April 12, 2009
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Faith - Is When "How To" Is Missing Afraid of Risk - The current economic recession has caused many people to become more financially conservative and try to minimize financial risk. Fear of loss is an emotional driver for many. The same is true in the Kingdom. Many Christians leave much of their potential unfulfilled for fear of risking loss. What if I try and fail? I want to respond to that fear in this newsletter. Focusing on our fear of loss is a real probability with real risk. We all know that things can and do go wrong and it's prudent to be careful. However, life is all about taking good risks and reaping great rewards so we need to learn which risks are worth taking. The second point is that fear is rooted in a sense of personal loss and it really underscores a larger issue. The real reason we are concerned with personal risk is personal! Those that are willing to take risks and live abundantly and generously are connected to a purpose larger than themselves. We find our spiritual life, abundance, and fruitfulness when we hook up with God's larger purposes and sign up for those risks. It's an irony that escapes many believers that are locked into being average when they could be 100-fold.
My basis for taking risks is understanding what is more important than my personal safety; what comes higher than my laundry list of personal fears. When I see my role in God's larger scheme, I risk everything to fulfill it and meet my personal goals in the process.
Finding my role or destiny in the Kingdom will naturally cause me to lay everything I have on the line just for the opportunity to obtain it. I've found a risk worth taking! Paul considered his personal life worth far less than his role in the Kingdom. No one made him take risks. He simply got a taste of the Kingdom and compared it to his own life and chose the Kingdom. It was an easy decision. He gave up a boring life that was headed nowhere and exchanged for one filled with excitement, fruit, and satisfaction. He found real life.
God's Purpose and My Purpose (Jn 15:15) - As servants we believe we are undertaking God's purposes. However, a servant will seldom take a risk. Servants are hirelings when it comes to taking risks. Kings are willing to take risks and reap rewards for a very simple reason. They have found a dream where their desires and God's desires overlap. They share God's own heart in the area of their calling. They own the dream. That is the pearl worth selling everything you have to obtain. It will move you from servant to King and fill your life with vision and purpose. Kings are not waiting for daily guidance on every issue. They have a dream that is very clear in their own heart and they pursue it with everything they have. Vision and Faith - Kings have a picture of where they are going. They exercise faith in this sense, "Faith is declaring my intentions before I know how to make it happen." I'm OK with knowing the "what" and talking about it before I know the "how." Why? I've seen the big picture. I know where we're going. I'm free to make a few mistakes along the way to a huge success. That's faith.
Aligning your subconscious - We Christians nearly always come from a servant mentality. We've tried to superimpose God's desires over our own and we've tried to discipline ourselves to do what we would rather not. When we fall off the wagon, we view our hearts and minds as carnal and try to start over. We've had great training in how to be double-minded... wanting to do one thing but actually doing another. Listen to Paul's description of this dilemma.
Being double-minded is just rationally wanting to do one thing, while our subconscious drives us to do another. It's a form of self-sabotage. Visualization of your dream and verbal affirmations are simple ways to get your subconscious to work with you instead of against you. They are techniques to implement repentance and renewal of our mind. First we see (believe), then we speak, then our faith turns to deeds and works that cause a result. From a practical standpoint the process of faith includes making plans, watching cash flow, and working through the complications. Our faith and words have the power of the Holy Spirit to make our dream materialize in fact.
Results - Real life results are the fairest way to assess our theology and maturity as believers. Is your life where you would like it to be? If there is room for change, you can hook up with God's purposes, spell out your role in the Kingdom and use faith to get involved. Desire to Destiny was written to help you through this very process. Suggestion - Don't go to heaven with regret that you couldn't take a risk on your destiny. Being a King is too much fun to sit on the sidelines.
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