I have an unquenchable hunger for
the supernatural. I know that you do,
too! I believe, as sons and daughters of
God, we are experiencing a fresh outpouring of God's Spirit and power that was
prophesied in Joel 2:28-30. Many of us
who are familiar with these verses are also aware that this prophecy was
fulfilled on the day of Pentecost which is documented in Acts, Chapter 2.
However, as you know, the demonstration of the Holy Spirit is to be
continued. We know this as a fact
because Jesus instructed His disciples to pray..."Your
kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (AMP) (See Matt 6:10, Luke
11:2). As we pray as Jesus instructs, we
are actually praying for heaven to touch earth. Think about it- when Jesus came
He brought His world to ours! He
demonstrated the Kingdom of God on earth.
His example of demonstrating God's goodness through signs, wonders,
miracles and powerful demonstrations was meant to be teaching tools for us to
do the same on earth today. I believe it
is safe to say that there is no sickness in heaven and, therefore, it does not
belong on earth! Also, there is no
poverty, lack, disease or hopelessness in heaven- therefore; it does not belong
on earth. Jesus commissioned His disciples with these words: "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast
out demons: freely ye received, freely give." (ASV) (See Matthew 3:15, 10:8; Luke 10:9).
Unfortunately, many (outside as
well as inside the Church) are seeking God's supernatural power and are not
finding it in the churches. One reason
for this problem is that many churches and denominations preach a Jesus who is
a dead and historic figure-a man connected to simple Sunday school stories.
And, unfortunately, to many,
Jesus, the real, supernatural, resurrected Jesus, remains a total
stranger. As a result it is difficult
for them to believe God for the supernatural today. They are "limited" to a false
belief system. I remember when I became a new Christian I was told what
"not to do" and taught that I needed to do be "perfected"
-which placed much emphasis on me, my ability and my religious
performance. This is still a mainstream
introduction to salvation, a relationship with Jesus Christ and maintaining an
intimate relationship with God. I was never introduced to the book of Acts
until I was able to follow the Holy Spirit's direction and landed in a
spirit-filled church that taught me about demonstration and power. Dear ones,
the Church has been bound up with many limitations that hinder us from the fullness
of the gospel. Allow me to be even clearer about this subject.
Another core limitation is the false belief
that God only used prophets to declare and demonstrate miracles in the Old
Testament and that miracles died with God's apostles who are mentioned in the
New Testament. I want to discuss more of
the various limitations that hinder most of us in just a bit because I desire
that each of you walk in complete freedom - but for now I want to talk about
someone to whom we all relate in the Old Testament, Elijah, who is still an
example for us as New Covenant Believers.
The Day of Elijah
Most Christians, even those who
do not believe that God is still empowering His saints for the supernatural
today, acknowledge that Elijah was chosen by God to move in a powerful
demonstration of His raw power. Unfortunately, as I previously addressed, many
limit miracles to the Old Testament prophets and believe that miracles ended
with the passing away of God's anointed New Testament apostles. Just because Elijah was used in the Old
Testament does not mean he cannot exemplify a type of prophetic ministry and
power for us to walk in today! In fact,
at the closing of the Old Testament, we read where Malachi prophesied that the
spirit of Elijah was being sent to the earth. Elijah, of course, had died, but
it would be his spirit, the same anointing to perform the miraculous and
demonstrate God's power to dethrone the enemy in every way, that was being sent
from heaven. Why? Well, Malachi states that this anointing would
bring reconciliation of the hearts of children to the fathers. But also, in my
opinion, the spirit of Elijah has been sent to us today to turn our hearts, as
His children, back to the Father again. (Malachi 4: 6) And, precious ones,
since it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance, I believe
demonstrating the signs and wonders and demonstrations of heaven are a tool to
lead many people to repentance (a change of mind) and, therefore, experience
more of God's love and power in their lives.
Also, we know that John the Baptist,
a New Testament example, demonstrated the same power of Elijah. (See Matthew
11:14). Then, the Anointed One, Jesus
Himself, became our example to follow as we endeavor to demonstrate God's power
on earth. Jesus demonstrated heaven's power to His disciples. As believers, we
have recorded biblical history as our instruction guide to do the same. There are many of God's children
demonstrating heaven's will on earth-yet for many of us we still stumble with
insecurity, religious doctrines and unbelief. To fully demonstrate God's will
for the supernatural, each of us as believers, whether a new believer or as
those who biblically mentor others, needs to remember our biblical foundation
for the miraculous.
Again in the Old Testament, we
notice Elijah decreeing no rain, releasing increase to a widow and a son,
raising the dead, calling down fire from heaven, destroying the false prophets
of Baal, anointing Elisha and Jehu. (You
can read about the anointing of Elijah, the miracles he performed, his slaying
the false prophets and later anointing Elisha and Jehu in 1 Kings 18-19).
Then, we later study about
Elijah's servant and successor, Elisha, performing twice as many miracles. Again, in the New Testament, we read about
John the Baptist who had the same spirit of Elijah on him. John baptized Jesus and then Jesus
demonstrated the Kingdom of God on earth.
Whew! I know that was a quick
study- but I needed to lay a good foundation so that you can shift with me.
Let Go Of Your Limitations
It's amazing to me that so many
of us limit God today. We can even
witness a miracle and almost immediately shift back into doubt and
unbelief. When I think about Elisha, I
believe as he "served" Elijah, he had to press through many mindsets
and possible rejections to receive the double portion of Elijah. Yet, he did what was necessary to receive
that mantle, didn't he? He had to let go
of any limitation that might block his breakthrough that would empower him for
the miraculous, right? Point is- Elisha had a destiny and he knew it! His destiny was to also demonstrate the power
of Elijah. It is the same for us today,
but, yet, we are called to demonstrate the Kingdom of God as Jesus did while on
earth. However, this cannot be
accomplished in our own strength; it is demonstrated through being obedient to
fulfill our divine commission on earth by God's grace.
Fulfilling Destiny
It is my heart to encourage you
and remind you, as one saved by the finished work of Jesus on the Cross, that God's
supernatural, transforming power is available to you for the fulfilling of
divine destiny. I know I am hammering this in but I want you to shift! Yes, part of our destiny as children of God
is to demonstrate and experience God's power.
With that in mind, allow me to also remind you that you were born with a
purpose to fulfill. God made you with a
specific "purpose." The word
purpose means "the reason something exists." Therefore, we can easily conclude that God
created us for a very specific reason.
Mankind, as a whole, was created in the image of God with the purpose of
taking dominion. Though this is not meant to be a "dominion message,"
I need to be clear about something- when we use our God-given authority, we are
also empowered to demonstrate God's divine power on the earth. Dear one, it is time to demonstrate and
experience God's power in your life.
At the time of creation, both
Adam and Eve were created to be like God and experience what I term limitless
living. This type of lifestyle is
experiencing our lives without any types of hindrances or limitations. Limitless living is not for the purpose of
self-gain, but is experienced so that we can fulfill destiny and purpose. And, without limitations, we can fully
demonstrate and experience God's power on earth, right? Allow me to explain more.
I have always believed that part
of my purpose involves giving God glory. I have always been a very determined
and focused person. I am also extremely
passionate about demonstrating the Kingdom of God while I am on earth. This involves not only having a purpose, but
is also about fulfilling our godly assignment.
In fact- you might even consider them one in the same.
Jesus Had a Purpose
According to 1 John 3:8, Jesus also had a purpose. His purpose was to "...destroy the works of the devil." We recently discussed that Jesus brought His
world into ours. But, let's delve into
this more. The word purpose in Greek is
the word tupos (pronounced too-pos) and it means "model or
imitation." According to this
translation, it is made very clear to us that Jesus, when He was destroying the
works of the devil, became a model for us to imitate. When we are also on assignment, on purpose,
we are imitating God. In fact, this is
one of the ways that we are able to give Him glory-by imitating Him!
Satan is everything evil; we all
know that. However, he is also consumed
with targeting us, as he did Eve in the Garden, attempting to cause us to doubt
our identity in Christ. If we believe
opposite of who we are, (i.e.; sons and daughters of the King and made in His
divine image), we become powerless to fully imitate God. Why is that?
It is because when we doubt our identity in God, we also doubt our ability
to be demonstrators of His power. The
two go hand-in-hand. In fact, knowing
who you are in God empowers you with heaven's raw power to demonstrate His
glory! Wow- don't you desire that entire
package? I mean, of course, to say....what
a gift-package from heaven-to be created in His image and a demonstrator of His
power.
I love gifts and I delight in
opening presents and packages - I believe we all do! Therefore, I feel confident to say that you,
as do I, desire to receive gifts from God-spiritual gifts - and use them for
His glory. Problem is the enemy has
placed many different limitations upon us which hinder us from demonstration.
More on that in a bit. For now, keep
reading, it's time to take the limitations from our past off!
Demonstration of His Power
It has always been important for
me to fulfill my destiny, but there has been an increasing desire within me to
be someone who will now demonstrate His glory!
Becoming a demonstrator of God's unbridled power at this time has been
one of the most exciting journeys I have experienced since I became born
again. The word "demonstrate"
means that something is being "shown or proven." In other words, when we allow God to use us
and we pray for someone to be divinely healed, we are at that time imitators of
God. (Just like Elijah, Elisha, John the Baptist; Jesus Christ, our Lord; and
others!) We are proving God's love as we pray for the sick or the needs of His
children. But also, consider this fact;
when they are healed, it is then that God's perfect will has therefore been
"proven, " and "demonstrated." Wow!
What a privilege it is for God to use us to prove His love through
demonstration.
As I have previously stated, it
is my belief that we each have our own personal purpose in life. I am completely certain that God has called
me to pray that heaven touches earth - that His will be done on earth as it is
in heaven (see Matthew 6:10, Luke 11:2).
My purpose involves touching heaven in prayer and receiving divine
revelation than unveils different hidden mysteries. To put it plainly, I am called to release
divine revelation through my books, teachings and prophetic directives. To me, that is all a type of demonstration. However, I have to be honest with you and
admit that there are many times that I feel limited! Why?
Because Satan targets my mind with lies.
The lies of the enemy that limit us sound like this:
·
You're not smart enough to teach God's Word.
·
What makes you believe that God would use
someone with a past like yours?
·
You are a complete failure in life. How can God use you?
·
If you pray for the sick, they might not get
healed. Just think of what people might
say about you.
·
You are not qualified to demonstrate God's power
·
You are flawed.
God cannot use someone like you!
More Limitations
Dear one, there are many other
limitations that the devil uses to rob us of the privilege of demonstrating
God's miraculous power. In my new book,
Letting God of Your Limitations: Experiencing God's Transforming Power (click
here to order ), I explain how to let go of religion. Religion completely negates our need for
"relationship" with God. In
fact, many times it completely replaces it!
I have gone to great length to discuss what religion looks like, how it
begins to take root in our belief systems and also how to let go of it to
become a demonstrator of His glory.
Another limitation I discuss and
believe is a serious issue in the Church, is the pressure to "get
results." This is all rooted in
performance, perfectionism and self-introspection. How many times have we believed the lie that
we are a "failure" because we did not witness the desired
results? Dear believer, the enemy will use
this lie to limit you. On the other
hand, God desires that we experience His limitless lifestyle! After all, didn't Jesus say that all things
are possible to those of us who believe?
Is it then any wonder why the devil attacks our faith? And, yes, the lack of faith ends up being
another limitation that I discuss in my book.
So, What is Holding YOU Back?
Let me ask you a question. What do you believe is holding you back? What are your limitations? I believe God desires to empower you to let
go of such limitations as:
·
reliance on yourself
·
efforts to please God through religious
performance
·
disappointments
·
emotional pain and trauma
·
defensive and defeated attitudes
·
and much more!
Believer, one of my favorite teachings
is on this subject: God is never not
pursuing you! Yes, that's right-He
never, ever gives up on us! I'm so glad
He believes in me. Well, He believes in
you also! As I wrote in my new book,
"His desire is to restore us, heal up the brokenhearted and demonstrate
Kingdom power..."
Allow me to pray for you:
Father God, I pray for each
reader today to become fully empowered to demonstrate Your Kingdom on
earth. I agree with what Your Word says
concerning each one's destiny and purpose and that he/she is created to give
You glory. I pray that You reveal the
limitations which rob us of being Kingdom demonstrators. I pray that You shift each of Your children
into continuous seasons of limitless living.
I decree that there are no limits to what we do or experience in You. In
Jesus' name. Amen!
Now, only believe and limitless
living is yours to experience! Yes,
these are the Days of Elijah.....Elisha.....and YOU demonstrating the Kingdom
of God on earth!
In His endless grace,
Dr. Sandie Freed
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