…unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. John 12:24-25 NASU
As you are aware by now, life has its ups and downs, peaks and valleys. God draws us to Himself with both His goodness and the chastening of trials. No son or daughter goes without both His blessing and His discipline. The point of it all is a relationship with the Father that really does take us into our destiny… That’s a real “up,” by the way. The message of the resurrection is that we eventually land on our feet. The present application of that truth is that we can learn to land on our feet no matter what life hands us. Your dream can come true. Don’t let go!
We guard our hearts for the simple reason that the enemy’s primary tactic is to try to separate you from your dream and your destiny. If he can’t keep you out of heaven, the level of warfare is to keep you out of the Kingdom in this life. Attacks can come in relationships, health, finances, etc. I want to suggest that we have been given tools to prevail over it all.
The reason – Your heart needs a reason to reach your destiny. Most people really do coast through life and fail any sense of destiny. In fact, most Christians are content to live in mediocrity without even trying to achieve a dream. It’s much safer emotionally to just acknowledge the size of the giants, and stay out of the fight.
“Anyone will tell you that possibility is far more frightening than impossibility, that freedom is far more terrifying than any prison. If we do, in fact, have to deal with a force beyond ourselves that involves itself in our lives, then we may have to move into action on these previously impossible dreams.” The Artist’s Way, Pg 64
The plan, people and provisions to fulfill your dream start showing up when your heart knows the what, why, and how. Here’s the biggest key… put those things in writing.
Hearing and Writing – God is no respecter of persons. He speaks to everyone and He most often speaks to us through thoughts that come into our mind. We can take a thought from God or our heart, focus on it, and get it in writing so that it gives a direction. Most don’t give much credence to their thoughts, and let the voice of God slip through their fingers. Revelation is like a flash of light. If you don’t capture it with your attention and give it substance by writing it down, it will leave you with a sense of loss.
I started using a tool called “Morning Pages” from The Artist’s Way. Morning pages is simply hand writing 3 pages first thing in the morning. It’s data dump of heart’s desires, mental trash, good thoughts, bad thoughts, God thoughts, etc. Getting them all on paper without judging them puts you in a great position to easily discern the good from the not so good. Mark Vickler also has the same approach in a more Biblical format which he calls “Four Keys to Hearing God’s Voice.” See his summary with a video here.
Coaching – One of the ingredients that make our coaching tools powerful is getting your heart’s desires and a plan to achieve them in writing. This is powerfully simple and easy to do… and I’m continually amazed at how difficult it is for people to actually do it. Hearts quite often have very good reasons to avoid or sabotage our own success. It’s safer to lay low and be a servant! The extra risk to fail and fall from a higher level is very real. Then there is more responsibility, complicated relationships, and added stress. Our hearts are just trying to protect us from repeating a past failure. Virtually everyone has to rewrite the script on their hearts to achieve their Kingdom destiny. That’s the bottleneck. We call them heart boundaries… it’s the third step in our coaching module.
Capturing your destiny in writing is very intimidating, because you might have to try to make a dream come true. “Servant” takes much less courage than “King.” It even sounds spiritual… but it’s really fear… a broken heart hiding from the resurrection of a second chance.
The new – What I find really exciting is that God is raising up Kings in every mountain. They are first fruits and pioneers who are defining their dreams and pressing into the Kingdom. They know their mountain. They are not afraid of creating wealth and they have a plan to achieve the dream God placed in their heart.
This is what the Lord says — he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise. Isa 43:16-21 NIV
There are stirrings of discontent in the institution of religion. However, the issue is not that the church or pastors are doing something wrong. The solution isn’t to change the church. The answers your heart is seeking are all in the Kingdom. The church is an equipping organ to release Kings into their mountain. We thought the church was the goal. It’s not! It’s just a tool to equip the saints. The goal is the Kingdom. We’re here to fill the earth with His glory and bless the nations (Gen 12:2-3) and make disciples of nations (Mt 28:19).
We’re not looking for the perfect church. The church doesn’t have to change to meet our specifications and expectations… our hearts are hungry for the Kingdom.
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matt 6:33 NASU
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken… Heb 12:28
Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised… James 2:5 NIV
Jesus’ resurrection is not just a metaphor and it’s not just about going to heaven. Resurrection life is about you and I overcoming setbacks, inheriting our land and making a difference in this world.
Write your dream down on paper. Give your heart the reasons it needs to move from servant to King and join the party, doing what your Father is doing. Have fun, make money, love people… and build the Kingdom.
