July 15, 2007
|
subscribe, view past issues and Get Releasing Kings Releasing Kings Book Audio CD or MP3 (Brand New) - 800-308-5837
Prophecy, Wisdom, and Work In our last newsletter we gave some practical tips for Adding Substance to Your Dream. Prophecy, Wisdom, and Work are three key ingredients that must be understood and kept in balance to make your dream come true. Let's clarify the definitions before we look at the power of all three and the pitfalls of one or two. Prophecy - Prophecy is a declaration of God's purpose or will. It should be a great confirmation of what God has already put in our heart's. Seeing God's hand move is always exciting and we want see His word impact our circumstances through prophetic intercession, proclamation, and prayer. We share God's quality of being able to speak things into existence by our prophetic words.
Wisdom - Wisdom is both a spiritual gift or insight and a practical key that defines how to proceed. We can plug along with our own ideas and prayer and make little progress until we hit upon the idea or wisdom that unlocks the "how to." When we find it the door opens because wisdom is the key that unlocks God's provision. Wealth and wisdom are often seen together in scripture and in life. Wisdom often follows brokenness and is often seen in the team that help you implement your vision. None of us have all the skills to complete a great work alone. A wise man has a quiet spirit and is able to "hear" wisdom when she speaks.
Work - God has designed this world and our relationship with Him so that we share "work." The Bible even suggests if you're too spiritual to work you shouldn't eat. On the plus side, diligence and work are God's ways of making dreams come true.
Now let's look at the consequences of imbalance; having one of these ingredients without all three.
Prophetic Pitfalls - If we put all our eggs in the prophetic basket we can receive great encouragement and revelation but never move toward our dream. The reason is theological. We falsely assume that God will sovereignly bring his plan to pass without our involvement (work and wisdom). We are called to be aggressive in work and wisdom. You have to get your hands dirty!... start the business, make the investment, put in the hours, and create something of value. The "prophetic only" camp has a great "talk" but no "walk". They never realize the fullness of God's promise. Their lives are spent waiting and praying for a breakthrough that never comes because they won't add the wisdom and work to implement the plan of God. They never start! Financial lack is a constant companion.
Work without prophetic vision - These folks have long since given up on their dream and live for retirement and family. It seems noble, but the spark is missing in their relationship with God. They trudge through life as begrudging servants and tragically miss the adventure of the 100-fold lifestyle and the status of "friend" in their relationship with God. They may be faithful and enjoy their work at some level, but they simply miss the best and have a little touch of bitterness as a result. Work in the realm of your own strength also starts to feel like "dead works." It's hard and boring; It leaves the spirit malnourished.
All three together - When prophetic unction, wisdom and work are combined, dreams come true and ministry happens. Work goes so much easier with a string of divine appointments that open new doors and money flows. When our prophetic dreams and heart's desire are joined with the wisdom - the "how" is born... the work of implementation flows naturally and it no longer feels like work. It feels like we're working on our dream; Co-laboring with Jesus to build the Kingdom and set the captives free. Ministry occurs along the way and flows out of our enthusiasm for life itself. People see how much we love the Lord and love what He's doing. The fruit is seen in the results of our efforts. The ensuing wealth allows us to multiply the vision and make others fruitful as well.
Life is an adventure. People are a blessing. God is amazing. We're winning.
Love, John & Harold (are dancing - Join us) Our back issues are organized by topic - great way to find what's interesting! You've also been voting. Here are the greatest "hits" newsletters from the past.
PS: I'm really excited about our next book, From Desire to Destiny: Seven Keys To Your Marketplace Ministry. It's written to help us through the implementation of the message in Releasing Kings. Right now it's in the editing process and it should be available by the end of July. We've been doing modules from it in the conferences with great impact. Releasing Kings is also being translated into French and should be available this summer.
____________________________________________________________________ You can get your copy of Releasing Kings for Ministry in the Marketplace at 1-800-308-5837 (or) |