Great conversationalists know how to engage the right people, in the right place, with the right questions. Sonship is built around that skill; to ascend to God’s Council and have the relational conversations. Those living words from timely dialogue with Father, Jesus, and the 7 Spirits form the prophetic basis of who we are, why we’re here, and where we’re going. Our hearts are all asking those three questions.

• Sons know what questions to ask, and
• Who to ask, and where to ask them

My prayer used to be about 5 minutes of asking Father to produce my wish list and having some verses to incentivize Him. I had several iterations of charismatic prayer beads that could make it last longer, but it wasn’t better. He didn’t obey me! He’s not the genie in my spiritual bottle!

Now it’s a remarkable dialogue, 9 conversations around what’s in Father’s heart and what He’s put in my heart. Each of us have 9 aspects or topics that outline the conversations. Each of the Seven Spirits have a specialty in those areas and we have 9 short videos that expand the likely topics for each. It’s exciting to hear what they have to say. Here’s a roadmap of the transformations that come from those conversations in the Council.

I take notes from the Council Conversations and transcribe them. In one of the sessions, we focused on my specific Identity, Story, Purpose, Strategy, Tactics, Heritage, Courage, Clarity, and Culture (John’s Roadmap to Sonship). You too can go to the Council with a focus on four applications:

• For your own general direction in those 9 categories similar to John’s example.
• For your relational conversations several times a week (Example that inspired this blog).
• The Council graphic can be roadmap for intercession for others.
• Your own prophetic Seer gift comes alive in the council:
  1. We’re saying what Father says (Jn 12:49, 8:38)  – Living, prophetic words
  2. We’re doing what we see Father doing (Jn 5:19) – Fruit-full, miraculous works

Here’s how you can frame the questions and start the conversations.

#1).  Who Am I?

Answering this one is a foundation built around:

• Your Identity – How did God create you, your talents, desires, dreams?
• Your Story – How is Jesus redeeming your past, present and future
• Your Purpose – How is Holy Spirit unpacking the truth of your role in the Kingdom

These questions are often related to Father revealing more about who He is and what He is doing. When I got the revelation of doing what Father is doing (Jn 5:19), I started many of my Counsel sessions by asking Father what was on His heart. Those have been the most meaningful conversations with the most interesting take-homes.

   Imagine being the hero invited to champion a purpose close to Father’s heart;
that he already wrote in your heart.

#2).  Why Am I Here?

This question starts to tap our Seer gift in the council. These conversations are with the Spirit of Wisdom, Understanding, and Counsel and the dialogue is centered on how we bring our Purpose form Heaven to Earth.

• Your Strategy – How is Wisdom helping create a plan to implement Purpose, the Mission?
• Your Tactics – How is Understanding showing tactics to co-labor with Father? …to open doors and release God’s power?
• Your Heritage – How is the Spirit of Counsel unveiling inheritance? an awareness of all that Father has given you, the land that you possess and steward?

These three topics connect our hearts with the specifics of what Father is doing now and how we can do it with Him. Following the Lamb is the perfect path for who we are, how God designed us, and how our history shaped us. It’s good for business too!

   Imagine coming from a planning session in Heaven, knowing Father’s purpose,
and having helped create the innovations that make it happen on Earth.

#3).  Where Am I Going?

We all need a picture of things to come. The cool thing about the Council is that we can ask for the tour of our future and Father is delighted to show us where it’s all going. That revelation is one of purpose and it’s the job of sons and daughters to take the Earth to that redemptive place. In other words, it’s not a pre-scripted and predestined; it’s a war sons and daughters are invited to win!

• Your Courage – How is the Spirit of Might encouraging? Knowing Purpose is more important
  than your life, it gives rise to the tenacity of an overcomer, you can’t be killed!
• Your Clarity – How is the Spirit of knowledge giving you a framework to simply explain
  where you’re going and why. How is your story compelling!
• Your Culture – How is the Fear of the Lord Revealing honor? The revelation of what
  he has put in your heart is the lens to prophetically see what others carry.
  Awareness of what is in every heart is the shared purpose of Ecclesia.

    Imagine being in the calvary charge of bringing God’s Kingdom to earth,
celebrating every victory, setting every captive free. Hearing, “Well Done!”

Sonship, the Council, the Conversations, and the living words engage hearts for some very practical reasons that show up in business.

Stories From the Council

What if I get the dial tone?

I sit quietly and listen for as long as it takes to hear, 5 or 10 minutes on occasion. But once I got familiar with the personalities and knew a little of what to expect, the conversations flowed like a river. Several things helped me frame the setting and the topics of conversations that help the flow and questions:

• I picture ascension, and my seat at the table with my seer gift.
• The Lord showed me the connection between His 7 “I AM” statements and each of the 7 spirits.
  (The graphic in this blog is the cheat sheet I use to prompt my memory)
• I’m know the 7 Spirits a bit better, what’s on their hearts and the topics they will address.
  • Who I am – the specifics of my Identity, Story, and Purpose (How God created me)
  • Why I’m here – My Strategy, Tactics, and Heritage (What Father is doing now)
  • Where I’m going – My Courage, Clarity, Culture (Things to come that aren’t here yet)

I’m writing notes for 60-90 minutes and when it’s typed up it’s 3-4 pages in a template that I’ve found helpful. I typically go around the table and hear from each of the 7 Spirits. I consciously make room for them to speak, and then listen until they do. I transcribe the notes and type them as a way of honoring the council – it’s important and I cherish what is said! Other things that happen:

• seeing pictures that I turn into graphics
• Hearing music lyric clips that I look up on YouTube and listen to.
• Getting verse phrases that I look up and chase related themes
  (What I get in the Council is in Sync with scripture – I discern/judge what I receive)

I could never just read the word intellectually and come to the same level of Living words from the Council. The prophetic level is different, more alive. The Holy Spirit dwelling in us can quicken thoughts, make verses come alive, and prompt us. But when I go to His house (the Council) and have a conversation with Father, Jesus and the 7 Spirits it’s much richer.

Intercession

I used the graphic in this blog as an outline for intercession in the Council three times this last weekend.

The first time – Friday, I was praying for a client in business by proxy. I took the notes, typed them up and emailed him a copy. I think it will be impactful.

The second experience – on Saturday, four of us on Zoom were asking the Lord about an upcoming ministry trip (Who is the person going? What do they carry? What is Father doing? Where will it eventually lead?) I shared the graphic on zoom, asked the questions, took notes on the conversation, and typed them on the screen as we got stuff. We had about 40 minutes to spend in the Council and it felt like we really got clarity in our topic, a prophetic preview of what God wanted to do, and how we should pray for the trip. It was like a tour of the future for the trip, the people, and the nation.

If people who hear God have a leader asking the right questions, it helps them hear and add to the conversation. It raises the prophetic quality by putting people in the Council and inviting the 7 Spirits to speak. It’s a remarkable dynamic for personal or group prayer. Jesus taught his disciples to pray because they asked. Just like learning listening skills, we can learn to go to the Council and have a conversation.

The third experience was a request for prayer from a friend that lasted about an hour on a facetime call to another country. This one took on the outline of Court session, dealing with accusations, generational roots, and eventually a deliverance from demonic oppression and baptism in the Holy Spirit. It was just a two-way conversation plus all the Heavenly participants. At the close we were both amazed and grateful for all the Lord had done.

 

Note: The example I am free to share is my own; I regularly have conversations in the Council to get clarity on my personal direction. This is a big-picture overview, not just this week’s co-laboring. But it did come from a Council session(s), John’s Roadmap to Sonship.

• Get on John’s Calendar for a free chat.
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