God wants to take us from our paradigm of bricks & mortar Christianity and bring us to the place where we understand that He is building His temple made with Living Stones! What does the building look like in this new era Church? Like it or not, we are in transition from the old ways of the church to the new way for this new era – God’s way. The rebuilding of the walls and the temple built with living stones (us)! Living Sones being built as the Temple of the Holy Spirit – to house the glory of God! Living Stones placed upon and in support of each other with Jesus as the cornerstone! Upon the rock of the revelation of Jesus, the Christ! Jesus said upon this “revelation” He will build His church!!!! Through the revelation – the unveiling of Jesus, the Christ! He will no longer fit into our little box of who we think He is and what we think He does. No longer being “a belief” but instead becoming a living, breathing reality by the Spirit of God living on the inside of us! So powerfully transforming our understanding through a revelation of who He is. Powerless, seat-warming, spoon-fed, lukewarm Christianity will no longer be good enough. We will arise as sons and daughters who know our God and know our place! No longer will simply going to church be our identity and hope. We must have the true revelation of Jesus, the Christ! The anointed One living on the inside of us!
When I lived in Panama, I saw rock walls built using only stones. Stones of all sizes and shapes. No mortar was used to hold them in place or to restrict their movement. When expertly placed by a skilled builder they formed an amazingly strong wall. Each stone was used to support and to strengthen the others. The stones were carefully placed upon and beside the others. The stronger ones used to help support the smaller ones. Each one was carefully placed and necessary to complete the wall. It was not started in the middle, but by setting the cornerstone which then supported the rest of the stones. The wall could not be built by just anyone who decided to go out and randomly place stones one upon another. It had to be done by a skilled and experienced builder. The wall also had pillars that were placed strategically along the line. They were there to support, strengthen, and provide stability for the other stones by enabling them to stand and to fulfill their place in the wall. It was amazing to see how these walls withstood ferocious winds and rain without being moved or destroyed. I ask you this question: “Are you withstanding the ferocious winds and floods at this time? Are you standing strong, without fear and hopelessness? Are you hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit as He prepares YOU? Or, are you waiting for the church to open up so you can sit in your seat, be taught, blessed, and go back to “normal”? Are we posting scriptures on the internet to show our faith, but in actuality we are cowering in fear and uncertainty? In this monumental hour, t’s time for our decision to be made! Let’s let Him shake the foundations of our beliefs and traditions, to uproot, tear down and rebuild so that we can be made strong. It’s time to stand up, to rise up, and truly “KNOW our God”!
Some of the most difficult and painful things we walk through are really God’s opportunity to “weed our gardens” of the “tares” that the enemy has sown into OUR fields. Thoughts, ideas, habits, and mindsets that have been established within us, yet only seem to hold us back and keep us from walking in our true sonship. Our true identity in Christ!
I have a thought for you: What if some of the times that we find ourselves fighting so hard for a specific outcome or answer to our prayers (desires), and our refusal to give up or to surrender, are actually God seeking to use these circumstances to “weed and feed” our inner gardens? Applying a little heavenly miracle grow? We fight against these things with sheer determination in order to hold onto them because we think they are attacks of the enemy! We think our enemy is trying to steal, kill, and destroy when in fact it is God trying to deliver us and set us free from our thoughts, hurts, pains, fears, insecurities, the need for approval, etc.! Wow, God! What if we allow you to uproot those things in us that seeks to hinder and hold us back from your very best for us? Some of the most difficult and painful things we walk through are really God’s opportunity to “weed our gardens” of the “tares” that have been sown by the enemy into OUR fields. Thoughts, ideas, habits, and mindsets that have been established within us, yet only seem to hold us back and keep us from walking in our true sonship. Our true identity in Christ! When we allow the tares to be uprooted instead of fighting so desperately to hold onto them, we will be transformed into His image and His ways. There is a season where the wheat and tares are allowed to grow up together. The wheat, as it matures will actually bow down to God and his ways (humbling ourselves). The tares stand strong (stiff-necked) and continue to demand their rights, their ways, their outcomes – demanding that things go our way. What if allowing God to uproot these things in our garden will actually set us free and bring us into new places of freedom? Into new places of maturity and sonship? True transformation comes as we submit ourselves under the care of the One who loves us so much that He will allow us to go through things that are meant to conform us and mature us into the image of Jesus! Perhaps when we are fighting for our own way, our own outcomes, our own justice, and our own control … it is God seeking to uproot the tares from our soul? The wheat (true kingdom character) and the tares (religious ideas, thoughts, habits, and ways) grow up together, looking much the same. Think of it this way: The Lord sows the “wheat” – His true kingdom ways. The enemy sows the “tares” in the form of religious traditions, beliefs, and rituals. They look and seem good but ultimately only serve to keep us in bondage to a religious concept, formulas, and ideas that don’t bring true and lasting fruit. They work sometimes but mainly leave us confused or upset when things don’t go our way. Leaving us to wonder why God didn’t act on our behalves? What did we do wrong? If only our pastor would have prayed for us, then perhaps things would be different? Why didn’t God answer me “the way I wanted Him to”? On and on the story goes of the things we have erroneously thought were God’s best for us. A personal example of this for me was, when Ron died, a Christian friend of mine said to me, “It’s okay to be mad at God. He doesn’t mind”. With a broken and contrite heart, my response to her was: “Why would I be mad at God? He didn’t do this horrific thing.” She replied: “Yes, but God could have healed him and He didn’t”. The words that flowed from my heart were these: “I don’t know why God didn’t heal Ron. I only know that God is all I have and if I am mad at Him, what else would I have? He is not finished with me and I am desperate for His love and care”. Although it was meant as a comforting thing to say to me, if I had taken that road it would only have served to establish indignation (a tare) within me and would not have produced the healing, restoring, and loving care along the path to victory. It was not an easy road, but God brought me through in ways I could not have imagined. I had to choose to “submit” to the Lord in ways I did not understand. The opposite choice (getting mad at God) would have “seemed good” but only served to establish a “sacred cow” of religion and become a stumbling block. We cannot allow religious concepts to remain in our “ecosystem”. We must allow the “tares” to be pulled up by the roots. As the harvest draws near (God’s time to deal with and to separate these issues — IN US) … the wheat versus tares will be discerned by our responses. The wheat bows down and the tares stay stick-necked. This parable has many meanings, but when applied to “our inner garden” it is evident that at the proper time, God desires to weed “our garden” of our religious ways, thoughts, and beliefs. The parable of the sower and the seed applies in the same manner. As we submit our hearts to Him and allow the ground of our hearts to be plowed and to become tender under His care … we will see our inner life flourish and thrive like never before. When we allow the removal of the “old system”, “the old man”, our “self-centered ways”, and “religious concepts”, we then make way for the planting and maturing of the “good seed” of the Kingdom of God within our garden to grow and flourish! His ways, thoughts, love, character, and paradigms spring up and begin transforming us into mature sons and daughters of the Most High God! The sons and daughters that the world is longing and yearning to see. The mature sons and daughters who allow themselves to become the temple of the Living God and as a result, have the power and love to actually change nations! God is on the move in these history-making times! Are we allowing Him to change us, conform us, prepare us, heal us, and fashion us into the son or daughter He created us to be?
God, weed our gardens! Show us the tares in our lives that need to be uprooted and replaced with your Kingdom ways! Show us your ways, Lord! Soften our hearts! We want to know you! Truly know you – not just about you! To know you in greater measures, greater revelation ways that will transform us into Your image! Holy Spirit, we ask you to do the work in us. Draw us into the secret place where, under your tender care, our gardens will become beautiful, fruitful, and able to bring true nourishment to the world around us! We want to know YOU! Pour out your “miracle grow”. We ask you to “weed and feed” our inner gardens! With your miracle grow poured into our hearts, we will “arise and shine”.
“Rise up in splendor and be radiant, for your light has dawned, and Yahweh’s glory now streams from you!
Look carefully! Darkness blankets the earth,
and thick gloom covers the nations,
but Yahweh arises upon you
and the brightness of his glory appears over you!
Nations will be attracted to your radiant light
and kings to the sunrise-glory of your new day.
Lift up your eyes higher! Look all around you and believe,
for your sons are returning from far away
and your daughters are being tenderly carried home.
Watch as they all gather together, eager to come back to you! Isaiah 60:1-4 (TPT)
