September 19, 2010
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Learning – Learning the
Kingly, entrepreneurial
mindset and coming out of poverty is an amazing journey for all of us.
We come
from a theological paradigm that places a premium on obedience and
service, and
we don’t have a practical grasp on how to be God’s friend. 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 NIV Servants know how to
obey. They are great
candidates to have a job, do what they are told, and never learn to
embrace a
personal dream or create wealth. They view God as a “guidance giver”
and
themselves as faithful followers who are good at hearing revelation and
obeying.
They resist their own will as carnal, and have little room for
exploring the
desires their own hearts. They are left without personal initiative, a
major
key to the Kingdom and being Kingly. Friends “relate” to God
in a way that makes
them comfortable exploring the desires of their own hearts. That’s
where they
find the will of God. Instead of revelation and obedience, they have a
better
balance of revelation and wisdom. They are willing to make wise
decisions
without requiring a revelation from God. Example – I’m a trader
learning from two
mentors, along with hundreds of other Christians. Learning to day trade
is a
multi-year process that requires patience and commitment. What I’ve
noticed is
that most of us start the process treating the mentors like pastors,
and wanting
to relate out of an obedience dynamic. That sets up a conflict –
traders expect
the mentor to represent God, predict the future, and tell them which
direction
to trade. The reality is that even the mentors are never sure which way
the market
will move. They simply teach how to observe price action and take trade
set-ups. “Servants” are inclined not to hear the training. They just
listen for
hints for what the mentor is doing, and try to obey. The result is bad
–
although they thought they heard the mentor, they just got a bias for
up or
down, and missed the seeing the price action and setups for themselves.
Many
never grasp the entrepreneurial mindset of thinking for themselves and
using “wisdom”
to make decisions. They can’t get away from obedience. That “bias”
premised on obedience to the mentor is, in fact, a perception of God’s
expectation
for us; a belief that we should obey ‘our false perception’ of God’s
rules,
which is embedded deeply in our conscience. Rule #1 is “obey God,” and
if He’s
not providing direction, then obey His representative… pastor, mentor,
etc. Obeying
a perception in our conscience is not easy to overcome, and it has to
be purged
before we can stop the dead works and poverty… and then relate to a
living God
and experience abundant life – pretty amazing when you think about it.
We have
to think and take initiative – not just live out the expectations of
others (including
those
expectations we ascribe to God in our conscience). How
much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered
Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works
to
serve the living God? Heb 9:14 NASU Becoming
entrepreneurial – Creating
wealth is a scriptural
promise of maturity available to every believer. All those “ask
whatsoever”
verses are hinged to our ability to have desires, take personal
initiative, and
make wise decisions. That level of relationship spawns creativity,
industry and
innovation that create wealth and result in ministry. That is the
definition of
personal freedom. Trust
in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself
in the LORD and he will
give you the desires of your heart. Ps 37:3-4
May
he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
Ps 20:4 And
I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory
to the
Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John
14:13-14
see also Jn 15:7-8, 15:7-8, 15:15-16, 16:23-24 Prophetic
revelation, personal discipline, and character qualities are wonderful
and
necessary ingredients of a serving disciple. But, they are not
sufficient to be
Kingly,
entrepreneurial, and creative. We are being invited to “friend”
in some practical ways: 1.
Transition
from servant to friend by exploring the desires of our own heart 2.
Once
we are freed from the expectations of others (including our mental
opinion of
God’s rules), we are positioned to “relate” to the desires in God’s
heart. 3.
Once
we can relate to God in terms of His and our desires, we can connect
with the
desires of others and find the synergism of Kingdom multiplication. 4.
Liberation
from the obedience-only theology opens the door to take initiative and
make decisions
on the basis of wisdom and common sense. We were all
created to be Kings whose dreams come true. Service and obedience
doesn’t
describe the level of freedom and creativity God has in mind for his
“friends.”
We are here to bless the nations and fill the earth with His glory. …the
glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager
expectation for
the sons of God to be revealed… brought into the glorious freedom of
the
children of God. Rom 8:18-21 NIV
There are two
prior newsletters that deal with this obedience topic that you might
enjoy. From
Obedience to Creativity and Guidance
– Obedience vs. Initiative PS: You may
also enjoy the video
version of this newsletter.
Desire to Destiny is available now at our store along with reviews. Not sure what your dream is? This book will help you pull the curtain back on your future. Newsletter - If your newsletter comes incomplete (filtered), you can always catch the latest version in our archive along with 200 others. 1800+ people from around the world get Kingly encouragement from our weekly newsletter. Invite a friend to subscribe - they will be blessed. How to Start a Small Group - Kings are increasingly getting involved in Bible study or mentoring groups to facilitate their "Release." Here are some helpful suggestions www.Releasing-Kings.com/Starting-a-Group.html. We've also updated our Vision Brochure with graphics to show how to become a King and how you can help Release Kings. Lastly we've created a guideline to help you take your dream to the next level by considering the elements of a business plan. See Write Your Business Plan. French Translation - Releasing Kings is now available in French thanks to the efforts of Cees Bakker and Support Ministries in the Netherlands. In France, copies can be obtained from Editions Menor or Librairie Chretienne CLC. The Title in French is “Libération des Rois pour le ministère dans le monde du travail”. Cees is also the guy who made the Dutch translation possible - available through his website. He can be contacted for Releasing Kings conferences in France and throughout Europe. Facebook - I'm posting more information on Face book at http://www.facebook.com/john.garfield1
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