God is asking, "Will you let me give you new eyes?"
This morning, I felt a battle pulsing. As I inquired of the Lord, he started showing me the battle that is raging over the paradigms about authority in the church.
He said, “This will be the lynchpin of the church in the coming days.” (I didn’t even know what lynchpin meant until I looked it up.) A kingdom understanding of authority will no longer be an optional selection on the buffet of Christian book topics. A functional kingdom revelation and understanding of the authority of Jesus (and His delegated authority through the ekklesia) will be non-negotiables on which all kingdom truths hold together.
For some, they’re so hungry to follow Jesus with abandon and extend his kingdom but they’ve felt a sort of internal conflict that’s kept them from engaging fully, and clarity around this revelation will free their feet up to run with joy and boldness.
The enemy has worked overtime to skew people’s understanding of what authority even is. The enemy has done his best to make authority synonymous with abuse, control, “patriarchy” and a greed for power. Some of us have unknowing allowed the enemy to hijack and counterfeit our concepts of authority to get us to disengage from our call.
In doing so, we’ve learned to play on the enemy’s terms by letting him control the conversation. Not anymore. God is confronting ideologies that have hindered the ekklesia from coming into maturity.
What I saw and what’s at stake
As the revelation of the authority of Jesus takes center stage, I saw many from denominations that typically would not teach on the authority of the believer in Christ would be awakened to a revelation of the authority of Jesus in His bride and that the clarity that revelation brought would cause the religious crust of past seasons to break off and evaporate as though they had never been a factor. The hunger and surrender of such a people will ignite into flame as God rushes through halls and homes with winds of healing, freedom, deliverance and with it, a holy boldness to proclaim Christ until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:26) The tables are turning and there will be many who drop off their denominational markers to rally under the name of Jesus.
I then saw some groups that were previously labeled charismatic or non-denominational drying up like wells gone dry because the authority of Jesus was traded for the opinion of men. To appease mainstream thought, only the Lamb side of Jesus is presented, but in doing so, they will have manufactured a Savior in their own image. Jesus is the Lamb and the Lion.
The authority of Jesus is as old as eternity (John 1, Revelation 13:8) but the revelation of His authority will be a both divine a divine separator and unitor as those who resist the lordship of Jesus fall away but those who have hungry, humble hearts unite under the Lordship of Jesus across denominational lines and backgrounds in ways that have never been seen before.
And so the bold and beautiful bride of Christ will rise in the authority of Jesus and millions in the valley of decision who are being awakened to the very real spiritual battle playing out before their eyes will recognize true authority. God is removing the delusion that man-made solutions can deal the giants of our time. There is a battle cry rising in the hearts of people “This isn’t the way things are supposed to be!” and it’s causing them to search for the One who’s pursued them from the beginning.
And the sons and daughters who ride in on those waves of revelation won’t accept tepid Christianity. They will live on mission and burn for the one thing: to see Jesus high and lifted up in their hearts, their homes and the nations of the earth.
It is imperative that we allow God to bring us into a revelation of His authority and lordship until it’s no longer theory, but practical and experiential. God is asking us, “Will you let me give you new eyes? Will you allow me to confront the film that keeps you from seeing rightly?”
We have to return.
We have to go back to the beginning. When God gave Adam dominion over the earth, he did it by giving him a family and a garden to tend. Both would grow, multiply, and extend through intimacy and servanthood as man rightly related to God and the stewardship God gave him.
We have to go back to the life of Jesus. Jesus confronted the worldly mindset of authority through His words and His life lived out as our example: “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, as to give His life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28
We have to return to the fear of the Lord. Though Jesus laid down his life, he did not pander to the opinions – whether good or bad – of people. He had one agenda and one agenda only: to live in alignment with the Father and His will. Proverbs 9:10 says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The church will not have the wisdom or empowerment she needs in the days ahead unless she returns to the fear of the Lord.
Here's an activation to use in your prayer time to take this before the Lord.
Activation:
I believe God is inviting us into a conversation. These are some things that were highlighted to me. I encourage you to meet with God, to give him complete access to places you may even feel you’ve already mastered and respond to his voice as he brings imperative alignment to His bride going forward.
God, I ask that you give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ. I ask you to reveal to me any lies that I’ve believe or any open door to the enemy that would keep me from surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus and walking in your authority as a surrendered son/daughter.
It is human tendency to live in reaction to the pain and paradigms of our past. In most cases, we aren’t even aware that we are doing so until the Holy Spirit reveals it to us through his word (Hebrews 4:12, John 16:13). This is why the prayer from Psalm 139:23-24 is so powerful. We invite the Lord to reveal mindsets in us that are amiss so that we can surrender to His ways, live in alignment with truth and be healed.
Some questions for him:
God, is there any place in my heart that is offended at you? (Matthew 11:6)
God, is there anything that has slimed my clarity around kingdom authority?
God, are there parents or other authority figures I need to forgive?
God, are there people who have abused authority (counterfeit authority) or misrepresented You that prompted me to live in reaction to error instead of in alignment with your kingdom truth?
God, is there any idolatry that would keep me from living in submission and alignment to the authority of Christ?
Because living in alignment with the authority of Jesus calls to the fire our entitlement, excuses, and mixture. Living in light of the authority of Jesus means that we can no longer pretend that our lives as sons and daughters don’t radically affect others. When we understand our place in Christ, we realize we’ve been given a sacred stewardship that requires faithfulness and responsibility. We are dethroned from the center of our own lives as God gives us His big picture once again.
Ask the Lord to show you any lie you’ve been believing.
Repent for unforgiveness or any lie you realized you had agreement with and forgive those who have hurt or offended you.
Renounce judgements or vows you made in pain or reaction to your experiences.
Ask God to fill those places with his love. Ask God to help you see those people through his eyes.
In the power of your blood, I break all agreement with the lies I believed (whatever God showed you) and the fear of man and I ask for the spirit of the fear of the Lord in my life.
Pour out your heart before the Lord. Journal His voice and write down scriptures that come to mind. Invite Him to heal and restore. Let Him fill you to overflowing as you surrender to His ways and respond to how good He truly is.
Lastly, let’s fortify our hearts by putting on the mind of Christ. Saturate your heart and mind with the Word of God. Books and resources are great, but don’t settle for secondhand. Our minds are renewed through His word. Meet with Him in His Word and engage with expectancy to be transformed and empowered in His kingdom.
Received 3/29/23