not his second coming, but his first coming.
The good news is that the cross changed everything forever. We are not looking forward to the cross like the old covenant prophets who could only pronounce judgement on the people and encourage them to look forward to the coming of a future Messiah. We are new covenant prophets, a prophetic people. We look back to the finished work of the cross and announce blessing to a world without God and without hope. Sadly, many believers are miising their destiny and are still locked into an old covenant mindset, resulting in old covenant thinking and leading to old covenant living.
Jesus the Messiah came to heal, to fix, and to restore what was broken. He began by restoring the foundation. He himself became the foundation when he healed the broken relationship between man and his creator by reconciling us to God and restoring us to a new and higher level of relationship. It is no longer just a relationship between man and his creator, it is a relationship between sons and their Father. A relationship between sons and their Father that is so close that it begins by addressing Father God using the most intimate term, “Abba”.
Unto us a Son is given. He is the firstborn among many brethren.
The government is on his shoulders, and so he invites us to take and to share his yoke of government and of authority as a son. His government is programmed with increase and has a manifesto that promises great change. His government is increasing, and so his kingdom is advancing and that will always result in change for the better.
And yet it would appear that a blindness has afflicted many of God’s people so that they see things as getting darker in the world instead of brighter. This faulty perspective infects their thinking, impacting their words, and ultimately, it affects how they live. Their lives are lived according to how they see their circumstances, and they tend to see themselves as under their circumstances and so they are governed by their circumstances.
Perspective is everything because it determines the level of your expectation. Scripture is clear that as he is so are we in this world. If we can’t accept that then we will take no responsibility to exercise the authority we have been given.
God became a man, and showed us what he would do if he was us. If it was just about eternal security and a place in heaven then Jesus could have gone to the cross without ever preaching a message, or performing a miracle, or healing a sick person, or casting out a demon, etc. He was already qualified to be the sinless sacrifice required to purchase our forgiveness and reconciliation. But everywhere he went he was doing good and making things better. And he hasn’t stopped.
In the media, it is a sad fact that bad news always sells more than good news. Tragically, it often preaches better too. If you want a guaranteed Christian best-seller then you are best to write about how bad things are getting and offer advice on how to survive as things go from bad to worse.
The world might still be in bad shape in many ways, and there may still be room for great change, but it is also important that we look back at history and see how far we have come.
When Jesus returned to heaven and sat down on his throne two thousand years ago having commissioned the church to go into all the world and preach the message of the kingdom it was a very different world to the one we live in today.
Listen to some of the facts:
The Roman Empire dominated civilisation centred around Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
In Italy 40% of the population were slaves.
Throughout the empire homosexuality was commonplace – especially between masters and slaves.
Most of the Roman and Greek people worshiped multiple false gods.
Outside of the Roman empire people in Africa, Asia, and Australia worshiped nature, demons, and their own dead ancestors.
In North America people had no revelation of Jesus whatsoever, and in South America millions worshiped a blood thirsty god and offered human sacrifices that often numbered 1000’s in one ceremony.
When Jesus came there was only one tiny nation in the Middle East that had a revelation of the one true God, and even its citizens were living in a time of great doubt.
All of the rest of the world was lost in darkness.
But things began to change.
Just in case you are ever tempted with a desire to go back to some supposed glory days in history we need to wise up to the reality that things have actually never been so good.
Listen to some of the realities of life in the USA, 200 years ago:
In the early 1800’s there were 5 million immigrants in the USA – 20% of whom were slaves.
The age of sexual consent in many states was 9 or 10 years old.
Abortion was legal through most of the nineteenth century and more than one fifth of all pregnancies were terminated. In Michigan the figure was 34%.
Alcoholism was at a much higher rate than today.
Prostitution was rife. NYC had one prostitute for
every 64 men. Savannah had 1 for every 39 men.
The % of Americans attending Church was similar to today – about 30 to 45%.
Women couldn’t vote and men could legally beat their wives as long as they didn’t maim or kill them.
It would appear that 200 years ago things in the USA were actually worse ethically, morally, and spiritually than they are today.
In the midst of the reality of some very troubling news reports and the desperate situations faced by many people in different parts of the world, we need to take a moment to think of how truly blessed the world is today in comparison to two thousand or even two hundred years ago. There is a good reason for the positive progress that has been made over the past two millenia. Listen up….
The gospel of the kingdom is being preached in every corner of the earth…..
Christianity is growing exponentially across the world with more than 200,000 people being born again every day…..
In China alone there are more than 20,000 per day becoming Christians…..
In South America the number is more than 35,000 per day….
There are more than 1,000,000 per week worldwide being born from above…..
More than 2 billion of the world’s population claim to be Christians…..
Christianity is the largest, most influential block of humanity in the world…..
Are things getting better? Yes, they are! Things are much better in the world today than they were when Jesus first came into the world 2000 years ago. And it is all due to the continual increase of his government.
Even in relation to one of the current hot potatoes it might surprise you that less than 1% of the world’s population practice homosexuality, which is a lot less than during the Roman empire.
There are currently around 800,000,000 switched on and Spirit-filled believers who are not merely going through the rituals of Christianity but who are believing for and experiencing the miracles of the kingdom on a daily basis around the world.
The church kicked off on the Day of Pentecost with 3000 salvations in one day, but now this is being repeated around the globe every 25 minutes. The kingdom is advancing and his government is increasing.
We need to change the way we think and get ready for supernatural transformation!
Remember, Jesus became the foundation for our new life when he became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. So that we could be reconciled with God and restored to relationship with him as sons.
It is time for a radical change in our perspective, just like the man in John 9 who received his sight. He was born into the earth blind, but he was born again from heaven seeing. I believe he is a prophetic picture for us. The power of sin was broken in his life, and the power of righteousness was revealed. The perspective of righteousness over sin was revealed, the law of the spirit of life over the law of sin and death. The fear of man was broken, along with the fear of religious condemnation and the need for religious approval. The boldness of righteousness was restored as this man sees himself as God sees him. Proverbs tells us that the righteous are as bold as a lion. The works of God are revealed in him, the works and fruit of righteousness.
When the man heard everyone around him fussing about whether he was the guy who used to be blind he said, “I am….” He had a revelation that he was no longer bound by how others saw him or what others said about him. He had been set free to be who his heavenly Father designed him to be.
Remember what the word says in 1 John 4, “…as he is so are we in this world.”
He is Lord of heaven and earth, and as Lord of heaven and earth he has given us his authority to exercise on the earth in his name – just as though he was right here himself. As he is in heaven so are we on the earth. He hasn’t abandoned us to our own devices. He promised that he would not leave us as fatherless orphans. He has given us another helper. The Holy Spirit is with us to confirm his authority in and through us.
We need to catch this once and for all. I am who Abba says I am, I can do what Abba says I can do, and I can have what Abba says I can have. Were you ever challenged by a sibling regarding something that you had that they thought you shouldn’t have, and you
replied, “Dad said I could have it”. That settled it. There are lots of things that Abba says you can have. Let that settle it!
I am not God, and I will never be God, but I am a son of God, and that relationship has certain rights and privileges.
As I have been meditating on these things I have come up with a new word to describe this phenomenon – “revelationship”.
We simply need more revelation of the level of relationship that we have been brought into with our Abba Father.
2015 – A Year Of Great Change!
WOW!