2010 — Schedule
- JUN 23-26 Mesa, AZ
- JUL 8 Manhattan, NY
- JUL 16 Colorado Springs, CO
- JUL 24 Arlington, TX
- AUG 9 Concord, NC
MAR
16
16
Who Does He Say That I AmWho Does He Say That I AmAs we begin the journey on this blog, I felt the Lord leading me to begin discussing who we are in the kingdom of God. Now we will also have times and seasons of prophetic words and prayers for the nations. But in prayer this morning the Lord directed to me to share concerning who we are in Him. Friends, we have such a rich inheritance in the kingdom and I know we are in a time where the Lord is greatly teaching us and instructing us to have understanding, but also be trained and released to walk in our fullness in Him. I want to share my experience, when the Lord first began to speak to me concerning who I am called to be in His kingdom. It was 1990. I was in my early twenties and a new mother. My husband, Greg, and I were the youth pastors of a church in Denton, Texas. We were happily serving the Lord as He was touching the lives of the young people He had assigned to us for that season. Even so, we were experiencing an increasing desire to know Him more. My husband’s parents had been pastors for many years, and we noticed that God was doing a new and deeper work in their lives. We saw newfound joy and passion in their walks with the Lord. It made us curious. So when they invited us to an upcoming conference about drawing close to God and hearing His voice, we accepted. We were curious, but also a little cautious and skeptical. After all we had never been to a Christian event where hearing the voice of the Lord was discussed. The conference was intimidating and captivating at the same time. I had always felt the Lord leading me in my life and had an “inner knowing” that He had created me for a purpose, but I did know what is was. Now, for the first time, I was hearing explanations of what I had experienced even as a young child. I had been hearing the voice of God and His direction in my life, but my experience was limited. As the event came to an end, the conference leaders offered to pray for those in attendance who desired a deeper relationship with the Lord and felt His leading concerning a call and purpose. Greg and I instantly and simultaneously rose to our feet. The leaders then prayed for those standing asking God to touch us in a new way. They prayed that we would have ears to hear His voice and respond to His purpose and calling. During the ministry time, I felt the presence of the Lord tangibly. It was a presence full of peace, grace, comfort and love. It was wonderful and left me hungering for more. As we left the building, a friend of my in-laws whom I had never met approached us. She asked if I was Rebecca. I said yes. She introduced herself to me and said that earlier that afternoon the Lord had given her my name and a prophetic word. She had to explain to me what a prophetic word was as I had never heard of such a thing. I thought to myself, Lord, this is a fast answer to the prayer that was just prayed over me at the conference. Actually, You answered the prayer before I even prayed it! I was overcome with gratitude that He had heard my heart’s cry. In the prophetic message the Lord called me by name. As the woman spoke the words He had given her to share with me, I felt as well as heard that He was calling me closer to Himself and into a season of understanding His love and purpose for my life. It was both tender and powerful, and it sparked an intense desire and hunger to draw close to the Lord. That night was the beginning of my desire to walk with Him in a new measure of understanding and authority. My father-in-law, Jack Greenwood, observing the increased hunger for the Lord that Greg and I were experiencing, gave us a book that explained the importance of a relationship with the Holy Spirit. This was a life-changing event for both of us. As I read the pages, I felt the Lord’s presence resting on me. I could not wait to arrive home in the evening to read. What else was I about to learn and encounter? As I finished the book, I knelt down and prayed the prayer printed at the end, inviting the Holy Spirit to fill me. Instantly I felt a powerful and all-consuming presence flood over me from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. I was embraced in the presence of the Spirit and felt Him filling my spirit to overflowing. I was overcome; I had never felt anything so wonderful. I prayed, “Lord please don’t let this presence ever leave me.” After several minutes, the Lord showed me a vision. Amazed to be receiving such clear revelation from the Lord, I sat quiet and still. He was speaking to me and I knew His voice. My heart raced and tears streamed down my face. In the vision I was standing on a platform surrounded by thousands and thousands of people. They were extending their hands to touch mine, and I was reaching out to touch each of them. I was reaching for as many hands as I could. I did not understand what this meant. I asked, “What is this You are showing me?” He answered with a question, Becca, will you be accountable for the souls I have assigned to you? Will you reach them for Me? I did not understand the fullness of what He was asking me. I did know at that moment, however, that the Lord had put His hand on Greg and me and that our lives were going to change quickly. He had a purpose for us, and we needed training. I responded the only way I knew: “Yes, Lord, show me how.” That experience has been a driving inspiration in my life of serving the Lord. And as I grow in Him, more revelation comes about how each one of us is called to fulfill our responsibilities here as Kingdom representatives. Holy Spirit-Led You see, if you are a son or daughter of the King, your life is ministry. Everything about you is ministry. Everywhere you go—at home, the workplace, school, church, your neighborhood, the grocery store—you are a minister of the Kingdom of heaven. You are never on vacation from this assignment. It is a constant state of being. The gospel of Luke tells us that “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside” (Luke 4:14, emphasis added). In Matthew Jesus is quoted as saying that He drove out demons “by the Spirit of God” (Matthew 12:28). Jesus is our perfect example in living out this Kingdom walk, and we can be encouraged that the Holy Spirit, who empowered and worked through Him, guides us as well. Jesus has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to all who ask: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The anointing of the Holy Spirit gives us the boldness and power we need in order to accomplish mighty works in Christ’s name and to make our witness and proclamation an effective one. This is because, as amazing as it sounds, as sons of God we are also partakers of His divine nature: His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:3–4 When we trust Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us, positioning us as participants in the nature of God. A slave to the law does not have the divine nature of the Father, but only the realization of a desperate need for God. But as sons, through the infilling of the Holy Spirit, we can cry out, “Abba, Father!” It is through relationship with our Savior and the seal of the Holy Spirit that we grow and mature in our spiritual walks. But we also have position: Once we receive the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ we are enlisted as citizens of heaven and sons and daughters of God. And as sons and daughters, we are also heirs. In closing, begin to pray and seek the Lord and ask, “Lord, who do you say that I am? Lord show me who I am called to be in the kingdom of God.” In our next blog we will explore further the authority and benefits of these positions. |
