The video is here.
Why Purpose? – It doesn’t matter if I’m a millennial living paycheck to paycheck or a retiree traveling the world, life without a purpose beyond “self” is empty. For believers, the irony of life in the Kingdom is that when we seek “things” they (and our purpose) drift away from us. But, when we put His Kingdom “purpose” first, everything else gets added. Each of us has a purpose or book (Ps 139:16) in two dimensions: the first is our individual purpose that God has written in our hearts and the second is the Kingdom purpose of our nation. Knowing both is a lot of fun… it puts our life’s direction on steroids.
My purpose – Releasing Kings is all about connecting people with the Kingdom purpose God wrote on our hearts. The transition from servant to friend and King (Jn 15:15-17) happens when I give myself permission to pursue the desire or purpose in my heart. I become who God designed me to be. More here and here. Jesus delights to share the Father’s heart with us, so that we know “His business.”
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15-16
My life starts to make sense when my family, vocation, ministry and heart start to align around a common theme. My history (good and bad) is a tapestry that weaves the past, present and future into a Kingdom purpose. It’s a joy to make that connection. My life’s greatest thrill is to connect with my Father’s heart and co-labor with Him and see the results. That’s the message of Releasing Kings. We help people make those connections with their heart, history, vocation, ministry, mountain and calling.
My nation – There is another dimension to Kingdom. My purpose is one puzzle piece in the Kingdom, but also in my nation. God blesses and saves people, but He is also in the business of blessing and discipling nations. There is a unique calling or destiny on every nation (just like individuals). When we understand it and intentionally cooperate with our nation’s call it puts our individual purpose on another level.
How? – Once we have a perspective for God’s purpose on a nation, it’s not that hard to discern it. When we talk to people about their Heart Plan we are simply asking them what they want to do and seeing if it resonates prophetically with what is in the Father’s heart for them. When we find obstacles or confusion we heal broken hearts and trade wrong vows (ceilings) for open doors in the Kingdom.
If the blockage is natural, spiritual or generational, we use intercession and repentance in the Courts of Heaven. God has given a simple and powerful approach to accessing His throne room to unveil two things: 1) the accusations of the enemy that condemn us, and 2) the testimony of Jesus that paints our future. This fundamental key to prayer for individuals and nations is an experience in the presence of God that releases breakthrough in lives and nations.
Finding a Nation’s Kingdom Purpose – Just like individuals, we go shopping in a nation’s birth and history for themes in their Kingdom purpose and personality. We’re also asking the Lord to show us the book and we’re pulling the curtain back on current events and the Kingdom desires in the people, politics and commerce. Because we are embracing a reformation of culture at a 7 Mountain level, we are interested in seeing nations blessed in practical areas.
Take a look at the Legatum Prosperity Index and find your own nation. Their goal is to measure where people are happy. They call it a prosperity index because people are most happy when they are free, have free markets and able to prosper through their own entrepreneurial endeavors (Kingdom values). All the nations are ranked according to the categories below. Can you see the connection between this list and the 7 mountains?
Economic Quality – the openness of an economy, macroeconomic indicators, foundations for growth, economic opportunity, and financial sector efficiency.
Business Environment – entrepreneurial environment, its business infrastructure, barriers to innovation, and labor market flexibility.
Governance – three areas: effective governance, democracy and political participation, and rule of law.
Education – access to education, quality of education, and human capital.
Health – three areas: basic physical and mental health, health infrastructure, and preventative care.
Safety & Security – national security and personal safety.
Personal Freedom – progress towards basic legal rights, individual freedoms, and social tolerance.
Social Capital – the strength of personal relationships, social network support, social norms, and civic participation in a country.
Natural Environment – three areas: the quality of the natural environment, environmental pressures, and preservation efforts.
We can also see one glaring omission Legatum missed; “What is the Kingdom purpose for that nation?” When we, or a nation, intentionally cooperate with our Kingdom purpose and put that first, we get blessed… in the exact areas summarized above… and we can measure the progress. The obvious question the Lord is inviting us to ask is, “What is that purpose?”
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. Ps 2:8
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations… Matt 28:18-19 NIV
We’ve written about and touched on national themes in Poland and it has a powerful prophetic pull on the hearts of God’s people. National destinies are also written in our hearts and we resonate when we hear them. We’ve been working on the Netherlands to prepare conferences this fall. We will catch a vision for individual callings “and” see the context in the role God has for the Netherlands. That positions the Dutch to be strategic about their national destiny and intentional about cooperating with the next reformation – even on an international level. We will know, volunteer and contend for the things God has written in the Dutch Book! We’re already opening it and it’s exciting!
Listen to these verses for the word “nation.”
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth (nations) will be blessed through you.” Gen 12:2-3 NIV
And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: “‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations‘? Mark 11:17 NIV
And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. Rev 21:24-26 KJV
Suggestions:
Podcast #5 with Tyler McCart
Podcast #3 and #4 Micro-church– The most recent interviews with Shae Bynes
Podcast #1 and Podcast #2 – fun interviews with Steve Reiter and John Ramstead
Books – Releasing Kings and Desire to Destiny
Education Mountain Tools – David Nycz Interview http://releasingkings.com/david-nycz/
Heart Plan in Europe – HeartPlan.eu
The Dutch 7 Mountain Web site – http://mymountainmovement.com/
Building Kingdom Companies via Larry Nault http://www.buildingakingdomcompany.com/
Releasing Kings is available in French
“Libération des Rois pour le ministère dans le monde du travail”
ISBN: 978-90-78643-08-1
Releasing Kings is available in Dutch
“Moderne Koningen”
ISBN: 978-90-75226-71-3
