“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” (Eph 4:29)

Last Sunday was just an incredible day through and through. The Lord did so much in me… I wouldn’t know where to begin to tell it all. In the process of all that God did, I got an incredible revelation of the creative power of our words, and the Lord challenged me to live Ephesians 4:29.

Let no corrupt word proceed out of my mouth… what does that mean? Why is this so important? Our words havecreative power. The power of life and death is in our tongues. No, I’m not talking about causing a blue speckled elephant to pop out of thin air… but I am talking about the power to move mountains. I’m talking about the power to call forth creative miracles. I’m talking about the power to declare freedom and wholeness. On the other hand, our words also have destructive power…the power of death.  When we speak negatively, corruption occurs.

For years I’ve taken this verse to be “don’t swear, tell dirty jokes, or be coarse” but after last night’s encounter with the Lord I don’t think that’s what Holy Spirit was having Paul get at here. Although several translations do render this as curse words, swearing, telling dirty jokes, and the like, that’s not at all what the Greek says. When I ran a draft of this by Bill Perdue, my spiritual Dad, he sent me this:

most English translations do not translate the Greek word for corrupt properly … it is the word ‘sapros’ and literally means rotten or putrefied (decomposing, perishing) … it’s root is ‘sapo’ which carries the definition of rotten, destroy, or corrupt. Most translations tend to translate sapros as: (1) unwholesome talk (NIV); (2) let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth (MSG); don’t use foul our abusive language (NLT); stop all your dirty talk (contemporary English) … you get the point. That is why we have always equated this it cursing, course language, foul jokes, dirty talk, etc. This translation really misses the point Paul is trying to make … literally Paul is saying that we should be very careful because our words will evoke death causing immediate decay … rotten, putrefied, decomposing …

So therefore, a corrupt word is a word that corrupts. That can certainly include “dirty words” but it’s far more than that…it is any word that brings about decay, rottenness, decomposition.

If we speak what we see as true about a situation, but do not counter it with the Truth (the declaration of what we see in Heaven… the imposition of the superior reality over the inferior reality), the words we speak cause corruption.

If we speak death to something that is in trouble, chances are that it will in fact die. Why? Because our words have a creative/destructive power behind them; speaking death puts the spiritual force in motion for death to occur. It quite literally brings about a curse! Conversely, speaking life has the potential to bring life, healing, and wholeness to the situation. Speaking life imparts a blessing to the hearer.

Even apart from the supernatural force behind our words, if we truly believe something is wrong or dying we will not throw our weight behind fixing the problem. We’ll just sit back to wait for it to die, helping it along with our words, so we can move on to the next thing. (gee, that sounds like the eschatology of most of the American Church…no, not going down that rabbit trail! If you’d like to visit this topic, I highly recommend Kris Vallotton’s new book, Heavy Rain)

As I’m sitting here typing this I realize, too, that “corruption” often comes when we  label things (churches, systems, people, ourselves). This is a lesson the Lord’s been teaching me and it’s a very hard lesson. Labels come naturally to me. If I can sort things…and people… then it’s easy to understand how I am to relate to them. But the Lord’s blown up my label-maker and my database… and I’m having to figure out how to relate to the world around me, to other people, even to God and myself, without handy labels and definitions. How do labels and definitions corrupt? By causing separation to occur.

Remember, the purpose of de-finition is to create a box with walls of defense. If John is a Baptist and Joe is a Pentecostal and James is a Lutheran, there are walls up between them. They need to defend themselves against one another’s conflicting beliefs. However, if John, Joe, and James are all simply lovers of Christ, they can flow together as one Body…perhaps John is a foot and Joe is an eye and James is a hand, but they are all part of the Whole. Corruption in the form of definitions and labels is rather like James (the hand) determining that John (the foot) is not needed – after all, he’s not a hand – and cutting off the circulation to John so that he will wither and die and drop off from the body.

When we speak words of definition and separation over people (including ourselves), we are causing division by speaking corruption into their lives, thus cutting them off from the rest of the Body.

…but what is good for necessary edification…. What is necessary edification? (Some translations say, “good to the use of edification”) Necessary speaks of excellence and even business; it implies, “to be able to make use of”. It is needful for us to build up others, rather than tear them down. “To edify” is “to build up”. It is to promote growth. At its heart, edification is an honoring – to prefer another before ourselves, to sacrifice and build, even to promote another, to enable and allow them to become all that God has called them to be. Edification done “right” is not teaching or speaking the correct words, it is an act of fathering¹.

…that it may impart grace to the hearers… to impart is to give… and grace is a wonderful gift.

Do the words that proceed from my mouth impart grace? Or do they assume motive and speak judgment? (oh this might get a little bit too convicting) The assumption of motives and the speaking of judgment corrupt people and situations. It’s speaking death, not life. (Not to mention that we have no right to sit in the judgment seat!)

In the Greek, this type of giving/impartation implies the giving of something that one has within themselves… how much grace do I have to give? (How much grace has God given to me?) And whenever I’m not giving grace…what AM I giving?

Grace is not “just” forgiveness and unmerited favor (daiyenu, Lord ²)… it’s empowerment. It implies that creative force behind the words. Speak life – why? Because it imparts grace to the listener. It empowers them to DO. It stimulates growth, it kindles the fire, it enables them to move forward in the life plan of God. It allows them to escape from corruption; life defeats death.

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

What is the opposite of corruption? Incorruption.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, neither does corruption inherit incorruption….we shall all be changed…the dead will be raised incorruptible… For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:50-54)

When something dies, it corrupts… the flesh decays. It rots. Lazarus stunk after four days in the tomb. When our words are corrupt, they bring about death… and stinking!

The solution is to be changed… to be translated from death into life… to speak life, to edify and build up, to impart grace… to walk in victory. Do my words corrupt? or have they been transformed? Have I put on incorruption and immortality? Am I seeing into heaven and speaking and bringing about immortality and incorruptibility into lives and situations?

Romans 12:2 admonishes us to refuse to be conformed to the world’s standards, but rather be transformed by the renewing of our minds. The world’s standard is death. God’s standard is life. With our words, we either conform to death or we become transformed and in turn, we become transformers into life for those around us.

I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19)

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New Day the Church at High Point is holding its second semester of Healing School on September 18th from 9-4:30 (registration at 8:30). If you are involved in healing ministry at any level, or want to be – or if you just want to find out what this “healing stuff” is all about – please come!  All are welcome (whether you were at the first School or not).

Registration is $25 and includes lunch; pay at the door. You must, however, register in advance and get details at New Day’s website.

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment here, email, or call me!

The title of this post is a paraphrase of a question I asked a friend a few minutes ago - ”Will you die so that you can live?”

I don’t post this to toot my own horn or say “Look at what I’ve done!” … I post it to say, “Look what God has done in me… and what He wants to do in you!”

Jesus said, ”For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

The past eight months of my life have been an exploration of the limits of this verse… and I’m sure I am not done yet (nor will I ever be)…

I’ve lost my life… my identity…my name… my theology… my dreams and desires… my home… my reputation… my independence…my money…my marriage… my kids… my friendships… my ministry… (and notice, the “my” that precedes each of those items… as if I owned them!) I’m learning to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, not seek first anything that could be preceded by the word “my”.

No, I didn’t physically die. No one stole my identity. I haven’t gone to court to change my name. We still own our home and Ken and I are still married and we’re fiscally solvent. Although we’re taking a short break, we’re still actively involved in ministry.

And yet for Christ’s sake I have lost every one of them. He asked me to lay them down. If I’d desired to save them as they were, I would have lost them – and lost everything in the process. I had to die to self and allow Him to blow each of those things up – I’ve used the phrase “shattered” a lot recently because that’s what it feels like. I’ve had to allow Him to re-form all of those things… so that my life and identity and name and theology are in Him, so that I truly know the answer to the “two questions” (who is He, who am I)… so that all that I possess is in Him… so that all of my relationships are in Him… so that all that I do is in Him… In order to live each of these things had to die.

Radical reformation is impossible if we try to save our lives or the things in them.

“There is desirable treasure, and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man squanders it.”
Proverbs 21:20
“…to whom much is given, from him much will be required…”
Luke 12:48

I posted this as a facebook status update yesterday, and a friend asked me what it means.

The first verse (Proverbs 21:20) hit me like a ton of bricks while I was in the midst of receiving sozo ministry. I had been controlled by fear for most of my life and I’d determined that I wanted it gone, no matter what.  Dealing with the roots of that fear was complex, difficult, and painful (and worthwhile, because it is gone completely now!). I came to understand that God had placed great treasure within me and that it was foolish to allow fear to control me to the point that I squandered that treasure.

There is desirable treasure and oil in the dwelling (house) of the wise…

Those who follow Christ are wise… and what is the desirable treasure and oil? It’s the presence of God within us. He literally indwells us… our hearts become His resting place. We are the treasure chest of the Almighty.

Jacob had a power encounter with God and said, “Surely the Lord is in the place, and I did not know it.” “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven!” And he called the name of that place Bethel [Beth-El, House of God] (Genesis 28:16,17,19).

Surely the Lord is in this place… and for the believer, where is the Lord? Within us!

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells within you?” (1 Cor 3:16)

We are the house of God… the temple of God… we are Bethel. The reason we are Bethel is because Holy Spirit lives within us.

Jesus said, “And the glory which You gave me I have given to them… “ (John 17:22)

We must always remember that we are filled with the same Holy Spirit as Jesus was. He didn’t get more, or a stepped-up version… He didn’t get first class and relegate us to economy class… God does not give Holy Spirit by measure. Jesus needed to be anointed and so do we. Apart from that anointing, we can do nothing. With that anointing – with Holy Spirit – we can do anything. Jesus said we would do even greater works than He did, and that nothing will be impossible for us (John 14:12, Matthew 17:20).

Furthermore, when Jesus said we should pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”, He was declaring to us that every heavenly resource is available not only to us… but within us! Remember, we *are* earth; God created us from the dust of the ground. It would be perfectly appropriate to pray, “Your will be done IN ME as it is in Heaven!” When Holy Spirit is within us, the Kingdom of God is within us (Luke 11:20, 17:21) and we carry that glory, that power, that Kingdom, that treasure and oil, with us everywhere we go. We are mobile treasure chests of glory.

But is treasure any good to anyone if it’s squandered? If we waste the glory of God on foolish things, we ourselves are foolish.

Some waste the treasure on worry and fear. That is what I did. I was so afraid of what people would think of the treasure within me that I spent the treasure on keeping it well-hidden. Fear led to a false sense of humility; I would only bring out little bits and pieces of the treasure every now and then.

Others squander the treasure within them on things that look good, but by themselves do not profit. Bill and I were talking about parties yesterday – we happen to be a part of a church that loves a Holy Ghost party. We love it when God moves in such power that we all get drunk and fall on the floor and howl with laughter. We love when people are so overcome in the glory that they have to be carried out of the building on cots and they don’t come conscious until the next day. We love that! Wouldn’t trade it, do away with it, or wish He’d not do that.

However… the party is not the only thing. The party has a purpose – enjoying His presence has a purpose – it’s building love and trust, to make us open for Him to move in great power. If the party doesn’t lead the gathering to repentance, to healing, to prophecy, to deliverance, to bringing reformation to the city… the party has no purpose and we have squandered the treasure of God.

To whom much is given, much will be required… God has given us the greatest treasure in the universe… the gift of Himself. Much is then required of us. He does not give us Himself so that we can squander Him and His glory… not to waste His presence nor to spend it upon ourselves… this treasure is meant to be shared. We cannot have all of Him unless we give all of Him away. To be filled with all of the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19) is not to receive a one-time measure… it is to be continually overflowing… our cups running over with His very presence! We’re to pour out that Presence everywhere we go, in everything we do.

Just as Jesus spent His blood for our freedom… we must spend His presence… the desirable treasure and oil within us… for freedom. Jesus gave us authority to “spend” the anointing of Holy Spirit when He said, “Go…” (Matthew 28:18,19)… “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8)

Freely you have received this desirable treasure and oil within you… freely give. To whom all has been given, all will be required… to receive Him we must give Him to receive more and more of Him…

My husband and I were privileged to hear Bill Johnson preach on Saturday night. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing and we’re very glad we decided to go!

The entire message was excellent – he taught about Ephesians 3:14,15 – “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” – great stuff. Yet two tiny sentences spoken near the end of the message impacted me the most:

Hate is not an emotion. Hate is authority.

He really didn’t elaborate on the comment (I’d love to hear his take on it sometime), but it hit me like a ton of bricks and I’ve spent the last few days pondering this truth: Love and hate are not merely emotions. They are authority.

We chalk it both love and hate up to emotion – some would even say, “uncontrollable emotion” – but both go far deeper than that. Most emotions and actions can be reduced to a common denominator of “love” or “hate”… it could be said that love is the authority that empowers joy, happiness, compassion, and patience, while hate is the authority that empowers anger, depression, sadness, and fear. And, like most Kingdom principles, we find ourselves in the middle of a paradox:

Hate is the sort of authority that controls you, and sometimes controls the one who is hated.
Love, conversely, is the sort of authority that empowers both us and the recipient of the love. Love also trumps the authority of hate.

There is a difference between disliking something and hating it, and a difference between liking something and loving it. Some people “hate” things they don’t like – “I really hate choruses (or hymns),” or “I hate blue carpet.”. Some people “love” things that they really like. For example, I love fresh, tree-ripened mangoes. But what I really mean is that I like them very much.

We talk about loving and hating things, but really, even when it comes to thinks, we are loving and hating people. What complex relationships we weave!

Some people hate folks who are different from them … hate is the backbone of racism, classism, sexism, violence, abuse, and a whole lot of other ism’s and ills. Other people hate individuals – the ex-wife, the mother-in-law, the evil boss, that person who hurt them… even themselves. Some people love – they love people, they love those who hurt them; even complete strangers sense the love coming their direction.

When we hate someone, we are controlled by that hatred. If one hates their mother-in-law, they will go to great lengths to avoid her. When they can’t avoid her, they will treat her badly. They will speak evil of her to others and try very hard to influence others to come into agreement with us and join in hating her. Conversely, one who loves their mother-in-law will want to spend time with her, treat her well, and will speak well of her and incite others to do likewise. They are able to do this even if they happen to dislike some things she does. See the difference?

Love and hate should not be reduced to matters of personal preference; when we do that, we get out of balance. It takes no authority to dislike blue carpet, or even our mother-in-law, and it’s ok if we do. We are “wired” to prefer certain things over others. Some like vanilla, others like chocolate.

On the other hand, it takes a lot of authority to hate. When we simply dislike something, we have no ownership or control over it. When we hate it, however, we assert “the right” to control it. And when it comes down to it, we may “hate blue carpet” but we express this by hating and controlling those who disagree. (This is why fights erupt in churches over the color of the carpets or the style of the music)

It takes even more authority to love something or someone… and when we love, we relinquish the right to control or manipulate! Love does not seek its own (1 Cor. 13:5).

This is a vitally important Kingdom principle – the authority of hate makes us rulers of everyone around us. We must “assert our rights” and take charge of the situation. The authority of love honors others and makes us servants of all, with “rights” to nothing, honoring and giving preference to others (Philippians 2:3)… the very thing that Jesus did. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)

Our original purpose – the purpose Jesus restored us to – is to have dominion through the radical power of love. Hate is a corruption, a perversion, of the influence that gives us dominion.

When we hate a person or organization, we are trying to control them. All of our focus and energy goes into hatred, into seeking that control (ironically, it’s rare that we get our way in these situations; if we do, it’s rarer still that we’re happy about having gotten our way). Hate’s authority then controls us, dictating our actions and fueling our emotions (anger, bitterness, depression, fear). We structure our lives around that negativity. A person who hates will make every effort to insulate and isolate themselves from the object of their hatred. Yet because that hatred is in the forefront of their mind, they will spend a great deal of time in the presence of that which they hate!  Conversely, a person who loves others will focus on that love; their actions and emotions are also driven by that love. They will structure life and activity around that love. They will experience joy, peace, and compassion, and will genuinely enjoy the presence of the one they love.

Hatred often doesn’t really affect the one you’re hating, except to hate you in return. So many people are caught up in hating their parents, or the driver who caused a car wreck, or the thief who stole from you… and that person doesn’t even know or care that you hate them, or they hate you just as much as you hate them and it becomes a cycle that simply begets more hate. Things reproduce after their kind. Like begets like. Hatred produces more hatred… love produces more love. When we hate, nothing changes. All that authority and energy is wasted. The only thing that stops the cycle is the choice to love.

Love always affects the person who is loved. A person who is loved is empowered to step out in faith and assurance, rather than in fear. They are empowered to love you back, to love themselves, to love others, to love the Lord. When we choose to love, rather than hate, everything changes. All that authority and energy is properly utilized.

Hate can also be transferred to others. It spreads from person to person. One might automatically think of the KKK or Nazi Germany, but how about this – the 20th/21st Century Church has developed a hatred of this world and is eagerly anticipating the imminent escape of all believers and destruction of the planet and all that’s in it. That misplaced hatred has resulted in misplaced authority; it controls the church and keeps us focused on the wrong thing entirely, and keeps us from our destiny.

Love can likewise be transferred to others. It spreads from person to person. A person who is loved will, in turn, love others… who will love others… love is contagious authority. People who receive love desire to love in return.

Love trumps hate’s authority, stopping it in its tracks. This is why Jesus said we should love our enemies!
Why can’t we just hate them? After all, they’re out to get us. They deserve to be hated! Here’s why:  He didn’t give us what we deserved; likewise, we cannot give others what we feel they deserve. Love carries the power to heal. Hate carries the power to harm. Love transforms, hate corrupts. Only love brings the radical reformation of the Kingdom.

We generally think of “hate” in a negative sense and “love” in a positive sense, but that is not always true. Hating something is not always a  bad thing; if we hate sin, for example, we will go to great lengths to avoid it, speak badly of it to others, and even run away from it. Loving sin gets you into all sorts of trouble. But loving sinners brings the power of the Kingdom of God upon them… love empowers them to leave sin and be transformed in Christ!

Love and hate are both powerful because as a man thinks in his heart, so he is. We become like the object of our focus. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. We can’t help but tell everyone when we’re in love, or when we’re in hate. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. We have the power to speak life in love to someone… or death in hate over them.

Which authority will you choose to use today?

A spiritual inheritance is about making us more effective and efficient in our representation of the King and His Kingdom. It is not about self promotion or self gratification. It simply is not for our consumption! It is to open the gateway of Heaven to the world around us … to bring heaven in greater influence to a larger audience. We must become aware of what is rightfully ours … ‘but those things that are revealed belong to us and our children forever.’ This is the inheritance of the Church … to walk in the supernatural power of God, to open the gates of heaven, to free the world from the grip of darkness, to be ‘His-story’ makers. You are an heir with Christ to the promises of the Kingdom. Paul in Galatians 4:6-7 and Romans 8:15-17 makes it clear that we are no longer slaves but sons. We are heirs of God and co-heir with Christ to the abundant promises and blessing of the Kingdom. James echoes this promise when he declares that we are ‘heirs of the Kingdom which He promised’ (James 2:5). The finished work of the cross validates our position and standing as being adopted into the Kingdom thereby granting us access to the abundance of heaven’s blessings. It’s all our! We are no longer orphans but sons of the creator of the Universe.

The Greek root word for heir is a legal term that indicates ‘a right being obtained by partitioning.’ Simply stated, you obtain by allotment the rights of a son the portion that is rightfully his. The promises of the Kingdom are yours. The problem is we don’t believe this and therefore never appropriate what is rightfully ours. The resources of heaven are at our disposal and the world is waiting for the Church to seize that reality. Think about it, the abundant riches of heaven are waiting for the Church to begin acting like a son. We also have at our disposal the rich spiritual inheritance of previous revivals passed along to us by past generations. The spiritual knowledge and experience gained by those outpourings must become the apostolic foundation of the Church that is fully energized by the mandate to build a Church that cultivates and lives in a ‘lifestyle’ of radical reformation. We become a Church where the flow of God’s river never subsides and access to the abundant power of heaven is readily available. The Church becomes a community of believing believers where the power of God is evident in their everyday experience.

The problem is no generation in history has effectively passed on the spiritual momentum generated by revival. Basically, no generation has effectively raised up the next to carry the anointing or sustain the outpouring of the Spirit and then take it to the next level. Territory once gained and occupied by the Church is lost and the enemy repossesses familiar ground that was lost by the advancement of the Church moved by the power of revival. In essence, as the wells of revival are capped, we must start over again. Because of this ‘pattern’, the Church believes revival is sporadic (patchy, random, periodic). Revival arrives ‘just in the nick of time’ to give the Church a ‘shot in the arm’, new enthusiasm, new hunger and ne energy … a ‘pit stop’ for refueling. Revival becomes and exception and not the norm (standard, model, type). This was not God’s intention and was not he model or legacy Jesus left us. Revival must become the standard of everyday life and not the exception. It must become a lifestyle and not ‘a special meeting’ that occurs every now and the. Signs, wonders, and miracles are normal to the Gospel and they are part of the normal Christian life. We were never intended to love outside the outpouring of Pentecost. He takes us from ‘glory to glory’ (2Cor.3:18). He is progressive in every move He makes. The nature of the Kingdom is that ‘of the increase of His government’ (Isa.9:7). The tragedy of history is that revival comes and goes. Subsequent generations build monuments around the achievement of the previous generations but never completely receive and occupy their spiritual territory. Perhaps we are not willing to pay the same price; form organizations around past movements to preserve and defend the idea but not the practice; or they inherit territory but fail to develop it and therefore lose it.

Is it possible to live in inherited territory without advancing or developing that territory? To see the Kingdom advanced, we must be willing to expand and enlarge. The quickest way to lose ground is to take up a posture of defending what you have instead of working to increase it. To chose not to expand and increase is to choose to lose the very thing we are trying to protect (Matt.25, Parable of the Talents).

Bill Perdue

VP ESH – Standards

The AHFA

336-884-5000, x1017

276-806-2014m

bperdue@ahfa.us

Duty – Honor – AHFA

Kingdom vision is encouraging and energizing. It focuses our faith and is released with the permission of our mind. Our minds must be transformed from the earthly, natural, and reasonable thinking that holds faith back to heavenly thinking that releases us to Kingdom living. The Kingdom is infinite, encompassing and challenges the mind of man to ‘repent because the Kingdom of God is at hand’ (Matthew 3:2). The challenge is a mandate to accept the eternal and infinite rule of God as normal in our everyday life … revival become a lifestyle and the Kingdom goes where we go. Faith becomes an action verb, things happen, darkness is pushed back, lives are changed … aren’t we tired of talking about a Gospel of power and seeing no demonstration of it?

The challenge before us is to give ourselves completely to the full purpose of God by allowing our mind to be transformed … our thinking altered, the way we see things radically repositioned. This shift will grant us access to a supernatural life style that will challenge us to do greater works … do you believe this? If you don’t then you need to change your perspective. This reformation in the way we think will put us in a position where the reality of heaven comes crashing into earthly problems and simply overwhelms them. The results are astonishing miracles, great victories over the power of darkness, healing, deliverance, revelation … just a normal, authentic daily life style for the believer … affliction and darkness are completely vanquished. Kingdom reality annihilates earthly affliction. What a revolutionary way to live or is it just a return to the authentic. We must begin to see through the eyes of heaven to understand that it is God’s intention for His church to be actively involved in the main activity of the Kingdom … defeating the works of darkness. There must be eagerness within the believer to return to the word and believe that we are called to a life of miracles, spiritual intervention, revelation, peace, joy, love and a sense of well-being and purpose. There is an appetite for the impossible that cannot be ignored … it’s just built into our DNA. Our hearts know that there is much more to life than what we perceive with our senses … see, smell, taste, touch, and hear. We are spiritually agitated by the lack of connection with the real of the supernatural. The bottom line for the believer is seeing the impossible bow to the name of Jesus … anything less is abnormal and unfulfilling.

Bad teaching and disappointment have robbed many people of this reality. We must allow the Spirit of wisdom to draw out the deep things of our hearts. Today we live in an unprecedented hour where the church is hungering for and stepping into her destiny to fulfill the purposes of God for mankind on earth. The most amazing part of all this is we get to be part of it. The normal Christian life begins with the fundamental principle that we (the body of Christ) were put here to do the will of God on earth as it is in heaven.

This command comes in the middle of a discourse about God’s provision for us which could be summed up as, “Don’t worry. God’s got you.” Because of the context, it’s way too easy to see the “all these things shall be added to you” without considering the imperative, “Seek first.”

Seek… the Greek verb is zēteō, and it means literally, “To seek in order to find.” This is not philosophical suggestion Jesus was making – “seek” is a command to us, and both the Kingdom of God and His righteousness are real and attainable by us. This is God’s expectation for His people; we are commanded to go after, to find, to get the Kingdom and His righteousness.

This verb is an imperative, and can have a connotation of expecting or even demanding something of the one who owns something. For example, if I am seeking apples and you own an apple tree, I’m not saying, “Please, may I have an apple?” – I’m saying, “Give me an apple” with the expectation that you will indeed do so!

Jesus used different language but a similar sentiment when He said we should pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.”¹ This is also phrased as an imperative, which “expresses a command to the hearer to perform a certain action by the order and authority of the one commanding.”²

Yes – Jesus really did say, “Command God to perform an action”… but remember, this isn’t “Your money or your life” – this is relational, borne in covenant. We’re not exercising dominion over God, but dominion with Him, by His invitation. In a parallel passage, Jesus says, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good, pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” (Luke 12:31,32)

Daddy in Heaven wants us to seek so that He can give! It is the glory of God to conceal a matter… and the glory of kings to search or seek it out.³ To paraphrase Bill Johnson – God doesn’t hide things from us. He hides them for us. He delights in us seeking and finding His treasures.

And so we must seek the Kingdom and righteousness first… which means simply, “first”. Not second, not an afterthought, not later, not when it’s convenient, not when it’s easy… it means, “first.” When Jesus said, “Do not worry”, what He was getting at was, “don’t let all this other stuff of life distract you from your primary purpose.” Not only should we not worry or be distracted by material concerns like family matters or the economy… we also shouldn’t be distracted by what God is doing. Miracles, signs, and wonders abound and where should our focus be? “Seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness”… always.

That which is in first place has the place of absolute priority. Nothing else can be more important to us than this pursuit.

Why? Not because our “stuff” doesn’t matter to God. He cares about the things we care about very, very much. In fact, His care for us is evident in this command. Kingdom means, “the King’s domain,” and refers to the area over which the King has dominion. Therefore, when we seek first the Kingdom, “all these things” of life come under His dominion through our total, willful submission to and partnership with that dominion. Furthermore, when His righteousness is our priority (nothing else takes its place, it’s not put off, it’s not shed because it’s inconvenient), all that we do is from a place of right standing with God.

It’s not our righteousness, it’s not something we earn or achieve; it’s His righteousness we must seek. The word “righteousness” has a sense of justice or getting what one deserves. Thank God that we don’t get what we deserve – Jesus took that for us so that we could get what He deserves!

In His righteousness, we are as we ought to be, as He longs for us to be… and we know who we are and who He is. Everything we do flows from the purity of that relationship, and “nothing shall by any means hurt you”.⁴ The enemy has no legal right when we are clothed in God’s righteousness.

Consider the things that must bow to the dominion of God: sin, disease, death, poverty, demons, depression, despair, the list goes on.  Every sin, every sickness, every storm, and every spirit is 100% subject to Him. Focusing on them does not bring change – in fact, focusing on sin, sickness, storm or spirit just exalts satan. Remember, we become like what we see. If all we see is our trouble, sooner or later we’ll start looking like it.

How do we see transformation in a situation? Jesus said that if He casts out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.⁵ He also said, “The Kingdom of God is within you.”⁶ God does not want us to keep His Kingdom within us… He commanded, “Freely you have received, freely give”⁷.

When we encounter a situation, be it storm, sickness, sin, or spirit, we must release the Kingdom – the King’s dominion, by Holy Spirit – upon that situation. We cannot release what we do not possess… and therefore, we must seek first the Kingdom of God.

1. Matthew 6:10
2. For parsing information, see Blue Letter Bible – Help, Tutorials, and FAQs
3. Proverbs 25:2
4. Luke 10:19
5. Matthew 12:28
6. Luke 17:21
7. Matthew 10:8

That’s a far cry from the teaching that we must die again and again, and suffer endlessly, isn’t it? But doesn’t God say that’s precisely what we’re supposed to do? Not exactly.

I am going to start off by paraphrasing Bill Johnson, who said he gets asked, “Well, what about Job?” He responds, “I don’t know. I’m not a disciple of Job’s. I’m a disciple of Jesus. Job was the question. Jesus is the answer.” And so I say, “I”m not a disciple of suffering. I’m a disciple of Jesus. Suffering is the question. Jesus is the answer.”

Yes, the Word says a LOT about suffering… and even that we’re supposed to suffer. But how? Take a look: [search for all forms of "suffer" in NT] What kind of suffering is it? In what context will we suffer? The context is clearly about suffering persecution for being a Christian… from the government, from the religious, from our families, friends, neighbors, unbelievers, fellow believers. And yes – that sort of suffering is going to happen. We should rejoice in it. I will (someday) address the topic of suffering persecution in another post.

That’s not the sort of suffering and pain I’m going to discuss below. The kind of suffering I’m talking about (and, I believe, my friend was saying God wants us to endure) is the effects of sin, sickness, disease, poverty, death, destruction, and so on.

NOWHERE does the Bible say we’re supposed to take whatever comes down the pike and endure it for any reason: not to make us better people, not to show the world how strong God is, not to “partake in the sufferings of Christ”.

Will suffering happen? YES! We will encounter sickness, disease, unexpected bills, storms, sin, destruction, poverty, mayhem. NOWHERE does the Word of God say we should accept and put up with such things. NOWHERE. Rather, Jesus taught us to overcome these things; we are to do what He did, and do even greater works than He did. He set the bar high… and said we would surpass it.

Might God allow these things into our lives to teach us how to overcome? Yes, perhaps. I think that sometimes when bad things happen, it could be Him, poking at us, provoking us to grow. Not to make us suffer… never to make us suffer… but to cause us to become overcomers. To refine us, to transform us into the image of His Son… to teach us to do what He did… to cause us to choose victory in Jesus rather than defeat… to cause us to live out “on earth as it is in heaven”, to cause us to advance the Kingdom of God.

(To be perfectly clear and well-rounded about circumstances, they’re also caused because sometimes we do stuff (free will is a powerful force), sometimes the devil does stuff… and sometimes stuff just happens.)

If we choose to suffer – to grin and bear it – rather than overcome, we are NOT living in the will of God… we are living in direct opposition to it.

The fact that suffering occurs does not mean that we must PUT UP AND SHUT UP. Jesus never did, and He never said that we should tolerate it.

What do you do when you encounter the sick or the brokenhearted? HEAL THEM.
What do you do when you encounter demons? CAST THEM OUT.
What do you do when you encounter a storm? TELL IT “PEACE, BE STILL”.
What do you do when you encounter someone who’s unclean? CLEANSE THEM.
What do you do when you encounter death? RAISE THE DEAD.
What do you do when you encounter hunger? FEED THEM.
What do you do when you encounter sin? FORGIVE and BE FORGIVEN.

Psalm 103 is an astonishing promise from God – The benefits He gives His children include the forgiveness of all of our sins, the healing of all of our diseases, the redeeming of our lives from destruction, crowning us with lovingkindness and tender mercies, the satisfaction of our mouths with good things, our youth renewed like the eagle’s. The Scripture renders these promises as absolutes, and God backs them up with 2 Corinthians 1:20 (YES! AMEN!)

Isaiah 53 makes it clear that Jesus paid for six things – our griefs, our sorrows, transgressions, our iniquities, our peace, and our healing. These are things that He bought and paid for. If He bore our grief and our sickness… why do we cling to it? If He was chastised for our peace, how dare we refuse it, saying, “God is perfecting me through this suffering” …How dare we say to Jesus, “Your suffering wasn’t good enough… I must suffer myself in order to become perfect.” Shouldn’t we instead become perfect through the Son who suffered in our place?

What’s more… how dare we say, “My experience trumps what Your Word says.”

Jesus did not bless a single storm for coming to teach the disciples a lesson. He did not turn away a single sick person saying, “God gave you this sickness to make you a better person.” He never said to the hungry, “Missing a meal will make you grow in God.” The Savior never said to a single person, “You’re beyond redemption.” He busted up every funeral He ever attended. He violated every religious and social norm – eating, drinking, hanging out with whores, tax collectors, lepers, adulterers, the unclean, and all sorts of sinners. He never told any of them that God was going to perfect them by making them suffer… not even for the consequences of their sins. Instead He reached down, lifted them up out of the dirt, and filled them with abundant and everlasting life.

In fact, in every one of those situations, Jesus EXPECTED people to do something. He expected the disciples to calm the storm, to heal the sick, to feed the hungry, to raise the dead, to lead people to redemption…

To say that suffering is a Christian virtue that makes us more Christ-like is wrong. He expects us to overcome with the authority He’s given to us.

We have made cross-carrying a career opportunity instead of a one-day event.

My friend made a point: “After all, Jesus Himself did say that we’re supposed to “take up our cross daily“, didn’t He? Besides, isn’t the Christian life supposed to be one of suffering and pain? That’s what God said! ” (note: that’s my paraphrase and reflects my perception of what she said… )

Well, yes, He did… and no, He didn’t. Let’s look at this concept of “taking up our cross” and see what it means:

• Matthew 10:38: And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
• Matthew 16:24: Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
• Mark 8:34: When He had called the people to [Himself], with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
• Mark 10:21: Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
• Luke 9:23: Then He said to [them] all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Five verses that all say essentially the same thing… one of which says, “take up the cross daily“.

Let’s look first at what “Follow Me” means. We’re to take up our cross and follow Him. Follow means, “Where You go I’ll go… what You do, I’ll do”… so where did He go, and what did He do? How often did He do it?

He is not eternally on the cross. He is not eternally suffering for our sins. He is not the eternally dying/raising to die and rise again “god” of the pagans. IT IS FINISHED!

Jesus said to follow Him…the Greek verb for “follow” (akoloutheō) is rendered in the imperative mood, making it a command. It means “to accompany or join with”. We are commanded to follow, to go along, to join with Him, to identify with Him… to go where He went… and to go where He goes.

Well… He isn’t hanging on the cross still, is He? How do we follow Him?

ONCE we are to take up the cross, ONCE get nailed to it, ONCE die, ONCE be taken down off it, ONCE be buried, ONCE be raised from the dead, and NOW be seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. It’s all there in Romans 6 and Ephesians 2… this is how we’re to follow Him. WE MUST DIE!

But once the dying’s done, WE MUST LIVE!  And once we’re living, we are no longer citizens of this world, but citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. Once we’re dead… and living… what is there to continually crucify?

Taking up the cross is a one-time event. Not our career. The Cross is finished work.

So why does Luke say that a man must, “take up his cross daily“? How can something that is finished happen again and again? That seems very incongruous and completely at odds with what what Scripture clearly says, as outlined above.

This word, “daily”, is hēmera in the Greek (ἡμέρα, G2250). It can indeed mean “daily” in the context of “do something on Monday. Do it again on Tuesday. Do it again and again; Lather, Rinse, Repeat.” However, it can also mean collectively, “all the days of your life” AND it can mean “one single day or point in time”. It comes from root words that mean to be disciplined or tamed, to wait in a season. The primary particle “kata” further modifies and intensifies this. I’m no Greek scholar (working on that), but it seems to make the whole phrase mean, “throughout one’s days”.

Romans 6 clearly teaches this death, our crucifixion, as a one-time event. We are to die and be reborn… and then (as my friend Lee O’Hare says)…quit practicing necromancy upon our old man… we must quit trespassing on that which is God’s. “Daily” in this context means something that begins at one point and then continues for the rest of our lives, unbroken… not something we must repeat again and again.

That which is dead is dead – for us to haul the old man up out of the ground and crucify him again and again is to say that Christ’s death on the cross and the salvation He offers was not good enough to be “once and for all”. In fact, this belief that we must crucify ourselves “daily” comes dangerously close to saying that we can be saved one day, unsaved the next (oops, didn’t crucify myself today), and then re-saved the following day. That’s works-based religion, not biblical salvation.

While I don’t believe that the Bible teaches the unconditional perseverance of the saints, I do see – quite clearly – that if we’re in Christ, our salvation is 100% secure.

We are supposed to die… and then we are supposed to LIVE forevermore.

That’s a far cry from the teaching that we must die again and again, and suffer endlessly, isn’t it? But doesn’t God say that’s precisely what we’re supposed to do? Not exactly.

To be continued in Part 2